Positive results from intensive beef cattle farming model

Inheriting the breeding achievements of the beef cattle herd improvement program in previous years, in 2024, the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center will implement the model of "Intensive beef cattle farming to support product consumption linkage" in Hai Phu commune, Hai Lang district and Trieu Thuong commune, Trieu Phong district. From the results achieved by the model, we will orient the expansion and development of the intensive beef cattle farming model in the province.

The intensive beef cattle farming model in Long Hung village, Hai Phu commune, Hai Lang district is developing well - Photo: PVT

Mr. Tran Kim Quang, Long Hung village, Hai Phu commune, Hai Lang district is the household selected to participate in the model. Mr. Quang's cattle raising model is directed, monitored, and guided by officials from the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center in coordination with the community agricultural extension teams of the communes on techniques for caring for, raising, mixing feed, processing, storing feed, preventing diseases for beef cattle and treating livestock waste as fertilizer for crops. The BBB (3B) crossbred cattle breed is selected based on the standards of beef cattle in Quang Tri province with the age of 10 - 12 months, average weight of 230 kg/head, with a scale of 10 heads/site.

The cattle are cared for, nourished, and their daily rations are balanced according to standards appropriate to their age and stage of development, and adjusted according to their weight gain and the reality of their farming. The rations are coordinated based on the potential and advantages of each locality, ensuring nutritional content and low cost. In addition, the cattle will be supplemented with macro and micro minerals using licking stones.

In particular, the model uses self-fermented fish protein, replacing industrial fish meal to balance the nutritional content in the cow's diet, helping the cow digest easily. Through the breeding process, it has been shown that this is a breed of cow with good growth ability, high resistance, and a larger body than other breeds of cow.

Mr. Tran Kim Quang said: “My family used to raise some breeds of cows but they were not very effective. When I learned about this 3B cow breed and received support from the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, I found many advantages. The cows have a good growth rate, beautiful shape, are omnivorous, and are easy to raise. Currently, I have 2 consumer markets in Hanoi and Quang Nam province ordering. The price depends on the time, but the 2 points I am linked to will buy at a higher price than the market, creating a long-term business chain. It is expected that in the near future, my family will increase the number of herds and expand this livestock model.

Through monitoring and intensive farming, the average weight gain of BBB crossbred cattle is 0.9 kg/head/day, equivalent to 27 kg/head/month. The weight gain of BBB crossbred cattle is 1.3 - 1.5 times higher than that of local breeds such as Zebu crossbred cattle and Brahman crossbred cattle.

Through monthly monitoring results, the weight of the model cows at the 2 locations reached an average of 520 kg/head. With the current selling price of about 80,000 VND/kg, after nearly 10 months of raising, the revenue of each model is over 445 million VND, bringing in a profit of nearly 110 million VND/model. In fact, raising BBB crossbred cows is 1.5 - 2 times more profitable than raising zebu crossbred cows, bringing a significant source of income to rural workers.

The implementation model has had a positive and effective impact on all three aspects of economy , society and environment. The use of agricultural by-products, grass, corn biomass as silage, and straw reserves creates an abundant source of food for livestock with a large source of nutrition, meeting year-round rations, thereby reducing initial investment costs and increasing economic efficiency. Raising beef cattle using local breeds is a key factor to limit the spread of disease, adaptation time, and low price of breeding cattle...

With the method of concentrated and large-scale farming, cow manure will be collected and composted with biological products to make fertilizer. This is a large amount of organic fertilizer for orange gardens on the farm and orange gardens in the province, creating an organic, circular model, adapting to climate change, meeting the requirements of agricultural development in the direction of organic and circular.

In Thuong Phuoc village, Trieu Thuong commune, Ms. Truong Thi Hang, the owner of a livestock farming model, said that in 2019, her family planted 3 hectares of Xa Doai oranges with golden hearts, supported by the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center under the new rural construction program.

Last year, the oranges officially entered the business season. Thanks to the manure from the family's intensive cow farming model, which was treated with biological products to fertilize the oranges, we saved about 45 million VND/year on buying fertilizer. The oranges were fertilized entirely with organic fertilizer, so they grew well and produced delicious, high-quality fruit.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment leaders assessed: This is a type of farming with linkage, solving the output to bring economic efficiency to farming households, can create a new profession in intensive beef cattle farming associated with product consumption linkage. The Department of Agriculture and Environment will continue to advise the province to have policies to support farmers to develop this model such as supporting breeds, supporting types of grass planting to create a source of green roughage in intensive cattle farming. Transferring technical advances, finding product consumption linkages, thereby stabilizing income sources for households.

Director of the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center Tran Can said: From 2020 to now, the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center has successfully mated 23,824 crossbred cows with imported beef cattle semen, annually giving birth to more than 5,000 crossbred beef calves, serving intensive beef cattle farming in and outside the province, bringing income to breeding cattle farmers across the province, estimated at 70 billion VND.

In particular, at the end of 2023, Hanoi City donated 3,000 doses of BBB bull semen to Quang Tri province. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Department of Agriculture and Environment) assigned the Agricultural Extension Center the task of distributing 2,500 doses of BBB bull semen donated by Hanoi City to Quang Tri province in 7 communes of 4 districts: Vinh Linh, Gio Linh, Trieu Phong and Hai Lang. Currently, crossbred calves have been born with guaranteed quality, serving beef cattle farming in the coming time.

Mr. Can added that in the coming time, the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center will continue to implement the program of improving beef cattle in a concentrated manner. Deploy and replicate the model of intensive beef cattle farming, fattening with safe biological processes, implement demonstration models for farmers to learn and replicate; help farmers understand the benefits of improving breeds, apply technical measures to intensive cattle farming in the form of organic, circular farming models, from breeds to animal feed.

Establishing standard farms and developing closed chains and linked chains in breeding cattle and beef cattle in the province, contributing to ensuring disease safety, environmental hygiene and economic efficiency; successfully implementing policies to support the development of a number of crops and livestock to create key products with competitive advantages in Quang Tri province in the period of 2022-2026.

Phan Viet Toan

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/ket-qua-kha-quan-tu-mo-hinh-nuoi-bo-thit-tham-canh-192766.htm