Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar

In the case of king grass, estimated establishment cost was US$295/ha
with annual maintenance costs of US$110/hectare and harvest costs
equivalent to 1.4 man-days for each 100 kg of fresh biomass. Annual
productivity was estimated at 25 t in 4 cuttings. Therefore, total cost per
kilogram of DM matter was about US$0.184.
The economic merit for each alternative appears in Table 1, which
yielded indexes of 0.055 (T1), 0.056 (T2), and 0.047 (T3). Although
production improved in T2 (32%) as compared with T1, the economic merit
of this treatment did not improve, attributable to the high consumption
recorded in this treatment, which increased, in turn, the cost of
supplementary feeding. T3, on the other hand, presented a better economic
index as compared with T1 and T2.
Table 1. Calculating economic merit of several forage alternatives in the Alto
Mayo region of the Peruvian Amazon.
Treatment Feed consumed
Cost (US$)
(kg) King grass Centrosema Total cost
T1 0.87 0.16 -- 0.160
T2 0.96 0.10 0.098 0.196
T3 0.90 -- 0.178 0.178
Milk production/treatment Economic merit
T1, x Milk production = 4.11 0.037
T2, x Milk production = 5.56 0.035
T3, x Milk production = 6.65 0.027
Conclusions
Results indicate that supplementation with Centrosema had a positive
impact on milk yields when offered at milking to crossbred Gyr x Holstein
cows.
Supplementation with Centrosema also presented the best economic
merit, ratifying the important role this legume plays in improving milk
production efficiency. The significant increase in milk production recovered
additional expenses involved and maintained an additional margin of profit.
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