Resource use, cattle performance and output patterns on different farm types in a mountainous province of northern Vietnam
Le Thi Thanh Huyen A B D , Pera Herold B C , André Markemann B and Anne Valle Zárate B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A National Institute of Animal Sciences, Thuy Phuong, Chem, Tu Liem, Hanoi, Vietnam.
B University of Hohenheim, Institute of Animal Production in the Tropics and Subtropics, Department of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Garbenstrasse 17, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany.
C Landesamt für Geoinformation und Landentwicklung Baden-Wuerttemberg, Stuttgarter Strasse 161, 70806 Kornwestheim, Germany.
D Corresponding author. Email: lehuyen1973@yahoo.com
Animal Production Science 51(7) 650-661 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN10032
Submitted: 20 February 2010 Accepted: 17 April 2011 Published: 27 June 2011
Abstract
This study compares the use of resources, cattle performance and outputs on three different cattle-keeping farm types (mixed small farms, mixed medium farms with a collective use of natural pastures, and specialised large farms). The purpose was to evaluate the potential for beef production on household farms, where cattle keeping is integrated with cropping, compared with specialised large beef cattle farms. Data were collected by using farmer interviews, participatory rural appraisal tools and cattle body measurements, and analysed by linear models using SAS software.
Household farms raised cattle at very low input levels. Medium farms had lower costs for cattle keeping than small farms in the lowlands (0.11 Vietnamese Dong × 106/farm.year compared with 1.20 Vietnamese Dong × 106/farm.year). High inputs were observed on all large farms. Only the local Yellow cattle was found in the highlands. Yellow cattle was less fertile in the highlands than in the lowlands (age at first calving of 3.2 years and calving interval of 16.3 months compared with 2.8 years and 12.6 months, respectively). Performances of exotic breeds varied according to feeding and breeding management of large farms. Crossbred Laisind cattle had a better productive adaptability than exotic beef breeds. Cattle were used mainly for working and manure by small farms. The stock value was highest on medium farms. Low outputs on large farms were a result of high feed costs, inappropriate management and the failure of markets. Results from simulations identify the medium mixed farms with access to natural pasture showing a potential for the development of beef production, provided that access to markets and cattle management is improved.
Additional keywords: beef cattle, mixed farms.
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