scholarly journals Opportunities for Improving Feed Use Efficiency for Sustainable Dairy Production in Pakistan

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Muhammad Tariq
Keyword(s):  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Milk Replacer ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
Feeding System ◽  
Dairy Animals ◽  
Use Efficiency

Buffalo and cattle are main dairy animals of Pakistan, making 30% of the total livestock. Out of total milk produced in the country, buffalo contributes about 68%, followed by cattle (27%), rest (5%) by sheep, goats, and camels. They are kept both in rural as well as peri-urban dairy production systems. These dairy animals mostly strive on low-quality feed stuffs including roughages and crop-residues with poor nutritive value resulting in poor production and reproduction performance. Recent investigations and published data show that there is also an issue of unjustified feeding without considering the production and physiological stages of dairy animals, resulting in overfeeding of non-productive and under-feeding of productive animals, leading to poor feed use efficiency. There is also no separate feeding system for different classes of dairy animals. Furthermore, in the prevailing dairy production scenario, there is absence of an efficient feeding system especially devised for growing heifers (kept as replacement herd) keeping in view their feeding requirements that could reduce their age at puberty with a significant reduction in the cost of feeding. Similarly, the introduction of milk replacer and early weaning of calves are very effective ways without any adverse effects on growth when given free access to good quality calf starter, and it could add to dairy economics. Fodder scarcity during the winter months (November to January) and summer (May–June) in Pakistan is another big constraint toward sustainable dairying. It is concluded that more efficient feed utilization in these dairy production systems could be achieved by developing innovative approaches and solutions (hay and silage making) to fight these scarcity periods and developments in dairy nutrition, like the establishment of nutrient requirements for dairy animals for local dairy breeds, adopting group feeding practices of dairy animals according to the stage of lactation and production status, and proper feeding systems for growing heifers and effective milk replacer feeding for calves. These practical and innovative steps could effectively lead to sustained dairy production in Pakistan.

Adoption and Commercialization of Green Corn, Green Corn –Based Silage, Haylage and Ummb Production for Dairy Cattle in Cagayan Valley, Philippines

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 82-92
Author(s):  
Eva U. Cammayo ◽  
Nilo E. Padilla
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Corn Silage ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
Feed Resources ◽  
Dry Spell ◽  
Dairy Animals

This research aimed to improve dairy production and increase the income of dairy farmers using locally available feed resources. Small-scale milk producers rely heavily on available feed resources in the locality which are either indigenous in the area or introduced species for feed and nutrition of their dairy cattle and buffalos. Their milk output depends mainly on seasonal fluctuations in the quality and quantity of natural forage. Crop residues such as corn stover and rice straw which are high in fiber but low in nutrients serve as a feed supplement and filler to the daily diets of dairy cattle and buffalos. Cagayan Valley is an ear of top corn and rice-producing region. The potential of crop residues as feed supplements or raw materials of dairy cattle/buffalo feed mix is great. But dairy farmers still face the scarcity problem of quality feed resources for dairy animals especially during the dry season. The supply of forage is very low during the dry spell. Inadequate feed mix and low nutritive value of feed mix result in low or no milk production. Producing green corn and ensiling it to produce green corn silage preserves and prolong the storage life of forages. In this way, a stable supply of feed mix for dairy animals is assured year-round. Type of Paper: Empirical. Keywords: adoption and commercialization, dairy industry, financial viability, green-corn silage production, indigenous grasses, smallholder farmers.

Nitrogen performance indicators for dairy production systems

Soil Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecile A. M. de Klein ◽  
Ross M. Monaghan ◽  
Marta Alfaro ◽  
Cameron J. P. Gourley ◽  
Oene Oenema ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
N Losses ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Environmental Goals ◽  
N Use

Nitrogen (N) is invaluable for maintaining agricultural production, but its use, and particularly inefficient use, can lead to environmental losses. This paper reviews N use efficiency (NUE) and N surplus indicators for dairy production systems to assess their utility for optimising N use outcomes and minimising environmental N losses. Using case-study examples, we also assess realistic goals for these indicators and discuss key issues associated with their use. Published whole-farm NUE and whole-farm N surplus values ranged within 10–65% and 40–700 kg N ha–1 year–1 respectively. In a study of five catchments across New Zealand, whole-farm NUE was more strongly affected by catchment differences in soil and climatic conditions than by differences in management. In contrast, whole-farm N surplus differed both between- and within-catchments and was a good indicator of N losses to water. Realistic goals for both NUE and N surplus thus depend on the agro-climatic context of the dairy system and on its economic and environmental goals. Crop and animal NUE values can be valuable indicators for optimising fertiliser and feed use and minimising N losses. However, global or national whole-farm NUE values appear of limited value if the ultimate goal for setting targets is to reduce the environmental impact of N use; whole-farm level targets based on N surplus would be a more useful indicator for this purpose. Our review also reinforces the importance of standardising the variables that should be used to estimate NUE and N surplus values, to ensure equitable comparisons between different systems. Finally, NUE and N surplus targets should also be set in the context of other agro-environmental considerations.

