Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of Community-Based Values Informing Land Management On The Midwestern Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Of Kansas, Usa, Heidi Mehl, Diana L. Restrepo-Osorio, Melinda Howard, Cynthia Annett

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The focus of this study is to examine the interface between land management practices and values within a tribal community in rural midwestern North America. The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (PBPN) reside on a tribal reservation with a checkerboard distribution amongst private, non-tribal landowners. Previous studies have indicated that landowners may have different value-systems leading to variations in land-management practices. This can impose discontinuous land management in areas within shared biological boundaries, such as watersheds, especially between tribal and non-tribal entities. Preliminary spatial analysis in and around the PBPN landscape determined that the tribally-managed lands present more vegetative cover per …

A Policy Brief On Adopting The Somali Camel For Enhanced Profitability And Pastoral Resilience In Northern Kenya, Simon G. Kuria, A. O. Adongo, S. Murithi, O. K. Koech, J. T. Njoka, P. Kamande

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Persistent drought and high temperatures in Isiolo and Marsabit counties of northern Kenya repeatedly devastate livestock herds particularly cattle making the pastoralists less resilient, more vulnerable to climate change and poor. To address this challenge, an IGAD funded project promoted adoption of Somali camel breed, trained farmers on improved management and also estimated potential profitability of rearing the camel. Through the project, trainers were trained and facilitated to train 240 peri-urban Somali camel producers in Isiolo and Marsabit on breeding, health, routine husbandry and marketing. Impact study documenting positive stories of change was conducted at the end. Producers who hitherto …

Red Clover Improves The Energy To Protein Balance Of Lucerne-Grass Herbage, X. Godin, Gaëtan F. Tremblay, P. Seguin, S. Bittman, D. Hunt, J. Hakl, G. Bélanger, M.-N. Thivierge, A. Bertrand, M. Thériault, A. Claessens

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Low ratio of readily fermentable carbohydrate to soluble protein concentrations in lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) leads to inefficient use of herbage N by ruminants. To improve the energy to protein balance in lucerne-grass herbage, four proportions of lucerne:red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) were compared in mixtures with and without grasses: timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus Schreb. Dumort.) in Quebec (QC, Canada). In the first post-seeding year, red clover proportion averaged (across grasses and four harvests) 0, 37, 59, and 74% in herbage mixtures. Increasing the proportion of red clover caused a slight …

Structural Features Of Condensed Tannins Influence Their Antimethanogenic Potential In Forage Plants, S. Verma, J.-P. Salminen, S. Wolffram, F. Taube, R. Blank, A. Susenbeth, C. Malisch

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Despite years of research on the antimethanogenic potential of condensed tannins (CT), their large-scale application is inhibited by a substantial variability in previous studies with regards to their impact on ruminant nutrition. This variability mainly results from the complexity of CT structures, and their impact on methane emissions is often unaccounted for. Hence, this study (a) evaluated the variability in antimethanogenic potential across six forage species, (b) linked methane emissions to tannin activity, and (c) determined the impact of CT structural features on methane abatement. Six forage species were grown in a greenhouse under controlled environmental conditions, namely, sainfoin ( …

The Role Of Bacteria And Fungi On Forage Degradation In Vitro, Gilberto V. Kozloski, D. C. Rösler, C. A. Pozo, L. E. Leonardi, Mariana P. Mezzomo

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The study was conducted to evaluate the interactive role of bacteria and fungi on forage degradation in vitro. Samples of Cynodon spp. were incubated in a 48-h in vitro gas assay with incubation medium containing or not antimicrobial substances. Treatments were: antibiotic (Ab), antifungal (Af), negative control (i.e. without antimicrobials) or positive control (i.e. with both Ab and Af). Three replicate assays were conducted and, in each assay the gas volume was measured at 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36 and 48 h of incubation. Data of cumulative gas production in each flask in each assay was fitted to …

Performance Of Rotational Grazing Of Urochloa Hybrid Cv. Cayman In The Caribbean Region Of Costa Rica, M. Hernández-Chaves, R. Van Der Hoek, S. Abarca-Monge, R. Soto-Blanco, J. Arango

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In Costa Rica pasture-based grass is the basis for both dairy and beef production. The Caribbean region with a rainfall exceeding 3000 mm has four seasons: dry (Feb-May), rainy (May-Aug), less rainy (Sep-Oct) and intermediate (Oct-Feb). Many pastures are dominated by Ischaemum ciliare (“Retana”), of poor nutritional quality and permanently grazed with low stocking rates (one animal per ha). To assess the potential of combining improved grasses with rotational grazing, a trial with Urochloa hybrid cv. Cayman was implemented at the INTA research station in Guápiles, Limón province, during four years (2014 to 2018). An intensive pasture management system based …

Intellectual Property Protection – Stimulating Or Constraining Innovation And Technology Transfer?, John R. Caradus, C. A. Tumilson, J. Y. Lin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grassland farming is becoming more technically advanced leading to improvements in productivity, environmental outcomes and animal welfare. As a result, farmers have an increasing range of new innovations being made available to them. The question examined here is whether widespread uptake of new innovations by farmers is more effective when driven by marketing through dedicated paths to market where the intellectual property (IP) is controlled or through multiple paths to market where there is no IP control?

