Characterization of dairy farms with a rope grazing system in the southern highlands of Ecuador

Abstract

Tethered grazing is common in the southern Sierra of Ecuador, but there is limited information about it. This study described the characteristics of dairy farms using this system in the canton of Biblián, Cañar. Surveys were conducted on 99 farms across five parishes, with an average size of 4.27 ha and an animal stocking rate of 2.73 AU/ha. Tethers ranged from 2.4 to 3.6 meters, and nearly 70% of the farms used three daily stake movements. In 92.8% of the farms, milking occurred twice daily, with 95.9% being manually milked and 57.6% of these farms using a suckling calf. The average number of cattle per farm was 12 ± 8, distributed among cows in production (46.2%), heifers (14.3%), dry cows (11%), pregnant heifers (10.9%), heifers aged 6 to 12 months (6.9%), heifers aged 3 to 6 months (6.4%), and bulls (4.2%). Dairy crossbred animals were predominant (50.04%), followed by Holsteins (40.35%). The main forage species were Lolium perenne (41%), Pennisetum clandestinum (33%), Trifolium repens (16%), Plantago major (7%), Avena sativa, and Hordeum vulgare (1%). The system is characterized by its use on small farms with moderate stocking rates and manual milking. The predominance of dairy crossbred animals and specific forage species reflects local adaptations to production conditions.