Factors influencing potential scale of adoption of a perennial pasture in a mixed crop-livestock farming system

Evaluating the potential scale of adoption of a technological innovation or management practice at the farm business scale can help gauge the potential size of an industry for the purposes of prioritising resources for research and development. In this paper we address the question of quantifying the potential area of adoption of a perennial pasture, lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), in dryland mixed farming systems in Australia. Lucerne pastures play a significant role in dryland farming systems in the wheat-sheep zone of southern and western Australia. While there are benefits of integrating lucerne into cropping systems there will inevitably be additional costs, and the scale of adoption of lucerne will depend largely on the increase in farm profit resulting from the introduction of lucerne. Whole-farm economic models of representative farms in the Australian wheat-sheep belt were used to determine the key drivers for the scale of adoption of lucerne.For a particular farming system the optimal area of lucerne which maximises whole-farm profit is found to depend on production, price and cost conditions. Generally, no more than 30% of a farm was allocated to lucerne according to those conditions and location of the farm. For most scenarios examined the response of profit was flat around the optimal area. This implies that lucerne could be grown on areas greater than the optimum, in order to reduce groundwater recharge (and thereby reduce the risk of dryland salinity), without greatly reducing whole-farm profit. The optimal area of lucerne in all regions was limited by the area of suitable soil types and proportion of lucerne in the most profitable lucerne-crop sequences.At all price levels assumed in this study lucerne remained as part of the optimal enterprise mix for all farm types examined. Lucerne productivity was also a major determinant of the optimal area of lucerne. The sensitivity of profit to changes in winter and/or summer production varied between regions and for different livestock enterprises. The differences were driven by the timing of energy demands and supply of feed in individual farming systems.In all regions the optimal area and profitability of lucerne varied with livestock enterprise. The analyses showed that changing from wool production to meat production enabled greater economic benefit to be realised from lucerne. This was consistent across farm types and demonstrated the value of lucerne as a source of high quality feed for finishing prime lambs in summer.The results of this study demonstrate that lucerne is profitable in a range of environments on a significant proportion of the farm area, but that this area is small relative to that required to significantly influence in its own right the environmental issue of salinity.     

The whole-farm benefits of controlled traffic farming: An Australian appraisal

Controlled traffic farming (CTF) uses a range of technologies to confine traffic-induced compaction to permanently defined tramlines within a farm’s cropping area. CTF concentrates and improves trafficability whilst simultaneously supporting soil structure improvement between tramlines, thereby raising crop yields and offering other advantages such as reduced overlap that saves on crop inputs. This study uses whole-farm modelling to assess the profitability and role of CTF in different farming systems in Australian dryland agriculture. Farming system scenarios with and without the CTF are compared. Stepwise analysis, combined with sensitivity analysis, reveals the characteristics of CTF that most affect its value. Results indicate that the most valuable aspect of the technology is its beneficial impact on the yield and quality of crops grown on soils most subject to compaction. Hence, on farms dominated by these soils and where their faming system emphasizes cropping, CTF forms an especially valuable role. For a typical farm in the study region, employing conservative measures, farm profit increases by around 50% through use of CTF. Hence, CTF represents a remarkably profitable innovation for farming systems, offering input savings and output increases.     

Exceptional circumstances provisions in Australia—is there too much emphasis on drought?

There has been a rapid evolution in drought policy over recent years. There is now much more emphasis on management capacity and preparedness building. A further step was taken in 1997 with changes to the exceptional circumstances welfare provisions to include risk factors other than drought. In this paper, the whole-farm stochastic budgeting model, RISKFARM, has been applied to New South Wales and Western Australian farming systems. The results confirm that for some farming systems, only around 10% of low net farm income years are caused by drought. Drought is just one of several factors that lead to poor financial performance. The analytical method described here provides a framework for estimating the significance of drought. The results support the use of a whole-farm approach to risk management but also indicate that the relative importance of the risk factors varies among farming regions. The likely frequency of three or four successive low net farm income years is examined and it is suggested that this could be part of the exceptional circumstances criteria. The possibility of support beyond access to welfare assistance in ‘business threatening’ situations is discussed. This suggestion should be approached from a whole-farm perspective in exceptional circumstances with limits on the frequency of access to support. Implications beyond the farm to other affected rural businesses are also discussed.     

