DROUGHTS, FODDER RESERVES AND STOCKING RATES

The present article relates to pastoral firms in a drought-prone environment. For such firms, it explores the economic relationship between stocking rates, drought possibilities and fodder reserves. (1) The analysis shows that an optimal stocking rate can be ascertained for any given pattern of drought incidence. Using Queensland data, an empirical application covering a range of fodder, livestock and livestock product prices is presented. Nothing is said of the macro aspects of fodder storage for drought relief; nor of the optimum level of livestock population on an aggregate basis. Likewise, the analytics of supplementary feeding for production--as distinct from drought feeding for survival--are not explored on either a micro or a macro basis. Still, the method of analysis used here is not without relevance to all these topics.