Assessment of Pig Production and Constraints in Mecha District, Amhara Region, Northwestern Ethiopia

Ethiopia) were identified and from each Kebele 15 households were selected making the number of respondents 90. A pretested semistructured questionnaire was employed for collecting data through interview and face to face discussion with the pig owners including key informant group discussion and secondary sources. Multivisits to study sites were also made to observe the feeding, housing, and other pig management practices. The results indicated that the purpose of pig production is mainly targeted for additional income and profit for the household in which pigs are sold for external markets as pork is not consumed by local community. Results indicate that pig keepers were farmers or nonfarmers with small land holding and people engaged in other types of work. The major feed source for pig was grazing, followed by crop residue feeding and supplementing with household and agricultural by-products. Pigs are kept in house at least for the night, though the pig house was not separated by age or physiological stage. The most important constraints of pig production in the study area were feed shortage, poor access to veterinary services, and poor market linkage

Effect of feeding improved grass hays and Eragrostis tef straw silage on milk yield, nitrogen utilization, and methane emission of lactating Fogera dairy cows in Ethiopia

Simple Summary In tropical regions, it is common practice to feed dairy cows poor-quality roughage, but this diet has been shown to decrease animal productivity and increase methane emissions. For these reasons, introducing alternative roughage feeds, such as nutritionally improved forages or bio-chemically treated straw, is essential for improving milk yield, dietary nitrogen utilization, and reducing enteric methane emission from dairy cows. Thus, we evaluated the effects of natural pasture hay, two improved grass hays (Napier andBrachiariahybrid grasses), and treated teff straw silage feeding as basal diets on nutrient digestibility, milk yield, nitrogen utilization efficiency, and enteric methane emissions using lactating Fogera dairy cows. Our results showed that improved grass hays and treated teff straw silage diet feeding increased milk yield, nutrient digestibility, and nitrogen utilization efficiency as compared to natural pasture hay. Moreover, the cows fed with improved grass hays and treated teff straw resulted in changing the nitrogen excretion pathway from urine to feces, as well as reduction of the methane production per daily milk yield. Hence, these results provide a novel feeding regimen through feeding nutritionally upgraded forages as a basal diet, which improves milk yield, nutrient utilization efficiency, and reduction of methane emission for sustainable dairy production in tropical regions. The nutritionally imbalanced poor-quality diet feeding is the major constraint of dairy production in tropical regions. Hence, alternative high-quality roughage-based diets are required to improve milk yield and reduce methane emission (CH4). Thus, we tested the effects of feeding natural pasture hay, improved forage grass hays (Napier andBrachiariaHybrid), and treated crop residues (Eragrostis tefstraw) on nutrient digestibility, milk yield, nitrogen balance, and methane emission. The eight lactating Fogera cows selected for the experiment were assigned randomly to a 4 x 4 Latin square design. Cows were housed in well-ventilated individual pens and fed a total mixed ration (TMR) comprising 70% roughage and 30% concentrate. The four roughage-based basal dietary treatments supplemented with formulated concentrate were: Control (natural pasture hay (NPH)); treated teff straw silage (TTS); Napier grass hay (NGH); andBrachiariahybrid grass hay (BhH). Compared with the control diet, the daily milk yield increased (p< 0.01) by 31.9%, 52.9%, and 71.6% with TTS, NGH, and BhH diets, respectively. Cows fed BhH had the highest dry matter intake (8.84 kg/d), followed by NGH (8.10 kg/d) and TTS (7.71 kg/d); all of these intakes were greater (p= 0.01) than that of NPH (6.21 kg/d). Nitrogen digestibility increased (p < 0.01) from the NPH diet to TTS (by 27.7%), NGH (21.7%), and BhH (39.5%). The concentration of ruminal ammonia nitrogen was higher for cows fed NGH than other diets (p= 0.01) and positively correlated with plasma urea nitrogen concentration (R-2 = 0.45). Feeding TTS, NGH, and BhH hay as a basal diet changed the nitrogen excretion pathway from urine to feces, which can help protect against environmental pollution. Estimated methane yields per dry matter intake and milk yield were decreased in dairy cows fed BhH, NGH, and TTS diets when compared to cows fed an NPH diet (p< 0.05). In conclusion, feeding of TTS, NGH, and BhH roughages as a basal diet to lactating dairy cows in tropical regions improved nutrient intake and digestibility, milk yield, nitrogen utilization efficiency, and reduced enteric methane emission

