IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agisys/v154y2017icp78-89.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Potential benefits of diverse pasture swards for sheep and beef farming

Author

Listed:
  • Vogeler, Iris
  • Vibart, Ronaldo
  • Cichota, Rogerio

Abstract

To investigate the potential use of diverse pasture swards to reduce nitrate leaching from intensive sheep and beef farms while maintaining economic viability, an integrated modelling assessment was conducted for the Canterbury region, New Zealand. The biophysical Agriculture Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) was used to obtain pasture growth curves for simple and diverse pastures over 10 different years, and the whole-farm system models FARMAX® and OVERSEER® were used to examine feed flow, nutrient balance, profitability, and nitrate leaching. The N leaching estimates obtained from OVERSEER® nutrient budget model (Overseer) were compared to estimates from APSIM. Five farm scenarios were explored, including three different proportions of the flat farm area under simple and diverse pastures (100% simple, 100% diverse, 50/50), two different stocking policies (without and with adjustment of livestock numbers), and three different years (an average, a best and a worst year, based on annual pasture yields). In the average year pasture growth was similar for the simple and diverse pasture swards, with annual pasture yields of 8.98 and 9.23tDM/ha. The simple pasture had slightly higher growth in winter due to lower sensitivity to cold temperatures, whereas the diverse pasture showed higher growth during summer, which is frequently prone to water limitations. However, in the best year modelled pasture growth as well as profit were higher for the simple compared with the diverse pasture sward. Pasture N concentrations ranged from 2.5 to 3.5% of dry matter (DM) in the simple pasture, and from 2.2 to 3.1% in the diverse pasture sward, mainly due to a lower proportion of legumes. For the average year, having a diverse pasture on 50% of the farm area without changing the stocking policy of the farm, increased farm profit by 16%, due to the sale of surplus pasture.

