Heat stress mitigation strategies for beef cattle under intensive finishing in the Mexican dry tropics

Resumen

Objective: Review the heat stress mitigation strategies in intensive cattle feedlots in the tropical region of México.
Approach: Beef cattle production is one of the principal activities of the agricultural sector; therefore, to maintain the inventory in intensive finishing pens, a considerable number of cattle are moved to geographic areas where climatic conditions are not always favorable for most of the year. High environmental temperature combined with relative humidity create heat stress conditions andconsequently affecting the productive indicators by compromising the physiological
stability of the cattle.
Implications: The improvement of housing conditions to mitigate the effects of heat stress in beef cattle in intensive finishing involves considering living space, available shade area, feeding and watering space that assure the cattle welfare during their stay in livestock production units.

Conclusions: Heat stress mitigation strategies in beef cattle during intensive finishing in practical conditions should contribute to animal welfare and them improvement of the productive indicators at the Mexican dry tropics.