26 research outputs found

    Sustainability, Biodiversity and Environmental Issues: A Global Perspective for Livestock Production

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    To meet world food demand through the 21st century, agricultural production needs to increase, but this needs to be done sustainably through increasing efficiency, optimising sufficiency and achieving consistency, such that resource use is optimised, waste reduced and environmental benefits gained. These strategies need to be developed against changing food patterns, especially a decline in per capita consumption of cereals and an increase in meat consumption as household incomes increase. Grasslands are collectively the larger group of land-based ecosystems on the planet. Their values are not always recognised, often being seen as ‘reserves’ for exploitation for urban expansion, for cropping or some other use – conversion to these other uses is continuing at a high rate. Their exploitation often leads to greater environmental and socio-economic problems. Over-grazing is typically the main influence on grassland productivity, reflecting the pressures from excessive human populations and a demand for food. Some 20% of the world’s grasslands are in a severely degraded state; others have suffered shifts to less-desirable species with consequently reduced productivity. Estimates of productivity change all show a declined over recent decades, yet animal numbers continue to increase, particularly in the developing world. Restoring productivity to achieve both livestock production and environmental benefits are desirable but not widely practiced in developing countries. Biodiversity and greenhouse gas production have been particular concerns, but the methods used to monitor them have not always suited an agricultural context – solutions are proposed. The large differences in livestock production efficiencies between the developed and developing world highlight how existing knowledge can be used to achieve major improvements that in turn would show major benefits for the world’s livestock industries

    Grasslands\u3csup\u3e1\u3c/sup\u3e for Production and the Environment

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    To manage grasslands for production and enhanced environmental values requires a redefinition of the frameworks within which management decisions are made, and a tailoring of practices to suit the ways that farmers operate. Improving the perenniality and permanence of grasslands usually leads to better environmental and production outcomes. There is a case for a more conservative approach to utilising grasslands in order to sustain the functioning of local ecosystems and to improve water quality, nutrient and energy cycling and biodiversity. A landscape rather than paddock focus is more appropriate for meeting current grassland management objectives. Grasslands can be triaged to better focus R&D and management, though this could challenge society’s preferences for products from more environmentally friendly ecosystems. There is a need to find payment and/or market systems that mean environmental values are enhanced and farm income does not suffer

    Grasslands for Production and the Environment

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    Key points 1. To manage grasslands for production and enhanced environmental values requires a redefinition of the frameworks within which management decisions are made, and a tailoring of practices to suit the ways that farmers operate. 2. Improving the perenniality and permanence of grasslands usually leads to better environmental and production outcomes. 3. There is a case for a more conservative approach to utilising grasslands in order to sustain the functioning of local ecosystems and to improve water quality, nutrient and energy cycling and biodiversity. 4. A landscape rather than paddock focus is more appropriate for meeting current grassland management objectives. Grasslands can be triaged to better focus R&D and management, though this could challenge society’s preferences for products from more environmentally friendly ecosystems. 5. There is a need to find payment and/or market systems that mean environmental values are enhanced and farm income does not suffer

    Sustainable Grasslands: Resolving Management Options for Livelihood and Environmental Benefits

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    To help solve the major issues of improving livelihoods and environmental services, grassland research needs to be evaluated within the context of relevant farm systems. Treatments need to show that they not only have significant effects but that they have effects that are meaningful in the context of the relevant farm system. Research often defines an optimum criterion for management that is a single point, but that is difficult to achieve in practice, especially when there are several components in a grassland system that need to be optimised. It is argued that an appropriate criterion for optimising management is a range of values wherein management should aim to maintain the grassland. Typically grasslands comprise many species and appropriate frameworks are needed to determine suitable management practices so that the desirable species dominate. Examples of quantifiable frameworks are presented. A theory of animal production from grassland is then used that shows how optimising stocking rates and then considering the implications can lead to defining managing criteria that create a win-win circumstance for sustaining livestock, household livelihoods and environmental services. Traditionally farmers have thought in terms of the animal carrying capacity on areas of grassland as their main management criteria; which is only a measure of demand. A central component in many relationships is the grassland herbage mass and it is argued that this should be the primary criterion for managing grasslands; herbage mass is a net measure of supply and demand and better links to a wide range of measures of environmental services

    Impact of Market Forces on Product Quality and Grassland Condition

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    Meeting demands for livestock products which are predicted to more than double during the next 20 years, is central to the challenge of feeding the world sustainably. Smallholders will play a key role in achieving global security in animal protein. However, this requires a shift from subsistence to market-oriented farming where production efficiency not the number of livestock is the key focus with the aim of producing ‘more from less’. For grassland-based ruminant production, reducing stocking rate from current unsustainable levels under subsistence management is an essential first step to producing more production and profit from fewer animals. This is made possible in commercial farming by using a combination of new technology, decision-making skills and market development. For example, only after stocking rate is sustainably aligned with forage supply and herd structure is changed to comprise mainly breeding females’ can smallholders reliably use genetics and improved breeding programs to boost profitability by producing higher take-off of products that meet market quality specification. To link effectively with the market smallholders must be confident they can produce the quality products consumers want. Examples from Sunan County, Gansu Province, China, are given of the use of bio-economic modelling base on smallholder available feed supply to identify the best enterprise and management options to produce marketable quality products. However, poorly developed product specifications, poor price transparency, a lack of marketing services and inadequate infrastructure which still pose a major constraint to the transition from subsistence to commercial farming in developing countries requires remedial intervention. The highly integrated Australian sheep production and marketing system is briefly describes as an industry case study of how the combination of investment in R&D to develop new technologies such as Australian Sheep Breeding Values and breeding systems using terminal crosses are used to meet to continuing changing demands of domestic and overseas consumers. This case study provides principles and practices that can be applied to improved production efficiency and marketing in developing countries to facilitate the transition from subsistence to market-oriented ruminant production

    The Use of Open Communal Grazing Designs to Screen Options for Grazing Management

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    An open communal grazing design is described that enables a large number of grazing tactics to be concurrently evaluated in small plots under common grazing conditions. Pasture data indicated that the same level of utilisation occurred inside the experimental plots as in the surrounding field. However, differential grazing may occur where plots have divergent composition. The open communal design was economical using \u3c 5% of the land, livestock and fencing resources of alternative designs. The limitations of the open communal design as a research tool are also discussed
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