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Legumes, Livestock And Livelihoods In The Australian Mixed Farming System, E. C. Wolfe Nov 2019

Legumes, Livestock And Livelihoods In The Australian Mixed Farming System, E. C. Wolfe

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

This Howard Oration describes the pathway that I have taken towards my specialisation in ‘big picture’ agriculture. A simple protocol is presented for the analysis of agricultural systems by using descriptive or quantitative indicators of five system properties: productivity, sustainability, profitability, social wellbeing and political acceptability. These properties are further illustrated by considering four important issues in the Australian sheep-wheat belt, a distinctive world food production system. The issues are the supply of and demand for legume nitrogen for crops, reconciling agricultural and natural resource objectives, the low profitability of farms in relation to production and marketing risks, and the …