Abstract
Since cow-calf operations are large contributors of agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in North America, consequences of pasture species composition, weaning age, and stocking rate decisions were examined by operation size, calving season, and pasture fertility. Fixed resource use and seasonal prices affected the mix of forage and beef production. Overall, adding fertilizer to pasture was unprofitable, resulting in increased stocking rates and greater emissions. Calving season and attendant breeding failure rates influenced the relative profitability of the analyzed beef-production strategies, which in turn affected farm GHG emissions. More-efficient practices led to greater amounts of beef sold per bred cow.
Highlights
Changes in the composition of pasture forage species can lead to seasonal forage growth that more closely matches the monthly nutritional requirements of the animals for a given calving season and weaning age. 100 April 2016Agricultural and Resource Economics ReviewFurther, inclusion of nitrogen-fixing species can reduce commercial nitrogen fertilizer requirements (West and Waller 2007) and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from upstream fertilizer production and nitrous oxide emissions from nitrogen that volatizes when such fertilizers are applied
A greater percentage of tall fescue coincided with higher forage intake during March under fall calving and November under spring calving when calves are heaviest as they are weaned at eight months in all scenarios
Cattle GHG emissionsb Farm GHG emissions per pound of beef Number of 800-pound bales soldc aNet returns are calculated by operation size (S), calving distribution (D), and fertilizer strategy (F)
Summary
Changes in the composition of pasture forage species can lead to seasonal forage growth that more closely matches the monthly nutritional requirements of the animals for a given calving season and weaning age. 100 April 2016Agricultural and Resource Economics ReviewFurther, inclusion of nitrogen-fixing species can reduce commercial nitrogen fertilizer requirements (West and Waller 2007) and reduce GHG emissions from upstream fertilizer production and nitrous oxide emissions from nitrogen that volatizes when such fertilizers are applied. Cool-season grasses typically grow from early spring to early summer (March to June) and are dormant during periods of high temperatures in mid-summer (July and August). Legumes or clovers provide two primary benefits when included in pastures; they fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it usable by other forage species, and increase the forage’s nutritional content (providing greater total digestible nutrients and crude protein than grasses) for grazing livestock. This analysis uses bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.), tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.), and white clover (Trifolium repens L.), all of which are common in pastures in the region.
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