Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
conducted and fi rst-hand contacts are made. A fi nancial
plan for enterprise evaluation can be incorporated into the
business decisions. With a fi nancial plan, a profi t and loss
statement is generated indicating gross margin, gross
income, and variable and fi xed expenses. In the planning
process, stock fl ow, stock allocation, and the valuation of
the different classes of stock are obtained in a “before and
after ” inventory assessment.
The consistency and predictability of production man-
agement is the major goal, thus, a business analysis will
produce the gross revenue generated for each business
fraction within the plan. The analysis will show the cost
of generating the revenue and the net profi t for each busi-
ness segment. The important factor is obtaining reasonable
return for the time spent and the ability to consider the
effectiveness and, if necessary, the information that might
lead to the pursuit of other options. In the process of devel-
oping a business plan, the goals and objectives of the
business will be developed. The goals should be realistic,
attainable, and the production management land enhance-
ment business sustainable. The business must be market-
able, economically feasible, and able to produce the results
for prospective clients. To successfully solicit the business,
an understanding of many facets of “paid to graze/browse”
is necessary (Peischel, 2006).
L
AND
A
SSESSMENT
It is the provider's responsibility to investigate the previ-
ous history of the site in question to determine previous
livestock usage in reference to disease potential, and soil
or water contaminants. A base map of the area and specifi c
sites under consideration are required. On this map, the
perimeter is defi ned, ecological constraints and exclusions
are noted, and the topography detailed. This equates to an
understanding of fi re ecology and identifi cation of shelter
for inclement weather. In the U.S., several regulatory
agencies govern land usage, and their endorsement should
be considered before the commencement of the project.
Wetland(s) regulations should be championed, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements fulfi lled,
the Endangered Species Protection Act (ESP) endorsed,
and Fish and Game Conservation corridors and zoning
restrictions respected. Neighbors and adjacent landowners
need to be fully informed as to the intentions of the
landowner anticipating the use of livestock lands
enhancement.
A
NIMAL
W
ELFARE
I
SSUES
Animal welfare and the issues related to the health and
well-being of livestock are the fi rst and foremost priorities
of the provider. A health maintenance program should be
in place, internal parasite assessment should be current,
and no known zoonotic diseases or other transmissible
diseases should be present. The body condition score
(BCS) is a top priority before going into a browsing
project and monitoring the condition of the goats must be
done throughout the duration. The body condition of the
goats at the initiation of the project should be a BCS 3-3.5
(6 out of a possible BCS 9, see Appendix D) and not
below a BCS 2.5 (4 out of a possible BCS 9) at any time.
When using goats in land enhancement projects, some
managers prefer the BCS chart of 1-9 rather than BCS of
1-5 used for meat, dairy, and fi ber goats. The wider range
allows for more sensitivity for change in body condition.
As goats under nutritional and environmental stress drop
condition too rapidly, they have no subcutaneous fat
cover, and recovery takes too long. A healthy animal is
an asset to a land enhancement endeavor. It is also impor-
tant for the provider to select the correct specie, breed,
age, and class of livestock to be used in a prescribed
herbivory venture. Animals that are adapted to the
environment, climax vegetation, and topography, are
assets. Those individuals or a mob that have experience
working on previous projects are of great value (Provenza
et al., 1992 ).
V
EGETATION
A
SSESSMENT
A major determining factor of the success of the business
is the innate ability of the service provider to do a quality
assessment of the environmentally adapted plant commu-
nities on site. From this information, a browse preference
list will be constructed. The list will include vegetation
availability and the time of year the livestock (and class of
livestock) are most likely to select or prefer the vegetation
in the water catchment area. In the identifi cation of vegeta-
tion composition and succession plant communities, poi-
sonous plants and their toxins should be identifi ed along
with the target plants. Soil texture and rainfall can cause
erosion consequences if the percolation and infi ltration
capabilities of soil are not understood. The site must be
monitored, including an initial set of monitoring points.
Vegetation monitoring techniques that can be used are
photo points, transects, Land EKG, green line vegetation
composition measurements, water quality, etc. All methods
are used to evaluate the health of land and the progress
being made to increase productivity or succession. Within
this monitoring process, basal and canopy cover are
assessed as is ladder fuel and fuel continuity. The service
provider should know the amount or total browsable/graz-
able biomass as part of costing out the project.
