Bhutan aims to intensify livestock production not only to improve livelihoods of farming households and to meet the increasing demands of livestock products, but also to sustainably use natural resources. This paper assesses the impact and trends of livestock intensification on the use of Common Property Resources (CPR), and how this affects the cattle numbers that can be maintained and the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) flows at the farm. Data on household, cropping and livestock activities were collected through interviewing 183 households in extensive, semi-intensive, intensive, and intensive peri-urban areas in the years 2000 and 2004. In the extensive and semi-intensive areas, CPR was the most important source of Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) for cattle. In the intensive areas with a majority of crossbred cattle, the farmers relied less on CPR than in the other two areas, but still about one quarter of the TDN requirements were met by grazing CPR. Grazing in the CPR provided the highest proportion of NP inputs at farm level; without grazing on CPR all four areas would have had highly negative soil nutrient balances. Intensification of livestock production through crossbreeding has not resulted in major reductions in cattle numbers per farm, but it is contributing to reduced use of CPR by farmers. Intensification partly replaces farm nutrient flows from CPR with nutrient inputs through increased use of concentrates, conserved fodder, and fertilizers. More awareness of nutrient management is required among farmers coupled with more research on nutrient assessments.

The study was undertaken in the Ejura-Sekyedumasi District of Ghana to investigate how household headship characteristics and labour availability relate with the household’s decision to keep and spend time on small ruminants. Key informants were interviewed prior to a census of all the 407 households in two villages, to collect demographic, crop, and livestock data, which was used in bivariate and logistic regression analyses. A subsequent time use study involved a stratified sample of 24 households, and the t- test was used to compare households. In general, female-headed households (FHH) were of lower socio-economic status, and had fewer adult household members and less livestock, compared to male-headed households (MHH). The final logistic regression model had a 77.1% success rate in predicting households keeping small ruminants, with socio-economic status and sex of the household head, presence of poultry and the number of active adults as significant predictors. Characteristics of FHH that kept small ruminants were not significantly different from their male counterparts, but the former spent less time feeding their animals. The odds of keeping small ruminants were ultimately 2.1 times higher for male-headed households. The low socio-economic status of most FHH with less labour availability is a disincentive for small ruminant rearing

A study was undertaken in Hamer and Benna-Tsemay districts of the Southern Ethiopia with the objective to determine the condition of the rangelands for grazing animals as influenced by altitude and grazing types. The rangelands in each of the study districts were stratified based on altitude and grazing types. In the study districts, a total of 32, 3, 2, 7 and 29 species of grasses, legumes, sedges, other herbaceous plants and woody species were identified, respectively. The common and/or dominant grass species in the enclosures was Cenchrus ciliaris while in the communal grazing areas they were Cynodon dactylon and Tetrapogon tennulis. In riverside grazing areas, the common and/or dominant grass species was Cynodon dactylon. The total grass biomass of communal, riverside and enclosure areas found in the different altitude categories of the study districts ranged from 398-503; 98-626, and 1,132 – 1,209 kg/ha, respectively. The common and/or dominant woody species in the communal grazing areas were highly palatable species of Acacia tortilis and Grewia bicolor and less palatable Solanum species. In riverside grazing areas, the common and/or dominant woody plants were species of Acacia tortilis, Grewia bicolor, and Solanum species while in the enclosures; Acacia brevispica and Acacia tortilis were found. The woody vegetation density per hectare of communal, riverside and enclosure areas in the different altitude categories of the study districts ranged from 2,501-3,021; 2251-3,021, and 201-700,wd/ha respectively which showed that the communal and riverside grazing areas were bush encroached. The range condition scores ranged from 17.87-20.38 (communal), 22-27 (riverside), 31.05-31.2 (enclosures) which were poor, fair and good condition classes, respectively. Similarly, with regard to the same variable the scored varied from 22-32.87, 19.73-31.43, 17.97-31.44 and 17.87-31.28% in altitudes >1550m, 1250-1550m, 900-1250m, and 550-900m, respectively. The result indicated the need for rangeland improvement measures in communal and riverside grazing areas, in order to attain sustainable livestock production from these areas. Establishment of community based enclosures was found to be one of the ways to improve the condition of the rangelands. The result indicated the need for rangeland improvement measures in communal and riverside grazing areas, in order to attain sustainable livestock production from these areas. Establishment of community based enclosures was found to be one of the ways to improve the condition of the rangelands