Evaluation of the water use efficiency of alternative farm practices at a range of spatial and temporal scales: A conceptual framework and a modelling approach

Water is the principal limiting resource in Australian broadacre farming, and the efficiency with which farmers use water to produce various products is a major determinant both of farm profit and of a range of natural resource management (NRM) outcomes. We propose a conceptual framework based on multiple water use efficiencies (WUEs) that can be used to gain insight into high-level comparisons of the productivity and sustainability of alternative farming practices across temporal and spatial scales. The framework is intended as a data aggregation and presentation device. It treats flows of water, biomass and money in a mixed farming system; economic inefficiencies in these flows are tracked as they are associated with a range of NRM indicators.We illustrate the use of the framework, and its place in a larger research programme, by employing it to synthesise the results from a set of modelling analyses of the effect of land use choices on long-term productivity and a range of NRM indicators (frequency of low ground cover, deep drainage, N leaching rates and rate of change in surface soil organic carbon). The analyses span scales from single paddocks and years to whole farms and have been carried out with the APSIM and GRAZPLAN biophysical simulation models and the MIDAS whole-farm economic model.In single wheat crops in one study, different land uses in preceding years affect grain yield primarily by affecting the harvest index. When the scale changes to cropping rotations, the critical factor affecting overall water use efficiency is found to be the proportion of stored soil water that is transpired by crops. When ordinated in terms of their water use efficiencies, a set of 45 modelled rotation sequences at another location are differentiated mainly by the proportion of pasture in the rotation; when rotations are ordinated using key NRM indicators, the proportion of lucerne pasture is the main distinguishing factor. Finally, we show that for whole crop-livestock farms at three different locations across southern Australia, the pattern of water use efficiencies in the most profitable farming systems changes in similar ways as cropping proportion is altered. At this scale, land use choices affect multiple water use efficiency indices simultaneously and commodity prices determine the balance of the resulting economic tradeoffs.Limitations to the use of the WUE framework arising from its relative simplicity are discussed, as are other areas of farming systems research and development to which it can be applied.     

The role and value of eastern star clover in managing herbicide-resistant crop weeds: A whole-farm analysis

In the broadacre dryland farming system of Western Australia herbicide resistance in major crop weeds is an increasingly serious problem. A new option to combat herbicide resistance involves growing eastern star clover (Trifolium dasyurum). This is a new pasture legume with a unique delayed germination that allows control of weeds using various chemical and non-chemical strategies, without unduly compromising the pasture’s subsequent production. This study assesses the role and value of eastern star clover in managing herbicide-resistant weeds on various farms. The study employs the farming system model known as MIDAS, a whole-farm, bioeconomic model. Key scenarios of different degrees of severity of herbicide resistance for three farm types are examined. The main findings of the analysis are that as the severity of herbicide resistance increases, eastern star clover becomes an increasingly attractive option. Although the introduction of eastern star clover does reduce a farm’s capacity to carry sheep, and thereby lessens profits generated by the sheep enterprise, it enables longer, more profitable sequences of crops to be grown with fewer weed problems. Sensitivity analysis suggests that reduced cost of eastern star clover seed, cheap supplementary feed, and higher grain prices will further increase the profitability of eastern star clover.     

Finding niches for whole-farm design models – contradictio in terminis?

