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Farming ducks in a maize field: a new and potential crop-livestock system from China
Abstract
Crop-livestock systems are critical for global agricultural sustainability. Here we show for the first time a new crop-livestock system: farming Muscovy ducks in maize fields (FD). To test whether FD is a practicable crop-livestock system, we conducted a 3-year field experiment to explore the growth and weight performance of Muscovy ducks in FD and to compare the FD with conventional maize planting (CMP) and raising ducks indoors (RDI) regarding crop growth and yield, weed biomass and density, feed conversion ratio, and economic benefits. We found that Muscovy ducks could adapt and thrive in maize fields with grain supplementation. The average weight per duck in FD at the harvest stage of maize was 2.24–3.82 kg, which met the local market standard and was higher than in RDI with a lower feed conversion ratio. When compared to CMP, FD did not significantly reduce the maize production in terms of yield or biomass, although the ducks fed on or damaged an average of four maize leaves. Importantly, FD significantly reduced the weed biomass and density. In addition, the net present value (NPV) of FD was 10.993 per duck, which was three times and 22.8% greater than those of CMP and RDI, respectively. These results indicated that FD, as a new crop-livestock system on dry land at the field scale, can promote sustainable agricultural production and act as a potential crop-livestock system due to the large global maize area.
... Soybean grains and straws increased by 72 g.m −2 and 122 g.m −2 , respectively [21]. Based on the transformation between materials and energy in an ecological chain, the resource-recycling models could turn agricultural wastes into new resources [22]. Specifically, "cattle-corn/soybean", "rice-duck", or "piggrass" systems were good models that had been fully verified. ...
... Soybean grains and straws increased by 72 g.m −2 and 122 g.m −2 , respectively [21]. Based on the transformation between materials and energy in an ecological chain, the resource-recycling models could turn agricultural wastes into new resources [22]. Specifically, "cattle-corn/soybean", "rice-duck", or "pig-grass" systems were good models that had been fully verified. ...
Agricultural straw waste and livestock manure are often misplaced resources. The separation of planting and breeding has induced significant pressure on the environment. Thus, there is a growing need for a system that can integrate crop and livestock farming to improve resource efficiency. To clarify the current state of crop–livestock systems in China and elsewhere, a bibliometric analysis was conducted for a total of 18,628 published English and 3460 published Chinese research articles and dissertations on circular agriculture. The published research papers were taken from the ISI Web of Science and CNKI database to explore research hotpots, research methods, theme trends, and mainstream technical models of crop–livestock systems from 1981 to 2021. Recent progress in crop–livestock systems was analyzed from ecological, economic, social benefits, and stakeholder perspectives. The research results showed that compared with traditional agricultural models, crop–livestock systems had far more ecologic and social benefits, including gaining higher net income and input-output ratio, improving soil quality, and mitigating global warming. The drivers of crop–livestock systems’ development were also analyzed from stakeholders’ perspectives. The study provides insights into the development of circular agriculture by reducing the pollution risks of agricultural waste and improving both ecological and economic benefits of the system.
... The dairy industry contributes to sustainable agriculture by producing high-quality dairy and meat products (Hackett, 2020).Genetic engineering has the potential to improve meat Furthermore, the manipulation of metabolic pathways and the introduction of growth-promoting genes offer innovative solutions to optimize livestock production composition and quality traits in livestock, contributing to reduced allergenicity and enhanced nutritional content, thereby promoting sustainable agricultural practices (Austin et al., 2020). In addition to genetic engineering, innovative feeding strategies and pasture management can influence the nutritional content of milk and meat in livestock, contributing to reduced allergenicity and enhanced nutritional quality, promoting sustainability in agriculture (Wu et al., 2021). The integration of genetic engineering and biosecurity measures can contribute to enhancing livestock productivity and disease control, ensuring sustainable agricultural practices (Murthy & Muninarayanappa, 2023). ...
This review paper provides an overview of the advancements and applications of genetic engineering techniques in livestock, providing an in-depth look at how genetic engineering has improved animal health, productivity, and sustainability in agriculture. In the introduction, genetic engineering is presented as an important tool for improving animal health, productivity, and sustainability in agriculture. Several genetic engineering tools and methods are discussed in the paper, including transgenic technology and genome editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9. A special focus is placed on the application of genetic engineering to livestock, specifically disease resistance and control, improved productivity, and environmental sustainability. Additionally, the review discusses the role of genetic engineering in improving animal health by introducing disease-resistant genes and eliminating disease-causing genes. Genetically engineered vaccines and enhanced biosecurity measures are also discussed in detail as well. A further examination of how genetic engineering can enhance livestock productivity is also included in the review, including the introduction of growth-promoting genes and the manipulation of metabolic pathways. As part of the program, nutritional content and allergenicity can also be enhanced in milk and meat products. As well as highlighting the importance of genetic engineering in promoting sustainable agriculture, the review also discusses how genetic engineering can reduce environmental impacts on agriculture. It is intended to reduce methane emissions and nitrogen and phosphorus waste, as well as optimize resources and land use through improved feed conversion efficiency and disease resistance in order to reduce the need for antibiotics. In this article, ethical and regulatory issues are discussed, including ethical concerns, current regulations, and guidelines for genetic engineering in livestock. At the conclusion of the review, future directions and challenges are discussed, emphasizing the need for continued research and responsible implementation in order to improve animal health, productivity, and sustainability in agriculture.
... This system increased the profit per duck by 22.8% compared to keeping birds according to the conventional method. Furthermore, such a maintenance system allows for improved land development for plant production and is conducive to obtaining increased profits from the cultivation of cereals [33]. An alternative to standard duck feeding methods is the addition of dried corn stillage (DDGS). ...
