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Abstract
The Ecuadorian inter-Andean valley maintains large agricultural areas called haciendas whose main activity is milk production, surrounding these, we find small and medium producers also considered ranchers. Although both are oriented towards the same markets and implement a clear trend towards intensive production systems, they show a marked difference in the dynamics of productive activity despite sharing similar constraints in term namely of altitude and marked slopes for their pastures. To enhance productive yields, the most extensive and effective application of improved management is sought for by farmers. Options to reach this objective include the composition of herds, the size of the paddocks, the stocking rate and resting times of the meadows, the use of fertilizers, an efficient combination between agricultural crops and pasture renewal and stoking management methods, the latter being possibly one low cost short-term action lever to act upon in order to potentiate dairy farming productivity. However, it is difficult to predict the efficiency and profitability of such efforts, particularly when there is such a distant economic and cultural gap between ranchers in the same country. To the best of our knowledge, the link between grazing management and milk productivity has not been documented in high-relief situations. Our thesis aims to analyze the impact of stocking management methods on the productive performance of grazing cows, in intensive milk production in the Ecuadorian highlands. In addition to analyzing the influence of the relief in the decision making for the conformation of paddocks, in the context of different degrees of slope on the properties. We hypothesized that a grazing management system can be found that is better adapted to the organizational practices of dairy systems in the Ecuadorian tropical highlands, as well as identify some practices that better compensate for the detrimental effects of slopes on animal productivity. To do this, first, 42 milk-producing farms were characterized in different cantons of the rural area of the province of Pichincha (Quito, Mejía, Rumiñahui and Cayambe) of Ecuador. Through a questionnaire to identify the productive and management activities in the herds and evaluate the average slope of the pastures of the farms based on GIS data. The results showed that the farms had an average area of 40 ha, the herds were composed of 60 ± 63 milking cows, predominantly of the Holstein Friesian breed (65 %), and the daily production of cows in milk reached 15.1 ± 3.4 kg. The highest productivity was found in the farms using rotational stocking with high intensity of instantaneous grazing with very short occupation times (< 12 h), cultural tasks in the meadows (reseeding, resting time, equalization cuts, soil aeration, fertilization, manure dispersion) and a flat topography of the pastures (p < 0.05). The steepness of the slopes was not a limitation to establish pastures for grazing animals since pastures were observed in the entire range of slopes, including very steep ones (up to 55 %). The daily production of individual cows was negatively correlated (r = - 0.323, p = 0.037) with the average slope of the surveyed farms.
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