Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar

• The production of milk in watersheds in the dry tropics where the
Tropileche Consortium operates is seasonal. Production during the
rainy season is practically twice that of the dry season, causing oversupply
during the rainy season and scarcity of milk during the dry
season. The milk shortage during the dry season in both countries
leads to an unsatisfied market potential. Of artisan factories in
Honduras, 55.5% would be willing to buy more milk during the dry
season, and of those in Nicaragua, 75.7%, but this supply is not
available because of the lack of adoption of technologies for animal
feeding based on low-cost improved forages.
• The above situation suggests that an aggressive program to promote the
use of shrub legume C. argentea with sugarcane to supplement the
milking herd during the dry season would have greater impact than the
promotion of grasses and legumes for the rainy season. This
technological change would reduce the need to purchase feed
concentrates to supplement the herd, thus improving the cash flow of
producers and increasing milk fat content.
• Artisan cheese factories in both countries, but especially in Honduras,
require higher quality milk, particularly during the rainy season. In
Honduras these factories would be willing to pay 9.4% more during the
dry season and 11.2% more during the rainy season. In Nicaragua the
artisan factories would be willing to pay 17% more, but only during the
rainy season.
• The main need of artisan cheese factories was the improvement of
infrastructure by purchasing more equipment. Future prospects for the
industry seem promising in both countries. The second most important
need in Honduras was to produce and purchase milk of higher hygienic
quality, while in Nicaragua the second most important need was the
search for new markets. The third most important need in Honduras
was the lack of technical assistance to produce new types of cheese to
diversify the market, while in Nicaragua it was the improvement of the
quality of cheese produced.
• The amount of milk necessary to produce each type of cheese varied
depending on the season of the year. During the rainy season, milk
production/cow was higher but contained less total solids and, as a
result, more milk was required to yield the same amount of cheese as
during the dry season.
A genetic improvement strategy that incorporates Jersey or Brown
Swiss genes into the local Zebu gene pool will allow producers to offer
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