Cattle Ranching Research Articles

Legitimizing and Resisting Spatial Violence in Southern Chile (1890s-1910s)

Objective/Context: This article analyzes how racialized understandings of geographic space underpinned the constitution of and resistance to violence in southern Chile in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Methodology: Through critical analysis of petitions, newspaper articles, police investigations, and government reports, along with legislation and census data, I examine the genealogy of violence that made possible the granting of extensive land concessions to a large cattle ranching estate, the Rupanco Company, on Coihueco Island, a fertile plain in Llanquihue Province, and the resistance it provoked. Originality: By embedding the concession made to the Rupanco Company in a longer history of violence, my analysis demonstrates how ideas about space shaped land distribution and created pathways for resistance in courts, before police officers, and through local newspapers. Thus, it shows the overlapping sovereignties between the state, Indigenous Mapuche communities, and private companies. Conclusions: The conflict on Coihueco Island in the early twentieth century illustrates a long history of violence against a geographical area interpreted as vacant by legislation, military action, and occupation. The creation of private and public property expanded the state’s ability to legitimize toponymy, land ownership, or expulsions, provoking multiple forms of resistance.

Effects of deforestation from cattle ranching over time on protected rainforest streams in the Rama-Kriol Territory, Nicaragua

Effects of deforestation from cattle ranching over time on protected rainforest streams in the Rama-Kriol Territory, Nicaragua

Consumer Perception of Food Security during the Period of Covid19 Pandemic

Food security has become a challenge to already disadvantaged average Nigeria consumers as a result of sudden shocks occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic. This study therefore investigated consumers’ perception of food security during COVID-19 pandemic in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. In this study, 3 research objectives and research questions were used. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised of consumers in 3 area councils (Gwagwalada, Bwari and Kuje) of the 6 area councils in the FCT. A total of 400 respondents were used as the sample size. Multistage sampling procedure was adopted for the study. A combination of stratified sampling and proportionate random sampling techniques were used. In the structured questionnaire titled “Consumers’ Perception of Food Security during COVID-19 Questionnaire” was used as instrument for data collection, and 11 items were used. Content validity was used. Test-retest method of reliability was used to obtain the internal consistency. The reliability index was obtained through Cronbach alpha (0.89). Out of the 400 questionnaires administered, 379 were returned valid, representing 95% success rate. Data collected was inputted into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 25) software package where descriptive statistics, in the form of tables were generated. The study found among others that: only 16.6% of consumers in the FCT received food palliatives from government during the COVID-19 lockdown, consumers were not satisfied with the high prices of food stuffs in the markets, there is food security problem in Nigeria and government is unserious on ensuring affordability of food for low income consumers. This study recommends that the organized private sector and government should invest heavily in mechanized agriculture, Federal and State Governments should create Ranches and Grazing Reserves for herdsmen, the Federal Government should create Grazing Reserves in the Sambisa Forest and link this to Cattle Markets across the federation, the Federal Government should open the land borders to allow food importation to reduce current high prices of foodstuff. Keywords: Consumers: Food Security: COVID-19 Pandemic: Cattle Ranching: Grazing Reserves: Nigeria.

Habitat, water quality or geomorphological degradation in the streams: Which is most important for conserving an endemic amphibian of Central Mexico?

