Data to estimate costs of producing grass-clover silages.

Ola Flaten,Tor Lunnan,Daniel Muluwork Atsbeha

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2020.106003

Abstract

This article presents input data and procedures used to estimate costs of producing grass-clover silages under Norwegian farming conditions. Data of yield, botanical composition and forage quality of the grass crop were derived from a field experiment comparing a three-cut system, harvested at early crop maturity stages producing highly digestible forages, and a two-cut system returning higher herbage yields of medium digestibility. Secondary data on prices of specific inputs were also provided. The data presented here can be used by advisors and farmers as a decision support tool for assessing and comparing costs of different ways of producing silage. Cost estimates of home-grown forages are also needed in bio-economic evaluations of grassland production and utilization by researchers. The data presented is related to the research article entitled: “Technical and economic performance of alternative feeds in dairy and pig production” [1].

Highlights

This article presents input data and procedures used to estimate costs of producing grass-clover silages under Norwegian farming conditions
Botanical composition and forage quality of the grass crop were derived from a field experiment comparing a three-cut system, harvested at early crop maturity stages producing highly digestible forages, and a two-cut system returning higher herbage yields of medium digestibility
The data presented is related to the research article entitled: “Technical and economic performance of alternative feeds in dairy and pig production” [1]

Summary

Data accessibility Related research article

Agricultural and Biological Sciences (General) Production economics, farming system analysis Tables Experimental data from field plots used for estimating herbage yields and composition of the grass-clover silage and supplemented with data from [2] and industry sources. Price and cost data were collected from [2] and industry sources. Botanical composition and feed quality from each cut were recorded. Secondary data were collected to represent costs of various operations, used to estimate the total cost of producing silage. Data on herbage yields, prices and inputs used in the production of grass are useful to estimate and compare costs of different cutting systems of silage making. These data can benefit researchers, advisors, policy makers and farmers who have interest in costs of producing grass silage of different quality with respect to digestibility and protein content. For further insights the data may be used in integrated whole-farm system approaches where the most efficient way of using resources in grass production is considered simultaneously with how best to use them in livestock production

Data description

Design of field experiment and establishment of the grass-clover crop

Records

Findings

Costing