Defining resilience in pasture-based dairy-farm systems in temperate regions

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Horan ◽  
J. R. Roche
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Sustainable Intensification ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Global Demand ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Supplementary Feed ◽  
Grazing Behaviour

The sustainable intensification of pasture-based food-production systems provides an opportunity to align the ever-increasing global demand for food with the necessity for environmentally efficient ruminant production. Biophysically and financially resilient grazing systems are designed to harvest a large amount of the pasture grown directly by the cow, while minimising the requirement for machinery and housing, and exposure to feed prices. This is primarily achieved by matching the feed demand of the herd with the annual pasture supply profile (i.e. seasonal milk production). Ideally, the entire herd is calved before pasture growth equals herd demand; breeding and drying-off policies facilitate this. The type of cow is also important; she must be highly fertile and have good grazing-behaviour characteristics. Pasture species are chosen to best suit the predominant climate, and pasture management aims to maximise the production and utilisation of chosen species. Purchased supplementary feeds support biophysical resilience and can be successfully incorporated into grazing systems, if stocking rate (SR) is increased to achieve high pasture utilisation. However, industry databases indicate that, on average, profitability declines with increasing purchased supplementary-feed usage, because of reduced pasture utilisation and lower than expected marginal milk-production responses. In the present paper, we outline the characteristics of resilient pasture-based dairy systems in the context of the necessity for the sustainable intensification of global food production.

scholarly journals Efficiency of pasture and supplement management in high producing dairy herds

2003 ◽  
pp. 105-110
Author(s):  
P.V. Salles ◽  
J. Hodgson ◽  
P.N.P. Matthews ◽  
C.W. Holmes ◽  
N.M. Shadbolt
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Animal Performance ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Feeding Management ◽  
Dairy Systems ◽  
Supplementary Feed

In 1998 a three-year dairy farm monitoring programme funded by AGMARDT (Agricultural Marketing and Research Development Trust) was established on twelve dairy farms in the southern North Island of New Zealand where policy had changed from a focus on high production per ha through high stocking rate to a management based on reduced stocking rate and strategic use of supplements to enhance both production per cow and per ha. The project involved a detailed three-year data collection which included measurements of the quantity and composition of pasture and supplements consumed as well as animal performance. Analysis of the results of the third year (2000/2001) on nine of these farms with complete data sets identified a range of metabolisable energy (ME) intake (50669 - 70135 MJ ME/cow/yr). Supplementary feed represented on average 24% (21 - 27 %) of the total intake of ME, the main supplements being pasture silage (summer to winter), turnips (summer) and maize silage (autumn and winter) consumed by lactating cows, and grazing off by dry stock. There was a range of milksolids (MS) production per cow (372 - 424 kg/year) and per hectare (921 - 1264 kg/year). The average economic farm surplus per hectare of NZ$3077 (NZ$2425 - NZ$3867) for the case-study farms was approximately 43% higher than the top 25% farms in the Manawatu region. Mean values of return on assets for the case-study farms (12.9%) and top 25% farms in Manawatu (13.0%) were similar. Good pasture management based on controlled preand post-grazing herbage mass targets (mean 2650 and 1900 kg DM/ha, respectively), strategic use of supplementary feed to control pasture deficits, and moderate stocking rates (overall mean 2.7 cows/ha), provided high allowances of high quality herbage (organic matter digestibility ranging from 742 to 845 g/kg DM) and maintained high levels of milk production (411 kg MS/cow and 1100kg MS/ha). The comparison with industry data showed that the casestudy farms were highly productive and profitable dairy systems, at least under the conditions of the 2000/2001 season. However, the result indicated the need to improve management skills to limit feed wastage under generous feeding management, and also the limitation of conventional procedures for monitoring pasture consumption in farming systems. Keywords: animal performance, dairy systems, energy intak e, herbage quality, pasture management, profitability

scholarly journals Ruminant grassland production systems in Ireland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. O’Donovan ◽  
D Hennessy ◽  
P Creighton
Keyword(s):  
Production Systems ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Grassland Production ◽  
System Sustainability ◽  
Supplementary Feed ◽  
Management Capabilities ◽  
Stocking Rates

In Ireland grazing systems provide the basis of sustainable livestock production, as grazed grass is the cheapest feed source of nutrients for ruminants. The main future objective for these systems is to achieve high grass utilisation, ensure system sustainability and maintain extremely high animal health and welfare. There is no reason why all three cannot be combined together. Ireland’s national farm policy targets growth in exports to €19 billion per annum by 2025. This figure represents an 85% increase from the current 3-yr average. There are major improvements required in the areas of grassland management and its conversion into milk and meat to fulfil such a target. While every farm situation is unique due to varying soil types, climatic conditions, stocking rates and management capabilities, herbage production and utilisation is below optimum on most farms. Irish farms, especially dairy farms, are expanding and will continue to do so over the next number of years. Increasing stocking rates and more compact calving and lambing has resulted in increased spring feed demand. Extra grass needs be grown and utilised in this period to minimise the use of supplementary feed. This paper outlines the importance of grassland on Irish farms, and where farms can improve grassland management, to increase output, lower farm costs and improve further farm system sustainability.

