抄録
Community-based group farming is a pillar of regional agriculture in hilly and mountainous areas. Such farms mainly cultivate rice but face risks such as reduced revenue under rice price declines and a reduction in available farm labor. Beef cattle breeding and grazing on rice paddies should improve land utilization and profits of such farms. The authors examine the current management of cattle raising, feed production, and grazing. Most group farms appreciate that cattle breeding and grazing can use abandoned land and save management labor costs for small fields, but cattle raising is low in profit and requires intensive labor in the production of feed. Then, beef cattle breeders must increase their breeding skills, concentrate their fields, and reduce feed production costs.
