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Value of chicory crops to pasture-based dairy farms in the Waikato region of New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2014

A. J. ROMERA Open the ORCID record for A. J. ROMERA [Opens in a new window] ,
G. J. DOOLE  and
E. N. KHAEMBAH
A. J. ROMERA*
Affiliation:
DairyNZ, Private Bag 3221, Hamilton, New Zealand
G. J. DOOLE
Affiliation:
Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia Department of Economics, Waikato Management School, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand
E. N. KHAEMBAH
Affiliation:
Plant & Food Research, Christchurch Mail Centre, Private Bag 4704, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: alvaro.romera@dairynz.co.nz
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Summary

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) crops can increase milk production on New Zealand dairy farms through providing high-quality feed in late lactation. Non-linear optimization models of three Waikato dairy farms, differing in the degree to which imported supplement is used, were employed to evaluate chicory crops in this environment. At a baseline milk price of $NZ 7/kg milk solids, it was only profitable for chicory to be used on a farm where no imported supplement was fed. However, even then, only 0·04 of the farm area was planted and profit only increased by $NZ 30/ha (0·006 of baseline profit), relative to where it was not used. It was not optimal to plant any chicory on farms where imported feed was available, at the baseline milk price and cost of establishment considered here. This was evident because imported feed is more flexible than chicory for filling temporary feed gaps; also its use does not displace pasture production. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the unprofitability of chicory is robust to broad variation in calving date and the relative growth of chicory and pasture. Overall, results indicate that farmers are unlikely to receive adequate reward for the additional complexity arising from the utilization of chicory crops, especially when imported supplement provides more flexibility.

Type
Modelling Animal Systems Research Papers
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 153 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , pp. 124 - 137
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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