Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar

Results
Available data shows that land use patterns in Caquetá are highly
dynamic when compared with the results of a study carried out in 1986 by
Ramirez and Seré (1990) (Tables 1 and 2). The most relevant aspects of this
comparative analysis were that (1) the relative importance of natural grasses
of low productivity decreased as the use of improved pastures increased; (2)
the greater diversification of the forage germplasm used decreased the
relative importance of B. decumbens as compared with other types of
Brachiaria; and (3) unlike 1986, mixed pastures of grasses with legumes
were observed as a new forage alternative for Caquetá.
Table 1. Land use dynamics in dual-purpose farms in Caquetá, Colombia,
during 1986 and 1997.
Land use
1986 survey 1997 survey
Area (ha) % Area (ha) %
Total farm area 131 100 158 100
Total pasture area 95 73 129 82
- Natural 62 47 38 24
- Improved 33 26 91 58
Crop area 4 3 3 2
Fallow area 22 17 10 6
Forest area 9 7 16 10
Uses, knowledge, and expectations about Arachis pintoi. Of 226
producers interviewed, most of them (179) had heard about the existence of
this new forage alternative in the region. Of this group, 171 had seen the
material (76% of all producers). At the time of the interview, 68 of them (30%
of total) were using A. pintoi. Two types of pastures with Arachis were
identified: (1) seed banks, with an average area of 1.3 ha/farm and (2)
pastures of grasses mixed with Arachis with an average area of 9.6 ha/farm.
Fifty-seven livestock owners (82%) who were experimenting with Arachis
used it mixed with grasses. Of a total of 68 early adopters, 21 (31%) had
had problems establishing peanut. The main problems were related to low
germination rate of the grass (8) and slow establishment of the peanut (7).
However, the degree of satisfaction with Arachis performance was high and
82% of farmers said they were satisfied with the results obtained so far. The
fact that more than half of the adopters (55%) have already used the legume
in associated pastures is significant.
104