Silvopastoral system is an alternative to improve animal welfare and productive performance in meat production systems

Abstract

Climate change is a reality and global surface temperature is projected to rise substantially in the next 80 years. Agriculture practices will have to adapt to climate change, and also help to mitigate this effect using, among other strategies, forest conservation and management. Silvopastoral systems have been adopted in tropical climate livestock areas but their benefits on thermal comfort and reproductive performance of beef cows are not completely known. Therefore, our aims were to compare the microclimate of silvopastoral and intensive rotational unshaded grazing systems in different months and to evaluate physiological variables (Exp. 1 and 2), metabolism, and in vitro embryo production (Exp. 2) in crossbred beef females. Our hypothesis is that the silvopastoral system can improve the thermal comfort of beef heifers and cows and, consequently, also improve dry matter intake, body weight gain, and in vitro embryo production when compared to the unshaded rotational grazing system. In Exp 1, the silvopastoral system decreased body temperature and increased welfare and performance of heifers. In Exp. 2, the silvopastoral system enhanced the body weight but did not affect metabolism and the general reproductive performance, but increased the recovery rate of oocytes in primiparous cows.

Sustainability of livestock farms: The case of the district of Moyobamba, Peru

“…The quality of the animals is a reflection of the condition of the rest of the components, such as pastures. Therefore, if the conditions of the pastures are improved, the productive and reproductive response of the animals could be improved [ 11 , 17 , 36 , 37 ]. Regarding the farm system indicators, none of the groups exceeded the sustainability threshold.…”

Effect of Thermal Stress on Thermoregulation, Hematological and Hormonal Characteristics of Caracu Beef Cattle

“…In the absence of stressful stimulation, corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) and vasopressin (VP) are released in greater amounts in the early morning, causing an increase in cortisol levels in this period when compared to the afternoon [ 47 ]. Differences observed in the literature can be explained by differences in the methodology applied for data collection, as well as breed characteristics [ 49 , 50 ]. Furthermore, cortisol can remain in the animal’s body for 80 to 120 min [ 51 ], so the cortisol levels can remain altered for up to two hours after the stressor action.…”

Key points for the thermal comfort of water buffaloes in Eastern Amazon

“…In this type of system, there is an increase in productivity due to the improvement in the feed conversion rate, caused by the milder microclimate resulting from tree planting (CASTRO et al, 2008). In silvopastoral systems, the canopies reduce the incidence of solar radiation on animals, allowing the temperature to be reduced between 2 and 3 °C when compared to full sun exposure (lOPES et al, 2016), providing higher thermal comfort to animals (lEMES et al, 2021;FAÇANHA et al, 2013).…”