How to translate text using browser tools
1 July 2010 Economically Optimal Stocking Rates: A Bioeconomic Grazing Model
John P. Ritten, Christopher T. Bastian, W. Marshall Frasier
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

A dynamic bioeconomic model that examines economically optimal stocking rate decisions while taking into account changes in forage availability is presented. The model presented here focuses on economically optimal stocking decisions while taking into account changes in the forage resource. The model is parameterized for a stocker operation in central Wyoming. Regardless of the scenario analyzed, the general rule of 50% utilization is determined to be an economically sound management strategy. The factors most heavily influencing economically optimal stocking rate decisions are forage growth rates and the Michaelis Constant. Both grain prices and cattle prices impact financial returns yet do not directly impact optimal stocking decisions by cattle producers.

John P. Ritten, Christopher T. Bastian, and W. Marshall Frasier "Economically Optimal Stocking Rates: A Bioeconomic Grazing Model," Rangeland Ecology and Management 63(4), 407-414, (1 July 2010). https://doi.org/10.2111/08-253.1
Received: 5 January 2009; Accepted: 1 February 2010; Published: 1 July 2010
KEYWORDS
dynamic optimization
optimal stocking rates
range economics
stocker cattle
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top