The Experts below are selected from a list of 22122 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Lindsay W. Bell - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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evolution in crop Livestock integration Systems that improve farm productivity and environmental performance in australia
European Journal of Agronomy, 2014Co-Authors: Lindsay W. Bell, A D Moore, J A KirkegaardAbstract:Australian farming Systems have an enduring history of crop–Livestock integration which emerged in the face of high climate variability, infertile soils and variable landscapes. Ley farming Systems with phases of shorter annual legume pasture phases with cereal crops predominate but, emerging sustainability issues and the need to manage risk is driving ongoing innovation in crop–Livestock integration. We discuss the recent evolution of selected innovations that integrate crop and Livestock production and their impacts on farm productivity, sustainability and business risk. Dual-purpose use of cereals and canola (Brassica napus) for forage during the vegetative stage while still harvesting for grain is now practiced throughout southern Australia's cropping zone. This practice provides risk Management benefits, diversifies crop rotations, reduces pressure on other feed resources and can significantly increase both Livestock and crop productivity from farms by 25–75% with little increase in inputs. Sacrificially grazing crops when expected grain yield is low and/or Livestock prices are attractive relative to grain provides further flexibility in crop–Livestock Management Systems vital for business risk Management in a variable climate. Replacing annual pastures with perennial pasture phases in rotation with crops can provide a range of benefits including improved hydrological balance to reduce dryland salinity, subsoil acidification and water-logging, provide a Management tool for herbicide-resistant or problem weeds, improved soil nutrient and carbon stocks as well as increased Livestock productivity by filling feed gaps. In some environments, integration of perennial forages in mixtures with cropping, such as alley cropping and inter-cropping, also provide options for improving environmental outcomes. These practices are all innovations that provide flexibility and enable tactical decisions about the mix of enterprises and allocation of land and forage resources to be adjusted in response to climate and price. We discuss these innovations in the context of the emerging constraints to crop–Livestock integration in Australia including the continuing decline in labour availability on farms and increasing Management skill required to optimise enterprise profitability.
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Evolution in crop–Livestock integration Systems that improve farm productivity and environmental performance in Australia
European Journal of Agronomy, 2014Co-Authors: Lindsay W. Bell, A D Moore, J A KirkegaardAbstract:Australian farming Systems have an enduring history of crop–Livestock integration which emerged in the face of high climate variability, infertile soils and variable landscapes. Ley farming Systems with phases of shorter annual legume pasture phases with cereal crops predominate but, emerging sustainability issues and the need to manage risk is driving ongoing innovation in crop–Livestock integration. We discuss the recent evolution of selected innovations that integrate crop and Livestock production and their impacts on farm productivity, sustainability and business risk. Dual-purpose use of cereals and canola (Brassica napus) for forage during the vegetative stage while still harvesting for grain is now practiced throughout southern Australia's cropping zone. This practice provides risk Management benefits, diversifies crop rotations, reduces pressure on other feed resources and can significantly increase both Livestock and crop productivity from farms by 25–75% with little increase in inputs. Sacrificially grazing crops when expected grain yield is low and/or Livestock prices are attractive relative to grain provides further flexibility in crop–Livestock Management Systems vital for business risk Management in a variable climate. Replacing annual pastures with perennial pasture phases in rotation with crops can provide a range of benefits including improved hydrological balance to reduce dryland salinity, subsoil acidification and water-logging, provide a Management tool for herbicide-resistant or problem weeds, improved soil nutrient and carbon stocks as well as increased Livestock productivity by filling feed gaps. In some environments, integration of perennial forages in mixtures with cropping, such as alley cropping and inter-cropping, also provide options for improving environmental outcomes. These practices are all innovations that provide flexibility and enable tactical decisions about the mix of enterprises and allocation of land and forage resources to be adjusted in response to climate and price. We discuss these innovations in the context of the emerging constraints to crop–Livestock integration in Australia including the continuing decline in labour availability on farms and increasing Management skill required to optimise enterprise profitability.
