Livestock Farming Systems: Research, Development, Socio-economics and the Land Manager, eds J. B. Dent, M. J. McGregor & A. R. Sibbald. 360 pp. Wageningen: Wageningen Pers (1996). NLG 198.00 (paperback). ISBN 90 74134 40 8.

1997 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-248
Author(s):  
P. J. BROADBENT
2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 729 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Price ◽  
R. B. Hacker

The Grain & Graze program attempted to improve the ‘triple bottom line’ of mixed-farming systems in Australia through a major program of research, development and extension (RD&E) that operated across nine regions, with a total budget of A$31million provided by four R&D corporations and over 60 regional partners. Regional activities were complemented by a series of national projects and management and governance arrangements were organised at both regional and national levels with significant producer input. While the two-tiered management structure resulted in both tensions and opportunities the outputs of the program were substantial including 278 demonstration and trial sites, 180 training courses, over 200 publications, tools and manuals, over 100 research papers and a database of national and regional data. Over 8000 producers participated in program events, over 5000 actively trialled new activities and around 3200 adopted recommended practices despite severely unfavourable seasonal conditions over the 5 years of the program. A return on investment of 3.4 : 1 for the core funders was comparable to some other agricultural RD&E programs if lower than others. The program expanded the scope of farming systems RD&E in Australia through explicit recognition of the triple bottom line and development of formal and informal approaches to integration across these dimensions. It established regional and inter-regional networks of producers and scientists that can be expected to have ongoing significance. The papers that follow in this special issue reflect the magnitude of the program’s achievements.


Author(s):  
Sean Kenny ◽  
Carolyn Kaboré

In agricultural research, development and extension (RD&E) the importance of building partnerships between technology collaborators (e.g. farmers, researchers, extension, industry) is widely accepted. The FutureDairy project has formalised relationships and interactions between farmers, researchers and advisors to 'co-develop' knowledge and technologies that address key industry challenges. Separate industry partnerships have been established to study opportunities in forages, feeding and labour saving innovations. Reflections on these partnerships, and their performance to date, suggests there may be benefit in knowledge partners having a better understanding of expectations for the partnership. Also highlighted is the way in which a technology codevelopment approach, though suited to developing guidelines for managing new technologies, may not be suited to systems questions. Issues that require multiple technologies and knowledge types to be addressed appear, from our experience, to require a different form of partnership than those used for developing new technologies. Without an understanding of these principles, RD&E organisations may still fail to deliver on industry expectations even while they are encouraging greater industry participation. Keywords: knowledge partnerships, co-development, feeding systems, complementary forage rotations, multidisciplinarity, partner farms, farming systems research project.


Author(s):  
A.F. Mcrae

Farmers' objectives, their circumstances and the constraints they face are central to any consideration of ways and means of improving farming systems. The management, research and extension, and policy needs of the farmers attending this workshop were diverse. This appeared to be linked with the (unexpected) degree of diversity in the business objectives and management structures on these farms. More formal research on these issues across the spectrum of farmers is required to ensure that research and technology transfer meet the industry's needs. Keywords farming systems, research, technology transfer, objectives


2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisele Alexandre ◽  
Lylian Rodriguez ◽  
Javier Arece ◽  
José Delgadillo ◽  
Gary Wayne Garcia ◽  
...  

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1932
Author(s):  
Nesrein M. Hashem ◽  
Antonio Gonzalez-Bulnes

Reproductive efficiency of farm animals has central consequences on productivity and profitability of livestock farming systems. Optimal reproductive management is based on applying different strategies, including biological, hormonal, nutritional strategies, as well as reproductive disease control. These strategies should not only guarantee sufficient reproductive outcomes but should also comply with practical and ethical aspects. For example, the efficiency of the biological- and hormonal-based reproductive strategies is mainly related to several biological factors and physiological status of animals, and of nutritional strategies, additional factors, such as digestion and absorption, can contribute. In addition, the management of reproductive-related diseases is challenged by the concerns regarding the intensive use of antibiotics and the development of antimicrobial resistant strains. The emergence of nanotechnology applications in livestock farming systems may present innovative and new solutions for overcoming reproductive management challenges. Many drugs (hormones and antibiotics), biological molecules, and nutrients can acquire novel physicochemical properties using nanotechnology; the main ones are improved bioavailability, higher cellular uptake, controlled sustained release, and lower toxicity compared with ordinary forms. In this review, we illustrate advances in the most common reproductive management strategies by applying nanotechnology, considering the current challenges of each strategy.


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (s1) ◽  
pp. 59-67
Author(s):  
J.-L. Peyraud ◽  
P. Cellier ◽  
P. Dupraz ◽  
F. Aarts ◽  

The previous articles have shown that preoccupations concerning discharge of nitrate emissions are not recent, even if they have not yet resulted in expected reductions. The Water Framework Directive, which aims at a ‘good’ ecological state of all aquatic environments in 2015, enlarges the objectives of the Nitrates Directive. We are currently witnessing the broadening of objectives for reducing emissions of all forms of nitrogen from livestock farming systems to other compartments, in particular the atmosphere. The reduction of ammonia emissions, which was a little concerned by the French context until now, is a priority for animal systems in several northern European countries. It is a subject of intense efforts of international regulations.


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