03661naa a2200289 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902400360006010000160009624501410011226000090025350001100026252026490037265000230302165000230304465300230306765300220309065300230311265300220313565300320315765300180318965300110320765300330321865300320325170000190328377300690330210599622019-10-28       2019    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d7 a10.1016/j.agsy.2019.05.0012DOI1 aFARIÑA, S.  aOpportunities and challenges for the growth of milk production from pasturebThe case of farm systems in Uruguay.h[electronic resource]  c2019  aArticle History: Received 10 December 2018// Received in revised form 1 April 2019// Accepted 2 May 2019.  aABSTRACT: Volatility ofmarketsandclimatearedrivingexportingdairyindustries toincreasemilkproduction frompasture. However, some regions are not able to grow due to economic, social and environmental constraints. The objective of this study was to analyse at the farm system level the opportunities and challenges for the growth of pasture-based dairy production in Uruguay. A national database of 256 dairy farms was used to compare four groups of Uruguayan farmsselectedaccording to thetotal milkproduction growth ratefrom2013 to 2017.Their productivity (milk production per hectare) and pro?t was compared by ?tting mixed models. Complementarily, the International Farm Comparison Network database was used to compare biophysical and economic indicators of typical farm systems of Argentina, Australia, Ireland, Holland, New Zealand, United States and Uruguay from 2013 to 2017. The growing groups of farms (medium and high growth;>5% per year) showed more productivity due to their higher stocking rate and achieved a higher margin over feed cost and a lower feeding cost per L of milk than the shrinking groups (medium and high decrease;<0% per year). The growing systems showed a higher consumption per hectare of home-grown forage (pasture and conserved forage) and supplements. Margin over feed cost decreased alongside milk price over the time frame analysed, with no signi?cant interaction between group and year. Productivity in New Zealand, Australia, United States and Holland was above 10,000L/ha whereas in Ireland, Argentina and Uruguay it was below 7000L/ha. Consumption of homegrown forage per hectare in the former countries more than doubled the latter, which consumed approximately half the potential forage production locally reported. Home-grown forage consumption per hectare was a more likely driver of productivity than bought-in feed or feed conversion e?ciency. Uruguay achieved the lowest cost of production however current low stocking rates (0.7 cows/ha for the typical farm system) limit home-grown forage consumption and productivity growth. Inter-annual variation in economic performance was larger than the variation inbiophysical performance for all countries. Thisstudy showed thatpasture-based farming systems in Uruguay could make a leap in milk production without losing competitiveness by doubling their home-grown forage consumption through increased stocking rates. For such growth, some future challenges will remain around managing P accumulation and runo? in intensifying farms as well as improving farm design and infrastructure to attract labour, improve its productivity and assure animal welfare.  aPRODUCCION LECHERA  aSISTEMAS AGRICOLAS  aCONSUMO DE FORRAJE  aDAIRY FARM SYSEMS  aFORAGE CONSUMPTION  aHOME-GROWN FORAGE  aINTENSIFICACIÓN SOSTENIBLE  aPASTURE-BASED  aPROFIT  aSISTEMAS DE GRANJAS LECHERAS  aSUSTAINABLE INTENSIFICATION1 aCHILBROSTE, P.  tAgricultural Systems, Volume 176, November 2019, Article 102631.