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Feed gaps in mixed-farming Systems: insights from the Grain & Graze program
Animal Production Science, 2009Co-Authors: A D Moore, Lindsay W. Bell, Dean RevellAbstract:A central concern of the Grain & Graze research, development and extension program has been improving the Management of the feedbase on mixed farms through addressing ‘feed gaps’ – times of year during which the supply of forage is insufficient to meet Livestock demand. In this review, we use the available data on pasture growth and quality, supplemented by modelling results, to describe the characteristic timing of feed gaps across the Australian cereal-Livestock zone. Feedbase interventions studied during the Grain & Graze program have mainly addressed the supply side of the feed balance equation. We review these studies, paying particular attention to the time scale of the variability in the feed balance that each intervention is intended to address. We conclude that grazing of cereals (either dual-purpose or forage crops) is the most promising means of alleviating winter feed gaps in regions where they are important. Reducing feed gaps in summer by relying on unpredictable summer rainfall events will increase year-to-year variability in forage production and will therefore require more flexible Livestock Management Systems to exploit it. The use of forage shrubs offers a practical tool for increasing the predictability of summer and autumn feed supply, but given their moderate capacity for providing additional metabolisable energy it remains important to carefully manage Livestock over autumn and to manage the herbaceous inter-row pasture. Feed gaps mainly arise from an interaction between biology and economics. We find, however, that the options studied in the Grain & Graze program for addressing feed gaps require either greater complexity in pasture and grazing Management or more opportunistic Livestock trading; they therefore come at a cost to the manager’s limited decision-making time. Times with feed gaps are also times when particular natural resource Management risks (especially erosion) need to be managed. Supply-side interventions to relieve feed gaps will generally use more soil water, which will often have positive effects on natural resource Management outcomes.
J A Kirkegaard - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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evolution in crop Livestock integration Systems that improve farm productivity and environmental performance in australia
European Journal of Agronomy, 2014Co-Authors: Lindsay W. Bell, A D Moore, J A KirkegaardAbstract:Australian farming Systems have an enduring history of crop–Livestock integration which emerged in the face of high climate variability, infertile soils and variable landscapes. Ley farming Systems with phases of shorter annual legume pasture phases with cereal crops predominate but, emerging sustainability issues and the need to manage risk is driving ongoing innovation in crop–Livestock integration. We discuss the recent evolution of selected innovations that integrate crop and Livestock production and their impacts on farm productivity, sustainability and business risk. Dual-purpose use of cereals and canola (Brassica napus) for forage during the vegetative stage while still harvesting for grain is now practiced throughout southern Australia's cropping zone. This practice provides risk Management benefits, diversifies crop rotations, reduces pressure on other feed resources and can significantly increase both Livestock and crop productivity from farms by 25–75% with little increase in inputs. Sacrificially grazing crops when expected grain yield is low and/or Livestock prices are attractive relative to grain provides further flexibility in crop–Livestock Management Systems vital for business risk Management in a variable climate. Replacing annual pastures with perennial pasture phases in rotation with crops can provide a range of benefits including improved hydrological balance to reduce dryland salinity, subsoil acidification and water-logging, provide a Management tool for herbicide-resistant or problem weeds, improved soil nutrient and carbon stocks as well as increased Livestock productivity by filling feed gaps. In some environments, integration of perennial forages in mixtures with cropping, such as alley cropping and inter-cropping, also provide options for improving environmental outcomes. These practices are all innovations that provide flexibility and enable tactical decisions about the mix of enterprises and allocation of land and forage resources to be adjusted in response to climate and price. We discuss these innovations in the context of the emerging constraints to crop–Livestock integration in Australia including the continuing decline in labour availability on farms and increasing Management skill required to optimise enterprise profitability.
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Evolution in crop–Livestock integration Systems that improve farm productivity and environmental performance in Australia
European Journal of Agronomy, 2014Co-Authors: Lindsay W. Bell, A D Moore, J A KirkegaardAbstract:Australian farming Systems have an enduring history of crop–Livestock integration which emerged in the face of high climate variability, infertile soils and variable landscapes. Ley farming Systems with phases of shorter annual legume pasture phases with cereal crops predominate but, emerging sustainability issues and the need to manage risk is driving ongoing innovation in crop–Livestock integration. We discuss the recent evolution of selected innovations that integrate crop and Livestock production and their impacts on farm productivity, sustainability and business risk. Dual-purpose use of cereals and canola (Brassica napus) for forage during the vegetative stage while still harvesting for grain is now practiced throughout southern Australia's cropping zone. This practice provides risk Management benefits, diversifies crop rotations, reduces pressure on other feed resources and can significantly increase both Livestock and crop productivity from farms by 25–75% with little increase in inputs. Sacrificially grazing crops when expected grain yield is low and/or Livestock prices are attractive relative to grain provides further flexibility in crop–Livestock Management Systems vital for business risk Management in a variable climate. Replacing annual pastures with perennial pasture phases in rotation with crops can provide a range of benefits including improved hydrological balance to reduce dryland salinity, subsoil acidification and water-logging, provide a Management tool for herbicide-resistant or problem weeds, improved soil nutrient and carbon stocks as well as increased Livestock productivity by filling feed gaps. In some environments, integration of perennial forages in mixtures with cropping, such as alley cropping and inter-cropping, also provide options for improving environmental outcomes. These practices are all innovations that provide flexibility and enable tactical decisions about the mix of enterprises and allocation of land and forage resources to be adjusted in response to climate and price. We discuss these innovations in the context of the emerging constraints to crop–Livestock integration in Australia including the continuing decline in labour availability on farms and increasing Management skill required to optimise enterprise profitability.
