Forage brassicas have potential for wider use in drier, mixed crop–livestock farming systems across Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (10) ◽  
pp. 924
Author(s):  
Lindsay W. Bell ◽  
Lucinda J. Watt ◽  
Rebecca S. Stutz
Keyword(s):  
Health Risks ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Pratylenchus Thornei ◽  
Mixed Crop

Forage brassicas are currently widely used in temperate–humid livestock systems; however, they offer potential to diversify crop rotation and forage options in the drier, mixed crop–livestock zone of Australia. A literature review highlighted that in these hotter and more arid environments, forage brassicas are more likely to fit as autumn-sown forage crop where they offer an energy-rich, highly digestible feed source that could be used during periods of low production and nutritive value of other forage sources. However, brassicas can also accumulate several anti-nutritional compounds that require gradual introduction to livestock diets, thereby reducing potential health risks and optimising animal performance. Preliminary experimental and commercial evaluations in subtropical Australia found high production of some forage brassica genotypes (>5 t DM/ha with growth rates of 50–60 kg DM/ha.day), comparable or superior to widely used forage cereal or forage legume options. Several forage brassicas showed moderate to high resistance to the root-lesion nematode, Pratylenchus thornei, and hence are likely to provide break-crop benefits compared with susceptible species (e.g. wheat). Together, this evidence suggests that forage brassicas have significant potential for wider use in crop–livestock farming systems in Australia. However, research is needed to identify genotypic adaptation and to match different forage brassica genotypes to production environments or system niches, especially some of the new genotypes that are now available. There is also a need to develop regionally-relevant recommendations of agronomic and grazing management that optimise forage and animal production, and mitigate potential animal health risks.

scholarly journals Strategic stakeholders’ typology and mapping using stakeholder network analyses on integrated crops-livestock farming systems in West New Guinea

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deny Anjelus Iyai ◽  
Isti Widayati ◽  
Hendrik Fatem ◽  
Dwi Nurhayati ◽  
Maria Arim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Allocation ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Shared Resources ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Mixed Crop ◽  
Stakeholder Network

AbstractStakeholders and its network play prominent roles in development particularly agriculture sector. The involvement of many stakeholders and other parties shaped how farms can sustain in terms of economic, social and environment indicators. Exploring the importance and roles of actors become strategic and vital to recognize. Study was done in Manokwari using focus group discussion towards twenty various represented individuals, groups and mass institutions. The queries discussed concerning background, resources delivery, interconnectivity amongst actors, intervention and innovation. The finding is that the stakeholders in mixed crop-livestock are dominated by individuals’ actors who privately manage the farms officially has laws. These actors are commonly act like stakeholders who are positively important ruled the farms. The threats are real and exist and should be lowering as much as possible to mitigate the turn-back effect. The top five shared resources are access, satisfaction, power, knowledge and time allocation. Those resources will stay longer to sustain strong needs of the farms. The relationship of actors is dominated by positive similarity and the ranges of correlation are varying in between negative, neutral to positive. This is due to actors reluctant to deliver the intervention and innovation. Actors with low interest and low power should then be promote to high interest and power by using aids, guidance and services from each actor in mixed crop-livestock farms business.

scholarly journals Livestock, Crop Commercialisation and Poverty Reduction Among Rural Households in the Singida Region, Tanzania

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ntengua S.Y. Mdoe ◽  
Gilead Mlay ◽  
Gideon Boniface ◽  
Aida Isinika ◽  
Christopher Magomba
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Rural Households ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Rural People ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Mixed Crop

Livestock is an important component of mixed crop-livestock farming systems in the Singida Region in Tanzania, directly or indirectly contributing to household income, food security and poverty reduction among rural people in the region. This paper examined the effect of livestock on crop commercialisation and farmers’ livelihoods in the region. The complementarity between crops and livestock in the farming systems of Singida needs to be recognised, enhanced and utilised not only by farmers and livestock keepers, but also by local government authorities and development practitioners.

scholarly journals Measuring the economic performance of mixed crop-livestock farming systems in Egypt: A non-parametric DEA approach

New Medit ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Osama Ahmed ◽  
Supawat Rungsuriyawiboon ◽  
Sameh Abdelsalam
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Delta Region ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Parametric Data ◽  
Mixed Crop ◽  
Non Parametric