Amphibians are one of the most vulnerable vertebrate groups globally as a consequence of pollution and habitat degradation. To explore the environmental and anthropogenic variables that are currently influencing amphibian distribution in central Mexico, we used the Mexican endemic Mountain salamander (Ambystoma ordinarium) as a model. In particular, we evaluated which physicochemical water quality variables, river geomorphological structure, and habitat conditions provide the better environment for A. ordinarium populations. We generated a Multiple Factor Analysis model to identify the relationship of the different variables simultaneously. Our results showed a higher number of salamanders and better body condition animals in conserved sites. The change in the riverbed́s physical structure by increasing degradation influenced water quality and the substratés particle size. Changes included reducing the slope and water velocity, consequently decreasing dissolved oxygen content, increasing turbidity, dissolved solids, and particle embeddedness. This made habitat less suitable for Ambystoma. Results from the classification and regression tree model suggest that the most important variables related to higher salamandeŕs abundance were riverbed stability>12.5 and the slope bigger than 0.016. Also, individuals with better body condition were found in sites with slopes bigger than 0.02 and wider riparian vegetative zones (>3). Our study suggests that habitat deterioration by anthropogenic activities, such as deforestation of riparian vegetation, cattle ranching, and agriculture, that mainly impact the slope and flood-prone areas may start a detrimental cascade that may lead to local extinctions of the Mountain salamander. Therefore, to safeguard A. ordinarium, we first need to conserve their habitat, focusing the efforts not only on the riverbed, but also on the vegetation associated with the riverbank. The study provides insight into important variables that may be considered for future restoration projects for the A. ordinarum, emphasizing the zones in the rivers where these projects could occur.

Caracterização do conhecimento de pecuaristas gaúchos da serra do sudeste sobre o carrapato Rhipicephalus microplus

The purpose of this research project was to determine knowledge of the Rhipicephalus microplus tick among seventy cattle ranchers in the Caçapava do Sul and Lavras do Sul municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul State, through completing a structured questionnaire. The replies to the questions on the land areas covered by the properties show that 27%, 26%, 21.5%, 20% and 5.5% cover more than 500 hectares, between 150 and 300 hectares, between 300 and 500 hectares, between 50 and 150 hectares, and under 50 hectares, respectively; 75% of the ranchers are raising more than 100 head of cattle; 84.3% have cultivated grazing pastures and 15.7% have only native grasslands; 87.14% of the ranchers rated bovine babesiosis as the main tick-borne disease, and 76% checked out tick control products recommended by veterinarians. They mentioned 13 formulations and/or associations of tick control products. The tick control biogram test is a new tool for 58.6% of these cattle ranchers. Producers use late control, based on tick control chemicals.

Fermentation profile and chemical composition of cassava root silage

ABSTRACT The use of cassava root silage for animal feeding is a suitable option for farmers who grow cassava as an alternative product and for cattle ranchers who have to deal with high prices of corn. Our objective was to determine the effects of cassava genotypes and the correction of soil acidity on the microbial population, fermentation characteristics, chemical composition, aerobic stability and losses of cassava root silage. We used a 2 × 3 factorial design in completely randomized blocks, with four replications. We evaluated two cassava genotypes (Caeté and Manteiguinha) and three methods of soil acidity correction (lime, gypsum, and lime+gypsum). The roots were harvested 11 months after planting, ensiled in PVC silos, and stored for 45 days. No interaction was observed between genotypes and soil acidity correction for any of the evaluated parameters. The silage of Caeté genotype showed the highest concentration of dry matter (421 g kg-1 fresh matter) and non-fibrous carbohydrates (893 g kg-1 dry matter), and the lowest concentrations of neutral detergent fiber (37.1 g kg-1 dry matter) . No significant differences were observed among treatments for lactic acid bacteria, yeast and mold counts in silages. Both genotypes resulted in silages with an adequate fermentation profile and considerably high aerobic stability, but with high effluent loss. The Caeté genotype showed to be potentially better for silage production due to its higher dry matter recovery. Due to the high level of effluent loss, it is recommended to test the effect of a moisture-absorbing additive during the ensiling process of these cassava roots.

AMAZON ENDANGERED: INVESTIGATING CHICO MENDES’S CASE IN ONLINE NEWSPAPERS

Chico Mendes was a Brazilian rubber tapper who fought against the destruction of the Amazon region and consequently was murdered by cattle ranchers in 1988. His death aroused great interest in national and international media, which reported his fight against landowners, releasing Chico Mendes’s case worldwide. This work discusses six online articles published in the years of 1988 and 2008, by BBC, Folha de São Paulo, and The New York Times based on Critical Discourse Analysis (FAIRCLOUGH, 1995, 2006) and Systemic Functional Linguistics (HALLIDAY; MATTHIENSEN, 2004) assumptions . R esults have shown that the lexicogrammatical choices portray Chico Mendes both as a leader and a martyr.

