Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar
Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar
Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar
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At the CIAT-Quilichao station (Department of Cauca, Colombia),<br />
researchers found that about 10 mg/dL of urea in the milk comprised an<br />
adequate reference point at which <strong>to</strong> increase the protein content in the<br />
animals’ diet. <strong>Dairy</strong> cows would most probably respond <strong>to</strong> increased protein<br />
<strong>with</strong> significantly higher milk yields (provided that the cows’ genetic<br />
potential is demonstrated).<br />
In the Colombian Amazon, the use of Stylosanthes guianensis (stylo) is<br />
an attractive option for raising preweaned calves and milking cows on small<br />
farms. The cost of establishing the legume is less than that of other<br />
alternatives based on grass and legume mixtures. Moreover, cash flow<br />
increases because of increased sales of milk, <strong>with</strong>out sacrificing calf weight<br />
gain. Because stylo can persist for 3 or 4 years, this technology can also<br />
form part of a crop/pasture rotation system, eliminating the need <strong>to</strong> rest the<br />
land or leave it in fallow. During rotation, the legume improves the soil<br />
through N fixation and nutrient recycling.<br />
In Pucallpa, Peru, stylo can fix as much as 50 kg/ha of N when it is<br />
established as a pioneer crop for sowing rice and the later establishment of<br />
improved pastures. In the Al<strong>to</strong> Mayo region of Peru, Centrosema<br />
macrocarpum has a positive impact when used as a supplement feed for<br />
Holstein × Gyr cows. Farmers in this region are highly likely <strong>to</strong> adopt, <strong>with</strong><br />
positive impact, the technologies developed by the Tropileche Consortium. A<br />
high proportion of farmers had already adopted new cut-and-carry forages,<br />
improved milking pens and sheds <strong>to</strong> provide feed supplements <strong>to</strong> the herd,<br />
and installed forage choppers.<br />
An ex ante study examined the impact on the herds of small dairy<br />
farmers of Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua of several forage<br />
alternatives: level 1 = new germplasm based on cratylia and sugarcane; level<br />
2 = same areas of cratylia and sugarcane as those of level 1, plus areas of<br />
the Brachiaria varieties used in each country; and level 3 = areas of cratylia<br />
and sugarcane larger than those of levels 1 and 2, plus associations of<br />
Brachiaria + Arachis pastures. The results were:<br />
1. Level 1 permitted farmers in the different countries <strong>to</strong> completely<br />
eliminate the purchase of supplements for lives<strong>to</strong>ck for the dry season,<br />
thereby greatly improving the farmers’ cash flow by reducing milk<br />
production costs by 11% in Nicaragua, 14% in Costa Rica, and 25% in<br />
Honduras.<br />
2. Level 2 not only provided the benefits of level 1 but also helped maintain<br />
the same milk production and herd size on smaller areas, releasing<br />
areas for alternative uses. The released areas varied from 9% for<br />
Honduras, 39% for Costa Rica, <strong>to</strong> as much as 45% for Nicaragua. This<br />
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