CSU to study impact of climate change on livestock in developing world

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Colorado State University has received a $15 million grant to study the impact of climate change on livestock around the globe, particularly in developing countries.

The U.S. Agency for International Development awarded the grant to the university's Animal Population Health Institute and Institute for Livestock and the Environment. Over the next five years, CSU will develop partnerships for research projects in developing countries in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa and central Asia.

"The risks to livestock and developing livestock industries in these countries as a result of climate change encompass a broad range of issues and challenges—more than may meet the eye of the general observer," said Dr. Mo Salman, principal investigator for the grant and a professor at the CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The USAID grant will allow scientists from multiple disciplines to study the scope, location, and nature of those impacts so planning for adaptations can begin. Research projects will examine ways to strengthen infrastructure supporting food safety and animal health as well as ways for farmers and herders to optimize livestock production while protecting the environment and animal health.