agricultural

Summary by Anthony Jilek of his recent trip to Nicaragua and how crossbreeding programs and record keeping can improve livelihoods for small dairy and livestock producers. Jerry Nolte, Julio Cisne and his herdsman evaluating Julio’s pastures near Matagalpa Most farmers in Nicaragua follow a very traditional system of dual-purpose livestock production. This means that the cows produce milk and the calves are raised for meat. Modern practices of management are not often followed. No production records are kept on the cows, and yields are simply calculated by dividing the liters of milk sold by the number of cows milked. The managers of slaughter plants have stated the cost to slaughter a 600 kg animal is the same as the cost to slaughter a 450 kg animal. Therefore, the larger animals are preferred. This includes cattle like Holsteins, Brown Swiss, and Brahman, large, late maturing breeds. Most steers are slaughtered at 3 ½ - 4 years of age. Heifers, young females cow without offsprin...

You know that feeling when you just want to jump on an opportunity? Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Dr. Fabio Lima, an assistant professor from University of Illinois, must have felt like after his recent trip to Nicaragua, where he saw the tremendous potential for the Livestock and Dairy program in the country. As Fabio explains: “Nicaragua is a lovely country with a great potential. Considering its strategic location in Central America, its tradition to raise cattle, and vast farmland, an increase of efficiency could offer them competitiveness necessary to take a significant position in the global market.” Livestock production is a big part of the Nicaraguan agriculture sector. There are 130,000 Nicaraguan farmers who manage 5 million heads of cattle. But many farmers could benefit from technical assistance to improve their livestock management practices. Dr. Lima traveled to Nicaragua to help address on of the challenges in the livestock sector and improve productivity and profitability ...