Profitability of coupled potato and dairy farms in Maine

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron K. Hoshide ◽  
Timothy J. Dalton ◽  
Smith N. Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Returns To Scale ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Coupled Systems ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Integrated Or

AbstractAfter decades of farm specialization, re-integrating crop and livestock farming systems is being reconsidered as a key step toward sustainable agriculture. The relative profitability of Maine farms integrating crops and livestock is compared to non-integrated or conventional farms. Crop and livestock integration in Maine occurs through either diversified on-farm integration or, more commonly, through coupled interactions between specialized crop and livestock producers. Potato and dairy systems coupled for only 2 years (short-term) had greater profitability compared to conventional systems. Profitability increased in the short term in two ways. First, potato farms grew more of their primary cash crop. Secondly, dairy farms expanded cow numbers, increasing profitability assuming increasing returns to scale. Coupled systems integrated for more than 10 years (long-term) had more favorable profitability than short-term couplers since greater manure-nutrient credits were taken for potatoes and silage corn. The advantages of potato–dairy integration were even greater if potato yields increased in the long term, as suggested by long-term rotation plot studies in Maine. Even if coupling is more profitable than non-integrated systems, it requires that farms be in close proximity and for farmers to have adequate working relationships and management skills. Despite these challenges to re-integrating crops and livestock, short- and long-term economic benefits may encourage farmers in appropriate areas to consider coupling with other producers.

scholarly journals A methodic way to more sustainable farming systems.

1992 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Vereijken
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
World Market ◽  
Short Term ◽  
System A ◽  
Arable Farming ◽  
Integrated Or ◽  
Integrated Farming Systems ◽  
Research And Policy

A methodic pathway is suggested for the definition, elaboration, evaluation and introduction of farming systems based on an 'integrated' or an 'ecosystem-oriented' vision, both considered more sustainable than a 'world-market-oriented' vision. The objectives of these three basic types of systems are defined in measurable terms with respect to the major social values or interests supported or adversely influenced by agriculture. For each type of system, a strategy is assessed through which the objectives can be achieved while avoiding conflict. Arable farming is taken as an example of the elaboration, evaluation and introduction of integrated and ecosystem-oriented systems. The paper discusses how prototype systems can be developed on an experimental farm, evaluated by a pilot group of farmers and dispersed on a large scale. For the short term it is recommended to focus research and policy on integrated farming systems, as an urgently needed compromise between socioeconomic and socio-ecological interests. For the long term, the development of ecosystem-oriented farming systems is recommended as a means of solving the agricultural crisis in a more comprehensive and sustainable way. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)

scholarly journals Qualification of the adaptive capacities of livestock farming systems

2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (spe) ◽  
pp. 397-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Dedieu
Keyword(s):  
Production Process ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Commercial Networks ◽  
Livestock Farmers

This paper aims at exploring what is covered by « adapting to last » with a farming systems approach. Long term dynamics can be analysed as adaptive cycles, the system being permanently exposed to disturbances and shocks. Mobilizing the concept of resilience, we analyse the factors that differentiate the principles for long term action the livestock farmers have, principles which give consistency to the family - farms trajectories. With the concept of operational flexibilty, we qualify the sources of flexibility the livestock farmers maintain to cope with hazards. They are internal, related to the production process regulation properties, to the technical (adaptive or rigid) specifications, to the sales policies, or external related to the information and commercial networks. Understanding the production process regulation properties require livestock farming systems models (i.e. combining decisional and biological sub-systems) that can simulate how herd dynamics operate under fluctuant rules or productive parameters. It also require to evaluate the room for manoeuvre the work organization let to the farmer. All these aspects are illsutrated with on farm studies in herbivore systems (sheep, dairy, beef).

scholarly journals Agroecological practices to support tropical livestock farming systems: a Caribbean and Latin American perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisele Alexandre ◽  
Lylian Rodriguez ◽  
Javier Arece ◽  
José Delgadillo ◽  
Gary Wayne Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
American Perspective

scholarly journals Nanotechnology and Reproductive Management of Farm Animals: Challenges and Advances

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1932
Author(s):  
Nesrein M. Hashem ◽  
Antonio Gonzalez-Bulnes
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Biological Molecules ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Physiological Status ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Reproductive Management ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Reproductive Disease ◽  
Nutritional Strategies

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.

Options for the better use of less nitrogen on livestock farms

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (s1) ◽  
pp. 59-67
Author(s):  
J.-L. Peyraud ◽  
P. Cellier ◽  
P. Dupraz ◽  
F. Aarts ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Water Framework Directive ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Ammonia Emissions ◽  
Ecological State ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Northern European ◽  
International Regulations ◽  
Nitrates Directive

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.

scholarly journals Evolution of livestock farming systems and landscape changes

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (3s) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurizio Ramanzin ◽  
Luca M. Battaglini ◽  
Luciano Morbidini ◽  
Mariano Pauselli ◽  
Giuseppe Pulina
Keyword(s):  
Farming Systems ◽  
Landscape Changes ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems

Novel approaches to evaluate sustainability of pasture-based livestock systems

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-190
Author(s):  
A. Bernués
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Public Goods ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Market Price ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Livestock Farming Systems ◽  
Livestock Systems

Pasture-based livestock systems, often located in High Value Nature farmland areas, hold the greatest potential to deliver public goods across European agricultural systems. They play an important role in preserving agricultural landscapes, farmland biodiversity, cultural heritage, and in sustaining rural development. However, many of these functions are ignored in evaluation frameworks because public goods do not have market price and are often ignored in policy design, so farmers do not get the appropriate incentives to provide them. Different conceptual frameworks can be utilized to evaluate the multiple functions or services of these systems: Multifunctional Agriculture, Ecosystem Services, and Total Economic Value. We analyze the common characteristics of these concepts (e.g. they place human benefits and societal demands at the core of their definitions), their specificities (e.g. use of different units of analysis and spatial-temporal scales), and how they can be embedded in the wider concept of sustainability. Finally, we illustrate how the different concepts can be combined to evaluate pasture-based livestock farming systems from a socio-cultural and economic perspective. The public goods (ecosystem services) provided by representative case studies in Mediterranean and Nordic regions are quantified (also in monetary terms) under different environmental/policy scenarios. The results show that there is a clear underestimation of the socio-cultural and economic values of ecosystem services provided by these farming systems. They also show that the social welfare loss linked to further abandonment of livestock farming, and the associated environmental degradation, is very large. From a societal perspective, it is necessary to jointly measure the biophysical, socio-cultural and monetary values of ecosystem services (market and nonmarket) in order to promote the sustainability of pasture-based livestock systems.

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