Dynamics of animal performance, and estimation of carbon footprint of two breeding herds grazing native neotropical savannas in eastern Colombia

Ramírez-Restrepo, Carlos Alberto; Vera, Raül; Rao, Idupulapati M.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2019.05.004

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Lastly, it should be noted that other important outputs of these systems such as potential carbon sequestration (Fisher et al 1994;Mosquera et al 2012;Ramírez-Restrepo et al 2019a, 2020, methane emission dynamics (Ramírez-Restrepo and Vera 2019; Ramírez-Restrepo and Vera-Infanzón 2019), BNI inhibition (Subbarao et al 2017), and other environmental impacts are not considered here, but they would need to be accounted for in the analyses of the whole enterprise. Similarly, much remains to be investigated in terms of the consequences of system intensification based on the combination of savanna lands with sown introduced pastures, on the conservation and biodiversity of the rangelands, and the overall management of increasingly complex systems (CIAT-CIRAD 2001;Belnap et al 2012;Neilly et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, the rolling savannas supported by superficial soils cannot generally be tilled. Beef breeding herds are mainly restricted to native savannas and occasional use of sown pastures receiving low external inputs (Rivas et al 2013;Ramírez-Restrepo and Vera-Infanzón 2019;Ramírez-Restrepo et al 2019a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The above constraints make research particularly difficult due to variable results, and require a considerable number of animals over extended periods (O'Rourke 1986;O'Rourke and Howitt 1986;Ramírez-Restrepo and Vera-Infanzón 2019). Therefore, it is not surprising that the amount of research on extensive breeding systems is very restricted in the Llanos (Stonaker et al 1976;Ramírez-Restrepo et al 2019a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long term beef production in extensive cow-calf systems in the tropical savannas of eastern Colombia

Vera-Infanzón

Ramírez-Restrepo

2020

Rev. Med. Vet. Zoot.

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Replacement beef heifers in extensive systems of the neotropical savannas of Colombia are low priority animals and are assigned to native savannas and low-quality pastures, with scarcely researched long-term consequences. The study pooled data from four contemporary grazing experiments to determine the effects of low growth rates of heifers on their lifetime production of liveweight gains (LWGs) per year and per hectare (ha) subject to different management strategies. Three growth rates were imposed on grazing heifers during the growing phase (i.e. nine-36 months of age) on Brachiaria humidicola pastures. Upon the end of the previous phase, animals were allocated to a B. humidicola paddock with a reduced stocking rate or introduced to a B. decumbens sward to allow compensatory LWGs during the breeding phase (i.e. cows plus weaned calves). Severely limited heifers allowed to make compensatory growth did not reach the outputs of better fed animals. Regardless of the strategy followed, high producing years tended to be followed by lower production in the following year. Comparison with reasonably fed breeding cows full-time on well-managed B. decumbens showed important and significant differences in favor of the more intensive system over the lifetime of the animals. Over the nine-year period, the systems’ beef output (i.e. weaned calves plus cows’ LWGs) ranged between 86 and 206 kg/ha/year and demonstrated that a wide array of low input management alternatives is feasible. Beef output increases if the LW of cull cows is considered, particularly if they are allowed a short period of fattening during the rainy reason on a low input pasture.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long term beef production in extensive cow-calf systems in the tropical savannas of eastern Colombia

Vera-Infanzón

Ramírez-Restrepo

2020

Rev. Med. Vet. Zoot.

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“…While not common, some small, isolated populations of Criollo in Mexico have not been crossbred at all [ 43 ]. These cattle are not part of Mexico’s commercial market, due, in large part, to being light-muscled and having non-uniform conformation [ 43 , 44 ]. As for indigenous cattle, many of the characteristics and traits attributed to Criollo have yet to be verified scientifically.…”

Section: Cattle Production In the Tropicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A large body of scientific literature reports on the breeding and genetics of cattle in the Tropics, but until recently, the focus of this research has been primarily on improving production traits for financial gain. However, in parallel to the rapid evolution of genetic research tools, realities of climate change and ever-increasing erosion of diversity, so too has the focus of research evolved and nowadays encompasses carcass conformation, meat and sensory quality attributes, production traits that reduce the environmental footprint of production [ 44 ] and breed classification and description [ 27 , 45 ].…”

Section: Cattle Production In the Tropicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical Beef: Is There an Axiomatic Basis to Define the Concept?

Lozano

Ngapo

Huerta-Leidenz

2021

Foods

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Cattle production in tropical regions has been estimated to account for just over half of cattle worldwide, yet it has not been demonstrated that sufficient similarities in the cattle exist to describe tropical cattle and, even less so, to characterize the meat from these animals. The aim of this review is to investigate the quality and nutrient composition of meat from cattle raised in the Tropics to determine if there is an axiomatic basis that would allow the definition of a concept of “tropical beef”. Tropical beef is the meat obtained from cattle raised in tropical environments, the population of which remains largely uncharacterized. Production systems in the Tropics are highly diverse but converge on the use of indigenous and Bos indicus breeds or Bos indicus-influenced crossbreeds under pasture feeding regimes. While some systems allow cattle to be slaughtered at ≤2 years of age, most often animals are ≥3 years. These production systems generally produce lean, low-yielding carcasses and tough (>46 N), lean (≤3.6% intramuscular fat) meat with a macronutrient composition otherwise similar to beef from animals raised elsewhere (72–74% moisture and 20–24% protein). Fatty acid profiles depend on the breed and production systems, while mineral content is influenced by the environment. Although lean and tough, tropical beef is highly acceptable to the consumers it serves, is culturally and traditionally relevant and, in many countries, contributes to food security. Consolidating the findings from animal and meat science studies in the Tropics has allowed the demonstration of an axiomatic basis defining “tropical beef” as a concept.

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Predicting methane emissions, animal-environmental metrics and carbon footprint from Brahman (Bos indicus) breeding herd systems based on long-term research on grazing of neotropical savanna and Brachiaria decumbens pastures

Ramírez-Restrepo

Vera-Infanzón

Rao

2020

Agricultural Systems

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Dynamics of animal performance, and estimation of carbon footprint of two breeding herds grazing native neotropical savannas in eastern Colombia

Cited by 10 publications

References 50 publications

Long term beef production in extensive cow-calf systems in the tropical savannas of eastern Colombia

Long term beef production in extensive cow-calf systems in the tropical savannas of eastern Colombia

Tropical Beef: Is There an Axiomatic Basis to Define the Concept?

Predicting methane emissions, animal-environmental metrics and carbon footprint from Brahman (Bos indicus) breeding herd systems based on long-term research on grazing of neotropical savanna and Brachiaria decumbens pastures

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