scholarly journals Impact of forage introduction on cattle grazing practices and crop–livestock systems: a case study in an upland village in northern Laos

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khamphou Phouyyavong ◽  
Shinsuke Tomita ◽  
Satoshi Yokoyama
Keyword(s):  
Farming System ◽  
Cattle Grazing ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Forage Crops ◽  
Grazing Land ◽  
Migration History ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Livestock Systems

Lao smallholders are experiencing livestock grazing land constraints due to resettlement, increasing cattle numbers and commercial cash crop plantations. In this paper we describe changes in cattle grazing systems in an upland village in northern Laos, including the role of forage crops and their effects on cattle productivity. We interviewed 92 Hmong and Khmu households about their migration history, cattle grazing practices, cattle productivity and other livelihood activities. In addition, we measured the heart girths of 231 cattle. We found that the traditional free-range cattle grazing has diverged into three distinct systems incorporating fields fenced to different degrees. Although none of the three systems increased cattle body size, the forage pasture and swidden-farming system successfully increased the grazing capacity compared with other systems. Thus, this method appeared to be the most suitable for Hmong smallholders to manage crop and cattle production in the context of land constraints. Efforts should be made to examine how the newly implemented systems could attenuate villager livelihood and pre-emptively address the problems associated with degrading fallow land.

Farmer Experimentation as a Basis for Cropping Systems Research: A Case Study Involving True Potato Seed

1992 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Potts ◽  
Greta A. Watson ◽  
R. Sinung-Basuki ◽  
N. Gunadi
Keyword(s):  
Technology Development ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Potato Production ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Potato Seed ◽  
True Potato Seed ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Wide Range

SummaryThe radical concept of potato production from true potato seed (TPS) was adopted as a component of their farming system within three seasons by 23 farmers from Cibodas, West Java. The farmers showed an ability to conceptualize and experiment and desired concepts from which they could develop, through research, appropriate principles and field techniques. Information received solely as detailed practices or techniques hindered their progress, since they first needed to repeat the technique in order to understand the concepts and principles involved. Farmer experimentation resembled closely that of experimental station researchers, with the use of replication in space, often neighbouring farmers' plots, and time. Initial experiments covered a wide range of factors but within three seasons farmers had identified similar areas of concern which coincided with those of experiment station researchers worldwide. Farmer experimentation and the role of the researcher in this methodology for technology development are discussed.

scholarly journals Evaluation of farming system outputs in Lithuania: methodological proposal

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasija Novikova ◽  
Lucia Rocchi ◽  
Gražina Startienė
Keyword(s):  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Nested Logit ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Negative Externalities ◽  
Land Covers

Agriculture produces jointly market and non-market outputs, and their supply depends on the nature of production. The role of agriculture as an economic activity and its consequences are essential for the Lithuanian case study, as agricultural land covers more than a half of the Lithuanian land. The market does not consider the positive and negative externalities created in agroecosystems. Therefore, specific techniques such as stated preferences methods are used for evaluation of non-market outputs in agriculture. Works by foreign researchers provide a comprehensive analysis of the aspects of nontradable agricultural aspects, usually focusing on evaluation of the benefit or damage to society from agricultural activity. There is lack of an integrated evaluation of farming system outputs in view of the specifics and intensity of farming. The main aim of this paper is to present construction of the methodology for integration of evaluation of farming system outputs in Lithuania, with the main focus on non-market outputs, as the values of agricultural market outputs are clear and fully revealed in official statistics. The conventional and organic farming has been selected for the Lithuanian case study. For the both farming systems, the research covers crops (including both cereals and industrials crops) and livestock (including dairy and cattle) production. The choice experiment (CE) method was selected as appropriate for evaluation of non-market outputs of different farming systems in Lithuanian agriculture. The nested logit was selected for econometric modelling of the value of non-market agricultural outputs. Applying the constructed and checked methodology, consumers’ willingness to pay for agroecosystem public goods of different farming systems will be elicited during the main survey.

scholarly journals Orchard Grazing in France: Multiple Forms of Fruit Tree–Livestock Integration in Line with Farmers’ Objectives and Constraints

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1339
Author(s):  
Raphaël Paut ◽  
Arnaud Dufils ◽  
Floriane Derbez ◽  
Anne-Laure Dossin ◽  
Servane Penvern
Keyword(s):  
Animal Species ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Considerable Portion ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Livestock Systems ◽  
The Way

Although the grazing of extensive standard orchards has long been a common practice in Europe and continues to take place on a considerable portion of existing traditional orchards, it is more unusual for current specialized and intensive orchards (with bush trees) to be grazed. The way in which animals are integrated into these modern forms of orchards differs according to the animal and tree species as well as to the place relegated to livestock as well as the expected and provided ecological services of that place. However, little literature is available on these modern forms of sylvopastoralism. The objective of this paper is therefore to provide the first overview of the advantages and limitations of these systems as perceived by the actors involved. Based on several research programs, we first tracked on-farm innovations to describe a diversity of systems. We then conducted a multifactorial analysis to characterize these systems according to: (i) structural farm variables; (ii) farmer motivations to integrate livestock; (iii) technical adaptations generated by sylvopastoralism; and finally, (iv) observed services and disservices provided by livestock in orchards. A total of 34 farms and 21 variables were used to differentiate three types of systems that differed according to animal species, grazing patterns, the degree of system redesign, and compliance between initial farmer motivations and the observed services. The results showed that while the practice of livestock grazing in orchards can be agronomically effective and economically viable, its success depends on the ability of growers to integrate all of the dimensions of livestock farming into their orchard system for a win-win association. There are a large number of variables that are involved in successful orchard grazing that result in both challenges and opportunities, but success is closely linked to the grower’s ability to adapt the production system to suit the intended role of livestock and to acquire new skills. This typology paves the way for numerous combinations between orchards and livestock. The analysis of the determinants, obstacles, and benefits provided by orchard grazing provides some preliminary elements that are necessary to adapt agricultural support to a diversity of integration patterns in integrated tree and livestock systems.

