Economic Review of Pasture Development Options for North Australian Beef Enterprises

Beef cattle grazing (~14 million head) native pastures is the dominant economic use of northern grazing lands (2.3 million km2). Few enterprises make positive economic returns in most years or achieve the necessary productivity gains (~2% per annum) to offset an ongoing cost-price squeeze (McCosker et al., 2010). A significant contributor to poor performance is low reproductive performance, management of first calving heifers, calf growth and weaning rates and liveweight gain - linked to nutrition and the low quality of pastures. Pasture development technologies (Gramshaw and Walker, 1988) are available but uptake has been poor. Three pasture development options offering technical promise include (a) mosaic irrigation - small-scale schemes utilising favourable soils and access to water, (b) broad-scale over-sowing of native pastures with improved grasses and legumes, (c) high intensity-short duration (cell) grazing and (c) increasing stock access to underutilised pasture resources by expanding water and fencing infrastructure. How these options might alter the economic performance of enterprises has received limited attention. A formal review employed simulation models and regional case studies to explore the scope for mosaic irrigation to change the production and marketing orientation of northern beef enterprises and deliver economic benefits (MacLeod et al., 2013). Consideration was also given to alternative development options viz. broad-scale pasture sowing, high intensity-short duration (cell) grazing, and additional water and fencing infrastructure. The economic results of these options for three of the regional case studies are summarised in this paper

New skills, networks and challenges: the changing face of animal production science in Australia

Livestock producers are facing increasing pressure to reduce the environmental and animal-welfare impacts of production, while also managing the challenge of an increasingly variable climate and diminishing resources. This perspective paper highlights the role for animal scientists to contribute to the sustainability of future livestock systems. We argue the need for a broader, more inclusive and more integrated concept of animal science, better connections among scientists, producers, consumers and policy makers, and more support for the next generation of animal scientists. Animal scientists have an important role to play in providing the evidence to support the social licence of livestock production and inform decisions made by policy makers and consumers regarding the production and consumption of livestock products. Animal scientists can also assist producers to adapt to social, environmental and political challenges that affect their livelihoods and the way they farm. Traditionally, animal science has focussed on species- and discipline-specific areas of research such as ruminant nutrition, genetics or reproductive physiology. While this fundamental research remains essential to understand the underlying biology of livestock production and improve production efficiency, it needs to be better integrated into research applied at and beyond the herd or flock level. Systems thinkers who can apply this knowledge across farm, regional and national scales also have an important role in providing information to key decision makers, from farmers to national government. Better engagement with the social and economic sciences can inform how animal scientists and extension services interact with producers to understand constraints to production as well as adoption of new technology and co-develop evidence-based solutions. Underlying this, the demographics of those who study and work in animal science are changing. Australian animal industries require the best and brightest minds to overcome future challenges and engaging these students as the new face of Australian animal science is an essential step towards sustainable future livestock systems

Productivity of Ongole Cows and Calves under an Integrated Village Management System (IVMS) in East Java

The objective of this study was to assess the productivity of ongole crossbed (PO) cows and calves managed by the Integrated Village Management System (IVMS). Key principles of the IVMS are weaning of calves at 5-6 months and strategic supplementation of breeding cows and early weaned calf using locally available feeds. In this study, village cows were fed a diet based on untreated rice straw, with supplementation using green feed and concentrates. Calf productivity was recorded by measuring birth weight, weaning weight, and calf mortality. Implementation of IVMS management with rice straw-based feed strategically supplemented with concentrate and tree legume produced good PO cow and calf productivity. Calving percentage was 61%, calf birth weight 25.1-26.1 kg, calf weaning weight 116 kg, calf mortalit

Livestock health and disease economics: a scoping review of selected literature.

Animal diseases in production and subsistence environments have the potential to negatively affect consumers, producers, and economies as a whole. A growing global demand for animal sourced food requires safe and efficient production systems. Understanding the burden of animal disease and the distribution of burden throughout a value chain informs policy that promotes safe consumption and efficient markets, as well as providing more effective pathways for investment. This paper surveys existing knowledge on the burden of animal disease across economic categories of production, prevention and treatment, animal welfare, and trade and regulation. Our scoping review covers 192 papers across peer-reviewed journals and reports published by organizations. We find there exists a gap in knowledge in evaluating what the global burdens of animal diseases are and how these burdens are distributed in value chains. We also point to a need for creating an analytical framework based on established methods that guides future evaluation of animal disease burden, which will provide improved access to information on animal health impacts

