Students, professors, members of the ATC, and community members in La Montañita, Estelí engaged in an exchange/workshop on Animal Nutrition and Feed which included plant identification within a silvopastoral system.

by Mary C. Parent, Senior majoring in Animal Science at the University of Maryland

January 8, La Montañita, Estelí, Nicaragua. Students of the ANSC372-Sustainable Agriculture and Environment in Nicaragua Study Abroad Program engaged in an exchange/workshop on animal nutrition and feed. It was held in La Montañita, Estelí, which is also where students were hosted for a three-night homestay. Speakers included Dionys Melgarq (ATC Youth coordinator and
agroecology specialist) and Richard Kohn (Professor at UMD in the ANSC department) who was assisted in translation by Eduardo Rico (Professor at UMD in the ANSC department). Dionys Melgarq spoke on the topics of agroecology (in general), Deep Bed Systems for raising swine, and agro-ecological pasture management, accompanied with some plant identification. Dionys Melgarq also provided a demonstration of how to make feed for swine. Richard Kohn and Eduardo Rico provided a presentation focusing on the vital components of nutrition, geared towards feeding swine and poultry.

Through a presentation, students and members of the community learned how to apply agroecology to management decisions with Dionys. Dionys shared that “agroecologists are introducing harmonious practices with the environment” in addition to promoting rural education, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and skills, making use of available resources, and placing a high value on rural life. A harmonious practice that Dionys shared was that of Deep Bed System, shown below.

The beginnings of the Deep Bed System for rearing swine in the rural areas of La Montañita, Estelí, Nicaragua.

The Deep Bed System was introduced as a new system of managing and rearing swine in the rural areas of Nicaragua. He shared that this system is more considerate of animal comfort and better for the feet of swine compared to conventional systems. More specifics were provided on how to create such a system in an effort to assist community members in the establishment of their own. Such specifics included walls 50 cm tall, mixing black soil with organic fertilizer, and providing room for swine to modify their environment as they may. Students and community members were able to visualize a Deep Bed System in the works at a parcel in La Montañita.

Dionys shared more benefits of the system such as the absorption of urine, less flies, no need for rinsing with water, and reduced odors. Students and community members were able to accompany Dionys through a silvopastoral system. Dionys shared the vitality of being able to identify plants in order to efficiently and effectively feed animals. Meringa, Sardinillo, Madero negro, Matazano, Guasimo, and Brachardia were some of the plants Dionys was able to identify within the silvopasture. He also shared how some of these plants may be fed to certain animals, but were not a part of the feed students made during the workshops.

A hands-on component of the exchange/workshop involved the creation of feed for a growing pig. The feed was composed of canavalia, soy, corn, and sorghum in amounts calculated by Dionys through a pearson square. The demonstration taught students how to compose feeds and members of the community how to compose and create their own feeds in their parcels. Shown below is a community member using her Electric Grain Mill Grinder assisted by Dionys. She shared that she invested in the mill to create feeds of her own, to grind ingredients necessary for making tortillas, and for other community members to use at a set rate.

Dionys and a member of the community in La Montañita demonstrate how to use an Electric Grain Mill Grinder.

Richard Kohn provided more details on the components of feed such as what students created with Dionys. He provided a separate presentation reviewing nutrients and their accompanying percentage of the diet which included; energy (70-75%), protein (15-20%), minerals (3-5%), vitamins, and fiber (5%). He also shared some examples of energy feeds and their byproducts that members of the community could implement within the diets of pigs and chickens. Those included roots, wheat, sorghum, maize, sugars, rice, rice hulls, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yuca, taro, and the hulls and pulp of fruit. Richard also shared examples of protein feeds including soybeans, peanut, soybean meal, beans, and mung beans. He also shared common antinutritional factors and toxins to take note of when composing feed for your animals.

Another notable portion of the presentation was on nutritional diseases. Richard spoke about the disease rickets in swine as students and community members learned that it results from a Ca, P, vitamin D deficiency, excess, or imbalance. The photo below displays a young, growing pig that should be watched for early symptoms of rickets from a nutritional deficiency that may be caused by competition with a larger pig it is housed with.

A piglet purchased/weaned after 28 days showing poor growth, short stature, and deformation of the weight-bearing long bones all symptomatic of rickets.

This exchange/workshop provided students and community members with new knowledge and skills when it comes to feeding animals, especially within the rural areas of Nicaragua. Through the presentations from Dionys, Richard, and Eduardo community members were provided with new knowledge and skills to rear animals through an agroecological model. Community members learned a new method to raise their swine, plants to look for in their silvopasture, necessary components to include within poultry and swine diets, and the antinutritional factors to keep in mind. Students were also able to learn the same information and while they may not be able to directly apply this information to practice, they were able to take this information back home in an effort to find more sustainable and agroecological practices to implement in the US.