Performance of Mashona doelings supplemented with different levels of velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens L. DC. var. utilis) seed meal

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of feeding increasing levels of velvet bean seed meal (VBM; 0, 12, 24, and 36 %) on the performance of Mashona doelings. Dry matter intake was lower (P?<?0.05) for the control diet compared to VBM diets, but linearly declined (P?<?0.05) with increasing levels of VBM. Average daily weight gain was significantly different between experimental groups. Doelings’ final live weights and average daily gains were slightly higher in control group than other three supplemented groups where they linearly declined (P?<?0.05) with increasing levels of VBM. The cost per kilogram of feed, however, decreased with high inclusion level of VBM. Result suggested that high inclusion level of VBM negatively influenced the growth of young goats probably due to the presence of some anti-nutritional factors which needs further investigation.     

Feed inventory and smallholder farmers’ perceived causes of feed shortage for dairy cattle in Gisagara District, Rwanda

A survey was conducted to indentify dairy cattle feed resources and smallholder farmers' perceived causes of feed shortage in the central and southern plateaus of Gisagara District, Rwanda. Data were obtained by interviewing 120 smallholder milk producers using structured questionnaires and through direct observations made during transect walks. In all the surveyed areas, rangelands (mean rank?=?1.12), crop residues (1.21), improved grasses (2.34), browse (3.23) and herbaceous (4.84) legumes were ranked as the main feed resources. Pennisetum purpureum (95% of the respondents), Leucaena diversifolia (60%) and Calliandra calothyrsus (40%) were the most cultivated fodders in all the plateaus. The dominant crop residue was Zea mays stover (65% of the farmers) in the surveyed areas. In both plateaus, land scarcity was ranked (mean rank?=?1.45) as the most important cause of feed shortage followed by inadequacy of forage planting material (2.72) and lack of knowledge on forage production and utilisation (3.02). To ensure sustainable viability of smallholder dairying in densely populated highlands, screening and evaluation of high-yielding and easily propagated pastures, incorporation of forages into cropping systems, value addition of low quality roughages and training farmers on forage production and utilisation should be prioritised.     

Milk utilisation patterns in the low-input production systems in South Africa

Understanding the utilisation patterns of milk assists in designing appropriate dairy development schemes in rural communities. The objective of the study was to determine milk utilisation patterns in different smallholder farming systems in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Data were collected through the administration of recording sheets to 130 randomly selected households in Alice, Fort Beaufort and Queenstown districts. Amounts of milk produced per household ranged from 9 to 21 l per household per day. Milk consumption/household/day was similar among the three districts. Milk consumption in the early lactation doubled the amount consumed in late lactation (P < 0.05). Milk in the communal areas was largely utilised as fresh or sour milk. Fresh milk was mostly used in tea/coffee or to make porridge for children. Sour milk was consumed with thick boiled maize meal. Fort Beaufort (10.2 ± 1.37 l/day) had the highest sour milk sales whilst Queenstown had the highest fresh milk sales (9.7 ± 5.57 l/day). It was concluded that quantities of milk consumed or sold as fresh or sour were generally low and varied across smallholder farming systems.     

Farmers’ perceptions of the causes of low reproductive performance in cows kept under low-input communal production systems in South Africa

The objective of the study was to determine farmers’ perceptions of the causes of low reproductive performance in Nguni cows raised on communal rangelands in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Data were collected using participatory rural appraisals and structured questionnaires that were administered to 551 randomly selected farmers from ten communities in the Eastern Cape. Cattle herd sizes ranged from 3 to 11 and were mainly composed of cows. Cattle sales were ranked as the most important use of cattle in all the villages. Tick-borne diseases and poor animal condition were reported as chief constraints of cattle production in most communities. More than 60% of the interviewees reported that the age at puberty and age at first calving for their cows varied between 18 and 36, and 24 and 48 months, respectively. About 95% of the respondents reported long calving intervals and low bull numbers as major causes of low reproductive performance in cows in the communal areas. It was concluded that farmers perceived delayed age at puberty and at first calving, long calving intervals and low bull numbers as the major causes of low reproductive performance in Nguni cows raised on communal rangelands in South Africa.     

Intake,digestibility, rumen protein synthesis,and growth performance of Malawi Zebu steers fed diets containing rangeland-based protein sources

Tropical Animal Health and Production - The study evaluated effects of feeding Malawi Zebu steers with diets containing baobab (Adansonia digitata) seed meal and white thorn tree (Vachellia...     

Effect of supplementing a high-protein ram press sunflower cake concentrate on smallholder milk production in Zimbabwe

Ram press sunflower cake protein concentrate was formulated locally and its effect on the performance of dairy cows was compared with that of a commercial dairy concentrate. The effects of concentrate on roughage dry matter intake, milk yield and milk composition, live weight and calving intervals were similar for all concentrates, which indicated that the home grown dairy concentrates were as effective as the dairy commercial concentrate. The lack of significant differences in the concentrations of rumen NH₃-N, pH, VFAs and total AA in all the cows between concentrate types supported this. The results indicated that in the low-resource and low-input production systems, crossbreds were as productive as Jersey and Red Dane cows. The exotic cows were more susceptible to tick-borne diseases and mastitis, and showed higher incidences of calving problems and retained placenta compared with crossbred cows. The economics of feeding ram press sunflower concentrate were compared with those of a commercial dairy concentrate on the performance of crossbred, Red Dane and Jersey cows. The gross margin was higher when feeding sunflower cake than when feeding commercial dairy concentrate (p < 0.05).     

