scholarly journals Improving water productivity in the Australian Grains industry—a nationally coordinated approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 583 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Kirkegaard ◽  
J. R. Hunt ◽  
T. M. McBeath ◽  
J. M. Lilley ◽  
A. Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Farm Scale

Improving the water-limited yield of dryland crops and farming systems has been an underpinning objective of research within the Australian grains industry since the concept was defined in the 1970s. Recent slowing in productivity growth has stimulated a search for new sources of improvement, but few previous research investments have been targeted on a national scale. In 2008, the Australian grains industry established the 5-year, AU$17.6 million, Water Use Efficiency (WUE) Initiative, which challenged growers and researchers to lift WUE of grain-based production systems by 10%. Sixteen regional grower research teams distributed across southern Australia (300–700 mm annual rainfall) proposed a range of agronomic management strategies to improve water-limited productivity. A coordinating project involving a team of agronomists, plant physiologists, soil scientists and system modellers was funded to provide consistent understanding and benchmarking of water-limited yield, experimental advice and assistance, integrating system science and modelling, and to play an integration and communication role. The 16 diverse regional project activities were organised into four themes related to the type of innovation pursued (integrating break-crops, managing summer fallows, managing in-season water-use, managing variable and constraining soils), and the important interactions between these at the farm-scale were explored and emphasised. At annual meetings, the teams compared the impacts of various management strategies across different regions, and the interactions from management combinations. Simulation studies provided predictions of both a priori outcomes that were tested experimentally and extrapolation of results across sites, seasons and up to the whole-farm scale. We demonstrated experimentally that potential exists to improve water productivity at paddock scale by levels well above the 10% target by better summer weed control (37–140%), inclusion of break crops (16–83%), earlier sowing of appropriate varieties (21–33%) and matching N supply to soil type (91% on deep sands). Capturing synergies from combinations of pre- and in-crop management could increase wheat yield at farm scale by 11–47%, and significant on-farm validation and adoption of some innovations has occurred during the Initiative. An ex post economic analysis of the Initiative estimated a benefit : cost ratio of 3.7 : 1, and an internal return on investment of 18.5%. We briefly review the structure and operation of the initiative and summarise some of the key strategies that emerged to improve WUE at paddock and farm-scale.

scholarly journals Quantity- and Quality-Based Farm Water Productivity in Wine Production: Case Studies in Germany

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Peth ◽  
Katrin Drastig ◽  
Annette Prochnow
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Sole Source ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Wine Production ◽  
Modeling Software ◽  
Wine Sector ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship

The German wine sector has encountered new challenges in water management recently. To manage water resources responsibly, it is necessary to understand the relationship between the input of water and the output of wine, in terms of quantity and quality. The objectives of this study are to examine water use at the farm scale at three German wineries, and to develop and apply, for the first time, a quality-based indicator. Water use is analyzed in terms of wine production and wine-making over three years. After the spatial and temporal boundaries of the wineries and the water flows are defined, the farm water productivity indicator is calculated to assess water use at the winery scale. Farm water productivity is calculated using the AgroHyd Farmmodel modeling software. Average productivity on a quantity basis is 3.91 L wine per m3 of water. Productivity on a quality basis is 329.24 °Oechsle per m3 of water. Water input from transpiration for wine production accounts for 99.4–99.7% of total water input in the wineries, and, because irrigation is not used, precipitation is the sole source of transpired water. Future studies should use both quality-based and mass-based indicators of productivity.

518 Late-Breaking: Effect of Feedlot Diets on Environmental Emissions from Four Representative U.S. Feedlots and the Beef Production System

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 154-154
Author(s):  
Jessica Gilreath ◽  
Al Rotz ◽  
Sara Place ◽  
Greg Thoma ◽  
Tryon Wickersham
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Feed Efficiency ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Blue Water ◽  
Cattle Production ◽  
Beef Cattle Production ◽  
Energy Use Intensity ◽  
Dietary Strategies