A D Moore - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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evolution in crop Livestock integration Systems that improve farm productivity and environmental performance in australia
European Journal of Agronomy, 2014Co-Authors: Lindsay W. Bell, A D Moore, J A KirkegaardAbstract:Australian farming Systems have an enduring history of crop–Livestock integration which emerged in the face of high climate variability, infertile soils and variable landscapes. Ley farming Systems with phases of shorter annual legume pasture phases with cereal crops predominate but, emerging sustainability issues and the need to manage risk is driving ongoing innovation in crop–Livestock integration. We discuss the recent evolution of selected innovations that integrate crop and Livestock production and their impacts on farm productivity, sustainability and business risk. Dual-purpose use of cereals and canola (Brassica napus) for forage during the vegetative stage while still harvesting for grain is now practiced throughout southern Australia's cropping zone. This practice provides risk Management benefits, diversifies crop rotations, reduces pressure on other feed resources and can significantly increase both Livestock and crop productivity from farms by 25–75% with little increase in inputs. Sacrificially grazing crops when expected grain yield is low and/or Livestock prices are attractive relative to grain provides further flexibility in crop–Livestock Management Systems vital for business risk Management in a variable climate. Replacing annual pastures with perennial pasture phases in rotation with crops can provide a range of benefits including improved hydrological balance to reduce dryland salinity, subsoil acidification and water-logging, provide a Management tool for herbicide-resistant or problem weeds, improved soil nutrient and carbon stocks as well as increased Livestock productivity by filling feed gaps. In some environments, integration of perennial forages in mixtures with cropping, such as alley cropping and inter-cropping, also provide options for improving environmental outcomes. These practices are all innovations that provide flexibility and enable tactical decisions about the mix of enterprises and allocation of land and forage resources to be adjusted in response to climate and price. We discuss these innovations in the context of the emerging constraints to crop–Livestock integration in Australia including the continuing decline in labour availability on farms and increasing Management skill required to optimise enterprise profitability.
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Evolution in crop–Livestock integration Systems that improve farm productivity and environmental performance in Australia
European Journal of Agronomy, 2014Co-Authors: Lindsay W. Bell, A D Moore, J A KirkegaardAbstract:Australian farming Systems have an enduring history of crop–Livestock integration which emerged in the face of high climate variability, infertile soils and variable landscapes. Ley farming Systems with phases of shorter annual legume pasture phases with cereal crops predominate but, emerging sustainability issues and the need to manage risk is driving ongoing innovation in crop–Livestock integration. We discuss the recent evolution of selected innovations that integrate crop and Livestock production and their impacts on farm productivity, sustainability and business risk. Dual-purpose use of cereals and canola (Brassica napus) for forage during the vegetative stage while still harvesting for grain is now practiced throughout southern Australia's cropping zone. This practice provides risk Management benefits, diversifies crop rotations, reduces pressure on other feed resources and can significantly increase both Livestock and crop productivity from farms by 25–75% with little increase in inputs. Sacrificially grazing crops when expected grain yield is low and/or Livestock prices are attractive relative to grain provides further flexibility in crop–Livestock Management Systems vital for business risk Management in a variable climate. Replacing annual pastures with perennial pasture phases in rotation with crops can provide a range of benefits including improved hydrological balance to reduce dryland salinity, subsoil acidification and water-logging, provide a Management tool for herbicide-resistant or problem weeds, improved soil nutrient and carbon stocks as well as increased Livestock productivity by filling feed gaps. In some environments, integration of perennial forages in mixtures with cropping, such as alley cropping and inter-cropping, also provide options for improving environmental outcomes. These practices are all innovations that provide flexibility and enable tactical decisions about the mix of enterprises and allocation of land and forage resources to be adjusted in response to climate and price. We discuss these innovations in the context of the emerging constraints to crop–Livestock integration in Australia including the continuing decline in labour availability on farms and increasing Management skill required to optimise enterprise profitability.
