Kawonga Bettie S, Chagunda Mizeck G G, Gondwe Timothy N, Gondwe Sera R, Banda James W
Animal Science Department, Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi, P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2012 Oct;44(7):1429-35. doi: 10.1007/s11250-012-0083-7.
The aim of the current study was to characterise and evaluate production system of smallholder dairy farmers using an index based on combined score of animal welfare and milk quality. Farms were grouped into three categories, tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3. To test the robustness of the characterisation, milk yield (MY), calving interval (CI) and body condition scores (BCS) were used. In the study area, the majority (66.3%) of smallholder dairy farmers practiced cut-and-carry as compared to 15.3% who grazed their cows. The rest combined cut-and-carry and grazing. Cows of farmers in tier 1 had the lowest mean MY (5.4 kg/day, SE = 0.4), lowest mean BCS (2.1 kg/day, SE = 0.09) and longest mean CI (603 days, SE = 27) than farmers in tier 3, mean MY (10.8 kg/day, SE = 0.6), mean BCS (2.6, SE = 0.06) and mean CI (404 days, SE = 17). The study demonstrated that a simple and yet novel method based on farm level indicators can be developed and could assist to timely identify specific problems on the farm.
本研究的目的是使用基于动物福利和牛奶质量综合评分的指数，对小农户奶牛养殖生产系统进行特征描述和评估。农场被分为三类，即一级、二级和三级。为了检验特征描述的稳健性，使用了产奶量（MY）、产犊间隔（CI）和体况评分（BCS）。在研究区域，大多数（66.3%）小农户奶牛养殖采用割草并运送的方式，相比之下，15.3%的农户让奶牛放牧，其余农户则采用割草并运送与放牧相结合的方式。与三级农户相比，一级农户的奶牛平均产奶量最低（5.4千克/天，标准误=0.4），平均体况评分最低（2.1千克/天，标准误=0.09），平均产犊间隔最长（603天，标准误=27），三级农户的奶牛平均产奶量为（10.8千克/天，标准误=0.6），平均体况评分为（2.6，标准误=0.06），平均产犊间隔为（404天，标准误=17）。该研究表明，可以开发一种基于农场层面指标的简单而新颖的方法，该方法有助于及时识别农场的具体问题。
