Economic and environmental effects of double cropping winter annuals and corn using the Integrated Farm System Model

The farm system model, Farmax Dairy Pro, was used to evaluate the impact of new pastures on dairy farm profitability, assuming a range of pasture yields and qualities, and different levels of persistence in the new pastures, which were established on 10% of the farm annually. Scenarios were tested for Waikato, Taranaki, Canterbury and Southland dairy farm systems. Assuming a $6.50/kg MS milk payment and a response to pasture renewal of 10% in dry matter yield and a 0.6 MJ ME/kg DM increase in quality, increasing persistence from 4 years up to 8 years was modelled to increase dairy farm profitability by $271/ha to $478/ha. Management practices, including selections of cultivars and endophytes, that improve pasture persistence are likely to increase dairy farm profitability. Keywords: dairy farms, modelling, pasture renewal, persistence

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Implications of increased use of brought-in feeds on potential environmental effects of dairy farms in Waikato

Journal of New Zealand Grasslands ◽

10.33584/jnzg.2017.79.568 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 79 ◽

pp. 139-145

Author(s):

S.F. Ledgard ◽

N.L. Bartlett ◽

P.J. Van Boheemen ◽

B.R. Wilton ◽

S.B. Allen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

New Zealand ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Environmental Effects ◽

Dairy Farms ◽

N Leaching ◽

Nutrient Efficiency ◽

High Feed ◽

On Farm ◽

Farm System

Abstract The effects of increased use of brought-in feeds were evaluated across 25 dairy farms in central Waikato. Farms were classified into low, medium and high feedinput categories based on 1200 kg DM/cow, covering a range typical of that in the main dairying regions of New Zealand. Average milksolids (MS)/ha was 1087 and 1900 kg in the low and high feed-input categories, but total land-use/tonne MS was the same when all off-farm land was accounted for. Average estimated on-farm nitrogen (N) leaching increased from 26 to 30 kg N/ha/year between the low and high feed-input categories, but off-farm leaching sources were equivalent to an increase of 20 and 84%, respectively. Greenhouse gas emissions/on-farm hectare were 61% higher on high feed-input farms, but the carbon footprint and N leaching per tonne MS were similar across feed-input categories. High feed-input farms used feed-pads and increased effluent area (66 versus 21% of farm) to increase nutrient efficiency. Mitigation analyses indicated that N leaching could be decreased by optimising effluent area, reducing N fertiliser rate and utilising low-N feeds. Keywords: nitrogen leaching, whole farm system, greenhouse gases, land use

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Adaptation and evaluation of the integrated farm system model to simulate temperate multiple-species pastures

Agricultural Systems ◽

10.1016/j.agsy.2007.01.003 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 94 (2) ◽

pp. 502-508 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Michael S. Corson ◽

C. Alan Rotz ◽

R. Howard Skinner ◽

Matt A. Sanderson

Keyword(s):

System Model ◽

Multiple Species ◽

Farm System

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Coupling Dairy Manure Storage with Injection to Improve Nitrogen Management: Whole‐Farm Simulation Using the Integrated Farm System Model

ael ◽

10.2134/ael2016.12.0048 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 160048 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

E. W. Duncan ◽

P. J. A. Kleinman ◽

D. B. Beegle ◽

C. A. Rotz

Keyword(s):

Dairy Manure ◽

Nitrogen Management ◽

System Model ◽

Manure Storage ◽

Farm System

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Simulating switchgrass aboveground biomass and production costs in eastern Canada with the Integrated Farm System Model

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.1139/cjps-2018-0331 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 99 (6) ◽

pp. 785-800

Author(s):

Marc Duchemin ◽

Guillaume Jégo ◽

René Morissette

Keyword(s):

Production Costs ◽

System Model ◽

Yield Potential ◽

High Yield ◽

Quebec City ◽

Buffer Strips ◽

Eastern Canada ◽

Potential Yield ◽

Farm System ◽

Mean Square Errors

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a herbaceous perennial grass that can be used as bedding for livestock, planted in buffer strips, and used as biofuel, but it is still not widely grown in eastern Canada. The objectives of this study were to verify the performance of the Integrated Farm System Model (IFSM) in simulating switchgrass growth and to estimate its yield potential and production costs in eastern Canada. The performance of IFSM was assessed with dry matter (DM) yield of switchgrass (‘Cave-in-Rock’) measured over three growing seasons (2015–2017) in southern Quebec, Canada. The model performed reasonably well, with normalized root mean square errors of 19.5% for calibration and 27.9% for validation. Simulation results of potential yield and economic management over the long term (1986–2015) for five switchgrass production sites in eastern Canada indicated that average DM yields in Quebec City and Fredericton (9.6 and 9.7 t ha−1, respectively) were significantly lower than average DM yields in Saint-Hubert, Ottawa, and London (10.8, 10.4, and 11.0 t ha−1, respectively). Average annual production costs per tonne of DM for the spring harvest were higher at low-yield sites (CAD$66.67 and $64.50 for Fredericton and Quebec City, respectively) than at high-yield sites ($60.10, $62.82, and $60.08 for Saint-Hubert, Ottawa, and London, respectively). The IFSM-estimated production costs were within the range of the calculated values reported in other agro-economic analyses conducted in Ontario and Quebec.