Abstract Our objective was to evaluate effects of feedlot dietary management strategies on environmental impacts and net returns of feedlot operations in the United States. Representative feedlots were simulated with the Integrated Farm System Model (IFSM 4.6; USDA-ARS, University Park, PA) to quantify baseline environmental impacts of feedlot production and full US beef cattle production systems. The simulated dietary strategies included: 10% increase in feed efficiency, use of less water intensive forages, 10% increase in byproduct inclusion, 10% improvement in water use efficiency of corn, and steam-flaking of corn. Days on feed and head finished per year were held constant for all strategies to have equal comparisons to baseline results. Dietary management strategies were individually modeled and simulated in IFSM for each feedlot operation to obtain intensities (expressed per kg gain) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, fossil energy use, blue water consumption, and reactive nitrogen loss. Feedlot operations were then linked with cow-calf, stocker, and backgrounding operations to estimate environmental intensities (expressed per kg CW) for full cattle production systems. Improving feed efficiency had the greatest effect on reducing carbon emission intensities (6%), energy use intensity (8%), blue water use intensity (9%), and reactive N loss intensity (4%) for feedlot operations. Increasing corn byproduct inclusion resulted in 9% reduction in blue water use intensity. However, byproduct inclusion increased reactive N loss intensity by 11% as a result of greater protein concentrations in the diet. Switching from rolled corn to steam flaked corn increased energy use intensity by 9%, but little to no changes (1% increase to 3% reduction) were observed for other environmental intensities. Improved feed efficiency was the most effective strategy to reduce environmental footprints of beef cattle production (1 to 2% reductions). Overall, feedlot dietary strategies were less pronounced for the full beef production system compared with feedlot results.

scholarly journals Socio-ecological factors determine crop performance in agricultural systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Libère Nkurunziza ◽  
Christine A. Watson ◽  
Ingrid Öborn ◽  
Henrik G. Smith ◽  
Göran Bergkvist ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Crop Performance ◽  
Latent Structures

AbstractAgricultural production systems are affected by complex interactions between social and ecological factors, which are often hard to integrate in a common analytical framework. We evaluated differences in crop production among farms by integrating components of several related research disciplines in a single socio-ecological analysis. Specifically, we evaluated spring barley (Hordeum vulgare, L.) performance on 34 farms (organic and conventional) in two agro-ecological zones to unravel the importance of ecological, crop and management factors in the performance of a standard crop. We used Projections to Latent Structures (PLS), a simple but robust analytical tool widely utilized in research disciplines dealing with complex systems (e.g. social sciences and chemometrics), but infrequently in agricultural sciences. We show that barley performance on organic farms was affected by previous management, landscape structure, and soil quality, in contrast to conventional farms where external inputs were the main factors affecting biomass and grain yield. This indicates that more complex management strategies are required in organic than in conventional farming systems. We conclude that the PLS method combining socio-ecological and biophysical factors provides improved understanding of the various interacting factors determining crop performance and can help identify where improvements in the agricultural system are most likely to be effective.

Assessing the importance of livestock water use in basins

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Cook ◽  
M. S. Andersson ◽  
M. J. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Complete Analysis ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Livestock Systems

Recent concern over food prices has triggered a renewed interest in agricultural production systems. While attention is focused mainly on cropping, a complete analysis of food production systems should recognise the importance of livestock as major consumers of resources – in particular water – and as providers of food and other products and services. We propose that there is a need to examine not just food systems in isolation, but combined food and water systems, both of which are described as in a critical condition. From this broader perspective, it appears even more important to understand livestock systems because first, a total evaluation of agricultural water productivity – the gain from water consumed by agriculture – cannot be made without understanding the complexities of livestock-containing systems and; second, because in most tropical river basins, livestock systems are the major consumers of water. To identify total water productivity of livestock-containing systems, we describe concepts of agricultural water productivity and review the complexities of tracking the flow of water through livestock-containing systems: from inputs as evapotranspiration (ET) of forage and crops to outputs of valued animal products or services. For the second part, we present preliminary results from water use accounts analysis for several major river basins, which reveal that for Africa at least, livestock systems appear to be the major water consumers. Yet, little is known about the fate of water as it passes through these systems. We propose that livestock-containing systems offer substantial scope for increasing total water productivity and that there is considerable merit in improving the capacity to analyse water consumption and water productivity through such systems. Without removing this major source of uncertainty, the potential for systemic improvement to meet the world food and water crisis remains undefined and hence under-acknowledged.

