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Second FAO Electronic Conference on Tropical Feeds
Livestock Feed Resources within Integrated Farming Systems
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Abstract of nineteenth paper, from J.C. Tanner et al.

Questions that might stimulate discussion on this topic
include:

1. Is the cut-and-carry excess feeding strategy currently
practised by farmers and what are its benefits in your area?

2. Do you think that this is a relevant strategy for
intensifying the production in a sustainable way in your area?

3. What is the use of refused forage in your area?

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RUMINANT FEEDING STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTION IN UPLAND MIXED-FARMING SYSTEMS OF INDONESIA

J.C. Tanner (1), E Owen (2), M. Winugroho (3) and M. Gill (4)

(1) International Livestock Research Institute, PO Box 30709,
Nairobi, Kenya

(2) Department of Agriculture, The University of Reading,
Earley Gate, PO Box 236, Reading, RG6 6AT, UK
E-Mail: E.Owen@reading.ac.uk

(3) Balai Penelitian Ternak, PO Box 221, Ciawi-Bogor,
Indonesia

(4) NR International, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK
E-Mail: Margaret.Gill@nri.org

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ABSTRACT

Ruminants are an integral part of smallholder farming systems
in Indonesia. However the extent and continuous nature of
cropping on densely populated islands such as Java leaves
little land available for grazing. Most livestock are
therefore permanently housed and fed indigenous forages cut
from field margins and roadsides. Cut-and-carry feeding is
labour-intensive and the supply of forage is often the most
expensive input to ruminant production. Surprisingly, farmers
collect quantities of forage greatly in excess of the
appetites of their livestock. In Experiment 1, indigenous
forage dominated by Axonopus compressus, was offered to sheep
at increasing rates: 25, 50 or 75 g DM/kg liveweight (W) daily
(d). The results showed that although DM intake and W rose
with increasing offer-rate, the incremental improvements from
50 to 75 were non-significant (P>0.05) and less than from 25
to 50. Rice bran is a cheap and readily available feed. It
could be used to substitute for a large proportion of the
expensive forage on offer. In Experiment 2, rice bran was fed
to sheep at 0, 15 or 30 g DM/kg W0.75.d in combination with
indigenous forage offered at 30 or 60 g DM/kg W.d. Sheep fed
the lowest cost 30/30 (forage/rice bran) diet achieved similar
total DM intakes as those receiving the 60/0 diet and W gains
as those receiving the 60/15 diet (P>0.05). Even when using
supplements Javanese farmers persist in offering excess levels
of forage to their livestock. It is unlikely that they justify
this excess feeding on the basis of marginal gains in animal
productivity alone. The rationale for excess feeding may lie
in greater yields of manure-compost produced from a mixture of
refused forage and excreta which accumulates in pits beneath
the slatted floors of their animal barns.

KEY WORDS: Excess feeding, cut-and-carry, ruminant, manure,
compost, Indonesia

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FAO ELECTRONIC CONFERENCE:
LIVESTOCK FEED RESOURCES WITHIN INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEMS
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