Abstract
ABSTRACT The objective with this study was to calculate the total cost of maize production and beef cattle in permanent pasture activities in separate production systems (conventional) and integrated systems (maize production plus beef cattle), as well as to verify economic gains explained by the economy of scope. The first step for the development of the research was to obtain field experimental data. Six experimental treatments were studied: corn grain production, beef cattle in permanent pasture, and four integrated systems [...]
Highlights
Monoculture is the prevailing system of plant and animal production in Brazil, which is based on the intense use of natural resources, chemical formulas, and nonrenewable energy
The objective with this study was to calculate the total cost of maize production and beef cattle in permanent pasture activities in separate production systems and integrated systems, as well as to verify economic gains explained by the economy of scope
The crop-livestock integration showed economic gains in relation to conventional systems, which can be explained by the dilution of fixed costs and the presence of shareable inputs, resulting in economy of scope
Summary
Monoculture is the prevailing system of plant and animal production in Brazil, which is based on the intense use of natural resources, chemical formulas, and nonrenewable energy. In the face of an imminent scarcity of natural resources, integrated production systems need to be reconsidered. There is a growing number of studies that propose methodologies to measure environmental impact and evaluate different production system settings that allow minimizing ecosystem impact (Herrero et al, 2015). In this context, crop-livestock integration (CLI) has been addressed as a promising food production system. Different studies have demonstrated benefits of integrated systems in relation to soil properties (Franzluebbers and Stuedemann, 2008), decreased fertilizer use (Entz et al, 2002), and nutrient cycling (Hendrickson et al, 2008). The economic efficiency of integrated systems, has yet to be demonstrated (Wilkins, 2008)
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