Aerial Photogrammetry in the American West: Documenting the Construction of Cattle Water Tanks by Texas Cowboys

Aerial photogrammetry is increasingly being used to discover, document, and interpret the cultural heritage of landscapes. Information on the constructed cultural heritage left behind by the first cattle ranchers in the American West is being lost as the land is transformed and modified, and stewardship of the land changes across generations. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been used in this research to record and interpret two surface water cattle tanks constructed by Texas cowboys in the mid-1880s. Similar size rocks have been used and placed in a similar pattern across the walls of both tanks. This similarity suggests both tanks were constructed at the same time. This research also demonstrates that UAV photogrammetry can be used to rapidly record and analyze the constructed cultural heritage of American West cowboys.

Dispersal limitation, soil, and fire affect functional properties of tropical secondary forests on abandoned cattle ranching landscapes

Forest age is a major predictor of secondary forest functional properties and through the chronosequence approach continues to be a principal focus in local, landscape, and regional-scale studies of secondary succession. Recent work has shown that patterns of temporal change in functional properties differ markedly between wet and seasonally dry lowland forests, suggesting that decreasing light and increasing water availability, respectively, are the main drivers of successional change. Meanwhile, however, the potentially marked effects of anthropogenic factors (especially fire), soils, climate, and dispersal limitation on the variation of forest characteristics over landscapes remain poorly understood. We studied the functional properties of seasonally dry secondary forests 5–35 years after pasture abandonment on the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. We measured 11 functional traits for 63 dominant tree and palm species in 52 plots of 0.12 ha. We used linear regression and variation partitioning to determine the relative importance of soil, climate, site use, fire history, spatial factors, and forest age in the determination of community weighted mean (CWM) trait values. CWM leaf trait and stem trait spectra of the 52 plots were orthogonal in a PCA ordination. Our seasonal forest hypothesis, that forest functional properties become more acquisitive with age as suggested by other authors, was not supported, perhaps because our chronosequence was relatively short. Our fire tolerance hypothesis was that bark thickness, wood specific gravity and resprouting capacity would increase with time of exposure to fires. This hypothesis was not supported for bark thickness. Rather, our results suggest that wood specific gravity and resprouting capacity are better predictors of fire tolerance. Also, our results suggest that >10 years of exposure to fire generates changes in forest fire tolerance strategies from high CWM bark thickness to high wood specific gravity. Finally, we tested our dispersal limitation hypothesis, that spatial variables, expressed as principal coordinates of neighbor matrices (PCNM) eigenfunctions, predict variation in forest functional properties, using variation partitioning analysis with matrices of climate, soil, anthropogenic and spatial variables. The results (overall model R2 = 0.46) indicated that spatial variables, followed by soil (acidity, depth, and extractable Mn), are the best overall predictors of forest functional traits values, supporting this hypothesis. Overall, fire, dispersal limitation and soil characteristics explain the functional properties of these secondary forests, with no effect of age in the 5–35 years range. This indicates a critical need for sampling designs and analytical approaches that take into account all these factors to advance understanding of tropical seasonal forest recovery at the landscape scale.

Agricultural and livestock production in the Amazon: a reflection on the necessity of adoption of integrated production strategies in the western region of the state of Pará

The Brazilian Amazon has a large bovine herd and is an important exporter of meat from cattle and is also one of the most competitive regions for exportation of animal protein. Conventional extensive cattle ranching management has been a strategy promoted by public policies and has contributed to the processes of occupation of the region through modification of public lands with native forests. The objective of this study was to analyze the fundamental elements that have sustained conventional extensive cattle ranching in the Amazon and to demonstrate new strategies to change this paradigm, with a focus on western Pará. Data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) on cattle ranching production between 1990 and 2019 were analyzed and separated into two periods, 1990-2000, and 2001-2019. Meteorological data from western Pará were analyzed to describe the agrometeorological conditions (1989 -2012) with respect to the hydrological regime and its controls on the soil-plant-atmosphere system. Results show that the largest greenhouse gas emissions (GGE) from ruminants occurs during the dry season due to pasture forage grasses that are highly lignified. In contrast, lower emissions occur from diets rich in proteins and lipids, with subsequent gains in productivity, thus indicating the benefits of pastures with well-managed grasses. It is believed that cattle ranchers will adopt integrated systems such as integration of crop-livestock-forest (ICLF) when they are able to understand that climate conditions can be allied with sustainability indicators of the production chain. This paradigm shift in production systems applies not only to environmental and economic aspects, but especially to social ones such as opportunities to hire qualified workers coming from regional agrarian science schools