Subcutaneous fatty acid composition of steers finished as weanlings or yearlings with and without growth promotants

Background: The current study evaluated the subcutaneous fatty acid(FA) composition of calf- and yearling-fed stee with or without growth promoting implants. Crossbred steers(n = 112; 267 ± 5.0 kg) of the same contemporary group were allocated to one of four production system and implant strategy based treatments in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments.Results: There were no interactions(P 0.05) between production systems and growth promoting implants for the total and individual subcutaneous FA. Yearling as opposed to calf finishing reduced(P 0.05) subcutaneous proportions of C20:3n-6, trans(t)12-18:1, C14:0, several minor cis-monounsaturated FA(c-MUFA; c9-14:1, c11-16:1,c11-18:1, c12-18:1, c13-18:1, c9-20:1 and c11-20:1), and increased(P 0.05) subcutaneous proportions of t11c15-18:2,total and individual branched-chain FA. Subcutaneous fat from steers implanted with growth promotants had higher(P 0.05) proportions of total polyunsaturated FA(PUFA), total n-6 PUFA, C18:2n-6 and individual t-18:1isomers(t6 to t10) compared to non-implanted steers.Conclusions: Overall, current findings show that production systems and growth promotants led to only minor differences in subcutaneous FA composition of beef steers.     

Improving beef hamburger quality and fatty acid profiles through dietary manipulation and exploitation of fat depot heterogeneity

Background

Hamburger is the most consumed beef product in North America, but lacks in nutritional appeal due to its high fat content and high proportion of saturated fatty acids (SFA). Objectives of the present study were to improve the FA profiles of hamburgers made with perirenal fat (PRF) and subcutaneous fat (SCF) when feeding steers different diets along with examining differences in sensory attributes and oxidative stability. Diets included a control diet containing 70:30 red clover silage: barley based concentrate, a diet containing sunflower-seed (SS) substituted for barley, and diets containing SS with 15% wheat dried distillers’ grain with solubles (DDGS-15) or 30% DDGS (DDGS-30). Hamburgers were made from triceps brachii and either PRF or SCF (80:20 w/w).

Results

Perirenal fat versus SCF hamburgers FA had 14.3% more (P <0.05) 18:0, 11.8% less cis (c)9-18:1 (P <0.05), and 1.82% more total trans (t)-18:1 mainly in the form of t11-18:1. During sensory evaluation, PRF versus SCF hamburgers had greater (P <0.05) mouth coating, but the difference was less than one panel unit. Examining effects of steer diet within PRF hamburgers, feeding the SS compared to the control diet increased (P <0.05) t-18:1 by 2.89% mainly in the form of t11-18:1, feeding DGGS-15 diet led to no further changes (P >0.05), but feeding DDGS-30 diet reduced the proportions of (P <0.05) of t-18:1 chiefly t11-18:1. Feeding SS and DDGS diets had small but significant (P <0.05) effects on hamburger sensory attributes and oxidative stability.

Conclusions

Feeding high-forage diets including SS and 15% DDGS, and taking advantage of the FA heterogeneity between fat depots offers an opportunity to differentially enhance beef hamburgers with 18:2n-6 biohydrogenation products (i.e., t11-18:1) with potential human health benefits without compromising their sensory attributes and oxidative stability during retail display.     

Opportunities for improving Nguni cattle production in the smallholder farming systems of South Africa

A total of 218 structured questionnaires were administered to determine the influence of production and socioeconomic factors on Nguni cattle farmers' constraints in the smallholder areas of South Africa. Cattle were mainly used for cash, milk and ceremonies. Cattle herd sizes were higher (P < 0.05) in the small-scale (23 ± 5.2) compared to the communal (9 ± 3.1) areas and mainly composed of cows. Most (75%) of the cattle owners were adult males and were more involved in herd management than adult females and youths. Shortage of feed and diseases/parasites were ranked by farmers as the most important constraints. The logistic regression model showed that odds ratio estimates of households experiencing cattle feed shortage and disease/parasite challenges were high for rangeland type, production system and gender of the household head. About 40 and 75% of the respondents in the sour and sweet rangelands reported that cattle condition deteriorates during winter, respectively (P < 0.05). Tick-borne diseases were the common causes of cattle mortality, especially in summer. Local crossbreds and Nguni were the common cattle breeds in the smallholder areas. African tradition worshippers had higher (P < 0.05) Nguni herd sizes (6 ± 3.2) than Christians (1 ± 0.5). Breeding season was undefined and mating system was largely uncontrolled in the communal areas. Farmers' socioeconomic and pedo-climatic situations should be considered when planning strategies for cattle development in the smallholder farming systems.