The role of IP in stimulating the development, manufacture and sale of new technologies is hotly debated. For plant breeders and patent owners, …

Conversion Of Forest To Agro-Silvo-Pastoral System – Montado – In Mediterranean Environments, J. Potes, F. Jorge, T. Montes, D. Palha

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The Mediterranean environment regions are characterized by climate and soil specificities that justify low productive capacity for primary production when compared to other environments on earth. The Mediterranean forests are essentially formed by trees and shrubs. The shrubs are the perfect fuel to feed the forest fires that occur in a natural and cyclical manner in these environmental conditions. Therefore, the Mediterranean Systems of Agriculture have evolved to control the shrubs and the extensification of the systems because of low productivity. Sustainability is achieved by increase of productivity through improvement of the soil and irrigation. The application of these principles …

Analysis Of The Attitude Of Farmers Towards Innovations In The Management Of Grasslands In Poland, P. Goliński, A. Van Den Pol-Van Dasselaar, A. Paszkowski, B. Golińska

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Innovations in the management of grasslands in Poland are important to preserve them as a source of different ecosystem services. In the farmers point of view the most promising is forage production for herbivores, particularly dairy cows. Individual farmers have different opinions about innovations. To stimulate innovations in grassland-based farming systems in Poland, it is important to determine the drivers for their promotion and to define the barriers to overcome problems by their implementation. Analysis of the attitude of Polish farmers towards innovations on grasslands were conducted within the H2020 Inno4Grass project. The majority of respondents were young and had …

Adaptive Rotational Grazing And The Story Of The Regrazed Grass Plant, L. M. Porensky, H. Wilmer, D. J. Augustine, J. D. Derner, M. Fernández-Giménez, David D. Briske, Carm Stakeholder Group

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Livestock stocking rates and decisions about how to move animals in time and space impact plant responses to livestock grazing. We report on a ranch-scale collaborative experiment comparing adaptive rotational grazing management to season-long continuous grazing during a 4.5-month grazing period during the growing season. As part of this project, stakeholders and scientists worked together to articulate their hypotheses about the mechanisms linking rotational grazing with expected vegetation outcomes. Several stakeholders expected rotational grazing to enhance the production and diversity of grazing-sensitive perennial grass species. The main hypothesized mechanism underlying this expectation was that rotation grazing should reduce regrazing of …

A Scalable And Participatory Sustainable Rangeland Management Toolkit With A Holistic And Multidisciplinary Approach To Rehabilitate Degraded Rangelands, Mounir Louhaichi, Mouldi Gamoun, Sawsan Hassan

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Rangelands contribute significantly toward improving livelihoods, offering food security, trade and tourism for pastoral communities. Numerous challenges include poor government policies, loss of indigenous knowledge and top-down approaches toward sustainable rangeland rehabilitation that often fail to consider local development adoption and sustainability. In such situations, effective management is needed for sustainable rangeland ecosystem goods and services in a context characterized by rainfall unreliability, poor soil nutrient status and high uncontrolled grazing. This paper presents a new comprehensive toolkit for identifying and combining suitable and site-specific interventions aimed at reversing the trend of degraded arid rangelands. This toolbox is founded on …

Pastoralist Use Of Reseeded Fields For Additional Resilience To Climate Variability Through Alternate Livelihood Activities, D. W. Githu, J. S. Fehmi, M. Mcclaran, M. Elizabeth, A. Josephson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Land degradation, climate variability, socio-economic changes and population increase are some of the factors that shrink grazing lands making forage availability less predictable and affecting the resilience of pastoralists communities. Reseeding as an intervention can rehabilitate degraded lands for profitable use through offering pastoralists alternative sources of livelihood and encourage livelihood diversification. This study evaluated two pastoral communities, the Tugen and the Njemps from Baringo County, Kenya, who have owned, managed and used reseeded fields to study the dynamics of reseeding land. A total of 193 pastoralist households were interviewed. These two pastoral communities used their fields for: dry season …

