Simulating differences in net returns from beef production under alternative forage systems and management practices

A biological simulation model and a linear programming model were interfaced to determine production efficiencies and the optimal carrying capacity of a cow-calf producer in East Texas and to compare net returns to the model farm, given alternative tame forage systems and management practices. Experimental data both on forage systems and on livestock were used to verify and validate the simulated herds. The results showed that (1) of the three tame forage systems analyzed, warm-season perennial forages provided a relatively higher carrying capacity/ha, whereas a mix of both warm- and cool-season forages that allows year-round grazing gave relatively higher net returns/ha to management; (2) nutritional stress during winter months decreased animal performance proportionately more than it decreased feed costs; and (3) although spring-calving herds included more animals than corresponding fall-calving herds on the same land area, fall-calving herds produced more liveweight sales and generally higher net returns.     

Simulation of production systems in East Africa by use of interfaced forage and cattle models

A forage model and a cattle production model were interfaced and adapted for tropical production conditions in East Africa. The objectives of the modelling were to structure and conceptualise a complex system for better comprehension, thereby determining constraints on a traditional African grazing system. The model was designed to simulate the physical linkages between the scarce resource of forage and the outputs of cattle, meat and milk. The effects of improved management practices were examined for a traditional village livestock grazing system. Verification and validation for the baseline village herd were carried out using several different sources of data. A combination of a restricted breeding season, supplemental feeding during the dry season and a seasonal sales policy resulted in a 40% increase in net revenue to village producers above the baseline for a ten-year period.     

Stability,resilience and sustainability in pasture-based grazing systems

In this paper we employ a simple dynamic simulation model to illustrate and extend the pasture envelope concept as an approach to characterising the stability, resilience and sustainability of pasture-based beef grazing enterprises. The pasture envelope is a form of phase diagram in which the trajectories over time of key biophysical variables such as pasture biomass and composition are graphed against critical thresholds established on the basis of pasture growth rates and livestock growth requirements. We extend the concept to incorporate key financial variables such as cash flow and critical financial thresholds. The model simulates a steer fattening enterprise based on a phalaris and sub-clover pasture in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. The model incorporates pasture growth and senescence for the two pasture species with competition between the species for soil nutrients and light, preferential grazing of the two species by the livestock with livestock growth based on pasture consumption. The model incorporates a variety of decision rules for rotating livestock among multiple paddocks. The model did not simulate changes in soil nutrients. Scaling the seasonal growth pattern of the pasture species captured the influence of rainfall and temperature on pasture growth.Two sets of simulations were run to illustrate the use of the pasture envelope concept to explore the economic and biological stability and resilience of the pasture system. The first set was designed to explore the financial and biological stability of the enterprise and involved simulating the impact of different stocking rates and rotation period on pasture production and composition, and cash flow. The second set of simulations was designed more to explore the resilience of the enterprise and involved introducing shocks to the enterprise in the form of `droughts' of varying strengths. This was achieved by, for example, reducing the maximum growth rate for both pasture species by 50% but maintaining the same seasonal pattern in the maximum growth rates of each species. The first simulation showed that at low stocking rates the enterprise was biologically stable, but cash flow was also low. Increasing stocking rates increased the cash flow, but also reduced the biological stability of the pasture until at very high stocking rates the pasture system collapsed. Changing the rotation period also affected the stability of the enterprise. In situations where the rotation period was very long, greater than 120 days (or 20 days/paddock), the biological system became unsustainable due to detrimental changes in pasture composition. The enterprise was somewhat resilient to drought at stocking rates less than 1 steer/ha. At stocking rates of 1 steer/ha, the enterprise was economically and biologically unsustainable in moderate or severe droughts. At a stocking rate of 1.25 steers/ha, the enterprise was unsustainable for droughts of any severity.     