This study examines the relative technical efficiency of mixed crop-livestock farming systems and assesses their economic performance between the Upper and Delta regions of Egypt. A non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) method is empirically applied for measuring technical efficiency using farm-level data for 838 mixed crop-livestock farmers. The findings show that the mixed crop-livestock farms in Egypt are operating at a low level of technical efficiency, indicating most farms are unable to catch up with the current production frontier and existing production technologies. Farms in the Delta region perform slightly better than those farms in Upper Egypt. Results also suggest that technical efficiency improvement is positively affected by farmers’ education, having a farm milk production certificate, and being located in the Delta region, whereas farm size negatively affects the economic performance of mixed crop-livestock farming systems in Egypt. ,,

Livestock water productivity in mixed crop–livestock farming systems of the Blue Nile basin: Assessing variability and prospects for improvement

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 33-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amare Haileslassie ◽  
Don Peden ◽  
Solomon Gebreselassie ◽  
Tilahun Amede ◽  
Katrien Descheemaeker
Keyword(s):  
Water Productivity ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Nile Basin ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Blue Nile Basin ◽  
Mixed Crop

Perennial pastures in cropping systems of southern Australia: an overview of present and future research

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 1084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Robertson ◽  
Clinton Revell
Keyword(s):  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cooperative Research ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Forage Plants ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Mixed Crop ◽  
Salinity Management

Addressing the opportunities and challenges for integrating perennial forages and shrubs into the mixed crop–livestock farming systems of southern Australia has been the focus of the Future Farm Industries Cooperative Research Centre EverCrop project. This overview discusses the use of perennial plants in cropping landscapes in terms of the concepts of ‘rotation, separation and integration’ and highlights the contribution of papers in this special issue of Crop and Pasture Science across a range of biophysical and socioeconomic factors. Drivers for the inclusion of perennial forage plants include salinity management, groundcover maintenance and filling seasonal feed gaps, and this need will continue as mixed crop–livestock systems evolve in the context of managing business risk and a requirement for better natural resource management outcomes.

scholarly journals Why and how farmers manage mixed cattle–sheep farming systems and cope with economic, climatic and workforce-related hazards

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Sylvie Mugnier ◽  
Catherine Husson ◽  
Sylvie Cournut
Keyword(s):  
Animal Health ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Field Configuration ◽  
Comprehensive Approach ◽  
Temporal Organization ◽  
Mixed Species ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Cattle And Sheep

Abstract Combining cattle and sheep on the same farm can be a promising way for farmers to face uncertainties and produce in an agroecological manner. Previous studies showed benefits of mixed-species grazing on animal health and pasture use. However, few studies have examined how farmers truly manage the two species on their farms and why. The purpose of this study was to explore this issue by surveying 37 farmers who combined meat sheep and beef or dairy cattle on their farms. We chose a systemic and comprehensive approach to the functioning of mixed-species livestock farming systems (MSLF) by considering all dimensions of the system influenced by mixing species (i.e., system configuration, grazing, marketing of products, work and adaptive capacity) and by considering the farmers' viewpoints. The benefits of mixing species that farmers mentioned concerned economic stability and optimal use of grassland resources. Although farmers usually mentioned workload as a disadvantage, the facts are not so clear, and mixing species also benefits work. Farmers cited the pleasure of varied work and the flexibility of work organization. We identified four types of combining cattle and sheep on pasture that express a gradient of the interaction between the two species (from no to high interaction) and are influenced by field configuration (grouped or scattered) and cattle production (dairy or beef). Regarding work organization, ways to combine the two species concern distribution of work required for each species among workers (versatility or specialization) and over the year. Three modes of temporal organization of the work required for each species, which corresponded to different strategies for organizing animal-production cycles, the availability of labor and the willingness to use resources, were identified. To adapt their farm to climatic, economic and workforce-related hazards, farmers used mechanisms related to the combination of the two species: modifying the ewe/cow ratio, breeding periods, worker versatility, grazing management and allocation of resources between species. Our study showed the interest of a systemic and comprehensive approach to MSLF that are promising for the agroecological transition but poorly documented. In particular, it highlighted the need to consider work as part of the system to be configured, managed and adjusted along with the other parts and not simply as a set of constraints.

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