Bioeconomic Modelling to Assess the Impacts of Using Native Shrubs on the Marginal Portions of the Sheep and Beef Hill Country Farms in New Zealand (article)

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dc.citation.issue10
dc.citation.volume11
dc.contributor.authorWangui JC
dc.contributor.authorKenyon PR
dc.contributor.authorTozer PR
dc.contributor.authorMillner JP
dc.contributor.authorPain SJ
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-17T19:57:38Z
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-25T06:45:39Z
dc.date.available2022-02-09
dc.date.available2024-01-17T19:57:38Z
dc.date.available2024-07-25T06:45:39Z
dc.date.issued2021-10-18
dc.description.abstractNew Zealand hill country sheep and beef farms contain land of various slope classes. The steepest slopes have the lowest pasture productivity and livestock carrying capacity and are the most vulnerable to soil mass movements. A potential management option for these areas of a farm is the planting of native shrubs which are browsable and provide erosion control, biodiversity, and a source of carbon credits. A bioeconomic whole farm model was developed by adding a native shrub sub-model to an existing hill country sheep and beef enterprise model to assess the impacts on feed supply, flock dynamics, and farm economics of converting 10% (56.4 hectares) of the entire farm, focusing on the steep slope areas, to native shrubs over a 50-year period. Two native shrub planting rates of 10% and 20% per year of the allocated area were compared to the status quo of no (0%) native shrub plantings. Mean annual feed supply dropped by 6.6% and 7.1% causing a reduction in flock size by 10.9% and 11.6% for the 10% and 20% planting rates, respectively, relative to 0% native shrub over the 50 years. Native shrub expenses exceeded carbon income for both planting rates and, together with reduced income from sheep flock, resulted in lower mean annual discounted total sheep enterprise cash operating surplus for the 10% (New Zealand Dollar (NZD) 20,522) and 20% (NZD 19,532) planting scenarios compared to 0% native shrubs (NZD 22,270). All planting scenarios had positive Net Present Value (NPV) and was highest for the 0% native shrubs compared to planting rates. Break-even carbon price was higher than the modelled carbon price (NZD 32/ New Zealand Emission Unit (NZU)) for both planting rates. Combined, this data indicates planting native shrubs on 10% of the farm at the modelled planting rates and carbon price would result in a reduction in farm sheep enterprise income. It can be concluded from the study that a higher carbon price above the break-even can make native shrubs attractive in the farming system.
dc.identifier.author-urlhttp://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000714513300001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=c5bb3b2499afac691c2e3c1a83ef6fef
dc.identifier.citationWangui JC, Kenyon PR, Tozer PR, Millner JP, Pain SJ. (2021). Bioeconomic modelling to assess the impacts of using native shrubs on the marginal portions of the sheep and beef hill country farms in new zealand. Agriculture (Switzerland). 11. 10.
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/agriculture11101019
dc.identifier.eissn2077-0472
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.numberARTN 1019
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/70815
dc.publisherMDPI (Basel, Switzerland)
dc.relation.isPartOfAgriculture (Switzerland)
dc.rights(c) 2021 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectbioeconomic modelling
dc.subjectnative shrubs
dc.subjectcash operating surplus
dc.subjecthill country
dc.subjectsheep
dc.titleBioeconomic Modelling to Assess the Impacts of Using Native Shrubs on the Marginal Portions of the Sheep and Beef Hill Country Farms in New Zealand (article)
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id449374
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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