Table 4.
Mean forage and herd characteristics under different intensification scenarios
| Baseline management | Forage productivity ×1.5 | Forage productivity ×2 | Feed suppl. female only | Feed suppl. female + male | Combined forage productivity ×2 and feed suppl. female + male | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual total standing dry matter (kg/ha) | 1,902 (733) | 2,855 (1,100) | 3,808 (1,467) | 1,798 (782) | 1,695 (822) | 3,402 (1,645) |
| Annual animal stocking rates (TLU/ha) | 0.31 (0.20) | 0.45 (0.29) | 0.60 (0.39) | 0.33 (0.16) | 0.32 (0.15) | 0.62 (0.30) |
| Interannual variation in total standing dry matter | 0.36 (0.05) | 0.36 (0.05) | 0.36 (0.05) | 0.45 (0.18) | 0.64 (0.46) | 0.64 (0.45) |
| Interannual variation in animal stocking rates | 0.10 (0.02) | 0.10 (0.02) | 0.10 (0.02) | 0.04 (0.01) | 0.03 (0.01) | 0.03 (0.01) |
| Animal mortality (TLU ha−1 year−1) | 0.01 (0.01) | 0.02 (0.01) | 0.02 (0.01) | 0.01 (0.00) | 0.01 (0.00) | 0.02 (0.01) |
| Annual animal mortality rate (%) | 3.7 (0.00) | 3.9 (0.00) | 3.9 (0.00) | 3.1 (0.00) | 3.1 (0.00) | 3.2 (0.00) |
| Animal liveweight gain (kg TLU−1 year−1) | 130 (4.75) | 131 (4.78) | 131 (4.84) | 135 (7.39) | 143 (5.05) | 143 (5.07) |
| Animal sales (TLU ha−1 year−1) | 0.09 (0.06) | 0.13 (0.09) | 0.17 (0.12) | 0.09 (0.05) | 0.09 (0.05) | 0.18 (0.10) |
| Annual animal sales rate (%) | 28 (0.04) | 29 (0.04) | 30 (0.03) | 30 (0.02) | 30 (0.02) | 31 (0.02) |
| Methane (kg CO2‐eq ha−1 year−1) | 286 (191) | 428 (287) | 570 (383) | 321 (170) | 323 (160) | 640 (321) |
| Methane intensity (kg CO2‐eq/kg liveweight sold) | 14.1 (1.59) | 13.8 (1.26) | 13.6 (1.11) | 13.8 (0.52) | 14.5 (0.65) | 14.1 (0.56) |
Averages estimated over all 15 climate scenarios (Set 2 of climate scenarios, mean precipitation = 756 mm/year, CVP‐inter = 0.34, CVP‐intra = 0.83). Standard deviations for the set of climate scenarios are between parentheses.
Abbreviation: CVP‐inter, interannual coefficient of variation of precipitation; CVP‐intra, intra‐annual coefficient of variation of precipitation; TLU, tropical livestock units.