scholarly journals Evaluation of agroforestry options for three tree species

Author(s):  
B.S. Thorrold ◽  
R.L. Knowles ◽  
I.D. Nicholas ◽  
I.L. Power ◽  
J.L. Carter

Information on tree growth rates, economic returns and the effects of trees on pasture for radiata pine, Australian blackwood and Eucalyptus fastigata were analysed to assess the economic returns of using these tree species within a hill country farming operation. Under the assumptions made, all three species options were more profitable in the long run than sheep and beef farming. Radiata pine produced the greatest return, large increases in log prices or yields of other tree species being required to give equal profit. The results of the analysis and market information emphasise the importance of good site selection and silviculture in the production of high quality timber. For some species these requirements may not fit on-farm production systems or be economically attractive. Keywords: Acacia melanoxylon, agroforestry, Eucalyptus fastigata, hill country farming, Pinus radiata

HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 1394-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farah MG Héraux ◽  
Steven G. Hallett ◽  
K.G. Ragothama ◽  
Stephen C. Weller

Trichoderma virens (Gliocladium virens) (Miller et al.) von Arx is a soilborne fungus with a high degree of rhizosphere competence that produces a potent herbicidal compound, viridiol, and therefore has potential for development as a bioherbicide. We investigated the possibility of using composted chicken manure (CCM) as a medium for the production and deployment of T. virens. We chose CCM since the safe disposal of chicken manure presents significant logistic problems, and composted manures, as well as serving as an organic source of nitrogen, have been shown to support the activity of other biological control agents. Composted chicken manure supported the growth of T. virens and the rapid production of high concentrations of viridiol, but only when it was supplemented with large quantities of nutrients, including sucrose (16% w/w). Viridiol was not stable when stored in CCM, with a rapid decline in viridiol concentrations observed in T. virens-inoculated CCM cultures. Clearly, a cheaper alternative to sucrose is required as a carbon source for T. virens in CCM or similar media, and effective storage methods would need to be found for a T. virens-based bioherbicide product. Importantly, CCM did not need to be sterilized to support the growth of T. virens and its concomitant production of viridiol, suggesting that on-farm production systems may be feasible. Trichoderma virens-colonized CCM reduced the emergence and seedling growth of redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) in a greenhouse experiment and dramatically reduced the emergence of a mixed community of broadleaf weeds in the field.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
A.P. Rhodes ◽  
M.J. Casey ◽  
T.A. Payne ◽  
M. Brown

Landholders in New Zealand hill country are being challenged in the future to provide the resource for increasing agricultural productivity while balancing social and environmental demands. This will lead to an increasingly complex ecosystem which challenges simple approaches to achieving change on farm. This paper discusses principles such as degree of complexity, systems thinking in farming systems, knowledge, and barriers to decision making and adoption in relation to agricultural production systems. These concepts are often little considered or understood where there is an expectation of uptake of new technologies or an increased rate of practice change. Better understanding and consideration of these concepts could help in the development and design of more effective extension programmes. Keywords: behaviour change, adoption, extension, farming systems, complexity, barriers, knowledge


HortScience ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 427a-427
Author(s):  
John M. Luna ◽  
Daniel Green-McGrath ◽  
Ray William ◽  
Stefan Seiter ◽  
Tom Tenas

A participatory, on-farm research project was initiated in 1992 in an effort to enhance mutual learning, knowledge, and experience of integrating cover crops into western Oregon vegetable production systems. A major goal of the project was to include growers, agribusiness representatives, governmental agency, Extension and university researchers in a collaborative learning process, emphasizing grower participation in the design and implementation of on-farm research and demonstration projects. To facilitate this participation from the planning stage forward, four “focus sessions” were hosted by lead farmers in different areas of the Willamette Valley to define growers' needs and interests relating to on-farm research and demonstration trials. Based on individual growers' specific experimental objectives, cover crop evaluation trials were established on ten farms. Typically on each farm, 5 to 10 cover crop species or mixtures (grain and legume) were planted in large plot strips. Twenty five different cover crop species, varieties, and mixtures were planted. Seasonal cover crop biomass and nitrogen accumulation rates were determined, with cover crop impacts on crop yields and economic returns evaluated at selected sites.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-63
Author(s):  
KAMAU MARYGORETTI WAWIRA ◽  
THUITA THENYA

