WorldWideScience

Sample records for demonstration farm isrf05-12

  1. 12 CFR 619.9145 - Farm Credit Bank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Farm Credit Bank. 619.9145 Section 619.9145 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM DEFINITIONS § 619.9145 Farm Credit Bank. The term Farm Credit Bank refers to a bank resulting from the mandatory merger of the Federal land...

  2. 12 CFR 619.9140 - Farm Credit bank(s).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Farm Credit bank(s). 619.9140 Section 619.9140 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM DEFINITIONS § 619.9140 Farm Credit bank(s). Except as otherwise defined, the term Farm Credit bank(s) includes Farm Credit Banks...

  3. LHCb: The LHCb off-Site HLT Farm Demonstration

    CERN Multimedia

    Liu, Guoming

    2012-01-01

    The LHCb High Level Trigger (HLT) farm consists of about 1300 nodes, which are housed in the underground server room of the experiment point. Due to the constraints of the power supply and cooling system, it is difficult to install more servers in this room for the future. Off-site computing farm is a solution to enlarge the computing capacity. In this paper, we will demonstrate the LHCb off-site HLT farm which locate in the CERN computing center. Since we use private IP addresses for the HLT farm, we would need virtual private network (VPN) to bridge both sites. There are two kinds of traffic in the event builder: control traffic for the control and monitoring of the farm and the Data Acquisition (DAQ) traffic. We adopt IP tunnel for the control traffic and Network Address Translate (NAT) for the DAQ traffic. The performance of the off-site farm have been tested and compared with the on-site farm. The effect of the network latency has been studied. To employ a large off-site farm, one of the potential bottle...

  4. 12 CFR 1400.1 - Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation. 1400.1 Section 1400.1 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT SYSTEM INSURANCE CORPORATION ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS Organization and Functions § 1400.1 Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation. The Farm Credit...

  5. 12 CFR 614.4356 - Farm Credit Leasing Services Corporation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Farm Credit Leasing Services Corporation. 614... OPERATIONS Lending and Leasing Limits § 614.4356 Farm Credit Leasing Services Corporation. The Farm Credit Leasing Services Corporation may enter into a lease agreement with a lessee if the consolidated amount of...

  6. 12 CFR 613.3020 - Financing for farm-related service businesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Financing for farm-related service businesses... AND SCOPE OF FINANCING Financing Under Titles I and II of the Farm Credit Act § 613.3020 Financing for farm-related service businesses. (a) Eligibility. An individual or legal entity that furnishes farm...

  7. On-farm demonstrations: consideration factors for their success and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal Home > Vol 32 (2003) > ... long been a key hallmark of program delivery and teaching in extension work. ... This study resulted in the development of both the Advantages and Disadvantages associated with on-farm demonstrations ...

  8. 12 CFR 614.4590 - Equitable treatment of OFIs and Farm Credit System associations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... differences in credit risk and administrative costs to the Farm Credit Bank or agricultural credit bank. (c... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Equitable treatment of OFIs and Farm Credit System associations. 614.4590 Section 614.4590 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT...

  9. A mechanistic model for electricity consumption on dairy farms: definition, validation, and demonstration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Upton, J; Murphy, M; Shalloo, L; Groot Koerkamp, P W G; De Boer, I J M

    2014-01-01

    Our objective was to define and demonstrate a mechanistic model that enables dairy farmers to explore the impact of a technical or managerial innovation on electricity consumption, associated CO2 emissions, and electricity costs. We, therefore, (1) defined a model for electricity consumption on dairy farms (MECD) capable of simulating total electricity consumption along with related CO2 emissions and electricity costs on dairy farms on a monthly basis; (2) validated the MECD using empirical data of 1yr on commercial spring calving, grass-based dairy farms with 45, 88, and 195 milking cows; and (3) demonstrated the functionality of the model by applying 2 electricity tariffs to the electricity consumption data and examining the effect on total dairy farm electricity costs. The MECD was developed using a mechanistic modeling approach and required the key inputs of milk production, cow number, and details relating to the milk-cooling system, milking machine system, water-heating system, lighting systems, water pump systems, and the winter housing facilities as well as details relating to the management of the farm (e.g., season of calving). Model validation showed an overall relative prediction error (RPE) of less than 10% for total electricity consumption. More than 87% of the mean square prediction error of total electricity consumption was accounted for by random variation. The RPE values of the milk-cooling systems, water-heating systems, and milking machine systems were less than 20%. The RPE values for automatic scraper systems, lighting systems, and water pump systems varied from 18 to 113%, indicating a poor prediction for these metrics. However, automatic scrapers, lighting, and water pumps made up only 14% of total electricity consumption across all farms, reducing the overall impact of these poor predictions. Demonstration of the model showed that total farm electricity costs increased by between 29 and 38% by moving from a day and night tariff to a flat

  10. The Role of Demonstration Farms in Achieving Food Security in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper therefore strongly suggests that the enormous amount of available factors of production at the local government system should be galvanized for the direct production of food through the establishment and proper management of demonstration farms at that tier of government. This land laboratory facility will ...

  11. A mechanistic model for electricity consumption on dairy farms: Definition, validation, and demonstration

    OpenAIRE

    Upton, J.R.; Murphy, M.; Shallo, L.; Groot Koerkamp, P.W.G.; Boer, de, I.J.M.

    2014-01-01

    Our objective was to define and demonstrate a mechanistic model that enables dairy farmers to explore the impact of a technical or managerial innovation on electricity consumption, associated CO2 emissions, and electricity costs. We, therefore, (1) defined a model for electricity consumption on dairy farms (MECD) capable of simulating total electricity consumption along with related CO2 emissions and electricity costs on dairy farms on a monthly basis; (2) validated the MECD using empirical d...

  12. 08 Richardson - On-farm demonstrations - gereed vir publik…

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    lynette

    regular face-to-face exchanges and feedback, these were accomplished through e-mail .... evidence that such time consuming methods such as on-farm tests and field ... adopting new farm management practices, personal communication was.

  13. Effects of Calf Rearing Package Introduced to Smallholder Dairy Farms in Bahati Division, Nakuru District, Kenya

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lanyasunya, T.P.; Wekesa, F.W.; Sinkeet, S.N.O.; Jong, R.; Udo, H.; Mukisira, E.A.

    1999-01-01

    A Calf rearing package of Individual (mobile) pens , milk and fodder feeding was introduced on smallholder farms of Bahati Division, Nakuru District, Kenya. The study investigated the effects of changes in Calf rearing practices on calf performance and the responses of the production systems to the investigations. 46 farmers were selected on the basis of their willingness to participate in the study and were allocated to Control (23 and Test (23). both types of farmers were trained but only test farms received building materials and forage seeds. Socio-economic and calf performance data were collected. Calves were supplemented with sweet potato vines (SPV) + Green leaf desmodium (DES) and/or fodder shrubs (FOD) Leucaena leucocephala and Sesbania sesban. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) models and Chi-square test were applied on the data collected. The study revealed that there were variations in off-farm, livestock and crop incomes. The gross Margins (GM) were higher (P < 0.01) for the test than the Control farmers. Calves raised in Test farms Demonstrated higher (P < 0.05) growth rates than those in Control farms (370 versus 307 g/d). Female calves gained (P < 0.05) 57 g/d more than mal calves.Those with assorted farm grown legumes (SPV + FOD) performed better (375 and 417 g/d, respectively) compared to those supplemented with SPV alone or not supplemented (345 and 321 g/d, respectively). Improved calf performance in Test farms suggests that, farm grown forage legumes, could be used as a cheap alternative protein supplement by resource-poor farmers. Calf mortality rates for Control farms (33%) were higher (P < 0.05) than those for Test farms (12.5%). The study concluded that the interventions/measures taken improve the overall performance of calves on-farm

  14. Review report 2004. The Danish offshore wind farm demonstration project: Horns Rev and Nysted offshore wind farms. Environmental impact assessment and monitoring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2005-10-15

    The present review report presents the two wind farms Horns Rev and Nysted with regard to environmental characteristics and the results of the environmental studies carried out in connection with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the baseline and monitoring programmes at the two sites. The descriptions of the programmes are based on extracts from the individual annual reports. Detailed information on method, programmes and conclusions can be found in these reports (see Appendix 1). This review report is divided into two parts. The first part contains a description of the potential environmental impacts of offshore wind farms and the potentially affected part of the environment. The second part includes a description of Horns Rev and Nysted Offshore Wind Farm and the environmental studies carried out here until the end of 2003. Appendix I is a list of the literature published on the studies carried out at Horns Rev and Nysted Offshore Wind Farm. Appendix II is a list of some of the literature relevant to the demonstration projects but not directly related to the projects. The offshore wind farm situated in the Roedsand area is officially denoted Nysted Offshore Wind Farm, and in the present report the denotation 'Nysted' will be used as well when referring to Nysted Offshore Wind Farm. The denotation Roedsand will be used when referring to the actual area Roedsand. (au)

  15. Review report 2003. The Danish offshore wind farm demonstration project: Horns Rev and Nysted offshore wind farms. Environmental impact assessment and monitoring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-09-15

    The present review report presents the two wind farms Homs Rev and Nysted, with regard to environmental characteristics and the results of the environmental studies carried out in connection with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the baseline and monitoring programmes at the two sites. The descriptions of the programmes are based on extracts from the individual annual reports. Detailed information on methods, programmes and conclusions can be found in these reports. This review report is divided into two parts. The first part contains a description of the potential environmentally impacts of offshore wind farms and the potentially affected part of the environment. The second part includes a description of Horns Rev and Nysted Offshore Wind Farm and the environmental studies carried out here until the end of 2003. Appendix I is a list of the literature published on the studies carried out at Hors Rev and Nysted Offshore Wind Farm. Appendix II is a list of some of the literature relevant to the demonstration projects but not directly related to the projects. The offshore wind farm situated at the bdsand area is officially denoted Nysted Offshore Wind Farm, and in the present report the denotation 'Nysted' will be used as well when referring to Nysted Offshore Wind Farm. The denotation Roedsand will be used when referring to the actual area Roedsand. (au)

  16. Review report 2004. The Danish offshore wind farm demonstration project: Horns Rev and Nysted offshore wind farms. Environmental impact assessment and monitoring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2005-10-15

    The present review report presents the two wind farms Horns Rev and Nysted with regard to environmental characteristics and the results of the environmental studies carried out in connection with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the baseline and monitoring programmes at the two sites. The descriptions of the programmes are based on extracts from the individual annual reports. Detailed information on method, programmes and conclusions can be found in these reports (see Appendix 1). This review report is divided into two parts. The first part contains a description of the potential environmental impacts of offshore wind farms and the potentially affected part of the environment. The second part includes a description of Horns Rev and Nysted Offshore Wind Farm and the environmental studies carried out here until the end of 2003. Appendix I is a list of the literature published on the studies carried out at Horns Rev and Nysted Offshore Wind Farm. Appendix II is a list of some of the literature relevant to the demonstration projects but not directly related to the projects. The offshore wind farm situated in the Roedsand area is officially denoted Nysted Offshore Wind Farm, and in the present report the denotation 'Nysted' will be used as well when referring to Nysted Offshore Wind Farm. The denotation Roedsand will be used when referring to the actual area Roedsand. (au)

  17. Transforming Farm Health and Safety: The Case for Business Coaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackman, Anna; Franklin, Richard C; Rossetto, Allison; Gray, David E

    2015-01-01

    In the U.S. and Australia, agriculture is consistently ranked as one of the most hazardous industries. The cost of injuries and deaths on Australian farms is significant, estimated to be between AU$0.5 billion and AU$1.2 billion per year. Death and injury in agriculture also place a significant financial and social burden on the family and friends of the injured, the community, and the health system. This article proposes that if farmers were to employ coaching in their businesses, they would benefit from advances in safety practices, resulting in associated improvements in overall farm productivity and a reduction in injury costs to the wider community. A coaching model is presented to demonstrate what an effective coaching process would need to include. An agenda for future research areas is also provided.

  18. Macdonald farm demonstration woodlot: Annual report, 1994-1995

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-12-31

    The MacDonald Farm Demonstration Woodlot is a parcel of forested land set aside to provide woodlot owners and the general public with an opportunity to see proper forest management techniques and the benefits of integrated resource management firsthand. This annual report provides information on the year`s operations in terms of outreach and education, infrastructure, on-site development and financial. Infrastructure includes road and trail construction. Objectives for the coming year are presented with information on the Woodlot Management Field Day, silvicultural treatments, wildlife, signage, brochures, staff training and the nature trail. Construction costs, a summary of silvicultural treatments, and financial statements are included. Descriptions and treatments used on each stand is included as well.

  19. Using a whole farm model to determine the impacts of mating management on the profitability of pasture-based dairy farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beukes, P C; Burke, C R; Levy, G; Tiddy, R M

    2010-08-01

    An approach to assessing likely impacts of altering reproductive performance on productivity and profitability in pasture-based dairy farms is described. The basis is the development of a whole farm model (WFM) that simulates the entire farm system and holistically links multiple physical performance factors to profitability. The WFM consists of a framework that links a mechanistic cow model, a pasture model, a crop model, management policies and climate. It simulates individual cows and paddocks, and runs on a day time-step. The WFM was upgraded to include reproductive modeling capability using reference tables and empirical equations describing published relationships between cow factors, physiology and mating management. It predicts reproductive status at any time point for individual cows within a modeled herd. The performance of six commercial pasture-based dairy farms was simulated for the period of 12 months beginning 1 June 2005 (05/06 year) to evaluate the accuracy of the model by comparison with actual outcomes. The model predicted most key performance indicators within an acceptable range of error (residualprofitability of changes in farm "set-up" (farm conditions at the start of the farming year on 1 June) and mating management from 05/06 to 06/07 year. Among the six farms simulated, the 4-week calving rate emerged as an important set-up factor influencing profitability, while reproductive performance during natural bull mating was identified as an area with the greatest opportunity for improvement. The WFM presents utility to explore alternative management strategies to predict likely outcomes to proposed changes to a pasture-based farm system. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. 12 CFR 614.4000 - Farm Credit Banks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... make, provided the borrower eligibility, membership, term, amount, loan security, and stock or... Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS Lending... the requirements in § 614.4200 of this part, to make real estate mortgage loans with maturities of not...

  1. File list: Oth.Lar.05.daf-12.AllCell [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Oth.Lar.05.daf-12.AllCell ce10 TFs and others daf-12 Larvae SRX146513,SRX065705,SRX...146512,SRX065706,SRX065713,SRX065714 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/ce10/assembled/Oth.Lar.05.daf-12.AllCell.bed ...

  2. File list: Oth.ALL.05.daf-12.AllCell [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Oth.ALL.05.daf-12.AllCell ce10 TFs and others daf-12 All cell types SRX146513,SRX06...5705,SRX146512,SRX065706,SRX065713,SRX065714 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/ce10/assembled/Oth.ALL.05.daf-12.AllCell.bed ...

  3. Changes of subsidiaries level in agricultural farms of EU-12 in years 1989-2006

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tadeusz Sobczyński

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Balanced development of a farm cannot be achieved without an appropriate level of income which provides payroll comparable to other branches of economy and funds for investments. Changes of subsidiaries and taxes balance in UE farms were described based on data from FADN. Trends, changes of processes are usually observed in long term horizons. To analyse them long term data series is required. Data concerning UE-12 from years 1989-2006 enables such analysis. The main goal was to determine if farms in long term were getting more economically independent or were supported more and more by taxpayers. Due to data availability the simplest statistical time series analysis, correlation and regression analysis and chart visualisation were performed.

  4. File list: Pol.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12 [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Pol.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12 dm3 RNA polymerase Embryo Mitotic cycle 12 SRX750...068 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/assembled/Pol.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12.bed ...

  5. Livestock systems and farming styles in Eastern Italian Alps: an on-farm survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurizio Ramanzin

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This research aimed to study the relationships between livestock systems, landscape maintenance and farming styles in the Belluno Province, a mountainous area of the Eastern Italian Alps. A total of 65 farms were sampled on the basis of livestock category farmed and herd size. Farms were visited to collect information on technical and productive aspects, on landscape features of land managed, which was identified by aerial photographs and digitised in a GIS environment, and on the farmers’ background, attitudes and approach to farming. Six different livestock systems were identified: intensive beef cattle (2 farms; extensive beef cattle (12 farms; large sheep/goat farms (9 farms; small sheep/goat farms (6 farms; intensive dairy cattle (14 farms and extensive dairy cattle (22 farms. The intensive systems had larger herds, modern structures and equipment, and were strongly production oriented, whereas the extensive systems had smaller herds and productivity, with often traditional or obsolete structures and equipment, but showed a tendency to diversify production by means of on-farm cheese making and/or mixed farming of different livestock categories. The ability to maintain meadows and pastures was greater for the extensive systems, especially in steep areas, while the annual nitrogen output, estimated as kg N/ha, was lower. Data on the farmers’ background and attitudes were analysed with a non-hierarchical cluster procedure that clustered the farmers into 4 farming styles widely different in motivations to farming, innovative capability, and ability to diversify income sources and ensure farm economic viability. The farming styles were distributed across all livestock systems, indicating the lack of a linkage between the assignment of a farm to a livestock system and the way the farm is managed. This study demonstrates that in mountain areas variability of livestock systems may be high, and that they differ not only in production practices

  6. T-TY Tank Farm Interim Surface Barrier Demonstration - Vadose Zone Monitoring Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Z.F.; Strickland, Christopher E.; Field, Jim G.; Parker, Danny L.

