Ex Ante Analysis of New Forage Alternatives for Farms with Dual-Purpose Cattle in Peru, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua

Production costs decrease as cow productivity increases. Thus, changing from a cow that produces 1,350 kg in a 270-day lactation (i.e., 5.0 kg/cow per day) to one that produces 1,500 kg (or 5.55 kg/day) reduces costs from $0.31/kg to $0.29/kg. When a cow produces 2,000 kg, costs are reduced to $0.23/kg, using the same jaragua grass and supplements of molasses mixed with chicken manure to supply those nutrients deficient in the jaragua grass pasture.

Jaragua grass + Cratylia argentea + sugarcane. 

With this forage option, the need for purchasing concentrates, molasses, or chicken manure for the dry season can be eliminated completely. Based on the nutrient content indicated in Table 5, this forage option is capable of maintaining production during the dry season, even in cows producing 2,000 kg per lactation (or 7.4 kg/day). At 1,350 kg per lactation, production costs per kg milk are reduced by 10%, compared with the current situation (jaragua + concentrate or chicken manure) and by 7% when production levels are at 1,500 kg per lactation. However, at 2,000 kg per lactation, production costs do not differ because a restriction was imposed on the model regarding the use of chicken manure. In Costa Rica, although chicken manure can be purchased at local farms, it must be purchased throughout the year. The model therefore chose the purchase of commercial concentrate during the dry season in cows producing 1,350 kg and 1,500 kg per lactation, but jaragua grass cannot support a production of 2,000 kg per lactation without there being additional protein and energy supplements throughout the year. In this case, the most inexpensive source was chicken manure, which makes the farm highly competitive, because of the manure's availability throughout the year.

Currently, chicken manure is cheap, costing $0.08/kg; it has a high crude protein content of 17% and 60% digestibility. This combination of factors makes chicken manure a highly viable option. However, its price may rise as its popularity increases, which would make the Cratylia + sugarcane option even more attractive. Chicken manure from layers has a high calcium content (2.25%, DM basis), and, to prevent poisoning from excess calcium, no more than 4 kg DM of chicken manure/cow are given per day. This is equivalent to a calcium level of 1% of the animal's daily feed intake (NRC 1988). The investment required to implement this option on a farm with an average herd of 47 cows in Esparza is about $6,000 (8.9 ha of Cratylia, 1.8 ha of sugarcane, and a chopper). Figure 2 shows the real interest rate with which this investment can be paid, depending on cow productivity and assuming that the farmer devotes 50% of the marginal income received as product of this forage alternative. The real interest rate in Costa Rica is currently 13% (24% nominal interest; 11% annual inflation) and the maximum credit available is on a 5-year term with 1 year of grace. Under these conditions, the credit cannot be paid unless cows produce 2,000 kg per lactation. With a productivity of 1,500 kg per lactation, this credit can be paid if real interest is lower (between 5% and 10%) and the terms of payment longer (about 10 years).

This situation deserves attention from policy makers. If politicians put pressure on farmers to compete in open market economies, then farmers should have the option of lower interest rates that reflect the opportunity cost of money in the international market, currently at real interest rates between 6% and 9% over a 15-yr period. The implementation of this forage option does not release areas for other uses. It only replaces the use of externally purchased supplements.

Brachiaria spp. + Cratylia argentea + sugarcane. 

Returning to Figure 1, the option to establish Brachiaria instead of jaragua grass and additionally establish Cratylia with sugarcane for dry-season feeding reduces milk production costs even more (from $0.27/kg to $0.18/kg, depending on the productivity of the milking cow). This option reduces production costs proportionally between 13% and 28%, compared with prevailing conditions on most of farms of the central Pacific region. Costs are reduced, not only because no supplements are purchased, but also because the area allocated to maintaining the same herd of 47 cows is lower, thus reducing the need for labor to maintain paddocks and fences. 