Whole-farm design models quantitatively analyze the effects of a variety of potential changes at the farm system level. Science-driven technical information is confronted with value-driven objectives of farmers or other social groupings under explicit assumptions with respect to exogenous variables that are important drivers of agricultural systems (e.g., market conditions). Hence, farm design is an outcome of objective specification and the potential of a system. In recent publications, whole-farm design modelling has been proposed to enhance (farm) innovation processes. A number of operational modelling tools now offers the opportunity to assess the true potential of whole-farm design modelling to enhance innovation. In this paper, we demonstrate that it is not trivial to find niches for the application of goal-based farm models. Model outcomes appeared not to match questions of farm managers monitoring and learning from their own and other farmers’ practices. However, our research indicates that whole-farm design modelling possesses the capabilities to make a valuable contribution to reframing. Reframing is the phenomenon that people feel an urge to discuss and reconsider current objectives and perspectives on a problem. Reframing might take place in a situation (i) of mutually felt dependency between stakeholders, (ii) in which there is sufficient pressure and urgency for stakeholders to explore new problem definitions and make progress. Furthermore, our research suggests that the way the researcher enters a likely niche to introduce a model and/or his or her position in this niche may have significant implications for the potential of models to enhance an innovation process. Therefore, we hypothesize that the chances of capitalizing on modelling expertise are likely to be higher when researchers with such expertise are a logical and more or less permanent component of ongoing trajectories than when these researchers come from outside to purposefully search for a niche.     

A bio-economic evaluation of the profitability of adopting subtropical grasses and pasture-cropping on crop-livestock farms

Pasture-cropping is a novel approach to increasing the area of perennial forages in mixed livestock and cropping systems. It involves planting annual cereals directly into a living perennial pasture. There is interest in using subtropical grasses for pasture-cropping as they are winter dormant and their growth profile is complementary with winter crops. The ability of subtropical grasses to maintain feed quality in summer is likely to be an important attribute. However, a wide range of factors can affect the uptake of such systems. This paper evaluates the farm-system economics of subtropical grasses and pasture-cropping. The research question is: what factors affect the profitability of a new technology such as (1) subtropical grass and (2) subtropical grass that is pasture-cropped. The analysis uses the MIDAS model of a central wheatbelt farm in Western Australia. The results suggest the profitability and adoption of subtropical grasses is likely to be strongly influenced by the mix of soil types present on the farm; the feed quality of the subtropical grass; whether the production emphasis of the farm is for grazing or cropping, and the level of production in summer and early autumn. The same factors are relevant to pasture-cropping, with the addition of yield penalties due to competition between the arable crop and the host perennial. The results were less sensitive to changes in the winter production of subtropical grass. Pasture-cropping was more profitable and likely to involve a larger area of the farm when a meat rather than a wool-dominant sheep system was present. However, there was little difference between the meat and wool flocks in their sensitivity to other factors in this analysis.     

Economic evaluation of current and alternative dual-purpose cattle systems for smallholder farms in the central Peruvian highlands

In four communities in the Peruvian Andes, 56 farmers were interviewed every three months over a period of one year. Information linked to milk and cattle production such as activities, inputs (labour, means of production, capital) and outputs (milk, cheese, animals) were recorded using a closed-ended questionnaire. The communities were divided into two groups with low (LC) and high (HC) level of dependence on income from milk and animal sales. The survey results showed that cattle production on the LC farms was based on less land and a smaller herd (3.32 ha/farm, 1.06 lactating cows) than on HC farms (10.28 ha/farm, 4.19 lactating cows). The data from the survey and the results of the nutritional analyses of 74 feed samples were introduced into a model that applied linear programming techniques in order to estimate the farm household income under the current production systems and evaluate the economic impact of improved forage varieties for hay production. Furthermore, the economic viability of other changes in fodder and herd management was tested. Both groups were characterised by a dual-purpose system generating a gross income from the sale of both, milk and live animals in the amount of -21 (LC) and +1057 US$/farm and year (HC). Due to higher production costs for forages and better access to markets, LC communities were characterised by an integrated crop–livestock system whereas in the HC group income was mainly based on livestock. Introduction of improved and fertilized barley for hay production, was estimated to increase the annual farm income to 127 and 1257 US$ for LC and HC, respectively. This increase was accompanied by an increment of the animal number. Maintaining the animal number but increasing the milk production/cow by feeding additional forage was a less profitable option generating 50 and 1221 US$ of income per farm and year for LC and HC, respectively. The production of hay was limited by high costs (external labour) in LC communities and the restricted availability of family labour in the HC group. A scenario based on the use of improved cow genotypes led to the highest estimated annual farm income for HC communities (1280 US$) but was less favourable for LC. The modelling results showed that the best development strategy depends on various factors such as production costs, access to the markets and to irrigation and availability of different feed resources.     

