Browsing by Subject "Dry matter intake"

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    Adaptation of herd simulation models to predict the efficiency of the use of resources in tropical ruminant production systems
    (2020) Bateki Adjogo, Christian; Dickhöfer, Uta
    Agricultural systems in the (Sub-)Tropics are under increasing pressure to produce more food and satisfy the growing demand of a rapidly growing and more affluent human population for agricultural products. With growing rates of urbanization in these regions and the associated dietary changes, the demand for calories from animal-based foods like milk, meat, and eggs could increase by 74 to 114 % between 2010 and 2050. Ruminant livestock have the potential to contribute to satisfying the demand for animal-based foods in the (Sub-)Tropics, but also raise considerable environmental concerns, amongst others due to their emissions. The use of simulation models is a holistic approach to identify how to sustainably harness the potential of ruminants for animal-based food production in the (Sub-)Tropics. Although several ruminant herd models are relevant for studying tropical ruminant production systems, most of them were developed using data that quantify and characterize biological processes of ruminants in temperate regions. Therefore, the present thesis identified and adapted an existing ruminant livestock herd model to adequately predict resource use and the potential outputs from production systems in the (Sub-)Tropics. The present thesis showed that state-of-the-art ruminant livestock herd models used to simulate tropical production systems need further development to enable them to address the modelling needs identified. Instead of developing new models to address these modelling needs, existing simulation models could be adapted using the increasingly available data that quantify and characterize biological processes in ruminants in these regions. This approach will ensure that not only the direction of change for different management strategies will be identified for tropical ruminant production systems, but also the correct magnitude of resources use and productive and reproductive performance.