    2010-01-01

    The Hanford Site has 149 underground single-shell tanks that store hazardous radioactive waste. Many of these tanks and their associated infrastructure (e.g., pipelines, diversion boxes) have leaked. Some of the leaked waste has entered the groundwater. The largest known leak occurred from the T-106 Tank of the 241-T Tank Farm in 1973. Five tanks are assumed to have leaked in the TY Farm. Many of the contaminants from those leaks still reside within the vadose zone within the T and TY Tank Farms. The Department of Energy's Office of River Protection seeks to minimize the movement of these contaminant plumes by placing interim barriers on the ground surface. Such barriers are expected to prevent infiltrating water from reaching the plumes and moving them further. The soil water regime is monitored to determine the effectiveness of the interim surface barriers. Soil-water content and water pressure are monitored using off-the-shelf equipment that can be installed by the hydraulic hammer technique. Four instrument nests were installed in the T Farm in fiscal year (FY) 2006 and FY2007; two nests were installed in the TY Farm in FY2010. Each instrument nest contains a neutron probe access tube, a capacitance probe, and four heat-dissipation units. A meteorological station has been installed at the north side of the fence of the T Farm. This document summarizes the monitoring methods, the instrument calibration and installation, and the vadose zone monitoring plan for interim barriers in T farm and TY Farm.

  7. 12MW Horns Rev experiment[Wind farm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasager, C.B.; Pena, A; Mikkelsen, T.; Courtney, M.; Antoniou, I.; Gryning, S.-E.; Hansen, P. [Risoe National Lab., DTU, Wind Energy Dept. (Denmark); Soerensen, P.B. [DONG Energy (Denmark)

    2007-10-15

    The 12MW project with the full title '12 MW wind turbines: the scientific basis for their operation at 70 to 270 m height offshore' has the goal to experimentally investigate the wind and turbulence characteristics between 70 and 270 m above sea level and thereby establish the scientific basis relevant for the next generation of huge 12 MW wind turbines operating offshore. The report describes the experimental campaign at the Horns Rev offshore wind farm at which observations from Doppler Laser LIDAR and SODAR were collected from 3 May to 24 October 2006. The challenges for mounting and operating the instruments on the transformer platform at Horns Rev were overcome by a close collaboration between DONG energy and Risoe National Laboratory DTU. The site is presented. In particular, three tall offshore meteorological masts, up to 70 m tall, provided a useful source of meteorological data for comparison to the remotely sensed wind and turbulence observations. The comparison showed high correlation. The LIDAR and SODAR wind and turbulence observations were collected far beyond the height of the masts (up to 160 m above sea level) and the extended profiles were compared to the logarithmic wind profile. Further studies on this part of the work are on-going. Technical detail on LIDAR and SODAR are provided as well as theoretical work on turbulence and atmospheric boundary layer flow. Selected results from the experimental campaign are reported. (au)

  8. 12 CFR 614.4540 - Other financing institution access to Farm Credit Banks and agricultural credit banks for funding...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... maintain established or projected capital levels; or (ii) Raise funds in the money markets; or (2... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Other financing institution access to Farm... POLICIES AND OPERATIONS Farm Credit Bank and Agricultural Credit Bank Financing of Other Financing...

  9. File list: DNS.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12-14 [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available DNS.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12-14 dm3 DNase-seq Embryo Mitotic cycle 12-14 http:...//dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/assembled/DNS.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12-14.bed ...

  10. TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) Level 3 Monthly 0.5 degree x 0.5 degree Profiling V7 (3A12) at GES DISC V7

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This document provides basic information on 3A12, TMI Monthly 0.5 deg. x 0.5 deg. Profiling. Algorithm 3A12 produces global 0.5 deg. x 0.5 deg. monthly gridded means...

  11. File list: InP.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12 [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available InP.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12 dm3 Input control Embryo Mitotic cycle 12 SRX7500...69 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/assembled/InP.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12.bed ...

  12. File list: Unc.Emb.05.AllAg.8-12h_embryos [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Unc.Emb.05.AllAg.8-12h_embryos dm3 Unclassified Embryo 8-12h embryos SRX013080,SRX0...13116 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/assembled/Unc.Emb.05.AllAg.8-12h_embryos.bed ...

  13. Farm work-related asthma among US primary farm operators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazurek, Jacek M; White, Gretchen E; Rodman, Chad; Schleiff, Patricia L

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of current asthma and the proportion of current asthma that is related to work on the farm among primary farm operators. The 2011 Farm and Ranch Safety Survey data were used to produce estimates and prevalence odds ratios. An estimated 5.1% of farm operators had asthma. Of these, 15.4% had farm work-related asthma. Among operators with farm work-related asthma, 54.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 41.8%-68.2%) had an asthma attack in the prior 12 months and 33.3% (95% CI: 21.2%-45.4%) had an asthma attack that occurred while doing farm work. Of those who had an asthma attack that occurred while doing farm work, 65.0% associated their asthma attack with plant/tree materials. This study provides updated information on asthma and the proportion of current asthma that is related to work on the farm and identifies certain groups of farm operators that might benefit from workplace asthma prevention intervention.

  14. File list: Oth.Emb.05.AllAg.1-2h_embryos [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Oth.Emb.05.AllAg.1-2h_embryos dm3 TFs and others Embryo 1-2h embryos SRX197583,SRX1...97584 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/assembled/Oth.Emb.05.AllAg.1-2h_embryos.bed ...

  15. ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CALF MORTALITY ON DAIRY FARMS IN KUWAIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A. RAZZAQUE, M. BEDAIR, S. ABBAS AND T. AL-MUTAWA

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Objective of this study was to investigate the economic impact of mortality of pre-weaned calves on dairy cattle enterprise in Kuwait. Cost/benefit analysis model was applied to two different situations: in the first situation, a baseline scenario, field survey data without intervention using 1,280 newborn calves was used in first calving season. In the second situation, the intervention scenario (improved management, 665 newborn calves were used in second calving season during the following year. Calving seasons extended for 7 months from September to March. Calf performance studies were conducted from birth to weaning. Economic model was constructed on Microsoft Excel and used to evaluate the impact of calf mortality on calf enterprise. Results showed that gross margins increased from 13 to 35% as a result of implementation of intervention measures during the second calving season over baseline scenario. A significant correlation between increased veterinary expenses and an increase in revenues (r2 = 0.65, P<0.05 was observed. If the intervention measures such as colostrum feeding, nutrition and hygiene had not been implemented, the farms would have lose income from 12 to 51% of the gross revenues. Net income was influenced by costs of feeds, veterinary services and laborers. Discounted cash flow studies on a whole farm basis revealed that the impact of interventions was small (0-3%. Calf mortality could not be isolated from whole farm for assessing its impact on dairy farm economics. Economic studies demonstrated the cost/benefits of using the improved techniques of calf rearing.

  16. File list: Oth.Emb.05.AllAg.10-12h_embryos [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Oth.Emb.05.AllAg.10-12h_embryos dm3 TFs and others Embryo 10-12h embryos SRX760381,...SRX760382,SRX760383,SRX760380 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/assembled/Oth.Emb.05.AllAg.10-12h_embryos.bed ...

  17. File list: His.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12-14 [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available His.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12-14 dm3 Histone Embryo Mitotic cycle 12-14 SRX6474...41,SRX647443,SRX647442,SRX647440 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/assembled/His.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12-14.bed ...

  18. Farm Management Basic Core Curriculum. Kansas Postsecondary Farm and Ranch Management Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albracht, James, Ed.

    Thirty-five units of instruction are included in this core curriculum in farm management for postsecondary farm and ranch management programs. Units of instruction are divided into 12 instructional areas: (1) Introduction to Financial Management, (2) Farm Business Arrangement, (3) Credit Management, (4) Budgeting, (5) Recordkeeping, (6) Record…

  19. Analysis of Goat Farming on Integrated Farming System in Banyumas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NN Hidayat

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research were : 1 to find out the income generated from goat farming and its contribution to farmer income in several farming combination, 2 to find out the economic efficiency in goat farming with paddy and fish production, 3 to determine factors affecting level of production and income in different farming system, partially and aggregately, and 4 to determine the best combination of farming which generated maximum income. Household farmer survey method was performed to conduct this research. Farming model chosen in this research was partial and average aggregate. Cobb-Douglas function were chosen to predict functional relationship. Result stated from this research were : 1 goat farming has a significant contribution in integrated farming system, 2 integrated farming (goat and paddy, goat and fish, and goat, fish and paddy in Banyumas district was economically efficient. 3 partially, factor affecting production level in goat farming was number of goat owned (P<0.01, factor affecting paddy production were urea application and number of land owned (P<0.01, TSP application (P<0.05 and man power (P<0.10. Furthermore, factor affecting fish farming were feed, breed and number of land owned (P<0.01; 4 aggregately, factor affecting integrated farming I were urea application and number of land owned (P<0.01, feed and number of land owned (P<0.01, number of goat owned (P<0.10 integrated farming II, where as in integrated farming III were number of paddy land area and breed (P<0.01 also number of goat owned (P<0.10; 5 integrated farming III (goat, paddy and fish farming gave the highest profit, which gave Rp 6.219.283,81 with relatively high efficiency. Therefore, goat farming could be an alternative solution to be developed in integrated farming and could be combined with other farming activities such as paddy and fish farming. (Animal Production 9(2: 105-110 (2007 Key Words : Goat, income, economic efficiency, survey, contribution

  20. CONSIDERATIONS FOR ON-FARM RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION OF USEFUL FEEDING/NUTRITION PRACTICES FOR SMALL RUMINANTS IN ETHIOPIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arthur Louis Goetsch

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Many funding organizations view on-farm research as having greater impact than ‘on-station’ trials, a feeling shared by farmers and pastoralists because of the opportunity to see and evaluate findings first-hand.  Langston University provides technical assistance in a 5-year project supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, entitled Ethiopia Sheep and Goat Productivity Improvement Program (ESGPIP, which includes on-farm research and demonstrations of useful feeding/nutrition practices.  The ESGPIP partners with research and extension entities throughout Ethiopia in implementing specific activities.  One effective strategy in on-farm research and demonstrations used by some partners involves group management of animals by Farmer Research Groups (FRG situated in different villages.  Four or five FRG have been used by ESGPIP implementing partners, with each consisting of 9 or 10 farmers contributing 3 or 6 animals.  Funds were provided to construct a simple barn with three pens (10 animals per pen at each FRG for group housing and feeding at night.  One or two animals per farmer were subjected to each of three feeding treatments.  Conversely, in other settings treatment imposition on individual farmers and their animals in multiple communities was most suitable.  Both approaches allow for statistical analysis of data, desirable for publication of the findings and, perhaps more importantly, true value or meaning of any differences noted.  With use of farmer-owned animals in some instances it may not be feasible to impose negative control treatments, but an appropriate common or standard supplemental feedstuff treatment allows for an adequate basis of comparison.  For sustainability, on-farm research should include input by and intimate involvement of producers and participation of local technology transfer personnel.

  1. ALARACT Demonstration for Primary Ventilation Systems at the DST Tank Farms for the Interim Stabilization Project (Saltwell Pumping) [SEC 1 Thru 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    STAM, E.C.

    2002-01-01

    A demonstration of As Low As Reasonably Achievable Control Technology (ALARACT) was performed for the existing Double Shell Tank (DST) farm primary ventilation systems in support of the Single Shell Tanks (SSTs) Interim Stabilization Project. The primary ventilation systems evaluated in this ALARACT are located at the 241-AW, AN, AP, and SY tank farms. Of these farms, only the AP and SY farms are scheduled to receive SST waste prior to new ventilation systems being installed at the farms. As a result, full evaluations were performed for the 241-AP and SY systems, whereas only partial evaluations were performed for the 241-AN and AW systems. The full evaluation included the evaluation of the stack sampling system, whereas the partial evaluation did not. Also, 241-AY and AZ are not scheduled to receive SST waste so they were both excluded completely from the evaluation. This ALARACT demonstration evaluated the ability of the abatement and control technologies in the DST ventilation systems identified above to function during SST waste transfers as part of the SST Interim Stabilization Project. Where available, field data (waste temperatures) gathered during actual saltwell pumping activities, were used to support this demonstration. Also used were other process data and equipment capacities associated with the system evaluation. Where actual field data were not available, conservative assumptions, based upon process knowledge and standard engineering calculation methodologies, were used. The DST ventilation systems were also evaluated for compliance against the technology standards identified in Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 246-247, Radioactive Air Emissions, as well as other governing codes and standards

  2. Modeling and Simulation of a 12 MW Wind Farm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GROZA, V.

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available The installation of wind turbines in power systems has developed rapidly through the last 20 years. In this paper a complete simulation model of a 6 x 2 MW wind turbines is presented using data from a wind farm installed in Denmark. A model of the wind turbine with cage-rotor induction generator is presented in details. A set of simulations are performed and they show that it is possible to simulate a complete wind farm from wind to the grid. The simulation tool can also be used to simulate bigger wind farms connected to the grid.

  3. File list: NoD.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12-14 [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available NoD.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12-14 dm3 No description Embryo Mitotic cycle 12-14 ...http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/dm3/assembled/NoD.Emb.05.AllAg.Mitotic_cycle_12-14.bed ...

  4. How do season, on-farm fasting interval and lairage period affect swine welfare, carcass and meat quality traits?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalla Costa, Filipe Antonio; Dalla Costa, Osmar Antonio; Coldebella, Arlei; de Lima, Gustavo Júlio Mello Monteiro; Ferraudo, Antonio Sérgio

    2018-03-01

    This study was carried out in order to determine the effects of different combinations of on-farm fasting intervals (8, 12, 16, 20 h) and 1.5 h of transport plus lairage periods (1, 3, 6 h) at different seasons (summer/winter) on blood stress parameters (cortisol and lactate), stomach content and weight, skin lesion and meat quality in a total of 960 pigs from eight farms. Blood lactate levels were greater in the summer (P < 0.001) and stomach content was affected (P < 0.05) by season, on-farm fasting interval (P < 0.001), lairage time (P < 0.0001). Stomach content weight reduces as the total feed withdrawal time increases up to on-farm fasting of 17 and 1 h of lairage. Stomach content can be influenced by feed and water in different ways according to treatments. Only 8 h of on-farm fasting is not enough to empty stomachs from feed content. However, an on-farm fasting period of 16 h or longer can also increase the occurrence of more water in the stomachs. Carcass lesions caused by fighting were greater (P ≤ 0.005) in the winter, mainly after 3 and 6 h of lairage (P ≤ 0.005). Loin and ham pHu was lower (P ≤ 0.05) for pigs slaughtered after 6 h of lairage during the summer. The application of 12 h of on-farm fasting with 6 h of lairage seemed to be best combination to reduce stomach content weight (feed and water). In the winter, shorter lairage period can be used to reduce percentage of skin lesions and better pork quality traits in pigs.

  5. Economic Indicators of the Farm Sector. Farm Sector Review, 1985.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Economic Research Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

    Farm production rose 6 percent in 1985 due to record high yields in corn, soybeans, cotton, and several other crops. While United States consumption increased slightly, exports of farm products fell 23 percent in value and 19 percent in volume. Net cash income increased 12 percent due to increased output, lower cash expenses, and unusually high…

  6. Sustaining Small Scale Farming: Evidence of Poverty and income Disparity among Rural Farming Households in South-South Region of Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunday B. Akpan

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The incidence of poverty is evidenced among rural farm households in developing societies. As a result of persistence poverty among rural farm households, there is a sudden upsurge in agricultural livelihood diversification and rural-urban migration resulting in high rate of urban unemployment. To help generate suitable policy variables to help tackle this rampaging issue in the South- south region of Nigeria, this study specifically analyses poverty and income inequality as well as identified determinants of poverty among rural farm households in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Data were collected from 390 rural farm household heads spread across the rural areas of the State. Combination of sampling methods was employed to sample cross-sectional data from respondents. The study used descriptive tools and regression analysis (Tobit regressions to analyse information collected. The socio-economic analysis reveals that most farming household heads were male; an average of 12.3 years of formal was discovered; social capital formation was poor, while average age stood at 42.5 years. About 33.08 % of male headed households and 22.05 % of female-headed households live below poverty line in the study area. Income inequality index revealed 0.4210 for male headed households and 0.4531 for the female counterpart. The Tobit model estimates revealed that, household head farming experience, years in the social organisation, a level of formal education, farm and non-farm income were negative drivers of rural poverty in the region. Household’s age, household size, structure of land ownership and gender were positive drivers of poverty among rural farming households. It is recommended that sound family welfare packages should be implemented in the rural communities. Also, the social capital formation should be promoted among rural farming households, while adult education policies should be re-visited. The government of the region should also improve educational

  7. Energy conservation on Nova Scotia farms: Baseline energy data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bailey, J.A.; Gordon, R.; Burton, D.; Yiridoe, E.K.

