Influence of climate factors on spatial distribution of Texas cattle breeds

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. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013