Stocking rates of pastures in Goias state, Brazil

Goias state has the third largest cattle stocks among the Brazilian states, with 22.8 million heads, and the second largest herd of lactating cows. These animals are kept under grazing on pastures, which occupy 41% (14 Mha) of whole Goias state’ territory. This study analyses the stocking rates of the pastures of Goias, identifying their current state of degradation and production potential. Therefore, data on cattle herd, stratified by age and sex, besides the pasture mapping obtained by satellite images was used. Therefore, the results provide more accurate estimates than before on the pasture situation and, consequently, of the cattle ranching in the state, allowing greater potential for increased productivity. The stocking rates of pastures is 1.3 animal unity / hectare, which could be considered low in terms of potentials, due to the poor use of production and management technology. Despite of having the highest concentration of feedlots in Brazil, Goias state keep cattle mainly on pastures.

Enhanced Mask R-CNN for herd segmentation

Livestock image segmentation is an important task in the field of vision and image processing. Since utilizing the concentration of forage in the grazing area with shielding the surrounding farm plants and crops is necessary for making effective cattle ranch arrangements, there is a need for a segmentation method that can handle multiple objects segmentation. Moreover, the indistinct boundaries and irregular shapes of cattle bodies discourage the application of the existing Mask Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (Mask R-CNN) which was primarily modeled for the segmentation of natural images. To address this, an enhanced Mask R-CNN model was proposed for multiple objects instance segmentation to support indistinct boundaries and irregular shapes of cattle bodies for precision livestock farming. The contributions of this method are in multiple folds: 1) optimal filter size smaller than a residual network for extracting smaller and composite features; 2) region proposals for utilizing multiscale semantic features; 3) Mask R-CNN’s fully connected layer integrated with sub-network for an enhanced segmentation. The experiment conducted on pre-processed datasets produced a mean average precision (mAP) of 0.93, which was higher than the results from the existing state-of-the-art models. Keywords: livestock farming, image segmentation, mask R-CNN, herd, enhancement DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20211404.6398 Citation: Bello R W, Mohamed A S A, Talib A Z. Enhanced Mask R-CNN for herd segmentation. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2021; 14(4): 238–244.

Edge influence on the microclimate and vegetation of fragments of a north Amazonian forest

There are multiple pressures on Amazon forests due to, anthropic activities such as extensive cattle ranching, logging, and legal and illegal crops. These pressures generate highly fragmented landscapes that leads to an increase in forest edges. Thus, forest vegetation exposed to the surrounding open environment generates a series of direct effects that extend into the interior of the forest. Changes in the microclimate are among the most notable effects, and these can impact the composition and structure of the vegetation and affect the alteration of multiple ecological processes and ecosystem services. To better understand these consequences, we evaluated the distance of the edge influence on the microclimate, the composition of the vegetation, and the forest structure in the northern Amazon. We considered two types of edges according to adjacent cover: grasslands dedicated to extensive cattle ranching and rubber plantations (Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex A.Juss.) Müll.Arg.). We recorded significant differences in the composition and abundance of plants of all size categories. We found less richness and dominance of generalist species, that are characteristic of disturbed environments, in the forest sector adjacent to pastures. These edges had also lower humidity and higher temperatures than rubber plantations ones. The distance from the edge to the interior also affected the structure of the vegetation, with a higher density of individuals in the interior of the forest and significant differences in the diameter and height of individuals. We argue that the rubber plantations could be used as a forest management strategy of drought adaptation since it forms a less abrupt border and has a buffer function, keeping higher humidity values and lower temperatures than forest edges adjacent to pastures.