Figure 3 shows the percentage of pasture area released as a result of intensification caused by the establishment of these options. With this forage alternative, 27.5% of the area currently allocated to livestock could be released and still maintain the same herd size of 47 cows, that is, from 83 to 59.1 ha. The jaragua grass was replaced by 53.5 ha of Brachiaria, 4.6 ha of Cratylia, and 1.0 ha of sugarcane, thus releasing 23.9 ha that could be put to other uses

The investment required to establish these forage options was about $18,500. However, if farmers are to invest in these options, milk productivity per cow must increase under current real interest rates in order to pay back the credit (Figure 4).

With current productivity levels, especially that of 1,500 kg per lactation, there is no way that credit can be paid. However, with a productivity level of 2,000 kg per lactation, a credit at the current 13% interest rate in Costa Rica may be paid, provided that the term be expanded from the current 5-yr period to one of 10 years.

Brachiaria spp. + Arachis + Cratylia + sugarcane. 

All improved alternatives are established on the same farm. Milk is therefore produced at a lower cost compared with the other alternatives (dropping from $0.25/kg under prevailing conditions, at 1350 kg per lactation, to $0.17/kg, with a productivity of 2,000 kg per lactation). This option is 20% to 30% less expensive than jaragua grass + supplements. Furthermore, a larger area can be released away from livestock to other uses (36.5%, equivalent to 31.2 ha).

This investment involves the establishment of 47 ha to Brachiaria spp. in association with A. pintoi, 3.7 ha to C. argentea, and 1.0 ha to sugarcane, and requires $21,000. However, as with the previous alternative, a farmer who wants to establish these options cannot repay credit, except where productivity per cow is 2,000 kg per lactation and terms are about 10 years (Figure 5).

With the current credit conditions of a real interest rate at 13% and payable in 5 years, these forage alternatives will not be adopted in Costa Rica, unless the capital to make these investments comes from the farmers' own income. The C. argentea + sugarcane alternative ($6,000/farm) would be the most feasible, but the other alternatives with Brachiaria spp. requiring investments of $18,500 to $21,000, would be almost impossible since these sums represent the farm net income of over 3 years.

Stylosanthes species. 

The partial budget methodology was used for this alternative because the simulation model did not allow alternatives to be evaluated by animal category. The Tropileche Consortia is validating this forage alternative as a strategy for feeding pre-weaning calves, especially during the dry season. Based on preliminary data from Nicaragua (Soza and Fariñas 1997) and extrapolating to Costa Rica, Table 6 shows marginal profitability in using Stylosanthes to feed pre-weaning calves, assuming that the average farm with 47 cows produces 35 calves per year (Table 2).

Table 6. Marginal profitability from using Stylosanthes guianensis to feed pre-weaning calves in Costa Rica. (Adapted from data by Soza and Fariñas, 1997.)
Variable	Traditional management	Stylosanthes
Number of calves	35	35
Days of evaluation	90	90
Required investment (6.5 ha @ $165/ha)a	NA	$1,075
Calf weight (kg)
Initial	130	130
Final	110 (-18%)	157 (+21%)
Daily weight gain (g/calf)	-222	+300
Total production value ($1.20/kg)	$4,620	$6,594
Marginal income during the period	0	$1,974 (+42.7%)
a. Assuming a dry matter production of 1,500 kg/ha and with a 20% loss to trampling.

Under management with Stylosanthes sp., 6.5 ha are required to feed these calves during the dry season period. The average weight gain per calf is 300 g/day (under traditional management, calves lose weight). The investment required is about $1,075/farm, for a marginal gain, at the end of the dry season, of close to $2,000 (i.e., $57/calf more than under traditional management). This alternative has more probability of being adopted because the initial investment is less and can be quickly recovered through calf weight gain (calves are sold at 8 to 10 months of age). The farmers can invest the resulting income without having to resort to credit.

Nicaragua

Prevailing situation 

The situation in Esquipulas, Nicaragua, is similar to that of Costa Rica in that the forage alternatives evaluated significantly reduced production costs. Figure 6 shows milk production costs of different forage options, according to cow productivity. Under prevailing conditions, milk production costs are US$0.26/kg, while the price received is $0.22/kg. In other words, on selling weaned male calves, the farmer receives, overall, a break-even income, similar to the minimum wage.