Cognitive tools to support learning about farming system management: a case study in grazing systems

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (9) ◽  
pp. 790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Duru ◽  
Roger Martin-Clouaire
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Farming System ◽  
System Management ◽  
Cognitive Tools ◽  
Learning Support ◽  
Know How ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Knowledge Content

The complex challenge of farm management has prompted a search for ways in which scientific knowledge can be acquired and combined with practical know-how and experience to enhance the adaptability, profitability and environmental soundness of agricultural systems. Cognitive tools offer a kind of model-based learning support that facilitates and stimulates critical thinking about the functioning of agricultural production processes and the ways to control them in various and changing situations. The purpose of this paper is to delineate, illustrate and analyse the concept of cognitive tool together with the learning process and conditions in which such a tool would be used. We review three such tools built to help understand, improve, adapt or design grazing management practices in pasture-based livestock farms. For each of them we examine the knowledge content of the tool, the way it is represented, the kind of use and the nature of the support it provides to its users.

There and Back

2019 ◽  
pp. 82-94
Author(s):  
Dave Maund
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Oral History ◽  
Single Family ◽  
The West ◽  
Migration History ◽  
The Family ◽  
West Midlands ◽  
History Of

This paper studies the migration history of the members of a single family, who moved between north Herefordshire and what is now the west Midlands conurbation. The research reported here makes use of oral history and diary evidence to describe the migration decisions made by members of the family, especially in the early and mid twentieth century. It elucidates the role of 'place' and the attraction to particular places in those decisions and provides a case study that exemplifies many of the migration processes which were characteristic of the population of England and Wales at that time.

scholarly journals Farmers' Perception and Engagement with the Role of Middlemen: A Case Study of the Vegetable Farmers

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Jajat Sudrajat ◽  
Ibrahim Isytar ◽  
Nur Arifin
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
West Kalimantan ◽  
Vegetable Farmers ◽  
Farm Produce ◽  
Older Farmers ◽  
High Level

The role of middlemen in rural areas is often controversial, particularly because of the positive or negative roles they play in the farmer livelihood. This study aims to understand the farmers' perception of the role of middlemen in facilitating their farming system and to find out the socioeconomic factors that determine to what degree farmers attach themselves to middlemen. To get this information, we conducted a case study survey of 92 respondents from the subdistrict of Rasau Jaya, Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Approximately 95% of the farmers had a positive perception of the role of the middlemen, which was considered important in the farm produce marketing and also the transportation of both fertilizer and crops. Older farmers, farmers with a higher education level, and farmers with more vegetable commodities were less attached to the middleman in the marketing of their agricultural products. These farmers often changed the middleman to get a higher price. Conversely, farmers producing sweet maize and farmers with a higher income level were more attached to a middleman. A high level of engagement with a middleman is one of the farmer strategies to avoid marketing risks.

scholarly journals An agent-based model of cattle grazing toxic Geyer’s larkspur

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin E. Jablonski ◽  
Randall B. Boone ◽  
Paul J. Meiman
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Stocking Density ◽  
Cattle Grazing ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Grazing Behavior ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
The Many ◽  
Livestock Behavior

AbstractBy killing cattle and otherwise complicating management, the many species of larkspur (Delphinium spp.) present a serious, intractable, and complex challenge to livestock grazing management in the western United States. Among the many obstacles to improving our understanding of cattle-larkspur dynamics has been the difficulty of testing different grazing management strategies in the field, as the risk of dead animals is too great. Agent-based models (ABMs) provide an effective method of testing alternate management strategies without risk to livestock. ABMs are especially useful for modeling complex systems such as livestock grazing management, and allow for realistic bottom-up encoding of cattle behavior. Here, we introduce a spatially-explicit, behavior-based ABM of cattle grazing in a pasture with a dangerous amount of Geyer’s larkspur (D. geyeri). This model tests the role of herd cohesion and stocking density in larkspur intake, finds that both are key drivers of larkspur-induced toxicosis, and indicates that alteration of these factors within realistic bounds can mitigate risk. Crucially, the model points to herd cohesion, which has received little attention in the discipline, as playing an important role in lethal acute toxicosis. As the first ABM to model grazing behavior at realistic scales, this study also demonstrates the tremendous potential of ABMs to illuminate grazing management dynamics, including fundamental aspects of livestock behavior amidst ecological heterogeneity.

scholarly journals Cattle Grazing and Forest Devastation in Brazil

2021 ◽  
pp. 15-20
Author(s):  
Joana Medrado
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Alliance ◽  
Cattle Grazing ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Class Structure ◽  
International Context ◽  
Indigenous Lands ◽  
State Capture ◽  
Soy Production

This article examines the history and present-day dynamics of deforestation and cattle grazing in Brazil’s Amazon. It discusses the long-standing strategic alliance between agribusiness and the Brazilian state, as well as the role of livestock grazing in Brazil’s developmental ideology of the frontier. It shows how the livestock industry is enlaced with soy production in the deterritorialization and deforestation of the Amazon, as well as the legalized theft of indigenous lands. It places these  Brazilian dynamics into larger international context and analyses the class structure and state capture of Brazil’s agro-industrial sector. 

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