RATIONAL FARM MANAGEMENT

Edvardas Makelis, Danius Lygis

 

Источник: http://www.baap.lt/codes_gap/lithuania/chapter_2.htm

 

Farming should start from the production planning and organising of agricultural land territory. One should seek to have constant, well-considered and long-termed field order. Farm plan should be drawn, in which land use, roads and ditches are designated. Farmers should often use the farm plans. Crop rotation fields, farmstead, current and planned vegetation buffer zones should also be indicated on the farm plan. The buffer zones should separate dwelling part of farmstead from production part. It is not only element of the surrounding environment, but also element of fire-prevention system (Fig. 2.1).

Fig. 2.1. Land use and crop rotation fields in a farm plan: I – second year perennial grasses; II – winter crops; III – row crops; IV – spring crops; V – spring crops with underseeding; VI – first year perennial grasses

Planning of pasture and perennial grasses for haymaking is important. Cultivated fields should be sufficiently large, as much as possible, equal in size and of quadrangular form in order to make the use of agricultural machinery more convenient.

As much as it is possible under local conditions, the borders of fields should be associated with existing natural borders (ditches, roads, and rivulets). It is desirable that arable land would be contiguous to other types of lands: forests, meadows and pastures, swamps and water bodies. National Land Management Institute and Lithuanian Agricultural Advisory Service construct farm plans and designs rotation fields.

The choice of desired plantation structure is the very first step in the land use planning. When selecting farm type (specialisation), local conditions have to be considered – soil, relief, climate and specialisation favourable for corresponding region. In the Western zone, Eastern hilly zone and southeastern Lithuania there should be paid more attention to dairy and meat husbandry and in the Middle zone to more intensive marketable plant production and its combination with husbandry. In addition, orientation of farm production should not cause any environmental problems.

When considering which crops to grow, one should think if it is possible to sell the grown products. Analysis of agricultural production processors and users demand, cost and volume of production, possibilities of transportation and cooperation are also important when selecting specialisation.

The following information is needed for planning of farming activities:

1. Prices and possibilities to sell the produced agricultural products or services.

2. Expected manufacturing expenditure of the products that will be produced for sale.

3. Correspondence of soil, climate, and infrastructure conditions to the conditions of other farms having similar conditions; analysis of advantages and disadvantages.

4. Experience and knowledge of the farmer and other persons involved about the branch of specialisation and possibilities to gain the appropriate knowledge in a short time.

5. Existing production means and circulating capital, possibilities to acquire them and to receive credits.

6. Assessment of possible environmental impact, technical-economic analysis of possibilities to use protective, precautionary and compensatory measures.

Soil texture is taken into consideration for choice of plant production and crop. In light soils grains usually make the biggest part of production, potatoes and some grasses yield is good as well. Not only cereals grow better in heavier soils, but also flax, sugar and fodder beets, perennial grasses.

The plant production determines branch of animal production. Cattle need pasture while pig production may be developed where cereals are dominating. Sheep breeding is profitable in hilly regions, because there is a possibility to have dry pastures.

The area under cultivation needed for fodder is determined by the formula:

P = R/D,

P – favourable area under cultivation, ha;

R – amount of fodder needed, fodder units;

D – yield, fodder units per ha.

The plants for forage should be foreseen when calculating area under cultivation. Spring crops comprise bigger part than winter crops in heavier soils and in lighter soils - on the contrary. Under our climatic conditions the most guaranteed harvest of green fodder is received from areas of perennial grasses. In fertile sandy loam and light loam soils maize yield a good harvest. If maize is harvested at wax ripeness stage, well-chopped and fermented then valuable fodder – grain silage is obtained. This fodder allows reducing the amount of expensive fodder-concentrates in cattle ration. If there is a need for more albuminous fodder, leguminous crop or their mixture with cereals (vetch and oat, pea and barley) should be sown on to about one third of the area of the spring crop assigned for fodder.

When making a crop structure, one should think if there is a possibility to carry out all the work in time. Table 2.1 shows amount of working hours per ha needed to grow some of the crops.

Table 2.1. Work input for growing some of the crops (hours/ha)

	Soil cultivation and fertilization	Sowing and care	Harvesting	Total
Winter wheat	6-12	8-9	13-18	27-39
Barley	6-7	8	8-13	22-28
Potatoes	25-40	22-27	228-230	275-297
Sugar beets	17-28	8-12	65-75	90-115
Fodder beets	17-28	8-10	105-212	130-250
Maize for silage	12-15	3-5	7-10	22-30

Productivity of crops is very important which also depends on the productivity of land. It is determined that if the land productivity is 21–30 points, 0.08–0.09 t of grain are for one point. In medium land that has the productivity of 31–40 points, one point corresponds to 0.07–0.09, and in fertile land with the productivity of more than 40, one point corresponds to 0.06–0.07 t of grain. For example, if economic grade of the farm is 47, its productivity of grain will be about D = 47 * 0.07 = 3.3 t/ha. If the farmer is able to purchase the needed amount of fertiliser and pesticides, has appropriate machinery and knowledge to do everything according to the agrotechnical requirements and adopt the crop rotation, the farmer can expect to get not 3.3 t cereals per hectare, but much more (up to 6-8 t per ha) depending on the yield received during previous years. It is possible to calculate the yield of other crops using cereals productivity and productivity coefficients for the crops.

All row crops give the highest yield. New plantation technologies and machinery provide a possibility to plant these crops in such a way that their area could comprise till 30% of arable farmland.

The area of leguminous crops (lupine, peas, vetch, bean and especially clover and alfalfa) is worth to be extended from the economic and ecological point of view.
Especially schemes for purchasing of machinery and technological complexes as well as schemes for production that demands large primary investments (animal husbandry, horticulture, and greenhouse gardening) have to be prepared thoroughly.

More attention should be paid to the protection of environment in preparation of the plans for specialised production on hilly relief, karstic region, river creeks and lakeshores. More extensive agriculture should prevail in permeable light soils where ground water is very vulnerable to pollution.

It is not recommended to plant annual crops in peat soils, because these soils are very valuable for nature. Preference should be given to establishment of meadows and pastures, growing of marsh berries, breeding of waterfowls, fowling, etc. Waters may be flooded, natural meadows and marshes may be restored in order to reduce peat mineralisation.