scholarly journals Increasing Grazing in Dairy Cow Milk Production Systems in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deirdre Hennessy ◽  
Luc Delaby ◽  
Agnes van den Pol-van Dasselaar ◽  
Laurence Shalloo
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Dairy Cow ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Cow Milk ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Grazed Pasture ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Tools And Techniques

In temperate regions of Europe where grass grows for most of the year, grazed pasture is the lowest cost feed for milk production. Grazed pasture can make a contribution to dairy cow feeding systems in other parts of Europe, but is less important. While there are many challenges to maintaining or increasing the proportion of grazed grass in dairy cow diets, there are also opportunities to increase its contribution. Grass use and quality can be challenging for several reasons, including the cow and sward interaction, and factors influencing dry matter intake. Adapting grazing management strategies can provide opportunities for incorporating grazing and perhaps increase grazing in dairy cow milk production systems. Pasture management tools and techniques offer the opportunity to increase herbage use at grazing. While there are many benefits of grazing including economic, environmental, animal welfare and social, there are also the challenges to maintaining grazed pasture in dairy cow diets. The objective of this paper is to present an overview of the challenges and opportunities for grazing in dairy milk production systems.

scholarly journals CH4 and N2O Emissions From Cattle Excreta: A Review of Main Drivers and Mitigation Strategies in Grazing Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julián Esteban Rivera ◽  
Julian Chará
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Animal Manure ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
N2o Emissions ◽  
Enteric Methane ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Reduce Emissions ◽  
Ch4 And N2o

Cattle production systems are an important source of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted to the atmosphere. Animal manure and managed soils are the most important sources of emissions from livestock after enteric methane. It is estimated that the N2O and CH4 produced in grasslands and manure management systems can contribute up to 25% of the emissions generated at the farm level, and therefore it is important to identify strategies to reduce the fluxes of these gases, especially in grazing systems where mitigation strategies have received less attention. This review describes the main factors that affect the emission of GHG from manure in bovine systems and the main strategies for their mitigation with emphasis on grazing production systems. The emissions of N2O and CH4 are highly variable and depend on multiple factors, which makes it difficult to use strategies that mitigate both gases simultaneously. We found that strategies such as the optimization of the diet, the implementation of silvopastoral systems and other practices with the capacity to improve soil quality and cover, and the use of nitrogen fixing plants are among the practices with more potential to reduce emissions from manure and at the same time contribute to increase carbon capture and improve food production. These strategies can be implemented to reduce the emissions of both gases and, depending on the method used and the production system, the reductions can reach up to 50% of CH4 or N2O emissions from manure according to different studies. However, many research gaps should be addressed in order to obtain such reductions at a larger scale.

Association among pasture-level variables and dairy cow responses to supplements

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
C. Poole ◽  
D. J. Donaghy ◽  
R. R. White ◽  
J. R. Roche
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Milk Fat ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Supplement Use ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Random Coefficient Regression ◽  
Supplementary Feed ◽  
Production Response

In grazing systems, the marginal milk-production response to additional feed (i.e. supplement) is dependent on the relative feed deficit of the cow. We hypothesised that the relative feed deficit could be defined by post-grazing residual (PGR), with a greater PGR indicating a smaller relative feed deficit. The objective of our study, therefore, was to determine the relationship between post-grazing residual and the marginal milk-production response to supplements. We undertook a computerised literature search utilising keywords associated with grazing systems and supplementary feed. We collated data from 26 experiments and 90 treatments, wherein pasture-level, supplementary-feed, and milk-production variables were reported. A meta-analysis was undertaken using random coefficient regression fitted as a mixed model to determine the marginal milk-production response to supplements. On average, pasture DM intake declined (P < 0.001; –0.28 kg/kg supplement DM) and milk, fat and protein yields increased (P < 0.001; 0.64 kg, 20 g and 30 g/kg supplement DM respectively) with an increased supplement use. For every kilogram of DM supplement consumed, PGR pasture height and mass increased by 1.4 mm and 42 kg DM/ha. Associated with every 10-mm increase in post-grazing pasture height in the control treatment, marginal milk response declined (P < 0.05) by 9%. These results will enable farmers to use the change in PGR when feeding supplements, to estimate likely marginal milk-production response to supplementary feeds.

scholarly journals Productivity, Profitability and Nitrogen Utilisation Efficiency of Two Pasture-Based Milk Production Systems Differing in the Milking Frequency and Feeding Level

