The bio-economic behavior of 10 commercial dairies was assessed as to forage production, and annual calving patterns. Dairy No. 3 was used as a comparison model in a case study, based on in previous studies results (2011) where it stood out from the rest, with 86 % calving pattern in the April-August period. To determine the influence of the calving pattern oriented to the rainy season, on the production and bio-economic efficiency indicators, the behavior of dairy no. 3 in 2011 was compared with its mean values for the previous years; the means of dairies grouped in pat-terns I and II, and the mean of dairies in pattern III, without the case study unit. The results indicated that dairy No. 3 reached higher gross profits than the rest, concerning productive efficiency (1 298 kg of milk/ha and 32 975 kg of milk/worker or working unit (UT)), with higher income from milk sales, income-expenses, and lower costs of milk production (0.84 CUP/kg of milk). These results are linked to a more favorable calving pattern this year

Curbelo Rodríguez, Lino M.

de Loyola Oriyés, Carlos

Estevez Alfayate, Jorge

Guevara Viera, Raúl V.

Mena Zúñiga, Madeline A.

Soto Senra, Servando A.

Uña Izquierdo, Florentino

English

Portal de Revistas - Universidad de Camagüey

Rev. prod. anim., 26 (3): 2014 I S S N  2 2 2 4 - 7 9 2 0  Effect of Concentrated Calving on Commercial Dairies in Ciego de Ávila Province. II. Case Study Lino M. Curbelo Rodríguez*, Servando A. Soto Senra*, Raúl V. Guevara Viera*, Madeline A. Mena Zúñiga**, Carlos de Loyola Oriyés***, Florentino Uña Izquierdo*** and Jorge Estevez Alfayate* * Center for Animal Production Studies, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Camagüey, Cuba ** Ministry of Agriculture, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba *** Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Camagüey, Cuba lino.curbelo@reduc.edu.cu ABSTRACT The bio-economic behavior of 10 commercial dairies was assessed as to forage production, and annual calving pat-terns. Dairy No. 3 was used as a comparison model in a case study, based on in previous studies results (2011) where it stood out from the rest, with 86 % calving pattern in the April-August period. To determine the influence of the calving pattern oriented to the rainy season, on the production and bio-economic efficiency indicators, the behavior of dairy no. 3 in 2011 was compared with its mean values for the previous years; the means of dairies grouped in pat-terns I and II, and the mean of dairies in pattern III, without the case study unit. The results indicated that dairy No. 3 reached higher gross profits than the rest, concerning productive efficiency (1 298 kg of milk/ha and 32 975 kg of milk/worker or working unit (UT)), with higher income from milk sales, income-expenses, and lower costs of milk production (0.84 CUP/kg of milk). These results are linked to a more favorable calving pattern this year. Key Words: calving, concentration pattern, bio-economic efficiency, milk production  INTRODUCTION It has been demonstrated in Cuba that when calving is concentrated in the early rainy season, improvements are observed in the productive and economic indicators. This has been proven by re-search done in the province of Ciego de Ávila (González, 2003) and Camagüey (Del Risco et al., 2007; Loyola et al., 2010 and Soto, 2010). Ciego de Ávila is a Cuban province with ac-ceptable cattle raising levels, and in consequence, its contribution to the sector is significant. How-ever, major cattle raising enterprises in the area, basic production cooperatives (UBPC), credit and services cooperatives (CCS), state-owned farms (GE), and private producers (PP), demanded ap-propriate policies for animal recovery and han-dling; as well as the natural resources available that guarantee productive increases that cause no major environmental damages (Mazorra et al., 1994). Definitely, to achieve an efficient, cost-effective, competitive, sustainable and low-risk milk production system, several aspects should be taken into account, such as, ensuring a good working