Descrição da ovinocultura na região noroeste do Rio Grande do Sul nas Microrregiões de Santo Ângelo e Cerro Largo

Abstract

In Rio Grande do Sul, sheep farming has always played an important role in the economic and cultural development of the state. The emergence of the international crisis of wool in the 90s, resulted in the desistance of numerous breeders drastically reducing herds, but the activity still remained with an expressive number of animals. Due to the lack of data on sheep production, mainly in the northwest RS region, this work was developed with the purpose of describing the profile of the properties and technical assistance; facilities and production system; marketing of wool and meat; creation and ownership management; characteristics of the herd, diseases and animal welfare; breeding and breeding; and nutrition, in the microregions of Santo Ângelo and Cerro Largo. The analyzes were carried out randomly. For this study, 77 rural properties were used for the application of an interview in the form of a semi-structured questionnaire. The results obtained demonstrate that the ovinoculture properties generally have other activities considered of greater importance, since special practices are used as the beef cattle breeding and grain production. The size of the properties varies from 1 to 1900 ha, considering that the sheep use an area between 0.3 and 200 ha. The majority (69%) of the productive units present indicative of family succession, showing the permanence in the field. The number of persons responsible for the management of the sheep herds is limited to 5 people and the hours destined to the management varies from one to seven hours / day of intercalated form. Among the main problems faced are diseases and predators. The verminoses and the pododermatites, represent the diseases with more frequency and they interfere significantly in the development of the animals. The herds found have 2 to 380 sheep per property, totaling 4179 animals, stratified in sheep, sheep, lambs and lambs. Most of the properties have a sheepfold shelter, against predatory and weathering animals, but they do not want to be in relation to the conditions of the facilities, since they are in bad conditions. Regarding the level of mechanization in most of the properties, sufficient machinery was observed for the accomplishment of the agricultural activities. Regarding the sheep breeding system, the semi-intensive prevails. Technical assistance for sheep largely does not possess. Around 64% of the properties are sold and 70% of them are sold in wool. The female parity index varies from 50% to 100%, and mating is by natural mating and control of consanguinity carried out with the exchange of the sheep. Animal nutrition is based on native and forage pastures of winter and summer, and some perennial, in 99% of the properties is realized mineral supplementation. The microregions studied have a sheep and cattle production based on subsistence and own consumption, selling sheep only from the surplus. Because it is an activity with no commercial purpose and associated with barriers such as the lack of skilled labor and the incentive of municipalities, in addition to the need for strict sanitary control due to the frequent incidence of diseases, this activity is not feasible for greater investments by the creators.