A model-farm approach to research on crop-livestock integration — I. Conceptual framework and methods

Thomson, E. F.; Bahhady, F.

doi:10.1016/0308-521x(94)00037-r

Cited by 11 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The first was an interdisciplinary research project integrating both crop and livestock in a whole farm system initiated in southwest Virginia, USA in 1988 15 . The second was in Syria where a model farm approach using three farm types was employed to investigate the benefits of closer crop/livestock integration and to determine which farm type best enhanced sheep production 16 . In North Dakota, USA an integrated crop/livestock project was designed to reduce fertilizer and pesticide inputs through the use of crop rotations, polyculture and stand density 11 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated crop/livestock systems research: Practical research considerations

Tanaka

Karn

Scholljegerdes

2008

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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There are many reasons for the paucity of integrated crop/livestock research and associated publications. Integrated/crop livestock experiments that involve adequate treatments and replications, as perceived by both crop and animal scientists, require large numbers of hectares, many animals, considerable labor to conduct the research, substantial financial resources, and a commitment by Federal and State Research Agencies to fund such long-term research projects. To be truly integrated, crop/livestock research must be multidisciplinary, involving scientists of diverse training and experience with expertise to address various aspects of the research problem, and scientists must function as a cohesive unit or team. The prevailing attitude that all experimental data must be statistically analyzed to be of any value is also a detriment to integrated research. Statistical analyses of these projects may be quite challenging and require new or unusual approaches. Related to the prevailing need for statistical analysis is also the need for scientists to publish senior authored publications for career advancement. Conducting integrated research may not facilitate scientists' publishing the number and quality of publications required for them to meet these criteria. A further obstacle to integrated research alluded to above, involves the many experimental design compromises that must be made by cooperating scientists. Crop and soil scientists for example, use many treatments and replications with small plots, while animal scientists, by necessity, have experiments that involve relatively large numbers of hectares and animal numbers with relatively few treatments and replications. It is therefore extremely difficult to initiate such projects given these inherent differences in crop versus livestock research protocol, as well as to design effective experiments that will provide publishable data. Making compromises on the many factors relevant to integrated crop/livestock research while designing experiments that will provide solutions to pertinent producer problems as well as useful data that can be statistically analyzed and published is, therefore, extremely difficult.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated crop/livestock systems research: Practical research considerations

Tanaka

Karn

Scholljegerdes

2008

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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“…Three unreplicated model farms of 20 ha, supporting as few as 30 sheep per farm, on a research station in Syria, were used by researchers to investigate closer crop-livestock integration over a period of 6 years (Thomson and Bahhady 1995). Small, self-contained, 1-ha farmlets were employed on two different soil types in south-west England to study the nitrogen dynamics of grazed and cut pastures for beef cattle production over 5 years (Laws et al 2000).…”

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confidence: 99%

Planning for whole-farm systems research at a credible scale: subdividing land into farmlets with equivalent initial conditions

et al. 2013

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Abstract.Most research comparing different farming systems has been conducted on relatively uniform plots at small scales made necessary by the desire for sufficient replication of the systems and cost limitations. This paper describes an alternative approach to plan the allocation of land to three unreplicated whole-farm management systems such that each farmlet had equivalent starting conditions and yet was at a scale credible to both livestock producers and researchers. The paddocks of each farmlet were distributed across the landscape in a 'patchwork quilt' pattern after six iterations of a mapping exercise using a Geographic Information System. Allocation of paddocks took into account those variables of the landscape and natural resource capacity that were not able to be altered. An important benefit of the procedure was that it ensured that the farmlets were co-located with contiguous paddock boundaries so that all farmlets experienced the same climatic as well as biophysical conditions. An electromagnetic survey was conducted of the entire property and used in conjunction with a detailed soils map in order to classify areas into soil conductivity groupings. Equivalent areas of each soil type were allocated across the three farmlets. Similarly, land was distributed according to its topography so that no farmlet would be compromised by being allocated more low lying, flood-prone land than any other farmlet. The third factor used to allocate land to each farmlet was the prior fertiliser history of the original paddocks. This process ensured that each farmlet was objectively allocated equivalent areas of soil type, topography and fertiliser history thus avoiding initial bias among the farmlets. After the plan for all paddocks of each farmlet was finalised, new paddock boundaries were drawn and where necessary, fencing was removed, modified and added, along with re-arranged watering points. The farmlet treatments commenced in July 2000 when the first pasture establishment and differential fertiliser applications were carried out. Evidence from the electromagnetic survey and the Landsat imagery confirmed that the distribution of hydrologic soil conductivity and vegetation greenness were similar between all farmlets just before the commencement of the experiment.

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Carbon sequestration in dryland ecosystems of West Asia and North Africa

Lal

2002

Land Degrad Dev

142

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The West Asia±North Africa (WANA) region has a land area of 1Á7 billion ha, and a population of 600 million. Deserti®cation and soil degradation are severe problems in the region. The problem of drought stress is exacerbated by low and erratic rainfall and soils of limited available water holding capacity and a soil organic carbon (SOC) content of less than 0Á5 per cent. The SOC pool of most soils has been depleted by soil degradation and widespread use of subsistence and exploitative farming systems. The historic loss of a SOC pool for the soils of the WANA region may be 6±12 Pg compared with the global loss of 66±90 Pg. Assuming that 60 per cent of the historic loss can be resequestered, the total soil-C sink capacity of the WANA region may be 3±7 Pg. This potential may be realized through adoption of measures to control deserti®cation, restore degraded soils and ecosystems, and improve soil and crop management techniques that can enhance the SOC pool and improve soil quality. The strategies of soil C sequestration include integrated nutrient management (INM) and recycling, controlled grazing, and growing improved fodder species on rangeland. Improved technologies for cropland include use of INM and biofertilizers, appropriate tillage methods and residue management techniques, crop rotations and cover crops, and water and nutrient recycling technologies. Through adoption of such measures, the potential of soil-C sequestration in the WANA region is 0Á2±0Á4 Pg C yr À1.

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A model-farm approach to research on crop-livestock integration — I. Conceptual framework and methods

Cited by 11 publications

References 9 publications

Integrated crop/livestock systems research: Practical research considerations

Integrated crop/livestock systems research: Practical research considerations

Planning for whole-farm systems research at a credible scale: subdividing land into farmlets with equivalent initial conditions

Carbon sequestration in dryland ecosystems of West Asia and North Africa

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