The Role Of Improved Forages In Solving The Water Scarcity Issue Of 4 Billion People, S. Douxchamps, A. Notenbaert, J. A. Cardoso, M. Romero, M. Peters

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Global animal production requires about 2422 Gm³ of water per year. Most of this volume is used by cattle, with 30% used in the beef sector and another 19% in the dairy sector. At the same time, four billion people suffer from severe water scarcity, raising the flag on diverting an important part of the water globally to livestock production. Livestock-water interactions have therefore gained a prominent profile and fuelled discussions on the water footprint of livestock. A series of studies on the most important components of the livestock water footprint have shown that globally more than 90% of …

Spring Forage Stash Module To Prevent Forage Crisis On Uruguayan Livestock Systems: An Evaluation Based On Model Simulations, M. Pereira Machín, F. Dieguez Cameroni

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In Uruguay, rangeland cattle production systems support national economy by beef exportation chain and economic inputs to the country. Soil hydric stress episodes results to forage crisis on grassland-based production systems, having high impact on its trajectory and leaving sequels at several farm levels mainly on rearing cattle systems in drought sensitive regions of the country. In that context, the proposal is to create a spring forage stash module, with a simple management rules as a mechanism to build stability to farms and to buffering drought impact. The concept is to differ spring forage (season with low variation coefficient on …

Perennial Forage Grasses Response To Deficit Irrigation As An Alternative For Water-Limited Conditions Of Southern Chile, Rafael López-Olivari, Fernando Ortega-Klose

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Perennial grasses are an important pasture forage source for the animal production industry around the world. However, the lack of available water limits the use and efficiency of the water resource for maximizing the forage yield. Furthermore, the highest perennial grasses production is obtained in southern Chile, where the frequency and intensity of the rainfalls has been significantly diminished in the main growing period. Thus, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the responses of forage yield (FY) and irrigation water use efficiency (I_WUE) under different levels of water stress on perennial grasses sown …

Quantification Of Methane Emissions From Indoor-Fed Fogera Dairy Cows Using Laser Methane Detector, N. Kobayashi, F. Hou, A. Tsunekawa, Tianhai Yan, F. Tegegne, A. Tassew, Y. Mekuriaw, S. Mekuriaw, B. Hunegnaw, W. Mekonnen, T. Ichinohe

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Portable laser methane detectors (LMDs) may be an economical means of estimating CH₄ emissions from ruminants. Here, we validated an LMD-based approach and then used that approach to evaluate CH₄ emissions from indigenous dairy cows in a dryland area of Ethiopia. First, we validated our LMD-based approach in Simmental crossbred beef cattle (n = 2) housed in respiration chambers and fed either a high- or low-concentrate diet. We found that the exhaled air CH₄ concentrations measured by LMD were linearly correlated with the CH₄ emissions determined by infrared-absorption-based gas analyzer (r² = 0.55). …

An Ecophisiological Proposal To Manage Natural Grasslands: A Long Term Trial, F. L. F. De Quadros, D. Roberti, L. Marin, B. Kuinchtner, P. L. Nascimento

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Natural grasslands on Southern Brazil comprise the so called “Rio de La Plata Grasslands” in South America. They are an important fodder source for ruminant pastoral systems and contribute to regional ecosystem services. Strength of these grasslands is its floristic diversity that poses a dilemma to farmers: how to choose management protocols that could be applied for hundreds of species. We propose to use a functional ecophysiological approach based on groups of grasses, the most abundant on aerial biomass of this natural grasslands. We clustered the most frequent grasses in two groups based on its leaf traits (leaf dry matter …

Variation Of Pollen Viability In Brachiaria Species And Opportunity In Increased Filled Seed Percentage, Weenaporn Juntasin, Sarayut Thaikua, Rattikan Poungkaew, Pichet Chanpeng, Sompon Waipanya, Yasuhiro Kawamoto

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

On pseudogamy process, pollen fertility affects endosperm development in Brachiaria apomictic hybrids. Also, it was well-known that self-incompatibility could affect the fertilization in cross pollination species. Evaluation of pollen viability and percentage of filled seed, and the demonstration of pollen induction technique for increasing filled seed percentage in Brachiaria spp. are presented in this paper. In the first experiment, 8 cultivars/breeding lines of Brachiaria, including 2 open-pollinated cultivars, an apomictic cultivar and 5 hybrids, were planted in randomized completely block design, with 3 replications at northeast Thailand. Each experimental unit consisted of 20 plants, 6 central plants were evaluated. …