    2008-01-01

    Direct energy use is a small but essential component of the farm greenhouse gas (GHG) budget. Improvements in energy efficiency and renewable energy can help reduce farm operating costs, improve air quality and reduce GHG emission levels. Energy conservation is especially important in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada, where fossil fuels, particularly coal, remain the primary source of electrical generation. Responses from mail surveys were used to establish baseline data on a cross-section of NS farms with respect to direct energy costs and usage to demonstrate differences in farm type and size. A 32% (N=224) response rate was achieved. Based on this survey, the average energy bill for a NS farm in 2004 was $11,228, with most (61.7%) of their energy cost attributable to the purchase of petroleum products. Almost all farmers (96.4%) indicated that their energy cost was a primary concern. Farmers identified the operation of vehicles and mobile equipment, as well as lighting and heating as having the greatest energy requirements in their operations. Energy usage varied with farm type and size. NS farms consumed 1.2 petajoules of energy equivalent to 127 kilotonnes of CO 2 with 52.7% of emissions from electricity use in 2004

  8. Microwave dielectric properties of La{sub (1-2x/3)}Ba{sub x}(Mg{sub 0.5}Sn{sub 0.5})O{sub 3} ceramics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Yih-Chien; Chen, Kuei-Chien; Hsu, Wei-Yu [Department of Electrical Engineering, Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, Gueishan Shiang, Taoyuan County (China)

    2010-11-15

    This study examined the potential applications of microwave dielectric properties of La{sub (1-2x/3)}Ba{sub x}(Mg{sub 0.5}Sn{sub 0.5})O{sub 3} ceramics in rectenna. The La{sub (1-2x/3)}Ba{sub x}(Mg{sub 0.5}Sn{sub 0.5})O{sub 3} ceramics were prepared by the conventional solid-state method with various sintering temperatures. An apparent density of 6.62 g/cm{sup 3}, a dielectric constant of 20.3, a quality factor of 51,700 GHz, and a temperature coefficient of resonant frequency of -78.2 ppm/K were obtained for La{sub 2.98/3}Ba{sub 0.01}(Mg{sub 0.5}Sn{sub 0.5})O{sub 3} ceramics that were sintered at 1550 C for 4 h. (copyright 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  9. Modelling the economics of farm-based anaerobic digestion in a UK whole-farm context

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, Philip; Salter, Andrew

    2013-01-01

    Anaerobic digestion (AD) technologies convert organic wastes and crops into methane-rich biogas for heating, electricity generation and vehicle fuel. Farm-based AD has proliferated in some EU countries, driven by favourable policies promoting sustainable energy generation and GHG mitigation. Despite increased state support there are still few AD plants on UK farms leading to a lack of normative data on viability of AD in the whole-farm context. Farmers and lenders are therefore reluctant to fund AD projects and policy makers are hampered in their attempts to design policies that adequately support the industry. Existing AD studies and modelling tools do not adequately capture the farm context within which AD interacts. This paper demonstrates a whole-farm, optimisation modelling approach to assess the viability of AD in a more holistic way, accounting for such issues as: AD scale, synergies and conflicts with other farm enterprises, choice of feedstocks, digestate use and impact on farm Net Margin. This modelling approach demonstrates, for example, that: AD is complementary to dairy enterprises, but competes with arable enterprises for farm resources. Reduced nutrient purchases significantly improve Net Margin on arable farms, but AD scale is constrained by the capacity of farmland to absorb nutrients in AD digestate. -- Highlights: •Lack of empirical data on UK farm AD is barrier to investment and policy formulation. •A modelling approach used to assess economic viability of AD in whole-farm context. •AD increases dairy and arable farm net margin including by savings in nutrient costs. •AD margins better for a few crops than other uses, especially wheat and beet crops. •AD co-exists with dairy, but to obtain best margin displaces conventional cropping

  10. Do farm audits improve milk quality?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Flores-Miyamoto, A.; Reij, M.W.; Velthuis, A.G.J.

    2014-01-01

    Milk quality is assessed using bulk milk analysis and by farm audits in the Netherlands. However, the extent of the effect that dairy farm audits have on milk quality is unknown. Data from over 13,000 audits performed on 12,855 dairy farms from February 2006 to April 2008 were merged with laboratory

  11. A survey of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica farming in selected areas of Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abu Nasar Md. Aminoor Rahman

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Aim: To investigate the status, problems and prospects of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica farming in selected areas of Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in 14 districts of Bangladesh, viz., Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Mymensingh, Netrakona, Faridpur, Jessore, Khulna, Satkhira, Kushtia, Bogra, Naogaon, Comilla, and Sylhet during the period from July 2011 to June 2012. A total of 52 quail farmers were interviewed for data collection using a structured questionnaire. Focus group discussions were also carried out with unsuccessful farmers and those want to start quail farming. Workers of quail farms, quail feeds and medicine suppliers, quail eggs and meat sellers were also interviewed regarding the issue. Results: Out of 52 farms, 86.5% were operated by male, 67.3% farmers did not receive any training and 92.3% farmers had no earlier experience of quail farming although 58.0% farmers primary occupation was quail farming. Most of the farms (63.4% were mixed in type having ≤5000 birds of two or three varieties. About 80.7% farms were operated separately round the year with no other poultry and 83.0% farmers wanted to expand their farming. The average pullet weight 14.5±0.12, 11.0±0.07, 12.0±0.22, and 12.8±0.17 g; age at the first lay 46.0±0.04, 42.0±0.31, 42.0±0.09, and 45.2±0.05 days; rearing period 15.0±0.01, 12.0±0.14, 15.0±0.32, and 15.2±0.18 months; culling period 15.5±0.14, 13.0±0.06, 15.0±0.03, and 15.4±0.26 months were for layer, parent stock, hatchery, and mixed farms, respectively. Most of the layer farms had an average egg production of ≤5000/day and net profit BDT 0.75/egg. However, an average number of birds, hatchability and net profit per day-old-chick were ≤5000, 76.8% and BDT 2.75, respectively, in the hatchery. Broiler quails were sold at 30 days with mean weight of 110.8 g and net profit BDT 9.02/bird. The major constraints of quail farming were higher feed price

  12. Knowledge of Precision Farming Beneficiaries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.V. Greena

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Precision Farming is one of the many advanced farming practices that make production more efficient by better resource management and reducing wastage. TN-IAMWARM is a world bank funded project aims to improve the farm productivity and income through better water management. The present study was carried out in Kambainallur sub basin of Dharmapuri district with 120 TN-IAMWARM beneficiaries as respondents. The result indicated that more than three fourth (76.67 % of the respondents had high level of knowledge on precision farming technologies which was made possible by the implementation of TN-IAMWARM project. The study further revealed that educational status, occupational status and exposure to agricultural messages had a positive and significant contribution to the knowledge level of the respondents at 0.01 level of probability whereas experience in precision farming and social participation had a positive and significant contribution at 0.05 level of probability.

  13. 12 CFR 621.12 - Applicability and general instructions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... require. The reports shall be prepared on the accrual basis of accounting and shall fairly represent the... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Applicability and general instructions. 621.12 Section 621.12 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING...

  14. 12 CFR 614.4070 - Loans and chartered territory-Farm Credit Banks, agricultural credit banks, Federal land bank...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Loans and chartered territory-Farm Credit Banks..., provided such loans are authorized by the policies of the bank and/or association involved, do not constitute a significant shift in loan volume away from the bank or association's assigned territory, and are...

  15. Determinants of nutritional status of children in farming households ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    economic, household and child-related factors on the nutritional status of children (0-5yrs) in farming households of Oyo State, Nigeria. The study was conducted using a multistage sampling technique to select 201 mother-child pairs from 18 farming ...

  16. Total lipids and fatty acid profile in the liver of wild and farmed catla catla fish

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hassan, M.; Shaihid chatha, S. A.; Tahira, I.; Hussain, B.

    2010-07-01

    This experimental work was aimed to study the moisture content, total lipids and fatty acid profile in the liver of wild and farmed freshwater major carp Catla catla of three different weight categories designated as W{sub 1} (601-900g), W{sub 2} (901- 1200)g and W{sub 3} (1201-1500g). Seven fish specimens of each of the three weight categories of wild and farmed Catla catla were obtained from Trimu Head, Jhang and Fish Hatchery, Satiana Road and Faisalabad, respectively. The fish were dissected to remove the liver and after weighing, liver samples were prepared and subjected to chemical analysis. Wild Catla catla liver had a significantly (p <0.05) higher moisture content as compared to the farmed species. Farmed Catla catla deposited significantly (p < 0.05) higher lipid contents in liver. Proportions of saturated fatty acids varied irregularly in the lipids of the liver from both wild and farmed Catla catla. Saturated fatty acids C12:0, C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, C20:0 and C22:0 were identified with considerable percentages in the liver of Catla catla from both habitats and monounsaturated fatty acid C18:1 was found in considerable amounts in the liver of both major carp. Polyunsaturated fatty acids such as C18:3 (n-6) and C20: 2 (n-6) were detected in the liver of the wild fish of W{sub 2} and W{sub 3} and was similar in the W{sub 3} weight category of the farmed species. (Author) 22 refs.

  17. Particle morphology and magnetic properties of Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 12}O{sub 19} powder calcined conventionally and by microwave heating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kanagesan, S., E-mail: kanagu1980@gmail.com [Materials Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory (MSCL), Institute of Advanced Technology (ITMA), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor (Malaysia); Hashim, M. [Materials Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory (MSCL), Institute of Advanced Technology (ITMA), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor (Malaysia); Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor (Malaysia); Jesurani, S. [Department of Physics, Jeyaraj Annapackium College for Women, Periyakulam 625601, Tamil Nadu (India); Kalaivani, T. [Center for material science and Nano Devices, Department of Physics, SRM University, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu (India); Ismail, I.; Shafie, M.S.E. [Materials Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory (MSCL), Institute of Advanced Technology (ITMA), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor (Malaysia)

    2012-12-05

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Synthesis of Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 12}O{sub 19} by sol-gel technique. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Crystallization temperature is reduced to 900 Degree-Sign C due to the addition of D-Fructose. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Results of conventional and microwave calcined samples are reported. - Abstract: Barium strontium hexaferrite (Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 12}O{sub 19}-BSF) has been prepared by sol-gel process involving use of D-Fructose as a fuel. The prepared precursor was calcined in two different calcinations techniques conventional and microwave furnace. X-ray powder diffraction studies confirmed the formation of single phase Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 12}O{sub 19}. HR-SEM results show the morphology of the particles is hexagonal structures in platelet form. The average particle size of conventionally calcined BSF powder is 100-250 nm and that of microwave calcined powder is 30-100 nm. The broad hysteresis loop reveals that powder is well crystallized and exhibits hard magnetic properties.

  18. The profitability of automatic milking on Dutch dairy farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bijl, R; Kooistra, S R; Hogeveen, H

    2007-01-01

    Several studies have reported on the profitability of automatic milking based on different simulation models, but a data-based study using actual farm data has been lacking. The objective of this study was to analyze the profitability of dairy farms having an automatic milking system (AMS) compared with farms using a conventional milking system (CMS) based on real accounting data. In total, 62 farms (31 using an AMS and 31 using a CMS) were analyzed for the year 2003 in a case control study. Differences between the years 2002 and 2003 also were analyzed by comparing a subgroup of 16 farms with an AMS and 16 farms with a CMS. Matching was based on the time of investment in a milking system (same year), the total milk production per year, and intensity of land use (kg/ha). Results from 2003 showed that the farms with an AMS used, on average, 29% less labor than farms with a CMS. In contrast, farms using a CMS grew faster (37,132 kg of milk quota and 5 dairy cows) than farms with an AMS (-3,756 kg milk quota and 0.5 dairy cows) between 2002 and 2003. Dairy farmers with a CMS had larger (euro7,899) revenues than those with an AMS. However, no difference in the margin on dairy production was detected, partly because of numerically greater (euro6,822) variable costs on CMS farms. Dairy farms were compared financially based on the amount of money that was available for rent, depreciation, interest, labor, and profit (RDILP). The CMS farms had more money (euro15,566) available for RDILP than the AMS farms. This difference was caused by larger fixed costs (excluding labor) for the AMS farms, larger contractor costs (euro6,422), and larger costs for gas, water, and electricity (euro1,549). Differences in costs for contractors and for gas, water, and electricity were statistically significant. When expressed per full-time employee, AMS farms had greater revenues, margins, and gross margins per full-time employee than did CMS farms. This resulted in a substantially greater

  19. Farm profitability and structural challenges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jørgen Dejgård; Kristensen, Inge Toft

    2013-01-01

    The objective of the paper is to demonstrate a methodology to establish data for analysing the geographical patterns in the economic performance of farms. The methodology combines population-based agricultural register data on physical activity levels with sample-based farm economic accounts data....... Using a least-squares approach, the method estimates economic figures for each farm in the population conditional on farm size, land allocation and number of different types of livestock. The method is used for describing the spatial patterns in economic returns to agriculture, using Denmark...

  20. Cone penetrometer demonstration standard startup review checklist

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    KRIEG, S.A.

    1998-01-01

    Startup readiness for the Cone Penetrometer Demonstration in AX Tank Farm will be verified through the application of a Standard Startup Review Checklist. This is a listing of those items essential to demonstrating readiness to start the Cone Penetrometer Demonstration in AX Tank Farm

  1. Farm factors associated with the use of antibiotics in pig production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Fels-Klerx, H J; Puister-Jansen, L F; van Asselt, E D; Burgers, S L G E

    2011-06-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate farm-level economic and technical factors that are associated with the use of antibiotics on pig farms. Identification of such factors, like farm size and net farm result, may help to increase epidemiological knowledge and to specify farm advice and policy making to reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics. The study used over 300 farm-year records collected during 2004 to 2007 from pig farms in the Netherlands. Data included economic and technical factors as well as antibiotic administration. Data were statistically analyzed for factors associated with antibiotic use, both for fattening pig and sow farms (piglets only), separately. The response variable was the average number of daily dosages per average pig year. Statistical analysis was performed on 16 and 19 potential explanatory factors for the fattening pig and sow farms, respectively. The results showed that, both on the fattening pig and sow farms, the average use of antibiotics increased from 2004 to 2006, but decreased during 2007, but the effect of year was not significant (P > 0.05). Use of antibiotics varied between individual farms. Large farm repeatability for the use of antibiotics in the different years was found. Factors associated (P antibiotics included: farm system, number of pigs, and population density in the region of the farm (for sow farms only). As these factors are easy to collect and to register, they can be used to specify farm advice and investigation, as well as for policy making. The majority of the technical and economic factors were not significantly (P > 0.05) related to the on-farm use of antibiotics. Therefore, it is recommended to focus future research on the potential role of socioeconomic factors associated with antibiotic use on pig farms.

  2. Exposures Related to House Dust Microbiota in a U.S. Farming Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Mi Kyeong; Carnes, Megan U; Butz, Natasha; Azcarate-Peril, M Andrea; Richards, Marie; Umbach, David M; Thorne, Peter S; Beane Freeman, Laura E; Peddada, Shyamal D; London, Stephanie J

    2018-06-01

    Environmental factors can influence the house dust microbiota, which may impact health outcomes. Little is known about how farming exposures impact the indoor microbiota. We aimed to identify exposures related to bacterial communities in house dust in a U.S. farming population. We used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to characterize bacterial communities in vacuumed dust samples from the bedrooms of a subset of 879 households of farmers and farmers' spouses enrolled in the Agricultural Lung Health Study (ALHS), a case-control study of asthma nested within the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) in North Carolina and Iowa. Information on current farming (past 12 mo), including both crop and animal farming, and other potential microbial sources was obtained via questionnaires. We used linear regression to evaluate associations between exposures and bacterial diversity within each sample, analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) to identify exposures related to diversity between samples, and analysis of composition of microbiome to examine whether exposures related to diversity were also related to differential abundance of specific operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Current farming was positively associated with bacterial diversity in house dust, with or without adjustment for nonfarm exposures related to diversity, including presence of indoor pets, home condition, and season of dust collection. Many taxa exhibited differential abundance related to farming. Some taxa in the phyla Chloroflexi and Verrucomicrobia were associated [false discovery rate (FDR)<0.05] with farming but not with other nonfarm factors. Many taxa correlated with the concentration of house dust of endotoxin, commonly studied as a general marker of exposure to the farming environment. In this farming population, house dust microbiota differed by current farming status. Understanding the determinants of the indoor microbiota is the first step

  3. Flexible Exchange of Farming Device Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iftikhar, Nadeem; Pedersen, Torben Bach

    2011-01-01

    A new trend in the farming business is to replace conventional farming devices with computerized farming devices. Accordingly, numerous computer-based farming devices for logging, processing and exchanging data have recently been installed on moving farm machinery such as tractors. The exchange o......-directional data exchange as well as efficient requirements change management through a graphical user interface. The paper also demonstrates the use of the proposed solution based on a farming case study and open source technologies....... and systems to exchange data based on a predefined set of rules. In consequence, many hand-coded data exchange solutions have been developed in the farming business. Although efforts regarding incorporating data exchange standards have been made, their actual usage so far has been limited, due to the fact...

  4. Investigation of the Development of Farming Professional Cooperatives of Cashmere-goat and Wool-sheep in China

    OpenAIRE

    SHI, Jing; XIAO, Haifeng

    2013-01-01

    Based on the data from the survey of cashmere-goat and wool-sheep in 12 demonstration counties of China’s main producing areas in 2012, the development of farming professional cooperatives of cashmere-goat and wool-sheep was analyzed from aspects of status quo, problems and causes, and some suggestions about cooperation cognition and mode, service capacity, personnel training, system improvement and preferential policies were put forward to promote the development of the farming professiona...