Smallholders with dual-purpose cattle production systems in most Central America experience a shortage of forages during the dry season (4-8 month. As a result, substantially lower milk production and weight gain occurs. Dual-purpose operations seeking to maximize milk and beef production in the dry season can produce and feed hay or silage to their livestock. The increase in milk and beef production due to feeding hay or silage during the dry season on commercial dual-purpose cattle productions systems, the production costs of making silage or hay and the benefits as a result of feeding silage or hay are estimated and compared in Honduras and Costa Rica. Due to feeding silage or hay, farmers in Honduras and Costa Rica have increased milk production during the dry season. The costs of feeding hay are lower in both countries, although farmers feed a higher amount (kg DM/cow/ day) than silage. Feeding silage or hay to milking cows is profitable in both countries. The income-cost ratio and the net benefit ($/ cow/day) due to feeding these feedstuffs are positive. Farmers with milking cows in Honduras realise a higher income-cost ratio and net benefit due to feeding silage and hay than farmers in Costa Rica. Likewise, beef cows or young livestock supplemented with these feeding alternatives don't loose weight during the dry season. In Honduras as well in Costa Rica, it is profitable to feed silage or hay to beef cows or young livestock. Currently, no silage and a small hay market exist in Honduras. Possibly, these will develop due to an increasing demand for these profitable feedstuffs. In Costa Rica thanks to the efforts of agricultural organisations, a hay market of different qualities is developing.

The mainstay of economic activity in Cat Que Commune, Hoai Duc District of Ha Tay Province in Vietnam is got raising, which is the production of piglets between 8 to 30 kg, filling a gap between the sow/piglet and meat pig productions. A cluster of associated enterprises have developed around this got-based enterprise which include the got raisers, piglet suppliers, feed and medicine suppliers, veterinarian services, got collectors, and manure collectors. The relationships with these associated enterprises form the basis of the complex enterprise strategies of the got raisers, which strive to balance a complex set of issues of feed, growth, season, disease control, labour, credit, and marketing in order to ensure the profitability and sustainability of the enterprise. The got are fed a rice-based diet, with occasional protein concentrate to speed up growth for seasons when got prices are high; while inferior feed is given when there is a glut in the market. Disease control is as much related to management as it is to marketing strategy and labour requirements. To sell the whole lot of got yields lower profit and leads to uneven labour requirements, but it provides the opportunity for thorough cleaning of the pig pens and a break in disease; both contribute to better health condition. Selling got on credit fosters relationships with the collectors, but also creates a cash flow problem which in turn is passed on to the feed suppliers who then must sell feed to got raisers on credit. The in-depth analysis of this complex set of interrelated issues provides the basis for elaborating an enterprise plan to improve the system. One research activity that has been completed is a trial on maize substitution for rice and the results showed significant improvement in growth rate (372 vs. 332 g/day of daily weight gain), reduced feed cost (6,013 vs. 7,654 vnd/kg weight gain - USD 1 = 15,400 vnd -), and higher profit (78,611 vs. 51,032 vnd per got). The disease survey also identified the management areas that affect the frequencies of illnesses, including pig pen design and flooring, living space, cleanliness (e.g., bathing frequency and thorough disinfection of pig pens), and drinking water source.

