Integrated overview of results from a farmlet experiment which compared the effects of pasture inputs and grazing management on profitability and sustainability

Abstract

Abstract. The Cicerone Project conducted a grazed farmlet experiment on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, from July 2000 to December 2006, to address questions raised by local graziers concerning how they might improve the profitability and sustainability of their grazing enterprises. This unreplicated experiment examined three management systems at a whole-farmlet scale. The control farmlet (farmlet B) represented typical management for the region, with flexible rotational grazing and moderate inputs. A second farmlet (farmlet A) also used flexible rotational grazing but had a higher level of pasture renovation and soil fertility, while the third farmlet (farmlet C) had the same moderate inputs as farmlet B but employed intensive rotational grazing. The present paper provides an integrated overview of the results collated from component papers and discusses the inferences that can be drawn from what was a complex, agroecosystem experiment. The measurements recorded both early and late in the experiment were tabulated for each of the farmlets and compared with each other as relative proportions, allowing visual presentation on a common, indexed scale. Because of equivalent starting conditions, there was little difference between farmlets early in the experimental period (2000-01) across a wide array of measured parameters, including herbage mass, potential pasture growth rate, liveweight, wool production per head, stocking rate, gross margin and equity. Although the experiment experienced drier-than-average conditions, marked differences emerged among farmlets over time, due to the effects of treatments. During the latter half of the experimental period (2003-06), farmlet A showed numerous positive and a few negative consequences of the higher rate of pasture renovation and increased soil fertility compared with the other two farmlets. While intensive rotational grazing resulted in superior control of gastrointestinal nematodes and slightly finer wool, this system had few effects on pastures and no positive effects on sheep liveweights, wool production or stocking rate. Whereas farmlet A showed higher gross margins, it had a negative and lower short-term cash position than did farmlets B and C, due largely to the artificially high rate of pasture renovation undertaken on this farmlet during the experiment. Although farmlet B had the highest cash position at the end of the experiment, this came at a cost of the declining quality of its pastures. Modelling of the farmlet systems allowed the results to be considered over the longer timeframes needed to assess sustainability. Thus, returns on investment were compared over realistic amortisation periods and produced outcomes based on long-term climatic expectations which were compared with those that arose under the drier-than-average conditions experienced during the experimental period. The main factors responsible for lifting the productivity of farmlet A were the sowing of temperate species and increased soil fertility, which enhanced the amo...

Whole-farm management of soil nutrients drives productive grazing systems: the Cicerone farmlet experiment confirms earlier research

“…The economic aspects of the different soil fertility strategies have also been explored in relation to profitability and optimisation (Behrendt et al 2013a). An integrated overview of the most significant relationships between the various components of the three whole-farm systems investigated has been described by Scott et al (2013b). It has commonly been observed in pasture fertility trials on the Northern Tablelands, and elsewhere in southern Australia, that fertiliser P initially stimulates clover growth, which in turn fixes N that stimulates the growth of associated grasses (Robinson and Lazenby 1976).…”

Do regenerative grazing management practices improve vegetation and soil health in grazed rangelands? Preliminary insights from a space-for-time study in the Great Barrier Reef catchments, Australia

“…Interestingly, Schatz et al (2020) found lower per head and per area production from intensive rotational grazing than from continuous grazing, and topsoil organic carbon stocks did not increase with intensive grazing over a 5 year period. Hillslope scale soil condition, runoff and water quality in a subtropical area used for sheep grazing were found to improve under time-controlled rotational grazing after ~6 years (Sanjari et al 2008(Sanjari et al , 2009, and several other studies have investigated the effect of different grazing management strategies for sheep-dominated enterprises, with mixed ecological and economic outcomes (see Behrendt et al 2013;Scott et al 2013aScott et al , 2013bShakhane et al 2013).…”

Modelling Chinese grassland systems to improve herder livelihoods and grassland sustainability

“…A key challenge in making decisions regarding the operational management of a grassland resource is its complexity and intractability. Decisions need to consider the interactions between grassland ecology, the use of technology to improve and manage the resource, environmental externalities, utilisation of the resource by grazing animals, and the short and longrun profitability of the whole farming system (MacLeod and McIvor 2008;Scott et al 2013;Behrendt et al 2016a;Kemp et al 2020a). In China, the identification of pathways to improve both grassland condition and the livelihoods of herders that depend on them, including the development of pragmatic criteria used to improve the management of grasslands, have been substantially researched (Kemp et al 2013(Kemp et al , 2018(Kemp et al , 2020Badgery et al 2020).…”