Background:

Crop-cattle farms in the lower basin of Guayas River are different in terms of their chances to maintain animals throughout the year. The aim of this paper is to evaluate forage balance of crop-cattle farms in the lower basin of the river.

Method:

This research included 76 farms in the lower Basin of Rio Guayas, Ecuador. A number of 12 variables were selected; the input variables were used to classify the farms into four types through k-mean cluster analysis. The annual percentage of nutritional needs met on the farm was considered as well. The output variables produced the central trend and dispersion statistics, which were related to the types achieved. A simple correlation analysis was performed between the input and output variables using the Spearman coefficient.

Results:

Most cases were observed in the low typology (36), along with the lowest percentage of the cattle raising area, stocking rate, and days on the farm. The mid-low and mid-high typologies produced similar values as to stocking rate and the days the animals were under such conditions; the high typology kept the animals for more days, with adequate stocking rates and positive forage balance.

Conclusions:

The forage balance was positive in the high typology, with better utilization of resources produced and introduced for animal nutrition, and more days on the farm.