ISSN:
1365-2494
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Notes:
In pastoral farming systems, pasture production normally exceeds demand in the spring–summer period. Consequently, conserving forage at this time for use during the following winter is a widespread practice. The objective of this study was to assess the possible advantages of incorporating flexibility into a calendar-based haymaking policy. A range of flexible haymaking strategies were simulated and compared against a calendar-based strategy by using a simulation model to estimate long-term performance of cow-calf farm systems under each strategy. The results suggest that controlling haymaking in a flexible fashion, basing the decisions of closing, releasing and cutting paddocks on a simple pasture budget, could give the system productive advantages over using a calendar-based approach. In terms of liveweight production per hectare, compared at the same area harvested, the flexible approach had higher average annual calf liveweight production (an increase of up to 0.15) and lower system variability [a reduction of 0.10 in the coefficient of variation (CV)] depending on the stocking rate. The results indicated that allocating more than 0.50–0.60 of the farm area to conservation would only be advantageous at very high stocking rates. In contrast to the calendar-based strategy, making more hay than required for the immediate next winter, where possible, can reduce system variability.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2494.2005.00493.x
