Lait-é : Toward a climate-resilient dairy industry

In dairy cows, maintaining a stable body temperature is essential for their well-being and to maximize their performance in production and reproduction. This thermal balance is directly influenced by the environment provided in the barn, which depends on the external weather conditions. Providing the right environment is a major challenge, as cows generate a significant amount of metabolic heat due to rumen fermentation, digestion, lactation and gestation.

The temperature increases caused by climate change are amplifying these challenges, disrupting the thermal balance of cows and affecting their well-being, their productivity, and the quality of the milk they produce. This quality degradation impacts not only the farm, but dairy processing, where variations in the milk’s components like fat and protein complicate industrial processes and influence final products. To make the industry resilient, an integrated approach is needed, taking both the challenges in the barn and the requirements of dairy processing into account.

General objective

Identify strategies to produce milk that meets the requirements of the dairy processing market and that is in line with the needs of producers and consumer expectations despite the challenges associated with higher temperatures caused by climate change.

Specific objectives

• Characterize the impacts of climate change and mitigation measures on the composition and technological properties of milk.

• Propose adjustments to processing methods to counteract the effects of heat stress.

• Develop a method for predicting the technological properties of milk that takes variability in composition due to heat stress into account.

• Anticipate changes in milk technology based on climate simulations and carry out a techno-economic evaluation of strategies to minimize heat stress.

• Conduct an animal study on the impact of climate change and mitigation measures on the composition and technological properties of milk by monitoring Holstein cows subjected to different ventilation systems, with detailed analyses of their physiology and the composition and technological properties of their milk.

• Develop adjustments to processing methods by simulating the effects of climate change on milk in the laboratory, and optimizing coagulation parameters to maintain technological quality.

• Create a method for analyzing the technological properties of milk using artificial intelligence, based on mid-infrared spectra and fine composition data, and validate it on a large Quebec database.

• Develop a projection of the impacts of climate change on the technological properties of milk using models that will be developed as part of the project, combined with climate scenarios provided by Ouranos (temperatures and relative humidity). 

• Evaluate mitigation strategies through a techno-economic analysis of equipment costs and the benefits for milk production.

• A report and scientific articles that further the understanding of the impacts of climate change on the composition of milk and its technological properties, as well as adaptation solutions, including some from a technical and economic perspective

• Recommendations for adapting the thermal environments of Quebec dairy barns and adjusting dairy processing methods to maintain milk quality in the event of heat stress episodes

• A predictive tool based on artificial intelligence to anticipate the technological properties of milk depending on weather conditions and its composition

• By developing a projection of the impacts of climate change on farms and processing plants through to 2100, this project will provide practical technical and economic strategies to strengthen the resilience of Quebec’s dairy industry

• Training of highly qualified personnel (1 PhD, 1 MSc and undergraduates)

This project is partly funded by the Government of Quebec and meets the objectives of the Plan pour une économie verte 2030.

• Université Laval

• Centre de recherche en sciences animales de Deschambault

• Lactanet

• Ventec

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