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Feed gaps in mixed-farming Systems: insights from the Grain & Graze program
Animal Production Science, 2009Co-Authors: A D Moore, Lindsay W. Bell, Dean RevellAbstract:A central concern of the Grain & Graze research, development and extension program has been improving the Management of the feedbase on mixed farms through addressing ‘feed gaps’ – times of year during which the supply of forage is insufficient to meet Livestock demand. In this review, we use the available data on pasture growth and quality, supplemented by modelling results, to describe the characteristic timing of feed gaps across the Australian cereal-Livestock zone. Feedbase interventions studied during the Grain & Graze program have mainly addressed the supply side of the feed balance equation. We review these studies, paying particular attention to the time scale of the variability in the feed balance that each intervention is intended to address. We conclude that grazing of cereals (either dual-purpose or forage crops) is the most promising means of alleviating winter feed gaps in regions where they are important. Reducing feed gaps in summer by relying on unpredictable summer rainfall events will increase year-to-year variability in forage production and will therefore require more flexible Livestock Management Systems to exploit it. The use of forage shrubs offers a practical tool for increasing the predictability of summer and autumn feed supply, but given their moderate capacity for providing additional metabolisable energy it remains important to carefully manage Livestock over autumn and to manage the herbaceous inter-row pasture. Feed gaps mainly arise from an interaction between biology and economics. We find, however, that the options studied in the Grain & Graze program for addressing feed gaps require either greater complexity in pasture and grazing Management or more opportunistic Livestock trading; they therefore come at a cost to the manager’s limited decision-making time. Times with feed gaps are also times when particular natural resource Management risks (especially erosion) need to be managed. Supply-side interventions to relieve feed gaps will generally use more soil water, which will often have positive effects on natural resource Management outcomes.
Rachel Hay - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The Impact of Advances and Challenges of Bush Internet Connectivity for Women in Agriculture in Queensland, Australia
Women in Precision Agriculture, 2020Co-Authors: Rachel HayAbstract:Adoption of agricultural technology such as remote cameras, remote weather stations, bore cameras, and other Livestock Management Systems in the Queensland, Australian beef industry is inconsistent. Marketing of these technologies has previously been aimed solely at men as the decision-makers in rural relationships. Past studies, which are traditionally linked to men’s decision-making, indicate that there are several barriers to technology adoption, such as age, attitude, and education. Barriers may also be attributed to male beef producers’ own perceptions that they do not know how to use technology or that they are not capable of using technology. This perception means technology-based decisions have been falling to rural women who are often identified as invisible farmers and therefore not recognized for their work. By contrast, as technology diffuses into rural settings, it is modifying gender divisions and supporting women as they move from traditional separate roles in decision-making to productive partnerships in farming families. This chapter encourages stakeholders to see women as both decision-makers and community leaders. It highlights the importance of rural women’s use of and role in managing technology and the valuable skills and attributes that rural women bring to decision-making in Management and in leadership.
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The engagement of women and technology in agriculture
2018Co-Authors: Rachel HayAbstract:This thesis, focusing on the engagement of women and technology in agriculture in developing countries and in the beef industry in particular, contributes to the discussion surrounding benefits to rural women, men and families from using technology. It aims to contribute to small business Management in farming and to expanding knowledge on technology adoption behaviour by rural women. Adoption of agricultural technology such as remote cameras, remote weather stations, bore cameras, and other Livestock Management Systems in the beef industry is inconsistent. Marketing of these technologies has previously been aimed solely at men as the decision makers in rural relationships. Past studies, which are traditionally linked to men's decision-making, indicate that there are several barriers to technology adoption, such as age, attitude, and education. Barriers may also be attributed to male beef producers' own perceptions that they do not know how to use technology or that they are not capable of using technology. This perception means technology-based decisions have been falling to rural women who are often identified as invisible farmers and therefore not recognised for their work. This thesis highlights the importance of rural women's use of, and role in managing, technology and the valuable skills and attributes that rural women bring to decision-making in Management and in leadership. The study supports the research's rationale by confirming that women adopting technology is modifying gender divisions away from traditional separate roles towards productive partnerships. The thesis also highlights that technological properties may be more attractive to both children in terms of succession and workers in terms of connectivity and may be a solution to issues surrounding an ageing rural workforce and a shortage of rural workers and it sheds some light onto technologies contribution to positive well-being. A mixed methods approach using face-to-face interviews, an online survey and focus groups was used to view and understand women's motives, actions and intentions in terms of technology use and Management, technologies effect on succession and staff retention and if technology is improving well-being in rural families. The results show that technology that is more portable, such as laptops, smart phones, and tablets are being used on farm, demonstrating that technology is being used outside of the homestead. Women are using both practical and communication technology but are moving away from things like searching on the internet, towards using social media where they run off-farm businesses or where they sell their cattle. The results of the studies reported in the thesis indicate that more men are using technology than in a previous study, but women are still responsible for purchasing, programming and teaching male producers how to use the selected technology. Having access to the internet is also increasing quality of life for both women and men as well as children and workers. While some women are still somewhat reluctant to take on technology on-farm, others feel empowered and valued in their work. The research supports previous findings that as technology are diffusing into rural settings, it is modifying gender divisions, and supporting women as they move from traditional separate roles in decision making to productive partnerships in farming families. The research encourages stakeholders to see women as both decision makers and community leaders.
