Economic Returns from Cereal and Cereal/Vetch Forage Crops Grown as Fodder Conservation Options for Beef and Sheepmeat Production

John W. Piltz, Craig A. Rodham, John F. Wilkins, Belinda F. Hackney and Colin G. Brown
Additional contact information
John W. Piltz: NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Pine Gully Road, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia
Craig A. Rodham: NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Pine Gully Road, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia
John F. Wilkins: NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Pine Gully Road, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia
Belinda F. Hackney: NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Pine Gully Road, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia
Colin G. Brown: School of Agriculture and Food Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: The economic return from cereal or cereal/vetch crops was determined using previously published and new agronomic and herbage quality data from experiments conducted at four sites across southern New South Wales, Australia, over four years (2008 to 2011), to evaluate the agronomic and quality parameters of two wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.), two barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.), two oat ( Avena sativa L.), and one triticale (x Triticosecale ) variety, grown as monocultures or in combination with purple vetch ( Vicia benghalensis L.). The crops (n = 193) were harvested at different stages of cereal maturity and ranged in metabolisable energy (ME) from 6.9 to 13.1 MJ/kg DM and crude protein (CP) content from 49.8 to 215.4 g/kg DM. Individual crop ME and CP content was used to predict dry matter intake and liveweight gain using Grazfeed decision support tool, assuming the forages were fed as the sole diet to either crossbred lambs or British breed steers, with initial liveweights of 30 or 300 kg respectively. Animal parameters and yield were used to estimate gross margins (GM) for each crop based on estimated fixed and variable costs, including sowing and fertiliser costs, and harvesting and feedout costs. Feed quality determined animal production and potential income per animal, while yield determined potential income per hectare for any given level of animal production. Across the three years GM ranged from −$1489 to $5788 in sheep and from −$1764 to $647 in cattle. Reducing costs or increasing livestock value improved the GM. The highest GM were for lambs fed crops with high ME, adequate CP, and good yields. Increasing yield reduced the GM when growth rates were low, and costs exceeded the value of liveweight gain.

Keywords: cereal; vetch; yield; forage; quality; metabolisable energy; protein; gross margin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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