Evaluation of the ingestive behaviour of the dairy cow under two systems of rotation with slope

The ingestive behaviour of grazing animals is modulated by the vegetation characteristics, topography and the type of stocking method. This research was carried out in 2019, at the Rumipamba CADER-UCE. It aimed to evaluate the impact of two contrasting stocking methods of dairy cows grazing a pasture with an average of slope >8.5%. Four dairy cows were set to graze a 0.4 ha paddock for 5 days for continuous stocking methods, while for the electric fence methods the dairy cows were restricted to 0.2 ha and the fence was moved uphill every 3 hours, repeating this process four times a day. Cow were equipped with activity sensors for 12 h per day. The whole procedure was repeated 2 times after realizing an equalization cuts and both paddocks, a rest time of 30 days and a random reassignment of paddocks to one of the treatments. The cows showed a difference in terms of the percentage of grazing P=0.0072, being higher with the electric fence (55% of the measurement time). From rising-plate-meter estimates of available biomass along the grazing periods, we calculated despite similar forage allowances (electric fence = 48.06 kg DM/cow/d and continuous = 48.21 DM/cow/d) a higher forage intake was obtained in the electric fence treatment (17.5 kg DM/cow/d) compared the continuous stocking (15.7 kg DM/cow/d) (P=0.006). In terms of milk production animals grazing under the differences electrical fence stocking method tended (P=0.0985) to produce more milk (17.39 kg/d) than those grazing in the continuous system (15.16 kg/d) due to the influence of the slope (P=0.05), while for milk quality the protein content was higher for the electric fence (33.7 g/l) than the continuous method (30.5 g/l) (P=0.039). None of the other milk properties differed between methods (P>0.05)

Analysis of the nutritional and productive behaviour of dairy cows under three rotation bands of pastures, Pichincha, Ecuador

This research was carried out on Pennisetum clandestinum-based pastures to identify the effect of three (3) types of stocking methods with similar forage allowance (8.2 kg of dry matter for 100 kg of live weight) but differing by the occupation times of the rotations (3 h, 24 h, and continuous) on the behaviour and the production of dairy cows. The experimental scheme consisted in three herds of four Holstein Friesian cows grazing three paddocks, one per rotationtype, for one week and replicated three times in a cross-over design. Pasture height and biomass were measured before and after each grazing week and on a daily basis, two cows per herd were monitored during daytime with activity sensors and their milk production was recorded. The main results showed that in all treatments the cows reduced the height of the sward by 40% on average. The cows in the continuous treatment spent more time in meals and tended to have higher average speed during the day than in the 3-h rotation ascribed to a higher exploration of the whole gradable area every day in the continuous treatment and to more time idling animals in the 3-h treatment in anticipation of the opening of new areas to graze over the course of day. Despite those difference in activity, milk production did not differ neither in quantity with an average of 12.4 0.14 kg per day, nor in quality (i.e., fat, protein, non-fatty solids, total solids). We conclude that under our grazing conditions with an intermediate forage allowance and low producing cows, applying a labour intensive stocking method requiring to open new areas every 3 hours does not lead to a significant production increase

Analysis of the nutritional and productive behaviour of dairy cows under three rotation bands of pastures, Pichincha, Ecuador

peer reviewedThis research was carried out on Pennisetum clandestinum-based pastures to identify the effect of three (3) types of stocking methods with similar forage allowance (8.2 kg of dry matter for 100 kg of live weight) but differing by the occupation times of the rotations (3 h, 24 h, and continuous) on the behaviour and the production of dairy cows. The experimental scheme consisted in three herds of four Holstein Friesian cows grazing three paddocks, one per rotation type, for one week and replicated three times in a cross-over design. Pasture height and biomass were measured before and after each grazing week and on a daily basis, two cows per herd were monitored during daytime with activity sensors and their milk production was recorded. The main results showed that in all treatments the cows reduced the height of the sward by 40 % on average. The cows in the continuous treatment spent more time in meals and tended to have higher average speed during the day than in the 3-h rotation ascribed to a higher exploration of the whole gradable area every day in the continuous treatment and to more time idling animals in the 3-h treatment in anticipation of the opening of new areas to graze over the course of day. Despite those difference in activity, milk production did not differ neither in quantity with an average of 12.4 ± 0.14 kg per day, nor in quality (i.e., fat, protein, non-fatty solids, total solids). We conclude that under our grazing conditions with an intermediate forage allowance and low producing cows, applying a labour intensive stocking method requiring to open new areas every 3 hours does not lead to a significant production increase

Cloud Services Integration For Farm Animals’ Behavior Studies Based On Smartphones As Activity Sensors

Smartphones, particularly iPhone, can be relevant instruments for researchers in animal behavior because they are readily available on the planet, contain many sensors and require no hardware development. They are equipped with high performance Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) and absolute positioning systems analyzing users’ movements, but they can easily be diverted to analyze likewise the behaviors of domestic animals such as cattle. The study of animal behavior using smartphones requires the storage of many high frequency variables from a large number of individuals and their processing through various relevant variables combinations for modeling and decision-making. Transferring, storing, treating and sharing such an amount of data is a big challenge. In this paper, a lambda cloud architecture innovatively coupled to a scientific sharing platform used to archive, and process high-frequency data are proposed to integrate future developments of the Internet of Things applied to the monitoring of domestic animals. An application to the study of cattle behavior on pasture based on the data recorded with the IMU of iPhone 4s is exemplified. Performances comparison between iPhone 4s and iPhone 5s is also achieved. The package comes also with a web interface to encode the actual behavior observed on videos and to synchronize observations with the sensor signals. Finally, the use of Edge computing on the iPhone reduced by 43.5% on average the size of the raw data by eliminating redundancies. The limitation of the number of digits on individual variable can reduce data redundancy up to 98.5%

How do management practices and farm structure impact productive performances of dairy cattle in the province of Pichincha, Ecuador

The combination of "ancestral knowledge" and modern agricultural techniques are increasingly used by Andes farmers, demonstrating its great importance as an ideal alternative to achieve international standards of productivity and sustainability. Pasture management has demonstrated its relevance in terms of milk volume and quality in farms located in the Ecuadorian highlands, showing a wide range of types of forage resource use, in its constant search for better animal yields from the occupancy rate. However, while inclination of land has a clear impact on energy expenditure of grazing animals, there are no reports on the influence of the diversity in management practices and their consequences on animal performance, considering the slope of pastures animals are grazing. The objective of the present investigation was to document management practices in dairy systems in the tropical highlands of central Ecuador and to understand the influence of the slope of pastures on those practices. A survey was carried out in the rural area of the province of Pichincha in 42 dairy farms using a questionnaire to identify the productive and management activities in the herds and to evaluate the average slope of the pastures of the farms based on GIS data. Results showed that farms had an average acreage of 40 ha, the herds were composed of 60 ± 63 cows in milk, predominantly Holstein (65 %), and the daily production of individual milking cows reached 15.1 ± 3.4 kg. Highest productivity was found on farms with the highest re-population rates using rotatory grazing with high intensity of instantaneous grazing with very short occupation times (12 h) and a flat topography of the pastures (p 0.05). The daily production of individual cows was negatively correlated (r = −0.323, p = 0.037) with the average slope of the farms. It is concluded that the use of rotational grazing with very short occupation times seems relevant to maximize individual yields. More research should clarify whether the specific pasture design and the rotation system can contribute to reducing the observed negative impact of high slopes on individual milk production