Economic Analysis of Replacing Dietary Forage Components (Alfalfa Hay and Barley Straw) with Triticale Hay in Fattening Grey Shirazi Lambs

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Roham Rahmani 1
Mohammad Javad Abarghuei 2
1 Department of Economic, Social and Extension Research, Fars Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran.
2 Department of Animal Science, Fars Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract
This study evaluated the economic performance and efficiency of replacing conventional forage (alfalfa hay and barley straw) with dried triticale forage in diets of fattening male Grey Shirazi lambs in Fars Province, Iran. Thirty-two weaned male lambs (initial weight: 33.2 ± 1.6 kg; age: 120 ± 15 days) were assigned to four dietary treatments in a completely randomized design. The treatments included T0 (control), T33, T66, and T100, corresponding to 0%, 33.33%, 66.66%, and 100% substitution of conventional forage with triticale on a dry-matter basis. The results showed that the highest total weight gain occurred in T0 (19.37 kg), while the lowest was observed in T33 (16.24 kg). However, the difference between T0 and T100 was not statistically significant. Increasing the proportion of triticale forage in the diet reduced feed intake but improved feed use efficiency (FUE), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR). Economically, T100 yielded the lowest feeding cost, the highest return per 100 monetary units of feed, and the highest benefit–cost ratio. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) showed that T100 had the highest allocative efficiency (0.88) and cost efficiency (0.74), whereas T0 achieved the highest technical efficiency (0.94). Although T100 had lower technical efficiency than T0, its higher allocative efficiency reflected a more cost-effective input mix given input prices, contributing to its higher cost efficiency. Overall, incorporating triticale forage at full replacement (T100), reduces production costs and improve economic and efficiency indicators, providing a strategy for livestock production under water scarcity and climate change conditions.
Keywords
Cost efficiency
Data envelopment analysis (DEA)
Grey Shirazi lamb
Triticale forage
Subjects
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Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 05 October 2026