Economics of simulated beef-forage rotational grazing under weather uncertainty

Abstract A biophysical model GRAZE is used to simulate pasture growth and animal weight gain for steers pastured on Bermudagrass. Economic performance is simulated for a continuously grazed pasture and compared to the performance of nine systems in which a rotational grazing schedule is strictly adhered to. Sensitivity of the performance of each strategy to weather risk is assessed for ten alternative weather scenarios, and each pasture management system is ranked for trade-offs between risk and returns using stochastic dominance ordering. Results indicate that expected net returns are highest with a continuous grazing system, but that risk considerations may influence some producers to select one of the rotational systems.

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