{"id":87074,"date":"2019-04-09T00:37:31","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T06:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=87074"},"modified":"2019-04-08T17:27:53","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T00:27:53","slug":"importing-exotic-cows-which-performed-poorly-under-local-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/04\/09\/importing-exotic-cows-which-performed-poorly-under-local-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Importing exotic cows which performed poorly under local conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ananda Wickramasinghe<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

View(s):\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, over 5000 young pregnant cows (heifers) imported from Australia and\nNew Zealand, were sold to some farmers. They were assured that a cow would\nyield 20 litres\/day. Within a few months, the farmers\u2019 expectations started to shatter when the cows failed to\nproduce the promised milk yields. Currently, farmers are facing financial ruin\nas a consequence of several grave issues with the cows they purchased: Poor\nmilk yields, very low conception rate, abortions, stillbirths, high mortality\nrates, and unrecognised diseas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some\nof the imported cows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is an attempt to examine the reasons for the poor performance\nof imported cows under local conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dairy cow is a biological milk-producing plant which converts nutrients,\nderived from a variety of dietary constituents, into a nutritious product. The\nquantity and quality of milk governed by factors such as cow\u2019s genetic makeup, quality of feed,\nmanagement practices and surrounding environmental conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The imported cows were a cross-bred between Holston Friesian (HF) and\nJersey. The high milk producing capability of HF and Jersey\u2019s ability to tolerate high-temperature\nconditions could be the reasons the authorities selected such a cross-breed.\nSince past information of the animals was not divulged, it is not possible to\nstate much about the history of these heifers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assuming that the heifers have the required genetic potential to produce\nhigher milk quantities, let\u2019s examine\nwhether factors such as poor quality of feed, bad management practices or\nunfavourable environmental conditions caused these disturbing issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quality of feed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some authorities have alleged that farmers fed cows with a poor quality feed\nwhich triggered the issues with the animals. According to the farmers, at the\nstart animals were fed with a recommended feed mixture. However, once they\nnoticed the cows were not economical some started to feed them with locally\navailable fodder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The digestibility rate of high fibrous grass such as matured \u2018Gini\u2019 is quite\nlow and it can generate a high level of body heat during the digestion process.\nSuch a situation can adversely affect the milk production capabilities of a\ncow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the poor quality feed is the cause, one has to query how government-owned\nNational Livestock Board (NLDB) farms failed to obtain expected milk yields\nfrom imported cows. Those farms are managed by experienced managers and\nveterinary surgeons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Auditor General\u2019s 2018\nreport, the average milk yield per cow in 2016, at three upcountry NLDB farms\nwere around 11-15 litres\/day. At Ridiyagama NLDB farm this was about 11\nlitres\/per cow\/day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impact of local environmental condition on imported heifers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globally, many studies have been conducted on environmental stress on\ncattle. Although Sri Lanka has collected climatic data for over a century it is\nrather unfortunate that no attempt was made to use this information in animal\nsciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climatic factors such as ambient temperature, relative humidity (R\/H), wind,\nrainfall, and radiant temperature can negatively affect the cows\u2019 performances. The influence of\nenvironmental impact on animals is complex and it is not possible to isolate a\nsingle factor to explain the stress on an animal. We have to recognise what cow\nsenses is a combination of all surrounding environmental factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental stresses in cattle could result in loss of appetite, cessation\nof feeding, lethargy, increase respiration and heart rates, immobility, aimless\nwandering, staggering, flow of saliva outside the mouth, open mouth breath, and\nthe collapse of the animal, non-responsiveness, and seizures. Further, these\nconditions can cause reduction of milk yield, reduce weight gain, shorter\ngestations, abortions, calves with reduced body weight, reduction of the\nquality of colostrum (mother\u2019s first\nmilk after the calf is born), development of unproductive udders, sick and weak\ncalves, higher mortalities among calves and drop in conception rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our farmers too noticed such symptoms among their animals. Let\u2019s examine whether these issues initiated\ndue to unfavourable environmental conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comfort (Thermo Neutral) zone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the milk-producing process, higher amounts of internal heat are\ngenerated, especially among high yielding cows. When environmental conditions\nare favourable, the animal has the ability to dissipate this heat without using\nher stored energy. The temperature range that the animal doesn\u2019t have to expend stored energy to\nmaintain normal body temperature is called its comfort zone or thermo neutral\nzone. For healthy cattle, this temperature is between -15 and 22 degrees\nCelsius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the cow is exposed to conditions beyond the comfort zone, it starts to\nutilize stored energy to dissipate its own internal body heat. At this stage,\nthe cow reduces its feed intake followed by a reduction in milk yield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prone to diseases<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to environmental stress, the animals\u2019 immune\nsystem can also be weakened and become very susceptible to various bacterial,\nviral and physiological diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impact on the
