Livestock integration into soybean systems improves long-term system stability and profits without compromising crop...

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Ecology
• Agronomy

Background:

• Climate change necessitates stable agricultural systems for food security.
• The impact of adding herbivores (livestock) to crop systems on long-term stability is not well understood.
• Integrated crop-livestock systems offer potential for enhanced sustainability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the long-term impact of grazing intensity on the stability of an integrated soybean-beef cattle system.
• To evaluate how livestock integration affects crop, pasture, animal, and whole-system outcomes.
• To determine optimal grazing management for system stability and profitability.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a 16-year dataset from an integrated soybean-beef cattle experiment.
• Implemented four grazing intensities (10, 20, 30, 40 cm sward height) on mixed black oat and Italian ryegrass pastures, plus an ungrazed control.
• Measured stability of protein production, profitability, soybean yield, herbage production, and animal live weight gains.

Main Results:

• System stability, measured by protein production and profitability, increased with moderate to light grazing intensities.
• Over-intensification or absence of grazing decreased overall system stability.
• Grazing did not negatively impact subsequent soybean yields but reduced crop failure risk in unfavorable years.
• Trade-offs were observed between herbage production stability and animal live weight gains at different grazing intensities.

Conclusions:

• Ecological intensification of soybean systems through livestock integration can enhance stability and profitability.
• Moderate grazing management is key to achieving stable agricultural systems.
• The success of integrated systems depends on careful management to balance competing outcomes.