ECTS credits ECTS credits: 4.5
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Student's work ECTS: 74.25 Hours of tutorials: 2.25 Expository Class: 18 Interactive Classroom: 18 Total: 112.5
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: Plant Production and Engineering Projects
Areas: Plant Production
Center Faculty of Veterinary Science
Call: First Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable | 1st year (Yes)
The subject provides sufficient and useful information about raw materials of plant origin used in animal feeding, so that students can understand the process and know the times of production of these foods. We will study the characteristics of the production, management and conservation of sown meadows and other forages (primarily forage maize and annual Italian ryegrass) used for animal production, especially in Galicia, as well as concentrates and vegetable by-products included in feed.
It also aims to provide the necessary criteria for deciding both the best ways of using plant products in farms, and the best preservation systems, assessing the impact on animal production.
TEACHING PROGRAM
1. Concept of agriculture. Characteristics and assessment of agricultural activity. Agriculture and environment. Farming systems. Relationships and importance of agriculture in veterinary studies. (0.5 h)
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY (2 h)
2. Tillage. Correction and amendment of the soil. Liming. Soil fertilization. Mineral fertilizers. The addition to soil of of organic products from the farm. Manure, compost and slurry.
3. Seeding methods and planting season. Control of weeds, pests and diseases. The growth of cultivated plants. The general growth curve. Assessment of crop yield. Crop rotations.
VEGETABLE RAW MATERIALS USED FOR CATTLE FEEDING (1 h)
4. Classification and characteristics of foods of plant origin for livestock. Chemical and nutritional composition. Evaluation methods. Toxic characteristics.
FODDER CROPS (12.5 h)
5. Distribution and importance of areas of meadows, sown meadows, and forage crops in Spain. Importance in livestock feeding. Basic nomenclator for pastures.
6. Sown meadows. Mixtures of species recommended. Tillage. Liming. Fertilization applied before sowing. Fractionation of nitrogen fertilizer: relationship to forage utilization system. Code of Good Agricultural Practices. Forage utilization systems.
7. Production of forage in sown meadows. Growth and development of grasses and legumes: relation to quantity and quality of forage and utilization system. Forage yield potential and seasonal pattern of production in sown meadows.
8. Utilization of forage by grazing animals . Effects of grazing on plants. Continuous and rotational grazing systems. Advantages and disadvantages of continuous and rotational grazing. Concept of stocking rate.
9. Forage maize: production and uses. Crop cycle. Grain maturity stages: relation with the optimal time to harvest. Classification of hybrid maturity classes. Cultivation techniques: tillage, seeding, liming, fertilizing, plant protection. Yields. Forage quality.
10. Other forage crops. Annual Italian ryegrass. Alfalfa. Vetches. The vetch-oat crop. Cultivation techniques. Yields. Harvesting and forage quality.
11. Fodder conservation techniques. Haymaking. Crops used for hay. Optimal time to harvest. Forms of presentation and storage of hay. Forced ventilation. The assessment of hay quality. Losses during haymaking and storage. The artificial drying of grass. The presentation and preservation of dried grass. Nutritional value.
12. Fodder conservation techniques. Silage: fundamentals. Effects of air exclusion and the composition of the forage. Aerobic and anaerobic phases of silage. Homolactic and heterolactic fermentation of soluble carbohydrates. The butyric fermentation. The degradation of the protein.
13. The practice of silage. Fitness for ensiling of the main forage species. Annual Italian ryegrass, sown meadow and forage maize: fodder crops for silage in Galicia. Optimal time to harvest. The harvest and preparation of forage (direct-cut and wilted silage). The chopping of forage. Types of silos. Losses during ensiling. The estimate of silage quality. The silage additives. Indications. Classes of additives.
CONCENTRATES (3 h)
14. Winter cereal crops. Wheat, barley, oats, rye and triticale. Area harvested and production in Spain. Crop cycle. Phenological scales. Cultivation techniques. Yields. Importance in animal nutrition. Winter cereals as fodder plants.
15. Summer cereal crops. Maize and sorghum. Area harvested and production in Spain. Maize crop cycle. Cultivation techniques. Yields. Importance in animal nutrition.
16. Grain legume crops. Anti-nutritional factors associated with the grain. Area and production in Spain. Cultivation techniques. Yields. Soybeans: crop cycle, maturity groups, uses. Protein peas, vetch and lupine. Importance in animal nutrition.