The Borana pastoral system of Southern Ethiopia

This paper, based on the Joint Ethiopian Pastoral Systems Study (JEPSS) conducted from the International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA), describes the Borana System of Southern Ethiopia. The supply of dry-season well water in the Borana rangelands allows a semi-settled existence. However, while milking herds (warra) are kept at the settlement, dry cattle (forra) travel further afield in search of dry-season grazing. Stocking densities are reasonably close to the maximum potential except in areas not supplied by wells. Reproduction rates, and milk yields of the Boran cattle, are quite high for pastoralist herds, while mortalities are low. Sheep, goats and camels supplement production from cattle. Although milk is the staple food of the Borana, grain purchased with the proceeds of livestock sales meets over 30% of dietary energy requirements. Overall, the Borana are efficient rangeland and livestock managers, who manage to survive in a tightly constrained environment. These findings suggest that the scope for improvement is limited.     

Modeling animal-unit-equivalents for beef cattle

The process of formalizing objectives and defining assumptions in calculating animal-unit-equivalents (AUE) for different classes of beef cattle is discussed. Relationships among energy demand, forage supply, intake and animal-units are examined. An example is presented of an AUE model with two levels of complexity adapted from a model of total digestible nutrient (TDN) requirements. Standardization of approaches is needed in calculating AUE's, and the stocking variables derived from them. Such formalization improves communication, applicability and contributes to scientific grazing management.     

A simulation-based analysis of productivity and soil carbon in response to time-controlled rotational grazing in the West African Sahel region

In the Sahel region of West Africa, the traditional organization of the population and the grazing land avoided overexploitation of pastures. Since independence in the 1960s, grazing lands have been opened to all without specific guidance, and the vulnerability of the pastures to degradation has increased. Rotational grazing is postulated as a possible solution to provide higher pasture productivity, higher animal loads per unit land, and perhaps improved soil carbon storage. The objective of this study was to conduct a simulation-based assessment of the impact of rotational grazing management on pasture biomass production, grazing efficiency, animal grazing requirement satisfaction, and soil carbon storage in the Madiama Commune, Mali. The results showed that grazing intensity is the primary factor influencing the productivity of annual pastures and their capacity to provide for animal grazing requirements. Rotating the animals in paddocks is a positive practice for pasture protection that showed advantage as the grazing pressure increased. Increasing the size of the reserve biomass not available for grazing, which triggers the decision of taking the animals off the field, provided better pasture protection but reduced animal grazing requirements satisfaction. In terms of soil carbon storage, all management scenarios led to reduction of soil carbon at the end of the 50-year simulation periods, ranging between 4% and 5% of the initial storage. The differences in reduction as a function of grazing intensity were of no practical significance in these soils with very low organic matter content, mostly resistant to decomposition.     

基于三轴加速度传感器的放牧羊只牧食行为研究

内蒙古自治区草地资源丰富,养羊业为自治区的主要畜牧业,通过对放牧羊只牧食行为的识别并结合GPS监测其牧食路径,可为估测放牧区域采食量分布、放牧规划和草畜平衡的研究提供理论依据。本文采用三轴加速度传感器,设计了放牧羊只牧食行为数据无线采集系统,自动采集羊只牧食的三轴加速度数据,并建立羊只牧食行为识别的BP神经网络模型、全连接深度神经网络模型和卷积神经网络模型,实现对羊只采食、咀嚼、反刍3种牧食行为的分类识别。在内蒙古自治区四子王旗白音朝克图镇半荒漠化草场的试验结果表明,BP神经网络模型、全连接深度神经网络模型和卷积神经网络模型对羊只牧食行为的平均识别率分别为83.1%、89.4%和93.8%,其中卷积神经网络模型的识别精度最高,能够满足羊只牧食行为分类识别的要求。     

Relevance of rest periods in non-equilibrium rangeland systems – A modelling analysis

