Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar

Milk Production in Dual-Purpose Cows Grazing
Pastures of Brachiaria brizantha cv. La Libertad Alone and
Associated with Arachis pintoi cv. El Porvenir in the
Subhumid Tropics of Costa Rica
Marco Lobo and Vidal Acuña
MAG, Costa Rica
Costa Rica has a land area of 51,023 km 2 , of which 25,100 km 2 (49.2%)
are under agricultural and livestock exploitation according to the 1984
National Agricultural and Livestock Census. Of the area under cultivation,
grasses occupy the largest proportion—16,500 km 2 , in other words, 65.7%.
Beef cattle are raised on 51,000 farms; their population is estimated at
2,150,000 heads of cattle, of which 75% have been crossbred, at different
levels, with Zebu breeds.
Among the main problems affecting beef cattle development in Costa
Rica are low meat and milk productivity, low reproductive rates, nutritional
deficiencies (especially because of the low forage availability and quality
during the dry season), and health problems.
Forage is the most available and inexpensive source of feed for livestock
in Costa Rica; however, a high percentage of pastures are now degraded,
reducing forage availability and quality.
The improvement of both the quality and quantity of forage resources
through the recovery of degraded pastures is important to increase overall
livestock productivity. The study aims to evaluate milk production of dualpurpose
cows grazing a recovered pasture of Brachiaria brizantha cv. La
Libertad alone and associated with Arachis pintoi cv. El Porvenir and
Centrosema brasilianum.
Materials and Methods
The trial was carried out on a farm located in San Jerónimo de Esparza,
in the subhumid tropical central Pacific region of Costa Rica, at an average
altitude of 250 masl. The region is characterized by having well-defined dry
(December-May) and rainy (June-November) seasons, with an average
annual precipitation of 2,500 mm. Four hectares of Brachiaria brizantha cv.
La Libertad were planted in a paddock where a degraded pasture of
Brachiaria ruziziensis existed. The area was divided in half and 2 ha were
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