Next Article in Journal
A New Perspective for Urban Development Boundary Delineation Based on the MCR Model and CA-Markov Model
Previous Article in Journal
Measuring the Correlation between Human Activity Density and Streetscape Perceptions: An Analysis Based on Baidu Street View Images in Zhengzhou, China
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Land
Volume 11
Issue 3
10.3390/land11030402
land-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Quantifying Land Fragmentation in Northern Irish Cattle Enterprises

by
Georgina Milne
1,*,
Andrew William Byrne
2,
Emma Campbell
1,
Jordon Graham
1,
John McGrath
3,
Raymond Kirke
4,
Wilma McMaster
5,
Jesko Zimmermann
6 and
Adewale Henry Adenuga
1
1
Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Belfast BT4 3SD, UK
2
One-Health Unit, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Agriculture House, D02 WK12 Dublin, Ireland
3
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Area Based Scheme), Orchard House, Foyle Street, Derry/Londonderry BT48 6AT, UK
4
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Veterinary Service Animal Health), Ballykelly House, Ballykelly Road, Ballykelly, Limavady BT49 9HP, UK
5
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Land Parcel Identification System), Dundonald House, Belfast BT4 3SB, UK
6
Agrifood Business and Spatial Analysis, Rural Economy & Development Programme, Teagasc, Ashtown Research Centre, D15 DY05 Dublin, Ireland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Land 2022, 11(3), 402; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11030402
Submission received: 7 January 2022 / Revised: 28 February 2022 / Accepted: 2 March 2022 / Published: 9 March 2022
Browse Figures
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

Farmland fragmentation is considered to be a defining feature of Northern Ireland’s (NI) agricultural landscape, influencing agricultural efficiency, productivity, and the spread of livestock diseases. Despite this, the full extent of farmland fragmentation in cattle farms in NI is not well understood, and little is known of how farmland fragmentation either influences, or is influenced by, different animal production types. Here, we describe and quantify farmland fragmentation in cattle farms for all of NI, using GIS processing of land parcel data to associate individual parcels with data on the cattle business associated with the land. We found that 35% of farms consisted of five or more fragments, with dairy farms associated with greater levels of farmland fragmentation, fragment dispersal and contact with contiguous neighbours compared to other production types. The elevated levels of farmland fragmentation in dairy production compared to non-dairy, may be associated with the recent expansion of dairy farms by land acquisition, following the abolition of the milk quota system in 2015. The comparatively high levels of farmland fragmentation observed in NI cattle farms may also have important implications for agricultural productivity and epidemiology alike. Whilst highly connected pastures could facilitate the dissemination of disease, highly fragmented land could also hamper productivity via diseconomies of scale, such as preventing the increase of herd sizes or additionally, adding to farm costs by increasing the complexity of herd management.
Keywords: farmland fragmentation; farm fragmentation; dairy; cattle farming; agricultural productivity; Northern Ireland farmland fragmentation; farm fragmentation; dairy; cattle farming; agricultural productivity; Northern Ireland

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Milne, G.; Byrne, A.W.; Campbell, E.; Graham, J.; McGrath, J.; Kirke, R.; McMaster, W.; Zimmermann, J.; Adenuga, A.H. Quantifying Land Fragmentation in Northern Irish Cattle Enterprises. Land 2022, 11, 402. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11030402

AMA Style

Milne G, Byrne AW, Campbell E, Graham J, McGrath J, Kirke R, McMaster W, Zimmermann J, Adenuga AH. Quantifying Land Fragmentation in Northern Irish Cattle Enterprises. Land. 2022; 11(3):402. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11030402

Chicago/Turabian Style

Milne, Georgina, Andrew William Byrne, Emma Campbell, Jordon Graham, John McGrath, Raymond Kirke, Wilma McMaster, Jesko Zimmermann, and Adewale Henry Adenuga. 2022. "Quantifying Land Fragmentation in Northern Irish Cattle Enterprises" Land 11, no. 3: 402. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11030402

APA Style

Milne, G., Byrne, A. W., Campbell, E., Graham, J., McGrath, J., Kirke, R., McMaster, W., Zimmermann, J., & Adenuga, A. H. (2022). Quantifying Land Fragmentation in Northern Irish Cattle Enterprises. Land, 11(3), 402. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11030402

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop