Viabilidade de produção intensiva de gado caprino

Mestrado em Engenharia Agronómica - Economia Agrária e Gestão do Território - Instituto Superior de Agronomia

The present study aims to assess the viability of an intensive farm of goat herds. For this was created a standard farm, in intensive system, whose main production is the milk but the product, goat meat, will also be appreciated. Were defined farm’s operating conditions, bearing in mind that a deeper study, or the practice, could come to put in question some of the technical options taken, and make clear the need for change. The goats are permanently closed into a stable, which will require the construction of 1344 square meters of covered area, providing about 1.5 square meters per animal, and each park will have an equal area outdoors. The facilities also include a milking room with a capacity for 24 simultaneous milking goats in, and a storage capacity of 2110 litres of milk. About the effective, it will be composed of 600 goats and 20 billy-goats of “Murcianogranadina” breed. The productive data, of various breeds, were analyzed, particular five Portuguese breeds and two foreign breeds, but we have chosen “Murciano-granadina” believing that this would be that would lead to better results. In terms of labour, farm will have 3 full-time employees, although there are times of large peaks of work. Was still defined a standard goat, that will be the mean goat in terms of production and consumption. This goat with about 60 kg bodyweight, which produces 720 litres of milk in 305 days of lactation, being dry 60 days per year, has 80% of fertility, produces on average 1.8 kid goats by birth and has interval between births of 1 year. Milk presents a butyric content of 5.4% and a protein content of 4.1%. Were defined two different diets, always with the food to the description, one to the lactation period and another one, poorer, to the dry period. As for reproductive management, being goats, animals with a very defined reproductive season, were set up to play 3 times, using induction and synchronization of ruts through the placement of implants on goats and also on billy-goats. These periods were defined taking into account the expected developments in the prices of milk and kid goat throughout the year. The initial investment to completion of this farm was analyzed based on enquiries request to companies in their area. Prices have been attributed, to factors of production to use, based on research done on the domestic market