Two New APSIM Articles

The first paper focuses on improving management practices to assist with maximising gross margins in Australian canola.  Canola crop yields were simulated with APSIM at seven diverse Australian locations in a factorial array of management practices including sowing date, sowing density, cultivar, rate of cultivar development and nitrogen fertiliser rate.  This paper focussed on factors which affected gross margins rather than the standard analysis of looking at ways of increasing yield.  It was noted that yield generally increased in response to increasing variable costs but gross margins tended to plateau; after this point higher variable input costs were matched but not exceeded by revenue from increased yield.  The paper can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2020.107803

The second paper is an analysis of comparing greenhouse gas emissions from cropping and grazed pastures.  The aim of the paper was to determine whether the abatement provided by sequestering soil carbon (SOC) storage in permanent pastures was offset by livestock emissions, and to thus compare emissions from grazed pasture systems with those from cropping systems.  For the farms in the study, the SOC sequestered in the stocked permanent pastures was offset by emissions from livestock, and emissions from cropping scenarios were similar to or significantly less than those from the livestock scenarios.  To read more, please see here:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00121