Evaluation Of Herbage Intake Estimation Methods For Dairy Cattle Grazing On Semi-Extensive Pastures, S. Perdana-Decker, E. Velasco, J. Werner, U. Dickhoefer

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Available empirical and mechanistic models to estimate total dry matter intake (DMI) and pasture dry matter intake (PDMI) of grazing lactating dairy cows have mainly been developed under intensive grazing conditions. The objective was to evaluate the adequacy of such existent models for use under semi-extensive grazing conditions, characterised by semi-natural grassland and less intensive resource use. Feed intake of lactating cows was measured on three commercial organic dairy farms in South Germany during one or two 6-d-periods/farm in 2019. Each period, DMI was determined in 10 or 20 cows per farm from their daily faecal output measured using titanium …

Tracing The Path Of Technology Diffusion: The Case Of Nturumenti, Narok, Kenya, Paul N. Katiku, R. Kimitei, S. Amboga, G. A. Keya, B. Korir, J. Nginyi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

An array of technologies; growing improved wheat varieties, bulking and collective marketing of wheat grains, sheep breed improvement, ram sharing, feedlot sheep fattening for market, strategic sheep deworming, pasture establishment and conservation practices; were introduced to members of a community based organization (CBO) in Nturumenti, anti-female genital mutilation and anti-poverty organization (AFAPO) in 2014. The CBO members, composed of youthful 19 men and 7 females, were intensively exposed and involved in the new skills both theoretically and practically in the farmers’ field school model. Even though the 8 farming technology options were suitable for the study environment, their adoption and …

The Use Of Sunn Hemp As Forage In Florida, João M. B. Vendramini, J. E. Garzon Alfonso, H. M. Da Silva, Maria L. Silveira, J. C. B. Dubeux Jr., M. Kaneko

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) is a warm-season annual legume that has been widely used as cover crop; however, there is potential to use sunn hemp as forage in subtropical regions. The objective of this study was to evaluate management practices to improve the efficiency of using sunn hemp as a forage crop. The study was conducted in Ona, Florida, USA from 2016 to 2018 and tested the factorial arrangement of five sunn hemp genotypes (Crescent Sunn, Ubon, Blue Leaf, and AU Golden) and two harvest times (60 d after seeding or flowering) with four replicates. There was a …

The Optimum Seeding And Harvesting Dates Of Sorghum-Sudangrass Hybrid (Sorghum Bicolor L.) Via Optimum Moving Response Surface Methodology, M. Kim, J. Y. Kim, M. H. Jo, C. H. Kim, K. Sung

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This study aimed to detect the optimum seeding and harvesting dates, and to verify the variation of dry matter yield (DMY) for sorghum-sudangrass hybrid (SSH) via optimum moving RSM proposed to optimize the RSM in metadata. For detecting the optimum point, a response surface methodology (RSM) has been known well in agricultural science. The SSH metadata (n = 856) consists of individual experiments that could be performed to check the optimum seeding and harvesting dates by classic RSM. However, the SSH metadata failed to produce an effective single equation which can be detected the optimum seeding and harvesting dates due …

The Importance Of Soil Seed Bank Dynamics As Potential Indicators Of Desertification Tipping Point, N. Hamunyela, W. C. Nesongano, K. Tielbörger

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Soil seed banks play a major role in the vegetation dynamics of drylands, where annual rainfall is unpredictable and plants depend on a persistent stage (seeds) to survive over the dry season. The purpose of the study is to understand the behaviour of the rangeland system in terms of soil seed bank dynamics before, during and after crossing the “so called” DTP and to determine whether different management systems plays a role in accelerating the desertification process. Through the use of the Space for Time Substitution Approach the study analysed spatial grazing gradients (gradients radiating from water points) to predict …

Promoting Rangeland Restoration And Climate Resilience Through Grazing Case Studies, T. D. Hudson, S. A. Hall, G. G. Yorgey, S. Neibergs, M. R. Reeves, S. Jensen

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Cow-calf beef operations are the primary users of the 8.75 million hectares of rangelands in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and will have to adapt to ongoing and future climate change. Management directed toward current rangeland stressors which may be amplified under a changing climate—including fire risk, invasive plants, and droughts—is likely to improve future resilience. And although climate change discussions have become highly politicized, our experience suggests that Pacific Northwest ranchers support "no-regrets” strategies that provide ecological and economic benefits under a variety of future conditions. Our goal is to foster adoption of these strategies by sharing individual success stories. …

The Effects Of Microbial Inoculation On Short-To-Long Fermentation And Aerobic Stability Of Grass-Legume Silage Ensiled In Big Bales, J. Jatkauskas, V. Vrotniakiene, K. L. Witt, G. Copani, I. Eisner

