A bio-economic evaluation of the profitability of adopting subtropical grasses and pasture-cropping on crop–livestock farms

Finlayson, John D.; Lawes, Roger; Metcalf, Tess; Robertson, Michael; Ferris, David; Ewing, Mike

doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2011.10.012

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Besides alleviating feed gaps, summer-growing perennials have potential to reduce high erosion risk in summer-autumn, increase the production from marginal cropping soils, and assist with controlling weeds Harris et al 2007;Millar and Badgery 2009;Byrne et al 2010;Finlayson et al 2012). Furthermore, including perennials in the farm feed-base is reported to increase biodiversity both above-and belowground (Collard and Fisher 2010;Glover et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, including perennials in the farm feed-base is reported to increase biodiversity both above-and belowground (Collard and Fisher 2010;Glover et al 2010). With the development of future farming systems in mind, summergrowing grasses can also be used as a basis for pasture cropping by inter-sowing winter crops, a practice that is gaining popularity throughout the southern Australian cropping zone (Millar and Badgery 2009;Finlayson et al 2012;Thomas et al 2014, this issue). In areas wetter than the study region, another advantage of perennials relates to their deep root system, leading to reduced deep drainage and a lower risk of rising watertables, salinity, acidity and nitrate leaching (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Summer-growing perennial grasses are a potential new feed source in the low rainfall environment of southern Australia

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the Mallee region of southern Australia, the dry and variable climate results in frequent summer–autumn feed gaps, restricting the profitability of farms that combine livestock and crop enterprises. To assess the suitability of summer-growing perennial grasses to fill such feed gaps, two replicated field experiments comparing the persistence and productivity of several cultivars were conducted at Hopetoun and Karoonda. The data from these experiments also served to validate a C4 grass model, which was then used in a simulation experiment comparing productivity on two different soil types at three locations. Most grass cultivars established well except on sandy, non-wetting soils. At Hopetoun, four of five cultivars persisted over 6 years, demonstrating the tolerance of the selected cultivars to the typical long, dry summers and cold, wet winters of the region. Biomass production showed little difference between cultivars and a strong response to the amount of summer rainfall, ranging from 1500 to 3000 kg ha–1 under average seasonal conditions and peaking at 9000 kg ha–1 in the very wet summer of 2010–2011. Model performance was satisfactory (R2 0.85–0.93, RMSE 476–1673 kg ha–1, depending on the cultivar), in terms of predicting both the magnitude and the timing of biomass production. Simulation outputs indicated that biomass production closely followed seasonal trends in temperature and moisture availability. Grazing potential was highest from early summer to autumn, which coincides with the period of feed shortages and highest marginal value of forage. In areas with warm-season (October–April) rainfall averages of 175 and 225 mm, the grazing of C4 grass pastures on marginal soils would be possible in at least 40% of the years for 2 and 3 months, respectively. It was concluded that summer-growing perennials are a promising option to alleviate feed gaps on mixed crop–livestock farms in areas with at least 150 mm of rainfall from October to April.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Summer-growing perennial grasses are a potential new feed source in the low rainfall environment of southern Australia

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The economic profitability of an intercropping system would be conditioned by the coexistence of both cereal crop and pasture without competition penalizing the crop yields [22]. Our results have shown that pasture cropping would strongly affect the main crop yield when the available resources, especially water, are low.…”

Section: Winter Barleymentioning

confidence: 79%

“…The results of this study have confirmed, under Spanish conditions, the possibility of sowing winter cereals on perennial summer pastures with no effect on the establishment of winter barley. Pasture cropping has been already reported, under Australian conditions, as a useful way to maintain soil cover and reduce the consequences of cereal establishment failures in lighter soils characterized by low fertility and low soil water-holding capacity [22]. Specific meteorological conditions may require the use of specific practices.…”

Section: Winter Barleymentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Pasture Cropping a Valid Weed Management Tool?

Luna

Fernández‐Quintanilla

Dorado

2020

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of the present work was to study the feasibility of pasture cropping under the Mediterranean conditions prevailing in central Spain and its potential as a weed management tool. Three cropping systems were assessed: conventionally grown winter barley and winter barley in pasture cropping with two perennial summer species, Cynodon dactylon and Eragrostis curvula. The results showed that the growth of these two species in a pasture cropping system was limited by the severe drought conditions and high temperatures present during the summer in some of the study years. Although there were no differences in the establishment of winter barley in any of the treatments assessed, pasture cropping reduced winter barley yields up to 50%–60% in years with low rainfall in spring. Regarding weed control, pasture cropping showed a significant suppression of the total weed density and number of weed species. As a conclusion, pasture cropping can be considered as a valid weed management tool. However, the economic feasibility of this system under the climatic conditions of central Spain (characterized by a high risk of severe summer droughts) is still not clear. The availability of supplemental irrigation may reduce competition between pastures and winter crops and ensure a profitable production of summer pastures.

show abstract

“…The breeding ewes that were replaced, and all remaining lambs, were then sold. The diet of sheep at the Kellerberrin and Southern Mallee case study farms was supplemented from February to May with lupin grain at the rate of 46 kg DSE −1 yr −1 (Finlayson et al, 2012). Supplements were assumed to be 100 % consumed by the sheep without wastage.…”

Section: Defining Livestock Dynamics With the Feed Demand Calculatormentioning

confidence: 99%

Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Cropping and Grazed Pastures Are Similar: A Simulation Analysis in Australia

Meier

Thorburn

Bell

et al. 2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The agricultural sector has potential to provide greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation by sequestering soil organic carbon (SOC). Replacing cropland with permanent pasture is one practice promoted for its potential to sequester soil carbon. However, pastures frequently support livestock, which produce other GHG emissions that could negate the abatement from increased SOC, especially given the declining rate of SOC sequestration through time. Our purpose was to determine whether the abatement provided by SOC storage in permanent pastures was offset by livestock emissions, and to thus compare emissions from grazed pasture systems with those from cropping systems. We investigated this question for three case study farms in locations with contrasting climate, soils and management representative of Australian cropping and livestock systems. Three cropping scenarios were defined that had increasing amounts of SOC inputs: Crop burn , crop residues burned before sowing (lowest SOC input); Crop stubble , crop residues retained; and Crop intensity , uncropped fallow phases replaced with short-term green manure legume crops. The on-farm GHG emissions profiles of these cropping scenarios were compared with those from two livestock scenarios utilizing continuous stocking: Livestock grass , stocked permanent grass pasture; and Livestock legume , stocked permanent legume pasture; the latter having higher SOC input than the former. Crop yields, pasture growth rates and emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) from the soil were simulated with the APSIM farming systems model. Livestock emissions were predicted using Australian GHG accounting emission factors. For the farms in this study, the SOC sequestered in the stocked permanent pastures was offset by emissions from livestock, and emissions from cropping scenarios were similar to or significantly less than those from the livestock scenarios. These findings: (1) demonstrate the importance of using net GHG abatement potentials from combined emissions rather than a single GHG abatement process when evaluating potential abatement practices, and (2) demonstrate that characteristics of different locations can alter the abatement potential of management practices.

show abstract

A bio-economic evaluation of the profitability of adopting subtropical grasses and pasture-cropping on crop–livestock farms

Cited by 22 publications

References 20 publications

Summer-growing perennial grasses are a potential new feed source in the low rainfall environment of southern Australia

Summer-growing perennial grasses are a potential new feed source in the low rainfall environment of southern Australia

Is Pasture Cropping a Valid Weed Management Tool?

Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Cropping and Grazed Pastures Are Similar: A Simulation Analysis in Australia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About