Laser methane detector-based quantification of methane emissions from indoor-fed Fogera dairy cows

Publication history: Accepted - 14 December 2020; Published online - 1 January 2021.Objective: Portable laser methane detectors (LMDs) may be an economical means of estimating CH4 emissions from ruminants. We validated an LMD-based approach and then used that approach to evaluate CH4 emissions from indigenous dairy cows in a dryland area of Ethiopia. Methods: First, we validated our LMD-based approach in Simmental crossbred beef cattle (n = 2) housed in respiration chambers and fed either a high- or low-concentrate diet. From the results of the validation, we constructed an estimation equation to determine CH4 emissions from LMD CH4 concentrations. Next, we used our validated LMD approach to examine CH4 emissions in Fogera dairy cows grazed for 8 h/d (GG, n = 4), fed indoors on natural-grassland hay (CG1, n = 4), or fed indoors on Napier-grass (Pennisetum purpureum) hay (CG2, n = 4). All the cows were supplemented with concentrate feed. Results: The exhaled CH4 concentrations measured by LMD were linearly correlated with the CH4 emissions determined by infrared-absorption-based gas analyzer (r 2 = 0.55). The estimation equation used to determine CH4 emissions (y, mg/min) from LMD CH4 concentrations (x, ppm m) was y = 0.4259x+38.61. Daily CH4 emissions of Fogera cows estimated by using the equation did not differ among the three groups; however, a numerically greater milk yield was obtained from the CG2 cows than from the GG cows, suggesting that Napiergrass hay might be better than natural-grassland hay for indoor feeding. The CG1 cows had higher CH4 emissions per feed intake than the other groups, without significant increases in milk yield and body-weight gain, suggesting that natural-grassland hay cannot be recommended for indoor-fed cows. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate the potential of using LMDs to valuate feeding regimens rapidly and economically for dairy cows in areas under financial constraint, while taking CH4 emissions into consideration.We acknowledge the support of the Andassa Livestock Research Center, Amhara Region Agricultural Research Institute, Ethiopia, and the College of Grassland Science of Lanzhou University, China, for providing the respiration chambers (registered as LZUCKY-S-DXCLZ-001 for Institute of Grassland and Livestock Production System, Lanzhou University). This study was supported by the Marginal Region Agriculture Project of Tottori University; the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) Project for Development of Next-generation Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Framework to Combat Desertification (JPMJSA1601) of the Japan Science and Technology Agency and Japan International Cooperation Agency; the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Science (XDA20100102); the Key R & D Program of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (2019BBF02001); and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team at the University of China (IRT17R50)

Effects of Harvesting Age and Barley Varieties on Morphological Characteristics, Biomass Yield, Chemical Composition, and Economic Benefits under Hydroponic Conditions in Fogera District, Ethiopia

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of harvesting age at 6, 8, 10, and 12 days and four barley varieties HB-1307, Debark-1, Tila, and local varieties on morphological characteristics, biomass yield, chemical composition, and economic benefits under hydroponics in the Fogera district at Fogera National Rice Research and Training Center of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The interaction effects of harvesting age and barley variety significantly influenced growth parameters of plant height, shoot length, leaf length, and overall chemical composition (P0.05) by the different barley varieties. The highest plant height (21.26 cm) and crude protein (CP) content (21.39%) were obtained from Debark-1 at 12 days of harvesting. The highest fresh fodder biomass yield, 203.50 t/ha, and dry matter (DM) yield, 36.21 t/ha, were obtained at 12 days of harvesting. In the case of harvesting age, all morphological parameters increased with the progress harvesting age, except for the LSR and DM content. The highest net return of 2,923,002.25 ETB/ha was obtained from Debark-1 at the 12 days harvesting age, and the lowest 941,201.13 ETB/ha was obtained for the Tila variety at the six days of harvesting age. From the study, it can be concluded that based on fresh fodder biomass yield, DM yield, CP, and economic benefits, Debark-1 was the recommended barley variety on the 12-day harvesting age, followed by HB-1307, local, and Tila barley varieties

Negative energy balance and its implication on productive and reproductive performance of early lactating dairy cows: review paper