Simple Summary
The production of broiler ducks on farms (incl. small-scale farms) can be carried out using various feeding and maintenance systems. During times of increasing feed prices and many challenges, a solution is sought that will result in efficient production. Owing to the high cost of complete feed, partial replacement with a wheat grain (10–40%), often from the farm’s resources, could reduce these costs. In this study, we found no adverse effects on the production performance or on the quality characteristics of meat. Moreover, an increased profit was shown according to analysis of the potential sales of duck carcasses, which is the essence of production with changes and challenges faced by producers in the agri-food market.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the production efficiency (economics), growth, and meat quality of ducks fed with feed partially replaced with wheat. A total of 200 ducks were reared for 49 days. Each group consisted of 50 ducks (5 pens with 10 birds). For slaughter, 10 birds per group were chosen. The control group (C) was provided with a complete feed. In the experimental groups, from 42 to 49 days, the feed was replaced with wheat grains at the level of 10% (W10), 20% (W20), or 40% (W40). In the W20 and W40 groups, the cost of feed was reduced. In the W40 group, the profit per 1 kg carcass was increased by PLN 3.34 (more than 24% higher than the C group profit). A higher percentage of pectoral muscles and intramuscular fat was observed in the W20 group, with lower water content. A lower water-holding capacity (WHC) was observed in the duck leg muscles in group W40. The muscles from the W20 group had higher protein, collagen, and water content, and the fat was highest in the W40 group. A lower toughness of cooked meat was observed in the W20 group, and lower shear force in the pectoral muscles of groups C and W40. Thinning feed with wheat grains could represent an alternative to conventional feeding of broiler ducks, owing to reduced feed costs, with no negative impact on utility features, including growth, except the share of pectoral muscle and water absorption traits.
The issues of goose and duck farming have not been raised at the economic level for a long time. Over the last decade, National Statistics Bureau Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan has not had information on the development of this type of poultry farming. Due to it the authors raised questions about the need for and prospects of the industry. The purpose of the article is to show the possible prospects for expanding the production of goose and duck breeding in our country as well as to identify the barriers that hinder their development. The results of the study can be applied in agricultural formations, peasant or farm enterprises. The abstract– logical method allows you to reveal the opportunities for Kazakhstan to develop poultry in the form of geese and ducks; the statistical method helped the authors to consider options for the development of the market for ducks and geese by using examples from other countries. In the world practice the meat of geese and ducks, which contains biologically valuable proteins and lipids. It has a higher energy value, as well as a high quality of production under relatively light conditions for care and cultivation. The authors give a comparative characteristic of the energy value of various types of meat, show options for using additional products of domestic waterfowl. Statistics on the prices of goose and duck meat, characteristics of their consumer properties, and recommendations for improving the development of the industry are given. The issues of food security of the population can be solved by expanding the market under consideration and through cooperation with stable agricultural and processing enterprises. Business development requires a small amount of government support in the form of concessional lending, temporary reduction or elimination of taxes.
Crop and livestock production have become spatially decoupled in existing commercial agricultural regimes throughout the world. These segregated high input production systems contribute to some of the world's most pressing sustainability challenges, including climate change, nutrient imbalances, water pollution, biodiversity decline, and increasingly precarious rural livelihoods. There is substantial evidence that by closing the loop in nutrient and energy cycles, recoupling crop and livestock systems at farm and territorial scales can help reduce the environmental externalities associated with conventional commercial farming without declines in profitability or yields. Yet such "integrated" crop and livestock systems remain rare as a proportion of global agricultural area. Based on an interdisciplinary workshop and additional literature review, we provide a comprehensive historical and international perspective on why integrated crop and livestock systems have declined in most regions and what conditions have fostered their persistence and reemergence in others. We also identify levers for encouraging the reemergence of integrated crop and livestock systems worldwide. We conclude that a major disruption of the current regime would be needed to foster crop-livestock reintegration, including a redesign of research programs, credit systems, payments for ecosystem services, insurance programs, and food safety regulations to focus on whole farm outcomes and the creation of a circular economy. An expansion of the number of integrated crop and livestock systems field trials and demonstrations and efforts to brand integrated crop and livestock systems as a form of sustainable agriculture through the development of eco-labels could also improve adoption, but would likely be unsuccessful at encouraging wide-scale change without a more radical transformation of the research and policy landscape.
Commercial-scale integrated crop-livestock systems intensify land use by combining complementary agricultural enterprises and leveraging synergistic ecosystem services to achieve both productive and environmental outcomes. Although widely implemented in southern Brazil as an annual beef/soybean rotation, tradeoffs such as competing soil water use between pasture and crop phases may result from seasonal grazing in this system. We compared soil water and plant physiological variables in the crop phase of an integrated annual beef-soybean system managed with no-till and best grazing practices with those of an ungrazed cover crop control as part of a long-term experiment in southern Brazil. A mixed black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) pasture was either grazed by beef cattle to 20-cm sward height or left as an ungrazed cover crop in the winter, and direct-planted to soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) in the summer. Although soybean yields did not differ between grazed and ungrazed treatments, soil matric potential was on average 25% lower across depths and growth stages in plots that had been grazed during winter. Soybeans in grazed plots also exhibited up to 34% lower light-use efficiency and a 2-week slower time to physiological maturation than soybeans in plots that had not been previously grazed. These results describe for the first time the differential crop growing conditions and crop physiological responses created after 16 years of integration with grazing animals. As integrated crop-livestock systems grow in importance in commercial production settings, this research can inform adaptive management practices to ensure the sustainability of these systems into the future and under a variety of environmental conditions.
Background
Under high plant density, intensifying competition among individual plants led to overconsumption of energy and nutrients and resulted in an almost dark condition in the lower strata of the canopy, which suppressed the photosynthetic potential of the shaded leaves. Leaf removal could help to ameliorate this problem and increase crop yields. To reveal the mechanism of leaf removal in maize, tandem mass tags label-based quantitative analysis coupled with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry were used to capture the differential protein expression profiles of maize subjected to the removal of the two uppermost leaves (S2), the four uppermost leaves (S4), and with no leaf removal as control (S0).