Suggested Citation

  • Vogeler, Iris & Vibart, Ronaldo & Cichota, Rogerio, 2017. "Potential benefits of diverse pasture swards for sheep and beef farming," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 78-89.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:154:y:2017:i:c:p:78-89
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2017.03.015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X16308629
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agsy.2017.03.015?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. White, T.A. & Snow, V.O. & King, W.McG., 2010. "Intensification of New Zealand beef farming systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 21-35, January.
    2. Berntsen, J. & Petersen, B. M. & Jacobsen, B. H. & Olesen, J. E. & Hutchings, N. J., 2003. "Evaluating nitrogen taxation scenarios using the dynamic whole farm simulation model FASSET," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 817-839, June.
    3. Chapman, D.F. & Kenny, S.N. & Beca, D. & Johnson, I.R., 2008. "Pasture and forage crop systems for non-irrigated dairy farms in southern Australia. 2. Inter-annual variation in forage supply, and business risk," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 126-138, June.
    4. Vogeler, I. & Beukes, P. & Burggraaf, V., 2013. "Evaluation of mitigation strategies for nitrate leaching on pasture-based dairy systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 21-28.
    5. Chapman, D.F. & Kenny, S.N. & Beca, D. & Johnson, I.R., 2008. "Pasture and forage crop systems for non-irrigated dairy farms in southern Australia. 1. Physical production and economic performance," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 108-125, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Iris Vogeler & Christof Kluß & Tammo Peters & Friedhelm Taube, 2023. "How Much Complexity Is Required for Modelling Grassland Production at Regional Scales?," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Purola, Tuomo & Lehtonen, Heikki, 2020. "Evaluating profitability of soil-renovation investments under crop rotation constraints in Finland," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    2. Fariña, S.R. & Alford, A. & Garcia, S.C. & Fulkerson, W.J., 2013. "An integrated assessment of business risk for pasture-based dairy farm systems intensification," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 10-20.
    3. Chapman, D.F. & Kenny, S.N. & Lane, N., 2011. "Pasture and forage crop systems for non-irrigated dairy farms in southern Australia: 3. Estimated economic value of additional home-grown feed," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 104(8), pages 589-599, October.
    4. Berger, Horacio & Bilotto, Franco & Bell, Lindsay W. & Machado, Claudio F., 2017. "Feedbase intervention in a cow-calf system in the flooding pampas of Argentina: 2. Estimation of the marginal value of additional feed," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 68-77.
    5. Smith, Andrew P. & Western, Andrew W., 2013. "Predicting nitrogen dynamics in a dairy farming catchment using systems synthesis modelling," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 144-154.
    6. Bilotto, Franco & Recavarren, Paulo & Vibart, Ronaldo & Machado, Claudio F., 2019. "Backgrounding strategy effects on farm productivity, profitability and greenhouse gas emissions of cow-calf systems in the Flooding Pampas of Argentina," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    7. Ojeda, J.J. & Pembleton, K.G. & Islam, M.R. & Agnusdei, M.G. & Garcia, S.C., 2016. "Evaluation of the agricultural production systems simulator simulating Lucerne and annual ryegrass dry matter yield in the Argentine Pampas and south-eastern Australia," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 61-75.
    8. Duy X. Tran & Diane Pearson & Alan Palmer & David Gray, 2020. "Developing a Landscape Design Approach for the Sustainable Land Management of Hill Country Farms in New Zealand," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-29, June.
    9. Janssen, Sander & van Ittersum, Martin K., 2007. "Assessing farm innovations and responses to policies: A review of bio-economic farm models," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 94(3), pages 622-636, June.
    10. Lally, Breda & van Rensburg, Tom M., 2014. "Reducing nitrogen applications on Irish dairy farms: effectiveness and efficiency of different strategies," International Journal of Agricultural Management, Institute of Agricultural Management, vol. 4(1), October.
    11. Argento, F. & Liebisch, F. & Anken, T. & Walter, A. & El Benni, N., 2022. "Investigating two solutions to balance revenues and N surplus in Swiss winter wheat," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    12. Bonnin, Dennis & Tabacco, Ernesto & Borreani, Giorgio, 2021. "Variability of greenhouse gas emissions and economic performances on 10 Piedmontese beef farms in North Italy," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    13. Alemu, Aklilu W. & Amiro, Brian D. & Bittman, Shabtai & MacDonald, Douglas & Ominski, Kim H., 2017. "Greenhouse gas emission of Canadian cow-calf operations: A whole-farm assessment of 295 farms," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 73-83.
    14. Janne Antero Helin, 2014. "Reducing nutrient loads from dairy farms: a bioeconomic model with endogenous feeding and land use," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(2), pages 167-184, March.
    15. Olubode-Awosola, Femi, 2011. "Integrated Assessment Modelling of Complexity in the New Zealand Farming Industry," 2011 Conference, August 25-26, 2011, Nelson, New Zealand 115404, New Zealand Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    16. Stirling, Sofía & Fariña, Santiago & Pacheco, David & Vibart, Ronaldo, 2021. "Whole-farm modelling of grazing dairy systems in Uruguay," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    17. Immervoll, Herwig & Linden, Jules & O'Donoghue, Cathal & Sologon, Denisa Maria, 2023. "Who Pays for Higher Carbon Prices? Illustration for Lithuania and a Research Agenda," IZA Discussion Papers 15868, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Lieffering, Mark & Newton, Paul C.D. & Vibart, Ronaldo & Li, Frank Y., 2016. "Exploring climate change impacts and adaptations of extensive pastoral agriculture systems by combining biophysical simulation and farm system models," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 77-86.
    19. Z. Whitman & T. Wilson & E. Seville & J. Vargo & J. Stevenson & H. Kachali & J. Cole, 2013. "Rural organizational impacts, mitigation strategies, and resilience to the 2010 Darfield earthquake, New Zealand," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 69(3), pages 1849-1875, December.
    20. Richard, Bastien & Bonté, Bruno & Delmas, Magalie & Braud, Isabelle & Cheviron, Bruno & Veyssier, Julien & Barreteau, Olivier, 2022. "A co-simulation approach to study the impact of gravity collective irrigation constraints on plant dynamics in Southern France," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:154:y:2017:i:c:p:78-89. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.