Costs and benefits of traditional and improved dry season feeding systems of dairy cattle for smallholder

Costs and benefits of traditional and improved dry season feeding systems of dairy cattle for smallholder

farmers in the Peruvian Andes

K. Bartl

, C.A. Gómez

, H.D. Hess

, ^{A.C. Mayer}

, M. Kreuzer

, F. Holmann

This study was supported by the Swiss Centre for International Agriculture ZIL.

1 ETH Zurich, Institute of Animal Sciences , Zürich, Switzerland

2Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, Peru

3 Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux (ALP), Posieux, Switzerland

4 International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Cali, Colombia

Milk production in the Peruvian Andes

ƒ Extended dry season periods with scarcity of good quality forage

ƒ Reduction in milk yield and milk quality during dry season

Comparison of anual costs and income from livestock production depending on different feeding systems, either based on traditional or improved forage species.

Objective

Methods

ƒ Existent means of production: Number and type of animals, number and size of agricultural plots, extension and type of crops

ƒ Ways of production: Feeding of animals, veterinary care, management of pastures, fertilization of plots, cheese production

ƒ Inputs: Labour, fertilizer, supplements, medicine, capital

ƒ Outputs: Milk, cheese, meat, animals, crops, other agricultural products

ƒ Survey of 56 farmers every three months over a period of one year.

Information recorded:

• Analyses of samples of supplements for dairy cattle for their nutrient and energy content.

The proyect region during dry season.

Traditional milking routine.

Cheese for the market..

Production of hay.

• Values derived from the survey and the analyses of feeds were used to design a household model aimed to optimize household income through linear programming.

• This model was applied to calculate the present income situation and to optimize the household income by partly replacing the local forages for hay production by improved species and varieties (simulated situation).

Results

CP (g) NDF (g) NEL¹ (MJ)

Concentrate 119 324 7.7

Hay 57 572 5.5

Straw 40 731 4.1

• The most common supplements during the dry season are a home-made concentrate (mainly flour and bran of oat and barley), oat hay and straw

(from barley or oat). 1Estimated from in vitro gas

production (24 h of incubation).

Present situation

Simulated situation CL¹ CH ¹ CL¹

6.0 3.5 7.4 5.0 14.7

6.5

CH ¹

N° of adult cows 1.0 6.8

16.6 7.3 2.2

Milk (kg/farm/day)

1.4

Private land (ha) rainy season

dry season

1 Communities with low (CL) and high (HL) level of dependence on income from milk production.

• Present vs. simulated situation

CL CH

Present situation

CL CH

Simulated situation

Conclusions

Native pastures Local oat variety Local barley variety Ryegrass, fertilized Improved barley variety, fertilized

• Nutrient supply during dry season is restricted due to forage varieties with low yield and nutrient quality and to high nutrient losses during hay production.

• Farm income from livestock would rise with the simulated system from 199 to 211 US$/ha/year for CH and from 32 to 277 US$/ha/year for CL.

• Small changes in land use and animal feeding practices can improve livestock production.

• Long term effects of proposed land use changes (e.g. higher stocking rates on comunal pastures) will have to be taken into account.