To What Extent Are Cattle Ranching Landholders Willing to Restore Ecosystem Services? Constructing a Micro-Scale PES Scheme in Southern Costa Rica

Deforestation and the unsustainable management of agricultural and livestock production systems in tropical mountain areas have caused fragmented and degraded landscapes. Payment for ecosystem services (PES) could be an effective policy instrument with which to reduce deforestation and restore disturbed ecosystems. The national-scale PES program in Costa Rica is recognized as being successful; however, its financial resources have been mostly dedicated to forest protection, and much less to reforestation projects. This paper aims to construct a micro-scale PES scheme by using primary data generated through spatial modeling and socio-economic and stated preference surveys (choice experiment) in southern Costa Rica. The results suggest that, on average, landholders would agree to implement restoration projects on their own private pasturelands if an appropriate holistic place-based approach was applied encompassing biophysical, social, economic, and institutional aspects. Willingness-to-accept values allow payments to be linked to cattle farmers’ estimates of specific ecosystem services (ES) and land opportunity costs. The economic valuation of three ESs (erosion control, water availability, and biodiversity) allows construction of a layered payment scheme, which could encourage the development of a potential partnership between national and local institutions and NGOs as alternative buyers of ESs, reduce transaction costs, and improve household well-being.

Correction to: Abundance of the common vampire bat and feeding prevalence on cattle along a gradient of landscape disturbance in southeastern Mexico

Cattle ranching is one of the main production activities in the Neotropics that has unavoidably led to cattle exposure to the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) and rabies virus. Although many studies have assessed this issue, the influence of environmental characteristics associated with land use and social and production constraints have received little attention. We used satellite imagery classification to identify a gradient of landscape disturbance and analyzed the effects of cattle management and landscape structure on common vampire bat abundance and feeding prevalence. Evidence of the common vampire bat feeding on cattle was common in the study area: 87.5% of the ranchers interviewed claimed to have experienced this problem. The abundance and feeding prevalence of the common vampire bat was lower in landscapes dominated by open fields, scarce forest cover, and agricultural land. Bat abundance was positively associated with the presence of streams in the proximity of grazing areas, whereas cave’s presence was associated with higher feeding prevalence. We suggest that cattle grazing should avoid the proximity of streams, caves, and forests as much as possible, as these conditions increase the exposure of cattle to the common vampire bat and the potential for feeding, which can increase the likelihood of rabies virus transmission.

Could cattle ranching and soybean cultivation be sustainable? A systematic review and a meta-analysis for the Amazon

Abstract: Tropical forests are being destroyed to make space for agricultural activities with the assumption that they are required to feed the growing global population. Consequently, more sustainable practices are needed to guarantee food security and environmental protection of highly threatened natural biodiversity hotspots like the Amazon rainforest. Cattle ranching and soybean cultivation are by far the greater drivers of land use change and deforestation in the Amazon region. We performed a systematic review of papers related to these two main drivers and a meta-analysis on the effects of sustainable practices on different ecosystem services. The results of the review highlight a large concern about the negative impacts of cattle ranching and soybean crops on the ecosystem dynamics and functionality of the Amazon biome, in addition to the clear relationship with deforestation. Another relevant finding is the large gap in empirical research concerning the effects of sustainable practices on different ecosystem services. Such a gap is evident since only 13 studies from the initial database met the requirements for a meta-analysis. Of the 171 comparisons between the ecosystem services provided in conventional land-uses and those adopting sustainable practices, the overall model indicated a non-significant effect, although the results were heterogeneous. Crop yield and herbage biomass were negatively affected, while livestock productivity, soil organic carbon, soil fertility and woody biomass were positively affected. Also, the six sustainable practices evaluated showed different outcomes, from a predominance of positive effects in silvopastoral systems, to a predominance of negative effects on agrosilvicultural systems. Our systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that cattle ranching and soybean cultivation can indeed be conducted in a more sustainable way, enhancing the provision of ecosystem services while avoiding deforestation. In turn, our results also highlight the lack of empirical data and the need to standardize the methodologies used to deeply assess the effects of such practices. In conclusion, we suggest a way to advance research into the real effects of sustainable practices aimed at reducing the negative impacts of cattle ranching and soybean crops in the Amazon.

