A practical framework to evaluate and report combined natural resource and production outcomes of agricultural research to livestock producers

Abstract

The specifications for this study were set by the need for researchers in the Sustainable Grazing Systems (SGS) Program to have a consistent framework to evaluate experimental results across research sites and to share those results in a comprehensive way with livestock producers, allowing them to consider the full range of outcomes and impacts. To achieve this, the framework needed to account for production, economic and natural resource impacts, and other issues associated with making changes on farms. It also had to be easily applied, and readily understood by all segments of the SGS Program. This approach demanded some elements of pragmatism.

Economic analysis of production data was based around net cash flow analysis. Spreadsheet programs were written for beef, self-replacing Merino and prime lamb enterprises. These incorporated the capacity to graph results automatically, provide sensitivity analysis tables, and project net cash flow results averaged over a 10-year period. Net cash flows were given for 2 levels of management skills — 'district average' and 'high'.

Placing dollar values or costs on resource impacts was not as simple and could not be achieved within the practical framework required. A qualitative approach to the evaluation of resource impacts was developed in collaboration with researchers, advisors and collaborating producers. A framework was constructed which allows the likely on- and off-farm impacts of any experimental treatments to be identified and subjectively rated for likely importance.

A practical tool for integrating and reporting the production and resource impact information was constructed. This captures the net cash flow, the key production data, the off-farm and on-farm impacts and provides an overview assessment of the treatment in a simple table. It provides producers with sufficient information to allow an assessment as to whether adoption of any 'treatment' could improve the profitability and sustainability of their grazing system. This tool was tested across all treatments at the SGS National Experiment sites and found to work well. Examples are presented, covering a range of resource impact and net cash flow combinations.