Improving livestock productivity in Mongolia through better nutrition and reproductive management

The livestock sector is the main pillar of the immunoassay to measure progesterone to monitor economy in Mongolia, employing 30% of reproductive efficiency. Through the technical Mongolians, and is a core survival strategy for cooperation programme, expertise and fellowship nomadic families that rely entirely on pastureland training have been provided in animal nutrition, livestock herding. In 2009, there were over 40 pasture management and artificial insemination. million heads of livestock in Mongolia, including Two specialized laboratories, one to monitor camels, , and . However, animal reproductive efficiency using radioimmunology, numbers vary greatly from year to year due to the and one for isotopic nutrition tracing and labelling high death rate caused by adverse climatic technologies to evaluate the nutritive value of feed, conditions. Summer droughts and harsh winters have been established at the Mongolian State have a severe effect on livestock, plant growth and University of Agriculture and Research Institute of feed availability. For example, some 8 million . Studies have been undertaken animals died during the 2009–2010 winter period to determine the nutritive value of various feed due to extremely low temperatures and a lack of resources, the use of urea–molasses blocks, and feed because the snow covered land was ungrazable. The IAEA has been providing support in this field to Mongolia since 1986, and recent projects build on the successes and experience gained to improve the quality and quantity of feed, concentrating on feed with high nutritive value and tolerance to low temperatures. Isotopic nutrition tracing and labelling technologies to evaluate the nutritive value of feed have been established at the Mongolian State University of Agriculture and Research Institute of Animal Husbandry. Livestock genetic potential is improved through the use of Cattle grazing in confinement during the winter months. artificial insemination coupled with radio- Stories to be learnt and implemented interspecies cross-breeding using semen from yak in cattle cows to increase beef and milk production. The use of solid urea–molasses blocks (i.e. solid Case Study blocks made of urea, molasses, vitamins and minerals) to supplement the nutrients lacking in the Tsogtbuyan, a farmer from Bayanchandmani main feed offers several advantages, namely, ease sum of Tov aimag, has about 200 cows. He has of transport, storage and use. It has reduced risks of 35 hectares of improved pastureland which he toxicity compared with other approaches such as has owned for 60 years. Half the pastureland giving a small amount of urea in the drinking water, was cultivated and planted with perennial or sprinkling a urea solution on fibrous feeds before grasses and ; on the other half he they are fed to animals. Improved nutrition drilled and spread seed for botanical management has decreased the input costs for composition improvement. A fenced-off area farmers by almost 67%. Better crops, of the pasture is used for herding milking cows together with the improved animal feeding in spring and late autumn to stabilize milk programme, have improved the condition of production. animals during winter and thus protected their lives. Tsogtbuyan milks his cows twice a day and the National capacity has also been improved in the use average milk production is 14 litres. Every year of artificial insemination in yaks and cattle, feed his cows are fed two tons of mineral blocks. evaluation, the use of alternative feeds, and the Tsogtbuyan prepares and silage and used identification of toxic plants and plants containing to buy concentrate feed for about 350 000 bioactive compounds of industrial products. tugrik (one euro = 1680 tugrik). By preparing his own concentrate containing 70% wheat grain and 30% at a cost of 350 000 tugrik, milk production on his has been stable even after replacing the commercial concentrate he used to buy with his own wheat grain and chopped straw mixture. By using the cattle bolus and own feed concentrate, milk production has remained stable. Because of the reduced transportation costs and costs of purchasing grain, his total costs have been reduced by 60 000–70 000 tugrik, which is his return on investment.

Urea–molasses blocks to supplement animal feed. preservation and the use of appropriate feeding practices, including feed supplementation In the future, to improve the productivity and strategies for increased animal productivity and sustainability of the farming systems it will be enhanced reproductive performance, will continue essential to ensure integration of crop and livestock to be a high priority for the subsector and should systems. Owing to the harsh winters and the long therefore continue to be supported under and dry summer and autumn, inadequate nutrition dedicated national projects, although some of the will continue to be a major constraint to livestock activities could also be delivered through regional production in Mongolia. Feed conservation and cooperative agreement (RCA) or regional projects.

The Animal Production and Health Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of For more information please contact: Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture assists Member States to improve Animal Production and Health Section livestock productivity through the efficient use of locally available feed IAEA resources, adequate management practices, and efficient reproductive and Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 100 breeding programmes, and helps in the development and transfer of proactive 1400 Vienna, Austria disease prevention and control measures using nuclear and nuclear-related www.iaea.org technologies.