Resource integration for multiple benefits: Multifunctionality of integrated farming systems in Northeast Thailand

Resource degradation in rice farming systems in Thailand endangers food security, but the systems may become more sustainable by combining them with aquaculture and livestock farm enterprises by capitalization of their synergies in resource use and re-use, i.e. by adopting integrated farming systems. Most empirical studies that assess this potential have focused on a few specific aspects, but not on the multiple social, economic, and ecological functions of resource integration. This study uses the framework of multifunction agriculture to assess the performance of integrated farming systems in Thailand and compares its performance with that of ‘normal-rice’ or non-integrated farming systems. Surveys were conducted in Khon Kaen province of Northeast Thailand using a combination of quantitative and qualitative survey methods.     

Communicating complexity: Integrated assessment of trade-offs concerning soil fertility management within African farming systems to support innovation and development

African farming systems are highly heterogeneous: between agroecological and socioeconomic environments, in the wide variability in farmers’ resource endowments and in farm management. This means that single solutions (or ‘silver bullets’) for improving farm productivity do not exist. Yet to date few approaches to understand constraints and explore options for change have tackled the bewildering complexity of African farming systems. In this paper we describe the Nutrient Use in Animal and Cropping systems - Efficiencies and Scales (NUANCES) framework. NUANCES offers a structured approach to unravel and understand the complexity of African farming to identify what we term ‘best-fit’ technologies - technologies targeted to specific types of farmers and to specific niches within their farms. The NUANCES framework is not ‘just another computer model’! We combine the tools of systems analysis and experimentation, detailed field observations and surveys, incorporate expert knowledge (local knowledge and results of research), generate databases, and apply simulation models to analyse performance of farms, and the impacts of introducing new technologies. We have analysed and described complexity of farming systems, their external drivers and some of the mechanisms that result in (in)efficient use of scarce resources. Studying sites across sub-Saharan Africa has provided insights in the trajectories of change in farming systems in response to population growth, economic conditions and climate variability (cycles of drier and wetter years) and climate change. In regions where human population is dense and land scarce, farm typologies have proven useful to target technologies between farmers of different production objectives and resource endowment (notably in terms of land, labour and capacity for investment). In such regions we could categorise types of fields on the basis of their responsiveness to soil improving technologies along soil fertility gradients, relying on local indicators to differentiate those that may be managed through ‘maintenance fertilization’ from fields that are highly-responsive to fertilizers and fields that require rehabilitation before yields can improved. Where human population pressure on the land is less intense, farm and field types are harder to discern, without clear patterns. Nutrient cycling through livestock is in principle not efficient for increasing food production due to increased nutrient losses, but is attractive for farmers due to the multiple functions of livestock. We identified trade-offs between income generation, soil conservation and community agreements through optimising concurrent objectives at farm and village levels. These examples show that future analyses must focus at farm and farming system level and not at the level of individual fields to achieve appropriate targeting of technologies - both between locations and between farms at any given location. The approach for integrated assessment described here can be used ex ante to explore the potential of best-fit technologies and the ways they can be best combined at farm level. The dynamic and integrated nature of the framework allows the impact of changes in external drivers such as climate change or development policy to be analysed. Fundamental questions for integrated analysis relate to the site-specific knowledge and the simplification of processes required to integrate and move from one level to the next.     

