The agricultural sector is the one that uses the largest amount of available water in the world. Animals, as well as humans, can live for long periods without food, however, without water, death can occur within days. Water is the most important single nutrient for livestock and, unfortunately, both the quality and quantity of the water provided to livestock are often neglected (Dupchak, 2009DUPCHAK, K.: Evaluando la Calidad del Agua para el Ganado. Agua para consumo de rumiantes, [en línea], Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, 2009, Disponible en: https://www.ergomix.com/ganaderia.)
The development of livestock is closely linked to the availability of water used to supply the animals. Water intake varies between different breeds, ages and weights; in addition, the same animal can consume more or less depending on whether or not it is accustomed to its saline level, although, at first, it can reject it, if the salt content is tolerable, it will end up accepting it. This acceptance time will depend on the type of food consumed and the climate, in cases of waters with a high content of salts, production may be affected by repercussions on consumption (Flores & Rochinotti, 2007FLORES, J.; ROCHINOTTI, D.: Agua para consumo de rumiantes, Noticias y Comentarios Ediciones Instituto Nacional de tecnologías agropecuarias (INTA), 2007.).
The livestock production sector depends considerably on the ability of self-providing continuously and opportunely with water resources in the different stages of production. Bringing water to the animals in the field is a challenge in which Cuba is working to achieve a better management of the livestock mass and therefore, obtain better results in the productions of dairy farms, since many sources of water are inaccessible or not suitable for the supply (Pineda, 2016PINEDA, O.: El uso adecuado del agua en explotaciones de ganado bovino, Inst. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación Viceministerio de Desarrollo Económico Rural, Boletín técnico, La Habana, Cuba, 2016.).
Water supply to livestock in Jimaguayú Municipality is carried out from different surface or underground sources, mainly powered by mills, to a lesser extent by electric pumps, motor pumps or pumps with solar panels, and the transfer of water in tank cars (pipes) is used as an alternative method which, in addition, do not guarantee the necessary volume of water and requires high fuel consumption. The supply of water through the different technologies is carried out, on many occasions, directly to drinkers of canoe type or other means used for that purpose because there are not appropriate storage tanks. These means are generally not in good condition or are not located in the paddocks, place where animals stay the longest, which is why they do not always meet their needs. In some units, they are also supplied directly from small recipients known as “reservoirs” that are generally open, becoming a source of diseases and decreasing the quality of the animals' drinking water. All these supply systems, with few exceptions, do not respond to the needs of the animals.
Many livestock producers neglect the hydration of their animals or install precarious, insufficiently sized drinkers, which depend on human personnel to keep them full and this is dangerous for the welfare of animals, especially in hot times, explains the Marketing Company. of drinkers in Mexico (Rotoplas, 2020ROTOPLAS: Comederos/bebederos para Ganado, [en línea], Inst. ROTOPLAS. Empresa Comercializadora México, Manual 3, Proyecto Ganadería Colombiana Sostenible. GEF, Banco Mundial, FEDEGÁN, CIPAV, Fondo Acción, TNC., México, 2020, Disponible en: https//:rotoplas.com.mx.).
Executives of agriculture in the country recognize that it is not possible to develop livestock without prioritizing the situation of water and food, hence that is the priority, together with the reestablishment of many of its old infrastructure destroyed by the effects of the economic crisis and disorganization (Pérez & Borrego, 2016PÉREZ, A.; BORREGO, J.: “Una mina en el potrero”, Granma, primera ed., La Habana, Cuba, 18 de julio de 2016, ISSN: 0864-0424, Disponible en: internet@granma.cu, [Consulta: 30 de enero de 2020].).
The province establishes as a norm of water to be drunk by adult animals in full production an average rate of 120 L / day, but the aforementioned difficulties limit these consumptions (Fernández, 2019FERNÁNDEZ, N.: El agua en la ganadería camagüeyana, Subdelegación de ganadería Delegación Provincial MINAG, Camagüey, Camagüey, Cuba, 2019.).
The water supply affects livestock production in the province and in particular in those territories that have the greatest dairy potential, such as Jimaguayú Municipality. Traditional drinking troughs are almost never distributed throughout the paddocks, but due to their characteristics they are generally located where the mill is or at the exit of a paddock.
