Simulation Of Beef Cattle Production Systems And Its Use In Economic Analysis

282 Pages·1986·21.459 MB·\282

by  Thomas H Spreen (Author), David H Laughlin (Author), Phillip Doren (Author), Odell Walker (Author)

Simulation of Beef Cattle
Production Systems
and Its Use
in Economic Analysis
C\
Taylor & Francis
~
Taylor & Francis Group
http:// taylora ndfra ncis.com
About the Book and Editors
Economic analysis of beef cattle production
has been limited by incomplete descriptions of the
production process under which analysis takes place.
With the exception of feedlot finishing, beef cattle
production is the process of growing cattle on forage.
Both the animal and its forage possess attributes of
inputs and outputs of production. The production of
forage constitutes one production process, weight gain
by the animal represents another, and reproduction by
female animals is yet a third process. Cattle repro-
duction involves all three processes, each influencing
the outcomes of the others. The processes are complex
in and of themselves and are further complicated when
analyzed simultaneously.
The contributors provide several comprehensive
models of beef cattle production systems. overviews
of the Texas A&M herd simulation model and the Kentucky
BEEF models are coupled with studies using the models
in economic analysis. Other chapters examine the
extension of neoclassical economic theory to dynamic
production processes, a model of DNA and protein
synthesis, and the prospects of extending complex
simulation models of animal production systems to beef
cattle producers.
Thomas H. Spreen is an associate professor in
the Food and Resource Economics Department of the
University of Florida. David H. Laughlin is an
associate professor in the Department of Agricultural
Economics at Mississippi State University.
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Taylor & Francis
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Taylor & Francis Group
http:// taylora ndfra ncis.com
Simulation of Beef Cattle
Production Systems
and Its Use
in Economic Analysis
edited by Thomas H. Spreen
and David H. Laughlin
Chapter V was prepared by U.S. government employees as part of their
official duties and legally cannot be copyrighted.
First published 1986 by Westview Press, Inc.
Published 2019 by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 1986 Taylor & Francis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
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without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Simulation of beef cattle production systems and its
use in economic analysis.
(Westview special studies in agriculture science
and policy)
Includes index.
1. Beef cattle--Simulation methods. 2. Beef cattle--
Economic aspects--Simulation methods. I. Spreen,
Thomas H. II. Laughlin, David H. III. Series.
SF207.S387 1986 636.2'13 86-4065
ISBN 13: 978-0-367-28729-0 (hbk)
Contents
PREFACE.•........................................ ix
I. Historical Perspective of Biological
Simulation with Special Reference to
Beef-Forage Systems
T.D.A. Forbes and James w. Oltjen...... 1
II. Biological Simulation and Its Role
in Economic Analysis
James N. Trapp and Odell L. Walker..... 13
III. Introduction to Simulation of Beef
Cattle Production
s.c. Denham and T.H. Spreen............ 39
IV. The Kentucky Beef-Forage Model
Otto J. Loewer and Edward M. Smith..... 63
v. A Discussion of the Dynamic Simulation
Model ·PASTURE·
L.M. Tharel, M.A. Brown, E.M. Smith,
and C.T. Dougherty ••••••••••••••••••••• 101
VI. Use of the Kentucky Beef-Forage Model
in Economic Analysis
Lucas D. Parsch, Otto J. Loewer,
and David H. Laughlin •••••••••••••••••• 137
VII. The Texas A&M Beef Cattle Simulation Model
T.C. Cartwright and P.E. Doren......... 159
vii
VIII. Economic Analysis of Cattle Systems
Using the Texas A&M Beef Cattle
Simulation Model
Gregory Sullivan
and Enrique Cappella ••••••••••••••••••• 193
IX. The Colorado State University Beef
Production Model
R.M. Bourdon and J.s. Brinks ••••••••••• 227
x. A Dynamic Model of Beef Cattle Growth·
and Composition
James w. Oltjen •••••••••••••••••••••••• 239
XI. Delivering, Updating, and Maintaining Large-
Scale Simulation Models: The Role of
Professional Agricultural Economists
David H. Laughlin
and w. Charles Walden •••••••••••••••••• 249
XII. Administration of Multidisciplinary
Research
N.P. Thompson and J.M. Davidson •••••••• 261
INDEX.............................................. 267
viii
Preface
Economic analysis of beef cattle production has
been limited by the inability to fully describe the
underlying production process. Except for confined
feeding of cattle, beef cattle production is the pro-
cess of growing cattle who consume forages. The animal
and the forage possess attributes of both factors and
products of production. The production of forage con-
stitutes one production process, animal growth is
another production process, and reproduction by female
animals is a third production process. Cattle produc-
tion involves all three processes in such a manner that
each influences the outcome of the other. Each process
is itself complex and analysis is further complicated
when all three are considered simultaneously.
If we. are unable to adequately describe such basic
relationships as stocking rate, weight gain, calving
rate, and culling rate, then correct measurement of
inputs and outputs is impossible. Economic analysis
becomes a matter of guesswork and the resulting conclu-
sions questionable.
Recent advances in understanding basic biological
relationships coupled with advances in computer simula-
tion have spurred the devlopment of mathematical models
of beef cattle production systems. This volume is a
collection of papers in which various aspects of simu-
lation of beef cattle production systems are discussed.
Several prominent researchers in beef cattle simulation
model development have contributed papers which docu-
ment their individual efforts. Presentation of biolog-
ical models are augmented with papers written by agri-
cultural economists who have utilized these models in
economic analysis.
In the first paper by Forbes and Oltjen, a histor-
ical perspective of systems simulation of beef cattle
production is presented. They document the fact that
the last ten years has brought significant advances in
modeling beef cattle production systems. In the next
paper, Trapp and Walker argue that for complex agricul-
ix