Dairy cattle breeding practices, production and constraints in arid and semi-arid Algerian bioclimatic environments

ABSTRACT

The present study aims to characterise dairy cattle farms in two Algerian agro-ecological regions; the semi-arid region (SAR) and the arid region (AR). The survey was carried out on 213 farms. Accordingly, more than 40% of farms are characterised by small herds with ≤15 heads/farm and ≤5 dairy cows/herd. SAR farms benefit from both agricultural land types of 1–300 ha (Used Agricultural Area UAA and pastoral area), while the Saharan ones rely on small UAA. Fertility levels were higher in SAR farms where is recorded a fertility index ≤2 in 92.6% and open period ≤90 days postpartum in 68.6% with a mean lactation length exceeding 305 days in 44.6% farms. The average daily milk yield is 15 litres/cow in both regions. It is recommended to implement strategic and reliable farm management to improve herd management, minimise constraints, and maximise production, particularly in the AR.

KEYWORDS:

• Cattle
• breeding
• management
• performances
• limitations

Acknowledgments

The authors thank breeders and veterinarians of both regions, as well as DSA staff, for agreeing to participate and providing necessary data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Author’s contribution

K. Deghnouche conceived and designed the study. H. Eulmi collected data. H. Eulmi and D.E. Gherissi analysed the data, wrote and corrected the paper. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Ethical statement

All procedures performed in this study involving experimental animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the national and international guidelines.