Labour demand – The forgotten input influencing the execution and adoptability of alternative cropping systems in Eastern Australia

Abstract

CONTEXTUnderstanding the quantity and timing of labour to fulfill the goals of different cropping systems or crop rotations is critical, but poorly quantified and understood in many agricultural systems, including the grain-growing regions of eastern Australia. Yet, labour supply and demands are important considerations for farmers and can significantly influence their agronomic management and decisions to adopt modified crop rotation systems. OBJECTIVEHere, we investigated the extent to which crop rotation systems, that differed in their intensity (i.e. the proportion of time when crops were growing), and diversity (i.e. the range of crops grown) influence labour requirements and labour productivity. METHODSWe used the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) to simulate a set of different crop rotations and combined the output with farmer survey data and expert knowledge derived from farm advisers to compute the labour inputs for key crop operations (i.e. sowing, spraying, harvesting). This information was used to calculate the labour required and the timing of this demand for each cropping system. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSWe showed that as the cropping intensity increases the labour demand also increases, and vice versa. However, only small differences in labour demands were identified between systems with differing crop diversity (i.e. range of crops grown). Thus, when it comes to labour demands, crop diversity is less critical than cropping intensity. Labour demand was highly seasonal, with peaks around the intense operations of sowing and harvesting. These peak demands constrained the area that could be managed by a unit of labour, particularly as the cropping intensity increased. Further, this analysis highlights that the most profitable systems may not necessarily be the most efficient in terms of labour productivity (i.e. return per unit of labour). This analysis shows that when labour is limiting, labour demands and especially peak periods may contribute to a farmer's choice of cropping systems, adding to other critical factors like risk aversion and profit maximisation. SIGNIFICANCEThe analysis contributes to the literature on the role of labour in the context of influencing the implementation and adoption of what are seemingly more productive or profitable farming systems. In particular, the results demonstrate how labour as a critical farm resource (i.e. its quantity, seasonality and timing, and productivity) can influence the design of crop rotations.