Modelling optimal crop sequences using network flows

In recent years there has been an increased focus on sustainable farming systems. This has led to an increase in the use of farm models built to assess the environmental impact from farming. In whole-farm models including crop production it is important to consider the rotation of crops, since this has a major impact on the consequences of the crop production.     

饲料收获机定动刀间隙自动调整装置的研究

快速发展的畜牧业急需新鲜的秸秆来作为牲畜的饲料,而将玉米秸秆切碎收获,不仅能解决牲畜饲料的来源问题,还能增加农民的收入。饲料收获机在作业过程中,用于切碎饲料的动刀片会磨损,磨损之后,会发生切不断情况,需要停机磨刀。磨刀后,刀刃短了,定动刀之间的间隙变大,直接影响到饲料的切碎质量和效率。为了解决这一问题,设计了一种饲料收获机定动刀间隙自动调整装置,可以一键启动,自动调节定动刀之间的间隙,有效降低人工操作的强度,还能保证定动刀左右两边间隙的一致性。该自动调整系统,操作方便,智能化程度高,节约了农时,提高了饲料的切碎质量和作业效率。     

Dairy farm nutrient management model: 2. Evaluation of different strategies to mitigate phosphorus surplus

To reduce (P) surpluses on dairy farms and thereby the risk of P losses to natural waters we studied different management alternatives by a nutrient balance model described in the companion paper. The strategies evaluated mitigating the P surpluses were: mineral P fertilisation, dietary mineral P supplementation, replacement rate, animal density, production level, feeding intensity, dietary P concentration and nutrient efficiency in crop production. Responses to several interventions (e.g. mineral P fertilisation, purchased feed P, replacement rate) were similar to those observed in Finnish field studies. Reducing or completely giving up the use of purchased mineral P fertilisers was the most efficient measure to reduce P surplus. The slope between the amount of mineral fertilisers and P surplus was 0.98-0.99 (in the field data 1.0). Increased animal density resulted in a greater P surplus, but the slope between P input from purchased feed and surplus was considerably smaller (0.65) than that of P fertilisation. Increasing milk yield with improved genetic potential of the cows would have minimal effects on P surplus per unit of product, but it would increase P surplus per hectare. When the intensity of energy and protein feeding was increased, P surplus rose markedly both per unit of product and hectare. This is (1) due to increased dietary P concentration and (2) due to smaller marginal production responses than those calculated from feeding standards. Reducing dietary P concentration by constraining P excess per kg milk in least-cost ration formulation improved P efficiency in milk production and dairy farming system. However, feed cost increased as low P energy (sugar-beet pulp) and protein (soybean meal) supplements are more expensive than cereal grains or rapeseed feeds. Improving the nutrient use efficiency in crop production had a strong influence in the whole-farm efficiency and P surplus. The modelling results showed that Finnish dairy farms have a great potential to improve P efficiency and reduce P losses to the environment, even by increasing production intensity (milk/ha). It is concluded that the most cost-effective scenario to mitigate P surpluses at a dairy farm would be to reduce or give up the use of mineral P as fertilisers and supplements, and to improve the use of present soil P reserves.     

Life cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from beef production in western Canada: A case study