  5. Multipurpose Compensation Scheme for Voltage Sag/Swell and Selective Harmonics Elimination in Distribution Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustafa Inci

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Voltage harmonics, sag, and swell are the most harmful disturbances in distribution systems. This paper introduces a novel effective controller method for simultaneous compensation of both voltage sag/swell and voltage harmonics by using multifunctional dynamic voltage restorer. In proposed controller method called FFT with integrated ISRF, ISRF detects the magnitudes of voltage sag/swell quickly and precisely, and FFT extracts the selective components of voltage harmonics very effectively. The proposed method integrates the superior properties of ISRF and FFT methods. FFT integrated ISRF is applied for the first time to provide the compensation of both sag/swell and selective harmonics together. The proposed system has ability to compensate symmetrical/asymmetrical sag/swell and symmetrical/asymmetrical selective harmonics which are 5th, 7th, 11th and 13th. The controlled system is modelled in PSCAD/EMDTC and compared with conventional methods. The performance results verify that the proposed method compensates voltage disturbances effectively in the system.

  6. Whole farm quantification of GHG emissions within smallholder farms in developing countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seebauer, Matthias

    2014-01-01

    The IPCC has compiled the best available scientific methods into published guidelines for estimating greenhouse gas emissions and emission removals from the land-use sector. In order to evaluate existing GHG quantification tools to comprehensively quantify GHG emissions and removals in smallholder conditions, farm scale quantification was tested with farm data from Western Kenya. After conducting a cluster analysis to identify different farm typologies GHG quantification was exercised using the VCS SALM methodology complemented with IPCC livestock emission factors and the cool farm tool. The emission profiles of four farm clusters representing the baseline conditions in the year 2009 are compared with 2011 where farmers adopted sustainable land management practices (SALM). The results demonstrate the variation in both the magnitude of the estimated GHG emissions per ha between different smallholder farm typologies and the emissions estimated by applying two different accounting tools. The farm scale quantification further shows that the adoption of SALM has a significant impact on emission reduction and removals and the mitigation benefits range between 4 and 6.5 tCO 2  ha −1  yr −1 with significantly different mitigation benefits depending on typologies of the crop–livestock systems, their different agricultural practices, as well as adoption rates of improved practices. However, the inherent uncertainty related to the emission factors applied by accounting tools has substantial implications for reported agricultural emissions. With regard to uncertainty related to activity data, the assessment confirms the high variability within different farm types as well as between different parameters surveyed to comprehensively quantify GHG emissions within smallholder farms. (paper)

  7. Bimatoprost 0.03%/timolol 0.5% preservative-free ophthalmic solution versus bimatoprost 0.03%/timolol 0.5% ophthalmic solution (Ganfort) for glaucoma or ocular hypertension: a 12-week randomised controlled trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Ivan; Gil Pina, Rafael; Lanzagorta-Aresti, Aitor; Schiffman, Rhett M; Liu, Charlie; Bejanian, Marina

    2014-01-01

    Aim To compare the efficacy and safety of single-dose bimatoprost 0.03%/timolol 0.5% preservative-free (PF) ophthalmic solution with bimatoprost 0.03%/timolol 0.5% ophthalmic solution in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Methods In this multicentre, randomised, parallel-group study, patients were randomised to bimatoprost/timolol PF or bimatoprost/timolol once daily in the morning for 12 weeks. Primary efficacy endpoints, reflecting differing regional regulatory requirements, included change from baseline in worse eye intraocular pressure (IOP) in the per-protocol population at week 12, and the average eye IOP at weeks 2, 6 and 12 in the intent-to-treat population. Results 561 patients were randomised (278 to bimatoprost/timolol PF; 283 to bimatoprost/timolol); 96.3% completed the study. Both treatment groups showed statistically and clinically significant mean decreases from baseline in worse eye IOP and in average eye IOP at all follow-up time points (p<0.001). Bimatoprost/timolol PF met all pre-established criteria for non-inferiority and equivalence to bimatoprost/timolol. Ocular adverse events were similar between treatment groups, with conjunctival hyperaemia being the most frequent. Most were mild or moderate in severity. Conclusions Bimatoprost/timolol PF demonstrated non-inferiority and equivalence in IOP lowering compared with bimatoprost/timolol, with no significant differences in safety and tolerability. Trial registration number NCT01177098. PMID:24667994

  8. Effect of Farm on Productive and Reproductive Performance in Sows of Prestice Black-pied Pig

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavel Nevrkla

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to evaluate productive and reproductive performance of Prestice Black‑Pied sows including losses of piglets from birth to weaning in conditions of two farms. The experiment involved one hundred sows of Prestice Black‑Pied pig from the 1st to the 7th parity (50 from farm A and 50 from farm B. The evaluation of productive parameters revealed a highly statistically significant difference (P ≤ 0.001 between gilts of the observed farms in percentage of lean meat. Backfat thickness was 0.19 cm lower in gilts from the farm A, which is a very highly statistically significant difference (P ≤ 0.001. The evaluation of reproductive performance showed, that age at the time of the first insemination and farrowing was significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05 in gilts from the farm A compared to gilts from the farm B by 38 days on average. The analysis also indicates that there was no significant difference in length of gestation, total number of piglets and numbers of live-born and reared piglets between the sows of the evaluated farms. A highly statistically significant difference (P ≤ 0.01 was found in number of stillborn piglets. Interval length was significantly longer (P ≤ 0.05 in sows from the farm A, by 14.29 days. The evaluation of losses of piglets revealed a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05 between the farms in favor of piglets from the farm A.

  9. Magnetoelectric effect of (1-x) Ba0.5Sr0.5Zr0.5Ti0.5O3+(x) Ni0.12Mg0.18Cu0.2Zn0.5Fe2O4 composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahaman, Md. D.; Saha, S. K.; Ahmed, T. N.; Saha, D. K.; Hossain, A. K. M. Akther

    2014-12-01

    The magnetoelectric composites with chemical compositions (1-x) Ba0.5Sr0.5Zr0.5Ti0.5O3+(x) Ni0.12Mg0.18Cu0.2Zn0.5Fe2O4 (x=20, 40, 60 and 80 wt%) was prepared by the conventional solid state reaction method. The presence of a biphase composition was confirmed by X-ray diffraction while the microstructure of the composites was studied by scanning electron microscopy revealing a good mixing of the two phases and a good densification of the bulk ceramics. The dielectric dispersion is observed at lower frequencies due to interfacial polarization arising from the interface of the two phases. At higher frequencies, the dielectric constant is almost constant due to the inability of electric dipoles to follow the first variation of the alternating applied electric field. The dielectric loss shows maxima which are attributed when the hopping frequency of electrons between different ionic sites becomes nearly equal to the frequency of the applied field. The linearity in the log(σAC) vs. log(ω2) plots confirmed the small polaron hopping type of conduction mechanism. The composite materials are found to exhibit an excellent frequency dependence of magnetic properties. In the high frequency range, with increasing ferrite concentration the initial permeability increases and cut-off frequency decreases. An optimal magnetoelectric coupling responding voltage of about 600 μV cm-1 Oe-1 is obtained for x=20 wt% at room temperature.

  10. T Tank Farm Interim Surface Barrier Demonstration -- Vadose Zone Monitoring FY07 Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Z. F.; Strickland, Christopher E.; Keller, Jason M.; Wittreich, Curtis D.; Sydnor, Harold A.

    2008-01-01

    CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. is currently in the process of constructing a temporary surface barrier over a portion of the T Tank Farm as part of the T farm Interim Surface Barrier Demonstration Project. The surface barrier is designed to prevent the infiltration of precipitation into the contaminated soil zone created by the Tank T-106 leak and minimize movement of the contamination. As part of the demonstration effort, vadose zone moisture monitoring is being performed to assess the effectiveness of the barrier at reducing soil moisture. A solar-powered and remotely-controlled system was installed to continuously monitor soil water conditions in four instrument nests (i.e., A, B, C, and D) and the site meteorological condition. Each instrument nest was composed of a capacitance probe with multiple sensors, multiple heat-dissipation units, a neutron probe access tube and a datalogger. Nests A and B also contained a drain gauge each. The principle variables monitored for this purpose are soil-water content, soil-water pressure, and soil-water flux. In addition to these, soil temperature, precipitation, and air temperature are measured. Data from each of the dataloggers were transmitted remotely to the receiving computer. The neutron probe access tube was used to perform quarterly manual measurements of soil-water content using a neutron probe. This monitoring system was used to assess the soil water conditions in the soil outside and within the footprint of the surface barrier to be emplaced in the Hanford T Tank Farm. Data to date is baseline under the condition without the interim surface barrier in place. All the instruments except the two drain gauges were functional in FY07. The capacitance-probe measurements showed that the soil-moisture content at relatively shallow depths (e.g., 0.6 and 0.9 m) was increasing since October 2006 and reached the highest in early January 2007 followed by a slight decrease. Soil-moisture contents at the depths of 1.3 m and

  11. Offshore wind farm Bockstigen - installation and operation experience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lange, B [Risoe National Lab., Wind Energy and Atmospheric Physics Dept., Roskilde (Denmark); Aagaard, E; Andersen, P E; Moeller, A [Wind World af 1997 A/S, Noerresundby (Denmark); Niklasson, S; Wickman, A [Vindkompaniet, Degerhamn (Sweden)

    1999-03-01

    The first Swedish offshore wind farm Bockstigen is operating since March 1998 near the coast of Gotland. It was built as a demonstration project by the Swedish wind farm developer Vindkompaniet, the Danish wind turbine manufacturer Wind World and the British offshore construction company Seacore and partly funded under the EU-THERMIE program. Bockstigen is the fourth offshore wind farm world-wide. While at previous wind farms the main emphasis laid on the demonstration of the technical feasibility of offshore wind energy utilisation, Bockstigen was aimed at demonstrating its economic viability. A number of innovative concepts have been employed: Drilled monopile foundations were used to save costs. A new construction method has been applied making use of a jack-up barge. A new control system for the turbines and the whole wind farm was developed, which controls the maximum power output, the flicker and the reactive power consumption depending on online measurements of the actual grid state. These new developments have been implemented successfully. A substantial cost reduction compared to previous offshore projects could be achieved. (au)

  12. Assessing food security status among farming households in Ibadan ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... relative to urban farming practices was found to influence the food security status of the respondents. This is justified from the χ2 value of 9.263 and 6.443 returned for this factor and which is significant at 0.05 level of significance. Keywords: Food security; Odds; Urban farming. Moor Journal of Agricultural Research Vol.

  13. A survey of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) farming in selected areas of Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasar, Abu; Rahman, Aminoor; Hoque, Nazmul; Kumar Talukder, Anup; Das, Ziban Chandra

    2016-09-01

    To investigate the status, problems and prospects of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) farming in selected areas of Bangladesh. The study was conducted in 14 districts of Bangladesh, viz., Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Mymensingh, Netrakona, Faridpur, Jessore, Khulna, Satkhira, Kushtia, Bogra, Naogaon, Comilla, and Sylhet during the period from July 2011 to June 2012. A total of 52 quail farmers were interviewed for data collection using a structured questionnaire. Focus group discussions were also carried out with unsuccessful farmers and those want to start quail farming. Workers of quail farms, quail feeds and medicine suppliers, quail eggs and meat sellers were also interviewed regarding the issue. Out of 52 farms, 86.5% were operated by male, 67.3% farmers did not receive any training and 92.3% farmers had no earlier experience of quail farming although 58.0% farmers primary occupation was quail farming. Most of the farms (63.4%) were mixed in type having ≤5000 birds of two or three varieties. About 80.7% farms were operated separately round the year with no other poultry and 83.0% farmers wanted to expand their farming. The average pullet weight 145.0±0.12, 110.0±0.07, 120.0±0.22, and 128.0±0.17 g; age at the first lay 46.0±0.04, 42.0±0.31, 42.0±0.09, and 45.2±0.05 days; rearing period 15.0±0.01, 12.0±0.14, 15.0±0.32, and 15.2±0.18 months; culling period 15.5±0.14, 13.0±0.06, 15.0±0.03, and 15.4±0.26 months were for layer, parent stock, hatchery, and mixed farms, respectively. Most of the layer farms had an average egg production of ≤5000/day and net profit BDT 0.75/egg. However, an average number of birds, hatchability and net profit per day-old-chick were ≤5000, 76.8% and BDT 2.75, respectively, in the hatchery. Broiler quails were sold at 30 days with mean weight of 110.8 g and net profit BDT 9.02/bird. The major constraints of quail farming were higher feed price, outbreak of endemic diseases, lack of proper knowledge

  14. Characterization of pig farms in Hung Yen, Hai Duong and Bac Ninh provinces

    OpenAIRE

    Nguyen Van Duy; Vu Dinh; Dang Vu, Binh; Vo Trong, Thanh; Nguyen Cong, oanh; Phan Van, Chung

    2007-01-01

    In order to characterization of pig farms in the Red River Delta, a study was conducted on 90 pig farms in Hung Yen, Hai Duong and Bac Ninh provinces from June to December 2006. Results show that most of the pig farms had been built for five years with a small size (0.5 hectare per farm). The invested capital was about 300-400 millions VND per farm. Four main sow groups used in the farms included crossbred exotic sows (51.1%), crossbred sow between local and exotic breeds (14.4%), purebred La...

  15. Wind Farm Wake

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hasager, Charlotte Bay; Karagali, Ioanna; Volker, Patrick

    2017-01-01

    On 25 January 2016 at 12:45 UTC several photographs of the offshore wind farm Horns Rev 2 were taken by helicopter pilot Gitte Lundorff with an iPhone. A very shallow layer of fog covered the sea. The photos of the fog over the sea dramatically pictured the offshore wind farm wake. Researchers got...... together to investigate the atmospheric conditions at the time of the photos by analysing local meteorological observations and wind turbine information, satellite remote sensing and nearby radiosonde data. Two wake models and one mesoscale model were used to model the case and explain what was seen....

  16. Fish production and some traits of meat quality in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss farmed in different production systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    St. Stoyanova

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, an important species in Bulgarian aquaculture, is farmed in different production systems as raceways, net cages etc. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of two different rearing systems on fish production, survival rate, meat chemical, mineral composition and farming economic efficiency of culticated rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss. The information from a survey on fish production and economic efficiency traits was collected from two national rainbow trout farms using the two commonest fish farming systems: in raceways, Happy Fish Ltd fish farm and in net cages, Forest Group Ltd fish farm. The average individual weight gain (g, total weight gain (kg, feed conversion ratio, production costs of 1 kg fish and the economic efficiency coefficients were determined for the two studied fish farms. The final live weight of rainbow trout in net cages was 0.30 kg vs 0.35 kg in raceways. The average individual weight gain was higher in raceways farming system (0.30 kg than in net cages farm (0.26 kg. The mortality rate of fish in raceways was considerably lower: only 1% as compared to that in net cages (4%. The feed conversion ratio at the end of the experiment showed identical values for trout in both farms 1.01. The meat water content of fish reared in raceways and net cages was 77.46±0.65% and 74.52±0.52% respectively (P≤0.01.The protein content of fish meat was higher in fish farmed in net cages 18.84±0.29% as compared to fish cultivated in raceways 17.60±0.49% (P 0.05. Meat fat content of rainbow trout, reared in the net cage system was also considerably higher (5.26±0.30% than the respective parameter in fish farmed in ponds (3.60±0.15% (P≤0.001. The content of Ca and P was higher in rainbow trouts reared in raceways (138.96±1.12 mg.kg and 2844.32±39.31 mg.kg 1 -1 -1 compared with the values of these parameters of fish in net cages (134.46±1.96 mg.kg and 2690.31±42

  17. 12 CFR 615.5136 - Emergencies impeding normal access of Farm Credit banks to capital markets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Credit banks to capital markets. 615.5136 Section 615.5136 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION... Investment Management § 615.5136 Emergencies impeding normal access of Farm Credit banks to capital markets... defense crisis could impede the normal access of Farm Credit banks to the capital markets. Whenever the...

  18. Offshore wind farm repowering optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hou, Peng; Enevoldsen, Peter; Hu, Weihao

    2017-01-01

    is focused on optimization of offshore wind farm repowering, which is one option for the wind farm owner at end of life for the offshore wind farm. The LCoE is used as the evaluation index to identify whether it is economical to invest in such a way. In an optimized repowering strategy, different types...... of wind turbines are selected to replace the original wind turbines to reconstruct the wind farm, which is demonstrated to be better than the refurbishment approach which replaces the old wind turbines with the same type. The simulations performed in this research reveal that the reconstructed wind farm......, which consists of multiple types of wind turbine, has a smaller LCoE (10.43%) than the refurbishment approach, which shows the superiority of the proposed method. This research contributes an optimization tool to the wind industry, which consequently drives down the cost of energy produced by offshore...