The effect of grazing season length on nitrogen utilization efficiency and nitrogen balance in spring-calving dairy production systems

2012 ◽  
Vol 150 (5) ◽  
pp. 630-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. RYAN ◽  
D. HENNESSY ◽  
T. M. BOLAND ◽  
L. SHALLOO
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Utilization Efficiency ◽  
N Use Efficiency ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
N Losses ◽  
Grazing Season ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Milk Solids ◽  
N Use

SUMMARYThere is a continual requirement for grass-based production systems to optimize economic and environmental sustainability through increased efficiency in the use of all inputs, especially nitrogen (N). An N balance model was used to assess N use efficiency and N surplus, and to predict N losses from grass-based dairy production systems differing in the length of the grazing season (GS). Data from a 3-year grazing study with a 3×3 factorial design, with three turnout dates (1 February, 21 February and 15 March) and three housing dates (25 October, 10 November and 25 November) were used to generate estimates of N use efficiency and N losses. As the length of the GS increased by a mean of 30 days, milk production, milk solids production and milk N output increased by 3, 6 and 6%, respectively. The increase in milk production as the length of the GS increased resulted in a 2% decline in N surplus and a 5% increase in N use efficiency. Increasing GS length increased the proportion of grazed grass in the diet, which increased N cycling within the system, resulting in an 8% increase in milk solids/ha produced/kg of surplus N. The increased cycling of N reduced the quantity of N partitioned for loss to the environment by 8%. Reducing fertilizer N input by 20% increased N use efficiency by 22% and reduced total N losses by 16%. The environmental and production consequences of increased length of the GS and reduced N loss are favourable as the costs associated with N inputs increase.

Nutritive value of sunflower as whole crop silage in Uruguay

2002 ◽  
Vol 2002 ◽  
pp. 149-149
Author(s):  
D Cozzolino ◽  
A Fassio ◽  
E Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Seed Oil ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Forage Crops ◽  
High Yields

Shortages of feed resources often impose major constraints on the development of animal production in the tropics and sub-tropics. Considerable quantities of crop residues and agro - industrial by products are generated every year in most developing countries. Forage crops must have particular features to warrant their use in animal production and feeding systems. These are related to seasonality of yield and product quality (Wilkins, 2000). Silage crops can provide forage of high nutritive value and high yields per unit of land are desirable to diversify crop rotations and to allow production changes, which may improve yields for livestock. Sunflower (Helianthus annus, L.) is mostly grown for seed oil production where the seeds represent only about one third of the total dry matter content of the crop ranging from 3 to 4 ton ha -1. Reports on the chemical composition of sunflower silage suggested that total digestible nutrients of sunflower were two-thirds of that of corn silage. These characteristics of sunflower show its great potential so as to include it as a forage crop. Sunflower is grown in Uruguay for seed oil production (approximately 150000 ha) showing great potential to be include in animal production systems as an alternative silage crop. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the nutritive value of sunflower as whole crop silage.

scholarly journals Improved paddy straw as ruminant feed: A review

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. G. Sheikh ◽  
A. M. Ganai ◽  
P. A. Reshi ◽  
Sheikh Bilal ◽  
Shabir Mir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rice Straw ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Paddy Straw ◽  
Efficient Utilization ◽  
Physical And Chemical ◽  
Ruminant Feed ◽  
Animal Production Systems

Paddy straw is a major agro-residue fed to ruminants in India. Feeding only rice straw does not provide enough nutrients to the ruminants even for maintenance due to the low nutritive value of this highly lignified material containing high concentration of anti-nutrition factors like lignin, silicates and oxalates. Despite the improvements of crop residues through various processing methods such as physical and chemical, the efficient utilization to desirable extent is still awaited. So utilization of paddy straw in association with concept of complete feed along with biological agents is need of the hour to maximize advantage from given feeds in animal production systems.

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