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The question addressed in this paper is whether the agronomic efficiency of cropping sequences can be improved in the northern grain zone of Australia. Analysis of whole systems over multiple seasons is particularly important in cropping regions such as Australia's northern grain zone, where farmers have the option of growing a variety of winter and summer crops and where fallowing is required to store water to safeguard yields of following crops. The study is based on a detailed longitudinal survey of the inputs and yields of 94 farmers' fields over 7 seasons. The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) was used to benchmark the 94 cropping sequences and to determine if the productivity of these cropping sequences can be improved through changed management, particularly of nitrogen nutrition and timely sowing of individual crops. Comparison of surveyed and simulated yields were then used to determine the yield gap that can be explained by factors unaccounted for in APSIM, i.e. biotic stresses such as weeds, pests and diseases or inadequate operational management. Using a generalised N response curve, data from the simulation analysis were plotted relative to a normalised input-output relationship to determine their position relative to an efficiency frontier representing the simulated production function. This analysis was conducted separately for both individual crops and for whole sequences in individual fields. The analysis of 193 individual crops showed that the average yield of 1.90t/ha was 65% of the simulated water and nitrogen-limited yield potential of 2.92t/ha. Investigation of nitrogen unlimited and early sowing management options revealed that there was relatively little yield advantage (0.15t/ha) to be gained from these management improvements. The remaining gap between observed yields and what the simulations suggest may be attributed to factors such as weeds, pests and diseases, sub-optimal operations or extreme weather events. Three production criteria were used to compare cropping sequences: (1) dollar income, (2) metabolisable energy yield, and (3) crude protein yields. While the income from 36% of the individual crops in the study was found to be more than 80% of their production frontier values, only 29% of whole cropping sequences achieved this benchmark. Similar results were achieved when crops and crop sequences were evaluated in terms of their metabolisable energy and crude protein yields. It is concluded that in order to increase the agronomic efficiency of cropping in Australia's northern grain zone, attention should be focussed on the intensity and configuration of cropping sequences and on the management of fallows in addition to the management of individual crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is renewed interest in expanded agricultural development in northern Australia supported by increasing global demand for food, the region's proximity to Asian markets, and the current government policy initiatives to support economically sustainable and vibrant rural and regional communities. The production potential, financial returns, and the supply chain implications for irrigated agriculture were assessed in four different regions across northern Australia to provide a systems analysis of development opportunities and challenges. Gross margins for high volume, low value broadacre crops were mostly either negative or weakly positive, principally due to high transport costs to established markets in southern and eastern Australia. The returns were largely positive for higher value horticultural and specialist niche crops or industrial crops with local processing facilities. Scenarios incorporating alternative transport routes to Asia provided modest cost savings, but required assumptions for suitable shipping routes and cost-effective availability of containers, but did not significantly boost gross margins. When scaled to whole irrigation areas, the regional gross value of production could be significant but improving returns at farm scale requires more cost-effective supply chains. The ability to generate sufficient returns on capital investment was strongly influenced by the sequence of years associated with climatic variability and/or other unexpected shocks experienced in the years immediately following investment. The analysis highlighted that each component of the system – climate, soils, water, agronomic practice, pests and diseases, farm operations, management, planning, supply chains, infrastructure, labour, services, markets – needs to be understood but ultimate success will depend on managing the complexity of the whole farming system and value-chain. Further, scaling up development at a considered pace and being prepared for considerable lags before positive returns on investment are achieved will be critical for successful long-term irrigated agricultural ventures in northern Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian sugar industry is seeking to increase profitability through better integration across a value chain fragmented among many owners. Within the cane harvesting and transport sectors, many existing inefficiencies are a result of excessive numbers of harvesting machines owned by harvester contractors and growers, and the fact that most harvesters operate within a short time window each day. In order to improve the complex system from a tactical and strategic planning perspective, leading to reduced costs of production, a modelling framework identifying the key drivers and links must first be developed. Upon developing the framework, techniques in operations research, financial modelling, and simulation can be applied to investigate opportunities to enhance the system in partnership with industry. This paper describes the development of such a framework through participation with two case-study mill areas within the Australian sugar industry, along with its application to improve the efficiency of the harvesting and transport system. Through reducing the number of harvesters in the region and implementing best practice principles for harvesting, one of the case study mills showed potential gains in profitability of up to AU$1 million per annum. Implementation took place in one of the case study regions during the 2003 harvest season for which the region is now pursuing further adoption in 2004. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]