  19. Coccidia infections in Danish farmed mink

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Heidi Huus; Hansen, Mette Sif; Chriél, Mariann

    day (April-October 2016) from bitches and cups on 30 farms (n=335 mink) from South- or North Jutland, or Zealand. Minimum once, 60.9% (n=204) mink excreted Eimeria, 56.7% (n=190) Isospora and 20.9% (n=70) excreted both coccidia. Positive mink were identified on all farms. Eimeria prevalence was higher...... on the Zealand farms (25.4±2.2%, PEimeria prevalence peaked in June-July (12.6%-24.9%), while Isospora prevalence peaked in July-August (12.......1%-27.6%). More cups (19.5%) than bitches (4.6%) were Isospora positive, while Eimeria prevalence was similar for cups (15.7%) and bitches (10.5%). For cups, Eimeria prevalence peaked when cups were 7-11 weeks old and again when 18-24 weeks old. Isospora prevalence peaked in cups 13-15 weeks old. Three Eimeria...

  20. Bimatoprost 0.03%/timolol 0.5% preservative-free ophthalmic solution versus bimatoprost 0.03%/timolol 0.5% ophthalmic solution (Ganfort) for glaucoma or ocular hypertension: a 12-week randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Ivan; Gil Pina, Rafael; Lanzagorta-Aresti, Aitor; Schiffman, Rhett M; Liu, Charlie; Bejanian, Marina

    2014-07-01

    To compare the efficacy and safety of single-dose bimatoprost 0.03%/timolol 0.5% preservative-free (PF) ophthalmic solution with bimatoprost 0.03%/timolol 0.5% ophthalmic solution in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. In this multicentre, randomised, parallel-group study, patients were randomised to bimatoprost/timolol PF or bimatoprost/timolol once daily in the morning for 12 weeks. Primary efficacy endpoints, reflecting differing regional regulatory requirements, included change from baseline in worse eye intraocular pressure (IOP) in the per-protocol population at week 12, and the average eye IOP at weeks 2, 6 and 12 in the intent-to-treat population. 561 patients were randomised (278 to bimatoprost/timolol PF; 283 to bimatoprost/timolol); 96.3% completed the study. Both treatment groups showed statistically and clinically significant mean decreases from baseline in worse eye IOP and in average eye IOP at all follow-up time points (p<0.001). Bimatoprost/timolol PF met all pre-established criteria for non-inferiority and equivalence to bimatoprost/timolol. Ocular adverse events were similar between treatment groups, with conjunctival hyperaemia being the most frequent. Most were mild or moderate in severity. Bimatoprost/timolol PF demonstrated non-inferiority and equivalence in IOP lowering compared with bimatoprost/timolol, with no significant differences in safety and tolerability. NCT01177098. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  1. 46 CFR 12.05-9 - Examination and demonstration of ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... compass, either by degrees or points according to his experience; running lights, passing signals, and fog... bearing this endorsement without additional professional examination. The applicant shall surrender for cancellation the credential bearing the limited endorsement. No physical examination will be required at the...

  2. On-Farm Demonstrations with a Set of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs Proved Cost-Effective in Reducing Pre-Harvest Aflatoxin Contamination in Groundnut

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vijayaraju Parimi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Aflatoxin contamination in groundnut is an important qualitative issue posing a threat to food safety. In our present study, we have demonstrated the efficacy of certain good agricultural practices (GAPs in groundnut, such as farmyard manure (5 t/ha, gypsum (500 kg/ha, a protective irrigation at 90 days after sowing (DAS, drying of pods on tarpaulins after harvest in farmers’ fields. During 2013–2015, 89 on-farm demonstrations were conducted advocating GAPs, and compared with farmers’ practices (FP plots. Farmers’ awareness of GAPs, and knowledge on important aspects of groundnut cultivation, were also assessed during our experimentation in the selected villages under study. Pre-harvest kernel infection by Aspergillus flavus, aflatoxin contamination, and pod yields were compared in GAPs plots, vis-à-vis FP plots. The cost of cultivation in both the plots was calculated and compared, based on farmer’s opinion surveys. Results indicate kernel infections and aflatoxins were significantly lower, with 13–58% and 62–94% reduction, respectively, in GAPs plots over FP. Further, a net gain of around $23 per acre was realized through adoption of GAPs by farmers besides quality improvement of groundnuts. Based on our results, it can be concluded that on-farm demonstrations were the best educative tool to convince the farmers about the cost-effectiveness, and adoptability of aflatoxin management technologies.

  3. Microbial Air Contamination in Indoor and Outdoor Environment of Pig Farms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvana Popescu

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Ensuring a good air quality in pig farms is important for the health of animals and human workers. The aim of this study was the assessment of the microbiological quality of the air inside the pig houses and outside of these. The study was accomplished in two pig-fattening farms in Cluj County. The microbiological air quality was assessed in the cold and warm season, by determination of the total counts of mesophilic bacteria, staphylococci, streptococci, gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The bacterial and fungal counts varied in the air of the investigated farms. In relation to the season the mean counts of bacteria and fungi were significantly higher (P 0.05 were found between the values of the parameters determined from the indoor air and those obtained outside, from a distance of 5 m from the pig houses. The numbers of the bacteria and fungi in the outdoor air lowered as the distance from the farms increased, the differences being significant at 25 and 50 m (P < 0.05. The results of the study show a high bacterial contamination of the indoor and outdoor air of the pig farms.

  4. impacts of alternative farm policies on rural communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    J. Michael Bowker; James W. Richardson

    1989-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe an LP/IO model for evaluating the economic impacts of alternative farm policies on rural communities and demonstrate its capabilities by analyzing the impacts of three farm policies on a rural community in Texas. Results indicate that in the noncrop sector, two groups of industries are most affected by farm policy. The first...

  5. Farm Population Estimates for 1977. Rural Development Research Report No. 4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banks, Vera J.

    The U.S. farm population continued its long-term downward trend during 1977, indicating that the population growth characteristic of nonmetropolitan counties since 1970 has not extended to population living on farms. In the 12-month period centered on April 1977, the farm population was 7,806,000, or 450,000 fewer farm residents (5.4%) than in…

  6. TOPFARM wind farm optimization tool

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Réthoré, Pierre-Elouan; Fuglsang, Peter; Larsen, Torben J.

    A wind farm optimization framework is presented in detail and demonstrated on two test cases: 1) Middelgrunden and 2) Stags Holt/Coldham. A detailed flow model describing the instationary flow within a wind farm is used together with an aeroelastic model to determine production and fatigue loading...... of wind farm wind turbines. Based on generic load cases, the wind farm production and fatigue evaluations are subsequently condensed in a large pre-calculated database for rapid calculation of lifetime equivalent loads and energy production in the optimization loop.. The objective function defining....... The Middelgrunden test case resulted in an improvement of the financial balance of 2.1 M€ originating from a very large increase in the energy production value of 9.3 M€ mainly counterbalanced by increased electrical grid costs. The Stags Holt/Coldham test case resulted in an improvement of the financial balance...

  7. On-farm impact of cattle slurry manure management on biological soil quality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goede, de R.G.M.; Brussaard, L.; Akkermans, A.D.L.

    2003-01-01

    The effects of dairy cattle slurry management on soil biota, soil respiration and nitrogen (N) mineralization were evaluated in a farm trial across 12 farms and a field experiment on 2 farms located in a dairy farming area in the north of the Netherlands. The slurry management consisted of slit

  8. The effects of farm management practices on liver fluke prevalence and the current internal parasite control measures employed on Irish dairy farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selemetas, Nikolaos; Phelan, Paul; O'Kiely, Padraig; de Waal, Theo

    2015-01-30

    Fasciolosis caused by Fasciola hepatica is responsible for major production losses in cattle farms. The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of farm management practices on liver fluke prevalence on Irish dairy farms and to document the current control measures against parasitic diseases. In total, 369 dairy farms throughout Ireland were sampled from October to December 2013, each providing a single bulk tank milk (BTM) sample for liver fluke antibody-detection ELISA testing and completing a questionnaire on their farm management. The analysis of samples showed that cows on 78% (n=288) of dairy farms had been exposed to liver fluke. There was a difference (P0.05) between positive and negative farms in (a) the grazing of dry cows together with replacement cows, (b) whether or not grazed grassland was mowed for conservation, (c) the type of drinking water provision system, (d) spreading of cattle manure on grassland or (e) for grazing season length (GSL; mean=262.5 days). Also, there were differences (Pmanagement practices between Irish farms with dairy herds exposed or not exposed to liver fluke and stressed the need of fine-scale mapping of the disease patterns even at farm level to increase the accuracy of risk models. Also, comprehensive advice and professional support services to farmers on appropriate farm management practices are very important for an effective anthelmintic control strategy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Prevalence of Coccidiosis in Broiler Chicken Farms in Western Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jamal Gharekhani

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The main goal of current study was to investigate the prevalence of coccidiosis in broiler farms in Hamedan province, western Iran. Chicks and fecal samples were collected in all of the 220 broiler farms in this region. All viscera were examined for gross pathological changes. The mucosa of small intestine and the caeca were examined for the presence and identification of parasitic forms using parasitology methods. The overall rate of coccidiosis was 31.8%; E. acervulina (75.7%, E. tenella (54.3%, E. necatrix (28.6%, and E. maxima (20% were determined. Mixed infections were observed in all of the positive farms. There was a statistical significant difference (P0.05. This is the first report of coccidiosis rate in broiler farms in this region. Further additional researches and design control strategies for improving management in farms are necessary.

  10. Farm and cow-level prevalence of bovine digital dermatitis on dairy farms in Taranaki, New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, D A; Heuer, C; Laven, R; Vink, W D; Chesterton, R N

    2017-09-01

    The aims of this cross-sectional study were to investigate the herd and cow-level prevalence of bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) in dairy farms in the northern Taranaki region of New Zealand, and to identify whether there was any spatial clustering of herds with the disease. A survey of 224 dairy farms in the northern Taranaki region of New Zealand was undertaken from September 2014 to February 2015. Following training in robust criteria to confirm BDD visually, a technician inspected the rear feet of every milking cow on the farms during milking. The identity of cows with lesions and the feet involved were recorded. The proportion of cows affected among the inspected population (cow-level prevalence), the proportion of a herd affected (farm-level prevalence), and proportion of farms with ≥1 cow with lesions, were calculated. A bivariate K function analysis was then used to assess whether farms with ≥1 cow with lesions were clustered, after accounting for the distribution of the farms involved in the study. Bovine digital dermatitis lesions were observed on 143/224 (63.8 (95% CI=57.5-70.1)%) farms. Within-farm prevalence was 0% on 81 (36.2%) farms, between >0 and cow-level prevalence was 707/60,455 (1.2 (95% CI=0.9-3.0)%), and on affected farms was 707/41,116 (1.7 (95% CI=1.4-2.1)%). In affected cows, 268/707 (37.9%) had a lesion on left foot only, 262/707 (37.1%) on the right foot only and 177/707 (25.0%) on both feet. The K function analysis showed no evidence of clustering of farms with BDD. Bovine digital dermatitis was widespread among the survey farms, but there was no evidence that there was any clustering of herds with BDD. The cow-level prevalence on affected farms was much lower than reported elsewhere. Although the prevalence at the cow level was low, if these data are representative of other regions of New Zealand, BDD could easily become a major problem on dairy farms in New Zealand, as has been observed in other countries.

  11. Adherence to Dietary Recommendations Is Associated with Acculturation among Latino Farm Workers12

    OpenAIRE

    Matias, Susana L.; Stoecklin-Marois, Maria T.; Tancredi, Daniel J.; Schenker, Marc B.

    2013-01-01

    We examined adherence to dietary recommendations on fruit/vegetable and fat intake and identified correlates with acculturation indicators as well as with family, lifestyle, and occupational factors in a farm worker cohort in central California. Interviewer-administered questionnaires for this cross-sectional study were completed from January 2006 to April 2007. Participants were 18- to 55-y-old Latinos living in Mendota in a farm worker household. We assessed fruit/vegetable consumption and ...

  12. Comparisons of management practices and farm design on Australian commercial layer and meat chicken farms: Cage, barn and free range.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Angela Bullanday; Singh, Mini; Toribio, Jenny-Ann; Hernandez-Jover, Marta; Barnes, Belinda; Glass, Kathryn; Moloney, Barbara; Lee, Amanda; Groves, Peter

    2017-01-01

    There are few published studies describing the unique management practices, farm design and housing characteristics of commercial meat chicken and layer farms in Australia. In particular, there has been a large expansion of free range poultry production in Australia in recent years, but limited information about this enterprise exists. This study aimed to describe features of Australian commercial chicken farms, with particular interest in free range farms, by conducting on-farm interviews of 25 free range layer farms, nine cage layer farms, nine barn layer farms, six free range meat chicken farms and 15 barn meat chicken farms in the Sydney basin bioregion and South East Queensland. Comparisons between the different enterprises (cage, barn and free range) were explored, including stocking densities, depopulation procedures, environmental control methods and sources of information for farmers. Additional information collected for free range farms include range size, range characteristics and range access. The median number of chickens per shed was greatest in free range meat chicken farms (31,058), followed by barn meat chicken (20,817), free range layer (10,713), barn layer (9,300) and cage layer farms (9,000). Sheds had cooling pads and tunnel ventilation in just over half of both barn and free range meat chicken farms (53%, n = 8) and was least common in free range layer farms (16%, n = 4). Range access in free range meat chicken farms was from sunrise to dark in the majority (93%, n = 14) of free range meat chicken farms. Over half of free range layer farms (56%, n = 14) granted range access at a set time each morning; most commonly between 9:00 to 10.00am (86%, n = 12), and chickens were placed back inside sheds when it was dusk.

  13. Fun on the Farm: Evaluation of a Lesson to Teach Students about the Spread of Infection on School Farm Visits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawking, Meredith K. D.; Lecky, Donna M.; Verlander, Neville Q.; McNulty, Cliodna A. M.

    2013-01-01

    Background School visits to farms are a positive educational experience but pose risks due to the spread of zoonotic infections. A lesson plan to raise awareness about microbes on the farm and preventative behaviours was developed in response to the Griffin Investigation into the E. coli outbreak associated with Godstone Farm in 2009. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the delivery of the lesson plan in increasing knowledge about the spread of infection on the farm, amongst school students. Methods Two hundred and twenty-five 9–11 year old students from seven junior schools in England participated. Two hundred and ten students filled in identical questionnaires covering microbes, hand hygiene, and farm hygiene before and after the lesson. Statistical analysis assessed knowledge change using difference in percentage correct answers. Results Significant knowledge improvement was observed for all sections. In the ‘Farm Hygiene’ section, girls and boys demonstrated 18% (plesson plan was successful at increasing awareness of microbes on the farm and infection prevention measures and should be used by teachers in preparation for a farm visit. PMID:24146765

  14. Seasonal comparison of wild and farmed brown trout (Salmo trutta forma fario L., 1758): crude lipid, gonadosomatic index and fatty acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaya, Yalçin; Erdem, Mehmet Emіn

    2009-08-01

    Brown trout is one of the most preferred wild freshwater fish species in the east Black Sea region (Turkey) due to its nutritional value and palatable aroma as well as being popular for sport fishing. In this research, seasonal variations in the crude lipid, gonadosomatic index and fatty acid composition of wild and farmed brown trout were investigated. The spawning period of wild and farmed brown trout appears to be from August to October and from October to January, respectively. The mean crude lipid content in farmed brown trout (3.62%) was significantly higher (P≤0.05) than that of wild brown trout (2.80%). Significant seasonal differences (P≤0.05) in crude lipid content were observed in both fish. The percentage of total saturated fatty acids was similar (P≥0.05) in both fish. Total polyunsaturated fatty acids were higher (P≤0.05) in the wild brown trout compared with the farmed brown trout, while its total monounsaturated fatty acids content was lower (P≤0.05). The muscle lipids of wild fish contained significantly (P≤0.05) higher percentages of C16:1n-7, C17:1n-7, C18:3n-3, C20:2n-6, C20:4n-6, C20:5n-3 and C22:2n-6 fatty acids and contained lower percentages of C14:0, C18:1n-9, C18:2n-6, C20:1n-9, C24:1n-9 and C22:6n-3 fatty acids than farmed fish. The total amounts of n-3 fatty acids in wild fish were higher than in farmed fish, but total amounts of n-6 fatty acids in farmed fish were higher than in wild fish. The n3/n6 proportion in wild fish was higher than that of farmed fish.

  15. Vertical bifacial solar farms: Physics, design, and global optimization

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, M. Ryyan; Hanna, Amir; Sun, Xingshu; Alam, Muhammad A.

    2017-01-01

    10–20% more energy than a traditional monofacial farm for a practical row-spacing of 2 m (corresponding to 1.2 m high panels). With the prospect of additional 5–20% energy gain from reduced soiling and tilt optimization, bifacial solar farm do offer a

  16. Analyses to demonstrate the thermal performance of the CASTOR KN12

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diersch, R.; Weiss, M.; Tso, C.F.; Powell, D.; Choy, B.I.; Lee, H.Y.

