RUMINANT PRODUCTION SYSTEM
The systems of goat/sheep production can be categorized into:
1. Tethering
2. Extensive Production (Freely Grazing)
3. Semi-intensive Production
4. Intensive Production (Pure Confinement)
5. Integration into Crop Agriculture
6. Rapid Rotational Grazing
TETHERING
Goats are knotted to a rope roughly about 6-10 m long
Goats are closely monitored
Limited damage to crops
They are transferred once or twice daily to areas where it will have free access to fresh browsing
Common production management system in the Philippines
FREELY GRAZING
Small herd of goats, 5-10 will let loose to browse on waste vegetation and hedges
Very little management is exercised except letting the animals loose and herding them at night
Goats return in their own pens at night
Lesser level of family labor characterizes the main input
SEMI-INTENSIVE
Limited grazing and Stall-feeding
Goats receive few hours of grazing and return to the farm in the evening
Effective during wet season
Labor requirement is less compared to pure confinement
PURE CONFINEMENT
Animals are kept on Stalls and cut forages are provided on a cut and carry method
Effective conversion of crop residues
Good animal control
Effective parasite control
Limited damage to environment
INTEGRATION (VERTICAL)
established plantations of mango, coconut, tamarind
Maximum utilization of resources
Increase fertility of the land by return of dung and urine
Greater economic returns of the farmer from both crop and animal components
RAPID ROTATIONAL GRAZING
Best and sustainable technology option and to control endoparasites
dividing the pasture area into paddocks and allowing animals to graze rotationally
designed to break the life cycle of the parasite
3 to 4 days in each paddock
deworming frequency reduced by six times
COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
TYPE OF OPERATION
BASED ON PURPOSE OF PRODUCT
(CATTLE AND CARABAO)
1. Cow-calf (caracow - caracalf) operation
2. Breeder farm operation
3. Growing-fattening operation
4. Dairy farm operation
COW-CALF OPERATION
cow and bulls are raised to produce calves, then raised until
Post weaning, calves can be sold, or raised for several months for use as additional stocks
and/or sold as fattener
longest production period with 7-8 years
laborious but considered very significant operation
regularly supplies calves for replacement stocks and fattening-finishing production for another
farm operation
The most challenging production since raisers/producers need to be familiar with the following
basic reproductive phenomena -breeding systems
feeding systems
proper care and management of heifer/cow, bulls and calves
health management program
BREEDER FARM OPERATION
Calves are raised until they are ready for breeding provided they pass the selection criteria
(breeding purposes)
main output is to produced quality breeder stocks, a large herd is a pre-requisite for the
selection of replacement stocks
Requires a number of animal stocks, a big farm and a big capital investment
Raisers must have long years of experience and have gained in various field of large ruminant
raising
GROWING-FATTENING OPERATION
Most common type of cattle production in the Philippines
involves raising of newly weaned calves or culled mature heifers until they are ready for
slaughter
Requires simple facilities and level of management
Operation period is shorter and ROI is relatively higher than the cow-calf operation
Growing (7-12 mo) must be separated from fattening or finishing (23-25 mo)
Raising growing animals
-need simple care and management practices
-needs little capital investment
-can be handled even by smallhold raisers
Raising fattening-finishing animals
-done intensively (fed-lot) or in confinement (kept with minimum movement so that the feeds
given to them are utilized to develop their tissues)
-best handled by well-organized farms (commercial raisers)
GROWING-FATTENING OPERATION
DAIRY OPERATION
Produce milk for the following
Household consumption – backyard farms
Bottle feeding – for day zero weaning
Milk and dairy products – commercial farms
PRODUCTION SYSTEM
1. Ranching or Extensive production
2. Integration into Crop or Plantation Agriculture
3. Feedlot or Intensive production
RANCHING
Animals are maintained in a vast tract of open lands (public land) where animals are allowed to
graze freely
However, the enactment of Agrarian Reform Law limits the use of these pasture areas (peace
and order situation)
Despite this limitation, ranching still offers a good prospect
INTEGRATION
Small vacant lots between agricultural crop plantations such as corn, rice, sugarcane, etc. May
be utilized as feed sources
Animals can be also maintained be feeding them by-products of agricultural crops or industrial
wastes
Under plantation crops (coconuts or forest trees are open spaces where grasses can be grown)
For maximum benefits, both cattle/carabao and the crops should be managed PROPERLY
FEEDLOT / INTENSIVE
Animals are kept and fed on a cut-and-carry basis and/or zero grazing
A good pasture must be developed and maintained to ensure the regular feed supply
Supplemental feeding using concentrate is also practiced
