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Abstract
This paper describes how representative farm business models were employed to identify
optimal beef and sheep production systems for Less Favoured Area (LFA) farms in
Northern Ireland. The bio-economic models identify the optimal farming system for
theses farms under various market and policy assumptions. They are useful, therefore, in
helping to develop industry strategy. The models indicate that, under current market and
policy conditions, a dairy-based beef system is likely to be the most profitable beef
enterprise. However, depending on land quality and livestock housing resources, and the
market and policy environment, suckler-based beef systems can also feature in the profit
maximising enterprise mix. The results also suggest that the optimal sheep system is
consistent with the stratified sheep systems traditionally operated in Northern Ireland. In
general, beef production appears to have some advantages over sheep production where,
depending on relative prices and resource availabilities, it is often better to replace sheep
with cattle and employ the released labour off-farm, than to replace cattle with sheep and
invest the released capital off-farm. In some situations, farmers should significantly
reduce their capital and labour inputs to the farm business by substantially reducing
stocking rates or even abandoning land completely