Wawira KM, Thenya T. 2017. Assessment of indigenous tree species conservation in subsistence agricultural production systems: A case study of Lari Sub-county, Kiambu County, Kenya. Asian J For 1: 55-63. Conservation of indigenous trees is important because they regulate nutrients, build organic matter of topsoil, fix nitrogen and create habitat for beneficial soil micro-organisms. Subsistence agriculture is characteristic land use feature in Kenya especially in the humid and sub-humid regions. Often indigenous trees are cleared to pave way for farming and replaced with exotic trees. The results showed that various indigenous tree species were retained on-farm including species like Acacia abyssinica, Olea europaena, Ficus thonningii, Brachylaena hutchinsii, Allophylus abyssinicus, Vitex keniensis and Prunus africana. The remnants of indigenous trees were scattered on farm with 57.4% along the boundary, 38.9% around the homestead 2.6% inside the farm and on riverine areas 1.1%. Soil conservation, timber, and fuel wood, were given as the main reasons for conserving indigenous tree species on the farm. While the main reason for planting exotic on farm includes economic purposes like income, fuel wood and decreased land sizes, according to 60% of respondents. Overall the findings indicate significant decrease of indigenous trees conservation on farm due to longer maturity span compared to exotic trees. There is need to promote alternative uses of indigenous trees as well as reinforce the 10% tree cover to include that 2% of the latter should be indigenous in nature.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 257-267
Author(s):  
S. Monk ◽  
D.J. Moot ◽  
B. Belgrave ◽  
M.P. Rolston ◽  
J.R. Caradus

New Zealand hill and high country are marginal environments for perennial ryegrass and white clover. Other pasture species, particularly legumes, provide more productive and persistent options for the range of soil climate and topography found in these environments. On cultivatable hill country, lucerne (alfalfa) has been successfully introduced to dryland areas with imported seed increasing five-fold to 210 t per annum over the last decade. This has led to the first release of a New Zealand selected cultivar in 20 years. For subterranean clover reliance on hardseeded Australian cultivars that frequently fail to meet New Zealand biosecurity standards means seed supply is inconsistent. The potential exists to create a niche seed market through selection of locally adapted material grown for seed in New Zealand. Lotus pedunculatus is available commercially but seed often fails to meet certification standards and is predominantly used in forestry. Lotus corniculatus requires agronomic research to overcome some management constraints and the re-establishment of seed supply before it would be a viable option for drier hill country. Seed production for perennial lupins in New Zealand is predominantly for an export ornamental market, with some direct relationships with growers allowing onfarm use. Caucasian clover seed production has ceased in New Zealand and the demand for seed particularly from high country farmers is no longer met. The smallseeded annual balansa clover is being integrated into farm systems and its prolific seeding has enabled some on-farm production of seed for personal use. For it and arrowleaf and Persian clovers, imported cultivars are available and a local market is unlikely to thrive until agronomic and hard seed issues are addressed. Seed supply of forage legumes to satisfy demand for hill country is problematic and will require development of different models including grower co-ops, regional seed retailers, and on-farm production for niche markets. Keywords: alfalfa, Lolium perenne, Lupinus polyphyllus, Medicago sativa, perennial ryegrass, Sitona lepidus, Trifolium ambiguum, Trifolium michelianum, Trifolium repens, Trifolium resupinatum, Trifolium subterraneum, Trifolium tumens, Trifolium vesiculosum, white clover