The worldwide loss of utilisable rangeland in (semi-) arid areas results in huge economic and social costs. Only adaptive management strategies are able to cope with these systems, which are mainly driven by unpredictable and stochastic rainfall. The aim of the study was to investigate the relevance of rest periods as part of the management scheme in these non-equilibrium rangeland systems. The starting point of the analysis is an approved management system – the Karakul sheep-breeding Gamis-Farm (Namibia). The farmer applies a flexible strategy, which combines short-term adaptation of the stocking rate to the available forage and long-term adaptation by resting a third of the paddocks in years with sufficient rainfall.We developed a simulation model that focuses on the key dynamics of this non-equilibrium system. Beginning with the strategy used by the Gamis-Farm, a set of alternative grazing strategies was defined, all adapted to the available forage but differing in whether and when resting is granted for a part of the pasture. The effectiveness of these strategies was compared according to the long-term productivity of the pasture and the farmer’s livelihood.Our results reveal ecological settings during which resting is essential for the recovery of the vegetation in a fluctuating environment, as well as those during which it is not. The growth rates of both the vegetation and of the livestock are demonstrated to be highly influential. Rests during wet years are crucial for the regeneration of the pasture. We conclude that even though a non-equilibrium rangeland system is assumed, the application of pure opportunistic strategies – destocking in times of drought and fast post-drought restocking – are not always adequate to maintain the long-term productivity of the pasture. Rest periods are indispensable when vegetation has a low regeneration potential. On an applied level, the study emphasises that improved farming conditions (supplementary feeding, unrestricted options to purchase livestock) may run the risk of ecological as well as economic damages.     

Monitoring forage production for farmers’ decision making

Objective management of grazing livestock production systems needs monitoring of forage production at the managerial unit level. Our objectives were to develop a system that routinely estimates forage above-ground net primary production (ANPP) at the spatial and temporal resolution required by farmers in the Pampas of Argentina, and to facilitate adoption of the system by end users as a managerial support tool. Our approach was based on the radiation use efficiency (RUE) logic, which proposes that ANPP is determined by the amount of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by the canopy (APAR), and the efficiency with which that energy is transformed in above-ground dry matter (radiation use efficiency, RUE). APAR is the product of incoming photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and the fraction absorbed by the canopy (fPAR). We estimated fPAR as a non-linear function of MODIS normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). RUE was empirically estimated for the two principal forage resources of the region, yielding the following relations: ANPP = 0.6 × APAR + 12, (R² = 0.86; p < 0.001; n = 18) for the upland sown pastures, and ANPP = 0.27 × APAR + 26, (R² = 0.74; p < 0.001; n = 18) for the lowland naturalized pastures, with ANPP in g/m²/60 days and APAR in MJ/m²/60 days. The models were able to predict independent ANPP values with acceptable accuracy. Computational procedures were automated and run in a Relational Data Base Manager System that stored and managed all the information. The system is currently monitoring 212,794 ha in 83 farms and provides monthly ANPP values for the previous month and a history of the last 6 years. The data so generated show ANPP differences between the two major forage resources, considerable variability of a given month’s ANPP among years and paddocks, and contrasting among-farm differences in the efficiency of conversion of ANPP and forage supplements into beef production. The system was well accepted by end users who utilize it mainly for making near real time decisions according to last month ANPP, and explaining results of previous production cycles by incorporating ANPP as an explicative variable. However, there were differences among farmers in the degree of utilization, apparently related to the advisor’s attitude toward this new technology. Our results indicate that (1) forage production of large extensions can be monthly monitored at the paddock level by a small laboratory with capabilities in geographic information systems, and (2) advisors and farmers apply this information to their managerial decisions.     

A risk efficiency analysis of backgrounding and finishing steers on pasture in Saskatchewan, Canada

This paper combines an agricultural production decision support tool, GrassGro, with economic risk efficiency theory to examine several cattle feeding options that include various grazing systems for three climatic environments in Saskatchewan, Canada. Historical weather data were used to simulate a distribution of forage and cattle production data for each of several grazing systems during a 21-year period, 1978–1998. Price variability was included by varying year 2000 prices using historical price margin changes between the buying and selling weights of cattle. The risk efficiency analysis was completed using the Mean Standard Deviation (MSD) framework, and stochastic dominance principles.

Results of the study suggested that feeding systems, which included grazing, were economically competitive with traditional feedlot feeding systems and grain farming. Finishing cattle on pasture with the addition of a barley supplement was an attractive option, especially when high pasture productivity can be achieved. In all locations, more intense systems that included pasture fertilization and provision of an energy supplement, improved production and risk efficiency. Although the average net returns of all these feeding simulations were negative, the returns of traditional grain crops were even more negative. It is these negative returns in grain operations that lead to the incentive for producers to diversify into cattle production. Despite the negative net returns, the cash flow (range −$15.59 to $407.54 ha⁻¹) was mostly positive in all three locations.     

