No solo de maíz viven las vacas

Abstract

This article aims to draw attention to the role of rotating winter fodder with summer crops as a nutritional supplement and to cover the part of the year in which land is not used for corn. The main characteristic of the evolution of Asturian cow dairy farms over past decades, as with the rest of the Cantabrian Coastline, has been the concentration of a higher quota, with more cows in fewer farms, which has not been accompanied by a similar growth in the surface area of land used for fodder. This has resulted in a substantial increase in the livestock count (cows/ha). Additionally, genetic improvements have increased the nutritional needs of the animals, making breeding more intensive.