    2004-01-01

    The CASTOR registered KN-12 is a new cask design of GNB for dry and wet transportation of up to 12 PWR spent nuclear fuel assemblies in Korea. It complies with the requirements of 10 CFR 71 [1] and IAEA ST-1 [2] for TYPE B(U)F packages. It received its transport license from the Korean Competent Authority KINS in July 2002 and is now in use in South Korea. Demonstration of the cask's compliance with the regulatory requirements in the area of thermal performance has been carried out by a combination of testing carried out by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and analyses carried out by Arup. This paper describes the analyses to demonstrate the thermal performance of the cask and compliance with regulatory requirements under normal and hypothetical accident conditions of transport. Other aspects of the design of the CASTOR registered KN12 are presented in other papers at this conference

  17. Greenhouse gas balance of mountain dairy farms as affected by grassland carbon sequestration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvador, Sara; Corazzin, Mirco; Romanzin, Alberto; Bovolenta, Stefano

    2017-07-01

    Recent studies on milk production have often focused on environmental impacts analysed using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. In grassland-based livestock systems, soil carbon sequestration might be a potential sink to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) balance. Nevertheless, there is no commonly shared methodology. In this work, the GHG emissions of small-scale mountain dairy farms were assessed using the LCA approach. Two functional units, kg of Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM) and Utilizable Agricultural Land (UAL), and two different emissions allocations methods, no allocation and physical allocation, which accounts for the co-product beef, were considered. Two groups of small-scale dairy farms were identified based on the Livestock Units (LU) reared: 30 LU (HLU). Before considering soil carbon sequestration in LCA, performing no allocation methods, LLU farms tended to have higher GHG emission than HLU farms per kg of FPCM (1.94 vs. 1.59 kg CO 2 -eq/kg FPCM, P ≤ 0.10), whereas the situation was reversed upon considering the m 2 of UAL as a functional unit (0.29 vs. 0.89 kg CO 2 -eq/m 2 , P ≤ 0.05). Conversely, considering physical allocation, the difference between the two groups became less noticeable. When the contribution from soil carbon sequestration was included in the LCA and no allocation method was performed, LLU farms registered higher values of GHG emission per kg of FPCM than HLU farms (1.38 vs. 1.10 kg CO 2 -eq/kg FPCM, P ≤ 0.05), and the situation was likewise reversed in this case upon considering the m 2 of UAL as a functional unit (0.22 vs. 0.73 kg CO 2 -eq/m 2 , P ≤ 0.05). To highlight how the presence of grasslands is crucial for the carbon footprint of small-scale farms, this study also applied a simulation for increasing the forage self-sufficiency of farms to 100%. In this case, an average reduction of GHG emission per kg of FPCM of farms was estimated both with no allocation and with physical allocation

  18. Treatment options for tank farms long-length contaminated equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Josephson, W.S.

    1995-01-01

    This study evaluated a variety of treatment and disposal technologies for mixed waste (MW) meeting the following criteria: 1. Single-Shell and Double-Shell Tank System (tank farms) equipment and other debris; 2. length greater than 12 feet; and contaminated with listed MW from the tank farms. This waste stream, commonly referred to as tank farms long-length contaminated equipment (LLCE), poses a unique and costly set of challenges during all phases of the waste management lifecycle

  19. Effects of hand-hoe tilled conservation farming on soil quality and carbon stocks under on-farm conditions in Zambia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martinsen, V; Shitumbanuma, V; Mulder, J

    2017-01-01

    Conservation farming (CF) has been promoted in Zambia since the 1980s. Despite long-term practice of CF in Zambia, its effect on soil fertility, including the storage of soil organic matter (SOM), on smallholder farms are inconclusive. Here, we assess the effect of CF as compared to conventional....... Overall, our results show small differences in the soil quality parameters between the CF and conventional practices at smallholder farms after maximum 12 years since adoption of CF....... tillage on soil quality parameters on smallholder farms in the Eastern province (EP, 20 sites, two to six years of CF) and Central province (CP, 20 sites, four to twelve years of CF) in Zambia. Soils under CF (minimum tillage hoe basins, crop rotation and residue retention) were compared with adjacent...

  20. A radiation transfer model for the Milky Way: I. Radiation fields and application to high-energy astrophysics★

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popescu, C. C.; Yang, R.; Tuffs, R. J.; Natale, G.; Rushton, M.; Aharonian, F.

    2017-09-01

    We present a solution for the ultraviolet - submillimetre (submm) interstellar radiation fields (ISRFs) of the Milky Way (MW), derived from modelling COBE, IRAS and Planck maps of the all-sky emission in the near-, mid-, far-infrared and submm. The analysis uses the axisymmetric radiative transfer model that we have previously implemented to model the panchromatic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of star-forming galaxies in the nearby universe, but with a new methodology allowing for optimization of the radial and vertical geometry of stellar emissivity and dust opacity, as deduced from the highly resolved emission seen from the vantage point of the Sun. As such, this is the first self-consistent model of the broad-band continuum emission from the MW. In this paper, we present model predictions for the spatially integrated SED of the MW as seen from the Sun, showing good agreement with the data, and give a detailed description of the solutions for the distribution of ISRFs, as well as their physical origin, throughout the volume of the galaxy. We explore how the spatial and spectral distributions of our new predictions for the ISRF in the MW affects the amplitude and spectral distributions of the gamma rays produced via inverse Compton scattering for cosmic ray (CR) electrons situated at different positions in the galaxy, as well as the attenuation of the gamma rays due to interactions of the gamma-ray photons with photons of the ISRF. We also compare and contrast our solutions for the ISRF with those incorporated in the galprop package used for modelling the high-energy emission from CR in the MW.

  1. Prevalence and distribution of Listeria monocytogenes serotypes and pulsotypes in sows and fattening pigs in farrow-to-finish farms (France, 2008).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boscher, Evelyne; Houard, Emmanuelle; Denis, Martine

    2012-05-01

    This study was undertaken to acquire new data on the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in sows and fattening pigs in farrow-to-finish pig farms, and to analyze distribution of serotypes and genotypes of the bacterium within farms. Detection of L. monocytogenes was carried out on 730 pooled feces samples from sows in 73 pig farms and on 172 pooled feces samples from fattening pigs in 43 of these farms. Isolates were serotyped and typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. For sows, 46% of the farms and 11% of the samples were positive for L. monocytogenes. A total of 124 isolates were collected and distributed in four serotypes: 1/2a (41%), 1/2b (36%), 4b (21%), and 1/2c (2%). Positive farms harbored one to three serotypes. The genetic diversity was high; 51 genetic profiles were obtained with 25, 16, 9, and 1 for the serotypes 1/2a, 1/2b, 4b, and 1/2c, respectively. Positive farms harbored 1 to 6 genetic profiles. Isolates showing similar genotypes occurred in several farms. For fattening pigs, 25% of the farms and 14.5% of the samples were positive for L. monocytogenes. The 34 isolates belonged to four serotypes: 1/2a (32%), 1/2b (41%), 4b (24%), and 1/2c (3%). They were distributed in 20 genotypes: 6 for 1/2a; 8 for 1/2b, 5 for 4b, and 1 for 1/2c. Similar serotypes and pulsotypes were recovered in sows and fattening pigs from the same farms, suggesting common sources of contamination.

  2. Fate and occurrence of steroids in swine and dairy cattle farms with different farming scales and wastes disposal systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Shan; Ying Guangguo; Zhang Ruiquan; Zhou Lijun; Lai Huajie; Chen Zhifeng

    2012-01-01

    Fate and occurrence of fourteen androgens, four estrogens, five glucocorticoids and five progestagens were investigated in three swine farms and three dairy cattle farms with different farming scales and wastes disposal systems in China. Twenty-one, 22, and 12 of total 28 steroids were detected in feces samples with concentrations ranging from below method limit of quantitation (< LOQ for estrone) to 8100 ± 444 ng/g (progesterone), in wastewater samples with concentrations ranging from < LOQ (estrone) to 20,700 ± 1490 ng/L (androsterone), in suspended particles with concentrations ranging from < LOQ (17β-trenbolone) to 778 ± 82.1 ng/g (5α-dihydrotestosterone) in the six farms, respectively. The steroids via swine farms and human sources were mainly originated from wastewater into the receiving environments while those steroids via cattle farms were mainly from cattle feces. The total contributions of steroids to the environment in China are estimated to be 139, 65.8 and 60.7 t/year from swine, dairy cattle and human sources, respectively. - Highlights: ► 28 steroids were investigated in three swine farms and three cattle farms. ► Eight detected synthetic steroids were from exogenous usage. ► Lagoon systems were more effective in removing steroids than sedimentation tanks. ► The steroids via swine and human sources were mainly from wastewater. ► The steroids via cattle were mainly originated from feces. - The swine and cattle farms contribute higher steroids masses to the environment than the human sources.

  3. 12 CFR 618.8005 - Eligibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Eligibility. 618.8005 Section 618.8005 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS Related Services § 618.8005 Eligibility. (a) Farm Credit Banks and associations may offer related services appropriate to on...

  4. Underwater acoustic characteristics of the OWEZ wind farm operation (T1)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haan, de D.; Burggraaf, D.; Wal, van der J.T.; Hal, van R.

    2013-01-01

    In Holland the first two offshore wind farms, the Offshore Wind Farm Egmond aan Zee (OWEZ) and “Prinses Amalia” were built in respectively 2006 and 2007. Beside the main goal of producing electric energy from wind resource the construction of the first wind farm (OWEZ) was also used to demonstrate

  5. Farm scale electrical power production from animal waste. Volume I. Final report, 30 June 1981-30 December 1983

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carpenter, P.A.

    1984-01-31

    A 1 1/2 (dry) tons per day biodigester cogeneration plant has been designed and constructed. This project is part of a federal program to promote energy conservation and the use of non-conventional energy resources. The main purpose of the project is to demonstrate that a dairy farm can generate its own power and supply excess power to a local utility. Such a facility can produce significant energy savings to livestock farms and small communities by allowing them to get energy from raw animal and human waste. Also, an odorless by-product is produced that is nearly pathogenically free and has the possibility of several end uses such as: fertilizer and soil conditioner, protein-rich animal refeed, livestock bedding material, and aquatic food for fish farming. 53 references, 18 figures, 4 tables.

  6. Organic farming at the farm level

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Brian H.; Madsen, Niels; Ørum, Jens Erik

    as part of a larger project entitled “Economic analyses of the future development of organic farming – effects at the field, farm, sector and macroeconomic level”. The project links effects at the field-level with analyses at the farm level. These effects are then used in sector and macroeconomic analyses......, which are described in other reports from Food and Resource Economic Institute (Jacobsen, 2005 and Andersen et al., 2005). This gives coherent results from the field to the macroeconomic level regarding changes in technology and legislation.......The purpose of this report is to present possible impacts of new technology and changes in legislation on the profitability of different types of organic farms. The aim is also to look at both the current and future trends in the organic area in Denmark. The farm level analyses are carried out...

  7. Are large farms more efficient? Tenure security, farm size and farm efficiency: evidence from northeast China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yuepeng; Ma, Xianlei; Shi, Xiaoping

    2017-04-01

    How to increase production efficiency, guarantee grain security, and increase farmers' income using the limited farmland is a great challenge that China is facing. Although theory predicts that secure property rights and moderate scale management of farmland can increase land productivity, reduce farm-related costs, and raise farmer's income, empirical studies on the size and magnitude of these effects are scarce. A number of studies have examined the impacts of land tenure or farm size on productivity or efficiency, respectively. There are also a few studies linking farm size, land tenure and efficiency together. However, to our best knowledge, there are no studies considering tenure security and farm efficiency together for different farm scales in China. In addition, there is little study analyzing the profit frontier. In this study, we particularly focus on the impacts of land tenure security and farm size on farm profit efficiency, using farm level data collected from 23 villages, 811 households in Liaoning in 2015. 7 different farm scales have been identified to further represent small farms, median farms, moderate-scale farms, and large farms. Technical efficiency is analyzed with stochastic frontier production function. The profit efficiency is regressed on a set of explanatory variables which includes farm size dummies, land tenure security indexes, and household characteristics. We found that: 1) The technical efficiency scores for production efficiency (average score = 0.998) indicate that it is already very close to the production frontier, and thus there is little room to improve production efficiency. However, there is larger space to raise profit efficiency (average score = 0.768) by investing more on farm size expansion, seed, hired labor, pesticide, and irrigation. 2) Farms between 50-80 mu are most efficient from the viewpoint of profit efficiency. The so-called moderate-scale farms (100-150 mu) according to the governmental guideline show no

  8. 46 CFR 4.05-12 - Alcohol or drug use by individuals directly involved in casualties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Alcohol or drug use by individuals directly involved in... § 4.05-12 Alcohol or drug use by individuals directly involved in casualties. (a) For each marine... evidence of alcohol or drug use by individuals directly involved in the casualty. (b) The marine employer...

  9. Spread of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli harboring integron via swine farm waste water treatment plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jin-Hyeong; Kim, Young-Ji; Binn-Kim; Seo, Kun-Ho

    2018-03-01

    Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) that release treated wastewater into the environment have emerged as a major threat to public health. In this study, we investigated Escherichia coli load and antibiotic-resistance profiles across different treatment processes at a swine farm WWTP. The frequency of the detection of class 1 and 2 integrons, and their association with antibiotic resistance, were also analyzed. Samples were obtained at each of five sampling sites that represented each processing step within the WWTP. The largest decrease in E. coli load was observed during the anaerobic digestion step (from 4.86 to 2.89log CFU/mL). Isolates resistant to β-lactam antibiotics were efficiently removed after a series of treatment steps, whereas the proportions of isolates resistant to non-β-lactam antibiotics and multidrug-resistant strains were maintained across treatments. The occurrence of integron-positive strains was not significantly different at the various sampling sites (43.4-70%; p>0.05). Of the class 1 integron-positive isolates, 17.9% harbored the integron-associated gene cassettes aadA2, aadA12, aadA22, and dfrA15. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of a class 1 integron containing the aadA12 gene cassette from a swine farm and the presence of a class 1 integron containing dfrA15 in E. coli. This suggests that novel antibiotic-resistance gene cassette arrays could be generated in swine farm WWTPs. Moreover, 75% of integron-positive strains were categorized as multidrug resistant, whereas only 15.4% of integron-negative strains were multidrug resistant (pswine farm WWTPs in terms of the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to the aquatic environment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Fishermen's Energy Atlantic City Wind Farm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wissemann, Chris [Fishermen' s Atlantic City Windfarm, LLC, Atlantic City, NJ (United States)

    2017-05-04

    Fishermen's Energy Atlantic City Wind Farm final report under US DOE Advanced Technology Demonstration project documents achievements developing a demonstration scale offshore wind project off the coast of New Jersey.

  11. A Good Neighborhood for Cells: Bioreactor Demonstration System (BDS-05)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Leland W. K.; Goodwin, Thomas J. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Good neighborhoods help you grow. As with a city, the lives of a cell are governed by its neighborhood connections Connections that do not work are implicated in a range of diseases. One of those connections - between prostate cancer and bone cells - will be studied on STS-107 using the Bioreactor Demonstration System (BDS-05). To improve the prospects for finding novel therapies, and to identify biomarkers that predict disease progression, scientists need tissue models that behave the same as metastatic or spreading cancer. This is one of several NASA-sponsored lines of cell science research that use the microgravity environment of orbit in an attempt to grow lifelike tissue models for health research. As cells replicate, they "self associate" to form a complex matrix of collagens, proteins, fibers, and other structures. This highly evolved microenvironment tells each cell who is next door, how it should grow arid into what shapes, and how to respond to bacteria, wounds, and other stimuli. Studying these mechanisms outside the body is difficult because cells do not easily self-associate outside a natural environment. Most cell cultures produce thin, flat specimens that offer limited insight into how cells work together. Ironically, growing cell cultures in the microgravity of space produces cell assemblies that more closely resemble what is found in bodies on Earth. NASA's Bioreactor comprises a miniature life support system and a rotating vessel containing cell specimens in a nutrient medium. Orbital BDS experiments that cultured colon and prostate cancers have been highly promising.

  12. Respiratory health effects of livestock farm emissions in neighbouring residents

    OpenAIRE

    Borlée, Floor

    2018-01-01

    Recent studies have highlighted the large contribution of agriculture to fine particulate matter (PM) air pollution, and the public health impact that may result from agricultural emissions.The aim of this thesis was to explore associations between air pollution from livestock farms and respiratory health of non-farming residents living in close proximity to farms in a rural area in the Netherlands. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 12,117 adult patients from 21 general practitioner ...

  13. Water Quality Degradation and Management Strategies for Swine and Rice Farming Wastewater in the Tha Chin River Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abigail Henderson

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Water quality in the Tha Chin River regularly exceeds biological oxygen demand (BOD standards of Thailand’s Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act. This study quantified the BOD loading from rice cultivation and swine farming to the Tha Chin River using effluent data and procedures from the Pollution Control Department (PCD, geospatial land-use maps from the Land Development Department, and water quality data from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment. It was determined that the BOD loading was 12 tons/day from swine farming in 2015 and 52 tons/day, on average, from rice farming between 2002 and 2011. Technology-specific, community-scale wastewater management strategies were recommended for both industries: feasibility studies revealed 66 potential sites for constructed wetland implementation and 7 subdistricts suitable for biogas network pipelines. It was determined that if these projects are implemented in conjunction, the BOD would be reduced by 6% (0.3 mg/L in the entire river or 11% (0.5 mg/L at the three water quality monitoring stations proximate to swine farms. These reductions would have a substantial effect on the water quality of the Tha Chin River, and governmental agencies such as the PCD should strongly consider subsidization and implementation of these projects.

  14. Mineral supplementation in Tunisian smallholder dairy farms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rekhis, J.; Kouki-Chebbi, K.; Dhaouadi, B.; Khlif, K.

