Simulation of the intake and partition of nutrients by the dairy cow: Part II— The yield and composition of milk

This paper is the second in a series describing a computer-based simulation model designed for use as a management control aid for the dairy herd and concerned with the intake and partition of nutrients by the cow. Milk production is represented in the model in two parts; the first estimates the potential milk yield for each 24 h simulation interval and the second is concerned with matching the available metabolites to the requirements associated with the potential yield. In each case, a conceptual scheme for inclusion in the model is outlined in relation to the relevant literature and the manner in which these schemes are represented in the model is described.     

GAMEDE: A global activity model for evaluating the sustainability of dairy enterprises Part I – Whole-farm dynamic model

 Crop-livestock farms are complex systems. The interactions operating in such systems involve decisional, biophysical, structural, and environmental factors. Moreover, as farmers face a large range of management options, tools are needed to support their decision-making to enable them to reach production levels meeting their objectives and compatible with their human and physical resources, while controlling their effects on the environment. Gamede, a whole-dairy-farm model, has been developed to explore this complexity and to represent dynamically the effect of management decisions on biomass and nitrogen flows and on numerous sustainability indicators, such as milk and forage crop productivity, labour requirements, nitrogen balance, and nitrogen efficiency.This article describes the integration of six modules accounting for biophysical processes in a dairy farm (forage production; forage conditioning; herd demography; milk, excreta and animal biomass productions; grazing, quality of fertilisers; and nitrogen gaseous emissions) together with a decision system accounting for the farmer’s strategy and technical operations. Most of the six biophysical modules incorporate mathematical models from the literature, but the decision system stems from our own original work.Six commercial farms with different structures, agro-climatic conditions and management strategies were used for validation. The model can explain the differences found in their sustainability indicators at the year scale. The intra-year variability of the main biomass stocks and flows is also well explained. This quantitative validation was completed by a qualitative validation from researcher, adviser and farmer points of view, including simulations of prospective scenarios.     

GAMEDE: A global activity model for evaluating the sustainability of dairy enterprises. Part II – Interactive simulation of various management strategies with diverse stakeholders

GAMEDE is a stock-flow dynamic simulation model designed with farmers to represent dairy farm functioning and the consequences of the farmer’s daily management decisions for whole-farm sustainability. Sustainability is evaluated according to its three pillars: technico-economic viability, respect for environment, and social liveability. The model provides original information for a better understanding of the processes regulating nitrogen dynamics within the farm, and the factors determining farmers’ decisions and practices. Model implementation experiments have revealed that GAMEDE is also a useful tool to support discussions and to generate knowledge exchange among various stakeholders who play an important role in the development of farm sustainability: farmers, extension agents and researchers.While a majority of researchers and advisers are specialised and a majority of farmers fix their attention on specific and narrow themes of farm management, such a comprehensive model can help stakeholders complement their knowledge to gain a holistic view of the farming system. This holistic and integrated view is crucial: (i) for researchers who wish to explain diversity in farming systems and understand decisional and biophysical processes and their interrelated effects operating in such complex agro-ecosystems, (ii) for advisers whose aim is to define alternative management strategies applicable in practice, i.e. taking into account farm specificities, and (iii) for farmers who must choose practices compatible with their resources, assets, constraints and objectives.Holism can also improve versatility and thus the generic character of models. Issues are narrowly specified and greatly vary both among categories of stakeholders (e.g. scientists versus farmers) and within each category (e.g. among farmers). A comprehensive model that: (i) details all farm management operations, and (ii) represents their effects on different spatio-temporal levels and on the three sustainability dimensions, is more likely to respond to the various issues facing different stakeholders. We argue that capacity of models to respond to stakeholders’ questions has to be considered in future evaluations of decision support systems.     

