A development planning model for deer farming

Abstract

Abstract In existing methods for planning development of a livestock enterprise, the age-dependent population dynamics of the livestock are not fully considered, and both the planning horizon and the state of the enterprise at the end of this period must be specified. In this paper a mathematical programming approach, based on livestock population dynamics, is proposed for planning development of a deer farm. A steady state linear programming model is first used to determine the optimal steady state policy and herd structure for farms of specified sizes, and these results are incorporated in a multiperiod mixed integer programming model in which binary variables represent the discrete investments associated with farm development. This model is then used to determine the long-term steady state farm size and herd structure, together with the associated investment strategy and operating policy in each year before the steady state is reached.