Productivity, Profitability and Nitrogen Utilisation Efficiency of Two Pasture-Based Milk Production Systems Differing in the Milking Frequency and Feeding Level

Martín Correa-Luna, Daniel Donaghy, Peter Kemp, Laurence Shalloo, Elodie Ruelle, Deirdre Hennessy and Nicolás López-Villalobos
Additional contact information
Martín Correa-Luna: School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4410, New Zealand
Daniel Donaghy: School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4410, New Zealand
Peter Kemp: School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4410, New Zealand
Laurence Shalloo: Teagasc, Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, P61 P302 Co. Cork, Ireland
Elodie Ruelle: Teagasc, Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, P61 P302 Co. Cork, Ireland
Deirdre Hennessy: Teagasc, Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, P61 P302 Co. Cork, Ireland
Nicolás López-Villalobos: School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4410, New Zealand

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: The aim of this study was to model the productivity, profitability and the nitrogen (N) utilisation efficiency (NUE) of two spring-calving pasture-based milk production systems differing in milking frequency and intensification levels in New Zealand. For this purpose, physical performance data from a low-intensity production system where cows were milked once per day (OAD-LI) and from a high-intensity production system where cows were milked twice per day (TAD-HI) were employed. OAD-LI cows were milked once-daily with a stocking rate (SR) of 2.1 cows/ha and fed diets with low supplementation (304 kg pasture silage/cow) with applications of 134 kg N fertiliser/ha and TAD-HI cows were milked twice-daily with a SR of 2.8 cows/ha and fed diets of higher supplementation (429 kg pasture silage and 1695 kg concentrate/cow) with applications of 87 kg N fertiliser/ha. The Moorepark Dairy System Model was used to evaluate production, economic performance and N balance on an annual basis. Despite the higher feed costs of TAD-HI as more supplementation was utilised, profitability per hectare was 16% higher because more cows were milked with a higher milk yield per cow (milking frequency) when compared to OAD-LI. At the cow level, the NUE was higher in TAD-HI (30% vs. 27%) reflecting the better balanced diet for energy and crude protein and higher milk yields as a result of milking frequency. At the farm scale the NUE was higher (38% vs. 26%) in the TAD-HI due to the losses associated with the imported feed being excluded and higher N captured in milk. These results suggest that milking frequency, the use of feed supplementation and application of N fertiliser as management tools on grazing dairy systems affect productivity, profitability and N balance. Further studies are required to find optimal stocking rates in combination with the use of supplementary feed and N fertiliser application that maximize milk production and profitability for OAD and TAD milking production systems but minimize N losses.

Keywords: milk production; intensification; profitability; nitrogen use efficiency; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/2098/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/2098/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:2098-:d:500121

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().