Improved productivity and quality of beef cattle based on locally available feed resources in North Vietnam Forbedret produktivitet og kvalitet i produksjon av storfekjøtt basert på lokalt tilgjengelige fôrressurser i Nord Vietnam Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) Thesis Duong Van Nhiem Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences Norwegian University of Life Sciences Aas, 2012 Thesis number 2012:64 ISSN 1503-1667 ISBN 978-82-575-1100-5 Trường ðại học Nông nghiệp Hà Nội – Luận án tiến sĩ khoa học nông nghiệp ………………………… Trường ðại học Nông nghiệp Hà Nội – Luận án tiến sĩ khoa học nông nghiệp ………………………… Table of Contents Acknowledgements .5 Abstract Sammendrag 11 List of papers 15 Abbreviations 16 Introduction 17 Objectives 21 Materials and Methods 22 Main results .25 4.1 The current situation of beef cattle production at the farmer household level in North Vietnam 25 4.2 Effects of replacing fish meal with soy cake in a diet based on urea-treated rice straw on performance of growing Laisind beef cattle 26 4.3 Effects of length of fattening period on some slaughter and meat quality traits of bulls of Laisind and Yellow cattle fed urea-treated rice straw as roughage 26 General discussion 28 5.1 The current situation of beef cattle production at the farmer household level in North Vietnam 28 5.2 Effects of replacing fish meal with soy cake in a diet based on urea-treated rice straw on performance of growing Laisind beef cattle 31 5.3 Effects of length of fattening period on some slaughter and meat quality traits of bulls of Laisind and Yellow cattle fed urea-treated rice straw as roughage 33 Conclusions .37 Future perspectives 38 References .39 Papers I-III Trường ðại học Nông nghiệp Hà Nội – Luận án tiến sĩ khoa học nông nghiệp ………………………… Trường ðại học Nông nghiệp Hà Nội – Luận án tiến sĩ khoa học nông nghiệp ………………………… Acknowledgements In the first place, I would like to deeply express my special gratitude to my main supervisor, Associate Professor Jan Berg, and co-supervisors, Associate Professor Nils Petter Kjos, Professor Lars Olav Eik, and Associate Professor Nguyen Xuan Trach, for their invaluable intellectual guidance, support and continuous encouragement at all stages of my study This research was funded by the Norwegian government through the Norwegian Programme for Development, Research and Education (NUFU) and the Quota scholarship programme All the related studies in the research were carried out in Vietnam with help and assistance from Hanoi University of Agriculture (HUA) and the National Institute of Animal Husbandry (NIAH) The data analyses and write-up of the thesis were accomplished at the Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences (IHA), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) I would like to express my sincere gratitude to these institutions for their effective support during my PhD study I wish to deeply express my thanks to the Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and Hanoi University of Agriculture for facilitating me during my study My high appreciation is also extended to Dr Vu Chi Cuong, Dr Bui Quang Tuan, Dr Le Duc Ngoan, Dr Chumphit Loan, and Dr Timothy Olson for their invaluable advice during the preparation of experiments and data analyses I am grateful to fellow PhD students, Nguyen Thanh Trung, Devota Mwaseba, Fanny Chimwemwe Chigwa, and Aster Abebe for their company that made me encouraged Trường ðại học Nông nghiệp Hà Nội – Luận án tiến sĩ khoa học nông nghiệp …………………… I also wish to thank all of my Vietnamese friends in Norway for their impartial help and assistance Finally, I am greatly indebted to my parents, my sisters for their warm love, support, and encouragement during my study I cannot adequately express the depth of my appreciation and love for my dear wife, Nguyen Thi Hai Yen, my closest friend and confident, and my darling son, Duong Xuan Dat, and daughters, Duong Thi Kim Oanh and Duong Thi Phuong Thao, who have stuck with me, encouraging me throughout the long time I was away studying in Norway You are all my love! Aas, October 2012 Duong Van Nhiem Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences Norwegian University of Life Sciences P.O Box 5003, N-1432, Aas, NORWAY Email: dvnhiem@gmail.com Trường ðại học Nông nghiệp Hà Nội – Luận án tiến sĩ khoa học nông nghiệp …………………… Abstract The present thesis is composed of three papers reporting