\ndevelopment of udders<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During pregnancy, the cow utilises her stored energy to form the mammary\nglands. When environmental conditions are not favourable, the stored energy is\nutilised to overcome the stresses. Eventually, this will negatively affect the\nmorphology of her mammary glands. In such situations, udders can become dried,\nunderdeveloped and unproductive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reproduction issues<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under an environmental stress situation, cow\u2019s\nexpression of heat (estrus) signs and also the duration and intensity of estrus\nexpression can be dramatically weakened. Without such signs, farmers are unable\nto detect estrus signs. This will cause a sharp drop in the success rate of\nartificial insemination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embryo death and effect
\non the fetus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embryos of the cows are highly vulnerable for heat stresses during the first\n17 days of conception. At this phase, a protein that resists heat stress is not\nformed. This situation can be fatal to the embryos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Development of follicles can also be retarded due to heat stress. This could\nresult in weakening of signals to indicate that she is pregnant. In the absence\nof such signals from the embryo, a cow can stop secreting the needed hormones\nto maintain the pregnancy. Finally, this can cause the death of embryos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calves born under heat stress<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to environmental stresses, placental development of the cow can be\nnegatively regulated. The placenta is an organ that develops in the cow\u2019s uterus during pregnancy aiming to\nprovide oxygen and nutrients to the growing fetus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmentally stressed cows normally have a shorter gestation length and\ngive birth to lighter calves by about 5 kg. Calves of such cows will have a\nreduced efficiency to absorb antibodies (immunoglobulin) from colostrum (first\nmilk) and could be easily infected with diseases. Malformation, growth\nretardation and higher mortality rates can also be observed among those calves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stresses due to transportation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imported cattle were transported from ports in poorly ventilated lorries\nthat were not designed to carry the live animal. Cattle transport produces\nphysical and psychological stresses among animals. Stress may result in altered\nmetabolism, immune competence, and behaviour, as well as failure in\nreproduction. Further, it can reduce milk production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparison of Australian
\nand local climatic conditions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average R\/H and temperature of Victoria province of Australia (the\nsource of heifers) was compared with a few locations in Sri Lanka such as\nNuwara Eliya, Hambantota, Badulla, Kurunegala, and Vavuniya. It was revealed\nthat R\/H in Victoria is around 60 per cent while in Sri Lanka locations R\/H is\naround 80 per cent. The temperature in Victoria was higher than that in Nuwara\nEliya from November to March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heifers that rose under the Australian low humid environment during\ntheir first 3-4 years were later exposed to high humid tropical Sri Lankan\nconditions. Has the impact of environmental changes together with the\ntransportation stress caused the above-mentioned issues to the imported cows?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impact of Relative Humidity
\non milk yield<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is interesting to observe how cows with European blood perform under\nvarious humid conditions. Daily average milk yield per cow in a farm which this\nwriter visited at the Californian desert town called Barstow, US is 30\nlitres\/day. Within a year R\/H varies from 14-66 per cent and it rains only\nabout 24 days. The milk yields drop on rainy days due to rising humidity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Israel cow produces the highest quantity of milk in the world. In 2017\nthe average milk yield of a cow was more than 33 litres\/day. The humidity in\nthis zone from March-December is around 45-60 per cent. During summer months\nthe temperature could go above 300 C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many countries where cows with European blood have been\nsuccessfully raised in low humid high-temperature regions. We do not have such\nlow humid zones in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After visiting a farm in Israel or Australia one could easily come to the\nconclusion that cows with European blood can be raised in high-temperature\nzones. Was this a reason the authorities selected Ridiyagama at Hambantota\ndistrict to raise exotic cows without considering the existing high R\/H\nconditions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misting animals as a measure to relieve heat stress has been done at\nRidiyagama. This operation tends to increase the surrounding R\/H in humid\nareas. Direct wetting of the animal\u2019s body\nshould be practiced in such zones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distribution of imported heifers directly to the farmers was a grave\nmistake. These heifers should have been raised in government farms and only\ndistributed the offspring. Studies found that the calves born under\nunfavourable climatic conditions have the ability to better cope with acute\nenvironmental stresses in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The existence of different climatic zones in Sri Lanka has been completely\nignored when imported cows were distributed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka should introduce a long-term feasible strategy to become\nself-sufficient in dairy milk. Improving the genetic potential is just a single\nmeasure that should be implemented with several other essential factors. In\norder to achieve this, we should concurrently implement tasks such as\nreintroducing higher import tax for powdered milk, improve the local powdered\nmilk industry, infrastructural developments, assistance to dairy farmers\n(loans, grants), development of farmer organizations (cooperatives, etc),\nfarmer training and research, selection of breeds based on climatic zones,\nproduction of extra professionals such as veterinarian\/agriculturists,\ngrassland development and feed management, dairy marketing, processing and\nquality control, and dairy waste management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(The writer is a former research officer at the\nDepartment of Agriculture, Sri Lanka. Detail report of this article with\nreferences and other resources can be found in his blog: https:\/\/outofboxag.wordpress.com\/<\/a>.\nHe can be reached at<\/strong>
\nanawicks@gmail.com<\/a><\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ananda Wickramasinghe View(s): In 2017, over 5000 young pregnant cows (heifers) imported from Australia and New Zealand, were sold to some farmers. They were assured that a cow would yield 20 litres\/day. Within a few months, the farmers\u2019 expectations started to shatter when the cows failed to produce the promised milk yields. Currently, farmers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87074\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}