Author(s):  
J.S. Clark

Agroforests and woodlots offer Northland hill country farmers investment and diversification opportunities. Agroforests have less effect on the "whole farm" financial position than woodlots, especially where a progressive planting regime is adopted and where no further borrowing is required. Establishment and tending costs for agro-forests are lower, and returns come much sooner. The proven opportunity for continued grazing under trees established in this manner, apart from a short post-planting period, further enhances the agroforesty option. Even where there is reluctance on a farmer's part to plant trees on high fertility land, the expected financial returns from agroforests on low and medium fertility land will increase the overall long-term profitability and flexibility of the whole farming operation. Woodlots may be more appropriate on low fertility areas where weed reversion is likely. Joint ventures may be worth considering where farm finances are a limited factor. Keywords: On-farm forestry development, Northland hill country, agroforestry, woodlots, diversification, joint ventures, progressive planting regimes, grazing availability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 4-4
Author(s):  
Abbie V Viscardi ◽  
Elizabeth Shirtcliff ◽  
Emily Eppler ◽  
Savannah Miller ◽  
Johann Coetzee

Abstract Piglets raised in commercial production systems in the U.S. undergo painful management procedures, including surgical castration, tail docking and ear notching, without analgesia or anesthesia provision for pain relief. This is a significant animal welfare concern. There is an immediate need to identify the most practical and effective analgesia or anesthesia option for use on-farm. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of 2.0mg/kg firocoxib, administered to the sow and delivered transmammary to her piglets, and a vapocoolant spray (ethyl chloride) to reduce processing pain. Five-day old male and female Yorkshire-cross piglets were used. 2.0mg/kg firocoxib was administered to the sow intramuscularly 7h prior to processing piglets. An ethyl chloride spray was applied to the ears, tail and scrotum of the piglets immediately before ear notching, tail docking and surgical castration, respectively. Piglets were assigned to one of four treatment groups: firocoxib and vapocoolant spray (FV; n=32), firocoxib only (F; n=32), vapocoolant spray only (V; n=32), no treatment (CON; n=32). The observation period was from 24h pre- to 48h post-processing (specific time points = baseline, 0h, 1h, 2h, 4h, 7h, 24h, 30h, 36h, 48h). Preliminary results found piglets displayed significantly more pain-related behaviors at 24h and 30h post-processing than at most other time points (p< 0.05). Piglets had significantly higher cranial temperatures at 7h post-processing than all other time points (p< 0.05). There was a trend in FV and F piglets having a higher cranial temperature at 36h post-processing compared to V and CON piglets (p=0.08). All piglets had significantly higher hair cortisol levels at 4 vs 20-days old (p< .0001); however, there were no significant treatment effects on cranial temperature, hair cortisol or pain behavior, suggesting firocoxib and the ethyl chloride spray were unable to significantly reduce piglet pain post-processing. Further study analysis is needed to confirm these initial findings.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 531
Author(s):  
Januarius Gobilik ◽  
Stephen Todd Morris ◽  
Cory Matthew

Metabolic energy budgeting (MEB) was used to evaluate evolution over 30 years (1980–1981 to 2010–2011) in New Zealand southern North Island ‘hill country’ sheep and beef cattle systems. MEB calculates energy required by animals for body weight maintenance, weight gain or loss, pregnancy, and lactation to estimate the system feed demand and thereby provide a basis for calculating feed conversion efficiency. Historic production systems were reconstructed and modeled using averaged data from industry surveys and data from owners’ diaries of three case-study farms and reviewed for patterns of change over time. The modeling indicated that pasture productivity was 11% lower and herbage harvested was 14% lower in 2010–2011 than in the early 1980s. This productivity decline is attributable to warmer, drier summer weather in recent years. However, primarily through increased lambing percentage, feed conversion efficiency based on industry data improved over the study period from 25 to 19 kg feed consumed per kg lamb weaned, while meat production rose from 137 to 147 kg per ha per year. Similar improvements were observed for the three case farms. The New Zealand MEB model was found effective for analysis of tropical beef production systems in Sabah, Malaysia.


