A Decision Support System for Economically Sustainable Sheep and Goat Farming

Abstract

The European sheep and goat sector is characterized by low professionalization and management training. Moreover, it is fragmented in terms of production aims and farming systems. Here, iSAGEDSS, a web-based application allowing dairy and meat small ruminant farmers in different countries to make annual management plans by testing future scenarios, is presented. Data were obtained for the meat sheep (United Kingdom and Spain), dairy sheep (France and Greece) and dairy goat production systems (Greece) from partners of the Innovation for Sustainable Sheep and Goat Production in Europe (iSAGE) project. These were used to set default values and ranges for all important farm parameters in each system and country. An algorithm was developed assessing nutritional management and its impact on production and financial performance. Reports focus on profitability, productivity and environmental sustainability. A case study in three dairy sheep farms in Greece was performed. In each case, an evaluation scenario was created using actual farm data that were compared with the estimated ones. Two scenarios testing management decisions for gross margin maximization and milk pricing fluctuations were created. Application results showed high prediction accuracy for gross margin and production estimation (error of circa 9% and 4%, respectively). Moreover, the ability to promote financial, production and grazing management efficiency was demonstrated.

Novel Resilient and Sustainable Farm Profiles in Small Ruminant Production Systems Using Mathematical Programming Model

“…Regarding the profile of new farms where animals are healthy, the optimal plan of the most intensive production systems, i.e., Chios, Assaf, and Frizarta, coincides with that described by Theodoridis et al [55], Pulina et al [1], Vouraki et al [56], and Schuh et al [57], who, based on the results of technical-economic analysis and efficiency analysis of farms, reported that farms that base their operation on fixed capital investments, highly productive animals, purchased feed, and hired skilled labor should utilize economies of scale by reducing the fixed cost per unit of product. These farms should be large, organize labor more rationally, implement labor-saving technologies, and reduce their dependency on home-gown feed, a strategy described by Ragkos et al [26].…”

Efficiency Analysis as a Tool for Revealing Best Practices and Innovations: The Case of the Sheep Meat Sector in Europe

“…Specifically, there are tools for sustainability assessments at the farm level [59,60], for individual animal recording of production and health aspects [16,61] and for decision making through predictive modeling [62]. Such tools can provide farmers with economic, environmental and social indicators, assist breeding programs and/or help with efficient farm management planning for higher production and profits [62]. In order to increase the adoption of such tools, training of farmers and consultancy are imperative [63].…”

Analyzing the production efficiency of meat goat farming and factors influencing the decision to expand the scale of meat goat farming in Ninh Phuoc district, Ninh Thuan province

“…Các biến độc lập được kế thừa từ các nghiên cứu trước đây về việc ra quyết định của các nông hộ chăn nuôi gia súc [10][11][12][13][14][15] Giả thuyết H 3 : Kinh nghiệm trong chăn nuôi có tác động đến quyết định mở rộng QMCN Lao động của hộ thể hiện số lượng người trong độ tuổi lao động tham gia sản xuất của hộ, số lao động càng cao thì chăn nuôi dê càng thuận lợi, khi mở rộng quy mô thì khối lượng công việc sẽ nhiều hơn, cần nhiều lao động hơn để thực hiện (tương quan thuận). Giả thuyết H 4 : Số người trong độ tuổi lao động của hộ có tác động đến quyết định mở rộng QMCN Khi hộ gia tăng quy mô đàn thì sẽ cần nhiều diện tích cho chuồng trại, sân chơi, trồng cỏ, khu công trình Giả thuyết H 5 : Diện tích chuồng tại có tác động đến quyết định mở rộng QMCN Tham gia tập huấn: Các hộ nông dân tham gia tập huấn càng nhiều thì việc áp dụng các thông tin ứng dụng khoa học kỹ thuật vào quá trình chăn nuôi sẽ đạt hiệu quả càng cao hạn chế các rủi ro, có nghĩa việc nuôi dê thịt sẽ dễ thành công hơn (tương quan thuận)…”