Global Farm Platforms - Towards Sustainable Livestock Production
Grassland type Semi-natural, Permanent
Name of practice Global Farm Platforms - Towards Sustainable Livestock Production
Name of main actor World Universities Network
Type of actor(s) Pastoralists, Communities
Location Australia
Agro-ecological region Tropical, Temperate, Arid/semi-arid
Sustainability dimension involved Environmental, Economic, Social
Year of implementation 2013
Description of best practice Climate change and increasing population put pressure on land to provide sufficient food, energy and fibre. Increased demand for cereals makes them less attractive as animal feed at both a social and economic level, while increasing wealth in developing nations will see a nutrition transition to greater demand for animal protein. This will put greater emphasis on animal production from feed unsuitable for human consumption e.g. by-products, waste and grazing. This interdisciplinary project will assess the global potential to maximise agricultural production from systems utilising grazing ruminants whilst minimising environmental impacts associated with land use change. The project will focus on developing farm platforms in different regions of the globe which exemplify diverse livestock production systems. At each of these farm platforms strategies will be discussed of how to produce livestock in the most sustainable manner. Decisions will focus on the production system, appropriate animal genetics, optimising health (animal and human as part of one health) and ensuring that livestock production does not have negative impacts on ecosystem services and biodiversity. Indeed, well maintained grazing systems can improve ecosystem services and biodiversity. Each grazing livestock production system will have specific and general aims to achieve sustainable intensification. The project will enable common themes to be identified across a wide range of Farm Platforms utilising the most appropriate animal genetics and management to exemplify grazing livestock systems in different eco-regions on six continents. This approach will begin rewriting the rule book on global livestock production by matching the correct animal phenotype to the correct environment, feeding systems and health plans to ensure sustainable and responsible production where yield is not the sole metric and maximum efficiency within the system is taken into account.
Outcomes and impacts Three Global Farm Platforms have already been established: UK – temperate grassland. The North Wyke Farm, is globally unique in providing the research community with an extensive range of in situ state-of-the-art instrumentation monitoring chemical composition of the run-off from a number of hydrologically isolated fields on which sheep and cattle are grazed at three distinct levels of intensification. This facility will address key issues in sustainable agriculture and pastoral land-use change. Australia – Mediterranean biome. The Future Farm 2050 is a multidisciplinary project based on a 1600-hectare farm in Western Australia. The mission of the farm is to develop a profitable mixed-enterprise operation at the cutting edge of practical technology for cropping, sheep production, environmental footprint, ecosystem and biodiversity management, while remaining self-sufficient as possible in energy and water and maximising use of native plant species. India – humid tropics. Thiruvazhamkunnu Farm Initiative conducts research on livestock breeding, management, and fodder production. Plot trials of promising germplasm are carried out on indigenous and exotic plant species from similar ecological regions for their potential as animal forages. Implementation of systems developed will be assessed at the landscape scale against both economic criteria and ecosystem service provision. This project is developing a formal global network of farm platforms covering a range of grazing livestock systems within five eco-regions across six continents: 1) Temperate grasslands (RR-NW and UoB, UK; UWM, USA; UoA, Canada) 2) Subtropical grasslands (UdlR, Uruguay) 3) Humid tropics (KVASU, India) 4) Mediterranean Biome (UWA, Australia; ILRI, Kenya; BU, Ethiopia) 5) Feedlot systems (PSU, USA; ZU, China) Across these Farm Platforms, the overall objectives will be: i) improvements in production system, ii) use of appropriate animal genotypes, iii) optimising animal and human health (One Health) and iv) protecting ecosystem services and biodiversity. Each platform will have more specific local objectives, with an overarching drive to develop the best use of animal genetics and feeding systems to maximise production, efficiency, health and reduce negative environmental impacts. The new project will exemplify grazing livestock systems, and will begin the process of rewriting the rule book on which grazing animals should be kept where and how best to feed them to ensure sustainable and responsible production. The project will exemplify that sustainable intensification will only be achieved by maximising efficiency within the system. Production System Improvements: In temperate and subtropical grasslands rapid changes and advances in methods include: precision farming, new plant varieties, use of organic amendments and bioenergy cropping. Within these livestock production systems, it will be important reduce and replace inorganic-N inputs with biologically fixed-N via legumes. In humid tropics the increased use of self-selection grazing fodder rather than less palatable cut-and-carry suited fodders such as Napier will be investigated, as will drought-tolerant forages in drylands. N-fixing legumes and crops (such as cowpea and duckweed) will supply high quality protein and reduce reliance on economically and environmentally expensive concentrates. Increased use of parasite-resistant ruminant genotypes will reduce the requirement for zero-grazing management. Finally, livestock production in feedlots will be compared to grazing systems in terms of production levels, animal health, product quality and environmental cost. Feedlot systems might be developed that favour use of by-products and high quality conserved feed such as high-sugar ryegrass, alfalfa and red clover silage and reduce reliance on cereals that could be consumed by humans. Appropriate Genetics: While the current project developed the theme of healthy products from healthy animals, the new project will expand on this theme by recognising that to achieve this requires the correct fit of animal genetics to the correct system. The varied agro-climatic conditions in Africa, India or Europe have promoted selection of cattle breeds highly adapted to the local climate, environment, feedstuffs, production stresses, infectious diseases and parasites. It is increasingly recognised that these genetic resources need to be conserved and research conducted on their utility and efficiency. Livestock with high genetic potential in temperate climates have been widely promoted in the tropics where they require high levels of husbandry and health inputs. Selecting environmentally-suited genotypes may see a more efficient system where lower outputs in terms of yield are more than compensated for by significantly lower inputs in terms of feed costs, veterinary care and replacement animals. Once identified, animals of appropriate genotype need to be promoted as the ‘backbone’ of many farming systems for smallholder farmers and marginal/landless families in humid tropics and drylands, and integral to the future food baskets of a sustainable earth. One Health Benefits: Nutritional benefits of different feeds in terms of their effect on fatty acid (e.g. unsaturated), mineral (e.g. Se, Zn, Fe) and vitamin (A, D, C, E and K) composition need to be assessed within these systems to obtain the highest quality product, directly influencing human health through consumption of meat and milk. Impact of these systems on levels of infectious and parasitic disease, including importantly zoonoses, will also be key drivers which will inform the development of the most suitable production system at each platform. Protecting Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity: The underlying principle is to measure the environmental impact of livestock production on water, air and soil on each platform with a view to maintaining natural biodiversity and ecosystem services. There is potential at each farm platform to examine how use of different plant species affects the provision of ecosystem functions and services, including carbon storage, nutrient cycling, resistance to invasive species, biodiversity maintenance, and prevention of soil erosion.
Contacts Dr Michael RF Lee BSc (Hons) PhD RAnimSci PGCTHE Reader in Sustainable Livestock Systems and Food Security Room 136, Pearson Building School of Veterinary Sciences University of Bristol Langford Somerset BS40 5DU Tel.: 0117 9289471 e-mail:
[email protected] Rothamsted Research North Wyke Okehampton Devon EX20 2SB Tel.: 01837 883578
