There is increasing evidence that improved agricultural technologies benefit smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. This evidence is however relatively clearer for innovations in smallholder crop production systems as compared to innovations in livestock production systems. Moreover, it is...

The dairy landscape in the Republic of Ireland is characterized by pastoral spring-calving systems and a bell-shaped milk production curve. This seasonality at producer level initiates various implications at processor level, such as poor utilization of plant capacity off-peak season, a...

The abolition of the milk quota regime in April 2015 will provide the opportunity for many profitable Irish dairy farms to increase their production levels. Market risk will influence the decision-making process at the farm level. Dairy farmers have acquired more recent experience of market risk...

This paper considers a range of issues relating to the contribution of meat consumption and livestock production to global warming given the need highlighted by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) to reduce global GHG emissions by over 50% by 2050. The IPCC Climate Change 2014 report...

Animal health is one of the key factors affecting the economic efficiency of the dairy industry and has important implications within an increasingly competitive marketplace. Despite the fact that the economic gains of ‘best practice’ with regard to animal health have been well documented,...

By the end of its seven-year term in 2007-08, the Australian Sheep Industry CRC (Sheep CRC) will have received total funds of about $90 million, that comprises Commonwealth and industry funding of $30 million, and in-kind contributions valued at $60 million. This level of public and private...

This report documents the specification of an equilibrium displacement model (EDM) of the Australian sheep and wool industries. The model is capable of estimating and comparing the potential benefits from R&D and generic promotion investments, and other policy changes, in the different sectors...

The Australian cattle and beef industry and the associated RD&E community recently developed a successful proposal for the CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies. The expected benefits from the proposed scientific programs of the renewed CRC were estimated using the DREAM economic modelling...

This report presents a detailed description of the software program StockPlan® including a description of the calculations used within the program. StockPlan® has been developed as a decision aid for farmers and their advisors during drought and during the drought recovery stage. StockPlan®...

A ‘broad brush’ picture of farming in the pastoral zone of NSW is presented in this report. The pastoral zone of NSW is characterised by wide variations in climatic conditions, soil type and vegetation species. Hence representative faming system analysis was conducted for three sub-regions -...