ARS | Publication request: THE DAIRY FORAGE SYSTEM MODEL (DAFOSYM)

Submitted to: Introduction to CALS Integrated Nutrient Management Program Workshop
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: November 20, 2001
Publication Date: December 20, 2001
Citation: ROTZ, C.A. THE DAIRY FORAGE SYSTEM MODEL (DAFOSYM). INTRODUCTION TO CALS INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM WORKSHOP. 2001.

Technical Abstract: The DAFOSYM model is a whole farm simulation model of dairy production. Farm systems are simulated over many years of weather to determine long-term performance, environmental impact, and economics of the farm. As such, the model is a long-term or strategic planning tool. All of the major processes of crop production, harvest, storage, feeding, milk production, manure handling, and crop establishment are simulated, as well as the return of manure nutrients back to the land. By simulating various alternative technologies and/or management strategies on the same representative farms, the user can determine those alternatives that provide the desired level of farm production or profit. DAFOSYM is a structured program that uses numerous objects or subroutines to represent various processes on the farm. There are nine major submodels that represent these major component processes: 1) crop and soil, 2) grazing, 3) )machinery, 4) tillage and planting, 5) crop harvest, 6) feed storage, 7) feed allocation and animal performance, 8) manure handling, and 9) economic analysis. DAFOSYM was developed and it is widely used as a research tool and teaching aid for evaluating the whole farm impacts of alternative technology and management strategies on dairy farms. The model is distributed through the Internet.