1990 Annual Report for LNE90-023
The Integration of Crop (Potato) and Livestock Production Systems
Summary
Potato farms in New England can be characterized as monoculture production systems with a limited degree of integration with livestock production systems in the surrounding communities. Monoculture systems typically have less flexibility to respond to market fluctuations and fewer options available to improve sustainability. Some of the forces faced by potato producers in Maine include: input costs related to fuel, fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide purchases; rigid product quality standards; production practices that frequently influence water and soil quality; soil erosion and depletion of soil organic matter; cull and by-product handling and disposal; and limited economic incentives to practice crop rotation schemes which would improve soil, water and crop quality. The ability of producers to deal with these constraints is in part limited because potato farms are not integrated with other agricultural commodities, such as livestock.
A more sustainable infrastructure would result from the integration of livestock and potato production by strengthening the market opportunities for currently unprofitable small grain/forage rotations and potato by-products. Enhancing rotation viability will also result in decreased soil erosion and increased potato product quality. Feeding livestock potato and other by-products not only provides an environmentally sound and value-added method of disposal, but also allows unutilized nutrients in the form of manure to remain in the system as soil amendments.
Objectives
(1) Develop a management plan for using potato and other crop by-products and rotation crops as feedstuff for cattle including: a) the conversion of an uneven supply of cull potatoes into a steady supply of a consistent animal feedstuff; b) the study of the nutrient variability and quality of potato and other selected agricultural by-products as components of livestock diets and the development of strategies for their utilization; c) the design of systems so that cull potatoes and animal manure are not an environmental threat; d) the measurement of the characteristics of meat from animals fed potato culls and by-products as a major dietary component.
(2) Assessment of the economic, environmental and biological efficiency of this system.
Results
Project participants were successful in helping to create a more diverse agricultural system that would utilize potato by-products, break up disease cycles, reduce the need for pesticides, increase the quality of the potato crop and boost profitability for farmers. Project participants helped build the infrastructure to support a more profitable and sustainable beef industry in Aroostook County through educational programs, marketing initiatives and research activities.
Participants initiated an aggressive technology transfer program that included numerous educational activities for producers, obtaining and implementing low-cost designs for cattle-feeding facilities at several farms, and establishing a feeder cattle marketing system for Maine. Participants also worked with potato producers to shift rotation crops from oats to barley so that the grain could be used by cattle farmers in Maine. (Previously, potato producers in Aroostook County rotated primarily with oats, which were shipped out of state at relatively low prices, while cattle producers relied primarily on imported grain.)
The project also conducted a research study to determine the minimum amount of dry matter needed to ensile potato waste. The goal of this portion of the project was to reduce feed costs for cattle growers, create a market for potato by-products and to reduce environmental problems associated with runoff from potato wastes.
Project participants consider the effort successful. Maine's beef industry has doubled since 1988, with most of the growth in the state's potato-
growing region. Additionally, through marketing efforts, the value of the cattle inventory has more than doubled, with an increased return to the state's economy of over $11 million.