team; using animals with genetic poten-tial, according to their feeding behavior; producing less costly and more efficient feedstuffs; applying a nutritional scheme according to the goals of the enterprise, with simple and controlled execution of diet handling; monitoring health in animals of all categories; and improving the reproductive ef-ficiency of the system (Dick, 2012). The purpose of this research was to assess the bio-economic behavior of a case study dairy, in terms of its forage production and annual calving pattern oriented to the April-August period. MATERIALS AND METHODS A previous study in dairies of Ruta Invasora cattle raising Enterprise, in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, aimed at assessing the productive behavior of commercial dairies concerning their forage pro-duction and annual calving pattern. Three calving patterns were established in the April-August pe-riod: pattern I (51-63 %), pattern II (64-75 %) and pattern III (76-86 %). Of the ten dairies assessed, number 3 stood out in 2011, its best year. It was used as a comparison pattern for a case study, where variant P III was applied. Characterization of the unit In dairy no. 3 there were 131 units of cattle (UGM) in an area of 97.2 ha, with soil, climate and exploitation conditions similar to the units in Effect of Concentrated Calving on Commercial Dairies in Ciego de Ávila Province. II. Case Study Rev. prod. anim., 26 (3): 2014 the previous study. Herd natality was 67 %, and average lactation lasted 255 days. The crossbred (Holstein x Zebu) calves were brought up with re-stricted suckling, in rotational grazing, supple-mented with sugar cane and Norgold (less than 0.35 kg MF/cow/day annual mean). The dairy had the lowest population of improved grass (7.9 %), low percent of woody species (3.1 %). Sugar cane covered 13.2 % of the total area, and native grass covered 79 % of the land. Forage balance for ei-ther season of the year resulted in a superavit in the rainy season, with 34 t of dry matter MS, and a deficit in the dry season, with 58 t MS. Work methodology Dairy number 6 was compared, taking the data from 2004-2005, to determine the influence of the calving pattern in the April-August period on pro-duction, dairy and nutritional yields, and efficien-cy of finances.  Dairy no. 3 was compared with the means of patterns I and II; the mean of pattern III without the case study dairy and its best year, using the following indicators as references: total produc-tion; production of milk/ha/year; production of milk/kg/work unit (ut); fertility rate (%); as well as economic indicators (cup), like total income, total expenses, income-expenses, cost-effectiveness and cost/kg of milk produced. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 1 shows how the behavior of the atypical year (2011) for unit 3 is superior regarding the mean of the other four years assessed in the same place. In both cases, the results are much better than the ones shown by P III. The high calving concentration effect on the total production per year, hectare, work unit and cow a day, provides a concluding response on how important it is to concentrate calving and grassland use in the early rainy season, since productive indicators are in-creased, and consequently, their yields, which corroborates the findings by Mena et al. (2007) and Soto et al. (2010). Likewise, Table 2 shows similar superiority re-sults in dairy no. 3, regarding the main economic indicators, which in general terms, stand for high-er efficiency levels during production.  The total expenses were higher for unit no. 3, both for the five-year mean and in its best year of productive behavior, regarding the other two pat-terns. The rationale lies in that salaries have been raised according to increased productive behavior similar to the other patterns. This cause, in its turn, determined an increase of their total income, and makes the income-expense and cost effec-tiveness relationship reach its best, taking into ac-count the calving patterns assessed. These results match the criteria of Fowley (2003), about the suitability of maximizing grass-land use as a less costly source of nutrients in the best season for growing. This is clearly observed when the dairies have limited contribution in rela-tion with the animal needs.  