Diagnóstico y propuesta de re-diseño de un sistema de producción ganadero pastoril sobre campo natural

Family livestock farming is a productive activity with economic, social, and environmental relevance in Uruguay, but generally exhibits low production efficiency. This document contains a study of a production system, which involved characterizing, diagnosing, and formulating a redesign proposal based on the family's objectives and available resources, considering environmental, economic, and social dimensions through comprehensive analysis. To understand the activities and objectives of the farmer and their family, the protocol for capturing the functioning of livestock systems (Faculty of Agronomy, Grazing Ecology Group) was used, through scheduled visits, focusing on the feeding, health, and reproduction of cattle and sheep. Subsequently, to understand the system and plan a redesign, the MESMIS method was applied to assess the property's sustainability, identifying critical points and constructing a problem tree to establish cause–effect relationships and prioritize them. The redesign proposal aimed to improve the productive and economic efficiency of the system, reflected in indicators such as equivalent meat production, weaning rates and weaning weights, and farm income, by introducing changes in forage management, improving the production and utilization of natural pasture, implementing profitable techniques with a significant production impact, and leveraging available resources.