Identification of Breed Preference on Cross-breeding among Beef Cattle Farmers in Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Cross-breeding between Peranakan Ongole (PO) and exotic breed are increasingly by smallholder farmer to obtain productivity improvement. Uncontrolled cross-breeding can be a threat to the existence of PO as local cattle in Indonesia. This study aims to identify the reasons behind cross-breeding breed preference among beef cattle farmers in Central Java. Primary data were obtained by interviewing a total of 121 smallholder farmers as respondents who were randomly selected. Blora, Grobogan, Klaten, and Rembang Districts have been chosen due to their high beef cattle farmer households population. Descriptive analysis by using cross-tabulation was performed to analyze the data. The results showed that 60.66% of farmers who raise PO cows would prefer Limousin semen to other semen due to the extension worker recommendation and the availability of frozen semen. Meanwhile, 22.95% of farmers prefer PO semen for their PO cows because of extension workers' recommendation and their intention to improve the calf productivity. It may indicate that the role of extension workers is prominent in the breed preference of cattle farmers.