    2002-01-01

    The aim of the experiment was to determine the effects of supplementation of di-calcium-phosphate in the form of blocks in late pregnancy (2 months before calving), on production and reproduction parameters of dairy cattle in smallholder farms. The experiment covered 63 animals in 20 smallholder farms, divided into control and supplemented groups. Results showed that mineral supplementation had a significant effect on calf weight, milk fat content and reproduction parameters. Calves born to cattle supplemented with di-calcium-phosphate were heavier by 1.67 kg than those in the control group. Similarly, the average milk fat content in the supplemented group was 5.6 g/L (P 0.05). (author)

  15. Certified safe farm: identifying and removing hazards on the farm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rautiainen, R H; Grafft, L J; Kline, A K; Madsen, M D; Lange, J L; Donham, K J

    2010-04-01

    This article describes the development of the Certified Safe Farm (CSF) on-farm safety review tools, characterizes the safety improvements among participating farms during the study period, and evaluates differences in background variables between low and high scoring farms. Average farm review scores on 185 study farms improved from 82 to 96 during the five-year study (0-100 scale, 85 required for CSF certification). A total of 1292 safety improvements were reported at an estimated cost of $650 per farm. A wide range of improvements were made, including adding 9 rollover protective structures (ROPS), 59 power take-off (PTO) master shields, and 207 slow-moving vehicle (SMV) emblems; improving lighting on 72 machines: placing 171 warning decals on machinery; shielding 77 moving parts; locking up 17 chemical storage areas, adding 83 lockout/tagout improvements; and making general housekeeping upgrades in 62 farm buildings. The local, trained farm reviewers and the CSF review process overall were well received by participating farmers. In addition to our earlier findings where higher farm review scores were associated with lower self-reported health outcome costs, we found that those with higher farm work hours, younger age, pork production in confinement, beef production, poultry production, and reported exposure to agrichemicals had higher farm review scores than those who did not have these characteristics. Overall, the farm review process functioned as expected. encouraging physical improvements in the farm environment, and contributing to the multi-faceted CSF intervention program.

  16. 12 CFR 619.9000 - The Act.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false The Act. 619.9000 Section 619.9000 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM DEFINITIONS § 619.9000 The Act. The Farm Credit Act of 1971; Pub. L. 92-181 and amendments. ...

  17. 12 CFR 619.9185 - Funding Corporation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Funding Corporation. 619.9185 Section 619.9185 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM DEFINITIONS § 619.9185 Funding Corporation. The term Funding Corporation refers to the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation...

  18. Wave energy : from demonstration to commercialization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2007-07-01

    The Wave Energy Centre is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and marketing of ocean wave energy devices through technical and strategic support to companies and research and development institutions. WEC provides access to researchers to associated test infrastructures for testing and demonstration of wave energy structures. This presentation described the current status of wave energy. Public policies that support wave energy were also highlighted. Wave energy technology is currently in the demonstration phase, with several pilot plants and prototypes in service around the world. The first 2 offshore shoreline ocean wave current pilot plants were constructed in 2000. This presentation identified the 12 near or offshore pilot plants that were in operation by 2007. The pilot plants represent 5 basic different concepts with many different designs. The world's first commercial park was launched in 2007 in Portugal. The Pelamis wave farm uses three Pelamis P-750 machines with a capacity of 2.25 megawatts. figs.

  19. Corporate Reporting on Farm Animal Welfare: An Evaluation of Global Food Companies' Discourse and Disclosures on Farm Animal Welfare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Rory; Amos, Nicky; van de Weerd, Heleen A

    2017-03-06

    The views that food companies hold about their responsibilities for animal welfare can strongly influence the lives and welfare of farm animals. If a company's commitment is translated into action, it can be a major driver of animal welfare. The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is an annual evaluation of farm animal welfare-related practices, reporting and performance of food companies. The framework evaluates how close, based on their disclosures, companies are to best practice in three areas: Management Commitment, Governance & Performance and Leadership & Innovation. The BBFAW analysed information published by 68 (2012) and 70 (2013) of the world's largest food companies. Around 70% of companies acknowledged animal welfare as a business issue. Between 2012 and 2013, the mean BBFAW score increased significantly by 5% ( p < 0.001, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test). However, only 34% (2012) and 44% (2013) of companies published comprehensive animal welfare policies. This increase suggests that global food companies are increasingly aware that farm animal welfare is of interest to their stakeholders, but also that many companies have yet to acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue or to demonstrate their approach to farm animal welfare to stakeholders and society.

  20. The effect of feed demand on greenhouse gas emissions and farm profitability for organic and conventional dairy farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiefer, Lukas; Menzel, Friederike; Bahrs, Enno

    2014-12-01

    The reduction of product-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in milk production appears to be necessary. The reduction of emissions on an individual farm might be highly accepted by farm owners if it were accompanied by an increase in profitability. Using life cycle assessments to determine the product carbon footprints (PCF) and farm-level evaluations to record profitability, we explored opportunities for optimization based on analysis of 81 organic and conventional pasture-based dairy farms in southern Germany. The objective of the present study was to detect common determining factors for low PCF and high management incomes (MI) to achieve GHG reductions at the lowest possible operational cost. In our sample, organic farms, which performed economically better than conventional farms, produced PCF that were significantly higher than those produced by conventional farms [1.61 ± 0.29 vs. 1.45 ± 0.28 kg of CO₂ equivalents (CO₂eq) per kg of milk; means ± SD)]. A multiple linear regression analysis of the sample demonstrated that low feed demand per kilogram of milk, high grassland yield, and low forage area requirements per cow are the main factors that decrease PCF. These factors are also useful for improving a farm's profitability in principle. For organic farms, a reduction of feed demand of 100 g/kg of milk resulted in a PCF reduction of 105 g of CO₂eq/kg of milk and an increase in MI of approximately 2.1 euro cents (c)/kg of milk. For conventional farms, a decrease of feed demand of 100 g/kg of milk corresponded to a reduction in PCF of 117 g of CO₂eq/kg of milk and an increase in MI of approximately 3.1 c/kg of milk. Accordingly, farmers could achieve higher profits while reducing GHG emissions. Improved education and training of farmers and consultants regarding GHG mitigation and farm profitability appear to be the best methods of improving efficiency under traditional and organic farming practices.

  1. Coping styles in farmed fish: consequences for aquaculture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Castanheira, Maria Filipa; Conceição, Luís E.C.; Millot, Sandie

    2017-01-01

    Individual differences in physiological and behavioural responses to stressors are increasingly recognised as adaptive variation and thus raw material for evolution and fish farming improvements including selective breeding. Such individual variation has been evolutionarily conserved and is present...... in all vertebrate taxa including fish. In farmed animals, the interest in consistent trait associations, that is coping styles, has increased dramatically over the last years because many studies have demonstrated links to performance traits, health and disease susceptibility and welfare. This study...... will review (i) the main behavioural, neuroendocrine, cognitive and emotional differences between reactive and proactive coping styles in farmed fish; (ii) the methodological approaches used to identify coping styles in farmed fish, including individual (group) mass-screening tests; and (iii) how knowledge...

  2. Active Power Control of Waked Wind Farms: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fleming, Paul A [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); van Wingerden, Jan-Willem [Delft University of Technology; Pao, Lucy [University of Colorado; Aho, Jacob [University of Colorado

    2017-08-15

    Active power control can be used to balance the total power generated by wind farms with the power consumed on the electricity grid. With the increasing penetration levels of wind energy, there is an increasing need for this ancillary service. In this paper, we show that the tracking of a certain power reference signal provided by the transmission system operator can be significantly improved by using feedback control at the wind farm level. We propose a simple feedback control law that significantly improves the tracking behavior of the total power output of the farm, resulting in higher performance scores. The effectiveness of the proposed feedback controller is demonstrated using high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics simulations of a small wind farm.

  3. 12 CFR 618.8430 - Internal controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Internal controls. 618.8430 Section 618.8430 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS Internal Controls § 618.8430 Internal controls. Each Farm Credit institution's board of directors must adopt an internal...

  4. Fun on the farm: evaluation of a lesson to teach students about the spread of infection on school farm visits.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meredith K D Hawking

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: School visits to farms are a positive educational experience but pose risks due to the spread of zoonotic infections. A lesson plan to raise awareness about microbes on the farm and preventative behaviours was developed in response to the Griffin Investigation into the E. coli outbreak associated with Godstone Farm in 2009. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the delivery of the lesson plan in increasing knowledge about the spread of infection on the farm, amongst school students. METHODS: Two hundred and twenty-five 9-11 year old students from seven junior schools in England participated. Two hundred and ten students filled in identical questionnaires covering microbes, hand hygiene, and farm hygiene before and after the lesson. Statistical analysis assessed knowledge change using difference in percentage correct answers. RESULTS: Significant knowledge improvement was observed for all sections. In the 'Farm Hygiene' section, girls and boys demonstrated 18% (p<0.001 and 11% (p<0.001 improvement, respectively (girls vs. boys p<0.004. As girls had lower baseline knowledge the greater percentage improvement resulted in similar post intervention knowledge scores between genders (girls 80%, boys 83%. CONCLUSIONS: The lesson plan was successful at increasing awareness of microbes on the farm and infection prevention measures and should be used by teachers in preparation for a farm visit.

  5. Water-quality characteristics in runoff for three discovery farms in North Dakota, 2008-12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nustad, Rochelle A.; Rowland, Kathleen M.; Wiederholt, Ronald

    2015-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with North Dakota State University Agriculture Research Extension and in collaboration with North Dakota State Department of Health, North Dakota State Water Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and several agricultural producers, helped organize a Discovery Farms program in North Dakota in 2007. Discharge measurements and water-quality samples collected at the three Farms (Underwood, Dazey, and Embden) were used to describe water-quality characteristics in runoff, and compute estimates of annual loads and yields for selected constituents from spring 2008 through fall 2012.

  6. Willingness to pay for reduced visual disamenities from offshore wind farms in Denmark

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ladenburg, Jacob; Dubgaard, Alex

    2007-01-01

    Expansion of offshore wind power plays a significant role in the energy policies of many EU countries. However, offshore wind farms create visual disamenities. These disamenities can be reduced by siting wind farms at larger distances from the coast-and accepting higher costs per kWh produced. In this paper willingness to pay for reducing the visual disamenities from future offshore wind farms is elicited using the economic valuation method Choice Experiments. The valuation scenario comprises the location of 720 offshore wind turbines (equivalent to 3600 MW) in farms at distances equal to: 12, 18 or 50 km from the shore, relative to an 8 km baseline. Using a fixed effect logit model average willingness to pay amounts were estimated as: 46, 96 and 122 Euros/household/year for having the wind farms located at 12, 18 and 50 km from the coast as opposed to 8 km. The results also reveal that WTP deviates significantly depending on the age of respondents and their experiences with offshore wind farms

  7. Fuel Cell Demonstration Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gerald Brun

    2006-09-15

    In an effort to promote clean energy projects and aid in the commercialization of new fuel cell technologies the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) initiated a Fuel Cell Demonstration Program in 1999 with six month deployments of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) non-commercial Beta model systems at partnering sites throughout Long Island. These projects facilitated significant developments in the technology, providing operating experience that allowed the manufacturer to produce fuel cells that were half the size of the Beta units and suitable for outdoor installations. In 2001, LIPA embarked on a large-scale effort to identify and develop measures that could improve the reliability and performance of future fuel cell technologies for electric utility applications and the concept to establish a fuel cell farm (Farm) of 75 units was developed. By the end of October of 2001, 75 Lorax 2.0 fuel cells had been installed at the West Babylon substation on Long Island, making it the first fuel cell demonstration of its kind and size anywhere in the world at the time. Designed to help LIPA study the feasibility of using fuel cells to operate in parallel with LIPA's electric grid system, the Farm operated 120 fuel cells over its lifetime of over 3 years including 3 generations of Plug Power fuel cells (Lorax 2.0, Lorax 3.0, Lorax 4.5). Of these 120 fuel cells, 20 Lorax 3.0 units operated under this Award from June 2002 to September 2004. In parallel with the operation of the Farm, LIPA recruited government and commercial/industrial customers to demonstrate fuel cells as on-site distributed generation. From December 2002 to February 2005, 17 fuel cells were tested and monitored at various customer sites throughout Long Island. The 37 fuel cells operated under this Award produced a total of 712,635 kWh. As fuel cell technology became more mature, performance improvements included a 1% increase in system efficiency. Including equipment, design, fuel, maintenance

  8. Is carbon farming an effective climate mitigation option?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zelikova, T. J.; Funk, J.; Deich, N.; Amador, G.; Jacobson, R.

    2017-12-01

    "Carbon farming" refers to agricultural and land management practices that store carbon in soils and biomass. Carbon-farming techniques can include crop rotation, cover crops, no-till practices, and the application of compost to build up soil organic matter. Carbon farming also improves agricultural production and sustainability, while mitigating climate change. Despite well-documented benefits of carbon farming, these practices continue to be underutilized outside of experimental settings. One barrier to the widespread use of carbon farming is the challenge of fitting these practices into ongoing commercial operations, while managing the consequent market uncertainties across the value chain. To help address this barrier, we are working with landowners and local groups to establish demonstration "test beds" that can build experience among land managers and help resolve market uncertainties. We specifically focus on demonstrating the commercial viability of management practices that can enhance soil health, catalyzing economic and environmental synergies that come from healthy soils. Each test bed has a commercial agricultural operation at its center, and we bring together researchers, local groups, corporate partners, and key policymakers who can support wider adoption of these agricultural techniques. Early challenges have included finding commercial farms willing to shift their practices and face uncertain outcomes. A transition to new practices usually involves changes in equipment, scheduling, activities, and monitoring that have implications for the entire farm operation, its resources, and its bottom line. At the same time, practitioners have difficulty quantifying the carbon benefits they provide, due to persistent uncertainties, even with the benefit of decades of experimental research. We are building a network of farmers who are implementing carbon farming practices and addressing these challenges, step by step. We envision our test beds becoming hubs

  9. Peste des Petits Ruminants virus: an emerging threat to goat farming in Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abubakar, M; Munir, M

    2014-08-01

    Pakistan at present is having more than 60 million head of goats, which consist of about 37 well-recognized breeds found in different regions of the country. Although the goat farming on commercial level is escalating in Pakistan, there are threats, which result this initiative into a loss. Among these threats, Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) outbreaks are causing huge economic damages. In this study, three outbreaks of PPR were confirmed at three different commercial farms in various regions of Punjab province and their economic impact on small ruminants farming was calculated. The disease started after 1-2 months of the establishment of these farms as the animals were purchased from different livestock markets. Disease started with sudden onset of respiratory and enteric clinical signs and spreads quickly. Disease caused mortality and morbidity of 10-15% and 20-40%, respectively, within a time period of 01-03 weeks. At these three farms, 116 of 365 animals exhibited the clinical disease, with an overall morbidity rate of 31.78%. A total of 43 animals died with mortality rate of 11.78% (43/365) causing a direct financial loss of $4300 (Pakistan Rupees 430,000/-), while the indirect cost due to treatment, loss of animal body condition, reduction in market value, increase veterinary services and labour was $7911 (Pak Rs. 791,100/-). Taken together, the results demonstrate that there is an urgent need to assess the economic impact of the disease throughout the country and to give proper emphasis for controlling PPR in sensitive regions where it is discouraging the investment in goat farming. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  10. Plant molecular farming: Opportunities and challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valkova Rumyana

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The modern human life is impossible without products derived from the classical, contemporary biotechnology. However, large scale production of biotechnology wares opens a discussion about the economic impact, waste management, biosafety, and bioethical issues. Plant molecular farming offers a relatively inexpensive option for yielding of many valuable products and demonstrates number of advantages over the classical technologies, but also brings the question of further development perspectives, hazard identification and risk assessment. This review is focused on those two questions: opportunities offered and challenges faced by modern plant molecular farming systems.

  11. Farm Typology in the Berambadi Watershed (India: Farming Systems Are Determined by Farm Size and Access to Groundwater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marion Robert

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Farmers’ production decisions and agricultural practices directly and indirectly influence the quantity and quality of natural resources, some being depleted common resources such as groundwater. Representing farming systems while accounting for their flexibility is needed to evaluate targeted, regional water management policies. Farmers’ decisions regarding investing in irrigation and adopting cropping systems are inherently dynamic and must adapt to changes in climate and agronomic, economic and social, and institutional, conditions. To represent this diversity, we developed a typology of Indian farmers from a survey of 684 farms in Berambadi, an agricultural watershed in southern India (state of Karnataka. The survey provided information on farm structure, the cropping system and farm practices, water management for irrigation, and economic performances of the farm. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis (Multiple Correspondence Analysis and Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering were used to analyze relationships between observed factors and establish the farm typology. We identified three main types of farms: (1 large diversified and productivist farms; (2 small and marginal rainfed farms, and (3 small irrigated marketing farms. This typology represents the heterogeneity of farms in the Berambadi watershed.

  12. On-farm production of arbuscular mycorrhizal funus inoculum in compost and vermiculite mixtures: results of on-farm demonstrations and impact of compost microbiological quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    The sustainability and profitability of many agricultural systems can be enhanced through the utilization of inoculum of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Inocula are commercially available, but inoculum can also be produced on-farm in mixtures of compost and vermiculite with a nurse host plant. Demon...