However, this situation could improve if cow productivity was higher. The nutritional quality of jaragua grass, as indicated in Table 5, is capable of maintaining cows producing up to 1,500 kg per lactation without additional supplements, during the rainy season, and cows producing 2,000 kg per lactation, given both energy and protein supplements, throughout the year. Even with jaragua grass, milk production costs can be reduced to as low as $0.20/kg, depending on pasture management (e.g., degree of cover, weed control, paddock rotation, shade, availability of water to animals, and appropiate resting periods).

Cratylia argentea + sugarcane. 

As in Costa Rica, this forage option completely eliminates the need for supplements during the dry season.

Production costs are reduced by 31% (from $0.26/kg to $0.18/kg) with the current productivity per cow in the area, compared with those farms in Esquipulas that depend on jaragua grass and must use concentrate supplements during the dry period. Similarly, production costs can be reduced to as low as $0.14/kg with a productivity of 1,500 kg per lactation and to $0.12/kg with a productivity of 2,000 kg.

In Esquipulas, the establishment of this forage option on an average farm with 29 cows would require an investment of about $4,600. This investment would cover the establishment of 5 ha of C. argentea, 2.4 ha of sugarcane, and the purchase of a gasoline- or diesel-powered chopper (rural electrification is scarce in this part of the country).

Figure 7 shows the real interest rates at which this investment could be paid, depending on cow productivity and assuming that the farmer allocates 50% of the marginal income resulting from this forage option to pay back the credit received. Nicaragua's current financial system offers an 18% annual real interest rate for agricultural credit, with a maximum term of 5 years. This forage option is not financially viable under these conditions, with the current levels of milk production. However, when cow productivity is 1,500 kg per lactation, paying credit under prevailing conditions is feasible, because real interest as high as 22% can be paid over a 5-year term. When the productivity level is 2,000 kg per lactation, the situation is still more viable.

The Ministry of Agriculture/World Food Program (MAG-WFP) dairy development project grants credits to small-scale milk producers at a 10% real interest rate, payable over 5 years, although the maximum amount granted is $3,000/farm. This provides an excellent opportunity to foster and promote this forage option because it significantly improves the competitiveness and income of small-scale milk producers by reducing production costs.

Brachiaria spp. + Cratylia argentea + sugarcane. This forage alternative reduces milk production costs at levels similar to the C. argentea + sugarcane option with current milk production levels of 1,000 kg, and even 1,500 kg, per lactation. As a result, at these levels of milk production, no incentive exists for choosing this forage option because capital investment is much higher than that required for the option without Brachiaria spp. (i.e., only C. argentea + sugarcane).

The capital investment required for this option is about $10,900 (39.1 ha to Brachiaria spp., 2.0 ha to C. argentea, and 1.0 ha to sugarcane) versus $4,600 for the C. argentea + sugarcane option. With production levels at 2,000 kg per lactation, production costs are reduced, compared with the C. argentea + sugarcane option ($0.14/kg versus $0.15/kg, respectively). However, this reduction is very small and does not compensate for the investment made.

Nevertheless, this forage option frees 22.1% of the area currently under pastures (Figure 8), amounting to a net area of 7.9 ha that the farmer can devote to other uses (i.e., fruit, reforestation), which is not possible with the C. argentea + sugarcane option. Despite being expensive, the Brachiaria spp. + C. argentea + sugarcane option is therefore considered the most viable option for farms located in hillsides with steep slopes.

Figure 9 shows the interest rate that a farmer can pay for credit to invest in this forage option. Because the price of investment is so high, paying the credit at current levels of production (i.e., 1,000 kg per lactation) would be impossible. However, it could be paid if the investment increases cow productivity by 50% (from 1,000 kg to 1,500 kg per lactation) and if terms for payment are extended to 10 years, at a real interest rate of 10%. With production levels at 2,000 kg per lactation, this forage option is financially viable because it would be possible to pay real interests between 10% and 20%, depending on the terms established.

Brachiaria spp. + Arachis pintoi + Cratylia argentea + sugarcane. 

