Colombia tests forage crops against climate change

Posted on 26 Nov 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Colombia, with 24 million head of cattle, is showcasing two advances towards reducing the 13 percent of climate-changing gas emissions attributed to livestock production around the world. The key words in this endeavour: brachialactone and Lotus uliginosus. Brachialactone, a chemical compound discovered in this Andean country on the roots of the African Brachiaria humidicola, gives … Continue reading →

Animal Feeding / Asia / Crop residues / India / South Asia

India’s new sorghum varieties feed animals as well as people

Posted on 22 Nov 2010 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

‘Throughout the tropics, a lack of feed keeps farm animals underweight and underproductive, thereby preventing some 600 million poor farmers and herders from meeting fast-rising global demand for milk and meat. But thanks to a partnership between India’s National Research Centre for Sorghum (NRCS), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Feeding / Asia / Fodder / Forages / India / Innovation Systems / Insurance / Livestock Systems / Nigeria / South Asia / West Africa

Improving smallholder fodder through better knowledge as well as technologies

Posted on 15 Nov 2010 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

Busy fodder market in Hyderabad, India; farmers transport their fodder to this market, where it is bought by urban dairies (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). The magazine Farming Matters ran a feature on a Fodder Innovation Project funded by the UK Department for International Development and conducted since 2003 by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) with … Continue reading →

Animal Feeding / Research

Scientists warn of livestock greenhouse gas boom

Posted on 6 Oct 2010 by Muthoni Njiru • Leave a comment

Soaring international production of livestock could release enough carbon into the atmosphere by 2050 to single-handedly exceed ‘safe’ levels of climate change, says a study. Scientists combined figures for livestock production in 2000 with Food and Agriculture Organization projections for population growth and meat consumption by 2050. They found that the livestock sector’s emissions alone … Continue reading →

Animal Breeding / Animal Feeding / Report

Reducing carbon ‘hoofprint’ can be done, says study

Posted on 30 Sep 2010 by Muthoni Njiru • Leave a comment

Soaring carbon emissions from a meat-hungry developing world could be cut back substantially by improving animal breeds and feed, according to a study. Demand for livestock products is predicted to double by 2050 as a result of growing populations, urbanisation and better income in the developing world, leading to rise in emissions from the industry. … Continue reading →

Animal Feeding / Crop residues / Crop-Livestock / Disease Control / Forages / Soils

Scientists arrive in Senegal to give African hunger a black eye

Posted on 28 Sep 2010 by Muthoni Njiru • Leave a comment

A long neglected crop with the potential to halt hunger for millions in Africa, sustain the livestock revolution underway in developing countries, rejuvenate nutrient-sapped soils, and even feed astronauts on extended space missions, is attracting scientists from around the world to Senegal this week for the Fifth World Cowpea Research Conference. “It’s hard to imagine … Continue reading →

Animal Feeding / Climate Change / Crop-Livestock / Fodder / Forages / Livestock Systems

Could perennial fodder crops mean more sustainable livestock production?

Posted on 22 Sep 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Paul Douglas brings news that farmers are exploring perennial fodder crops called ‘tagasaste’ and ‘Old Man Saltbush’ to protect soils, prevent erosion and avoid the energy, time and monetary costs of planting annuals for fodder. As a bonus, he says, the farmers are also finding that the more rugged perennial diet reduces parasites and decreases … Continue reading →

Animal Feeding / Animal Production / Crop-Livestock / Livestock Systems / North America / USA

How to save the grasslands: Bring in more cattle

Posted on 20 Sep 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

To many, the Western grasslands still reflect the essence of this country: the vast plains that begin with prairie and bump up against the Rockies, home to herds of cattle and the cowboys that run them. Yet this indelible image belies the facts, as much of the nation’s rangeland has been degraded by overgrazing. Land … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Feeding / Animal Production / Climate Change / Crop residues / Crop-Livestock / Fodder / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Southern Africa

Livestock systems in Swaziland: Adapt or perish

Posted on 19 Sep 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

A changing climate will prompt changes in behaviour across southern Africa. And when it comes to adaptation, Swazi farmer Bongani Phakathi is a frustrated man a few steps ahead of his neighbours. Traditionally, livestock in Swaziland grazes in the fields during winter, eating what’s left behind after maize and other crops are harvested. But Phakathi … Continue reading →

Animal Breeding / Animal Feeding / Animal Production / Climate Change / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock / Livestock Systems

Better feed and genes could cut livestock emissions – but only if animals survive, farmers say

Posted on 19 Sep 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

In the heart of Namori village, in the outskirts of Mwea Game Reserve in Eastern Kenya, Samuel Muturi Karobia chops fodder into manageable pieces for his two Friesian dairy cattle. Karobia bought the two animals three years ago after he sold off a herd of 11 locally bred cattle. It was a great decision, he … Continue reading →