scholarly journals A Conceptual Model of Grassland-Based Beef Systems

2012 ◽  
pp. 100-119
Author(s):  
Guillaume Martin ◽  
Roger Martin-Clouaire ◽  
Jean-Pierre Rellier ◽  
Michel Duru
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Farm Management ◽  
Scientific Investigation ◽  
Biophysical Processes ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Production Objectives

Fulfilling the production objectives of a grassland-based beef system requires a robust management strategy to secure the best practicable use of forage resources with regard to the cattle demand. To address the challenging issue of designing such strategies, this article describes the application of an ontology of agricultural production systems to the generic conceptual model SEDIVER, which supports the representation and dynamic farm-scale simulation of specific grassland-based beef systems. The most salient and novel aspects of SEDIVER concern the explicit modeling of (a) the diversity in plant, grassland, animal and farmland, and (b) management strategies that deal with the planning and coordination of activities whereby the farmer controls the biophysical processes. By using the SEDIVER conceptual framework, part of the subjective and context-specific knowledge used in farm management can be captured and, in this way, enable scientific investigation of management practices.

scholarly journals Pathogens in crop production systems irrigated with low-quality water in Bolivia

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 980-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Fernando Perez-Mercado ◽  
Cecilia Lalander ◽  
Abraham Joel ◽  
Jakob Ottoson ◽  
Mercedes Iriarte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Quality Of Water ◽  
Risk Management Strategies ◽  
Shallow Wells

Abstract In dry areas, the need for irrigation to ensure agricultural production determines the use of all available water sources. However, the water sources used for irrigation are often contaminated by untreated or minimally treated wastewater. Microbial risks from reusing wastewater for vegetable irrigation can be addressed by installing environmental barriers that pathogens must cross to reach humans in the reuse system. Knowledge of pathogen flows inside the system and pathogen removal potential is the first step towards devising a risk management strategy. This study assessed microbe prevalence in farming systems in the Bolivian highlands that use wastewater-polluted sources for irrigation of lettuce. Samples of soil, lettuce and different water sources used in the farming systems were taken during one crop season and concentrations of coliphages, Escherichia coli and helminth eggs were measured. The results showed high spread of these microorganisms throughout the whole system. There was a significant correlation between microbial quality of water and of the harvested produce for several microorganisms. The microbial prevalence in protected shallow wells was found to be significantly lower than in other water sources. These findings can help formulate feasible risk management strategies in contexts where conventional technologies for microbial removal are not possible.

scholarly journals Impact of Climate Change On Future Productivity And Water Use Efficiency of Wheat In Eastern India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asis Mukherjee ◽  
Abul Kalam Samsul Huda ◽  
Salil Saha
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Eastern India ◽  
Rcp 8.5 ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract High temperature and elevated CO2 under future climate change will influence the agricultural productivity worldwide. Burgeoning population along with climate change situation is going to threaten the food security of India. According to IPCC 5th assessment report (2014), global mean surface temperature and concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) at the end of 21st century will increase by 4.8°C and 539 ppm respectively under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario. Considering the burning issue present study aims to find out the probable change in different climatic parameters under high greenhouse gas emission (RCP 8.5) scenario during 2021-2095 and their impact on wheat yield and water productivity over six locations (Jalpaiguri, Nadia, Murshidabad, Malda, Birbhum and South 24 Parganas) covering five major agro-climatic zones of West Bengal, a state of eastern India. Results showed that maximum temperature (Tmax) and minimum temperature (Tmin) will increase by 5.3oC and 5.9oC during the end of this century. The increase in annual rainfall will be maximum (22%) at Murshidabad. Wheat yield will increase by 3 to 28% across the study sites. The seasonal crop evapotranspiration value will decline by 1 to 21%. Both water- use efficiency (WUE) and transpiration -use efficiency (TUE) will increase at all the study sites.

scholarly journals Calibration and Validation of AQUACROP and APSIM Models to Optimize Wheat Yield and Water Saving in Arid Regions

