Impact of deferred grazing on profitability of a hill country farm in north-western Waikato

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Tozer ◽  
Steve Howarth ◽  
Jon Sherlock ◽  
Ian Tarbotton
Keyword(s):  
Management Practice ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Target Weight ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Farm Profitability ◽  
Gross Margins ◽  
The Impact ◽  
North Western

Deferred grazing is a common management practice in which pastures are rested from grazing between mid-spring and the end of summer/early autumn. It has been used to rejuvenate pastures and better manage the spring pasture surplus although its impact on farm profitability is unknown. FARMAX was used to explore the impact of deferred grazing on profitability on a north-western Waikato beef and sheep hill country farm based on experimental data and likely management responses. The Base Scenario modelled farm profitability assuming spring surplus in a typical year. When 15% of the farm was deferred and it was assumed that the increased grazing pressure on the rest of the farm led to greater control of the spring feed surplus and improved pasture quality, there was an increase in ewe performance and the number lambs sold at target weight. Per head and total farm gross margins increased by 8%. Results demonstrate how the use of deferred grazing as a pasture management tool to increase resilience can also enhance livestock performance and profitability at the whole-farm level.

A spatially explicit population model of the effect of spatial scale of heterogeneity in grass–clover grazing systems

2013 ◽  
Vol 152 (3) ◽  
pp. 394-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. SHARP ◽  
G. R. EDWARDS ◽  
M. J. JEGER
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Spatial Separation ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Complete Separation ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
N Fixation ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Grazed Pasture ◽  
The Impact

SUMMARYThe benefits of using white clover (Trifolium repensL.) as a source of nitrogen (N) and nutritious feed in pasture grazed by ruminant livestock have been widely recognized. However, clover is considered inadequate and unreliable as the main source of N input, since its abundance in pasture is patchy, low (typically <0·20) and shows great year-to-year variation. This is thought to be due to the metabolic costs of N fixation, competition with grass, the preference for clover by grazing animals and patchy dung and urine deposition. One solution suggested by a number of authors is to increase the heterogeneity within the pasture by spatially separating clover from grass. This method of pasture management, in order to sustain higher clover content in both the sward and diet of grazing animals, would remove inter-specific competition and equalize grazing pressure, allowing clover to grow unimpeded in greater abundance than previously observed. An existing spatially explicit grass–clover simulation model, developed to investigate the intrinsic spatial and temporal variability within mixed grass–clover swards, was modified and then used to examine the impact of spatial separation on the content, variability and patchiness of clover in pasture. The results show that spatial separation increases both the content and spatial aggregation of clover and reduces year-to-year variation compared with a mixed pasture that fluctuates around a lower mean. The same model was also used to examine the impact of spatial separation across a range of spatial scales, from narrow strips to complete separation, as a means of managing the concerns over disruption to the N cycle within the pasture. The present study shows the importance of the initial sowing arrangement of plant species in sustaining a high content of clover within a pasture in the short term, to at least 20 years depending on the scale of separation, and demonstrates that the spatial separation of clover from grass within a grazed pasture may overcome some of the limitations associated with the use of clover in conventional grass–clover pastures. Results are discussed in terms of benefits to both herbage dry matter production and animal performance.

Fire and grazing influence food resources of an endangered rock-wallaby

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine D. Tuft ◽  
Mathew S. Crowther ◽  
Clare McArthur
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Plant Functional Groups ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Grazing Impacts ◽  
Grazing Effect ◽  
The Impact

Context Fire and grazing have complex and interacting impacts on food resources available to endangered herbivores and can potentially be manipulated as part of conservation strategies. Aims We examined the interacting impacts of fire and grazing on the food resources available to a colony of endangered brush-tailed rock-wallabies (Petrogale penicillata) to test fire as a potential management tool. Methods We conducted two manipulative experiments using a repeated-measures split-block design. We measured the effects of grazing and strategic burning on total vegetation biomass and on particular plants selected by rock-wallabies. In the first experiment we measured the impact of rock-wallaby grazing alone. In the second experiment we measured grazing impacts by both rock-wallabies and potentially competitive sympatric macropods. Grazing was manipulated with three treatments: grazed (open), ungrazed (fenced) and procedural control (half fence). Key results In both experiments, burning resulted in greater above-ground biomass of plants selected by rock-wallabies. The response of different plant functional groups to fire was staggered, with forb biomass peaking early and browse biomass increasing above unburnt levels a year after burning. Conclusions Despite the limited grazing pressure exerted by the small colony of rock-wallabies in Experiment 1 we detected a negative grazing effect on forbs growing after fire in burnt plots. In Experiment 2, grazing pressure was much more marked due to the high densities of sympatric macropods. In this case, while burning resulted in greater biomass of plants selected by rock-wallabies, grazing (predominantly by sympatric macropods) negated this effect. Implications Small patchwork burning can be a useful tool to improve food resources for brush-tailed rock-wallabies, with effects sustained over more than two years. However, when rock-wallabies are sympatric with possible competitor species, the grazing impacts of sympatric macropods may cancel out any benefits to rock-wallabies.