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Technology adoption by rural women in Queensland, Australia: Women driving technology from the homestead for the paddock
Journal of Rural Studies, 2014Co-Authors: Rachel Hay, Philip L. PearceAbstract:The adoption of Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) technologies to optimize beef cattle production in Northern Australia promises to boost the sector's productivity and profitability. This study examines the roles of grazier women in particular in the current use of and further adoption of on farm technology. It adds to the broader literature on women in agriculture, briefly examining feminist theory and then discussing eco feminism, capital resource ownership, and rural residency. The study considered the adoption of specific rural technologies (such as remote cameras, remote weather stations, bore cameras, and other Livestock Management Systems), but found the current use of these tools to be limited. The limited spread of new rural technologies strongly supports the aim of this study, and ultimately, raises the question of who is driving rural technology diffusion and adoption amongst cattle producers. Data collected through 60 conversational interviews and from 141 participants of an online survey established the centrality of women graziers' roles. The research found that women use most components of online technology three times more often than men. While they were sometimes reluctant to take on the digital homestead tasks, by doing so they feel empowered and valued in their work. More importantly, the study found that as technology diffuses into rural settings and is adopted by grazier women, it is modifying gender divisions, specifically away from traditional separate roles and towards productive partnerships in farming families. Those advocating the further adoption of the new PLF technologies need to be mindful of the women graziers' role as busy users and joint decision makers.
J. M. Scott - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Whole-farm returns show true profitability of three different Livestock Management Systems
Animal Production Science, 2013Co-Authors: J. F. Scott, J. M. Scott, Oscar J. CachoAbstract:On the New South Wales Northern Tablelands, sheep, wool and beef cattle production account for most agricultural output. The industries have been challenged in recent years by environmental and economic factors and are therefore looking for modified or alternative Livestock Management Systems that are capable of sustaining profitability. The Cicerone Project aimed to address these issues by comparing three different grazing and pasture improvement Systems. Some recent Livestock industry analyses have been based on gross margins which do not include overhead costs. This is an important limitation; economic analysis needs to report key whole-farm business performance measures since overhead costs can differ significantly between Livestock Management Systems. A representative farm approach was used to compare the profitability of the three different Livestock Management Systems. Commercial-scale whole-farm and cash flow analyses over a 5-year period were used to evaluate profitability. No particular system could be recommended to graziers because the test period was not sufficiently representative of the long-term climate to make an adequate assessment about their long-term profitability. Nevertheless, it is apparent that whole-farm level budgets are essential for comparing the overall profitability of different Livestock Management Systems. It is concluded that analysts, consultants and graziers should use whole-farm and cash flow analyses to gauge profitability of different Livestock Management Systems particularly where sustainability issues are important.
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Economic risk analysis of different Livestock Management Systems
Animal Production Science, 2013Co-Authors: J. F. Scott, Oscar J. Cacho, J. M. ScottAbstract:The Cicerone farmlet experiment, conducted on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, explored aspects of profitability and sustainability under three different whole-farmlet Management regimes. The 5-year period over which the treatments were measured occurred over a period of generally below-average rainfall, hence responses to Management treatments were limited. A modelling approach was used to estimate profitability over a longer period representing the variable climate of the region. A stochastic discounted cash flow model was developed to estimate economic returns of two of the Cicerone Management system treatments scaled up from the farmlet scale (53 ha) to the size of a typical commercial farm in the region (920 ha) over a 20-year period. Several scenarios were used to estimate the commercial-scale returns under different rates of pasture improvement and stocking rates. Over the long-term, Farm A was found to be more profitable but also more risky (in terms of variation around the mean of cumulative discounted cash flow) than the ‘typical’ Farm B Management system. If Livestock managers choose to adopt a pasture improvement strategy based on renovating pastures and increasing soil fertility, they are more likely to achieve higher net worth with more moderate rates of pasture improvement than those explored on Farm A where a high rate of pasture improvement had been implemented in order to quickly differentiate treatments.