<p>Dairy cattle producers' perceptions of climate change and variability (CCV) are crucial for adaptation strategies, but their perceptions and responses to these impacts are understudied. The objective of this study was to assess dairy cattle producers’ perceptions of CCV and identify their adaptation strategies in the central highlands of Ethiopia. A total of 270 households were carefully selected using stratified random sampling techniques from two districts (each with three kebeles) that are actively involved in dairy cattle production. The Pearson Chi-Square test and descriptive statistics were used to assess data on perceived changes in climatic conditions. The time series data trends and their magnitudes were analyzed using the Mann–Kendall test and Sen's slope estimator, respectively. In the study area, 90.4% of producers reported that temperatures were increasing, and 60.4% reported that rainfall was decreasing. However, the producer's perception of increasing rainfall in the areas was contradicted by the rainfall trend analysis of meteorological data. The significant impacts of CCV on dairy cattle productivity were increased disease (72.59%) and parasite occurrences (60.74%), as well as declining water availability (81.48%), milk (61.48%), and pasture (59.26%) production. The producers’ main adaptation strategies comprise hay production (0.22), adjusting the quantity of feed (0.18), reducing the number of dairy cattle (0.16), and crossbreeding their dairy cattle (0.16). It is concluded that dairy cattle producers in the study areas have perceived CCV and used different adaptation strategies to mitigate its adverse effects on dairy cattle production. This suggests that the policies should be developed to support producers' attempts to adjust to CCV and reduce the existing impediments to encouraging adaptation strategies for increasing the production and productivity of dairy cattle.</p>