Surveys were made of rural artisan cheese factories located in the region of Olancho, Catacamas, and Juticalpa in Honduras (n=10) and in Esquipulas and Muy-Muy in Nicaragua (n=13). The objective was to analyze the milk market of small rural artisan cheese factories in livestock watersheds of Honduras and Nicaragua to determine if: there is a market for higher milk production how much additional milk can the market absorb in each season of the year there is a market for milk of higher hygienic quality. The main buyer of the milk from small and medium scale farmers in Honduras and Nicaragua is the rural artisan cheese industry, which absorbs almost 80% of the milk produced in both countries. Total milk production during the rainy season is about twice that during the dry season, causing an over-supply and scarcity of milk, respectively. The shortage of fluid milk during the dry season leads to an unsatisfied market. The artisan cheese factories in Honduras and Nicaragua would be willing to buy 76% and 55% more milk during the dry season, but this supply is not available due low milk productivity. This fact suggests that an aggressive program for the promotion of shrub legumes with sugarcane to supplement the herd during the dry season would have more impact that the promotion of grasses or legumes for the rainy season when there is little market for additional milk produced. In addition, rural artisan cheese factories in Honduras and Nicaragua, that consider the milk they collect is of bad quality, would be willing to pay a higher price if the option to collect milk of better hygienic quality exists. In Honduras this price would be about 9% higher during the dry season and 11% higher during the rainy season. In Nicaragua the cheese factories would be willing to pay a milk price which is 17% higher, but only during the rainy season. As a result, large incentives exist in both countries to increase milk production during the dry season and to improve the hygienic quality of milk in the studied areas.

The early adoption of the legume Arachis pintoi was studied in the State of Caquetá, located in Colombia’s Amazon region. Data came from 174 farmers randomly surveyed within the area of influence of Nestlé, a multinational milk-processing company. In addition, 52 farmers who had already adopted Arachis were surveyed separately to study their experiences, difficulties, and prospects with the legume. Results indicated that livestock activity is undergoing dynamic intensification. Since 1986, milk production per lactation has increased by 31%, cow fertility by 5%, herd size by 18%, and the area sown to improved pastures by 165%. Current adoption rate of Arachis is about 9.2%, with an estimated 3000 ha already planted. Two-thirds of farmers who had adopted Arachis said they would double, in the next year, the average area sown (9.6 ha/farm). Adopters tended to have larger farms and to have invested twice the capital than did non-adopters. The cost of seed for both grass and legume accounted for 40-52% of total establishment costs, making seed quality decisive in guaranteeing success. To promote Arachis, more information on the plant and its management in association with grasses must be disseminated. Mechanisms should also be sought to reduce establishment costs.

Agriculture of the Czech Republic has features of submonate and montane agriculture. More than half of the surface of the Czech Republic is less favourable areas (LFA). Organic farming is carried out on the area of 6% of the surface of arable land. The contemporary state of farming has been evaluated and organic and conventional farming systems have been compared in the framework of the analysis of structure of farming in the Czech Republic. The selective group of 437 associations, consisting of 3 subgroups, is divided into several categories according to the farming method and altitude. Parameters of plant and animal production and use of the agro-environmental programmes and measures are evaluated. The evaluation of the structure of farming permits to find optimal possibilities for future development of conventional and organic farming in the Czech Republic and for arrangements of the settings of grants and subsidies.

The objective of the study was to examine the range of variation in chemical composition of different barley types. Field experiments were carried out at the State Stende Cereal Breeding Institute from 2004 to 2006. Grain samples of 52spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes, including two-row, six-row, covered and hull-less genotypes were analysed for starch, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, crude ash and phosphorus. On the average, the six-row barley genotypes had a significantly larger content of crude protein (152.0 g kgE-1), crude fibre (53.5 g kgE-1), crude ash (24.4 g kgE-1) and phosphorus (4.7 g kgE-1) but less starch (590.4 g kgE-1) than the two-row barley genotypes (626 g kgE-1). The hull-less barley grain contained significantly more crude protein (149.4 g kgE-1), crude fat (25.4 g kgE-1) and phosphorus (4.7 g kgE-1) than covered ones. The largest coefficient of variation was found for crude protein of covered barley (15.0%), for crude fibre of hull-less barley (13.8%) and for phosphorus of six-row barley (18.0%) genotypes. Consequently, energetic value was slightly higher in the hull-less barley with waxy type of endosperm, because of the higher fat (27.1-28.3 g kgE-1) and starch content (622.3-680.7 g kgE-1) and less crude fibre (17.3-17.4 g kgE-1) and crude ash (18.9-21.2 g kgE-1) content.