Feeding Practices of Dairy Owners in Semi-arid Region of Algeria

Abstract

Background: This work aims to analyze and evaluate the feeding systems of dairy farms in order to provide a diagnosis of the constraints and potentialities of current food practices under Algerian production conditions, particularly in the semi-arid region of Sétif. Methods: The survey was carried out between 2021-2022 on 147 farms in the different agro-ecological zones of the semi-arid region of Sétif. The data were collected through personal interviews using the structured schedule. A survey was conducted to acquire information on farm structure and feeding practices. Result: Depending on the practice of grazing, two types of farms have been established: the zero-grazing system in 7.48% of farms, based on dry fodder supplemented by a large quantity of concentrated feed at 15 kg/cow/day on average, while the semi-grazing system was used in 91.40% of farms with an average of 10.2 kg/cow/day of concentrated feed distributed. The study of the current situation of dairy cow feeding systems shows that pasture, cereal straw, commercial concentrate and wheat bran were the most used feeds in the semi-arid region of Sétif. This finding requires the adoption of an adequate and precise rationing strategy to ensure good profitability of dairy farming.