A comparison of four different standards of reference for the animal unit for determining stocking rate.

Abstract

No single standard of reference for the animal unit (AU) for determining stocking rates has materialized. Often, therefore, it is not clear which standard of reference for the AU or which method of determining stocking rate has been used in the presentation of research results. A comparison is made of four different standards of reference for the AU, namely; 1. the individual animal, 2. animal biomass, 3. metabolic mass, and 4. the Large Stock Unit (LSU). In comparing these methods, as the standard of reference is able to characterize animals more accurately, their simplicity decreases but generality of application increases. The generality of application should be the primary factor influencing the choice of a standard of reference for the AU. However, to avoid prescription on which standard of reference and method should be used for determining stocking rate, a simple descriptive notation is proposed.

Keywords: animal biomass; animal units; large stock unit; mass; metabolic mass; method; south africa; standards; stocking rates