Results
Excising leaves strengthened the light transmission rate of the canopy and increased the content of malondialdehyde, whereas decreased the activities of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase. Two leaves removal increased the photosynthetic capacity of ear leaves and the grain yield significantly, whereas S4 decreased the yield markedly. Besides, 239 up-accumulated proteins and 99 down-accumulated proteins were identified between S2 and S0, which were strongly enriched into 30 and 23 functional groups; 71 increased proteins and 42 decreased proteins were identified between S4 and S0, which were strongly enriched into 22 and 23 functional groups, for increased and decreased proteins, respectively.
Conclusions
Different defoliation levels had contrastive effects on maize. The canopy light transmission rate was strengthened and proteins related to photosynthetic electron-transfer reaction were up-regulated significantly for treatment S2, which improved the leaf photosynthetic capacity, and obtained a higher grain yield consequently. In contrast, S4 decreased the grain yield and increased the expressions of proteins and genes associated with fatty acid metabolism. Besides, both S2 and S4 exaggerated the defensive response of maize in physiological and proteomic level. Although further studies are required, the results in our study provide new insights to the further improvement in maize grain yield by leaf removal.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (10.1186/s12870-018-1607-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Intensive cropping systems select for a low diversity of weeds tolerant of chemical control, leading to persistent weed‐crop competition and declining biodiversity. Crop rotation can mitigate this by introducing variable filters on the weed community through increasing management diversity. In this study, we investigate the effect of integrating livestock into no‐till crop rotations to complement chemical weed control.
We analysed 12 years of weed seedbank data from a trial of eight rotation systems with different crop sequence diversities, of which four included grazed forage phases. Linear mixed models and ordination were used to assess how weed abundance, diversity, and community composition responded to management filters, defined in terms of levels of disturbance strength and diversity (grazing and herbicides), and resource availability and diversity (inorganic fertilizers, legumes, and manure).
Grazed rotation systems had less herbicide applied than ungrazed rotation systems, and had the lowest weed abundance and highest weed diversity. Herbicides and grazing apply contrasting selection pressures on weeds, and this combination was more effective in reducing weed pressure than increasing herbicide quantity or mode‐of‐action diversity. Lower resource availability and higher nitrogen source diversity in grazed systems may have further reduced weed abundance and promoted diversity.
Crop sequence diversity also reduced weed abundance and promoted weed diversity, indicating that variable crop‐weed interactions can enhance weed management. In addition, yields in the main cash crop (wheat) were highest where crop diversity was highest, regardless of whether the system contained grazed phases.
Synthesis and applications. Diverse rotation systems produced high yields, and the inclusion of grazed forage phases maintained these yields at lower applications of herbicides and fertilizers: integrated livestock can therefore improve the sustainability of no‐till systems. The role of grazing as a filter imposing a contrasting selection pressure to other weed control options could be further explored to improve weed management in different farming systems.
The present review discusses the existing research findings on the nutritional impact of forages in poultry diet and the significance of forages in sustainable poultry production systems. The nutritional composition and antinutritional factors of the main forages and the pros and cons of feeding forage on poultry meat and egg quality under free-range and organic production systems are also discussed. This review highlights the importance of forages and forage meals in poultry ration, considering that these feedstuffs may have greater value to the success of local poultry production in many regions of the world due to their potential of production.
Despite their recognized agricultural sustainability benefits, mixed crop-livestock farms have declined in the Northern hemisphere. As such, crop-livestock integration beyond the farm level is a promising alternative to this trend, but the knowledge of critical factors and strategies towards its successful implementation is still lacking. We developed an analytical framework to assess the critical determinants of the emergence and outcomes of integration, which helped us understand farmers' collective strategies for reducing integration transaction costs. The resulting framework distinguishes between three types of transaction costs: information gathering, collective decision-making, and operational and monitoring costs. These costs are influenced by several factors: external environment attributes, resources engaged in crop-livestock integration, and participating actors and their arrangements. Application of the framework onto six case studies all across the world (Asia, Europe and America) demonstrated it can be utilized for various projects implemented at multiple organizational levels (farm-to-farm, local groups, and regional levels) over distinct farming systems (conventional and organic). Specific policies should be developed to strengthen social networks through the mutual understanding of such integration benefits , since they play a key role in lowering the costs of information gathering and collective decision-making. A legal framework to establishing a formal contract should contribute to lower long-term monitoring costs, especially when trust among actors developing. Operational costs largely depend on the spatial proximity of farms, but this can be overcome by extending the scale of integration in terms of covered area and number of participants. Here, appropriate coordination by third-party entities is essential, and should be targeted by financial and technical support.
This study evaluated the carcass characteristics and meat quality attributes of spent laying hens raised under conventional battery cage and free-range systems. Thirty free-range and 30 conventional battery-caged Lohmann Brown-Elite spent laying hens of 53 and 40 wk of age, respectively were obtained from a commercial egg producer. Carcass, portion, and organ weights and percentages were determined. Physicochemical analyses were performed on thigh and breast meat samples. Caged hens had heavier (P ≤ 0.05) warm and cold carcasses, thighs, wings, and feet. The percentages of the breast (26.1 ± 0.51 vs. 28.3 ± 0.28), drum, breast bones, breast thaw and cooking loss, and thigh cooking loss were higher (P ≤ 0.05) for free-range than for caged hens. Free-range hens had heavy (P ≤ 0.05) gizzards (33.9 ± 1.04 vs. 30.5 ± 0.73) and bones and a lower (P ≤ 0.05) breast meat percentage (47.3 ± 0.94 vs. 51.7 ± 1.35). Meat redness (a*) (0.54 ± 0.222 vs. 1.40 ± 0.135) and hue angle, skin redness (a*), breast (12.37 ± 0.411 vs. 17.10 ± 0.751), and thigh (29.68 ± 0.306 vs. 39.75 ± 0.826) Warner-Bratzler shear force values (N), breast moisture, and thigh ash content were higher (P ≤ 0.05) for free-range hens. Caged hens had a higher (P ≤ 0.05) thigh thaw loss percentage and breast ash content. Production system significantly influenced the carcass characteristics and meat quality of spent laying hens. The results of this study supply baseline information for the utilization of spent laying hens by the poultry industry and consumers.
As pastured poultry production has gained increased popularity in the United States in recent years, there is a growing need for research and outreach efforts aimed at this sector of poultry production. In order to get familiarized with American pastured poultry producers, we conducted an online questionnaire aimed primarily at evaluating what operational challenges are faced by producers and what educational opportunities should be initiated by researchers. Results showed that pastured poultry farms largely vary in total number of acres farmed and total number of birds kept. The vast majority of farms (96%) rotate their flocks on pasture and include livestock species (78%) in their rotation systems. Mobile coops are the preferred housing option provided by producers (88%). The most common source of mortality listed by respondents was predation (52%), followed by “other” (32%). However, predation was not selected as the most important challenge by the majority of respondents. Sixty-four percent of participants instead mentioned providing adequate feed at reasonable cost as the major challenge in raising poultry on pasture, followed again by “other” (52%) and lack of processing facilities for small numbers of birds (40%). Finally, the topics considered by respondents as the most helpful to learn more about were how to improve egg production rate and/or feed conversion ratio (67%), followed by how to improve pasture condition and optimum vegetative cover all year round (62%). Despite its small sample size, this study's results provide some valuable insights of challenges encountered and information needed on pastured poultry farms.
Barn and cage-fed chickens have presented several problems, such as high rates of infectious disease and consequent antibiotic abuse, poorer chicken health and welfare, and often poorer meat and egg quality compared with free-range chickens. The poultry agroforestry system is becoming increasingly popular in many poultry farms nowadays. In this study, to evaluate the contribution of poultry agroforestry system to enhance some meat and egg traits of Beijing-you chickens, some indexes of meat and egg qualities, some indexes of slaughter traits, and the feed conversion efficiency were investigated in rotational grazing Beijing-you chickens on chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) pasture (CGRG group) and only free-ranging chickens on bare land without forage (control group) in chestnut forest. Results showed that the live body weight, the dressing weight, the thigh muscle weight, and the breast muscle weight were increased (p<0.05) based on the decrease of 15% feed concentration in the CGRG group relative to the control. Furthermore, compared with the control, the crude ash, the essential amino acid content, and the inosinic acid content were increased (p<0.05), and the crude fat contents were decreased (p<0.05) in the thigh and breast muscles, while the yolk cholesterol and the feed conversion ratio were significantly decreased (p<0.05) in the CGRG group. This study would provide a scientific basis and technological support for the large-scale demonstration and application of rotational grazing chickens on the artificial pasture in forest.
Industrial agriculture is not efficient anymore due in particular to the use of nonrenewable energy such as fossil fuels. Organic agriculture is an alternative system that aims to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, pesticides, and mineral fertilizers. Animal–crop systems present potential mutual benefits, but such systems have been rarely studied quantitatively. Here, we compare energy inputs and outputs of organic rice–duck farming with conventional rice production in Mazandaran province, Iran. Our results show that the global energy input of organic rice–duck, 79,307 MJ ha−1, is lower than that of conventional rice, 94,377 MJ ha−1. On the contrary, the energy output of organic rice–duck, 117,325 MJ ha−1, is higher than that of conventional rice, 111,914 MJ ha−1. The most used energy was fuel, amounting to 40 % of total energy for organic rice–duck and 33 % for conventional rice. Then, machinery consumed 25 % of total energy for organic rice–duck and 20 % for conventional rice. Then, fertilizers consumed 20 % of total energy in the form of organic fertilizers for organic rice–duck versus 16 % in the form of mineral fertilizers for conventional rice. Overall, our findings show that organic rice–duck farming has more energy efficiency than conventional rice farming.
Mixed crop–livestock systems are the backbone of African agriculture, providing food security and livelihood options for hundreds of millions of people. Much is known about the impacts of climate change on the crop enterprises in the mixed systems, and some, although less, on the livestock enterprises. The interactions between crops and livestock can be managed to contribute to environmentally sustainable intensification, diversification and risk management. There is relatively little information on how these interactions may be affected by changes in climate and climate variability. This is a serious gap, because these interactions may offer some buffering capacity to help smallholders adapt to climate change.
Ethnomedicinal survey exhibits a number of valuable data on indigenous medicinal plants, which are cultivated for agriculture purpose. Many agriculture plants and their products have been used traditionally for the treatment of various livestock diseases. These plants are used not only for food but also employed to cure different ailments of livestock. The medicinal uses of these plants may help veterinarians, medicos and agriculture/bio scientists or researchers in discovering new drugs against various diseases of human and animals. Some of the agriculture plants possessing useful properties against various diseases of livestock are: Allium cepa, Allium sativum, Annona squamosa, Brassica campestris and B. nigra, B. oleracea var. botrytis, Cajanus cajan, Capsicum annum, Carica papaya, Cicer arietinum, Citrus limon, Curcuma longa, Daucus sativa, Elephantopus scaber, Lens culinaris, Lycopersicon esculentum, Momordica charantia, Oryza sativa, Picrorhiza kurroa, Psidium guajava, Raphanus sativus, Sesamum orientale, Solanum melongena, Solanum tuberosum, Spinacia oleracea, Trachyspermum ammi, Trigonella foenumgraecum, Triticum aestivum, Zea mays and Zingiber officinale.
Excising the upper leaves strata of maize crops cultivated at high stand densities could possibly optimize canopy architecture to achieve enhanced canopy apparent photosynthesis, a more favorable distribution of 13C-photosynthates to grain, and ultimately higher grain yields. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a leaf removal experiment in 2012 and 2013 growing seasons in Shandong, a province in the North China Plain. Jinhai5, a corn cultivar planted widely across China, was grown at a density of 105,000 plants ha−1 until 3 days after silking (DAS), when plants were subjected to the removal of the uppermost and next leaves (S2), the four uppermost leaves (S4) or the six uppermost leaves (S6), with no leaf removal as control (S0). In the S2 treatment we found a longer duration of canopy apparent photosynthesis (CAP) and green leaf area index (LAI), higher total dry matter weight at physiological maturity as well as greater harvest index (HI) compared to the control, whereas those in the excessive leaf removal treatments (S4 and S6) declined substantially. In addition, modification of the number of leaves above the ear leaf led to different patterns of allocation of 13C-photosynthates. Excising two leaves promoted the distribution of 13C-photosynthates to grains, while that allocation decreased in the S4 and S6 treatments, which can be interpreted as a result of increased retention of 13C-photosynthates in the stem and ear bracts. Plants in S2 treatment displayed a yield advantage under high plant density due to higher kernel weight and more harvested ears. Relative to control, plants in the S2 treatment had 15% and 12% higher grain yields in 2012 and 2013, respectively. However, the removal of four or six leaves at the very early grain filling period, when kernel sink capacity is being established, caused a marked reduction in yields due to decreased both kernel number per plant and kernel weight, despite a relatively higher biomass availability per kernel. In conclusion, excising two leaves (the uppermost and next leaves) of maize crops cultivated at high plant density delayed leaf senescence, enhanced canopy photosynthesis and dry matter accumulation, leading to a higher post-silking source–sink ratio with its positive impact on kernel weight and higher grain yield.
The development of integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) is a major challenge for the ecological modernisation of agriculture but appears difficult to implement at a large scale. A participatory method for ICLS design has been developed and implemented in 15 case studies across Europe, representing a range of production systems, challenges, constraints and resources for innovation. Local stakeholders, primarily farmers, but also cooperatives, environmental-association representatives and natural-resource managers, were involved in the identification of challenges and existing initiatives of crop-livestock integration; in the design of new options at field, farm and territory levels; and then in qualitative multicriteria assessment of these options. A conceptual framework based on a conceptual model (crops, grasslands, animals) was developed to act as a boundary object in the design step and invite innovative thinking in 'metabolic' and 'ecosystemic' approaches. A diversity of crops and grasslands interacting with animals appeared central for designing sustainable farming systems at the territory level, providing and benefitting from ecosystem services. Within this diversity, we define three types of integrated systems according to their degrees of spatial and temporal coordination: complementarity, local synergy, territorial synergy. Moreover, the options for cooperation and collective organisation between farmers and other stakeholders in territories to organise and manage this diversity of land use revealed opportunities for smart social innovation. The qualitative multicriteria assessment identified farmer workload as the main issue of concern while demonstrating expected benefits of ICLS simultaneously for economic, agronomic, environmental and social criteria. This study concludes that participatory design of ICLS based on a generic multi-level and multi-domain framework and a methodology to deal with a local context can identify new systems to be tested. Further assessment and redesign work will be performed in later stages of the European FP7 CANTOGETHER project.
Significance
This report is unique in presenting a high-resolution dataset of biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions by global livestock. This information will allow the global-change research community in enhancing our understanding of the sustainability of livestock systems and their role in food security, livelihoods and environmental sustainability.
Agricultural production systems in North America have become increasingly specialized. The lack of diversification has had negative economic, biological, and environmental consequences. One alternative approach to diversify agricultural production is to integrate cash grain cropping with ruminant livestock production. Our objective was to review research applicable to development of diversified crop-livestock systems in the U.S. Corn Belt and discuss research priorities and constraints to adoption of those systems. One form of integration becoming more common in the U.S. Corn Belt occurs through contractual arrangements between spatially separated, specialized crop and livestock production farms. Less common is the spatial and temporal integration of crops and livestock on the same land base, which can occur via rotations of grain crops with perennial pastures, short rotations of grain crops with annual or short-season pastures, and utilization of grain crop residues for livestock grazing. We feel this latter model is truer to the concept of diversification. Based on published research and preliminary results from an integrated crop-livestock system project in Illinois, we suggest that integration of crops and livestock on the same land base offers tremendous potential to diversify farm ecosystems in the U.S. Corn Belt while being economically competitive and more environmentally compatible than prevailing specialized production systems. Although studies have addressed or are applicable to components of crop-livestock systems in humid-cool environments, there remains a need for systems level research and funding opportunities for addressing the complex environment-plant-animal-economic-social interactions associated with integrated crop-livestock systems.
With a growing world population and increasingly demanding consumers, the production of sufficient protein from livestock, poultry, and fish represents a serious challenge for the future. Approximately 1,900 insect species are eaten worldwide, mainly in developing countries. They constitute quality food and feed, have high feed conversion ratios, and emit low levels of greenhouse gases. Some insect species can be grown on organic side streams, reducing environmental contamination and transforming waste into high-protein feed that can replace increasingly more expensive compound feed ingredients, such as fish meal. This requires the development of costeffective, automated mass-rearing facilities that provide a reliable, stable, and safe product. In the tropics, sustainable harvesting needs to be assured and rearing practices promoted, and in general, the food resource needs to be revalorized. In the Western world, consumer acceptability will relate to pricing, perceived environmental benefits, and the development of tasty insect-derived protein products. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Entomology Volume 58 is December 03, 2013. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/catalog/pubdates.aspx for revised estimates.
Farmers in mixed crop-livestock systems produce about half of the world's food. In small holdings around the world, livestock are reared mostly on grass, browse, and nonfood biomass from maize, millet, rice, and sorghum crops and in their turn supply manure and traction for future crops. Animals act as insurance against hard times and supply farmers with a source of regular income from sales of milk, eggs, and other products. Thus, faced with population growth and climate change, small-holder farmers should be the first target for policies to intensify production by carefully managed inputs of fertilizer, water, and feed to minimize waste and environmental impact, supported by improved access to markets, new varieties, and technologies.
Global meat production is becoming increasingly industrialized, spatially concentrated, and geographically detached from the
agricultural land base. This
Policy Forum
reviews the process of livestock industrialization and globalization, and its consequences for water, nitrogen, and species-rich
habitats in meat- and feed-producing regions often vastly separated in space. It argues that pricing and other policy mechanisms
which reflect social costs of resource use and ecological change are needed to re-couple livestock and land in producer countries,
drawing on examples from Europe and the United States. It also argues that consumers can play an important role in setting
a sustainable course.
Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) are one of the most exploited species in the duck-farming industry due to their large size, meat quality, and considerable economic value for small farmers and large factories. This study reviews the available information on its productive potential and the factors likely to impact it. Although this species can achieve high meat yields, not all management systems seem to be capable of obtaining ‘optimal’ growth, especially in developing countries. This situation occurs because the optimal weight of this duck is highly dependent on proper management conditions and its genetic background. Domestic production of male Muscovy ducks results in live weights ranging from 2.0 to 2.9 kg. When bred under improved conditions they can achieve a live weight ranging from 4.5 to 5.1 kg with an additional increase of up to 6.5 kg with a 2-week forced-feeding programme. Other producers utilise crossbreeding with Peking ducks to produce sterile mule ducks that have lower sexual dimorphism, adequate meat yields, and even superior foie gras yields. There have also been several studies on the use of natural supplements in these species; however, only some probiotics have shown an impact on productivity. Another important aspect when procuring adequate yields is to ensure the proper health of the individuals. Although Muscovy ducks are generally more resistant to pathogens than chickens, they are not exempt from suffering infections. They can be affected by several parasites such as nematodes that reduce their productivity and can lead to death in severe outbreaks. Viral infections can also lead to high mortalities and substantial economic losses such as the highly pathogenic avian influenza (20–100% mortality), parvoviruses (10–90% mortality), reoviruses (10–53% mortality), and herpes viruses (10–100% mortality).
Bamboo-chicken farming (BCF), in which chickens are farmed in bamboo forests, is a common land-use type in China. However, little is known regarding the responses of soil bacterial communities to the introduction of BCF. In this study, we investigated and compared the bacterial communities in chicken gut, bulk soil, the rhizosphere, and roots, along with relevant soil properties, in a BCF area and a control area (a pure lei bamboo (Phyllostachys praecox) forest: PBF). The results showed that BCF significantly increased (p < 0.05) soil pH, organic carbon (SOC), total N, total P, alkali-hydrolysable N (AN), available K (AK), and available phosphorus (AP) and significantly decreased (p < 0.05) the soil C:N and C:P stoichiometry. BCF significantly altered the bacterial communities in soil and bamboo root systems. Bacterial composition changes associated with BCF were mostly related to C and N cycling, plant growth, and abiotic stress adaptation, such as an increase of Bacteroidetes, Flavobacterium, and Sphingomonas in bulk soil; Mizugakiibacter and Sphingomonas in rhizosphere soil; and Flavobacterium, Rhizobium, and Rhodomicrobium in root endophytes. A redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that all bacterial communities were significantly correlated with soil AN, AP, and TP, suggesting that N and P were the driving factors for bacterial composition and C cycle changes. The shared operational taxonomic units in the chicken gut–soil–bamboo root continuum indicated the microbial linkage among these components. Our results suggest that the microbial community and soil stoichiometry changes induced by chicken farming would alter bamboo ecosystem functions; the decreased overall stoichiometry and reduced bacterial richness (Chao 1 index) may indicate a high risk of nutrient and biodiversity loss.
Integrated rice-duck farming (IRDF), as a mode of ecological agriculture, is an important way to realize sustainable development of agriculture. A 2-year split-plot field experiment was performed to evaluate the effects of IRDF on methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and its ecological mechanism in rice season. This experiment was conducted with two rice farming systems (FS) of IRDF and conventional farming (CF) under four paddy-upland rotation systems (PUR): rice-fallow (RF), annual straw incorporating in rice–wheat rotation system (RWS), annual straw-based biogas residues incorporating in rice–wheat rotation system (RWB), and rice-green manure (RGM). During the rice growing seasons, IRDF decreased the CH4 emission by 8.80–16.68%, while increased the N2O emission by 4.23–15.20%, when compared to CF. Given that CH4 emission contributed to 85.83–96.22% of global warming potential (GWP), the strong reduction in CH4 emission led to a significantly lower GWP of IRDF as compared to CF. The reason for this trend was because IRDF has significant effect on dissolved oxygen (DO) and soil redox potential (Eh), which were two pivotal factors for CH4 and N2O emissions in this study. The IRDF not only mitigates the GWP, but also increases the rice yield by 0.76–2.43% compared to CF. Moreover, compared to RWS system, RF, RWB and RGM systems significantly reduced CH4 emission by 50.17%, 44.89% and 39.51%, respectively, while increased N2O emission by 10.58%, 14.60% and 23.90%, respectively. And RWS system had the highest GWP. These findings suggest that mitigating GWP and improving rice yield could be simultaneously achieved by the IRDF, and employing suitable PUR would benefit for relieving greenhouse effect.
Integrated crop-livestock systems (iCL) are advocated as a promising strategy to increase agricultural production and rehabilitate degraded pastures while mitigating GHG emissions. Although iCL in Brazil has increased over the past few years, it still occupies a small share of the country’s total agricultural area. We investigate the determinants of iCL occurrence in Mato Grosso state, a globally important producer of beef cattle and grains that has experienced rapid land cover change and environmental degradation in recent decades. Our analysis encompasses two typical cases of iCL in Mato Grosso (the rotation of soy followed by pasture, and soy followed by maize and pasture) as well as biophysical, socioeconomic, and institutional factors observable at the household and/or municipality levels that may influence the wide-scale occurrence of iCL. Evidence at both scales suggests that knowledge and supply chain infrastructure play an important role in early occurrence of iCL, as they are more common in regions closer to iCL research stations and processing facilities of grains and cattle. On average iCL adopters are more educated and have better access to technical assistance and sector information than specialized farmers or ranchers. Most iCLs are concentrated near established soy areas and greater similarity exists between municipalities with iCL and soy-dominant municipalities vs. pasture-dominant municipalities. Our findings reveal the importance of specific conditions for iCL occurrence and iCL promotion in livestock-dominant regions. Incentives targeted at ranchers are crucial for the achievement of the Brazilian Government’s goal to restore degraded pastures through agricultural intensification.
Crop residue is often grazed by sheep after harvest, over the dry summer period from December to March in Mediterranean environments. However, soil cover provided by crop residues is a key component of conservation agriculture for maintaining favourable soil structure and high yields.A series of 31 site × year experiments was conducted to assess the effect of summer stubble grazing on residue levels and following crop yields. Relatively light grazing, with stocking rates below 10 dry sheep equivalent (DSE) and between 90 and 471 DSE days ha-1, had no significant effect on the amount of residue, soil properties, soil water, weeds or yield in the following crop. The main effect of grazing was to knock down and scatter the standing crop residues. However, longer term grazing at relatively high intensity (956 DSE days ha-1) on heavy soil, over both summer and winter, as in a pasture phase, did significantly reduce residue levels, infiltration and yield (by 59%). The effect of summer grazing on soil mineral N was small and inconsistent, with increased mineral N, by about 3-7 kg N ha-1, following grazing at two of the 13 sites. By contrast, higher mineral N, by 2-15 kg N ha-1, was measured in the un-grazed plots at three of the 13 sites. This was due to increased growth of legume pastures in the absence of grazing.More research is needed to confirm the yield effects when cropping after an annual pasture/fallow that is grazed over summer and winter, particularly on different soil types.
Chickens were allowed to forage for one growing season (June–September) on plots containing substantial numbers of grasshoppers. When compared with untreated areas, plots where foraging occurred for just one season had significantly (P Keywords: foraging chickens; grasshoppers; persistence; rangeland Document Type: Research Article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2014.926859 Affiliations: 1: Key Laboratory of Mollisols Agroecology, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China 2: International Centre for Tibetan Plateau Ecosystem Management, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China Publication date: October 3, 2014 More about this publication? Editorial Board Information for Authors Subscribe to this Title ingentaconnect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites (document).ready(function() { var shortdescription = (".originaldescription").text().replace(/\\&/g, '&').replace(/\\, '<').replace(/\\>/g, '>').replace(/\\t/g, ' ').replace(/\\n/g, ''); if (shortdescription.length > 350){ shortdescription = "" + shortdescription.substring(0,250) + "... more"; } (".shortdescription a").click(function() { (".originaldescription").slideDown(); return false; }); }); Related content In this: publication By this: publisher In this Subject: Plant Culture , Zoology , Entomology By this author: Sun ; Liu ; Long GA_googleFillSlot("Horizontal_banner_bottom");
Australia has a long history of mixed farming. This paper examines the integration of Australian cropping and livestock production from three perspectives: as a factor in land use change, a consequence of individual management practices and a means of meeting farmers’ multiple objectives. Since about 1995, the proportion of cropped land has increased on Australian cropping farms while livestock numbers have decreased. Land use in the north-eastern, central and south-western regions of the cropping zone have diverged. Despite these changes, mixed farms still dominate Australia’s broadacre farming regions.
The integrated crop-livestock production system provides most of the food needed by the people of China. Five types of integrated production systems are recognised; rangeland, grain crops, crop/pasture, agro-silvopastoral and ponds. Development of more sustainable and integrated crop-pasture-rangeland-livestock production systems has been recently achieved. Demonstrations of the integrated systems at household, village and regional levels are occurring for rain-fed agriculture on the Loess Plateau, the Hexi Corridor, north-western China and the Karst region of Guizhou Province, south-western China. These indicate that integration of crop, livestock and forage are effective means of improving agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability and farmers' incomes. Widespread adoption of integrated farming systems should also reduce rangeland degradation.
Field experiments were conducted in the agricultural experimental station of National Research Centre at Shalakan, Kalubia Governorate, Egypt. The investigation was undertaken to study the influence of some herbicides and additional hoeing in maize growth, yield and yield components. In general, all tested herbicides alone or in combination as well as hoeing twice and thrice resulted in satisfactory control of weeds in both seasons. Hand hoeing three times was more effective in controlling weeds and thus increasing maize growth and yield. Among herbicides treatments, simazine at 2 kg/fed + Ametryn at 2 kg/fed treatment showed superiority to the other treatments in controlling grasses, broad-leaved and the weeds. The studied treatments increased maize growth and yield through their effect in controlling the weeds , more so with hand hoeing.
Rice–duck farming is one of the traditional, but current and gradually popularized, ecological farming techniques for paddy rice production in China. In comparison to rice monoculture farming, we investigated a weed community and weed infestation in a transplanted rice–duck farming system and examined the effects of duck activities on the weeds. Three treatments were imposed in the experiment: a rice–duck coculture with duck grazing and disturbance effects, a rice–duck coculture with duck disturbance effects only, and a control (rice monoculture, no duck effects). Rice seedlings were nursed and transplanted in this experiment. The total number of weed species was significantly lower in the treatment with both duck grazing and disturbance and in the treatment with duck disturbance only than in the monoculture rice treatment (control). The Shannon-Wiener Biodiversity Index of the weed species decreased but the Pielou Evenness Index increased in both treatments with ducks compared to the monoculture control. Sorensen's coefficient of similarity of the weed communities was low between the treatments with ducks and the monoculture control, implying that the weed communities diverged. The total density and biomass of the weed community in both the treatments with ducks were significantly lower compared to the monoculture control. However, compared to the rice monoculture control, the weed biomass was reduced by 98% in the treatment with duck grazing and disturbance and by 84% in the treatment with duck disturbance only, implying that only 14% of the weeds were controlled by duck grazing and that 84% of the weed biomass was inhibited by duck activities in the rice field with ducks. The rice grain yield increased in the treatments with ducks compared to the control. The results suggested that duck activities, like grazing weeds and disturbance of the soil and water, had a significant effect on the weed community structure and that weeds could be well controlled without herbicide application under a rice–duck farming system.
The integration of crop and animal production is well developed in the farming systems of Asia, particularly those in small-scale agriculture. There is marked complementarity in resource use in these systems, with inputs from one sector being supplied to others. Specific examples of the main crop–animal interactions are given for different countries, and reference is made to the results of a number of case studies. These have demonstrated the important contribution that animals make to increased production, income generation, and the improved sustainability of annual and perennial cropping systems.
For centuries, traditional agricultural systems have contributed to food and livelihood security throughout the world. Recognizing the ecological legacy in the traditional agricultural systems may help us develop novel sustainable agriculture. We examine how rice-fish coculture (RF), which has been designated a "globally important agricultural heritage system," has been maintained for over 1,200 y in south China. A field survey demonstrated that although rice yield and rice-yield stability are similar in RF and rice monoculture (RM), RF requires 68% less pesticide and 24% less chemical fertilizer than RM. A field experiment confirmed this result. We documented that a mutually beneficial relationship between rice and fish develops in RF: Fish reduce rice pests and rice favors fish by moderating the water environment. This positive relationship between rice and fish reduces the need for pesticides in RF. Our results also indicate a complementary use of nitrogen (N) between rice and fish in RF, resulting in low N fertilizer application and low N release into the environment. These findings provide unique insights into how positive interactions and complementary use of resource between species generate emergent ecosystem properties and how modern agricultural systems might be improved by exploiting synergies between species.
The development of the environmental nitrogen problem connected with agriculture in the European Union (EU) is described briefly. It is shown that the problem is related to recent segregation of animal and crop production, and specialisation and intensification on farms and in regions. A long-term solution can be found by re-allocation and re-integration of the main agricultural production systems. Production of vegetables, root and tuber crops can be integrated with animal production in mixed farming systems and should be located on the better soils of the EU. The good perspectives of mixed farming systems are illustrated by the favourable nitrogen balances of two designed prototypes where arable, dairy and sheep farming are integrated to a high degree. Besides, low input grazing systems for meat production can be combined with nature conservation and recreation in regions less suitable for arable farming. In principle, manure produced by pigs and poultry should be returned to the regions where their feed has been produced. It is postulated that animal welfare can be best guaranteed in an environmentally safe way if the animals are be given more living space and the pig and poultry production systems are distributed more evenly over the EU.
The productivity of the scavenging, small animal species (chickens, ducks, pigs, hair sheep and guinea-pigs) commonly found on small-scale farms at the forest margin in subtropical Bolivia was monitored over a full year. Chickens and guinea-pigs were kept mainly for home consumption, while ducks and pigs were kept mainly for sale. Sheep served both purposes, depending upon the family requirements. In the absence of veterinary treatment, the productivity varied greatly between farms. Pigs gave the greatest gross return, but received the largest amount of supplementary feed. Under the existing system, chickens, ducks and sheep all gave similar gross returns per breeding female, although chickens produced good returns and made a large contribution to the family diet where the reproductive efficiency was high and the chick mortality was low. Mortality resulting from disease was a major problem in poultry, while internal parasites appeared to be important limiting factors in pigs and sheep. Guinea-pigs showed no major problems apart from theft, and were an important dietary component for immigrant families from the highlands of the country. Small animal species have largely been ignored by agricultural research and development activities in Bolivia and elsewhere. They currently make significant contributions to the livelihoods of poor people in terms of both income and food security, and this could be greatly increased by simple improvements in animal husbandry.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) caused by H5N1 viruses has become a global scale problem which first emerged in southern China and from there spread to other countries in Southeast and East Asia, where it was first confirmed in end 2003. In previous work, geospatial analyses demonstrated that free grazing ducks played critical role in the epidemiology of the disease in Thailand in the winter 2004/2005, both in terms of HPAI emergence and spread. This study explored the geographic association between free grazing duck census counts and current statistics on the spatial distribution of rice crops in Thailand, in particular the crop calendar of rice production. The analysis was carried out using both district level rice statistics and rice distribution data predicted with the aid of remote sensing, using a rice-detection algorithm. The results indicated a strong association between the number of free grazing ducks and the number of months during which second-crop rice harvest takes place, as well as with the rice crop intensity as predicted by remote sensing. These results confirmed that free grazing duck husbandry was strongly driven by agricultural land use and rice crop intensity, and that this later variable can be readily predicted using remote sensing. Analysis of rice cropping patterns may provide an indication of the location of populations of free grazing ducks in other countries with similar mixed duck and rice production systems and less detailed duck census data. Apart from free ranging ducks and rice cropping, the role of hydrology and seasonality of wetlands and water bodies in the HPAI risk analysis is also discussed in relation to the presumed dry season aggregation of wild waterfowl and aquatic poultry offering much scope for virus transmission.
Introducing chicken farming into traditional ruminant-grazing dominated production systems for promoting ecological restoration of degraded rangeland in northern China
- H Su
- H Liu
- H Wei
- J Yang
- B Zhang
- X Wang
Su H, Liu H, Wei H, Yang J, Zhang B, Wang X (2018) Introducing
chicken farming into traditional ruminant-grazing dominated production systems for promoting ecological restoration of degraded
rangeland in northern China. Land Degrad Dev 29:240-249.
https:// doi. org/ 10. 1002/ ldr. 2719