Yak farming is the main livelihood source for the high altitude communities in the eastern Himalaya. With increasing access to modern facilities, market opportunities and changes in the legal framework, pastoral systems in the Himalaya are undergoing an unprecedented change. Questionnaire-based qualitative surveys were conducted in five villages of northern Bhutan, to understand how the recent changes in the legal framework for Cordyceps (known as caterpillar fungus) collection have caused specific changes in yak farming practices. Survey results revealed that women were increasingly involved in yak husbandry and household work, after the legalization of Cordyceps collection in 2004. After legalization, the Cordyceps business overtook yak farming as the main income-earning activity. Post-legalization saw a decline in the overall grassland condition and most herders migrated a month earlier to the summer grazing land. Legalization also led to increase in the number of households buying commercial feeds for yaks. Yak mortality increased and fodder scarcity became more acute, which is a major constraint to yak farming. Despite the good income from the Cordyceps business, yak farming was the preferred earning activity over Cordyceps due to herders' confidence in yak farming as a reliable source of livelihood. Of several measures proposed by yak herders to improve yak farming, increasing grassland productivity and providing subsidies for feed purchases were the most important measures. The study concluded that yak farming practices have undergone a few positive but more undesirable changes after the legalization of Cordyceps collection in 2004. The results suggest multi-disciplinary approaches to address adequately the emerging issues of yak farming e.g. introducing schemes to make yak farming attractive to the mountain youth. The paper suggests interventions to strengthen yak farming and help herders make informed choices in the high altitude rangelands of Bhutan. Essentially, yak farming is at a crossroads where a firm decision is needed to either encourage and strengthen the farming practices or witness the gradual extinction of the age-old tradition.

A 3 x 3 factorial study was conducted in the southern foothills of Bhutan to compare 3 cultivars of Napier hybrid grass (Pennisetum purpureum x P. glaucum: Pakchong-1, CO-3 and Giant Napier), at 3 cutting intervals (40, 60 and 80 days), in terms of forage growth, dry matter (DM) yield and crude protein (CP) concentration. The effects of cultivar x cutting interval were significant only on tiller number per plant and leaf:stem ratio (LSR). CO-3 consistently produced the highest tiller number per plant, leaves per plant and LSR, while Pakchong-1 produced the lowest. Pakchong-1 plants were taller, had bigger tillers and basal circumference and higher stem DM production than CO-3 and Giant. Leaf CP for all cultivars was about 17%, while stem CP concentration was lower for Pakchong-1 than for the other cultivars (3.6 vs. 5.3%, P<0.05). While 40-day cutting intervals produced high quality forage, yields suffered markedly and the best compromise between yield and quality of forage seemed to occur with 60-day cutting intervals. Pakchong-1 seems to have no marked advantages over CO-3 and Giant for livestock feed, and feeding studies would verify this. Its higher stem DM yields may be advantageous for biogas production and this aspect should be investigated. ResumenEn el piedemonte de la cordillera del Himalaya al sur de Bután en un factorial de 3 x 3 se compararon 3 cultivares (cvs.) híbridos del pasto Napier (Pennisetum purpureum x P. glaucum): Pakchong-1, Giant Napier y CO-3, en intervalos de corte cada 40, 60 y 80 días. Las mediciones incluyeron crecimiento del forraje, producción de materia seca (MS) y concentración de proteína cruda (PC). Los efectos de cultivar x intervalo de corte fueron significativos sólo para el número de brotes por planta y la relación hoja:tallo. El cv. CO-3 produjo de manera sostenida el mayor número tanto de brotes como de hojas por planta y la mayor relación hoja:tallo, mientras el cv. Pakchong-1 presentó respectivamente los valores más bajos. En comparación con los cvs. CO-3 y Giant, las plantas de Pakchong-1 fueron más altas, con brotes más vigorosos y circunferencia basal mayor, y produjeron más MS de tallo. La concentración de PC en las hojas fue aproximadamente de 17% para todos los cultivares, mientras que la concentración de PC en los tallos fue menor para Pakchong-1 que para los otros cultivares (3.6 vs. 5.3%, P<0.05). Cuando el intervalo de corte fue de 40 días, el forraje fue de mayor calidad, pero los rendimientos se redujeron marcadamente. Los resultados indican que con intervalos de corte de 60 días se obtiene el mejor compromiso entre el rendimiento y la calidad del forraje. Para la alimentación del ganado, el cv. Pakchong-1 no parece tener ventajas marcadas sobre los cvs. CO-3 y Giant; estudios de producción animal deberían verificar esto. Sin embargo, sus rendimientos particularmente altos de MS de tallo pueden ser favorables para la producción de biogás y este aspecto debe ser investigado.

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Five different techniques of estimating the live cattle body weight were evaluated with the objective to identify the most reliable technique for use in the field. Weighbridge was used as the reference for other techniques. The measurement techniques evaluated were Weighbridge, Weigh tape, Rondo tape, Schaeffer's formula, Agarwal's formula, and calculator method. The body weights of 89 Brown Swiss and 34 Jersey Cross cattle were estimated by each technique. Compared with Weighbridge, the body weight estimates in Brown Swiss cattle exceeded by about 70 and 66 kg for Agarwal's formula and Rondo tape, respectively. In Jersey Cross cattle, the estimates exceeded by about 122 and 84 kg for Agarwal's formula and Rondo tape, respectively. In both breeds, the estimates of Schaeffer's formula were not significantly different from the Weighbridge. The estimates of weight tape were also not significantly different from the Weighbridge although the estimates exceeded by over 21 kg in Brown Swiss cattle and over 44 kg in Jersey Cross cattle. The study concluded that Schaeffer's formula is the most reliable of all techniques to estimate live body weight of cattle, followed by weigh tape. Agarwal's formula and Rondo tape are less reliable and their use in the field must be discontinued. ARTICLE HISTORY

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