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Effects of Forage Quality Restrictions on Optimal Production Systems Determined by Linear Programming*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Robert E. Whitson ,
Don L. Parks  and
Dennis B. Herd
Robert E. Whitson
Affiliation:
Departments of Range Science and Agricultural Economics
Don L. Parks
Affiliation:
Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas A & M University
Dennis B. Herd
Affiliation:
Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas A & M University
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Extract

Due to changing feed price relationships for beef production, it is anticipated that linear programming (LP) will be used to develop optimal feeding strategies for cow-calf operations in the South. An important relationship between forage quality and forage intake has been ignored in previous LP analyses. Forage quality and cows' intake of it are inversely related; i.e., as forage quality decreases with maturity, a cow's or calf's consumption of a particular forage must increase to continue meeting the animal's nutritional requirements. However, as the quality of forage decreases, digestibility decreases, and the animal's maximum intake capacity of that forage decreases (Figure 1). It is hypothesized that consideration of intake restrictions will change the optimal LP forage production system, livestock grazing system or supplemental feeding strategies when forages are an important nutrient source.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , December 1976 , pp. 1 - 4
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 1976

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Footnotes

*

Technical Article No. 12180 of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.

References

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