ABSTRACTIn Ethiopia, the dairy cows’ major feed resources are natural pasture and crop residues, both of which are nutritionally low and do not even satisfy the maintenance requirement. Consequently, dairy productivity per head is low in the country. This paper reviews the existing knowledge of negative energy balance (NEB) and summarizes its implication on production and reproduction parameters, as well as the monitoring tools as a means of intervention in minimizing the effect on dairy cows. The presence of NEB in late gestation and early lactation of dairy cows could contribute to both short and long-term negative effects on production and reproduction ability. Lower body condition, reduced milk production, a change in the milk fat to protein ratio, an increasing incidence of health problems, a late time to become estrus, delayed ovarian cycle, and a lower conception rate are the common implications. Through the knowledge created so far, it can be concluded that NEB is almost a common phenomenon in transitional high milking dairy animals, but there is a possibility to shorten its persistence through strategic supplementation using the NEB monitoring tools

Assessment of Ficus thonningii tree production and utilization for livestock feed by smallholder farmers in northwestern Ethiopia

Abstract Background An assessment on the management practices and uses of Ficus thonningii tree by smallholder farmers’ was carried from December 2014 to March 2015 to evaluate the status of tree management, utilization as livestock feed and identify major production and utilization constraints. Three districts were purposely selected based on abundance of the tree from northwestern Ethiopia, and from each district, three peasant associations (smallest administrative unit) were selected purposely based on the abundance of F. thonningii availability and farmers’ utilization practices. The methodology of the study encompasses questionnaire, group discussion, key informant interview and secondary data sources. Descriptive statistics and linear regression were employed to present the quantitative and qualitative variables obtained from the survey. Results The result indicated in all districts, livestock feed shortage during dry season was a critical problem. The ownership of F. thonningii tree indicated nonsignificant (P > 0.05) difference among the study districts. The types of livestock species reported feeding F. thonningii were cattle (54.2%), sheep (24.1%) and goats (21.7%) in all study districts. Among the parts of the tree used as feed, leaves in fresh form were used as dry season supplement to the livestock. The majority of respondents in the study districts reported to have accustomed practicing feeding F. thonningii leaves in the fresh from, followed by wilting and both fresh and wilting. Of the constraints of farmers in the study districts in using F. thonningii as feed for livestock were lack of training (51%), followed by land shortage (31%) and labor scarcity (18%). Conclusions This preliminary assessment indicated that the tree has valuable benefit to mitigate critical livestock feed scarcity in the dry season; farmers do have many constraints in its fullest utilization. Hence, to exploit the potential of F. thonningii as livestock fodder in northwestern Ethiopia, smallholder farmers should get training on production and utilization of the fodder tree

Assessment of Pig Production and Constraints in Mecha District, Amhara Region, Northwestern Ethiopia

The study was undertaken in Mecha District, Amhara National Regional State, Northwestern Ethiopia, in 2012/2013. The objectives of the study were to assess production purpose and management practices of pig and to identify constraints and generate baseline information for further research and development. From the district, 6 Kebeles (name of local administration in Ethiopia) were identified and from each Kebele 15 households were selected making the number of respondents 90. A pretested semistructured questionnaire was employed for collecting data through interview and face to face discussion with the pig owners including key informant group discussion and secondary sources. Multivisits to study sites were also made to observe the feeding, housing, and other pig management practices. The results indicated that the purpose of pig production is mainly targeted for additional income and profit for the household in which pigs are sold for external markets as pork is not consumed by local community. Results indicate that pig keepers were farmers or nonfarmers with small land holding and people engaged in other types of work. The major feed source for pig was grazing, followed by crop residue feeding and supplementing with household and agricultural by-products. Pigs are kept in house at least for the night, though the pig house was not separated by age or physiological stage. The most important constraints of pig production in the study area were feed shortage, poor access to veterinary services, and poor market linkage

Effects of Faba Bean Hull, Noug Seed (Guizotia Abyssinica) Cake, Wheat Bran and their Mixtures Supplementation on Biological Performance and Economic Benefits of Farta Sheep Fed Natural Pasture Hay in Ethiopia

