Track 2-16: Dairying in Australia in the 21st Century
Description
We used commercial farm data from 4 states of Australia and 9 subsets of data from 4 whole farm system studies conducted in Australia and New Zealand to: (1) explore the relationship between pasture utilisation and farm profitability; (2) identify gaps and causes of both between and within-farm variability in pasture utilisation; and (3) discuss possibilities to reduce these gaps through the application of technology-based solutions. Results confirm that the amount of pasture utilised per ha is a key driver of profitability of Australian pasture-based systems. In spite of this, the gap between potential (research) and commercial reality is huge. Data from whole farm system studies in which the same grazing management rules were applied show a relatively large variability in between-paddock, within-farm (i.e. system study in this case) pasture utilisation. The level of variability among datasets was similar, but was higher for systems associated with more variation in water availability compared to fully irrigated systems or studies conducted in high rainfall areas. Factors that can explain within farm variability include differential management of inputs and grazing, even when the ‘same’ management rules are applied. Given the demonstrated importance of pasture utilisation in profitability of the dairy farms, the key challenge for Australian dairy farmers is to seriously reduce variability in pasture utilisation and pasture wastage. The advancements of automation in agriculture provide new frontiers to assist farmers in reducing variability and gaps in pasture utilisation.
Included in
Gaps and Variability in Pasture Utilisation in Australian Pasture-Based Dairy Systems
We used commercial farm data from 4 states of Australia and 9 subsets of data from 4 whole farm system studies conducted in Australia and New Zealand to: (1) explore the relationship between pasture utilisation and farm profitability; (2) identify gaps and causes of both between and within-farm variability in pasture utilisation; and (3) discuss possibilities to reduce these gaps through the application of technology-based solutions. Results confirm that the amount of pasture utilised per ha is a key driver of profitability of Australian pasture-based systems. In spite of this, the gap between potential (research) and commercial reality is huge. Data from whole farm system studies in which the same grazing management rules were applied show a relatively large variability in between-paddock, within-farm (i.e. system study in this case) pasture utilisation. The level of variability among datasets was similar, but was higher for systems associated with more variation in water availability compared to fully irrigated systems or studies conducted in high rainfall areas. Factors that can explain within farm variability include differential management of inputs and grazing, even when the ‘same’ management rules are applied. Given the demonstrated importance of pasture utilisation in profitability of the dairy farms, the key challenge for Australian dairy farmers is to seriously reduce variability in pasture utilisation and pasture wastage. The advancements of automation in agriculture provide new frontiers to assist farmers in reducing variability and gaps in pasture utilisation.