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1375
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. S. Kheir ◽  
Hiba M. Alkharabsheh ◽  
Mahmoud F. Seleiman ◽  
Adel M. Al-Saif ◽  
Khalil A. Ammar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Productivity ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Actual Evapotranspiration ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Planting Dates ◽  
Phenological Data ◽  
Best Management ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Scenario Analyses

The APSIM-Wheat and AQUACROP models were calibrated for the Sakha 95 cultivar using phenological data, grain and biomass yield, and genetic parameters based on field observation. Various treatments of planting dates, irrigation, and fertilization were applied over the two successive winter growing seasons of 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. Both models simulated anthesis, maturity dates, grain yield, and aboveground biomass accurately with high performances (coefficient of determination, index of agreement greater than 0.8, and lower values of root mean square deviation) in most cases. The calibrated models were then employed to explore wheat yield and water productivity (WP) in response to irrigation and nitrogen fertilization applications. Scenario analyses indicated that water productivity and yield of wheat ranged from 1.2–2.0 kg m–3 and 6.8–8.7 t ha–1, respectively. Application of 0.8 from actual evapotranspiration and 120% from recommended nitrogen dose was the best-predicted scenario achieving the highest value of crop WP. Investigating the suitable option achieving the current wheat yield by farmers (7.4 t ha–1), models demonstrated that application of 1.4 from actual evapotranspiration with 80% of the recommended nitrogen dose was the best option to achieve this yield. At this point, predicted WP was low and recorded 1.5 kg m–3. Quantifying wheat yield in all districts of the studied area was also predicted using both models. APSIM-Wheat and AQUACROP can be used to drive the best management strategies in terms of N fertilizer and water regime for wheat under Egyptian conditions.

scholarly journals Strategies for Increasing Beef Cattle Production under Dryland Farming Systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Heather Burrow
Keyword(s):  
Crop Residues ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Beef Production ◽  
Cattle Breeding ◽  
Dryland Farming ◽  
Market Preference ◽  
Stocking Rates

Integrated cattle and dryland farming systems in Indonesia use a range of crop residues and by products to feed cattle through intensive and extensive production systems. Intensive systems use stalls to house cattle and cut and carry feeding systems, primarily for fattening cattle. Under extensive systems, cattle are free‐grazing,and the systems apply only where greater land areas exist and they are used for breeding and fattening cattle. This paper therefore specifically focuses on the opportunities that exist to improve beef production in dryland farming systems in Indonesia. The best strategies for smallholder farmers in Indonesia to improve beef production require farmers to focus on profitability and use proven management strategies, including a) using adapted cattle breeds resistant/tolerant to environmental stressor, b) understanding the market preference; c) managing cattle breeding herds based on rainfall patterns, d) keeping good records on all aspects of breeding and fattening activities and e) adjusting stocking rates in extensive system to match the carrying capacity of the land.

Diagnosis and simulation: a suitable combination to support farming systems design

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Martin ◽  
Jean-Pierre Theau ◽  
Olivier Therond ◽  
Roger Martin-Clouaire ◽  
Michel Duru
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Systems Design ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Field Scale ◽  
Simulation Tools ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Scale Models ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
Diagnosis Method ◽  
Suitable Combination

Designing or improving farming systems requires understanding their dynamics so as to predict their behaviour in response to management. Simulation tools can potentially support the process by which farmers and scientists might obtain such an encompassing understanding. The usability of these tools is, however, partially inhibited by the inherent complexity of the interactions at work in farm-scale models. Whereas such models are generally used in isolation, here we present an approach in which a field-scale diagnosis method complements a farm-scale simulation model. This diagnosis method lends itself easily to an intelligible presentation of field-specific knowledge that can be fed to the simulation tool for more encompassing considerations. Our approach is used to support the design of novel management strategies in grassland-based beef systems and proved to be effective when applied to two farms in the French Pyrenees. Thanks to the integrative representation of the various processes, including the management ones, simulation contributed to deeper learning of both scientists and farmers about room for manoeuvre for increasing self-sufficiency for forage. The diagnosis phase enhanced the learning process by providing a simpler framework in which elementary problems at field scale could be considered separately before being examined concurrently at farm scale in the simulation phase.

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