A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to estimate whole-farm greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from beef production in western Canada. The aim was to determine the relative contributions of the cow-calf and feedlot components to these emissions, and to examine the proportion of whole-farm emissions attributable to enteric methane (CH₄). The simulated farm consisted of a beef production operation comprised of 120 cows, four bulls, and their progeny, with the progeny fattened in a feedlot. The farm also included cropland and native prairie pasture for grazing to supply the feed for the animals. The LCA was conducted over 8 years to fully account for the lifetime GHG emissions from the cows, bulls and progeny, as well as the beef marketed from cull cows, cull bulls, and progeny raised for market. The emissions were estimated using Holos, a whole-farm model developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Holos is an empirical model, with a yearly time-step, based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change methodology, modified for Canadian conditions and farm scale. The model considers all significant CH₄, N₂O, and CO₂ emissions and removals on the farm, as well as emissions from manufacture of inputs (fertilizer, herbicides) and off-farm emissions of N₂O derived from nitrogen applied on the farm. The LCA estimated the GHG intensity of beef production in this system at 22 kg CO₂ equivalent (kg carcass)⁻¹. Enteric CH₄ was the largest contributing source of GHG accounting for 63% of total emissions. Nitrous oxide from soil and manure accounted for a further 27% of the total emissions, while CH₄ emissions from manure and CO₂ energy emissions were minor contributors. Within the beef production cycle, the cow-calf system accounted for about 80% of total GHG emissions and the feedlot system for only 20%. About 84% of enteric CH₄ was from the cow-calf herd, mostly from mature cows. It follows that mitigation practices to reduce GHG emissions from beef production should focus on reducing enteric CH₄ production from mature beef cows. However, mitigation approaches must also recognize that the cow-calf production system also has many ancillary environmental benefits, allowing use of grazing and forage lands that can preserve soil carbon reserves and provide other ecosystems services.     

Intensification of New Zealand beef farming systems

This study used whole-farm management, nutrient budgeting/greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and feed formulation computer tools to determine the production, environmental and financial implications of intensifying the beef production of typical New Zealand (NZ) sheep and beef farming systems. Two methods of intensification, feeding maize silage (MS) or applying nitrogen (N) fertiliser, were implemented on two farm types differing in the proportions of cultivatable land to hill land (25% vs. 75% hill). In addition, the consequences of intensification by incorporating a beef feedlot (FL) into each of the farm types were also examined.Feeding MS or applying N fertiliser substantially increased the amount of beef produced per ha. Intensifying production was also associated with increased total N leaching and GHG emissions although there were differences between the methods of intensification. Feeding MS resulted in lower environmental impacts than applying N even after taking into account the land to grow the maize for silage. Based on 2007/08 prices, typical NZ sheep and beef farms were making a financial loss and neither method of intensification increased profitability with the exception of small annual applications of N, especially to the 75% hill farm. These small annual additions of N fertiliser (<50 kg N/ha/yr applied in autumn and late winter) resulted in only small increases in annual N leaching (from 11 to 14 kg N/ha) and GHG emissions (from 3280 to 4000 kg CO₂ equivalents/ha). Limited N applications were particularly beneficial to 75% hill farms because small increases in winter carrying capacity resulted in relatively large increases in the utilisation of pasture growth during spring and summer than the 25% hill farms. Intensification by incorporating a beef feedlot reduced environmental emissions per kg of beef produced but considerably decreased profitability due to higher capital, depreciation and labour costs. The lower land-use capability farm type (75% hill) was able to intensify beef production to a proportionally greater extent than the higher land-use capability farm (25% hill) because of greater potential to increase pasture utilisation associated with a lower initial farming intensity and inherent constraints in the pattern of pasture supply.     

Identifying the value of pasture improvement using wholefarm modelling

The economic value of pasture improvement in a farming system in a Mediterranean-type environment is assessed using farm modelling. Bioeconomic modelling combined with sensitivity analysis is used to explore how new annual legume species may impact on farm profit and land use. If introduced on all suitable soils the new pastures lead to a 26% increase in farm profit with an additional 12% of farm area being switched into pasture to support more livestock. However, stocking rates decline slightly, the enterprise mix becomes less diversified and several rotational changes are required. If the new pastures are only introduced on particular soils then farm profit increases by a lesser percentage and the pathways to additional profit vary, with both the pasture area and stocking rate either increasing or decreasing. To extract maximum profit from pasture improvement on any particular land management unit often requires management changes on other land management units, apart from those on which pasture improvement initially takes place. The economic value of pasture improvement is found to depend on the portfolio of pastures available for improvement and the nature and mix of the farm’s land management units.     

