Determination of the Water Footprint in the milk production processes and their technological level in two livestock farms in western El Salvador

Abstract

This research was conducted at Hacienda “El Milagro” and Hacienda “Velesa”, both located in Caluco, Izalco, department of Sonsonate, El Salvador, during August 2018 to January 2019. Weekly visits were made to collect information on technological factors (milking cows, number of milking per day and annual milk production), soil sampling (bulk density, texture, field capacity and permanent wilting point) and flow capacity (micro sprinklers, gravity irrigation, sprinkler irrigation and water treatment residual). The water requirements of sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor), Mombaza (Panicum maxima), Cuban (Pennisetum sp.), Swazi (Digitaria Swazilandesis), Estrella (Cynodon plectostachyus), Mulberry (Morus alba) crops were calculated using Cropwat software (version 8.0) and Climwat (version 2.0), to determine the water that animals ingest through crops. All this information was processed in a Microsoft Excel software book using charts and graphs, where the Water Footprint (m3 water / kg milk) per farm was determined, obtaining the following results: Water Footprint for Velesa farm 0.7108 and 0.6970 m3 / kg, during the dry and rainy season, respectively, while at El Milagro farm 1.3055 and 1.3147 m3 / kg, during dry and rainy season