Agricultural by-products, an alternative in the feeding of ruminants in the face of climate change

Abstract

The production of ruminants, mainly cattle is estimated to grow from 1500 to 2600 million, as well as the population of goats and sheep (1700 to 2700 million), in the years 2000 and 2050. In Ecuador the production of ruminants is limited, availability of resources for education, learning problems in dry and tropical regions, the availability of grasses to cover nutritional needs, not for animal information, in order to reduce the extensive grazing áreas for feeding. The silvopastoral systems, the use of post-harvest residues of crops of plant origin, are presented as a cost-effective alternative for sustainable livestock production, due to the large quantity and quality of the biomass for use, throughout the year, even in times dry. The foliar mass of trees, shrubs and residues are characterized by being rich in nutrients, however, as regards the presence of metabolites, especially tannins, which decrease voluntary consumption, the digestibility of nutrients and the Production of the animáis, effeets that are associated to the concentration in the diet and the quantity consumed, as well as the state of health of the animal. Studies indícate that in modérate proportions (20-45 g kg-1 of dry matter) improvements in animal performance have been shown by reducing ruminal methanogenesis and degradation of forage protein in the rumen. The (GHG), CO2 is the one that is in the highest amounts that currently is responsible for the increase in global warming compared to other greenhouse gases. The objective of the research is the contribution to knowledge, the use of agricultural by-products, as well as the implementation of alternative systems in feeding and production of ruminants.

Keywords

• byproducts
• production
• digestibility
• diets
• greenhouse effect gases ruminants
• forage quality
• silvopastoral systems
• secondary metabolites.