studies related to beef cattle production in Vietnam The first study was to investigate the current situation of household beef cattle production in North Vietnam The second study was to test a hypothesis that under subtropical conditions, like in North Vietnam, fish meal can be replaced by soy cake with no negative effects on feed intake and animal performance of growing beef cattle fed urea-treated rice straw (URTRS) as a basal diet And, the third study was to verify a hypothesis that the cattle genotypes, Laisind and Yellow cattle, respond differently to the length of fattening on the same feeding regime The first study (Paper I) is focused on investigation of the current situation of beef cattle production at the farmer household level in two provinces of Tuyen Quang and Vinh Phuc which represent the mountainous and lowland areas in North Vietnam, respectively Three approaches used to collect data were participatory rural appraisal, structured questionnaire, and secondary data collection Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, non-parametric statistical methods, and general linear model Results showed that, most of the beef cattle were kept in a mixed croplivestock production system Compared to a farm in the lowland area, a farm in the mountainous area owned a three-time larger farmland area and spent more time for daily cattle feeding activities In a mountainous farm, cattle contributed more to the total cash income compared to a lowland farm Most of the farms were very smallsized with one to five cattle a farm The local breed (Yellow cattle) was predominant followed by the crossbred genotype (Laisind cattle), whereas imported breeds accounted for a minority Dark coffee and yellow were the two most preferred coat Trường ðại học Nông nghiệp Hà Nội – Luận án tiến sĩ khoa học nông nghiệp …………………… colours The top four purposes of keeping cattle in the descending order included breeding cow, assets, manure, and meat The natural mating with improved bulls was most commonly applied whereas the artificial insemination was not popular Feeding of cattle was mainly based on grazing of natural grass in combination with supplementation of crop by-products There was not a modern marketing system for beef cattle The most important factors influencing beef production in order of importance were capital, market price, feed, knowledge, and service No appropriate methods of crop by-products processing were applied The shortage of feed during winter and lack of capital were the two most common concerns of the farmers This implies that a better utilization of low-cost feed resources through appropriate methods of storage and processing of crop by-products should be considered as essential to overcome the shortage of feed for cattle Beef cattle production at the farmer household level should be improved through the implementation of appropriate policies and credit programmes as well as supports for the improvement of the marketing system The second study (Paper II) presents results of an experiment in growing beef cattle The purpose was to investigate effects of different ratios of fish meal to soy cake as protein supplements in the diet on feed intakes and performance of growing beef cattle fed URTRS as basal diet under local conditions in North Vietnam Thirtysix male cattle of Laisind (50% local Yellow cattle and 50% Sindhi, both Bos indicus) at around 12 months of age with an average live weight of 124±12 kg at start were used in six groups of the experiment Six diets named A, B, C, D, E, and F used in the experiment were similar in CP level, except for diet A with no protein supplementation, but different in fish meal/soy cake ratio based on CP content as follows: diet A: 0/0; diet B: 100/0; diet C: 75/25; diet D: 50/50; diet E: 25/75; and, Trường ðại học Nông nghiệp Hà Nội – Luận án tiến sĩ khoa học nông nghiệp …………………… diet F: 0/100 Following a 4-week adaptation period, a comparison period lasted 24 weeks The total intakes of DM, roughage, ME, and CP were 6, 7, 6, and 20% higher in diets B-F than diet A with P values ≤ 0.05, 0.05, 0.05, and 0.001, respectively The ADG was 50% higher (P[...]