2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
WONDWOSSEN A. GEBREYES ◽  
SIDDHARTHA THAKUR ◽  
W. E. MORGAN MORROW

Conventional swine production evolved to routinely use antimicrobials, and common occurrence of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella has been reported. There is a paucity of information on the antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella in swine production in the absence of antimicrobial selective pressure. Therefore, we compared the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolated from antimicrobial-free and conventional production systems. A total of 889 pigs and 743 carcasses were sampled in the study. Salmonella prevalence was significantly higher among the antimicrobial-free systems (15.2%) than the conventional systems (4.2%) (odds ratio [OR] = 4.23; P < 0.05). Antimicrobial resistance was detected against 10 of the 12 antimicrobials tested. The highest frequency of resistance was found against tetracycline (80%), followed by streptomycin (43.4%) and sulfamethoxazole (36%). Frequency of resistance to most classes of antimicrobials (except tetracycline) was significantly higher among conventional farms than antimicrobial-free farms, with ORs ranging from 2.84 for chloramphenicol to 23.22 for kanamycin at the on-farm level. A total of 28 antimicrobial resistance patterns were detected. A resistance pattern with streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline (n = 130) was the most common multidrug resistance pattern. There was no significant difference in the proportion of isolates with this pattern between the conventional (19.5%) and the antimicrobial-free systems (18%) (OR = 1.8; P > 0.05). A pentaresistance pattern with ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline was strongly associated with antimicrobial-free groups (OR = 5.4; P = 0.01). While showing the higher likelihood of finding antimicrobial resistance among conventional herds, this study also implies that specific multidrug-resistant strains may occur on antimicrobial-free farms. A longitudinal study with a representative sample size is needed to reach more conclusive results of the associations detected in this study.


2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (12) ◽  
pp. 3062-3075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgane Millet

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how a geographical indication (GI) is built through time and how its (non)appropriation by local producers shapes it. The reciprocity of such process is also considered: how the creation of a GI changes local relationships between producers, within the GI and out of it? The case of Ossau-Iraty is relevant: in south-west of France, this protected designation of origin (PDO) has been based on two distinct regions: Bearn (Ossau) and Pays Basque (Iraty). Since then, most producers of Bearn have rejected this PDO. Design/methodology/approach The author adopts a diachronic perspective: the trajectory of the local dairy ewe sector is described, focusing on the trajectory of on-farm cheese makers from Bearn and Pays Basque and the trajectory of Ossau-Iraty. Based on different methods (qualitative interviews and archive research), this paper aims at analyzing the interactions within such heterogeneous networks. Findings When the PDO was created (1980), the opposition between producers of Bearn and Pays Basque was based on strong senses of place, which would be translated in a different perception of tradition: to Bearn producers, PDO Ossau-Iraty would be an industrial cheese, in which they did not recognize their product and themselves. With time, the producers who have been involved in the PDO worked on its specifications. The recognition of symbolic practices such as on-farm production or Summer pasture production, the recognition of differences between Basque cheese and Bearn cheese are changes that contribute to the evolution of perceptions within the local producers’ community. The author observes a recent convergence between Basque producers and Bearn producers, as their distinct products share common and strong qualifications within PDO Ossau-Iraty that contribute to their respective valorization. However, it seems to occur at an institutional level and the adhesion of the local producers might still be at stakes. Research limitations/implications A statistical study could reinforce the author’s exploratory and historical research. Furthermore, it would have been relevant to take local inhabitants and local consumers into account, as they have participated in the products’ qualifications as well. Originality/value A long-term analysis (40 years) contributes to better understand how cheeses are valorized and how such process is based on controversial processes. It contributes to root GIs into local histories, which are nor as consensual neither as uniform as we would primarily think, and to identity levers for sustainable local development.


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