Integrating dual‐purpose wheat crops into different sheep production systems in southern Australia: impacts on livestock,economic returns and risk

摘要

Dual-purpose ( grain+grazing ) cereals have emerged as a potentially profitable new land use in southern Australia.Diverting land to dual‐purpose cereal production will result in an increase in forage supply during winter, but may decrease total forage available at other times of year.The usefulness of the winter feed provided by these crops can be expected to depend upon the nature of the livestock enterprise, and hence the kinds and numbers of animals available to consume it.A modelling approach is the only viable way of evaluating the interacting tradeoffs between livestock and cereal production, and the impact of rainfall variability upon the outcomes.