Bac Ai: Proactively protect livestock during the dry season

Currently, the increasingly hot weather is affecting livestock farming. To cope with the drought and protect livestock, many livestock farmers in the mountainous district of Bac Ai have proactively planted grass, stored dry food and supplemented nutrients for livestock to maintain stable livestock.

Although it is the peak of the dry season, the herd of 24 cows and goats of Mr. Kadá Khôi's family in Ma Ty village, Phuoc Thang commune still has enough food. Mr. Khôi shared: Previously, the family's GS herd was mainly grazed in the wild, and in the dry season, the lack of food caused a decline in physical condition. In the past two years, taking advantage of the water source in the dams, I decided to plant 1 sao of elephant grass to supplement fresh food for the GS herd. In addition, in the dry season, I classify GS to have appropriate care methods, those with declining physical condition will be transferred to captivity and have a separate nutritional regimen. Thanks to that, the GS herd develops normally.

Like Mr. Khoi's family, thanks to proactively providing fresh food and storing dry straw and corn stalks, the herd of 9 cows and goats of Mr. Katơr Lon's family in Dong Day village, Phuoc Trung commune grew well. Mr. Lon said: In the dry season, the GS herd often becomes exhausted due to lack of food and develops parasitic diseases, liver flukes... In early 2024, I sold 4 bulls, rebuilt the barn properly, and planted more elephant grass as fresh food for the GS herd. In addition, I also stocked up on dry straw, rice bran, and molasses to supplement nutrients for the animals, thanks to which the GS herd developed normally.

Thanks to proactive green food sources, the livestock of Mr. Kadá Khôi's family in Ma Ty village grows well during the dry season.

Livestock raising is the main source of income for people in the mountainous district of Bac Ai. However, in the dry season, livestock raising activities face difficulties due to lack of food for the GS herd. In order to help people change their livestock raising habits, in recent years, Bac Ai district has regularly coordinated with the Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine to open training courses on livestock raising techniques for people to apply in practice. Thereby, many households have mastered livestock raising techniques, promptly detected diseases in GS herds for proactive treatment.

In addition, in order to help people improve livestock farming efficiency, some communes have implemented the model of "Each family has a pen, combined with grass planting for livestock raising GS". The model has attracted the participation of many households in the localities. Thereby, helping people change their small-scale livestock farming habits to concentrated livestock farming, contributing to improving the quality of cattle herds and protecting the green and clean environment in the locality. Mr. Dao Van Linh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phuoc Trung Commune, said: The commune actively propagates and mobilizes livestock households to implement solutions to minimize the possibility of malnourished GS in the dry season, focusing on planting grass, storing enough food and supplementing nutrients for GS to maintain stable herds. Thanks to that, the GS herd in the commune is currently developing stably.

Currently, the total herd of horned GS in Bac Ai district is over 43,840; of which, there are over 1,690 buffaloes, over 24,800 cows, and over 17,840 goats and sheep. Thanks to the proactiveness of the people in reserving food sources and taking proper care since the beginning of the dry season, the GS herd has not been depleted or had any disease outbreaks.

Kha Han

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