ECONOMIC COMPARISON OF CONVENTIONAL COTTON AND INTEGRATED CROP-LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS IN THE TEXAS HIGH PLAINS

An integrated crop-livestock system was evaluated as an alternative to conventional cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) system in the Texas high Plains. Integrated crop-livestock systems can decrease the amount of inputs used including irrigation water and a higher intensity of land use. Furthermore, there is a great amount of agronomic evidence that crop-livestock systems have a lower negative impact on the environment but to fully asses their feasibility to potentially replace conventional cotton systems in the Texas high Plains their economic profitability must also be evaluated. Four yield and variable cost scenarios were simulated for the years 1998 to 2004 in two systems established in the Texas High Plains to compare a conventional cotton system using management practices recommended by the Texas Cooperative Extension Service vs. an integrated crop-livestock system for production of cotton and feedlot ready stocker steers that included WW-B. Dahl [Bothriochloa bladhii (Retz.), S.T. Blake] as a perennial forage and rye (Secale cereale L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in alternate yearly rotation with cotton for grazing by steers. Cotton produced under the conventional system and cotton produced under the integrated system achieved similar results regarding yields and input use. Favorable scenarios for the integrated system and cotton monoculture were when the yields were increased and when VC were decreased; both scenarios produced higher net returns in the integrated system than in cotton monoculture. Livestock produced in the integrated system was found to be advantageous because of the possibility to obtain additional revenue without significantly increasing the overall fixed cost of the integrated system