我国秸秆加工机械的发展分析

随着国家恢复生态建设、实施禁牧圈养,秸秆对于牲畜的饲喂显得尤为重要.目前,我国每年生产的秸秆达6亿t多,占全世界秸秆总产量的20%～30%,是饲料的重要来源.近年来,我国畜牧业的快速发展对饲草的需求量急剧上升,有力地促进了饲草业的发展,同时也带动了饲草机械化的发展.大力发展牛、羊等食草动物,合理利用秸秆资源,促进饲草收贮和草产品加工技术,直接关系到国民经济的可持续发展.为此,论述了我国秸秆资源的利用情况,分析了秸秆加工机械及其发展现状,指出了秸秆加工机械的发展趋势.     

A simulation model for managing perennial grass pastures. Part II—a simulated systems analysis of grazing management

A model for managing perennial grass pastures was used to simulate a grazing experiment on common bermudagrass pastures at Booneville, Arkansas. The experiment used sixteen years' weather data from this location.The management variables included number of fields, rotation period, and simulated grazing rate. The grazing season was from 1 June to 22 September each year, and simulated performance data were obtained for successive six-day periods throughout the grazing season. The attributes of performance data included: daily harvest rate, digestible dry matter and cell content nitrogen harvested, potential tissue production, reserve carbohydrates at the end of the year and the ratio of forage on offer to the simulated grazing rate.Analyses of these simulated performance data provided an inference base to support a recommendation concerning the management variables. The recommendation is as follows: a four-field system, a nine-day rotation period and 84 kg/ha/day simulated grazing rate. The results along with other simulated grazing scenarios will be used to plan field experiments at Booneville, Arkansas.     

A participatory, farming systems approach to improving Bali cattle production in the smallholder crop-livestock systems of Eastern Indonesia

Bali cattle (Bos javanicus) account for about one quarter of the total cattle population in Indonesia and are particularly important in the smallholder farming enterprises of the eastern islands. The population of Bali cattle is declining in most areas of Eastern Indonesia because demand for beef cattle exceeds the local capacity to supply these animals. Indonesian agencies recognise that new strategies are required to improve the productivity of Bali cattle and to address major constraints relating to animal husbandry and nutrition. To date, the adoption of cattle improvement technologies has been historically slow in Indonesia, as is the case elsewhere.This paper reports on key findings from a long-term study conducted between 2001 and 2009 with smallholder households from six villages in South Sulawesi and Central Lombok, to develop and test an approach for evaluating and increasing the adoption of cattle and forage improvement technologies. The approach is based on the principles of farming systems and participatory research and involved four main steps; (1) benchmarking the current farming system; (2) identifying constraints to cattle production and strategies to address them; (3) desktop modelling of the production and economic impacts of selected strategies; and (4) on-farm testing of the most promising strategies with 30 participant smallholder households.The approach was found to be successful based on: (1) sustained adoption of a package of best-bet technologies by the 30 participating households; (2) evidence of positive production, social and economic impacts; and (3) significant diffusion of the cattle improvement technologies to other households in the project regions.     

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.     

Ruminant feeding systems in West Java,Indonesia

Data collected from 350 ruminant rearers are presented in relation to four altitude strate in West Java. In each stratum and sample village, further selection of rearers was made on the basis of main land-use type and livestock species reared. The study was conducted in the dry season of 1982.Sixteen existing systems of feeding ruminants were identified. These comprised different combinations of hand feeding, full grazing, tethering and free range grazing practices. Further simplification resulted in four main systems—full grazing, full hand feeding, mainly grazing and mainly hand feeding.Characteristics and prevalence of these feeding systems are described and related to altitudinal strata and seasons.Hand feeding was the most common system above 100 m in altitude and was especially prevalent in the wet season. However, below 100 m (where 50% of livestock units are located) combinations (mainly grazing) were most common in the wet season and grazing was predominant in the dry season.This study is intended to provide a sound background for planning research on feeding, and for village livestock development in West Java.     