Forage utilization by sheep and kangaroos in a semi-arid woodland

1991 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
AD Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Management Practice ◽  
Minor Component ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Forage Yield ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Forage Species ◽  
Sheep Production ◽  
Forage Utilization

The utilization of forage species by sheep and western grey kangaroos, and their contribution to the diets of those animals, were determined in a mulga (Acacia aneura) woodland in western New South Wales. Utilization was determined from measurements of forage yield, on pastures that were grazed by either sheep, sheep and kangaroos together or kangaroos, at a range of stocking rates. The sheep and kangaroos had similar preferences for the major grasses, with high utilization of species such as Monachather paradoxa and low utilization of the more fibrous species such as Eragrostis eriopoda. At times of forage abundance, annual and perennial forbs were a major component of sheep diet but a relatively minor component of kangaroo diet. Differences in species preference thus arose mainly in species that were uncommon or of seasonal occurrence. The overall diets of sheep and kangaroos were similar, with a year-round predominance of the same group of perennial grasses such as Thyridolepis mitchelliana. In the treatment where sheep and kangaroos grazed together, kangaroos had access to areas exclosed from sheep and their use of these areas increased with increase in stocking rate. Thus the exclosures received a similar grazing pressure by kangaroos alone, to that of the surrounding paddocks grazed by a mixture of sheep and kangaroos. It is concluded that there is direct competition between sheep and kangaroos for the main forage species. There are also long-term effects of high kangaroo populations on sheep production because the movement of kangaroos to rested paddocks negates any pasture management practice that requires periodic resting of pastures from grazing.

scholarly journals PASTURE MANAGEMENT AND HILL COUNTRY PRODUCTION

1982 ◽  
pp. 205-214
Author(s):  
D.A. Clark ◽  
M.G. Lambert ◽  
D.F. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Leaf Growth ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Leaf Length ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Dry Matter Digestibility ◽  
Total Leaf ◽  
Grazing Pressures

Pasture and animal production from farmlets rotationally grazed with sheep(RGS), set stocked with sheep (SSS) and rotationally grazed with cattle (RGC) were compared for 5 years. Herbage accumulation rate, herbage mass, tiller and stolen growth and defoliation and sheep diet selection were measured. RGC increased perennial ryegrass (L&urn perenne L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) content. RGS herbage mass was 1000 kg DM/ ha greater than SSS by January. Despite differences in ewe liveweight and herbage mass profiles, grazing management had no effect on total wool production. In the first two years SSS had higher weaning weight per ha than RGS. Under high grazing pressure sheep selected a diet ranging from 85% dry matter digestibility in December to 56% in June. Total leaf growth was similar for RGS and SSS pastures because greater leaf extension rates for RGS were compensated for by higher tiller numbers in SSS swards. The total leaf length grazed was the same for RGS and SSS pastures because the greater leaf length grazed per tiller for RGS was offset by more frequent grazing of more numerous tillers in SSS. Rotational grazing may allow greater conservation in spring and provide extra feed at very high grazing pressures, but at commercial grazing pressures pasture rationing is unlikely to give greater animal production

Balanced Scorecard in the strategic planning of a construction company

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Roberth Frias ◽  
Maria Medina
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Strategic Management ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Organization Theory ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
The Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Construction Company ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
The Impact

This research focused on the strategic management tool Balanced Scorecard and strategic planning, as a guide to guide the management of companies, allowing communication and the functionality of the strategy using KPIs that allow to identify, maintain control and increase efficiency and the achievement of optimal results. For the deductive hypothetical analysis, the specific factors that affect business management performance were grouped into two variables: Balanced Scorecard and Strategic Planning. The objective of the work was to demonstrate the impact of the Balanced Scorecard in the strategic planning of a construction company. In order to support the research, the following theories were approached: the Financial Theory, the Economic Theory of the Company, the Transaction Costs, the Network Theory, the Organization Theory, the Dependence on Resources, the Strategic Management Theory and the Business Diagnosis Theory. The result obtained confirms the hypothesis that there is a significant incidence of the Balanced Scorecard in the strategic planning of construction companies. In conclusion, the construction company has obtained significant improvements in the results in each of the indicators evaluated with the implementation of the Balanced Scorecard, demonstrating improvements in their management results, affirming that there is better performance and management control allowing them to achieve the organizational objectives set.