The above also corresponds with information in Fig. 1, where dairy no. 3 is used as a model to prove that it is possible to cut down milk produc-tion costs when calving increases in the April- August period. It also coincides with Agüero et al. (2005), and Guevara et al. (2005) who found lower costs/kg of milk values ($ 0.61), when the herds concen-trated calving in the early rainy season; and Soto et al., (2010), with 0.59 kg of milk produced dur-ing validation studies with high calving concen-trations in the April-August period, in the prov-ince of Camagüey. The most important fact deriving from the stu-dies is that low-cost productions can be achieved, as a way to contribute with the system´s sustaina-bility, as indicated by Galetto (1998) and Guevara and Guevara (2001). Cowan (2001), Best (2004) and Fowley (2003) reported positive benefits from this low-cost op-erational milk producing philosophy. Holmes (2006) points out that the high efficiency reached in the seasonal dairy system in New Zealand, re-lies on its simplicity during operation: it allows lactations of more than 3 500 kg/cow, and more than 10 000 kg of milk/ha/year, with 9-16 cents per kg of milk and less than NZ $ 3.00 per solid dairy kilogram produced with the top quality. Generally speaking, improvements in traditional supplying chains may help reduce losses, decrease prices and increase diversity of choice for the be-neficiaries (FAO, 2013), which means improved sustainability of the whole production chain, in-dustry and customers.  The findings of the study in dairy no. 3 consoli-date the results of this work, regarding an increase of economic bio-efficiency in the milk production process when high calving concentrations take ef-fect in the April-August period, a seasonal dairy model in the tropical weather conditions, defined L. M. Curbelo, S. A. Soto, R. V. Guevara, Madeline A. Mena, C. de Loyola, F. Uña and J. Estevez Rev. prod. anim., 26 (3): 2014 in two seasons, in similar scenarios in Ciego de Ávila. CONCLUSIONS The case study demonstrated that during the highest calving concentration in the April-August period, when grass grows at its top, significant bio-economic efficiency in milk production is produced in state-owned dairies in Ciego de Ávi-la. REFERENCES AGÜERO, L. A.; GUEVARA, R.; GUEVARA, G. y CURBELO, L. (2005). Efecto del momento del parto dentro de la época de máximo crecimiento del pas-tizal sobre la eficiencia de la producción de leche. Rev. ACPA, 3, 14-15. BEST, B. (2004). La estacionalidad de la producción lechera como una alternativa rentable. Unidad de producción higiene y calidad de la leche, Dpto. de Ciencias Pecuarias, Facultad de Medicina Veterina-ria, Universidad de Concepción, Chile. Extraído en octubre de 2008, desde http://www.chillan.udec.cl/leche. COWAN, R. (2001). Simulation Systems of Dairy Pro-duction Farms on Large Scale Operation in Tropi-cal Australian. Asian-Australian Livestock Confe-rence. Perth, 11-16 oct. CURBELO, L.; DEL RISCO, G. S.; SOTO, S.; ESTÉVEZ, J. A. y ANDÚJAR, O. (2007). Posibilidades de la pro-ducción estacional de leche en Cuba en forma sos-tenible. Revista de Producción Animal, (Número especial), 19-27. DEL RISCO, G. S.; GUEVARA, R.; GUEVARA, G.; CURBELO, L. y SOTO, S. (2007). Evaluación del comportamiento productivo de vaquerías comercia-les en relación con el patrón de pariciones anuales. I. Análisis comparativo de la eficiencia de los pa-trones. Revista de Producción Animal, 19 (1), 13-19. DICK, A. (2012). Estacionalidad en el Tambo. Bases y conceptos. Dpto. Producción Animal-Facultad Ciencias Veterinarias. Extraído en octubre de 2013, desde http://www.vet.unicen.edu.ar/2Fhtml/2FAreas/2FProd_Animal/2FDocumentos/2F2012/2FBovinos/2520Leche/2FReproduccion/2FAACREA2011Estacional.pdf. FAO. (2013). El estado mundial de la agricultura y la alimentación. Extraído en enero de 2014, desde