Economic analysis of fertilization based on nutritional value of rangeland: A new opinion


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ALGAN D., AYDIN İ., OCAK N.

Anadolu Tarım Bilimleri Dergisi, vol.33, no.3, pp.246-253, 2018 (Peer-Reviewed Journal) identifier

Abstract

Concepts behind the best management practices of rangeland improvement include production,economics, as well as social and environmental aspects. Although revenue in rangelands can beincreased by fertilization, total production cost can increase and as a result, net benefit may reduce dueto increase in fertilizer application cost. This study examined differences between three economicanalysis models (EAM): total revenue based on i) hay yield (HY), ii) conversion rate of consumablecrude protein to meat on the hoof in cow-calf (CPM) and iii) yield and relative feed value (RFV) indexas a new opinion to highlight the economic aspects related to the N (0, 60 and 120 kg ha -1 ), P (0, 60 and120 kg ha -1 ) and K (0 and 80 kg ha -1 ) fertilization (NPK) in degraded rangelands. For this purpose, aseries of data, gathered from an experiment conducted to increase the productivity of degradedrangelands by fertilization were analyzed. The results were most dissimilar for ‘the revenue’ variableand this difference lies in the fact that the EAMs estimated income in different ways. Due to thedifferent revenue measurements, net benefit of CPM was the highest, while that of HY was the lowest.The HAY and RFV models indicate that NPK fertilizers did not increase forage production enough tobe profitable for animal production. This study does not strive to suggest one EAM over another;however, it examines the respective models concerning various data and describes underlyingcharacteristics of EAMs to obtain a given increase in net benefit.