Life cycle assessment of Swiss farming systems: II. Extensive and intensive production

Extensive or low-input farming is considered a way of remedying many problems associated with intensive farming practices. But do extensive farming systems really result in a clear reduction in environmental impacts, especially if their lower productivity is taken into account? This question is studied for Swiss arable cropping and forage production systems in a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) study.Three long-term experiments (DOC experiment comparing bio-dynamic, bio-organic and conventional farming, the “Burgrain” experiment including integrated intensive, integrated extensive and organic systems and the “Oberacker” experiment with conventional ploughing and no-till soil cultivation, are considered in the LCA study. Furthermore, model systems for arable crops and forage production for feeding livestock are investigated by using the Swiss Agricultural Life Cycle Assessment method (SALCA).The analysis covers an overall extensification of cropping systems and forage production on the one hand and a partial extensification of fertiliser use, plant protection and soil cultivation on the other. The overall extensification of an intensively managed system reduced environmental impacts in general, both per area unit and per product unit. In arable cropping systems medium production intensity gave the best results for the environment, and the intensity should not fall below the environmental optimum in order to avoid a deterioration of eco-efficiency. In grassland systems, on the contrary, a combination of both intensively and extensively managed plots was preferable to medium intensity practices on the whole area. The differences in yield, production intensity and environmental impact were much more pronounced in grassland than in arable cropping systems.Partial extensification of a farming system should be conceived in the context of the whole system in order to be successful. For example, the extensification solely of fertiliser use and soil cultivation resulted in a general improvement in the environmental performance of the farming system, whereas a reduction in plant protection intensity by banning certain pesticide categories reduced negative impacts on ecotoxicity and biodiversity only, while increasing other burdens such as global warming, ozone formation, eutrophication and acidification per product unit. The replacement of mineral fertilisers by farmyard manure as a special form of extensification reduced resource use and improved soil quality, while slightly increasing nutrient losses.These results show that a considerable environmental improvement potential exists in Swiss farming systems and that a detailed eco-efficiency analysis could help to target a further reduction in their environmental impacts.     

Forage options for smallholder crop–animal systems in Southeast Asia: working with farmers to find solutions

Most research and development involving forages in Southeast Asia has been directed towards impacts in commercial farming systems. Little adoption of forages has occurred in smallholder livestock systems, which account for the vast majority of the livestock in the region. The main reason for this lack of adoption is the linear processes that have been used to develop forage technologies on research stations leading to the extension of ‘finished' technology packages. This paper describes existing uses of forages in Southeast Asian farming systems and, using a recent case study, describes the potential for developing smallholder forage systems using participatory approaches to technology development.     

Evaluating crop-livestock-based farming systems: A village level study in the dry zone rainfed district of Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka cropping enterprises interact with livestock production on peasant farms. This analysis of the crop-livestock farming system aims at understanding the existing constraints and interactions between crops and livestock in these farms. The main objective of the study is to describe the crop-livestock integrated farming systems in three rainfed villages in the Moneragala district of Sri Lanka, and to evaluate these systems in terms of maximizing farm incomes from the different crop and livestock components of the systems. A field survey was conducted to collect data from 153 farming families for the Maha season of 1982/83. A linear programming model was formulated to test the hypothesis.The results show that in general the activities for lowland rice, highland rice, sugar cane, labour, farm cash cost, and MVP (compost) are higher in the optimal farm plan than in the actual farm situation. The livestock in the optimal plan is mainly confined to milch cattle. However, with the present high level of manutrition among rural livestock industry emphasis should be placed on the expansion of the rural livestock industry in the study villages. The optimal plan also suggests the use of crop residues as a substitute for compost for farm crops. Hence, in the context of escalating prices of chemical fertilizers, research is required to find the suitability of crop residues and household residues as substitutes for compost. Increases in supplementary irrigation may result in the expansion of the farm area and hence the farm income. Other methods of increasing farm income include: replacing hired labour with non-utilized family labour, increased agricultural research, and extension activity regarding the use of modern inputs by farmers on crops.