The potential role of annual forage legumes in Canada: A review

2010 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. McCartney ◽  
J. Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Forage Yield ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Annual Legumes ◽  
Alternative Crop ◽  
High Production ◽  
Agricultural Input ◽  
Control Erosion

The need to reduce agricultural input costs while increasing soil fertility has prompted researchers to look for alternative crop production systems that include N fixing crops. Annual legumes can be used in rotations as forages and green manure crops to increase the organic matter and N content of soils and provide soil cover to control erosion and weeds. Despite the benefits of annual legumes, high production costs and scarcity of seed has hindered their use.Key words: Medic, clover, vetch, pea, bean, lentil, forage yield, forage quality

scholarly journals Selected Pacific Northwest Rangeland and Weed Plants as Hosts of Pratylenchus neglectus and P. thornei

Plant Disease ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 98 (10) ◽  
pp. 1333-1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard W. Smiley ◽  
Guiping Yan ◽  
Jennifer A. Gourlie
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Downy Brome ◽  
Weed Species ◽  
Nematode Density ◽  
Pratylenchus Neglectus ◽  
Jointed Goatgrass ◽  
Green Foxtail

Eighteen rangeland plants and 16 weed species were assayed in the greenhouse for efficiency as hosts of Pratylenchus neglectus and P. thornei. Hosting ability ratings were assigned using the ratio of final versus initial nematode density and by comparing the final nematode density to that of susceptible wheat controls. Good hosts of both Pratylenchus spp. included thickspike bluegrass ‘Critana’, smooth brome ‘Manchar’, seven wheatgrasses, and jointed goatgrass. Good hosts of P. neglectus but not P. thornei included two hairy vetches, western wheatgrass ‘Rosana’, big bluegrass ‘Sherman’, tall wheatgrass ‘Alkar’, green foxtail, kochia, large crabgrass, palmer amaranth, redroot pigweed, tumble mustard, and wild oat. Good hosts of P. thornei but not P. neglectus included hard fescue ‘Durar’, sheep fescue ‘Blacksheep’, downy brome, and rattail fescue. Poor or minor hosts of both Pratylenchus spp. included two alfalfas, dandelion, horseweed, lambsquarters, prostrate spurge, and Russian thistle. These assays will provide guidance for transitioning rangeland into crop production and for understanding the role of weeds on densities of Pratylenchus spp. in wheat-production systems.

scholarly journals An Examination of the Economics of Sustainable and Conventional Horticulture

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 687-691
Author(s):  
Robin G. Brumfield
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Organic System ◽  
Price Premiums ◽  
Organic Systems ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Adverse Impacts ◽  
The Cost

Since World War II, U.S. agriculture has reduced production costs by substituting petrochemicals for labor. Adverse impacts from chemical intensive agriculture include increased pest levels, groundwater and surface water contamination, soil erosion, and concerns about harmful levels of pesticide residues. Sustainable farming programs such as integrated crop management (ICM) and organic farming encourage farmers to use systems that reduce the adverse impacts of chemical agriculture. However, before farmers adopt an alternative system, they must determine that economic benefits from the alternative farming activities exceed the costs incurred. Unfortunately, relatively few studies have compared the cost of organic crop production with conventional production systems. Results of these studies are mixed. In some studies, organic systems are more profitable than conventional systems with organic price premiums, but are not economically viable without price premiums. In one long-term study, the organic system was more profitable than a conventional one if the cost of family labor was ignored, but less profitable if it was included. In some studies, net returns were higher for ICM than for conventional or organic systems, but in others, they were higher. Results also vary on a crop by crop basis.

Economic methods for comparing alternative crop production systems: A review of the literature

1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne S. Roberts ◽  
Scott M. Swinton
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Contamination ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Alternative Crop ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Environmental Objectives ◽  
Alternative Systems ◽  
Economic Studies

AbstractNew crop production technologies developed in response to growing concern over environmental contamination from agriculture may be neither more profitable nor higher yielding than the systems they replace, but they often reduce environmental contamination or improve soil and water quality. Systems designed with environmental objectives cannot be evaluated fairly just by productivity, which is what often is done in economic studies of alternative systems. We review 58 recent studies comparing alternative crop production systems to identify the key criteria for system comparisons, the system characteristics important in designing the analysis, and the methods most suited for comparing alternative systems.The four key criteria we looked for in system comparisons are expected profit, stability of profits, expected environmental impacts, and stability of environmental impacts. Most economic studies of crop production focus exclusively on profitability, and incorporate neither environmental criteria nor the dynamic characteristics inherent in alternative systems. We identify promising new approaches that take account of specific environmental characteristics and attempt to balance the objectives of profitability and environmental risk management. Balanced environmental-economic analysis is most likely to be achieved by integrating biophysical simulation models with economic optimization methods to model the trade-offs among profitability, environmental impact, and system stability (both financial and environmental).

