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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Forage Systems Effect On Forage-Fed Beef Production, Guillermo Scaglia, Basu Bhandari, Jeffrey M. Gillespie, Jim J. Wang Dec 2019

Forage Systems Effect On Forage-Fed Beef Production, Guillermo Scaglia, Basu Bhandari, Jeffrey M. Gillespie, Jim J. Wang

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Locally produced forage-finished beef offers high value while enhancing economic, environmental, and social sustainability. It enhances environmental quality and the natural resource base, and makes good use of resources both on and off-farm. On the farm, it makes the most of the ability of cattle to convert grass to meat in a low-input system, making efficient use of solar energy, improving soil nutrient cycling, conserving soil and water, and limiting reliance on non-renewable resources (DeRamus 2004). Although the major causes of increased greenhouse gas emissions are due to population growth and industrialization, agriculture contributes to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions through …


The Evolving Beef Industry And Its Sustainability In Western China, J. P. Wu, Z. M. Lei, L. P. Zhang, X. R. Wang, S. G. Zhao, C. Q. Zhang, G. H. Sun, S. G. Li Dec 2019

The Evolving Beef Industry And Its Sustainability In Western China, J. P. Wu, Z. M. Lei, L. P. Zhang, X. R. Wang, S. G. Zhao, C. Q. Zhang, G. H. Sun, S. G. Li

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

The beef industry in China has started to develop since the 1980s. Since then, its production system has been evolving significantly from subsistence production towards business operation in farmer households. As demands continue to grow, China will become the largest beef consumption country in the world by the year of 2025. The beef production in China’s western agriculture regions is gaining significant role in the beef industry of China. Utilization of corn stover and other agriculture aftermath is seen as the competitive advantage of development of the beef industry. Over the last 30 years the beef production efficiency has been …


Survey Of Pasture Species And Management, Manure Management, Milk Production And Reproduction On Pasture-Based Dairy Farms In Florida And Georgia, Usa, F. Du, K. D. Gay, M. E. Sowerby, Y. C. Newman, C. R. Staples, R. C. Lacy, A. De Vries Dec 2019

Survey Of Pasture Species And Management, Manure Management, Milk Production And Reproduction On Pasture-Based Dairy Farms In Florida And Georgia, Usa, F. Du, K. D. Gay, M. E. Sowerby, Y. C. Newman, C. R. Staples, R. C. Lacy, A. De Vries

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Traditionally, most dairy farms in the south-eastern United States confine cows to barns or on pasture lots year-round and feed stored forages and concentrated feeds (Fontaneli et al. 2005). Often, much of the feed is purchased, however, the cost of purchased feed and fuel has risen rapidly in the last 5 years (NASS 2009). In addition, a significant amount of capital is tied up in buildings, machinery and manure management systems on the farms. For these reasons, many dairy farmers have shown an interest in or started transitioning to pasture-based dairy systems (Ricks and Hardee 2012). The management practices …


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 …


Analysis Of Permaculture’S Water Conservation And Crop Supporting Abilities, Hannah Chaney May 2019

Analysis Of Permaculture’S Water Conservation And Crop Supporting Abilities, Hannah Chaney

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In the Middle East, virtually all agriculturally viable land is under high threat of desertification due to poor land and resource management and climate change. Mulching using straw flakes (straw mulch permaculture) is a method commonly used in successful dry land permaculture projects in the Middle East. We proposed that straw mulch permaculture would increase the amount of soil moisture during dry periods and that this method would not impact the growth and survival of the crop. In order to test this hypothesis, we took soil samples from plots with and without straw mulch permaculture in Bowling Green, KY and …


Soil And Land- Use Change Sustainability In The Northern Great Plains Of The Usa, Deepak Raj Joshi, David E. Clay, Alexander Smart, Sharon A. Clay, Tulsi P. Kharel, Umakanta Mishra Mar 2019

Soil And Land- Use Change Sustainability In The Northern Great Plains Of The Usa, Deepak Raj Joshi, David E. Clay, Alexander Smart, Sharon A. Clay, Tulsi P. Kharel, Umakanta Mishra

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

In the Northern Great Plains (NGP), the combined impacts of land-use and climate variability have the potential to place many soils on the tipping point of sustainability. The objectives of this study were to assess if the conversion of grassland to croplands occurred on fragile landscapes in the North America Northern Great Plains. South Dakota and Nebraska were selected for this study because they are located in a climate transition zone. We visually classified 43,200 and 38,400 points in South Dakota and Nebraska, respectively, from high-resolution imagery in 2006, 2012, and 2014 into five different categories (cropland, grassland, habitat, NonAg, …