Using Crop Residues Efficiently in Crop/Grazing Areas in a Fossil Fuel Hungry World

1. Using Crop Residues Efficiently in Crop/Grazing Areas in a Fossil Fuel Hungry World By Ron A Leng, Emeritus Professor, UNE. Sponsored by YLAD Living Soils.

2. Why use crop residues such as straw-1? 1) Considerable amounts are wasted [ burned] a] No contribution to SOIL C and N fixation b] Increases greenhouse gas emissions per unit of meat/wool production c] Eventually legislation will stop the burning of crop stubbles 2) Straw with technology inputs can support a] Maintenance in mature animals in dry period or early pregnancy [rumen nutrients] b] Weight gain in weaners or breeding stock [RN plus bypass protein] c] Considerable weight gain in fattening stock [with treatment, processing and supplementation] d) And faecal materials can be returned to the soil as fertilizer 3) Straw generally has few toxic components and is a useful supplement to: a] dilute plant and fungal toxins – prevent endophyte toxicity, phalaris staggers etc b] reduce incidence of bloat on legume pastures c] capture nitrogen surplus to rumen needs that would be otherwise passed in urine d] dilute high nutrient content pasture materials

3. Why use crop residues such as straw-2? 4) Expensive oil will increase the cost of crop production and drought and dry season feeding with grain, lupins and hays will be prohibitively expensive 5) Use of byproducts such as straw, oat hulls corn stover and cobs to feed ruminants can offset some of the increased costs of fertilizers, tillage, transport and marketing 6) Annually -35 million tonnes of straw produced in Australia could feed 7 million cattle or 70 million sheep

4. Essential approach to future agriculture as fuel prices rise • Minimise energy use in agriculture • Minimal tillage • Maximise recycling and microbiological sources of nutrients • Optimize water use for crop production • Minimize soil erosion and soil mineral runoff. • Optimize the use of available resources for animal use [pastures, agro-industrial byproducts and crop residues] • Diversify production for local consumption

5. Production Forecast

6. Discovery Trend Confirmed by Exxon-Mobil

7. Summary of World Oil Supplies 1 • Oil use in the world has increased to around 80 million barrels/day or 1 billion barrels are used every 12 days • All the major oil fields were discovered long ago and many have exceeded Peak Production and are in decline. Spare capacity is about 2 million barrels per day • The discovery of large oil fields [that is>0.5 billion barrels or 60 days of world requirement ] has dwindle to zero, small finds are occurring but not at a sufficient rate and global oil production capacity is contracting by over 1 million barrels each day every year.

8. Summary of World Oil Supplies 2 • Demand for oil ,particularly by China, India, Pakistan and some Latin American countries is increasing at unprecedented rates. Each year global demand is expected to increase by 1 million barrels per day Result: Oil will be a scarce and expensive resource in years to come

9. 2007-2008 is most likely time for massive increase in oil prices • Production will drop by 3-4 million barrels/day • New capacity coming on line will increase by 8 million barrels/day • Spare capacity would be 4 million barrels/day • Therefore 3-4 years of increasing demand, which is likely to be 1 million barrels /day each year, will wipe out any potential surplus and severe oil shortages will occur These predictions do not allow for a sudden drop in Saudi Oil or disruption to supply by natural disasters, war, terrorism or political upheaval etc

10. Price Shocks - the first signs Five times what it costs to produce Shocks as production capacity limits breached Prices rise then crash with recessions

11. Where are the likely most sensitive areas • Environment and global warming [greater use of coal] • All forms of transport • Car makers and subsidiaries • Tourism • Food/goods transport • Natural resource movement [coal, ores etc] • Wars on terror [USA spends approx $20/barrel for protection of its supply] • All food producing systems • Social structures Suburbs v City v Self Sustaining communities

12. Most significant effects of scarce and expensive oil. • Gradual, permanent cut-off of fuel for transport and for industrial machinery. Global trade will greatly decline. • Decline in agricultural production--depends heavily on fertilizers and chemicals made from oil. • Food shortages, increased by competition for food crops as feedstock for bio-fuels such as vegetable oil and alcohol • Changes in land use as inputs decline and crop yields are lowered. • Shortages of 500,000 other goods made from oil. • Therefore, reduction of virtually all business and government activity. Very serious unemployment

13. The most serious area may be a downturn in agriculture and food production 1 • In the developed countries. Reduced industrial scale farming with single crop such as corn and soybean. • Return to permaculture incorporating microbial activities for fertilisers and recycling of nutrients [requiring more people in agriculture] • Social restructuring of rural, city and suburban communities • Production of home grown fuels and competition for food, feed and feedstock for local consumption and export