As in Costa Rica, this forage option involves the establishment of all alternatives. Milk is produced at a lower cost than that of all the other forage options considered in this study, decreasing from $0.17/kg with the current production level to $0.10/kg at 2,000 kg. This alternative therefore reduces production costs between 35% and 44%, compared with the prevailing situation in Esquipulas (i.e., jaragua grass supplemented with concentrates during the dry season).

To establish this alternative, each farm has to invest about $12,300 (29.8 ha to Brachiaria spp. in association with A. pintoi, 2.5 ha to C. argentea, 1.1 ha to sugarcane, and a chopper). This forage option frees 32.8% of the area currently under pastures and still maintains the same herd size (Figure 8). That is, 16.4 ha can be devoted to other uses.

Figure 10 shows the real interest rates at which credit can be paid to establish this forage alternative. With current cow productivity at 1,000 kg per lactation, paying back a credit would not be feasible because of the high investment of capital, even with a 10-year term. However, this alternative could be financially attractive if production per cow is increased by 50% to 1,500 kg per lactation and with financing over 10 years and a real interest rate of 10%. Thus, under the current commercial banking conditions (a 5-year term and 18% real interest) it is not possible to adopt this technology thru credit.

Stylosanthes species. 

Preliminary data on the use of Stylosanthes sp. for feeding pre-weaning calves were obtained from a farm in Esquipulas (Soza and Fariñas 1997). Using the partial budget methodology, Table 7 shows the marginal profitability of the use of this forage option. Under traditional management, pre-weaning calves remain grazing with the dam during the morning and are then separated in the afternoon under a roofed corral until the following day. The calves consume the equivalent to one-fourth of the udder plus the residual milk from milking. The alternative assessed consisted in introducing the calves to a paddock of Stylosanthes sp. during the afternoon and then spending the night in confinement, as under traditional management, until the next morning milking.

Table 7.   Marginal profitability from using Stylosanthes guianensis to feed pre-weaning calves in Nicaragua. (Based on data from Soza and Fariñas, 1997.)
Variable	Traditional management	Stylosanthes
Number of calves	24	24
Days of evaluation	90	90
Required investment (4.5 ha @ $150/ha)a	NA	$675
Calf weight (kg)
Initial	130	130
Final	110 (-18%)	157 (+21%)
Daily weight gain (g/calf)	-222	+300
Total production value ($1.00/kg)	$2,640	$3,768
Marginal income during the period	0	$1,128 (+42.7%)
a.  Assuming a dry matter production of 1,500 kg/ha, with a 20% loss to trampling.

Under traditional management, calves usually lose weight, especially toward the end of the dry season when the availability of both forage and milk is reduced. According to preliminary data obtained by Soza and Fariñas, the investment required to maintain 24 calves during the three most critical months of the dry season was $675, consisting in the establishment of 4.5 ha to Stylosanthes (1.5 ha per month). The daily weight gain was 300 g, in contrast to traditional management, where weight loss was 222 g/day. A marginal income of $47/calf ($1,128 per lot) was thus generated, equivalent to 42.7% more income than for traditional management. These data suggest that this alternative is extremely viable because the marginal income compensates the initial investment ($1,128 versus $675). This forage option can also be established without credit, especially in situations where the opportunity cost for family labor is low, as in the case of Nicaragua, since the open unemployment rate in the rural sector is estimated at about 52%.

Peru

The case of Pucallpa, Peru, differs from those of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. One characteristic is that the annual precipitation is higher (2,000 mm versus 1,200 mm in Costa Rica and Nicaragua) and more evenly distributed. The dry season in Pucallpa lasts only 3 months and not 6 as in Esparza and Esquipulas. As a result, no significant water deficit occurs in Pucallpa, enabling grass to grow throughout most of the year.

Another important characteristic of Pucallpa is that milk production per cow is very low (3 kg/cow per day, Table 2), especially when considering that the dry season is practically nonexistent. This characteristic may be due to several factors: (1) low genetic potential of cows; (2) limited nutrient availability in the grass, resulting from high pasture degradation in low fertility soils; and/or (3) a constrained milk market.