Erosion/productivity modelling of maize farming in the Philippine uplands: Part I: parameterising the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator

This paper describes the parameterisation of the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) model to simulate open-field farming and intercropping of maize with leguminous shrub hedgerows. Whenever possible, parameters for the model were determined from measured or standard values for the environment of the field trials, while other parameters were derived from previous modelling experience in tropical environments. The remaining parameters were derived using step-wise calibration, where one or two parameters were calibrated against closely related measured data. Once parameterised, APSIM gave acceptable predictions of maize yields and soil loss from open-field farming and hedgerow intercropping. The version of APSIM described in this paper is used to simulate maize yields and soil erosion from open-field farming and hedgerow intercropping in the second paper in this series (Nelson et al., this issue). In the third paper, Nelson et al. (this issue) use cost–benefit analysis to compare the economic viability of hedgerow intercropping relative to traditional open-field farming of maize in relatively inaccessible upland areas.     

An information system for the control of Puccinia hordei: I—Design and operation

The design and operation of a farm-level computer-based management information system for advising farmers about the use of fungicide for the control of brown rust of barley are described. Once the disease has been observed in the field, epidemics are projected forward using simulation components to model key weather variables and the resultant progress of the rust. The strategies open to a farmer midway through the growing season are assessed using the criteria of expected monetary value and expected utility. The results of preliminary validation work are presented, and the usefulness of the information system is discussed.     

Dynamics of plant and animal production of a subterranean clover pasture grazed by sheep: Part 2—structure and validation of the pasture growth model

A process-based model of the growth of a grazed subterranean clover pasture is described. The model predicts daily changes in the quantity and quality of seed, and green and dry vegetative biomass. Many of the functions describing processes were empirically derived. The model was calibrated against field data and then shown to give close agreement in predicting biomass of three other grazed pastures, two of which were in a different location.     

Effects of planting density on the productivity and water use of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) clones: I. Measurement of water use in young tea using sap flow meters with a stem heat balance method

Sap flow meters based on the stem heat balance method were used to measure the mass flow rates or water use in young potted tea (Camellia sinensis L.) plants of clones AHP S15/10 and BBK35. The meters were constructed on site and installed onto the stem or branch sections of field growing plants in an experiment originally designed to study the effects of plant population density and drought on the productivity and water use of young tea clones. The objective of the study was to use the SHB method as a first attempt to use sap flow meters for determining the water use of young tea growing in the field under well watered conditions in Tanzania. The results are reported and recommendation made for further work on using the technique.     

InfoCrop: A dynamic simulation model for the assessment of crop yields,losses due to pests,and environmental impact of agro-ecosystems in tropical environments. I. Model description

The problems of agriculture in many tropical countries are gradually becoming more intense due to increasing food demand led by population growth, stagnation in farm productivity, mounting yield losses due to multiple pests, increasing vulnerability to global environmental changes and the need to reduce emission of greenhouse gases. Tools and techniques are needed to assist in developing strategies that can lead to higher food production, prevent crop production losses, and ensure minimal greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining soil fertility. Several dynamic models have been developed in recent past but most of these are generally strong either in soils and crops, or in greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. Pest induced yield losses, a critical issue in the tropics, is not addressed in most models. InfoCrop, a generic dynamic crop model, has been developed to meet these specific requirements. It provides integrated assessment of the effect of weather, variety, pests, soil and management practices on crop growth and yield, as well as on soil nitrogen and organic carbon dynamics in aerobic as well as anaerobic conditions, and greenhouse gas emissions. The model considers the key processes related to crop growth, effects of water deficit, flooding, nitrogen management, temperature and frost stresses, crop–pest interactions, soil water and nitrogen balance and (soil) organic carbon dynamics. Its general structure relating to basic crop growth and yield is largely based on several earlier models, especially SUCROS series, and is written in Fortran Simulation Environment (FSE) programming language. The model has been validated for dry matter and grain yields of several annual crops, losses due to multiple diseases and pests, and emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in a variety of agro-environments. To increase the applications of model in research and development, an extremely simple menu driven version of InfoCrop has also been developed. The users of this version do not need any background in programming.