CROP RESIDUES AND AGRO-INDUSTRIAL BY-PRODUCTS (1 h)
17. Crop residues and by-products from food processing industries. The straw of winter cereals. By-products from the edible oil industry. Cereal by-products. By-products from the sugar industry.
LABORATORY AND FIELD PRACTICES PROGRAM
1. Green fodder. Recognition of plant growth stages in relation to the use of fodder by grazing or mowing. Recognition of grasses and legumes used in Galicia. Lab: 3 hours.
2. Estimation of fodder production in a sown meadow. Determination of forage dry weight. Analysis of botanical composition. Preparation of forage samples for chemical analysis. Lab: 1 hour.
3. Conserved forages. Recognition and inspection of hay and artifically-dried forages. Visual estimation of hay quality. Laboratory: 2 hours.
4. Conserved forages. Recognition and inspection of sown meadow , annual Italian ryegrass and forage maize silage. Visual estimation of silage quality. Determination of silage pH and dry matter. Interpretation of silage analysis: factors related to the quality of conservation and forage quality. Lab: 3 hours.
5. Determination of ash content in forages. Estimation of phosphorus content in forages by colorimetric analysis. Relation of forage P content to nutrient needs of cattle. Lab: 3 hours.
6. Recognition and identification of seeds from species sown in meadows, grains of cereals and legumes of interest for livestock feeding, straw and by-products used in animal feed. Recognition of plant growth stages and cereal grain maturity stages. Lab: 3 hours.
7. Visit a farm: in situ recognition of the established fodder and grain crops for animal feed, crop uses (grain, forage, hay and silage). Recognition of other raw materials of plant origin used for livestock feeding on-farm (concentrates and by-products). Field: 3 hours.
BASIC BIBILIOGRAPHY
Argamentería A., Roza B. de la, Martínez A., Sánchez L. 1997. El ensilado en Asturias. Servicio de Publicaciones del Principado de Asturias, Oviedo.
Barnes R.F., Nelson C.J., Moore, K.J., Collins M. (Eds.) 2007. Forages. Vol. II: The science of grassland agriculture (6ª edición). Blackwell Publishing, Ames (Iowa, USA).
Cañeque V., Sancha J.L., 1998. El ensilado de forrajes y su empleo en la alimentación de rumiantes. Ed. Mundi-Prensa, Madrid.
De Blas C. 1987. Nutrición y alimentación del ganado. Ed. Mundi-Prensa, Madrid.
Horrocks R.D., Vallentine J.F. 1999. Harvested forages. Academic Press, San Diego.
Lemaire G., Hodgson J., de Moraes A., de F. Carvalho P.C., Nabinger C. (Eds.) 2000. Grassland ecophysiology and grazing ecology. CAB International, Wallingford (UK).
López Bellido L. 1991. Cereales. Ed. Mundi-Prensa, Madrid.
Madrid A. 1995. Piensos y alimentos para animales. Ed. Mundi-Prensa, Madrid.
Piñeiro J., Pérez Fernández M. 1993. Mezclas pratenses para la España húmeda. Hoja Divulgadora nº 8/1992. MAPA, Madrid.
Reynolds S.G., Frame J. (Eds.) 2005. Grasslands: developments, opportunities, perspectives. Science Publishers, Enfield (New Hampshire).
Nadal S., Moreno T., Cubero J.I. 2004. Las leguminosas grano en la agricultura moderna. Ed. Consejería de Agricultura y Pesca de la Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, y Mundi-Prensa, Madrid.
San Miguel Ayanz A. 2001. Pastos naturales españoles: caracterización, aprovechamiento y posibilidades de mejora. Ed. Fundación Conde del Valle de Salazar, Madrid.
Vallentine J.F. 1990. Grazing management. Academic Press, San Diego.
Vallentine J.F. 1990. Grazing management: science into practice. Longman, New York.
COMPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY
JOURNALS
Grass and Forage Science
Pastos
Albéitar
Alimentación animal
Bovis
Frisona Española
Mundo ganadero
Afriga
Vida Rural
OTHER
Proceedings of Scientific Meetings of the Spanish Society for Pasture Study.
SKILLS TO BE ACQUIRED (ORDER ECI/333/2008)
Raw materials for animal feed: characteristics, production and preservation.
GENERAL SKILLS
GVUSC01 Ability to learn and adapt.
GVUSC02 Capacity for analysis and synthesis.
GVUSC03 General knowledge of the work area.
GVUSC05 Ability to apply knowledge into practice.