Daily fresh milk production in the area of Pucallpa barely reaches 2,500 litres, and cattle numbers have dropped from 82,000 head of cattle in 1986 to the current 26,000 head as a result of activities of the Sendero Luminoso ("Shining Path") terrorist group and cattle rustling. The city of Pucallpa, with a population of 300,000 inhabitants, does not have a milk pasteurizer plant. As a result, milk consumption in Pucallpa is mostly in the form of evaporated milk imported from other Peruvian cities. The raw milk market is thus very small. Four of the nine farmers who collaborate with the Tropileche Consortia thought that if they increased milk production on their farms they would have problems marketing the extra milk. The other five farmers sell their milk to the "School Milk Program", a state project that provides milk for school children.

Another factor that restricts the small market for raw milk is the substitution of protein sources in Pucallpa. One kilogram of dry matter (DM) of crude protein from "chico" fish of the Ucayali River is priced at US$2.90 throughout the year, while that of milk is $8.80. Protein from milk is therefore 303% more expensive than protein from fish. Cassava and rice are the main sources of energy, both being significantly cheaper than milk in DM equivalents. As a result, the raw milk market in Pucallpa is limited to the upper class population and its possibilities of growth are severely limited, unless a milk pasteurizer plant is established in Pucallpa to substitute the evaporated milk imported from Lima. The demand for locally produced milk will then increase, but at a price lower than the current price to compete with milk produced in other regions of Peru.

Prevailing conditions versus the alternatives evaluated. 

Figure 11 shows milk production costs for the different forage alternatives evaluated in the study. Unlike other sites, the most profitable alternative (i.e., with the lowest costs) under prevailing conditions in Peru is the one currently used by farmers. The most competitive alternative is to maintain the herd on native pastures and provide, for the 3-month dry season, brewers yeast from the local beer brewery, a viable option because it is abundant, very cheap to transport, and nutritious ($0.15/kg DM, 22% CP, and 65% IVDMD).

With this alternative, milk production costs are $0.33/kg, and the price received by farmers is $0.32/kg. The income received for male calves allows the farmer to receive an income that is slightly more than the minimum wage, while milk income pays for variable costs. This alternative would also be the most attractive where cow productivity is 1,500 kg per lactation or even 2,000 kg. Neither did the forage alternatives Brachiaria + Arachis or Brachiaria + Cratylia succeed in reducing milk production costs to levels below those of native pastures supplemented with brewers yeast. On the assumption that brewers yeast may cease to be a viable option for supplementation, maize was evaluated as an alternative. Its price is currently $0.23/kg. For the alternative, Brachiaria + Arachis and/or Cratylia, to form part of the solution, and with the current milk production levels at 800 kg per lactation, maize prices must rise to $0.38/kg (a 65% increase) so that milk production costs equal those of the current alternative. With milk yields at 1,500 kg per lactation, maize prices must rise by 9% to equal the production costs of both alternatives evaluated.

The main reason why none of the improved forage alternatives can compete with native pastures + brewers yeast is because of the high capital investment in relation to the percentage of milking cows in the herd, which induces a high pasture depreciation per cow. Pucallpa has 41% of the herd in milk while this figure is close to 60% in Costa Rica and Nicaragua (Table 2). To offset this effect, the percentage of milking cows in the Pucalpa herd must be increased throughout the year to a minimum of 53%, or the stocking rate must be increased from the current 0.9 AU/ha to 1.3 AU/ha by introducing more animals. Under current conditions, degraded native pastures cannot support these high stocking rates and the forage alternatives tested could become viable.

From the financial viewpoint, Figures 12 and 13 contain the real interest rates that a farmer from Pucallpa would pay if he or she invested in any of these forage alternatives.

Peru has the highest real interest rate of the three countries, with a real interest of 34% (44% nominal; 10% annual inflation). Even if the investment in these forage alternatives was economically superior, the real interest rate in Peru is so high that farmers would not have the option of intensifying production. They would not be able to pay the 34% real interest in any scenario (not even if cow productivity were 2,000 kg per lactation or terms of payment were over 10 years). In the best of cases, the highest real interest rate which could be paid was 15%.