... Household information including age, gender, ethnicity, and education level of the household leader, sources of income, and farmland area; (ii) Farming system including cattle herd size, management system, breed of cattle, purposes of keeping cattle, breeding practices, coat colour preference, and time devoted to feeding out cattle; (iii) Feed and feeding management system including feed resources, types of. .. List of papers The present thesis is based on the following papers: I The current situation of beef cattle production at the farmer household level in North Vietnam (Manuscript) II Effects of replacing fish meal with soy cake in a diet based on urea-treated rice straw on performance of growing Laisind beef cattle Accepted in Tropical Animal Health and Production III Effects of length of fattening period... measurements included feed intake, average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion ration (FCR), and apparent digestibilities of DM, CP, and crude fibre (CF) Study III was carried out to compare the effect of length of fattening period on some slaughter and beef quality traits of Laisind and Yellow cattle fed URTRS as a basal diet A total of 18 bulls of Laisind and 18 bulls of Yellow cattle, both starting at around... considered as one of the most important factors affecting slaughter and meat quality of beef cattle Although cattle slaughter and meat quality may be affected by length of fattening period, different genotypes may respond differently to length of fattening period Study III was therefore conducted to test if Laisind and Yellow cattle respond differently to length of fattening period on the same feeding... which contribute to 21% of the total GDP in 2010 (GSO, 2011) According to Nin et al (Nin et al., 2003), more than 92% of the animal producers in Vietnam employ only household labours in livestock management compared to 62% in general agriculture, and own 0.77 hectares of farmland in average Concerning cattle production in Vietnam, there have been a number of studies on current situation and farming systems... grazing land, feeding regimes, processing techniques and storage for crop by-products and other sources of feed, shortage of feeds by type and month; (vi) Marketing system for beef production; and, (v) Influencing factors and constraints related to the beef production Trường ðại học Nông nghiệp Hà Nội – Luận án tiến sĩ khoa học nông nghiệp …………………… 22 In Study II, the effect of different ratios of fish... lowering down during recent years Nevertheless, the domestic consumption of beef and veal has been increasing a lot since 1997 to 2012 Consequently, the gap between demand and supply has been becoming bigger During the last decades, there has been a policy of the Vietnamese government to support beef production, including subsidy for crossbreeding of cattle, for grass production, providing low-interest... (Hung and Binh, 2004; Duong, 2008; Ngoan and Giang, 2008; Huyen et al., 2009; Quan et al., 2009) Phung and Koops (2003) and Phung (2009) reported the reproductive performance of cows Tuyen et al (2008) and Vu and Thanh (2008) studied the situation in cattle feedlot A study on some parameters of beef quality in Vietnam was carried out by Luc et al (2009) Results of studies in cattle feeds and feeding... level in North Vietnam Results presented in Paper I show that most beef cattle (in 80% of the farms) were kept in mixed crop-livestock production systems Compared to a farm in the lowland area, a farm in the mountainous area owned a larger farmland area (8365 vs 2956 m2) and spent more time for cattle feeding (7.3 vs 4.4 h/d in winter and 6.3 vs 4.1 h/d in summer, respectively) In a mountainous farm, cattle. .. during the finishing phase of cattle in Study III Beef cattle slaughter quality characteristics are affected by many factors such as breed, sex, age, length of fattening period, and feeding regime (Purchas, 2003; Cuvelier et al., 2006b; Vu and Thanh, 2008; Warren et al., 2008) Beef quality characteristics are dependent on similar factors in addition to pre-slaughter handling, and ageing extent (Mandell ... the increasing demand for beef Prior to implementing any new techniques and methods to improve beef cattle productivity and quality, knowledge and insights into the current situation of beef cattle. .. breed of cattle, purposes of keeping cattle, breeding practices, coat colour preference, and time devoted to feeding out cattle; (iii) Feed and feeding management system including feed resources, ... of farmland in average Concerning cattle production in Vietnam, there have been a number of studies on current situation and farming systems (Hung and Binh, 2004; Duong, 2008; Ngoan and Giang,