The experiment was carried out to evaluate the supplementary effect of Faba bean hull (FBH), noug seed cake (NSC), wheat bran (WB) and their mixtures on biological performance and economic benefits of s in Farta sheep fed grass hay as basal diet. The treatments were grass hay (GH) ad libitum+200g NSC+100 g WB (T1); GH ad libitum +200g NSC+75 g WB+25g FBH (T2); GH ad libitum+200g NSC+50g WB+50g FBH (T3); GH ad libitum+200g NSC+25 g WB+75g FBH (T4) and GH ad libitum+200g NSC+100g FBH (T5). The feeding and digestibility trials were conducted for ninety and seven days, respectively. Data on composition of feeds and feces, dry matter (DM) and nutrient intake, DM and nutrients digestibility, BW changes and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) were collected. The basal DM intakes were 393.32, 393.85, 394.95, 396.04 and 396.98 g/day for T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively, which were not significant (P >0.05) among treatments. Total intake of DM, organic matter (OM) and CP were not significantly different among treatments (P>0.05). The CP and DM intake of experimental sheep were in the order of T1<T2<T3<T40.05). The partial budget analysis showed that sheep offered with relatively the highest level of CP (T4) and (T5) returned a higher net income (296.05 and 304.35ETB/head), respectively. The current experiment reveals that FBH could be an alternative supplement which may substitute WB in the diets of sheep in the highlands of Ethiopia

Nutrient intake, digestibility and growth performance of Washera lambs fed natural pasture hay supplemented with graded levels of Ficus thonningii(Chibha) leaves as replacement for concentrate mixture

Abstract Background The huge livestock resources of the country could not be used to its potential due to lack of good-quality feed throughout the year. Consequently, finding alternative feed supplements for livestock is an important step to sustain livestock production in the country. Ficus thonningii leaf is one of the potential feed resources for ruminants in the area. The experiment was conducted with the objective of evaluating the nutrient intake, digestibility and growth performance of local lambs fed natural pasture hay (NPH)-based diet supplemented with graded levels of Ficus thonningii dried leaves (FTL) and determining of the optimum level for replacing of concentrate mixture (CM). Twenty intact male yearling Washera lambs with initial body weight of 17.06 + 1.43 (mean + SE) kg were used in experiment. The experiment was conducted using randomized complete block design having four replications with five dietary treatments. The treatments were T1 = NPH + 0 g FTL +215 g CM; T2 = NPH + 112.5 g FTL +161.25 gCM; T3 = NPH + 225 g FTL +107.5 g CM; T4 = NPH + 337.5 g FTL + 53.75 g CM; and T5 = NPH + 450 g FTL +0 g CM. Data were analyzed using the general linear model procedures of SAS (version 9.3; 2002). Results The results showed that FTL are a good source of crude protein (CP) (126.9 g/KgDM) and fibers (377–426 g/Kg DM). Results also showed that supplementation of higher-level FTL significantly (P < 0.001) increased total DM, OM and fibers intake (P < 0.001), but no significant difference (P > 0.05) observed in CP and ME intakes among treatments. Increasing level of FTL supplementation, however, reduced significantly (P < 0.001) the digestibility coefficient of all nutrients. In terms of ADG, nonsignificant (P > 0.05) differences were observed in lambs assigned up to 75% replacement of CM. The lowest performance was observed in sole FTL supplementation (T5), despite increased nutrients intake. Conclusion It was concluded that indigenous fodder tree Ficus thonningii leaves could serve as alternative CP supplement in NPH-based feeding of Washera sheep and can be used to replace CM up to 75% to improve performance

Effect of Plant Spacing and Harvesting Age on Plant Characteristics, Yield and Chemical composition of Para grass ( Brachiaria mutica) at Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Natural pasture in Ethiopia is typically low in forage botanical composition, biomass yield nutritive value because of overgrazing and lack of alternative improved forage plants. The field experiment was conducted to determine the effects of plant spacing and harvesting age on agronomic performance and chemical composition of Para grass (Brachiaria mutica) at Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The experiment was a 3×3 factorial layout in a RCBD with three replications giving a total of 27 plots. The between plant spacing were 15, 30 and 45 cm and the harvesting ages were 60, 90 and 120 days. The data collected were morphological characteristics such as plant height(PH), number of tillers per plant (NTPP), leaf length per plant (LLPP), number of roots per plant (NRPP), root length per plant (RLPP), leaf to stem ratio (LSR), number of leaves per plant (NLPP), dry matter yield (DMY) and chemical composition  of the forage. Forage samples were taken for chemical composition analyses. All data were subjected to GLM ANOVA procedures of SAS version 9.0. Results showed that the interaction between plant spacing and harvesting age had a significant (p0.05). Plant characteristics were significantly (p<0.05) increased as the plant spacing and age of harvesting raised and PH, OM and ADF were increased as maturity of the plant at all plant spacing. DMY and DM content were significantly (p<0.05) increased with narrow plant spacing and advanced maturity. Therefore it could be concluded that both harvesting age and between plant spacing are critical in the forage production parameters