GVUSC06 Ability to work independently and in teams.
GVUSC09 Ability to communicate in different areas.
GVUSC10 Ethical commitment and accountability.
DISCIPLINARY SPECIFIC SKILLS (KNOWING)
CEDVUSC 11 Understanding the basis for operation and optimization of animal and plant production systems and their impact on the environment.
SPECIFIC PROFESSIONAL SKILLS (KNOW-HOW, EXPERTISE TO DAY 1, DAY-ONE SKILLS)
D1VUSC 03 Perform basic analytical techniques and interpretation of biological and chemical results.
D1VUSC 10 Identify the raw materials for animal feeding and management of the appropriate diet for every animal specie and state of the animal.
SPECIFIC ACADEMIC SKILLS
CEAVUSC 01 Analyze, synthesize, solve problems and make decisions in the field of the veterinary professionals.
CEAVUSC 04 Find and manage information related to the activity of the veterinarian.
CEAVUSC 08 Be aware of the need to keep abreast of the knowledge, skills and attitudes of professional skills through a process of lifelong learning.
CROSS-POWERS
CTVUSC 01 Capacity for reasoning and argumentation.
CTVUSC 02 Ability to obtain adequate, diverse and updated information by various means such as bibliographic information and the Internet, and analyze it critically.
CTVUSC 03 Ability to prepare and present an organized and understandable text.
CTVUSC 04 Ability to make a presentation in public in a clear, consistent and concise manner.
CTVUSC 05 Skill in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT).
CTVUSC 06 Use of information in foreign languages.
CTVUSC 07 Ability to solve problems through the integrated application of their knowledge.
Activities relating to face-to-face work in the classroom will consist of 20 hours of expository teaching and 25 hours of interactive teaching, broken down into 15 hours of laboratory practice, 3 hours of field practice, 2 hours of seminars, 1 hour of tutorials in small groups (10 student /group) and 4 hours of attendance at oral presentations made by classmates.
The expository teaching will consist in the explanation of the subject contents by the academic staff, with the help of the blackboard and audiovisual considered appropriate.
Laboratory and field practices will serve to illustrate the theoretical contents of the subject and will be primarily oriented towards the student acquiring practical skills and experience.
In laboratory practices, students will work with different green and preserved forages: they will determine the botanical composition and estimate the production of a meadow, they will process forage samples for the estimation of dry matter production and phosphorus analysis, they will inspect the organoleptic and quality characteristics of hay and silage, and will process samples of ensiled forage for the determination of its pH and dry matter. They will also learn to recognize the raw materials used in livestock feeding.
To carry out the field practice, a bus trip will be made to visit a cattle farm in the province of Lugo. The field practice will be an active visit in which the student will have to inspect and recognize the forage species used in the meadows, the characteristics of the preserved forage (hay and silage), the raw materials and by-products used in livestock feeding, the location and characteristics of the slurry pit, the management of slurry and manure, the characteristics of livestock management (housing, grazing), the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides, etc.
The practical laboratory sessions in which green forages, hays, dehydrated forages, silages, concentrates and by-products used in animal feed are identified, as well as the field practice, have the following learning objectives (LO) that will be evaluated:
LO1 To recognize the main forage and grain crops used to feed livestock
LO2 To recognize the main by-products used to feed livestock
LO3 To recognize the main preserved forages used to feed livestock (hay, dehydrated forage, silage).
The skills related to these learning objectives correspond to one-day competence 36 of the Federation of European Veterinarians: “To carry out food and feed inspection to correctly identify the conditions that affect the quality and safety of products of animal origin, including related food technology".
Students must attend the two seminars scheduled on the subject to carry out a practical work on a livestock farm, the data of which will be provided by the teaching staff. In them, the teachers will explain and comment on the different aspects to be developed in said work. The tutorials that the students may additionally need to complete the course will take place during the teachers' individual tutorial hours.
All tasks of the student (work, study, readings) will be guided by the academic staff in the tutoring sessions. Likewise, the students will have the support of materials that the teaching staff will make available to them through the virtual classroom: graphics, images, scripts, etc.
The qualification of each student will be done through continuous evaluation and the completion of a final exam.
