Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar

Table 2. Change in area of improved pastures in Caquetá (Colombia) during
1986 and 1997.
Species or cultivar 1986 1997 Variation (%)
Brachiaria decumbens 76.0 64.1 -11.9
Brachiaria humidicola 0.6 13.8 13.3
Echinochloa polystachya 3.8 11.9 8.1
Brachiaria brizantha 0.0 4.7 4.7
Arachis in association 0.0 2.7 2.7
Arachis alone 0.0 0.1 0.1
Brachiaria dictyoneura 0.0 1.0 1.0
Axonopus scoparius 6.2 0.7 -5.5
Other Brachiaria 0.0 0.3 0.3
Brachiaria ruziziensis 0.0 0.1 0.1
Hyparrhenia rufa (Puntero) 7.9 0.3 -7.6
Panicum maximum (Guinea) 2.1 0.0 -2.1
Brachiaria sp. (Pará) 1.2 0.0 -1.2
Pennisetum purpureum (elephant grass) 2.3 0.0 -2.3
Other forages 0.0 0.3 0.3
Total 100.0 100.0 0.0
Producers who have used Arachis have identified its capacity to
increase the productivity of the associated grass as an important attribute of
this new forage option. About 63% of the producers have detected one or
more of the following advantages: increased stocking rate, higher milk yield
and increased weight gain, enhanced competitiveness with weeds, and
improved palatability for animals. Table 3 summarizes how producers rate
Arachis based on their experiences.
About 12% of producers who have tested Arachis (8 of 68) are not
satisfied with the results obtained. Table 4 indicates the causes of this
dissatisfaction.
Adoption rate during the study. The adoption rate of A. pintoi in
Caquetá, during the study period, expressed as the proportion of producers
using this material, was close to 9.2% (16 early adopters out of a random
sample of 174 producers). Based on this adoption rate, a preliminary
estimate of total area planted to A. pintoi was about 3,000 ha in the 2,973
dairy farms supplying milk to the Nestle plant. Of this area, 2,626 ha (88%)
were associations of A. pintoi with grasses and the rest, seed banks of the
legume.
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