National farm assurance scheme demonstrates welfare outcome improvements for sustainable intensification of dairy production

In a four year grazing trial with dairy cows the application of 5000 kg lime/ ha (applied in two applications of 2500 kg/ha in winter of the first two years) significantly increased annual pasture production in two of the four years and dairy production in one year. In three of the four years lime significantly increased pasture growth over summer/autumn with concurrent increases in milk production. In the last year of the trial lime had little effect on pasture growth but a relatively large increase in milkfat production resulted. A higher incidence of grass staggers was recorded on the limed farmlets in spring for each of the four years. In the second spring immediately following the second application of lime significant depressions in both pasture and plasma magnesium levels were recorded. By the third spring differences in plasma magnesium levels were negligible but small depressions in herbage magnesium resulting from lime continued to the end of the trial. Lime significantly raised soil pH, Ca and Mg levels but had no effect on either soil K or P. As pH levels of the unlimed paddocks were low (5.2-5.4) in each autumn and soil moisture levels were increased by liming, these factors may suggest possible causes for the seasonality of the pasture response to lime

Download Full-text

THE SOIL PATTERN AND TRENDS IN WEST COAST AGRICULTURE SINCE 1964

Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association ◽

10.33584/jnzg.1981.42.1577 ◽

1981 ◽

pp. 19-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D.B. Wright

Keyword(s):

West Coast ◽

Land Development ◽

Dairy Production ◽

Waste Land ◽

Development Costs ◽

Coastal Soils ◽

Physical Features ◽

Soil Pattern ◽

Great Scope

The physical features, climate and soils of the West Coast are described. Expansion since 1964 of dairy production, sheep and beef cattle numbers, and areas of improved grassland are highlighted, as is the role of the Crown in land development and settlement. While isolation and distance, development costs, river problems, and farmer attitude and knowledge are considered limitations, great scope exists for increased production by the adoption, of more intensive techniques, including horticulture on the best coastal soils, and by development of waste land.

Download Full-text

Attitude of Dairy Farmers Towards Cultivation of Green Fodder Crops in Bidar District of Karnataka

THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY ◽

10.21887/ijvsbt.v12i3.7118 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Prakash Kumar Rathod

Keyword(s):

Attitude Scale ◽

Dairy Production ◽

Personal Interview ◽

Dairy Farmers ◽

Interview Method ◽

Ex Post ◽

Fodder Crops ◽

Ex Post Facto ◽

Medium Level ◽

Green Fodder

An ex-post-facto exploratory study was conducted to assess the attitude of dairy farmers towards cultivation of green fodder crops and constraints faced by them for fodder cultivation in Bidar district of Karnataka, India using an attitude scale through personal interview method. The study reported that majority of the respondents had medium level of favorable attitude towards green fodder cultivation and the variables education and scientific orientation of the farmers was found to be significantly correlated with attitude towards green fodder cultivation. The respondents perceived that non-availability of inputs and scarcity of water was the major constraints for cultivation of fodder in the study area. The study concluded that, there is a need to educate the farmers about green fodder cultivation and feeding through various extension approaches for improved dairy production in the study area.

Download Full-text

Sustainable Intensification of Cultivated Land Use and Its Influencing Factors at the Farming Household Scale: A Case Study of Shandong Province, China

Chinese Geographical Science ◽

10.1007/s11769-021-1178-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 109-125

Author(s):

Shandong Niu ◽

Xiao Lyu ◽

Guozheng Gu ◽

Xiaoping Zhou ◽

Wenlong Peng

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Influencing Factors ◽

Shandong Province ◽

Sustainable Intensification ◽

Cultivated Land ◽

Farming Household

Download Full-text

Evaluation of Virtual Water and Water Sustainability of Dairy Production in Trentino Alto Adige (North-Eastern Italy)

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11041047 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 1047

Author(s):

Pier Paolo Miglietta ◽

Federica De Leo ◽

Benedetta Coluccia ◽

Yari Vecchio ◽

Fabian Capitanio

Keyword(s):

Water Availability ◽

Dairy Products ◽

Virtual Water ◽

Resource Depletion ◽

Small Scale ◽

Dairy Production ◽

Water Sustainability ◽

Freshwater Resource ◽

Total Turnover ◽

Protected Designations Of Origin

Dairy products play a significant role in the human diet, but they are often associated with high freshwater resource depletion. In Italy, the dairy sector represents more than 12% of the total turnover of the agri-food sector. Trentino Alto Adige is the first Italian region in terms of number of dairy farms, but it does not register a quantitatively consistent dairy production. Notwithstanding, it is characterized mostly by small-scale farms whose strengths are the Protected Designations of Origin and typical mountain productions. The present study aims at: (i) accounting for the virtual water VW of the main dairy products (milk, butter and cheese) produced in Trentino Alto Adige; (ii) estimating the renewable water resources based on the water flow assessment of the study area; (iii) assessing water sustainability comparing the virtual water consumption of the dairy sector at a regional level to the water availability. The findings show that the consumptive virtual water related to dairy production represents about 1% of the water availability in Trentino Alto Adige. Italy’s domestic dairy production is expanding to meet the growing demand, but the expansion of dairy farming in water-stressed regions should be avoided, preferring instead suitable mountain regions where small-scale farms represent a lively entrepreneurial substrate.

Download Full-text

Assessing and reducing the environmental impact of dairy production systems in the northern US in a changing climate

Agricultural Systems ◽

10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103170 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 192 ◽

pp. 103170

Author(s):

Karin Veltman ◽

C. Alan Rotz ◽

Larry Chase ◽

Joyce Cooper ◽

Chris E. Forest ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impact ◽

Production Systems ◽

Dairy Production ◽

Changing Climate

Download Full-text

The Role of Technology in Greenhouse Agriculture: Towards a Sustainable Intensification in Campo de Dalías (Almería, Spain)

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11010101 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 101

Author(s):

Antonio J. Mendoza-Fernández ◽

Araceli Peña-Fernández ◽

Luis Molina ◽

Pedro A. Aguilera

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Economic Development ◽

Water Resources ◽

Natural Resources ◽

Temporal Evolution ◽

Technological Development ◽

Sustainable Intensification ◽

Short Period ◽

Cultivation Techniques

Campo de Dalías, located in southeastern Spain, is the greatest European exponent of greenhouse agriculture. The development of this type of agriculture has led to an exponential economic development of one of the poorest areas of Spain, in a short period of time. Simultaneously, it has brought about a serious alteration of natural resources. This article will study the temporal evolution of changes in land use, and the exploitation of groundwater. Likewise, this study will delve into the technological development in greenhouses (irrigation techniques, new water resources, greenhouse structures or improvement in cultivation techniques) seeking a sustainable intensification of agriculture under plastic. This sustainable intensification also implies the conservation of existing natural areas.

Download Full-text