http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3301s/i3301s.pdf. FOWLEY, K. (2003). How and Why Improve Milk Pro-duction with Seasonal Model. Dairy Huds, 5 (2), 3-7. GALETTO, A. (1998). El mercado internacional de le-che y productos lácteos: situación actual y factores que explican su comportamiento. XXI Curso inter-nacional de lechería para profesionales de América Latina. Extraído en septiembre de 2013, desde http://www.inta.gov.ar/ies/pleche. GONZÁLEZ, C. (2003). Influencia del patrón de pari-ciones anuales en el plano nutricional en la produc-ción de leche de novillas y la eficiencia bioeconó-mica de cooperativas lecheras. Tesis de maestría en Producción Animal Sostenible, Universidad de Camagüey, Cuba. GUEVARA, R. y GUEVARA, G. (2001). Evaluación de sistemas de producción bovina sostenibles. Confe-rencia del Curso de Sistemas de Producción Soste-nible, Maestría de Producción Animal Sostenible, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Camagüey, Cuba. GUEVARA, R.; GUEVARA, G.; GONZÁLEZ, C.; CURBELO, L.; SOTO, S.; AGÜERO, L.; RODRÍGUEZ, C. y ESTÉVEZ, J. A. (2005). Efecto del momento de parto dentro de la época de máximo crecimiento del pastizal sobre la eficiencia de la producción de le-che. Revista de Producción Animal, 17 (1), 35-40. HOLMES, C. W. (2006). Seminario de trabajo sobre el sistema de producción de leche pastoril en Nueva Zelanda. Buenos Aires, Argentina (Visita de trabajo a la Universidad de Buenos Aires). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Universidad de Buenos Aires. LOYOLA, C. J.; GUEVARA, R. V.; RAMÍREZ ALVARADO, O.; GUEVARA, G. E.; CURBELO, L. M. y SOTO SENRA, S. A. (2010). Efecto de la intensifi-cación de la parición, al inicio del período lluvioso sobre vaquerías comerciales. I Producción de leche. Revista de Producción Animal, 22 (2). MAZORRA, C.; ARENCIBIA, AGUEDA; López, J. L. y BORROTO, A. (1994). Conoce los componentes nu-tritivos que constituyen los alimentos que usted ofrece a sus animales. Actualícese. Se les brindan casi mil opciones. Ciego de Ávila, Cuba: CIBA-ISACA. MENA, M.; BERTOT, J. A.; AVILÉS, R. G.; GUEVARA, R.; GUEVARA, G. y VÁZQUEZ, R. (2007). Estacio-nalidad en la producción de leche en un rebaño bo-vino. Revista de Producción Animal, 19 (1), 9-12. SOTO, S. A. (2010). Influencia de la distribución y concentración de parición en la eficiencia bio-económica de la producción de leche en vaquerías del municipio de Jimaguayú, Camagüey. Tesis de maestría en Ciencias Veterinarias, ICA-UNAH. SOTO, S.; GUEVARA, V. R.; SENRA, P. A.; GUEVARA, V. G.; OTERO, A. y CURBELO, R. L. (2010). Simu-lación-validación del efecto bioeconómico de estra-tegias de mejora de la base forrajera en función de la producción estacional de leche en vaquerías. Re-vista de Producción Animal, 22 (2).   Received: 12-6-2014 Accepted: 21-6-2014     Table 1. Behavior of productive indicators (kg) for the case study  Variables Mean P I y II P III Dairy 3 Dairy No. 3 Best year Dif. dairy. 3/best year Total annual milk production  104 371 112 365 124 986 138 866 +13 879 Prod M/ha/year 863 950 1 206 1 298 +91 Prod. M/UT/year 16 897 21 573 26 574 32 975 +6 400 Prod. M/cow/day 3.73 3.91 4.59 6.06 +1.47   Table 2. Behavior of economic indicators for the case study (CUP) Variables Mean P I y II P III Unit 3 Unit 3 Best yearDif. dairy. 3/best year  Total income 101 543 110 694 182 702 194 343 +11 640 Total expenses 81 376 86 878 100 466 122 633 +22 167 Income-expenses 19 346 28 798 81 732 103 219 +11 487 Cost-effectiveness 0.24 0.29 0.75 0.84 +0.09        Fig. 1 Behavior of cost (CUP) per milk kilogram for the case study    0.840.941.191.360 0.20.40.60.81 1.21.41.6I II III IV Mean                   P III                dairy 3         dairy 3 P II y P II             average             best year  DAIRY. 3 CUP 

Effect of Concentrated Calving on Commercial Dairies in Ciego de  Ávila Province. II. Case Study

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Effect of Concentrated Calving on Commercial Dairies in Ciego de Ávila Province. II. Case Study

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