The objective of this study was to design a distribution system that allows to improve the level of water supply to the animals in the livestock units of Jimaguayú Municipality, guaranteeing greater efficiency in the use of this resource without negative repercussions on the social and environmental order and without requiring large costs.
This study was carried out in the period from September 2019 to March 2020 at “La Victoria” farm belonging to “Evelio Rodríguez” Credit and Services Cooperative (CCS) in Jimaguayú Municipality which has a cattle ranch system in development with an area of 120.78 ha distributed in 40 paddocks, with a herd of 286 units of bovines.
A water distribution system was designed from the supply source to each of the paddocks through which the animals rotate on the farm, based on the use of plastic pipes and accessories, plastic tanks and buoys to prevent the waste of Water. The prices of the components included in the design were obtained.
For the possible generalization of the experience, the typical dairy design prepared by the National Agricultural Projects Company (ENPA) of Camagüey (ENPA, 2020ENPA: Diseño de Solución de acuartonamiento y agua, Inst. Empresa Nacional de Proyectos Agropecuarios (ENPA). Dpto. de Desarrollo. Camagüey, Información personal, Camagüey, Cuba, 2020.) was taken as a reference. Interviews were conducted with producers and suppliers of the materials to be used, as well as to learn about the different prices of traditional drinkers. Economic indicators for obtaining and installing the system were calculated and the social and environmental effect of the proposed solution was assessed.
At the beginning of the study in the selected farm, only cement troughs were used, which had to be fixed because they were too heavy, in addition to their lack of an adequate hydraulic network to satisfy the animals´ needs. The basic criterion for the design of the water supply system is to be able to place the water within reach of the animals during their stay in the paddocks, that is, for most of the day.
For the design of the supply system, an initial study carried out by observing and interviewing key informants on the state of the water supply to the animals in the pastures in the municipality was taken into account. Similarly, Duarte (2011)DUARTE, E.: “Uso del Agua en establecimientos agropecuarios. Sistema de abrevadero. (Parte I )¿Cuánta agua toma una vaca”, Revista Plan Agropecuario, 140: 38-43, 2011, Disponible en: https://www.ergomix.com/ganaderia , states that knowing the amount of water consumed by animals is of great importance to take measures, such as, knowing the amount of water available, then, the number of animals that can be kept to finally design the drinkers that satisfy the adequate number of animals. In addition, the indications expressed in the electronic journal Bebederos Shop (2017)BEBEDEROS SHOP: Bebederos Shop, [en línea], bebederos-shop, 2017, Disponible en: https:/www.bebederos-shop.com. about the capacity of the drinkers and their location where an easy access to them is guaranteed. The proposed system consists of designing a water distribution network from the supply source to all paddocks or group of paddocks, in such a way that the animals can have access to water when they need it, without having to travel long distances. The type, diameter and quantity of pipe and connection accessories to be used will depend on the specific characteristics of the unit, that is, its shape and extension, the location of the water supply source and the available flow. The use of the "buoy" is essential to avoid unnecessary spillage of water.
The type of drinker to be used can be diverse, in this regard Monteverde (2013)MONTEVERDE, S.: Agua, hábitos de abrevado en bovinos y cantidad de agua requerida. Hábitos de consumo de agua en el ganado, Revista Ayuda Mutua, 2013. states that the shape of the drinkers alters water consumption, the most suitable are those of circular shape and away from the corners and edges of the plot, in order to allow the access of the animals to their entire surface. Rotoplas, (2020)ROTOPLAS: Comederos/bebederos para Ganado, [en línea], Inst. ROTOPLAS. Empresa Comercializadora México, Manual 3, Proyecto Ganadería Colombiana Sostenible. GEF, Banco Mundial, FEDEGÁN, CIPAV, Fondo Acción, TNC., México, 2020, Disponible en: https//:rotoplas.com.mx. also believes that the drinking troughs for livestock must be made of resistant materials, which are capable of withstanding the direct action of ultra violet rays if they are located outside. Likewise, they must be very light to allow deep cleaning. Without complications or delays, these materials should not alter the taste or quality of the water, as that may displease the animals. Luque (2008)LUQUE, J.: Calidad de agua para bebida de animales, Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, 2008. expresses that to avoid the accumulation of salts in the water of the drinkers, its permanent renewal is important, as well as their systematic cleaning. The three conditions expressed by the previous authors are met for this research because, in this case, the use of plastic tanks as drinkers is suggested, which, in addition to being cheaper, are lightweight and can be moved to different positions if necessary (Figure one).
