Simulation and Optimization of Available Local Feed Resources for Dairy Cattle in Burkina Faso

The poor quality of natural pastures in the dry season does not make it possible to meet dairy cows’ requirements for milk production in Burkina Faso and in most West African countries. Therefore, it is urgent to find an alternative by developing a full diet from locally available ingredients. The objective was to determine a diet for dairy cattle based on locally available ingredients in the peri-urban area of Ouagadougou. A progressive methodology was used. Thus, a survey was conducted ontoonton 30 dairy farms. This survey was followed by chemical analysis, for which the most dominant forage and concentrate ingredients were selected. Secondly, the recording of milk and on-farm ingredient use was also carried out using Op-Ration software (Op-Ration version V3.4.5.0) in order to compare and determine the most suitable diets. The data from the survey were subjected to descriptive statistics using SPSS version 20. Those from chemical analysis, milk recording, and ingredient assessment on the farm were subjected to a statistical method using the software Minitab version.18.1.0.0 setup. The results showed two dominant forage species, Sorghum (84.85%) and Pennisetum pedicellatum (90.91%), and two dominant concentrates, corn bran (32%) and cottonseed meal (26%), used by dairy farmers. From these ingredients and simulating the requirements of 400 kgPV0.75 of lactating cows, a diet assessment was carried out at early, middle, and end lactation. The results showed that at the beginning of lactation, the diet consisted of 6.73 kg of forage and 6.59 kg of concentrate for 13.5 L as the main objective of milk production. The diet for mid-lactation was 8 kg of forage and 6.5 kg of concentrate for 15.5 L per day and 5.7 kg of forage and 3.8 kg of concentrate for the end of lactation. The results of this study show that it is possible to manufacture a complete ration for dairy cows at different stages of lactation from locally available forages and concentrates in the peri-urban area of Ouagadougou. This type of method could be applied to other regions from local forages and concentrates for milk production.