Integrating natural woodland with pig production in the United Kingdom: an investigation of potential performance and interactions

Brownlow, M. J. C., Dorward, P. T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2831-3693 and Carruthers, S. P. (2005) Integrating natural woodland with pig production in the United Kingdom: an investigation of potential performance and interactions. Agroforestry Systems, 64 (3). pp. 251-263. ISSN 0167-4366 doi: 10.1007/s10457-004-0250-6

Abstract/Summary

Although silvopastoral systems involving pigs were once widespread in Britain, the practice has largely died out. However, recent changes in pig production techniques, consumer demands and the economic climate within which farmers operate, have led to renewed interest in both traditional and novel tree-pig systems. This paper describes a financial spreadsheet model ( MAST) that was developed to: provide a means of determining financial performance of integrating finishing pigs with natural woodland; identify the likely importance of different as yet largely unresearched animal-tree interactions; and, determine which interactions warrant attention in research and management. Preliminary analysis suggests that the financial performance of this agroforestry enterprise could be superior to that of a pasture-based enterprise. The most important factors in determining incremental performance are identified as sales premia for 'forest-reared' pork, changes to feed conversion ratios arising from the provision of a heterogeneous microclimate, and the availability of cheaper land rents.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/8346
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development
Uncontrolled Keywords	economic analysis, financial analysis, forest reared pork, silvopastoral, AGROFORESTRY
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