CROP PRODUCTION SYSTEMS TO CONTROL EROSION AND REDUCE RUNOFF FROM UPLAND SILTY SOILS

1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1645-1652 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. D. Meyer ◽  
S. M. Dabney ◽  
C. E. Murphree ◽  
W. C. Harmon ◽  
E. H. Grissinger
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Silty Soils ◽  
Control Erosion

scholarly journals Regolith as Baseline to a Future Space Farm

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Luigi Giuseppe Duri ◽  
Antonio Giandonato Caporale ◽  
Paola Adamo ◽  
Youssef Rouphael
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Germination Rate ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Future Goals ◽  
High Production ◽  
Food Residues ◽  
Space Colonization

In the last decade, a great deal of attention has been paid and many resources have been invested in space colonization. Indeed, many space agencies, perhaps most notably NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), have created programs that aim to establish a stable settlement on the Moon (ideally in the next few years), with additional future goals of a conducting the first manned mission to Mars. Bioregenerative Life-Support Systems (BLSS) will play a key role in these endeavors because it is unrealistic and incredibly difficult to provide all of the consumables that are necessary to keep the crew members on these missions alive due high production costs and the amount of planning that is required to ensure that these products maintain their quality. An alternative solution that can reduce the associated costs and that can support delivery can be provided through the implementation of BLSS with in situ resource utilization (ISRU). Specifically, this technology aims to improve the use of the regolith (the “soil” of a planet or a satellite) on the Moon and on Mars and to promote the re-use of the waste materials that are produced either during the journey or while living in these future colonies, such as human excreta and food residues. At present, little research has investigated the feasibility of use of these resources for crop production or the effects of these resources on crop yield and nutritional quality. Our work aims to fill this gap by using regolith simulants that have been mixed at different rates (0%, 30% or 50%) with a monogastric manure that has been sieved to 2 mm as plant growth substrates to evaluate their long-term effects on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). No synthetic fertilizers were delivered to the plants during the entire cultivation period, and the specimens were only provided deionized water. Our results show that the germination rate was around 97% under pure simulant conditions, whereas germination was inhibited in the substrates that contained the monogastric manure. Figure 1 shows the effects of monogastric manure, which was demonstrated to improve the fresh yield by 23% and 17% for the 30% and 50% of amendment treatments, respectively, compared to pure simulant.

scholarly journals An Analysis of the Impact of a Ban of Methyl Bromide on the U.S. Winter Fresh Vegetable Market

1996 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Deepak ◽  
Thomas H. Spreen ◽  
John J. VanSickle
Keyword(s):  
Methyl Bromide ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Demand Functions ◽  
Fresh Vegetable ◽  
Price Increases ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The U.S

AbstractThis study evaluates the economic impact of a ban on methyl bromide on the U.S. winter fresh vegetable market for six major crops: tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, and watermelons. Florida is the primary domestic supplier of these products. Mexico and Texas are the competing suppliers of the five vegetable crops and peppers, respectively. Leontief technologies represent both monocrop and double-crop production systems; linear inverse demand functions represent four demand regions in the U.S. and Canada. By increasing production costs and reducing yields, a ban on methyl bromide decreases Florida's FOB revenues by 54% and increases those of Mexico by 65%. Price increases to U.S. fresh vegetable consumers range from near zero to over 10%, depending upon the commodity and location.

scholarly journals Forage production in mixed grazing systems of elephant grass with arrowleaf clover or forage peanut

Revista CERES ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiane Cristine Seibt ◽  
Clair Jorge Olivo ◽  
Vinicius Alessio ◽  
Aline Rodrigues Silva ◽  
Maurício Pase Quatrin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Production Systems ◽  
Repeated Measurements ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Nitrogen Fertilizers ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Elephant Grass ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Randomized Design ◽  
High Production

ABSTRACT Most dairy production systems are pasture-based, usually consisting of sole grass species. This system facilitates pasture management, but results in high production costs, mainly because of nitrogen fertilizers. An alternative to making forage systems more sustainable is to introduce legumes into the pasture. Mixed pastures allow better forage distribution over time and reduce fertilization costs. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate, throughout the year, three forage systems (FS): FS1 (control) - elephant grass (EG), ryegrass (RG), and spontaneous species (SS); FS2 - EG + RG + SS + arrowleaf clover; and FS3 - EG + RG + SS + forage peanut. Elephant grass was planted in rows spaced 4 m apart. Ryegrass was sown between the EG lines, in the winter. Arrowleaf clover was sown according to the respective treatments and forage peanut was preserved. Evaluation was carried out using Holstein cows. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design, with three treatments (FS), and three repetitions (paddocks) with repeated measurements (grazing cycles). Forage mass achieved 3.46, 3.80, and 3.91 t ha-1 for the treatments FS1, FS2 and FS3, respectively. The forage systems intercropped with legumes produced the best results.

scholarly journals Production Costs and Profitability for Selected Greenhouse Grown Annual and Perennial Crops: Partial Enterprise Budgeting and Sensitivity Analysis

HortScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 637-646
Author(s):  
Xuan Wei ◽  
Hayk Khachatryan ◽  
Alicia Rihn
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Price Competition ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Net Income ◽  
Perennial Crop ◽  
Gross Margin ◽  
Greenhouse Growers

In recent years, growers in the ornamental horticulture industry have experienced declining revenue and shrinking profit margins due to increased consumer spending captured by wholesale stores bypass, price competition at the retail level, as well as relatively low consumer demand. Maintaining cost-effective production practices is critical for nursery and greenhouse growers to stay profitable. However, a recent trend to impose more restrictive labeling polices on pesticide use (i.e., disclosing the use of neonicotinoids) may impact growers’ already tightening production costs. A better understanding of the cost structure and production decision-making can provide insights for profitable operation. Using a partial enterprise budgeting approach, this research aims to evaluate production costs and profitability for 20 individual greenhouse annual and perennial crop production systems. Three primary economic performance indicators (net income, gross margin, and profit margin) were calculated and a sensitivity analysis was conducted to account for potential risks in production. Our results suggest that production costs vary significantly among different crops, thus implying that producers may have different profitability levels depending on the combination of crops grown. Our partial enterprise budgeting estimates serve as a reference point and can assist producers with reducing costs in specific areas, and aids in selecting and adjusting crop combinations to maximize potential profits. Sensitivity analysis scenarios provide insights to producers for evaluation of their entire operations and aid in making decisions on adopting alternative practices.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document