Modelling a hill-country sheep production system

T.R.O. Field, D.A. Clark, M.G. Lambert

Grasslands Division, DSIR, Palmerston North

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production. 1981, 41: 90-94

The experimental comparison of developing hill-country systems requires regular modification of stocking rate as development progresses. A model was constructed to establish whether these decisions could be made on a more quantitative basis and to predict sheep production under set stocking from measured pasture growth rates. Apart from 1978/9 (for which the model was developed) ewe liveweights were predicted closely only in 1975/6 when the model was run from June 1975 to March 1980. Experimentation on the model indicated that further information was required to predict the effect of the animal on pasture growth rates and organic matter digestibility of hill-country pastures.

Keywords: NZSAPAB;

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