14. The most serious area may be a downturn in agriculture and food production 2 • Developing countries: down turn in staples greater need for small integrated systems dependent on recycling of nutrients • What happens when another Rwanda or Dufur[2.4 million refugees presently without support] erupts in a future world with few food reserves? The need for fuel for cooking could result in deforestation and erosion in countries such as Nigeria

15. In developed countries approximately 1400 liters of oil equivalents are expended to feed each citizen; energy consumption is broken down • 31% manufacturing inorganic fertilizers • 19% operation of field machinery • 16% transportation • 13% for irrigation • 8% raising livestock [not feed lot feed] • 5% crop drying • 5% pesticide production • 8% other inputs Does not include energy costs of packaging, refrigeration,transport to outlets and energy for cooking

16. World Fertilizer Use 1960-2004

17. World Grain Production Per Ton of Fertilizer Use-1960-2004 Earth Policy Institute 2005

18. US Farm Energy Use Total energy use 1,691trillion btu Direct 1,113 t-Btu Pesticide plus fertilizer 578 t-Btu Earth Policy Institute 2002

19. US Food System Energy Use Total 10.25 quadrillion btu Earth Policy institute

20. How the US Farm policy is seen by Peter Nicholson Australian July 31st 2003

22. Cereal grains and root crops will have diversified markets • World production 1900 million tonnes annually • Food for humans • Feed for animals--- one third of all cerealsare fed to livestock • Feedstock-------about 20% of the US maize crop is now used for ethanol production.

23. GLOBAL CONSUMPTION OF BEEF, PORK AND POULTRY1968 - 2003

24. Trends in the world use of cereal grain as feed for livestock Delgado et al 2002

25. World ethanol production by country. USA is likely to become the world’s largest producer using maize as the feedstock Berg C[2003]World biofuel production Int. Sugar J, 1 [1] 5-15

26. Fuel Alcohol Despite Doubtful Energy Balance Will Have Enormous Effects On World Food Availability • World total production of alcohol 33 billion liters • USA is to lift its production to about 16 billion liters • Many countries are contemplating establishing fuel alcohol production. • A guess at possible production is 100 billion litres by 2010 • O.43 liter alcohol requires fermentation of 1kg dry grain or roughly 2.5 kg grain /liter • Potentially 250 million tonnes of grain will be needed for alcohol production

28. Ethanol Inducing Policies are being applied widely in the world

29. World Cereal Stocks [Estimated total carryover of cereals] FAO Rome 2004

30. The price of steak from grain fed ruminants must be measured in terms of oil costs involved in growing the feed, managing and marketing the meat I kg of beef requires approximately 5.7 litres of oil. Or to produce this little beauty at 600kg live weight 1075 litres of oil National Geographic June 2004

31. Avian Influenza

32. 27 people killed • Over 100 million birds culled • Psychological effect on consumers and impact on industry • Poultry industry down by 15 - 30% • Recurring outbreaks – degree of impact depends on crisis management

33. Future food production will need to be based on lower inputs of fossil fuels • Chicken, pork, fish will become expensive. Reduced industrial production more alternative feed systems • The threat of disease pandemic must surely reduce poultry production • Ruminant, horse, rabbit meat from cellulose biomass will be more attractive [crop residues] • Fruits ,vegetables produced with permaculture principles will predominate • Crop and animal protein production will need to be integrated • It’s still down the track but needs to be planned now

34. Human population explosion coincided with the increasing availability of “Cheap Oil” ? First Oil Well

35. The Challenge for Future Agriculture • World population is increasing rapidly now 6.4 billion may rise to 10 billion[???] • Food production has to keep pace with population • Quantity • Quality,largely a balanced protein ,mineral and energy intake • Protein availability critical for health and well being of people.Requirements for essential amino acids from plant and animal protein • Food production has to be maintained or increased with minimal: • loss of soil fertility, salinity and erosion • Efficient exploitation of water resources • low fossil fuel inputs • pollution both in • run off of nutrients • production of greenhouse gases

36. The future price of grain will favour ruminant enterprises? • Ruminants have the capacity to use biomass not used by monogastric animals • Ruminant production is at a low efficiency in most countries[1.2 billion large ruminants] with tremendous scope to improve in particular reproductive efficiency • The supply of supplements needed to use the biomass will arise from by-products of the feed and fuel industries [gluten meal, brewers grains] • Ruminants are multi-purpose for power, food, fibre • Wool will be much more competitive with synthetic fibers which are produced from fossil fuel

