A conceptual representation of animal waste management at the farm scale: The case of the Reunion Island

Abstract Effluent management causes acute problems in the Reunion Island where livestock farming is concentrated in the highlands with too little land available for spreading. A conceptual representation was developed from data collected through farm surveys, bibliographical analyses and expertise, in order to represent and better understand the management of animal wastes at the farm level. It synthesizes practical knowledge about farmer practices organised in interconnected modules representing the production, storage (discharge, emptying and transport), spreading, transformation and importing/exporting of effluents. This knowledge is described as structural and management variables and decision rules. From our findings, it appears that effluent management strongly depends upon the time left by other production activities and it is more reasoned by farmers in terms of spreading dates than in terms of quantities to be spread over. This representation aims at being sufficiently generic to account for most of the farming situations found in the Reunion Island. It can also serve as a basis to build computer models to help agricultural stakeholders evaluate and improve management strategies at the farm or, even, community levels

[1]  F. Harris.  MANAGEMENT OF MANURE IN FARMING SYSTEMS IN SEMI-ARID WEST AFRICA , 2002, Experimental Agriculture.

[2]  Jean-Marie Paillat,et al.  Modelling biomass fluxes and fertility transfers : Animal wastes management in Reunion Island , 2003 .

[3]  F. Papy,et al.  Modelling decision-making processes for annual crop management , 1998 .

[4]  Michael Gruninger.  A Theory of Complex Actions for Enterprise Modelling , 1995 .

[5]  A. Nianogo,et al.  Soil fertility management and socio-economic factors in crop-livestock systems in Burkina Faso: a case study of composting technology , 2002 .

[6]  Euan F. Thomson,et al.  A model-farm approach to research on crop-livestock integration — I. Conceptual framework and methods , 1995 .

[7]  Alain Capillon,et al.  Decision-making processes for crop management on African farms. Modelling from a case study of cotton crops in northern Cameroon , 2002 .

[8]  J. Kessel,et al.  Rapid On‐Farm Analysis of Manure Nutrients Using Quick Tests , 1999 .

[9]  K. Smith,et al.  A survey of the production and use of animal manures in England and Wales. I. Pig manure , 2000 .

[10]  François Papy,et al.  Co-ordination processes in a collectively managed cropping system: Double cropping of irrigated rice in Senegal , 1998 .

[11]  P. Motavalli,et al.  Perception and management of farmyard manure in the semi-arid tropics of India , 1994 .

[12]  Frédérick Garcia,et al.  Interactive simulation modeling in farm decision-making , 1999 .

[13]  F. Harris,et al.  MANURE MANAGEMENT BY SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN THE KANO CLOSE-SETTLED ZONE, NIGERIA , 2001, Experimental Agriculture.

[14]  I. Hoffmann,et al.  Farmers’ management strategies to maintain soil fertility in a remote area in northwest Nigeria , 2001 .

[15]  Marite Kirikova.  Explanatory capability of enterprise models , 2000, Data Knowl. Eng..

[16]  Mario Herrero,et al.  Integrated crop-livestock simulation models for scenario analysis and impact assessment , 2001 .

[17]  Natalia Juristo Juzgado,et al.  Introductory paper: Reflections on Conceptual Modelling , 2000, Data Knowl. Eng..

[18]  Marielle Savard,et al.  Modelling risk, trade, agricultural and environmental policies to assess trade-offs between water quality and welfare in the hog industry , 2000 .

[19]  A. Jakeman,et al.  Complexity and Integrated Resources Management , 2004 .

[20]  J. Tanner,et al.  Livestock and nutrient cycling in crop-animal systems in Asia. , 2002 .

[21]  R. L. McCown,et al.  Changing systems for supporting farmers' decisions: problems, paradigms, and prospects , 2002 .

[22]  Donald E. Shobrys,et al.  Planning, scheduling and control systems: why cannot they work together , 2000 .

[23]  François Guerrin.  MAGMA: a simulation model to help manage animal wastes at the farm level , 2001 .

[24]  K. A. Smith,et al.  A survey of the production and use of animal manures in England and Wales , 2001 .

[25]  J. Tanner,et al.  Cattle manure quality in Maragua District, Central Kenya: effect of management practices and development of simple methods of assessment , 2003 .

[26]  John Tzilivakis,et al.  Developing an emissions inventory from farm data , 1999 .

[27]  Jean-Marie Attonaty,et al.  Work organization simulation as a basis for farm management advice (equipment and manpower, levels against climatic variability) , 1988 .

[28]  D. P. Stonehouse,et al.  Livestock manure systems for swine finishing enterprises , 2002 .

[29]  D. Meyer,et al.  A Survey of Dairy Manure Management Practices in California , 1997 .

[30]  Françoise Lescourret,et al.  Characterisation of apple orchard management systems in a French Mediterranean Vulnerable Zone , 2001 .

[32]  A. Chalmers.  A review of fertilizer, lime and organic manure use on farm crops in Great Britain from 1983 to 1987 , 2001 .