Cattle grazing is a waste of time, says Deslandes
Dairy Board chairman moots alternative to preserve energy, boost yields
JAMAICA DAIRY Development Board (JDDB) Chairman Dr Derrick Deslandes has dismissed the traditional method of pasture-grazing cattle as an outdated and wasteful way of feeding.
Speaking during Thursday’s launch of the National Livestock Genetic Improvement Programme at the Caymanas Golf Club in St Catherine, he said that such feeding techniques were not ideal in a climate such as Jamaica’s.
“Grazing is a waste of time in many respects because here it is that you are focused on grazing animals and every pasture you pass, the cows them under shade and not eating because the sun is hot,” he said.
“Our pastures are not the best, so when the cows are grazing, the energy that they should be using to make milk, they are instead using it to find shade. This is the reality of the cows, so they use their energy to walk to find something to eat. So clearly, the whole model that we have practised for years has to change. Whether you use a hybrid model or a zero-grazing, you have to move in that direction,” Deslandes added.
The Dairy Board chairman told his audience that on a trip to Israel, he saw dairy cattle enjoying “cow comfort”, including being cooled by industrial and extractor fans, and was told by one of the farmers that those cows had never seen a blade of grass.
“’Cow comfort’ is a [term] I learnt in Israel and have researched and talk about wherever I go. So we have to seek out how to assist our farmers to move i n that direction, whether it is fodder banks or otherwise ... ,” he told the audience at the launch of the programme, which will see the JDDB collaborating with the Caribbean Broilers Group, through its livestock feed brand Nutramix, to develop a comprehensive nutrition infrastructure for the cattle and goat dairy industries, primarily through improved genetics.
Up in the 1980s, the local dairy industry was thriving, with Jamaica being the leading CARICOM producer of cow’s milk, but the sector was decimated following the trade liberalisation of the dairy and milk production in 1992. This saw the country’s milk production fall from a high of 53,000 metric tonnes in 1991 to 12,500 metric times in 2013.
As a result of the inability to compete with cheap, imported dairy products, the country has consistently recorded an annual decline in milk production. In fact, since 2004, Jamaica has seen a 33 per cent decline in its dairy herd population which fell to 12,400 head of cattle, with the breeding herd falling to about 6,300 head, 85 per cent of which were Jamaica Hope.
Deslandes is convinced that abandoning pasture-grazing for a hybrid or zero-grazing system is the first step in putting the industry back on a sustainable economic path.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Audley Shaw expressed concern that despite many interventions by the JDDB over the years to improve production, its efforts continue to be hampered by low levels of technological adaptation and an over-reliance on expensive imported inputs.
HOLISTIC APPROACH
Given the threat to food security posed by this inconsistency over the years, the board is now moving to develop a holistic approach to improving the beef and dairy industries by implementing sustainable genetic nutrition and management systems. It will expand its line of cattle breeds to include Angus, Brangus, Brahman, Brown Swiss, Jersey and Holstein, which are known for their superior milk yield and meat production.
The use of selected goat semen and embryos, also known for their high levels of milk and meat production, are also included in the programme.
Shaw said that the transformation will be supported by a revision of the Jamaica Dairy Development Board Act and the development of a national livestock development policy that will embrace the wider livestock industry.
This will be complemented by the development of and implementation of a herd management and animal registration system for small ruminants and the design and development of a system to export Jamaican livestock meat and meat by-products.