37. Straw can be viewed as an impediment to cultivation or can be used as animal feed or incorporated into soil as a carbon source • Burning will eventually be unlawful • Straw [stubble] can be fed direct or after treatment to improve its digestibility • Some straw [lower stalks and roots] need to be retained to conserve soil carbon and fertility

38. Ruminant Nutrition • Ruminant nutrition depends on a fermentative digestive system involving a complex mix of microorganisms • The animal largely depends on the end products of fermentation but small amounts of dietary [escape] nutrients can have major effects on the efficiency it uses the fermentation products for production

39. Fungi Protozoa Bacteria

40. Ruminants convert forage in the rumen to organic acids with the production of microbial cells Forage Organic Acids Or Volatile Fatty Acids Or VFA Microbial cells Protein Energy Essential amino acids

41. Fermentation of Feed in the Rumen Forage Mineral sources Carbohydrates Protein Minerals: S.P.Co.Cu etc. Urea Ammonia Fermentation intermediates Microbe building blocks Energy for microbe synthesis Methane Microbialcells Microbial drymatter Short chain organic acids: acetic, propionic & butyric Bypass protein Absorbed from rumen Digested in small intestines

42. Deficiencies of Growth Factors Alter the Flow of Fermentation Intermediates Into Products Well balance growth medium Deficient medium Digestible forage Digestible forage 1.0 1.0 Fermentation intermediates Fermentation intermediates 0.66 0.83 0.17 0.34 Short chain organic acids + methane + heat Microbial cells Short chain organic acids + methane + heat Microbial cells

43. Bypass protein explained: suckled milk the ultimate source of bypass nutrients Feed Forage Protein Rumen Ammonia +short chain fatty acids [energy] Intestines Protein digested in the intestines

44. The constraints to using straw as a major feed component for ruminants • Highly fibrous tough composition [difficult to breakdown by chewing- reduces intake] • Deficiency of minerals and crude protein to supply rumen nutrients: depending on soil and harvest conditions. • No escape or bypass protein • Low and variable digestibility depending on soil rainfall and harvest conditions • Low bulk density that limits feed intake

45. Priorities in Ruminant Nutrition 1Getting the Balance of Nutrients Right • Priority 1.Balance the nutrition of the rumen microbes to ensure maximum growth • Macro and micro minerals • Ammonia • Sulphur/Phosphorus • Priority 2. Feed additional escape protein in catalytic amounts

46. Mechanisms to balance diets include • The use of mineral mixes and /or urea as: • Added to feed • Loose mixes and block licks of minerals and urea • In water medication • Fortified molasses with urea and minerals • Organic feeds high in the deficient nutrients • Lupins,mill run,seed meals such as peas • Protein meals capable of escaping fermentation in the rumen [brewers grains, gluten feed, copra, cottonseed, linseed, soybean, wheat bran and rice pollard]

47. Priorities in ruminant nutrition 2Getting Intake High • Feeding always more then they can consume • Chopping to lengths that can be consumed quickly [sheep approx 2cm,cattle 5-10cm lengths] • Lifting the moisture content • Lifting digestibility by treatment with acid or alkalis or cellulase or white rot fungi • Compacting feed to increase density

48. Utilization of cereal crop residues has a number of strategies that can increase efficiency of animal production • Stubble grazing under set stocking with cattle and or sheep. In stubble grazing ruminants heavily select for • Spilt grain • Green and nutritious weeds • Crop leaf material • The nutritional value of the stubble quickly decreases because of this selection and with or without supplements the highest proportion of the crop residue is unusable • The nutritional value and the numbers of animals that can be fed on straw can be increased greatly by • Harvesting a proportion of the crop residue[ say half] and hand feeding with supplements with or without treatment of straw • Grazing the spilt grain and weeds with supplementation

49. The disappearance of components of a stubble under grazing by sheep for 4 months at Merredin WA. [crop 1 tonne/ha] Fels H E cited by Dixon and Doyle 1996

50. Highly fibrous tough composition [difficult to breakdown by chewing- reduces intake] Deficiency of minerals and crude protein to supply rumen nutrients: depending on soil and harvest conditions. No escape or bypass protein Low and variable digestibility depending on soil and harvest conditions Low bulk density that limits feed intake Chop or macerate Supplementation with rumen nutrients Supplementation with bypass protein depending on production expectations Treatment with acids or alkalis to improve digestibility Compress or pellet feed Overcoming the constraints to utilization of straw by ruminants