In the evaluation of the subject, the following aspects will be taken into account, which will contribute to the final grade:
1. Continuous evaluation: 40%
a) Face-to-face work in expository and interactive classes. It will be assessed whether, as a minimum, there is attendance at 80% of the total of the expository teaching and 90% of the interactive teaching. It will contribute up to 5% to the final grade.
b) Elaboration of a practical work on a farm and subsequent oral presentation. The work will be carried out preferably in groups of 2-3 students belonging to the same group of practices (if necessary, the work would be done individually); it will be delivered in PowerPoint format or similar and defended orally at a previously scheduled time, usually in early December, within the subject’s practice hours.
The minimum grade to overcome it will be 5 points out of 10. It will contribute 25% to the final grade.
c) Recognition test of raw materials of plant origin used in livestock feed. It will be carried out, at the end of the practices, within the subject’s practice hours. To pass it, the student must recognize at least 90% of the samples. Once passed, it will contribute up to 10% to the final grade at the first opportunity. If, at the first opportunity, 100% of the samples are recognized, it will contribute 10% to the final grade; if 90% is recognized, it will contribute 5%. In the event that the test is passed on a second opportunity, it will contribute 5% to the final grade regardless of whether a minimum of 90% of the samples or more is recognized. Both in the first and second opportunity, the materials subject to evaluation will be available to the students in the practice laboratory for review.
2. Theoretical-practical written exam: 60%
The exam will be written, or oral if deemed necessary, and on the contents of the expository and practical classes. It may include test questions and/or short questions and or topics, and/or problems related to theoretical and practical content. The minimum grade to overcome it will be 5 points out of 10.
If the student does not reach the minimum required in:
- Assistance to 90% of interactive teaching.
- Recognition of raw materials used in animal feed (90%).
- Practical work on a farm (5/10).
- Theoretical-practical written exam (5/10).
This will imply NOT passing the subject in the corresponding call.
The positive evaluation of practical activities (assistance to 90% of interactive teaching, recognition of raw materials used in animal nutrition (90%), practical work in an agricultural holding (5/10)) will be kept only during the following two academic years.
In cases of fraudulent performance of exercises or tests, the provisions of the “Regulations for evaluating student academic performance and reviewing grades” will apply.
The laboratory and field practices can only be developed during the class period, so not attending them will prevent the passing of the subject both in the first and in the second opportunity.
Class attendance cannot be dispensed.
PRESENTIAL WORK Hours
Expository teaching 20
Laboratory practice 15
Field practice 3
Seminars 2
Tutorials in small groups or individualized 1
Attendance at oral presentations made by classmates 4
Total hours of face-to-face work 45
PERSONAL WORK OF THE STUDENT Hours
Individual study 35
Elaboration of a practical memory 1
Elaboration of works 20
Literature review, library, etc. 3
Attendance at lectures, or other activities
recommended 3
Resolution of cases / issues 2
Oral presentations 0.5
Examinations 3
Total hours of personal work of
the student 67.5
Students are encourage to focus on understanding the concepts taught rather than simply memorizing, and to participate more in the theoretical and especially practical classes, always trying to solve any doubts. The continued use of tutorials, not by resorting to them only in the moments before the test, is also considered very important.
Rosa Romero Franco
- Department
- Plant Production and Engineering Projects
- Area
- Plant Production
- rosa.romero [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
María Del Pilar González Hernández
- Department
- Plant Production and Engineering Projects
- Area
- Plant Production
- pilar.gonzalez [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
Maria Jesus Sainz Oses
Coordinador/a- Department
- Plant Production and Engineering Projects
- Area
- Plant Production
- mj.sainz [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
Nuria Ferreiro Dominguez
- Department
- Plant Production and Engineering Projects
- Area
- Plant Production
- Category
- Investigador/a Distinguido/a
| Monday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS04 | Galician | Classroom 3 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS01 | Spanish | Classroom 3 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS09 | Spanish | Classroom 3 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS12 | Spanish | Classroom 3 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS02 | Galician | Classroom 3 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS05 | Galician | Classroom 3 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS07 | Spanish | Classroom 3 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS10 | Spanish | Classroom 3 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS03 | Galician | Classroom 3 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS06 | Galician | Classroom 3 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS08 | Spanish | Classroom 3 |
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /TI-ECTS11 | Spanish | Classroom 3 |
| Tuesday | |||
| 10:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Galician, Spanish | Classroom 3 |
| Wednesday | |||
| 10:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Galician, Spanish | Classroom 3 |
| 01.17.2025 09:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 1 |
| 01.17.2025 09:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 2 |
| 01.17.2025 09:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 3 |
| 07.03.2025 09:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 1 |
| 07.03.2025 09:00-11:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 2 |