Handling facilities, a tool to achieve animal welfare and increase productivity

Knowing the needs and demands of cattle producers in the South American Chaco, we focused on the difficulties they face on a daily basis when working cattle without the necessary infrastructure and management facilities.

Context of the story

Stocking, corrals and the distribution of watering places are fundamental points to be taken into account in any livestock farm. The improvement of the farm infrastructure, the apotreramiento, which consists of dividing a property into paddocks or lots by means of wire fences and identifying them with letters, numbers or names, allows improving the management of forage resources and the herd by adjusting the animal load, the differential management by categories, the planning of deferred pasture reserves, etc. The installation of a water supply and distribution system, such as wells, boreholes, dams, reservoirs, tanks and watering places, adequate to the production system, is vital to achieve sustainable livestock production over time.

Cattle handling facilities and infrastructure

The implemented initiative

It is estimated that the infrastructure requires a high investment cost, but it is necessary to make the cost-benefit ratio, since each kilogram of muscle produced by the farmer demands that all attention be paid to the treatment of his cattle and where they are moved in the establishment. Investments made in the purchase or improvement of rural facilities have a convenient amortization, since the materials used have a very long life, which allows the invested capital to have a positive cost-benefit ratio. Maintenance costs are also minimal in relation to their frequency and cost, and in most cases these tasks are even carried out by the farm personnel themselves.

Efficient use of available resources

The technological solution

Inputs from the field or from the forest, such as poles, can be used in the construction of the management facilities, thus making a rational and efficient use of these resources and at the same time reducing investment costs.