Research, Policy and Practice
Table 1 Components and variables used for the characterization of dual-purpose farms
Component | Numerical variables | Categorical variables |
|---|---|---|
(1) General Information | Total number of animals; total area, ha; grazing area, ha; stocking rate, AUa ha−1; flat area, %; undulated area, %; hilly area, %; agroforestry crops area, ha; perennial crops area, ha; transitory crops area, ha; forest monoculture area, ha; improved pastures area, ha; pasture area with more than 25 trees per hectare, ha; silvopastoral systems, ha; livestock area, ha; and number of buffaloes, horses, mules, pigs, goats, sheep, and hens | Farm facilities (barn, pen, chute, storehouse), machinery and equipment (tractor, chainsaw, manual lawn mower, motor pump, electric fence, electric pump, electronic scale, cooling tank), crops (agroforestry, perennial, transitory, forest monoculture, scattered trees in pastures, improved pastures, silvopastoral systems), large species (horses and mules), medium-sized species (pigs, goats, and sheep), and small species (chickens) |
(2) Herd Composition and Management | Number of milking cows, calved cows, dry cows, female calves (0–1 year old), male calves (0–1 year old), growing females, growing males, breeding heifers, fattening steers, and bulls; supply rate (kg year−1 AU−1) of mineral salt, supplements, and concentrate feeds | Record keeping (yes, no), mineral salt supplementation (yes, no), plain salt supplementation (yes, no), another kind of supplementation (yes, no), and concentrate feeds (yes, no) |
(3) Pasture Management | Fertilized area, ha; fertilizer application rate, kg ha−1 year−1; and soil amendment application rate, kg ha−1 year−1 | Rotational grazing (yes, no), division of paddocks (barbed wire, electric fence, and mixed), weeding method (manual, mechanical, chemical, and mixed), fertilization (yes, no), soil amendments (agricultural lime, dolomite lime), and pasture renewal (yes, no) |
(4) Information on Livestock Production and Reproduction | Number of milking cows; milk production, L animal−1 day−1; milk production, L farm−1 day−1; birth weight, kg; weaning weight, kg; fattening final weight, kg; weaning final age, months; fattening final age, months; weight gain before weaningb, kg day−1; weight gain at fatteningc; and mortality rate, % | Milking method (manual, mechanical), animal weighing method (weighing tape, scale), weighing at birth (yes, no), weighing at weaning (yes, no), reproduction system (free natural mating, controlled natural mating, artificial insemination, embryo transfer), reproductive control on cows and bulls (yes, no), weighing of heifers for breeding at first service (yes, no), inseminator (yes, no), artificial insemination equipment (yes, no), separation of the dry lot (yes, no), calving paddock (yes, no), and determination of the calving interval (yes, no) |
(5) Environmental Information | – | Forest (yes, no), water source (surface water, underground water, piped water), water springs (yes, no), water availability during summer for livestock (yes, no), irrigation system (yes, no), wastewater treatment system (yes, no), solid waste management (incineration, burial, water streams, handled by a third party) |