One of the factors that influences the frequency of the water supply is the distance to springs. Even when the water supply is continuous, having drinkers with adequate accessibility, capacity and water recovery time is important, since animals tend to drink in groups associated with other activities such as feeding (Duarte, 2011DUARTE, E.: “Uso del Agua en establecimientos agropecuarios. Sistema de abrevadero. (Parte I )¿Cuánta agua toma una vaca”, Revista Plan Agropecuario, 140: 38-43, 2011, Disponible en: https://www.ergomix.com/ganaderia ). Monteverde (2013)MONTEVERDE, S.: Agua, hábitos de abrevado en bovinos y cantidad de agua requerida. Hábitos de consumo de agua en el ganado, Revista Ayuda Mutua, 2013. has pointed out that it is important to guarantee the drinking trough for all animals, depending on the species and category, to maintain good cleaning and a suitable height and location. He emphasizes that with the water in the plot under rotational grazing, the animals do not act with a gregarious spirit, going in large groups to the spring, but rather go individually or in small groups and for a short time. By using plastic tanks cut to the center, it is possible to achieve two drinkers from a whole tank for their distribution in the field. Initially, the question arose about the possible competition that would be created when the animals faced a drinker that does not allow the simultaneous presence of several of them; referring to this aspect, the continuous observation of the experience showed that this principle is fulfilled in the proposed system due to the permanent availability of water in the drinker.
The necessary amount of drinkers must be valued in each specific condition, the important thing is to achieve a hydraulic network that allows the disposition of the drinkers in the necessary points, also considering the distribution of natural supply sources like streams and springs as well as wells, tanks elevated, etc.
The components of the proposed drinker are the following: 208 L plastic tank, float, connection accessories, plastic pipe, valve. This system has been implemented in “La Victoria” farm since February 2020 and is working with favorable results.
In summary, the designed drinking trough system for the supply of water to livestock has the following advantages:
Component elements are available locally, making the design sustainable
The cost of manufacturing and installation is less than a traditional drinker
Easy handling and maintenance
Possible disadvantages that could be pointed out:
Its components are acquired and not the drinker, that is, it must be assembled on the place
Components are not always available.
In relation to these disadvantages, the conformation of the drinker is relatively simple and the producers can be advised, while the availability of the components be resolved, if it is decided, to give an adequate level of priority to the issue considering the importance of guaranteeing water in the cattle raising.
To assess the possible application of the system in other units, a study was carried out for a typical unit. For this a dairy farm designed by ENPA in Camagüey was taken as a reference ENPA (2020)ENPA: Diseño de Solución de acuartonamiento y agua, Inst. Empresa Nacional de Proyectos Agropecuarios (ENPA). Dpto. de Desarrollo. Camagüey, Información personal, Camagüey, Cuba, 2020. (Figure 2).
The availability of streams is observed in the design, which are not always present in our units. In this specific case, not all paddocks have access to them, in addition, it must be considered that these sources behave seasonally, so it is essential to have solutions that guarantee water distribution at any time.
For this unit, considering the paddock area and taking into account the rotation period, a distribution scheme was designed in which 2 drinkers per paddock would be placed; their location would be made in the most proportional way possible to facilitate access to water for the animals (Figure 3).
The technical factor that supports the proposed design lies in the fact that it manages to respond to the need of guaranteeing the availability of water permanently during the period of permanence of the animals in the field, a situation not resolved today in most of our livestock units and that is reflected in production.
