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
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Use of Stylosanthes guianensis <strong>with</strong> Pre-Weaned Calves in<br />
Dual-Purpose Production <strong>Systems</strong> in the<br />
Forest Margins of Colombia<br />
Jaime Velasquez, Gustavo Ruiz, and Carlos Lascano<br />
CORPOICA and CIAT, Colombia<br />
The main outputs of dual-purpose cattle production systems are (a)<br />
milk and (b) weaned calves for fattening. Under traditional management,<br />
farmers usually prefer <strong>to</strong> sell as much milk as possible <strong>to</strong> improve their cash<br />
flow, but, as a result of this practice, calf growth is slow and mortality rates<br />
high. Therefore, the development of feeding systems that allow farmers <strong>to</strong><br />
obtain more milk for sale and increase the number of pre-weaned calves<br />
<strong>with</strong> adequate weight is a priority in this type of systems.<br />
The use of Stylosanthes guianensis (stylo) for grazing pre-weaned calves<br />
has been tested in Pucallpa, Peru. (See information presented in this<br />
document.) Results indicate that <strong>with</strong> this alternative farmers can sell<br />
almost one more liter of milk/cow per day and still maintain adequate calf<br />
growth, which has important economic implications. This study aimed <strong>to</strong><br />
validate the results obtained in Pucallpa, using pre-weaned calves. The<br />
study was conducted at the experiment station of the Colombian<br />
Corporation for Agricultural Research (CORPOICA, its Spanish acronym) in<br />
Macagual (Caqueta, Colombia).<br />
Materials and Methods<br />
Two groups of six calves each, aged 1 <strong>to</strong> 3 months, were used. One<br />
group of calves had access <strong>to</strong> a 2-ha paddock of stylo after each milking and<br />
also received residual milk. The six calves in the control treatment received<br />
milk equivalent <strong>to</strong> one-fourth of the udder at milking and had access <strong>to</strong> a<br />
grass pasture after milking. In all cases calves remained <strong>with</strong> their dam for 3<br />
<strong>to</strong> 4 hours after milking, before accessing the grass or legume pasture,<br />
depending on the treatment.<br />
Results<br />
The amount of milk for sale that resulted from the use of stylo for preweaned<br />
calves was 21% higher than that recorded <strong>with</strong> cows that had calves<br />
managed in the traditional systems (Table 1). In addition, daily liveweight<br />
75