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Influence of climate factors on spatial distribution of Texas cattle breeds

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Abstract

This paper investigates the spatial distribution of cattle breeders in Texas to quantify how climate factors influence cattle breed selection. A multivariate probit model is employed to examine the county-level binary choices of Bos taurus, Bos indicus and composite breeds derived from cattle breed association membership data. The estimation results suggest that summer heat stress is a significant factor for breed selection: positive for Bos indicus and negative for Bos taurus and composite breeds, with the average marginal effects on breed membership probability being 9.7 %, −26.5 % and −7.9 %, respectively. The intensity of the summer heat impacts can lead to noteworthy changes in spatial distributions of Texas cattle breeds in the event of climate change.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RTI International, 3040 E Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA

    Yuquan W. Zhang

  2. Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, 355 E Street SW, Washington, DC, 20024-3221, USA

    Amy D. Hagerman

  3. Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, 2124 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Bruce A. McCarl

Authors
  1. Yuquan W. Zhang
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  2. Amy D. Hagerman
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  3. Bruce A. McCarl
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Correspondence to Yuquan W. Zhang.

Additional information

The authors thank the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions and those who offered suggestions at the presentation of this topic at the 2011 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Annual Meetings in Pittsburgh, PA. The views presented in this paper are those of the authors and not those of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Zhang, Y.W., Hagerman, A.D. & McCarl, B.A. Influence of climate factors on spatial distribution of Texas cattle breeds. Climatic Change 118, 183–195 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-012-0642-y

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