Exploring changes in world ruminant production systems

In the past 30 years world production of ruminant meat and milk has increased by about 40%, while the global area of grassland has increased by only 4%. This is because most of the increase in ruminant meat and milk production has been achieved by increasing the production in mixed and landless production systems and much less so in pastoral systems. Pastoral systems depend almost exclusively on grazing, while mixed and landless systems rely on a mix of concentrates (food crops) and roughage, consisting of grass, fodder crops, crop residues, and other sources of feedstuffs. A model was developed to describe these two aggregated production systems for different world regions, each having typical production characteristics, such as milk production per animal for dairy cattle, and off-take rates and carcass weights for non-dairy cattle, sheep and goats. The energy needed by the animals for the production of meat and milk is calculated on the basis of requirements for maintenance, grazing and labour, pregnancy, and lactation. We implemented the FAO Agriculture Towards 2030 projection for crop and livestock production and assumed that the past trend in the area of grassland will continue in the coming three decades. This assumption implies a rapid intensification of grassland management with a 33% increase in global grass consumption, which will only be possible with increasing fertilizer inputs, use of grass-clover mixtures and improved grassland management.     

一种饲料收获机的发动机过载自适应调整装置及方法

随着畜牧产业的快速发展,青饲料种植面积逐年增加,而青饲料收获季节较短,过早、过晚收获都会造成饲料营养流失,需要用户在有限时间内高效率完成收获,驾驶员通过增加作业幅宽或者提高收获机的作业速度来提高效率,引起发动机过载工作,造成收获机停机。针对上述问题,设计了一种饲料收获机的发动机过载自适应调整系统。该系统通过操纵手柄的反馈信号判定收获机的前进方向,实时采集发动机转速和发动机负载百分比数据,一键启动自适应模式,当发动机过载作业时,控制器通过减少行走泵电磁阀的电流来降低收获机的前进速度,收获机喂入量相应跟着减少,就降低了发动机负载。该自适应系统可以有效降低机手的劳动强度,提高饲料收获机的作业效率。     

燕麦的特点与种植技术

燕麦籽实含有大量易消化和高热量的营养物质,富含蛋白质,一般含量为10%-14%,是各类家畜特别是马、牛、羊的良好精料,营养价值超过大麦。     

Competing use of organic resources, village-level interactions between farm types and climate variability in a communal area of NE Zimbabwe

In communal areas of NE Zimbabwe, feed resources are collectively managed, with herds grazing on grasslands during the rainy season and mainly on crop residues during the dry season, which creates interactions between farmers and competition for organic resources. Addition of crop residues or animal manure is needed to sustain agricultural production on inherently poor soils. Objectives of this study were to assess the effect of village-level interactions on carbon and nutrient flows, and to explore their impact on the long-term productivity of different farm types under climate variability. Crop and cattle management data collected in Murewa Communal area, NE Zimbabwe was used together with a dynamic farm-scale simulation model (NUANCES-FARMSIM) to simulate village-level interactions. Simulations showed that grasslands support most cattle feed intake (c. 75%), and that crop residues produced by non-cattle farmers sustain about 30% of the dry season feed intake. Removal of crop residues (0.3-0.4 t C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) from fields of non-cattle farmers resulted in a long-term decrease in crop yields. No-access to crop residues of non-cattle farmers increased soil C modestly and improved yields in the long-term, but not enough to meet household energy requirements. Harvest of grain and removal of most crop residues by grazing cattle caused a long-term decline in soil C stocks for all farm types. The smallest decrease (−0.5 t C ha⁻¹) was observed for most fertile fields of cattle farmers, who manure their fields. Cattle farmers needed to access 4-10 ha of grassland to apply 3 t of manure ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Rainfall variability intensifies crop-livestock interactions increasing competition for biomass to feed livestock (short-term effect) or to rehabilitate soils (long-term effect). Prolonged dry seasons and low availability of crop residues may lead to cattle losses, with negative impact in turn on availability of draught power, affecting area under cultivation in consecutive seasons until farmers re-stock. Increasing mineral fertiliser use concurrently with keeping crop residues in fertile fields and allocating manure to poor fields appears to be a promising strategy to boost crop and cattle productivity at village level. The likelihood of this scenario being implemented depends on availability of fertilisers and decision of farmers to invest in rehabilitating soils to obtain benefits in the long-term. Adaptation options cannot be blind to what occurs beyond field and farm level, because otherwise recommendations from research and development do not fit the local conditions and farmers tend to ignore them.