Twenty Saanen third parturition dairy goats were used in an on-farm 2 × 2 factorial arrangement that ran for 12 weeks, with two grazing regimes and two concentrate types. The grazing regimes evaluated were an extensive silvopastoral native rangeland (SPR) and grazing in an abandoned agricultural land (AAL). Grazing happened between 9:00 and 17:00 h.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study evaluated three continuous grazing systems: Brachiaria Brizantha, Clitoria ternatea and naturalized pastures, complemented with commercial concentrate and C. ternatea silage on milk yield, nutrient use and enteric methane (CH) emissions. Nine multiparous cows of local Zebu breeds, with an average weight of 448 ± 87 kg, were used.
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January 2023
Small-scale dairy systems require feeding strategies to improve their productivity and sustainability. These systems in central Mexico mostly sell their milk to local artisan cheese makers. Cow diets influence milk and dairy products composition; therefore, the objective was to evaluate the effect on physicochemical characteristics, sensory appraisal, and economic performance of cheese made with milk from cows fed different levels of sunflower silage (SFSL).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOilseed supplementation is a strategy to improve milk production and milk composition in dairy cows; however, the response to this approach is inconsistent. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oilseed supplementation on milk production and milk composition in dairy cows via a meta-analysis and meta-regression. A comprehensive and structured search was performed using the following electronic databases: Google Scholar, Primo-UAEH and PubMed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn dairy production systems, the efficient use of resources is required to guarantee its sustainability. Worldwide, the efficiency of feed utilization and its effects have been widely studied. However, few studies have quantified animal nitrogen use and its corresponding soil contribution in small-scale production systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmall-scale dairy systems face reduced availability of water for irrigation of pastures and disruption in the amount or pattern of rains due to climate change, so research on alternative short-cycle rain-fed forages is needed. Grazing reduces feeding costs and small-grain cereals may be an option. The objective was to assess on-farm the performance of dairy cows grazing 6 h/day of three small-grain cereals: rye (RYE), wheat (WHT), and triticale (TRT), and supplemented 4.
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July 2021
Diets have an important effect on the fatty acid (FA) content in milk from dairy cows so that feeding strategies may modify the FA profile. There is little information on the fatty acid contents of whole-crop barley (BLY) and black oat (BKO) silages and on milk from cows fed these silages that are an alternative forage for small-scale dairy systems (SSDS). Given the growing interest in foods with favourable health attributes, the objective was to identify the FA content of milk from dairy cows fed whole-crop BLY and BKO silages in small-scale systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimals (Basel)
March 2021
In cattle, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nutrient balance are influenced by factors such as diet composition, intake, and digestibility. This study evaluated CH emissions and surpluses of crude protein, using five simulated scenarios of supplementation in small-scale dairy systems (SSDS). In addition, two pasture managements (cut-and-carry versus grazing) and two varieties of legumes (red clover vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGrazing in small-scale dairy systems reduces costs and enhances sustainability. However, binary pastures (BP) have low persistency, which may be increased by including more species given their flexibility to withstand different agroecological and management situations. The objective was to assess a multi-species (MS) pasture of perennial ryegrass (RG), tall fescue (TF), bromegrass (BG), red clover (RC) and white clover (WC) in comparison to a BP of perennial ryegrass (RG) - WC grazed by six Holstein dairy cows during the dry season in an on-farm double cross-over experiment, with three 14-day each experimental periods for animal variables, and a split-plot design for pasture variables at 3 cow/ha.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe work assessed the productive response and estimated enteric methane (CH) emissions of dairy cows grazing in small-scale dairy systems. Treatments were grazing annual pasture (AP) mainly of annual ryegrass and perennial pasture (PP) mainly of perennial ryegrass, complemented daily with 3.72 kg DM/cow of commercial concentrate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntensive grazing increases the profitability and sustainability of small-scale dairy systems by reducing feeding costs. Kikuyu grass is a subtropical species from East Africa that has similar performance compared with temperate grasses when grazed by dairy cows in these systems during the summer rainy season but reduces growth and quality at low temperatures, when temperate species may have an advantage. The objective was to evaluate intensive grazing of kikuyu pastures (KYKY) alone or in association with two varieties of endophyte-free tall fescue, TF-33 (TF33) and Cajun II (CAJN), during the summer-autumn transition period when low temperatures set in, by lactating cows in small-scale dairy farms.
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July 2020
The dry season in central Mexico is a difficult time for small-scale dairy systems to meet feed requirements for their herds as pasture growth is limited. Conserved forage options are needed to complement pastures. The objective was to assess on-farm the production of dairy cows complemented with triticale silage (X.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNitrogen (N) plays an important role in small-scale dairy systems, both in production costs and as an indicator of environmental impact. The objective of this study was to quantify nitrogen inputs and outputs to identify areas for improvement in nitrogen utilisation efficiency (NUE). Evaluation was in 12 small-scale dairy farms with different feeding strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effects of two innovative feeding strategies-intensive grazing (GR) and maize silage (MS)-on the sustainability of small-scale dairy systems (SSDS) were assessed in the highlands of central Mexico. On a total of 24 farms, four innovations were adopted between 2011 and 2014. Five farms continued their conventional feeding strategy (CC) of cut-and-carry pasture supplemented with commercial concentrate and ground corn grain, as well as straws (maize, oat, and wheat) in the dry season of feed scarcity; six farms implemented MS in the dry season; six farms GR of pastures; and seven farms implemented both GR and MS.
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January 2017
The use and management of native grassland for dairy production during the rainy season was studied on two small-scale dairy farms in the highlands of central Mexico. Two stocking rates (2 and 4 cows/ha) and two levels of supplementation with commercial concentrate (4 and 6 kg/cow/day) under grazing were given to 12 milking Holstein cows in a 4 × 4 Latin square design replicated three times in a factorial arrangement. Net herbage accumulation (NHA), sward height, chemical composition, and in vitro digestibility of organic matter were recorded for the grassland, as well as vegetation cover and herbage mass 12 weeks post experiment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine the prevalence and the degree of contamination by molds and yeasts (M&Y), aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB), total coliforms (TC) and Salmonella spp. (S). These microorganisms were considered indicators of quality and hygiene in the manufacturing environment of Zacazonapan cheese.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study investigated the effects of the inclusion of oat-ryegrass silage (ORGS) in combination with maize silage (MSLG) in four treatments: T1 = 100 % ORGS, T2 = 67 % ORGS/33 % MSLG, T3 = 67 % ORGS/33 % MSLG, and T4 = 100 % MSLG to milking cows on continuous grazing with 4.7 kg DM of commercial dairy concentrate 18 % CP. Daily milk yield and composition, live weight, body condition score, and chemical composition of feeds were recorded during the last 4 days of the experimental periods.
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