Farmers’ Willingness To Pay For Livestock Insurance Programs In Kulon Progo District

Livestock Insurance is one of the insurance products supported by the government with PT Jasindo as the organizer. Livestock insurance will provide the potential for cattle ranchers who can get risk threats such as cattle deaths due to illness, accidents, losses caused by theft, and deaths due to breeding. This study aims to determine the value of the willingness of farmers to pay the insurance and the factors that affect the willingness of farmers to pay insurance. This research was conducted from February to March 2020 in the Kulon Progo district. Location determination is done by purposive sampling based on data from the farmer following the insurance program. Primary data obtained from 53 farmers with the help of a questionnaire and analyzed by the method of contingency value (CVM) and multiple linear regression. The research shows the average value of willingness to pay insurance is IDR45,660 per head per year above the value of the insurance premium assessment. Factors that significantly influence a Farmer's Willingness to Pay (WTP) for the Insurance program are the variable number of family dependants and income, while the age, duration of raising, and education have no significant effect. Based on the value of the EWTP obtained, which is very low, the expectation of farmers is not to demand too low a price.

New Technology and Conflict Resolution: Digitally Recorded Music-Based Counselling as a Communication Intervention Strategy for Promoting Cattle Ranching in Nigeria

This study tests the effectiveness of a music-based counselling intervention that was digitally recorded on 470 herdsmen in Nigeria. The study was a quasi-experiment with the questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. The result of the study showed that the intervention was effective because respondents in the treatment group scored higher regarding the acceptance of ranching, had more positive intention towards cattle ranching, and more readiness to address challenges that come with cattle ranching than their counterparts in the control group. The researchers highlighted the theoretical and practical implications of the results.

Corporate Power in the Bioeconomy Transition: The Policies and Politics of Conservative Ecological Modernization in Brazil

The bioeconomy transition is a double-edged sword that may either address fossil fuel dependence sustainably or aggravate human pressures on the environment, depending on how it is pursued. Using the emblematic case of Brazil, this article analyzes how corporate agribusiness dominance limits the bioeconomy agenda, shapes innovation pathways, and ultimately threatens the sustainability of this transition. Drawing from scholarship on power in agri-food governance and sustainability transitions, an analytical framework is then applied to the Brazilian case. The analysis of current policies, recent institutional changes and the case-specific literature reveals that, despite a strategic framing of the bioeconomy transition as a panacea for job creation, biodiversity conservation and local development (particularly for the Amazon region), in practice major soy, sugarcane and meatpacking conglomerates dominate Brazil’s bioeconomy agenda. In what can be described as conservative ecological modernization, there is some reflexivity regarding environmental issues but also an effort to maintain (unequal) social and political structures. Significant agribusiness dominance does not bode well for smallholder farmers, food diversity or natural ecosystems, as major drivers of deforestation and land-use change (e.g., soy plantations, cattle ranching) gain renewed economic and political stimulus as well as greater societal legitimacy under the bioeconomy umbrella.

ANALISIS KELAYAKAN USAHA TERNAK SAPI POTONG DI KECAMATAN RAIMANUK KABUPATEN BELU (Feasibility analysis of beef cattle business in Raimanuk Sub-District of Belu)

This study aims to were: 1) to know the amount of income farmers in the business of beef cattle in the District Raimanuk. 2) to know the feasibility of beef cattle business in Raimanuk District. Sampling is done through two stages. The first stage is the determination of sample villages conducted by purposive sampling and the second stage is the determination of the respondents who made a simple random. The data were collected using interview technique. The data collected includes primary and secondary data. Primary data obtained from observation and interview, while secondary data obtained from related institutions and literature related to research. The analysis is done by using income analysis and financial analysis. The results showed that the income earned by each cattle rancher amounted to Rp10.318.759/year and the financial investment criteria such as NPV Rp7. 561.847, Net B/C 1.96, IRR 23%, and PBP 2.96 years.