FOTO: PHOTO: VLADISLAV VOROTNIKOV
PHOTO: VLADISLAV VOROTNIKOV
Heat stress turning into a pressing issue in Russia
As bizarre as it may sound, Russia is no stranger to heat stress in livestock production and this is largely down to global warming. There are several strategies that Russian farmers can use to help alleviate the issues surrounding heat stress.
BY VLADISLAV VOROTNIKOV D
espite being usually perceived as a country with a cold climate, Russia is no stranger to heat stress, oddly enough. This issue is likely to begin attracting more attention in the coming years as
Russia has proven to be warming up twice as quick as the rest of the world.
Global warming in Russia When it comes to climate, Russia is not as cold as it was during the Cold War. A government report on environmental protection said temperatures in Russia had warmed by 0.42°C per decade since 1976, or twice as quick as the global warming trend of 0.17°C. Some scientists voice concerns this pace may accelerate in the future. Among other things, last year was a ‘record’ in the terms of the spread of wildfires in several parts of Russia, which is believed to be linked to extreme weather changes, research conducted by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed. “Talks about climate change have been taking place for a long time and, in fact, the average annual air temperature in Russia has consistently exceeded the norm over the past 20 years. The summer months are increasingly associated with abnormally high temperatures, drought, forest fires, smoke, and health problems. This incurs massive damage on agriculture,” research conducted by a group of scientists of the All Russian Institute of Poultry Processing Industry showed.
Vague understanding of what heat stress is The scientists discovered that an abnormal increase in air temperature is noted in many regions of Central Russia, in- cluding the republics of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Mari El, Chuvashia, Udmurtia, and Mordovia, as well as in the Oren- burg, Volgograd, Samara, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan regions, and all southern regions. However, the issue of heat stress in Russia is not attracting proper attention. When asked to provide some insight into their methods of managing heat stress, some market players admitted that they had only a vague understanding of it. Some others claimed that, in their opinion, heat stress is not a problem, worth particular attention. “Located mostly in the northern part of the Northern hemisphere, Russia has a mild and cold climate; therefore, the effect of heat on poultry pro- duction is not substantial. The major challenge comes from proper heating and ventilation in the autumn, winter, and spring periods,” comments Albert Davleyev, president of the Russian consulting agency Agrifood Strategies.
Feeding solutions are not very popular way of dealing with heat stress in Russia. 56 ▶ HEAT STRESS | MAY 2021
Cost-effective methods As explained by Davleyev, in the central part of the country where most domestic poultry producers are located, the number of hot days with temperatures exceeding 30°C (86F) does not exceed three to four weeks from May through September. The rest of the period, air temperatures stay within the range of 20-25°C (62-88F). “For this reason, the
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