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Simulating forage crop production in a northern climate with the Integrated Farm System Model

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.4141/cjps-2014-375 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 95 (4) ◽

pp. 745-757 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Guillaume Jégo ◽

C. Alan Rotz ◽

Gilles Bélanger ◽

Gaëtan F. Tremblay ◽

Édith Charbonneau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crop Production ◽

Nutritive Value ◽

Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽

System Model ◽

Small Range ◽

Forage Crop ◽

Annual Crops ◽

Northern Regions ◽

Northern Climate ◽

Farm System

Jégo, G., Rotz, C. A., Bélanger, G., Tremblay, G. F., Charbonneau, E. and Pellerin, D. 2015. Simulating forage crop production in a northern climate with the Integrated Farm System Model. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 745–757. Whole-farm simulation models are useful tools for evaluating the effect of management practices and climate variability on the agro-environmental and economic performance of farms. A few process-based farm-scale models have been developed, but none has been evaluated in northern regions with boreal and hemiboreal climates characterized by a short growing season and a long period with snow cover. The study objectives were to calibrate the grass sub-model of the Integrated Farm System Model (IFSM) and evaluate its predictions of yield and nutritive value of timothy and alfalfa, grown alone or in a mixture, using experimental field data from across Canada, andto assess IFSM's predictions of yield of major annual crops grown on dairy farms in eastern Canada using regional yield data from two contrasting regions. Several timothy and alfalfa datasets combining sites, years, harvests, and N fertilization rates were used to calibrate and evaluate the model. For timothy and alfalfa, the model's accuracy was globally satisfactory in predicting dry matter yield and neutral detergent fiber concentration with a normalized root mean square error (NRMSE)<30%. For N uptake, the scatter was a bit larger, especially for timothy (NRMSE= 49%), mainly because of a small range in the measured data. The model's accuracy for predicting the yield of annual crops was generally good, with an NRMSE<30%. Adding timothy and alfalfa to the grass sub-model of IFSM and verifying the model's performance for annual crops confirmed that IFSM can be used in northern regions of North America. In addition, the model was able to simulate the yield and nutritive value of a timothy–alfalfa mixture, which is the most common perennial mixture used in Canada.

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An Environmental Assessment of Cattle Manure and Urea Fertilizer Treatments for Corn Production in the Northern Great Plains

Transactions of the ASABE ◽

10.13031/trans.14275 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 64 (4) ◽

pp. 1185-1196

Author(s):

C. Alan Rotz ◽

Senorpe Asem-Hiablie ◽

Erin L. Cortus ◽

Mindy J. Spiehs ◽

Shafiqur Rahman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Great Plains ◽

Production Systems ◽

Cattle Manure ◽

System Model ◽

Northern Great Plains ◽

Emission Rates ◽

Nutrient Losses ◽

Corn Production ◽

Recent Climate ◽

Farm System

HighlightsThe Integrated Farm System Model appropriately represented average emission rates measured in corn production.Compared to the use of feedlot manure, application of bedded pack manure generally increased N and P losses.Compared to inorganic fertilizer use, cattle manure increased soluble P loss while reducing GHG emission.Production and environmental differences among production systems were similar under recent and future climates.Abstract. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and carbon (C) emissions from livestock systems have become important regional, national, and international concerns. Our objective was to use process-level simulation to explore differences among manure and inorganic fertilizer treatments in a corn production system used to feed finishing cattle in the Northern Great Plains region of the U.S. Our analysis included model assessment, simulation to compare treatments under recent climate, and comparisons using projected midcentury climate. The Integrated Farm System Model was evaluated in representing the performance and nutrient losses of corn production using cattle manure without bedding, manure with bedding, urea, and no fertilization treatments. Two-year field experiments conducted near Clay Center, Nebraska; Brookings, South Dakota; and Fargo, North Dakota provided observed emission data following these treatments. Means of simulated emission rates of methane, ammonia, and nitrous oxide were generally similar to those observed from field-applied manure or urea fertilizer. Simulation of corn production systems over 25 years of recent climate showed greater soluble P runoff with use of feedlot and bedded manure compared to use of inorganic fertilizers, but life-cycle fossil energy use and greenhouse gas emission were decreased. Compared to feedlot manure, application of bedded pack manure generally increased N and P losses in corn production by retaining more N in manure removed from a bedded housing facility and through increased runoff because a large portion of the stover was removed from the cornfield for use as bedding material. Simulation of these treatments using projected midcentury climate indicated a trend toward a small increase in simulated grain production in the Dakotas and a small decrease for irrigated corn in Nebraska. Climate differences affected the three production systems similarly, so production and environmental impact differences among the fertilization systems under future climate were similar to those obtained under recent climate. Keywords: Climate change, Greenhouse gas, Integrated Farm System Model, Nutrient losses.

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