The production of bovine meat has become one of the most important lines for the Cuban state, its main objective is to satisfy the needs of food production, which is why great efforts are devoted in studies towards this branch. In this sense, in the Fattening Farm # 401 of the UEBA “Sierra Maestra” of the municipality of Los Palacios, the present work was developed with the objective of evaluating the productive behavior of 50 male zebu breed, who were grazing in an area of 42 ha with natural grass during the rainy season. The total load was 1.19 animals per hectare. 414 g of mean daily gain (GMD) of live weight (LW) were obtained in the 210 days that the category lasted and a total delivery of 401.11 kg of LW. ha -1. The lack of paddocks for their rotation, the lack of forage areas and herbaceous legumes, influenced the increase in the duration of the category and the low GMD of PV to access more lucrative markets.
Key Words: Bovine fattening, pastures, productive behavior.
Abstract
The production of beef is a must for the Cuban government since it has become one of the most important areas of the economy; its main objective is to meet the needs of food production, which is why great efforts are devoted to the studies to that branch. In this regard, the University of Los Palacios, was developed in this work in order to evaluate the performance of 50 male zebu breed, which were grazing in an area of 42 ha with natural grass during the rainy season. The total charge was 1.19 animals per hectare, 414 g average daily gain (ADG) of body weight (BW) were obtained within 210 days of the delivery category and a total 401.11 kg LW. ha -1. The lack of scantlings for rotation, the failure to have forage areas and herbaceous legumes influenced the increased length of the category and the GMD of PV low to access more lucrative markets.
Keywords: fattening cattle, pastures, productive behavior.
Introduction
Animal production is an important component of food security, through which products such as milk, eggs and meat are obtained, which are an inherent part of any world policy in this regard. Furthermore, world demand for these products is high and tends to grow substantially with the increase in population and in average income per person.
To guarantee food security, it is a challenge to achieve an accelerated and sustainable development of the agricultural sector (Clavero, 2008) that guarantees to cover the demand for food for man with an adequate conservation of natural resources, so that “cattle are a viable alternative ”. (Álvarez, 1998)
The bovine mass had an accelerated decrease in our country, with low efficiency of the slaughtered animals (Viamontes, 2000)
Cuban livestock presents difficulties such as: poor rotation and management of pastures, insufficient food in the herd, little use of agro-industrial by-products, deterioration of technological discipline in livestock management, erosion of knowledge in technical personnel, incipient mechanisms of technology transfer and low degree of adoption; insufficient training of administrative technical staff and interaction between productive entities and scientific centers, which still does not reach the levels required by the country's own development, the priority attention to those who develop this practice and the application of environmental resolutions (Suárez, 2003).
Studying the productive indicators of farm # 401 is an important aspect to facilitate and make more efficient decision-making and a correct use of resources; It also serves as experience to increase these farms in the territory of Los Palacios, promoting the development of a sustainable agriculture with low external inputs.
The objective of this research was to evaluate the behavior of zebu breed males in meat production during the rainy season, grazing with natural grass on farm # 401 of the “Sierra Maestra” Agricultural Base Business Unit (UEBA) of Los Palacios.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The investigation took place in the Sierra Maestra Agricultural Base Business Unit on the farm # 401, which has an area of 42 ha and has 50 heads of Cebu breed bulls.
First, the animals were weighed at the time of purchase and every 28 days to calculate the average daily gain (GMD) for the period, using the formula proposed by (Marcelino in 2009) for the latter. In addition, starting from another formula used by the same authors, the live weight production (LW) per hectare was determined.
As empirical methods, 100% of the workers were interviewed and surveyed whose questionnaire had a fixed script and specific questions, which allowed the characterization of the farm.
From the data obtained in the interviews, surveys and visits carried out; It was possible to identify several factors that influence the behavior of the indicators under study, as well as a group of strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities that exert their influence on the development of the meat production of farm # 401. For this, it was developed the analysis of the SWOT matrix which was originally proposed by Albert Humphrey (1967). (Codina, 2012)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The productive results showed that this management and feeding system obtained 414 g of GMD of PV, in the 210 days that the fattening category lasted, in the rainy season. The delivery of 401 kg of total PV was achieved. ha -1 in the fattening category (Table 1).