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2098
Author(s):  
Martín Correa-Luna ◽  
Daniel Donaghy ◽  
Peter Kemp ◽  
Laurence Shalloo ◽  
Elodie Ruelle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Production System ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
N Balance ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
N Losses ◽  
Balanced Diet ◽  
Milking Frequency ◽  
Supplementary Feed ◽  
Utilisation Efficiency

The aim of this study was to model the productivity, profitability and the nitrogen (N) utilisation efficiency (NUE) of two spring-calving pasture-based milk production systems differing in milking frequency and intensification levels in New Zealand. For this purpose, physical performance data from a low-intensity production system where cows were milked once per day (OAD-LI) and from a high-intensity production system where cows were milked twice per day (TAD-HI) were employed. OAD-LI cows were milked once-daily with a stocking rate (SR) of 2.1 cows/ha and fed diets with low supplementation (304 kg pasture silage/cow) with applications of 134 kg N fertiliser/ha and TAD-HI cows were milked twice-daily with a SR of 2.8 cows/ha and fed diets of higher supplementation (429 kg pasture silage and 1695 kg concentrate/cow) with applications of 87 kg N fertiliser/ha. The Moorepark Dairy System Model was used to evaluate production, economic performance and N balance on an annual basis. Despite the higher feed costs of TAD-HI as more supplementation was utilised, profitability per hectare was 16% higher because more cows were milked with a higher milk yield per cow (milking frequency) when compared to OAD-LI. At the cow level, the NUE was higher in TAD-HI (30% vs. 27%) reflecting the better balanced diet for energy and crude protein and higher milk yields as a result of milking frequency. At the farm scale the NUE was higher (38% vs. 26%) in the TAD-HI due to the losses associated with the imported feed being excluded and higher N captured in milk. These results suggest that milking frequency, the use of feed supplementation and application of N fertiliser as management tools on grazing dairy systems affect productivity, profitability and N balance. Further studies are required to find optimal stocking rates in combination with the use of supplementary feed and N fertiliser application that maximize milk production and profitability for OAD and TAD milking production systems but minimize N losses.

Carbon and fossil resource depletion footprints of milk production from Canterbury dairy farms

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Mazzetto ◽  
Shelley Falconer ◽  
Stewart Ledgard
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Enteric Fermentation ◽  
Fossil Resource ◽  
Fertiliser Use ◽  
Supplementary Feed ◽  
Lincoln University

Among the different sustainability metrics, the carbon footprint is the most commonly reported, but the depletion of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels, is also important. This study aimed to calculate the “cradle to farm-gate” carbon and fossil resource depletion footprint of milk production in Canterbury, New Zealand, comparing two different farm systems: one pasture-based with a relatively small amount of brought-in feed (Lincoln University Dairy Farm, LUDF) and an average Canterbury farm. The estimate of the carbon footprint of milk production was 0.68 and 0.80 kg CO2-eq/kg of fat and protein-corrected milk (FPCM) for the LUDF and Canterbury average, respectively. The main contributor to the carbon footprint for both farms was enteric fermentation, but differences were found mainly in the emissions from the supplementary feed. Conversely, the Canterbury average farm showed lower fossil resource depletion footprint (1.05 MJ/kg FPCM) when compared with the LUDF farm (1.13 MJ/kg FPCM). The differences were mainly related to fertiliser use. However, this difference is small if compared with farms overseas. The study shows that it is important to look at more than one environmental metric when proposing mitigation practices.

scholarly journals Technical and economic indicators of milk production systems in the Caiuá sandstone region

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 42536
Author(s):  
Simony Marta Bernardo Lugão ◽  
Bruno Volsi ◽  
Gustavo Vaz da Costa ◽  
Edson Luiz Diogo de Almeida ◽  
Tiago Santos Telles
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Economic Indicators ◽  
Reference Network ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Technical And Economic Indicators

  The aim of this study was to analyze technical and economic indicators of family milk production systems, with different technology levels, in the Caiuá sandstone area in Northwestern Paraná, Brazil. The analysis period covers the agricultural years 2002/2003 to 2013/2014. The categorization of the milk production systems was based on information from agricultural farms monitored by the Reference Network for Family Agriculture. The cost-benefit analysis method was used for the economic assessment of milk production. Based on the results, three family milk production systems were identified in the region, characterized by the use of low, medium and high intensification technologies for pasture management. The production costs per unit area were found to be higher in the system with high technology and lower in the system with low technology. However, although the total revenue in the production system with a high technological intensification is greater than in the other systems, the capital needed for a technological transition is higher. In all the systems, when the costs were deducted, including the return on family labor, there was a profit, even with the climate and soil constraints inherent in the region. 

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