Uribe et al. (2011)URIBE, F.; ZULUAGA, A.; VALENCIA, L.; MURGUEITIO, E.; OCHOA, L.: Buenas prácticas ganaderas, Ed. Proyecto Ganadería Colombiana Sostenible. GEF, Banco Mundial, FEDEGÁN, CIPAV, Fondo Acción, TNC, vols. Manual 3, Bogotá, Colombia, 82 p., 2011, ISBN: 978-958-8498-36-2. indicate that mobile drinkers allow reducing costs because they rotate like cattle, for this reason they must be light and in the event that they need to be transported, they have ease of movement. These drinkers can be rustic and built with recyclable materials, there are also plastic drinkers and floats or buoys on the market that help to rationalize the use of water.
There is a direct relationship between the investment required to implement the system and the water supply needs of the animals, taking into account the economic limitations resulting from the lack of water in the productive system, that is, to a very productive farm, but with lack of water corresponds to a greater investment for the supply. In the economic evaluation it is necessary to bear in mind that the investment made is justified by the economic results achieved by the implementation of the system.
For the economic evaluation of the proposal, the current prices in the national market obtained from the Agricultural Products Marketing Company and other national markets were used. There is little supply of these resources for agriculture. (Table 1).
The cost of a traditional cement trough sold by the Agricultural Supplies Company is around 3,000.00 pesos (MN) not including transportation costs according to Hernández (2019)HERNÁNDEZ, Y.: Precios de venta de materiales en los almacenes de la Empresa de Suministros Agropecuarios (EPSA), Empresa de Suministros Agropecuarios (EPSA), 2019., that is, 6,000.00 pesos of investment for two troughs, which represents a difference of 5150.00 pesos (MN) in relation to the proposed solution.
To determine the total investment in the farm, it would be necessary to add the pipes and accessories necessary for the distribution of water from the supply source to the drinking troughs, which requires a specific design for the unit.
The analysis of the investment necessary for the implementation of the distribution system in “La Victoria” farm was carried out; the results are shown in Table 2.
In this case, the system has been calculated for the construction of 20 drinking troughs that guarantee the supply of water in all the paddocks of the farm.
Considering that the paddock area on the farm is 120.00 ha, an index of $ 85.83 / ha (MN) is obtained, so that as a general indicator for other units and considering a variation margin given by the specific characteristics of the different units, a general index of $ 100.00 / ha (MN) can be assumed, to which the installation, management and maintenance costs would be added, which are relatively low when compared to the price of a "canoe" type drinker.
This investment would be justified by the expected productive increase since the animals can have access to water at will without making great physical efforts.
Although Fernández et al. (2016)FERNÁNDEZ, D.; MARTÍNEZ, M.; VALENCIA, E.; LÓPEZ, R.: Diseño y construcción de bebederos pecuarios, [en línea], Unidad Técnica Especializada (UTE) COUSSA, Publisher: México, 2016, Disponible en: www.coussa.mx. state that drinkers built with cement and other materials have the advantage of being more resistant to weather conditions, plastic and mobile drinkers are cheaper and eliminate the disadvantage that cement drinkers have in terms of mobility.
The practical observation of the behavior of the water distribution system implemented in the farm allowed verifying that there is a more periodic access of the animals to the drinkers due to the ease of access, which will obviously have an impact on the productive results, coinciding with the studies carried out Piaggio & García (2004)PIAGGIO, L.; GARCÍA, A.: “El agua de bebida como limitante de la producción en pastoreo”, Revista del Plan Agropecuario, 36-40, Lechería, 2004., which showed the effectiveness of mounting mobile drinkers in pastures, which obtained a 5% increase in milk production with a higher concentration of solids.
In the social aspect, the easy handling humanizes the work, in addition, the expected improvements of the productive results redound in the economic benefits that the producer receives.
From the environmental point of view, the proposed system reduces the need to transfer water in tank cars, with the consequent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
Based on the results obtained, a guide was prepared for the design of the water supply to livestock by means of plastic tanks, which has been made available to producers in the municipality for its progressive generalization.
The results show that the designed system allows greater access to water for the animals during their stay in the paddocks by having more drinkers per area.
The proposed system represents a transformation from the social point of view because it humanizes work by being easy to handle and maintain it.
From an environmental point of view, it reduces the need to transfer water in tank cars, with the consequent reduction in fuel consumption.
The economic indicators show a decrease of 5,150.00 pesos less for the acquisition of two mobile drinkers compared to a traditional one.