Use of environmental and economic indicators to evaluate the sustainability of two livestock farms in the Salado Basin, Argentine

Abstract

The process of agricultural expansion has reduced the area dedicated to livestock farming.
Such process is deteriorating grassland, generating a loss of productivity and the need to
increase the use of inputs. The objective of this paper is to compare the sustainability of two
livestock farms with contrasting productive approaches. Semi-structured surveys and census
of the vegetation coverage allowed to characterize both farms in terms of land use, livestock
activity, labor and inputs used, supplementary feeding and meat production. This information
allowed to estimate indicators of environmental and economic sustainability. The livestock farms
with low use of inputs and rational management of grazing demonstrated an efficient use
of fossil energy, increased C stock of soil, net emissions (balance of greenhouse gases) was
insignificant and retained the condition of the natural grassland, while economic indexes were
not negatively affected.