Animals (May 2021)

The Ruminant Farm Systems Animal Module: A Biophysical Description of Animal Management

  • Tayler L. Hansen,
  • Manfei Li,
  • Jinghui Li,
  • Chris J. Vankerhove,
  • Militsa A. Sotirova,
  • Juan M. Tricarico,
  • Victor E. Cabrera,
  • Ermias Kebreab,
  • Kristan F. Reed

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051373
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 5
p. 1373

Abstract

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Dairy production is an important source of nutrients in the global food supply, but environmental impacts are increasingly a concern of consumers, scientists, and policy-makers. Many decisions must be integrated to support sustainable production—which can be achieved using a simulation model. We provide an example of the Ruminant Farm Systems (RuFaS) model to assess changes in the dairy system related to altered animal feed efficiency. RuFaS is a whole-system farm simulation model that simulates the individual animal life cycle, production, and environmental impacts. We added a stochastic animal-level parameter to represent individual animal feed efficiency as a result of reduced residual feed intake and compared High (intake = 94% of expected) and Very High (intake = 88% of expected) efficiency levels with a Baseline scenario (intake = 100% of expected). As expected, the simulated total feed intake was reduced by 6 and 12% for the High and Very High efficiency scenarios, and the expected impact of these improved efficiencies on the greenhouse gas emissions from enteric methane and manure storage was a decrease of 4.6 and 9.3%, respectively.

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