Room for manoeuvre in time of the workforce in dairy production systems

The objective of this study was to characterize and to analyze the room for manoeuvre in time in dairy production systems (DPS). Two interviews were conducted in twenty DPS in the Northern region of Paraná, Brazil, with the following objectives: to know the management and practices involving the herd, the land area and the commercialization; and to qualify and evaluate the work organization. In order to build the variables, the repertory grid method was used, and for the typology, the graphic methodology of Bertin adapted to small samples was used. The results showed that the room for manoeuvre in time of the DPS, quantified in hours available per year, varied between the farmers and was related to routine work and seasonal work durations, as well as the autonomy of farmers to perform both works. The routine work was related to the number of cows, but was also explained by the herd management, by the transport equipment for the feed and by the workforce composition. Four types of work organization were identified between sampled DPS, based on room for manoeuvre in time and how they were built. Knowing the room for manoeuvre time and its variables, it is possible to guide the farmers to adjust their dairy production system in order to have more time available for other activities or to develop the dairy production system

Vers des projets d’élevage raisonnés en commun ? Analyse de 12 démarches de commercialisation associant de petits groupes d’éleveurs laitiers.

National audienc

Desempenho de bovinos em capim-tanzânia adubado com nitrogênio ou consorciado com Estilosantes Performance of beef cattle grazing Tanzania grass fertilized with nitrogen or intercropped with Stylo

Com este estudo objetivou-se avaliar a massa seca de forragem e lâminas foliares, ganho médio diário, taxa de lotação e ganho de peso vivo em capim-tanzânia (Panicum maximum Jacq.) no período de novembro de 2008 a julho de 2009 sob lotação contínua. Utilizou-se delineamento experimental em blocos ao acaso em parcela subdivididas, com três repetições, e como tratamentos: Tanzânia + Estilosantes Campo Grande; Tanzânia + 75kg/ha de N; Tanzânia + 150kg/ha de N e Tanzânia + 225kg/ha de N, e nas sub-parcelas os períodos do ano: primavera, verão e outono. No verão, a massa seca de forragem e lâminas foliares foram superiores à primavera e outono. O tratamento com 225kg de N apresentou maior massa seca de forragem e massa seca de lâminas foliares no verão e outono. Obteve-se maior ganho médio diário no verão. Na primavera e no verão não houve diferença entre os tratamentos para o ganho médio diário, e no outono o tratamento com 225kg/ha de N foi superior. A taxa de lotação foi semelhante no verão e outono, e menor na primavera. O tratamento com 225kg de N apresentou maior taxa de lotação na primavera e verão. O tratamento com 225kg de N apresentou maior ganho de peso vivo no outono, na primavera e verão o 150 kg de N foi semelhante. A disponibilidade de massa seca de forragem e o desempenho animal proporcionado pelo Estilosantes foram equivalentes à adubação nitrogenada até a dose de 75kg de N.<br>This study aimed to evaluate the dry mass of forage and leaf blade dry mass, average daily gain, stocking rate and live weight gain in Tanzania grass (Panicum maximum Jacq.) from November/2008 to July/2009, on continuous stocking. The experimental design was a split-plot arrangement in a randomized blocks design, with three replications and four treatments: Tanzania + Campo Grande Stylo; Tanzania + 75kg/ha of N; Tanzania + 150kg/ha of N and Tanzania + 225kg/ha of N, subplots were the seasons of the year: Spring, Summer and Autumn. The forage dry mass and leaf blade dry mass was higher in Summer compared to Spring and Autumn. The treatment with 225kg of N presented higher dry mass of forage and leaf blade dry mass in Summer and Autumn. It was obtained the higher average daily gain in the Summer. In the Spring and Summer no differences were observed for average daily gain, but in the Autumn the treatment with 225kg/ha of N was the best. The stocking rate was similar in Summer and Autumn, but lower in Spring. The treatment with 225kg of N presented the higher stocking rate in Spring and Summer. The treatment with 225kg of N presented the higher live weight gain in Autumn, with the treatment with 150kg of N neighbor in Spring and Summer. The availability of forage dry mass and animal performance provided for the Stylo can substitute the nitrogen fertilization until 75kg/ha of N

Uso de N-alcanos na estimativa da composição botânica em amostras com diferentes proporções de Brachiaria brizantha e Arachis pintoi Use of N-alkanes for estimations of botanical composition in samples with different proportions of Brachiaria brizantha and Arachis pintoi

Este trabalho foi conduzido para se determinar a composição de n-alcanos (C24 a C36) em diferentes proporções de dietas hipotéticas de Brachiaria brizantha Stapf. cv. Marandu e Arachis pintoi Koprov & Gregory. cv. Amarillo (0; 15; 30; 45; 60 e 100% de Arachis pintoi) e identificar a combinação de alcanos que permite calcular a composição botânica de dietas com o menor valor residual (real menos o estimado). As forragens foram amostradas no verão e os n-alcanos extraídos pelo método de saponificação direta, sendo identificados e quantificados por meio de análise de cromatografia gasosa. O alcano C34 foi utilizado como padrão interno. As proporções de A. pintoi nas dietas foram estimadas pela minimização do z (soma dos quadrados dos desvios) entre a proporção real dos alcanos analisados e as proporções pré-estabelecidas (tratamentos), utilizando-se a equação de Duncan et al. (1999). Observou-se que houve predomínio das cadeias carbônicas ímpares e que a concentração total de n-alcanos decresceu à medida que se aumentou a proporção de A. pintoi nos tratamentos. Estimativas acuradas da composição botânica de misturas de A. pintoi com B. brizantha foram obtidas utilizando-se os alcanos C29, C31, C33 e C35. O alcano C35 foi fundamental para a qualidade das estimativas. Os resultados indicaram o grande potencial da técnica para estudos com animais em pastejo.This trial was carried out to determine the composition of n-alkanes (C24 to C36) in hypothetical diets comprising of pure Brachiaria brizantha Stapf. cv. Marandu and Arachis pintoi Koprov & Gregory. cv. Amarillo and mixtures of these two spececies with 15%, 30%, 45%, or 60% of Arachis pintoi); it also intended to identify the combination of alkanes that allows to calculate the botanical composition of diets with the smallest residual value (real less estimated values). The forages were sampled in the summer. The n-alkanes were extracted for the direct saponification method and identified and quantified by the gas chromatography analysis. Alkane C34 was used as internal marker. The proportions of A. pintoi in the diets were estimated by the minimization of z (sum of the squares of the deviations) between the real proportion of the analyzed alkanes and the pre-established proportions (treatments), using Duncan et al. (1999) equation. The prevalence of odd carbonic chains was detected. The total concentration of n-alkanes decreased as the proportion of A. pintoi increased in the mixtures. Good estimates of the botanical composition of the mixtures of A. pintoi with B. brizantha were obtained from the alkanes C29, C31, C33 and C35. The alkane C35 was fundamental for the quality of the estimates. The results indicate the great potential of the technique for studies of grazing animal diet