Table 1. Productive behavior of the zebu breed of the farm
| Indicators | |
| Number of animals | fifty |
| Initial PV, Kg. | 250 |
| Final PV, Kg. | 336.94 |
| Duration, days | 210 |
| GMD, g | 414 |
| Total weight gained, Kg animal -1 | 86.94 |
| Production of PV per area, Kg. Ha -1 | 401 |
The GMD obtained by the animals in the investigation was lower than that recorded by Chao et al. (1982) and Monzote (1997), of 567 and 477 g animal -1 respectively, with four and three male dairy mixed-breed bovines per hectare, grazing with herbaceous legumes, where glycine and grasses predominated. The difference in this result could be related to the absence of herbaceous legumes in the area of the farm, in addition to the absence of paddocks to graze by the same and in a rotating manner according to the availability of grass.
According to the results of the interviews and surveys with managers and farm workers, the factors that affect meat production, coinciding with (Peña, 2007), stand out: management, quality of pastures and the presence of invasive plants (Table two).
Table 2. Factors that have influenced the deterioration of meat production according to workers on the production farm.
| Factors | % |
| Driving | 70 |
| Invasive plants | 55 |
| Pasture Quality | 75 |
The low quality of the pastures and the low proportion of pastures cultivated on the farm have repercussions on the productive results in terms of weight gain of the animals and the efficiency of the system, since the availability of grass and its quality in terms of pasture cultivated already the relationship or association between grasses and legumes, fundamentally Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala), allow achieving adequate profits, biological and financial profitability expected in the systems, which have been obtained in the tropics (Simón, 2000; Iglesias, 2003; Hunter, 2008; Guevara et al., 2009).
On the other hand, the presence of invasive plants (marabou) represents a negative effect for the study farm since, according to Guevara (2001), the infestation with weeds, low levels of improved pastures, among other indicators as a limitation for the feeding technology stand out. primarily grass-based.
Regarding the management, it refers to the fact that the farm does not have warehouses to guarantee the protection of the animals, so that they are exposed to the weather conditions at all times, being an important factor in the slow GMD of the animal according to (Vera, 2000).
Table 3 shows the main strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats that could be detected from the results of the survey and the interview, so in any production system it is convenient to know the relationship between the system factors and how they influence the production process, and decision-making.
Table 3. Main strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats of farm # 401 according to the SWOT Matrix.
| STRENGTHS | OPPORTUNITIES |
| Existence of the necessary human capital.
Stability of the administrative direction of the farm. Workers with experience in work related to the livestock sector and agriculture. Existence of a veterinarian. |
Proximity to centers of improvement in order to produce them.
There is a greater demand for their productions for marketing. Amount of land available. |
| WEAKNESSES | THREATS |
| Little training on subjects related to their functions.
Low fertilization of the soils. Lack of paddocks and ships. 4. Self-shading is minimal in the grazing area. |
Adjacent to the rice-growing areas, aviation can affect the area used for grazing.
Theft and slaughter of large livestock. Cattle feed base not guaranteed. Aging of the staff working on the farm. |
These results coincide with what is stated in the FAO report (2008), which ensures that the degradation of the environment, the lack of training in technology transfer and the unsustainability of livestock production, mark negative consequences for the livestock development employee.
In quadrant 1 (Strengths - Threats), the factors with the highest weight are represented by the longevity of the personnel working on the farm and the fact that the food base for the cattle in the comfort zone is not guaranteed. To mitigate or resist these threats, the internal strength of the farm that has the greatest impact is the existence of the necessary and stable human capital for agricultural and livestock activities.
In this quadrant there are two factors that do have a marked influence to increase meat production in this sector: The experience of the workers in the work empirically, together with the stability of the administrative direction, which to some extent can mitigate consequences negative.
The sum of quadrant 2 (strengths - opportunities) indicated that the factor with the greatest weight in the opportunities to be used to maximize strengths resides in the farm's proximity to centers of improvement for this production, which constitutes an important pillar for the solution of local problems in the short, medium and long term.
Quadrant 3 evaluated the relationship between internal factors (weaknesses) and external factors (threats). It indicated that the little training on related topics closely related to low soil fertilization and the lack of paddocks for work has a negative impact on good development. of cattle for meat production.
The relationships established in the 4th quadrant indicate that working by maximizing opportunities (external) and minimizing weaknesses (internal), the amount of available land can be used effectively for the diversification of livestock feeding.
Conclusions
The results obtained allowed evaluating the productive indicators in farm # 401 in terms of meat production of the 50 zebu breed males.
In addition, it was possible to identify the main strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats that, from the results of the surveys and interviews, could be detected that threaten the results of the farm.
Bibliography
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