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Wilted (35.9 % DM and 2.6% WSC) moderately difficult to ensile grass-legume mixture (red clover, alfalfa and timothy 50:20:30) was ensiled in cylindrical big bales (1.2 m hight and 1.2 m diameter) with a weight about 700 kg. The crop was ensiled for 8, 32 and 120 days with or without a microbial inoculation (SiloSolve^® FC containing Lactococcus lactis DSM 11037/1k2081 and Lactobacillus buchneri DSM 22501/1k20738 applied at 1.5×10⁵ CFU g^-1 forage). Ten bales per treatment were prepared for each fermentation period. After each period of ensiling the big bales were opened, sampled, and tested for fermentation …

Spatial And Temporal Variation Of Stocking Rate In A Rotational Grazing System On A Namibian Cattle And Sheep Farm From 2006 To 2017, L. Ludwig, C. Huelsebusch

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The debate on appropriate stocking rates (SR) increasingly recognizes the importance of variable, targeted and adaptive stocking in response to a temporally variable and spatially heterogeneous resource distribution, particularly in challenging environments such as the Namibian savannah. In common extensive ranching systems, a farmer’s scope of action is often limited to flexibly adjusting the number and concentration of livestock to the available forage in space and time. SRs are commonly set according to carrying capacity recommendations which usually have a low spatio-temporal resolution. This may lead to punctual under- and overutilization. The Namibian Rangeland Management Strategy advocates adjusting SR in …

Silage Preparation And Fermentation Characteristics Of Pearl Millet Stover Treated With Microbial Additive In West Africa, Y. Cai, Z. Du, S. Yamasaki, D. Jethro, M. Nignan

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) stover is one of the main crop by-products in West Africa. To effectively use the crop by-product resources as roughage for ruminant to cover the feed shortage in the dry season, the millet stover silage was prepared using laboratory-scale fermentation system without (control) or with lactic acid bacteria inoculant (LP, Lactobacillus plantarum) and cellulase enzyme (AC, Acremonium) in Burkina Faso, and their fermentation characteristics and chemical composition were analyzed. The dry matter (DM) of fresh millet before ensiling was 44.3%, and their organic matter, crude protein (CP), ether extract, neutral detergent fiber …

Seasonal Patterns Of Herbage Accumulation Dynamics In Marandu Palisadegrass Subjected To Intensities Of Continuous Stocking Management, André F. Sbrissia, Daniel Schmitt, Paulo G. Duchini, Sila C. Da Silva

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

It is relatively well reported in the literature that pastures can have similar forage net accumulation when managed with contrasting structures. However, we hypothesized that the patterns of forage accumulation dynamics of pastures managed at different canopy heights is dependent on environmental conditions. The experimental treatments were four canopy heights (10, 20, 30, and 40 cm), allocated to experimental units according to a randomized complete block design with four replicates and evaluated throughout four contrasting environmental seasons (Summer, Autumn, Winter-Early Spring, and Late Spring). Under favourable growing conditions greater forage accumulation was observed in pastures maintained taller; on the contrary, …

Revisiting Nitrogen Fertilisation Rates Of Kikuyu And Kikuyu-Ryegrass Pastures, C. Viljoen, Janke Van Der Colf, Pieter A. Swanepoel

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Irrigated pastures are used for dairy production in South Africa. Minimum-tillage and nitrogen (N) fertilisation are important management practices for kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) and ryegrass (Lolium spp.) pastures. Nitrogen fertiliser application rates as high as 500 kg N ha^-1 year^-1 have been reported. Conventional tillage as well as cutting and removal of herbage material (opposed to removal through grazing) are the basis on which these fertiliser guidelines were developed. The current management practices have substantially changed the soil organic carbon and N stoichiometry. The aim of this study was to determine an optimum rate of …

Review Of Urochloa Breeder’S Toolbox With The Theory Of Change And Stage Gate System Approach, E. Sweitzer, L. Hernandez, D. Florian, A. Notenbaert, S. Burkart, J. Arango, J. Cardoso, M. Peters, V. Castiblanco

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Livestock production in the global south is at crossroads as there is a demand to increase Animal Source Foods to address hunger and pressure to lighten the environmental footprint often associated with livestock production. To satisfy both needs, the use of technologies that improve animal performance, while reducing land use and net Greenhouse Gas emissions produced by animals is essential. One of such technologies are Urochloa forage grasses.

Urochloa forage grasses are well known for their rusticity and their ability to grow in soils of low fertility and high aluminum content. These characteristics allow Urochloa to grow in areas temporally …