Effects of indigenous forage species and concentrate supplementation on cattle fattening performance in pastoral and mixed crop -livestock systems of southern Ethiopia

This study assessed the effects of indigenous forage species and concentrate supplementation on cattle fattening performance, feed utilization efficiency, and economic returns under pastoral and mixed crop–livestock systems in Southern Ethiopia. An on-farm feeding trial was conducted in Nyangatom and Salamago woredas using 30 local zebu cattle randomly assigned to five dietary treatments (six animals per treatment): free grazing only (T1), free grazing plus indigenous forage (T2), free grazing plus locally formulated concentrate (T3), free grazing plus industrial by-product concentrates (T4), and free grazing plus mixed local and industrial concentrate (T5). The feeding trial consisted of an 18-day adaptation period followed by a 90-day experimental feeding period. Supplementation significantly improved ( P < 0.05) average daily weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion efficiency, and economic returns. Average daily gain increased from 0.19 kg/day in T1 to 0.30, 0.43, 0.49, and 0.55 kg/day in T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively. Feed conversion efficiency was highest in T5 (0.067 kg/kg dry matter intake). Partial budget analysis showed that T5 produced the highest net return (3,150 ETB per animal), followed by T4 and T3, while indigenous forage supplementation generated moderate returns due to lower feed costs. These results indicate that indigenous forage supplementation improves performance in low-input pastoral systems, whereas mixed concentrate supplementation maximizes productivity and profitability in mixed crop-livestock farming systems. Therefore, adopting context-specific feeding strategies is essential for sustainable cattle fattening in Southern Ethiopia.