Water use intensity of Canadian beef production in 1981 as compared to 2011.

The amount of beef produced per animal in Canada increased significantly from 1981 to 2011, due to enhanced production efficiency and increased carcass weight. This study examined the impact of improvements in production efficiency on water use intensity over this period. Temporal and regional differences in cattle categories, water use for drinking, feed production and meat processing, feeding systems, average daily gains, and carcass weight were considered in the analysis. Potential evapotranspiration (PET) was estimated by the National Drought Model (NDM) from 679 weather stations across Canada using the Priestley and Taylor equation. To adjust PET estimates for each crop included in cattle diets, FAO crop coefficients were used to calculate total feed water demand. Estimates of drinking water consumed by a given class of cattle accounted for physiological status, body weight and dry matter intake as well as ambient temperature. In both years, drinking water accounted for less than 1% of total water use with precipitation (i.e., green water) included for feed and pasture production. With exclusion of green water, drinking water accounted for 24% and 21% of total water use for Canadian beef production in 1981 and 2011, respectively. The estimated intensity of blue water (surface and groundwater) use per kilogram of boneless beef was 577L in 1981 and 459 in 2011, a 20% decline. The observed reduction in water use intensity over the past three decades is attributed to an increase in average daily gain and slaughter weight, improved reproductive efficiency, reduced time to slaughter as well as improvements in crop yields and irrigation efficiency. Given that feed production accounts for the majority of water use in beef production, further advances may be achieved by improving feeding efficiencies and reducing water use per unit of feed crop and pasture production.

Off-Stream Watering Systems and Partial Barriers as a Strategy to Maximize Cattle Production and Minimize Time Spent in the Riparian Area.

A study was conducted in 2009 at two locations in Manitoba (Killarney and Souris), Canada to determine the impact of off-stream waterers (OSW) with or without natural barriers on (i) amount of time cattle spent in the 10 m buffer created within the riparian area, referred to as the riparian polygon (RP), (ii) watering location (OSW or stream), and (iii) animal performance measured as weight gain. This study was divided into three 28-day periods over the grazing season. At each location, the pasture-which ranged from 21.0 ha to 39.2 ha in size-was divided into three treatments: no OSW nor barriers (1CONT), OSW with barriers along the stream bank to deter cattle from watering at the stream (2BARR), and OSW without barriers (3NOBARR). Cattle in 2BARR spent less time in the RP in Periods 1 (p = 0.0002), 2 (p = 0.1116), and 3 (p < 0.0001) at the Killarney site compared to cattle in 3NOBARR at the same site. Cattle in 2BARR at the Souris site spent more time in the RP in Period 1 (p < 0.0001) and less time in Period 2 (p = 0.0002) compared to cattle in 3NOBARR. Cattle did use the OSW, but not exclusively, as watering at the stream was still observed. The observed inconsistency in the effectiveness of the natural barriers on deterring cattle from the riparian area between periods and locations may be partly attributable to the environmental conditions present during this field trial as well as difference in pasture size and the ability of the established barriers to deter cattle from using the stream as a water source. Treatment had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on cow and calf weights averaged over the summer period. These results indicate that the presence of an OSW does not create significant differences in animal performance when used in extensive pasture scenarios such as those studied within the present study. Whereas the barriers did not consistently discourage watering at the stream, the results provide some indication of the efficacy of the OSW as well as the natural barriers on deterring cattle from the riparian area.

Economic performance of small ruminants in mixed-farming systems of Southern Ethiopia.

This study evaluates the household income contribution and the profitability of traditional small ruminant enterprises in two mixed-farming systems of southern Ethiopia (viz. Adilo and Kofele). Small ruminant production is an integral part of mixed systems in the Ethiopian highlands. The assessment of the current economic performance of small ruminants indicates production-related opportunities and constraints and provides baseline data against which the success of future interventions can be measured. Detailed information on economic parameters was gathered through a 1-year period of flock and household monitoring (155 households) between September 2005 and August 2006. Structured surveys were conducted with the participating households to elicit information on income-expense details of small ruminant and other agricultural enterprises. Small ruminants contributed considerably to cash income and to a limited extent to human nutrition especially when other sources were in short supply. The annual profit per animal ranged from 20 to 37 Ethiopian Birr. The return to capital was 17% in Kofele and 29% in Adilo, with both values vastly exceeding the national interest rate. The sale of small ruminants contributed to 39% and 23% of total farm cash income among small ruminant keepers in Adilo and Kofele, respectively. Sale prices are highest before holidays. Researches should target at how to use available feed resources in a timely and cost-effective fashion to make use of the seasonal market opportunities.