Quantify On-Farm Impacts

Summary

This is a review of the scientific and technical literature from the previous 6 years with a particular focus on the quantification of benefits associated with MLAs Key Management Practices. The available quantification is summarised within each section and will not be repeated in this overview. It is clear that much of the relevant quantification has occurred prior to 2003, some 20-25 years ago. Some of this is summarised in other reports (Black and Scott 2002; Saul and Chapman 2002) and these should be considered concurrently with this report. In viewing the Key Management Practices it is apparent that the top performing producers are also those that implement many of the practices reviewed in this document (Sampson 1999). Whether adoption of these practices by others will convert them to top performing producers is not so certain. Whether by design or circumstance, many of the Key Management Practices, do not, in isolation provide any benefits (for example measuring pasture digestibility is only of benefit if management actions are taken to use this information to either improve pasture or improve utilisation). Where this is the case, potential benefits from use of the collected information have been addressed in this review. 
The question remains however, are these recommendations useful if they are not accompanied by application advice? Even more importantly, the current Key Management Practices are, in some cases, incompatible with each other, and may not conducive to the maximisation of whole farm profit in an extensive agricultural system. Application of some combinations of management practices may even cause antagonistic outcomes (see below). Consideration of the practices within a whole farming context is critical both for the quantification of benefits and for the application of these management practices into commercial systems.​