Approximating the global economic (market) value of farmed animals

Understanding the global economic importance of farmed animals to society is essential as a baseline for decision making about future food systems. We estimated the annual global economic (market) value of live animals and primary production outputs, e.g., meat, eggs, milk, from terrestrial and aquatic farmed animal systems. The results suggest that the total global market value of farmed animals ranges between 1.61 and 3.3 trillion USD (2018) and is expected to be similar in absolute terms to the market value of crop outputs (2.57 trillion USD). The cattle sector dominates the market value of farmed animals. The study highlights the need to consider other values of farmed animals to society, e.g., finance/insurance value and cultural value, in decisions about the sector's future

Yield gap analyses to estimate attainable bovine milk yields and evaluate options to increase production in Ethiopia and India

Livestock provides an important source of income and nourishment for around one billion rural households worldwide. Demand for livestock food products is increasing, especially in developing countries, and there are opportunities to increase production to meet local demand and increase farm incomes. Estimating the scale of livestock yield gaps and better understanding factors limiting current production will help to define the technological and investment needs in each livestock sector. The aim of this paper is to quantify livestock yield gaps and evaluate opportunities to increase dairy production in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, using case studies from Ethiopia and India. We combined three different methods in our approach. Benchmarking and a frontier analysis were used to estimate attainable milk yields based on survey data. Household modelling was then used to simulate the effects of various interventions on dairy production and income. We tested interventions based on improved livestock nutrition and genetics in the extensive lowland grazing zone and highland mixed crop-livestock zones of Ethiopia, and the intensive irrigated and rainfed zones of India. Our analyses indicate that there are considerable yield gaps for dairy production in both countries, and opportunities to increase production using the interventions tested. In some cases, combined interventions could increase production past currently attainable livestock yields

Raising the steaks: reducing GHG emissions from red meat

The red meat sector makes an important contribution to Australia’s economy, but is also a contributor to national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In 2005 (the baseline year for the Paris Agreement), emissions from the Australian red meat industry were 129.3 Mt CO2e; 21% of national emissions. The main sources of emissions were CO2 from forest land converted to grassland, and enteric methane from grazing beef cattle. Between 2005 and 2016, emissions attributed to the red meat sector decreased by 58% to 54.8 Mt CO2e and 10% of national emissions. This large reduction was primarily due to decreased land clearing for grazing, but there has also been a modest increase in the efficiency of red meat production. Further reductions in GHG emissions from the red meat industry are possible through continued improvements in land management and new options to reduce methane emissions from ruminant livestock. As the custodians of almost half of Australian land, there are also opportunities for grazing livestock industries to be leaders in carbon sequestration. While possible, mitigation and sequestration activities come at a cost, and require investment and policy support from private and government bodies. This needs to be supported by a willingness of consumers, both in Australia and export markets, to pay a higher price for low-carbon products. This case study gives an update to our 2019 paper on carbon neutral pathways, and highlights some of the lessons from Australia that can be applied to developing countries

Australian assessment highlights global risks for sheep production in a warmer climate

Ambient temperature increases occurring under climate change could induce livestock heat stress, resulting in lambing losses and an estimated economic burden of up to Australian $166 million per annum to the Australian sheep industry

Closing yield gaps in smallholder goat production systems in Ethiopia and India

Small ruminants such as goats are an important source of income for smallholder farmers in South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa: they may be kept as a stepping stone to owning larger and higher-value animals such as cattle or buffalo, or provide a more-profitable and less-risky alternative in marginal or densely populated areas where access to feed resources are limited. However, smallholder goat production in these areas is often low due to low growth and reproduction rates and high animal mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential for different intervention packages to increase yields and profitability of goat meat production in Ethiopia and India. Packages were based on improved nutrition, reduced flock mortality from improved control of health and diseases, and replacing indigenous livestock with improved goat breeds. Household modelling was used to simulate the effects of interventions on goat production and household income in the extensive lowland grazing zone and highland mixed crop-livestock zones of Ethiopia, and the extensive arid zone of India. Our analysis showed that there are opportunities to increase goat meat production in both countries. Reproduction, liveweight gain and survival rates can be increased through better nutrition, genetics and healthcare, but the biggest increase in production and profits occurred when multiple interventions were combined. Importantly, interventions resulting in the biggest increases in goat meat production or number of animals sold did not always give the highest profits