However, the advantage of establishing these forage alternatives in Pucallpa is that both options release significant areas of pasture for other uses, such as reforestation and/or conservation (Figure 14). In the case of Brachiaria spp. + C. argentea, the area released accounts for 35.4% (i.e., 20.2 ha) and, in the case of Brachiaria spp. + A. pintoi + C. argentea, it is 48.1% (i.e., 27.4 ha).

Stylosanthes species. 

The case of the Stylosanthes alternative is different because preliminary data obtained at Pucallpa (Vela 1997) show that this option is highly profitable for pre-weaning calves. In Pucallpa, the meat-to-milk price ratio is much lower (i.e., 3.1:1), thus much more favorable to milking cows, whereas, in Nicaragua or Costa Rica, this ratio is high (4:1), meaning that, in Central America, fattening calves is more profitable. Table 8 indicates that the investment required to feed eight pre-weaning calves is $680 (i.e., $85/calf) and the marginal income received was $720 from the additional milk sold. Calf weight gain was similar, whether with Stylosanthes or with the traditional system, but milk production (in the bucket) increased by 1 liter per cow (22%) per day.

Table 8. Marginal profitability from using Stylosanthes guianensis to feed calves in Pucallpa, Peru. (Based on data by Vela, 1997.)
Variable	Traditional management	Stylosanthes
Number of calves	8	8
Days of evaluation	90	90
Required investment (2 ha @ $340/ha)	NA	680
Calf weight
Initial	90	90
Final	137	137
Daily weight gain (kg/calf)	525	525
Milk produced per cow (kg/day)	4.5	5.5
Total milk production value during the study period	$3,240	$3,960
Marginal income	0	$720 (+22.2%)

This technology may be readily accepted by small-scale farmers in the short term because it increases their incomes from milk sales without affecting calf development and using relatively small areas of Stylosanthes-based pastures. Consequently, this forage alternative is perhaps the only one in Pucallpa to have good possibilities of being adopted.

Summary and Conclusions

The forage alternatives evaluated in this study significantly improved the competitiveness of dual-purpose farms in Esparza, Costa Rica, and in Esquipulas, Nicaragua, by increasing farmers' net income, reducing milk production costs, and releasing (i.e., intensifying) area for other uses such as reforestation or conservation. In both countries, the forage alternatives completely eliminated the need for supplements (i.e., concentrates, molasses, or chicken manure) during the dry season. In these regions, farms conducting dairy activities were therefore less dependent on external inputs and price changes, and thus less vulnerable to risks. However, this situation did not hold true for Pucallpa, Peru, where none of the forage alternative evaluated, except Stylosanthes for pre-weaning calves, improved the competitiveness of farms under current management and production conditions. The main reason was that the percentage of milking cows was much lower (41%). Depreciation per milking cow was, accordingly, very high, and thus the investment made in the forage alternative was not compensated, especially when production per cow (3 kg/cow per day) and stocking rate (0.9 AU/ha) were very low for an ecozone where water deficit was relatively minor during the dry season.

The forage alternatives, except for C. argentea + sugarcane in Costa Rica and Nicaragua and Stylosanthes sp. to feed calves in all three countries, reduced the area needed to maintain the same herd size. This makes intensification possible by releasing areas that could eventually be allocated to conservation and/or reforestation.

Although all forage alternatives, except in Peru, helped make dual-purpose farms more competitive, the current financial conditions of livestock credit of the three countries interfere with their potential adoption. While the opportunity cost of capital and the conditions of payment in the international market are at 6%-9% real interest per year to be paid over 15 years, the financial market in these countries differs radically. The real interest rates currently governing agricultural credit are about 13% for Costa Rica, 18% for Nicaragua, and 34% for Peru, all payable within 5 years. Because small-scale farmers living in areas similar to those described in this study have levels of income between one and three minimum wages (Table 4), they cannot make investments in new forage alternatives unless they have access to credit.

Given the current credit conditions of these countries, the adoption rate of new forage alternatives by small-scale farmers will be low because the interest rates and current terms for credit make adoption almost impossible. Under global trade liberalization schemes that induce Latin American farmers to compete with other countries, producers should have the option of accessing credit under conditions similar to those found internationally if they are expected to survive in open market economies.

References

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Received 1 June 1999

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