Improved dry season feeding systems for smallholder dairy cattle in Latin America
K. Bartl
1, M. Kreuzer
1, and H.D. Hess
1,21ETH Zurich, Institute of Animal Science
2Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux, Swiss Federal Research Station for Animal Production and Dairy Products (ALP)
Trees for poverty alleviation
ZIL Annual Conference June 9, 2006, ETH Zurich¾Known availability and quality of local forage and feed resources
¾Increased forage availability and quality during the dry season
¾Known interrelationship between altitude, genotype, diet and season with regard to milk production and quality
Goal of the project Goal of the project
Improved livelihoods for resource-poor, small-scale dairy producers in the hillsides and high mountainous tropics of Latin America
Due to the pronounced seasonal rainfall distribution quality and quantity of the available feeds vary significantly throughout the year which directly affects milk
composition and yield and hence farm household income
A joint project with:
A joint project with:
Swiss Centre for International Agriculture Schweizerisches Zentrum für Internationale Landwirtschaft Centre Suisse pour l’Agriculture Internacional Swiss Centre for International Agriculture Schweizerisches Zentrum für Internationale Landwirtschaft Centre Suisse pour l’Agriculture Internacional
Dairy production is often the principal source of income for resource-poor farmers in the hillsides and high mountainous
tropics of Latin America
¾Improved forage management and dry season supplementation strategies
¾Utility and viability of the new strategies derived from the project defined with farmers participation
Milestones
Milestones Activities and important results Activities and important results
¾Assessment of seasonal variation in dry matter production and feeding value of local forage species
¾Evaluation of dry matter production and quality of introduced species and varieties
Introduced species and varieties have higher dry matter production and feeding value than the local control species¾Determination of the response in milk yield and composition of local and exotic breeds to altitude and contrasting feeding strategies
¾Quantification of the contribution of conserved forage and strategic supplementation to improve milk production and quality during the dry season
Peruvian Criollo cows have the genetic potential to respond to nutritional improvements with an increased milk productionPurpose of the project Purpose of the project
Participatory development of more efficient feeding systems based on local knowledge and locally available feed resources that contribute to sustained milk production and
improved milk composition during the dry season
¾Economic and biophysical characterisation of dairy production systems in the target areas
¾Participatory on-farm evaluation of new strategies
¾Theoretical impact assessment of improved management and feeding strategies on applicability, animal productivity and farm household income