Advancing dairy farming profitability through research

2001 ◽  
pp. 17-22
Author(s):  
J.R. Caradus ◽  
D.A. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Dairy Cow ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Nitrogen Fertiliser ◽  
Grass Endophyte ◽  
Forage Species ◽  
Development Outcomes ◽  
Dairy Cow Nutrition ◽  
The Impact

The New Zealand dairy industry recognises that to remain competitive it must continue to invest in research and development. Outcomes from research have ensured year-round provision of low-cost feed from pasture while improving productivity. Some of these advances, discussed in this paper, include the use of white clover in pasture, understanding the impacts of grass endophyte, improved dairy cow nutrition, the use of alternative forage species and nitrogen fertiliser to improve productivity, demonstration of the impact of days-in-milk on profitability, and the use of feed budgeting and appropriate pasture management. Keywords: dairy, profitability, research and development

An evaluation of a strategic de-stocking regime for dairying to improve nitrogen efficiency and reduce nitrate leaching from dairy farms in nitrate-sensitive areas

2000 ◽  
pp. 105-110
Author(s):  
Cecile De Klein ◽  
Jim Paton ◽  
Stewart Ledgard
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Nitrogen Efficiency ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Leaching Losses ◽  
Sensitive Areas

Strategic de-stocking in winter is a common management practice on dairy farms in Southland, New Zealand, to protect the soil against pugging damage. This paper examines whether this practice can also be used to reduce nitrate leaching losses. Model analyses and field measurements were used to estimate nitrate leaching losses and pasture production under two strategic de-stocking regimes: 3 months off-farm or 5 months on a feed pad with effluent collected and applied back to the land. The model analyses, based on the results of a long-term farmlet study under conventional grazing and on information for an average New Zealand farm, suggested that the 3- or 5-month de-stocking could reduce nitrate leaching losses by about 20% or 35-50%, respectively compared to a conventional grazing system. Field measurements on the Taieri Plain in Otago support these findings, although the results to date are confounded by drought conditions during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. The average nitrate concentration of the drainage water of a 5-month strategic de-stocking treatment was about 60% lower than under conventional grazing. Pasture production of the 5-month strategic de-stocking regime with effluent return was estimated based on data for apparent N efficiency of excreta patches versus uniformlyspread farm dairy effluent N. The results suggested that a strategic de-stocking regime could increase pasture production by about 2 to 8%. A cost/ benefit analysis of the 5-month de-stocking system using a feed pad, comparing additional capital and operational costs with additional income from a 5% increase in DM production, show a positive return on capital for an average New Zealand dairy farm. This suggests that a strategic destocking system has good potential as a management tool to reduce nitrate leaching losses in nitrate sensitive areas whilst being economically viable, particularly on farms where an effluent application system or a feed pad are already in place. Keywords: dairying, feed pads, nitrate leaching, nitrogen efficiency, productivity, strategic de-stocking

Zwischenevaluation des Wald-Wild-Management-Instruments (WWMI) im Pilotprogramm effor2 «Wald und Wild» | Preliminary evaluation of the Game-Forest-Management-Tool (GFMT) in the effor2 pilot programme «Game and Forest»

2003 ◽  
Vol 154 (8) ◽  
pp. 305-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Eyholzer ◽  
Martin Baumann ◽  
Rolf Manser
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Optimal Contract ◽  
Technical Tool ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Pilot Programme ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
Entire Study Area

Faced with the challenging task of balancing forest interests and wildlife, the Swiss Forest Agency initiated the pilot programme«Game and Forest», which is committed to a philosophy of goal-oriented management practice and a redesign of forestry subsidizing. Within this programme the diverse goals of forestry and hunting have been amalgamated to a superimposed goal and set out in a corresponding contract. The Game-Forest-Management-Tool (GFMT) has been divised to simulate the effect of various strategies to deal with the complex problems of forest-wildlife. Optimal contract-fulfilling procedures can be simulated on a PC using this technical tool. The efficiency of the measures suggested by simulations that were carried out are being tested in a study area within the pilot programme, «Game and Forest». Half way through this trial, after two years, we can say that there has been no significant increase of non-browsed areas. In 2004, after the collection of data for the entire study area, we will be able to tell whether applying this computer simulated strategy truly leads to an augmentation of non-browsed area and a decrease in bark-peeled forests in the pilot area.

scholarly journals 398 Theatre Waste Management and the Impact of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Luney ◽  
C Little
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Surgical Case ◽  
Widespread Adoption ◽  
Period Data ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Contaminated Waste ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Waste Management Practice

Abstract Introduction Audit of waste management in an elective orthopaedic complex was interrupted due Covid-19 pandemic. We investigated the impact of the enforced changes on theatre waste due to Covid-19. Method Over a 1week period data on waste bag availability and number of bags of each category of waste per surgical case in an elective theatre complex was collated; this was compared to waste generated during Covid-19 pandemic. Results Prior to Covid-19 only clinical waste bins were available in many non-dominant clinical areas providing evidence of inappropriate routine disposal of domestic/recyclable waste. Pre-Covid-19 a mean of 6waste bags were used per surgical case (3.7yellow clinical bags, 1.3black domestic bags, 0.4clear recycling bags), with Covid-19 changes to waste management practice the mean number of waste bags used per case increased to 11 (9 orange contaminated bags, 0.5black, 0.3clear bags). Conclusions Clinical waste management has a significant economic and environmental impact. Covid-19 has led to nearly all waste being deemed to be contaminated and so requiring incineration, with increased volumes of waste generated per case through widespread adoption of PPE. This has increased cost and reduced the ability to recycle non-contaminated waste.

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