  13. Risk-based audit selection of dairy farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Asseldonk, M A P M; Velthuis, A G J

    2014-02-01

    Dairy farms are audited in the Netherlands on numerous process standards. Each farm is audited once every 2 years. Increasing demands for cost-effectiveness in farm audits can be met by introducing risk-based principles. This implies targeting subpopulations with a higher risk of poor process standards. To select farms for an audit that present higher risks, a statistical analysis was conducted to test the relationship between the outcome of farm audits and bulk milk laboratory results before the audit. The analysis comprised 28,358 farm audits and all conducted laboratory tests of bulk milk samples 12 mo before the audit. The overall outcome of each farm audit was classified as approved or rejected. Laboratory results included somatic cell count (SCC), total bacterial count (TBC), antimicrobial drug residues (ADR), level of butyric acid spores (BAB), freezing point depression (FPD), level of free fatty acids (FFA), and cleanliness of the milk (CLN). The bulk milk laboratory results were significantly related to audit outcomes. Rejected audits are likely to occur on dairy farms with higher mean levels of SCC, TBC, ADR, and BAB. Moreover, in a multivariable model, maxima for TBC, SCC, and FPD as well as standard deviations for TBC and FPD are risk factors for negative audit outcomes. The efficiency curve of a risk-based selection approach, on the basis of the derived regression results, dominated the current random selection approach. To capture 25, 50, or 75% of the population with poor process standards (i.e., audit outcome of rejected), respectively, only 8, 20, or 47% of the population had to be sampled based on a risk-based selection approach. Milk quality information can thus be used to preselect high-risk farms to be audited more frequently. Copyright © 2014 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Gradient-Based Optimization of Wind Farms with Different Turbine Heights

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanley, Andrew P. J.; Thomas, Jared; Ning, Andrew; Annoni, Jennifer; Dykes, Katherine; Fleming, Paul

    2017-01-09

    Turbine wakes reduce power production in a wind farm. Current wind farms are generally built with turbines that are all the same height, but if wind farms included turbines with different tower heights, the cost of energy (COE) may be reduced. We used gradient-based optimization to demonstrate a method to optimize wind farms with varied hub heights. Our study includes a modified version of the FLORIS wake model that accommodates three-dimensional wakes integrated with a tower structural model. Our purpose was to design a process to minimize the COE of a wind farm through layout optimization and varying turbine hub heights. Results indicate that when a farm is optimized for layout and height with two separate height groups, COE can be lowered by as much as 5%-9%, compared to a similar layout and height optimization where all the towers are the same. The COE has the best improvement in farms with high turbine density and a low wind shear exponent.

  15. Corporate Reporting on Farm Animal Welfare: An Evaluation of Global Food Companies’ Discourse and Disclosures on Farm Animal Welfare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Rory; Amos, Nicky; van de Weerd, Heleen A.

    2017-01-01

    policies. This increase suggests that global food companies are increasingly aware that farm animal welfare is of interest to their stakeholders, but also that many companies have yet to acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue or to demonstrate their approach to farm animal welfare to stakeholders and society. PMID:28272316

  16. The transect method: a novel approach to on-farm welfare assessment of commercial turkeys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchewka, Joanna; Estevez, Inma; Vezzoli, Giuseppe; Ferrante, Valentina; Makagon, Maja M

    2015-01-01

    Currently, no animal-based protocol for on-farm welfare assessment of commercial turkeys is available. The birds' size and flighty nature make obtaining a representative sample using traditional methods difficult. The transect walks (TW) approach provides a potential alternative for on-farm assessments of turkey welfare. We compared the TW approach with a traditional method, and data collected as the birds were moved out of the house during the load out process (L). Ten commercial 19- to 20-week-old Hybrid turkey flocks were evaluated (1 flock/house/farm). Half of the flocks were housed on farms deemed as "faring well" by the company, the other half were on "suboptimal" farms. Each house was subdivided longitudinally into 4 transects. Two observers walked the transects in random order, recording the total number of birds per transect that were immobile; lame; aggressive towards a mate; interacting with humans; with visible head, vent, or back wounds; engaging in mounting behaviors; small; featherless; dirty; sick; terminal; or dead. Flocks were re-evaluated on the same day using the individual sampling method (S), where randomly selected birds were scored as they took 10 steps. Flocks were re-assessed within 48 h of the transect evaluation, as birds were funneled out of the house during load out. Using ANOVAs we determined the effects of observers, method, management, and their interactions on proportions of turkeys per house within each category. Outcome parameters were not affected by management (P>0.05 for all) or observer (P>0.05 for most), but an assessment method effect was detected (P<0.05). S differed from the 2 other methods (P<0.05) for most parameters except aggression towards a mate, back wounds, dirty, sick, and vent wounds. Differences were not detected between data collected using TW and during L, except for dead (P=0.0007) and immobile (P=0.007). Results suggest that the TW method is a promising tool for on-farm turkey welfare assessment as it

  17. Improvement of Wind Farm Performance by Means of Spinner Anemometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friis Pedersen, Troels; Demurtas, Giorgio; Gottschall, Julia

    This report is a project report on the EUDP research project SpinnerFarm. The objectives of the project were to improve software and hardware on the spinner anemometer concept and to demonstrate improvement of wind farm performance by opitmized yaw control. The hardware was improved by a more...

  18. Reactive Power Compensation of a 24 MW Wind Farm using a 12-Pulse Voltage Source Converter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Knud Ole Helgesen; Pedersen, Jørgen Kaas

    1998-01-01

    Integration of large wind farms in distribution and transmission systems may have severe influence on the power quality at the connection point and may also influence the voltage controlling capability of the electrical system. The purpose of the described project has been to develop and investig......Integration of large wind farms in distribution and transmission systems may have severe influence on the power quality at the connection point and may also influence the voltage controlling capability of the electrical system. The purpose of the described project has been to develop...... and investigate the use of a STATCOM by modelling and field testing an 8 MVar unit in a 24 MW wind farm....

  19. Corporate Reporting on Farm Animal Welfare: An Evaluation of Global Food Companies’ Discourse and Disclosures on Farm Animal Welfare

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rory Sullivan

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The views that food companies hold about their responsibilities for animal welfare can strongly influence the lives and welfare of farm animals. If a company’s commitment is translated into action, it can be a major driver of animal welfare. The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW is an annual evaluation of farm animal welfare-related practices, reporting and performance of food companies. The framework evaluates how close, based on their disclosures, companies are to best practice in three areas: Management Commitment, Governance & Performance and Leadership & Innovation. The BBFAW analysed information published by 68 (2012 and 70 (2013 of the world’s largest food companies. Around 70% of companies acknowledged animal welfare as a business issue. Between 2012 and 2013, the mean BBFAW score increased significantly by 5% (p < 0.001, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test. However, only 34% (2012 and 44% (2013 of companies published comprehensive animal welfare policies. This increase suggests that global food companies are increasingly aware that farm animal welfare is of interest to their stakeholders, but also that many companies have yet to acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue or to demonstrate their approach to farm animal welfare to stakeholders and society.

  20. Trends in Financing Dental Education, 2004-05 to 2011-12.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailit, Howard L; Beazoglou, Tryfon

    2017-08-01

    This article examines dental school financial trends from 2004-05 to 2011-12, based on data from the American Dental Association (ADA) annual financial survey completed by all U.S. dental schools. For public schools, revenues from tuition and fees increased 68.6%, and state support declined 17.2% over the examined period. For private schools, revenues from tuition and fees increased 38.9%, and university indirect subsidies declined 77.9% over the same period. The major factors affecting dental school expenditures were the number of students and postdoctoral students, faculty practice, and research. The findings suggest that dental schools are now more dependent financially on tuition and fees than in the past. Schools have been able to pass on increases in operating costs to students and specialty postdoctoral students. Now that growth in dentists' incomes is slowing and student debt is at an all-time high, this financing strategy may not be sustainable in the long run. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21 st Century."

  1. The contamination on farm products from 125I

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Wenhu; Xu Shiming; Hou Lanxin

    1990-02-01

    The 125 I contamination on 15 farm products have been investigated. The effects of 12 farm crops (wheat, bean, eggplants and other vegetables) contaminated by 125 I during the growing stage on their fruits and seeds have been studied. The results show that the 125 I radioactive substance is mainly concentrated on the fruit surface, and the radioactivity rapidly decreased towards its kernel. The fruits and seeds would not be contaminated when plants were contaminated in the seedling stage

  2. TOPFARM wind farm optimization tool

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rethore, P.-E.; Fuglsang, P.; Larsen, Torben J.; Buhl, T.; Larsen, Gunner C.

    2011-02-15

    A wind farm optimization framework is presented in detail and demonstrated on two test cases: 1) Middelgrunden and 2) Stags Holt/Coldham. A detailed flow model describing the instationary flow within a wind farm is used together with an aeroelastic model to determine production and fatigue loading of wind farm wind turbines. Based on generic load cases, the wind farm production and fatigue evaluations are subsequently condensed in a large pre-calculated database for rapid calculation of lifetime equivalent loads and energy production in the optimization loop. The objective function defining the optimization problem includes elements as energy production, turbine degradation, operation and maintenance costs, electrical grid costs and foundation costs. The objective function is optimized using a dedicated multi fidelity approach with the locations of individual turbines in the wind farm spanning the design space. The results are over all satisfying and are giving some interesting insights on the pros and cons of the design choices. They show in particular that the inclusion of the fatigue loads costs give rise to some additional details in comparison with pure power based optimization. The Middelgrunden test case resulted in an improvement of the financial balance of 2.1 M Euro originating from a very large increase in the energy production value of 9.3 M Euro mainly counterbalanced by increased electrical grid costs. The Stags Holt/Coldham test case resulted in an improvement of the financial balance of 3.1 M Euro. (Author)

  3. Social networks and mental health among a farming population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stain, Helen J; Kelly, Brian; Lewin, Terry J; Higginbotham, Nick; Beard, John R; Hourihan, Fleur

    2008-10-01

    The study investigated the associations between mental health and measures of community support, social support networks, sense of place, adversity, and perceived problems in a rural Australian population. There was a specific focus on farming communities due to previous qualitative research by the authors indicating distress by farmers in response to drought (Sartore et al. Aust Fam Phys 36(12), 990-993, 2007). A survey was mailed to adults randomly selected from the Australian Electoral Roll and residing within four local government areas (LGAs) of varying remoteness in rural New South Wales (NSW). Survey measures included: support networks and community attachment; recent stressors (including drought-related stress); and measures of health and related functioning. The Kessler-10 provided an index of current psychological distress. The sample (n = 449; response rate 24%) was predominantly female (58.4%) and 18.9% were farmers or farm workers. Moderate to very high psychological distress was reported for 20.7% of the sample. Half (56.1%) of all respondents, and specifically 71.8% of farmers or farm workers, reported high levels of perceived stress due to drought. Psychological distress was associated with recent adverse life events, increased alcohol use and functional impairment. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated an independent effect of the number of stressful life events including drought related stress, perceived social support (community and individual), alcohol use and physical functioning ability on levels of psychological distress. This model accounted for 43% of the variance in current levels of distress. Lower community support had a more marked impact on distress levels for non-farming than farming participants. This study has highlighted the association between unique rural community characteristics and rural stressors (such as drought) and measures of mental health, suggesting the important mediating role of social factors and community

  4. 26 CFR 1.162-12 - Expenses of farmers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Expenses of farmers. 1.162-12 Section 1.162-12... farmers. (a) Farms engaged in for profit. A farmer who operates a farm for profit is entitled to deduct... 263A and the regulations thereunder. For taxable years beginning after July 12, 1972, where a farmer is...

  5. Understanding implications of consumer behavior for wildlife farming and sustainable wildlife trade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuno, A; Blumenthal, J M; Austin, T J; Bothwell, J; Ebanks-Petrie, G; Godley, B J; Broderick, A C

    2018-04-01

    Unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent upon those resources. Wildlife farming has been proposed to promote sustainable trade, but characterizing markets and understanding consumer behavior remain neglected but essential steps in the design and evaluation of such operations. We used sea turtle trade in the Cayman Islands, where turtles have been farm raised for human consumption for almost 50 years, as a case study to explore consumer preferences toward wild-sourced (illegal) and farmed (legal) products and potential conservation implications. Combining methods innovatively (including indirect questioning and choice experiments), we conducted a nationwide trade assessment through in-person interviews from September to December 2014. Households were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified sampling, and responses were weighted based on district population size. We approached 597 individuals, of which 37 (6.2%) refused to participate. Although 30% of households had consumed turtle in the previous 12 months, the purchase and consumption of wild products was rare (e.g., 64-742 resident households consumed wild turtle meat [i.e., 0.3-3.5% of households] but represented a large threat to wild turtles in the area due to their reduced populations). Differences among groups of consumers were marked, as identified through choice experiments, and price and source of product played important roles in their decisions. Despite the long-term practice of farming turtles, 13.5% of consumers showed a strong preference for wild products, which demonstrates the limitations of wildlife farming as a single tool for sustainable wildlife trade. By using a combination of indirect questioning, choice experiments, and sales data to investigate demand for wildlife products, we obtained insights about consumer behavior that can be used to develop conservation-demand-focused initiatives. Lack of data from long-term social

  6. Spread of tetracycline resistance genes at a conventional dairy farm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martina eKyselkova

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The use of antibiotics in animal husbandry contributes to the worldwide problem of increasing antibiotic resistance in animal and human pathogens. Intensive animal production is considered an important source of antibiotic resistance genes released to the environment, while the contribution of smaller farms remains to be evaluated. Here we monitor the spread of tetracycline resistance (TC-r genes at a middle-size conventional dairy farm, where chlortetracycline (CTC, as intrauterine suppository is prophylactically used after each calving. Our study has shown that animals at the farm acquired the TC-r genes in their early age (1-2 weeks, likely due to colonization with TC-resistant bacteria from their mothers and/or the farm environment. The relative abundance of the TC-r genes tet(W, tet(Q and tet(M in fresh excrements of calves was about 1-2 orders of magnitude higher compared to heifers and dairy cows, possibly due to the presence of antibiotic residues in milk fed to calves. The occurrence and abundance of TC-r genes in fresh excrements of heifers and adult cows remained unaffected by intrauterine CTC applications, with tet(O, tet(Q and tet(W representing a ‘core TC-resistome’ of the farm, and tet(A, tet(M, tet(Y and tet(X occurring occasionally. The genes tet(A, tet(M, tet(Y and tet(X were shown to be respectively harbored by Shigella, Lactobacillus and Clostridium, Acinetobacter, and Wautersiella. Soil in the farm proximity, as well as field soil to which manure from the farm was applied, was contaminated with TC-r genes occurring in the farm, and some of the TC-r genes persisted in the field over 3 months following the manure application. Concluding, our study shows that antibiotic resistance genes may be a stable part of the intestinal metagenome of cattle even if antibiotics are not used for growth stimulation, and that smaller dairy farms may also contribute to environmental pollution with antibiotic resistance genes.

  7. A Wind Farm Electrical Systems Evaluation with EeFarm-II

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Pierik

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available EeFarm-II is used to evaluate 13 different electrical systems for a 200 MW wind farm with a 100 km connection to shore. The evaluation is based on component manufacturer data of 2009. AC systems are compared to systems with DC connections inside the wind farm and DC connection to shore. Two options have the best performance for this wind farm size and distance: the AC system and the system with a DC connection to shore. EeFarm-II is a user friendly computer program for wind farm electrical and economic evaluation. It has been built as a Simulink Library in the graphical interface of Matlab-Simulink. EeFarm-II contains models of wind turbines, generators, transformers, AC cables, inductors, nodes, splitters, PWM converters, thyristor converters, DC cables, choppers and statcoms.

  8. To what extent does organic farming rely on nutrient inflows from conventional farming?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nowak, Benjamin; Nesme, Thomas; Pellerin, Sylvain; David, Christophe

    2013-01-01

    Organic farming is increasingly recognized as a prototype for sustainable agriculture. Its guidelines ban the use of artificial fertilizers. However, organic farms may import nutrients from conventional farming through material exchanges. In this study, we aimed at estimating the magnitude of these flows through the quantification of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium inflows from conventional farming to organic farming. Material inflows and outflows were collected for two cropping years on 63 farms. The farms were located in three French agricultural districts distributed over a gradient of farming activity defined by both the stocking rate and the ratio of the farm area under arable crops. Our results showed that on average, inflows from conventional farming were 23%, 73% and 53% for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, respectively. These inflows were strongly determined by the farm production systems. However, for farms similar in terms of production systems, the inflows also depended on the local context, such as the proximity of organic livestock farms: the reliance of organic farming on conventional farming was lower in mixed than in specialized districts. These results highlight the necessity to quantify the contribution of nutrient inflows from conventional farming when assessing organic farming and development scenarios. (letter)

  9. Analysis of Goat Farming on Integrated Farming System in Banyumas

    OpenAIRE

    Hidayat, NN

    2007-01-01

    The objective of this research were : 1) to find out the income generated from goat farming and its contribution to farmer income in several farming combination, 2) to find out the economic efficiency in goat farming with paddy and fish production, 3) to determine factors affecting level of production and income in different farming system, partially and aggregately, and 4) to determine the best combination of farming which generated maximum income. Household farmer survey method was performe...

  10. CONSIDERATIONS ON UTILIZED AGRICULTURAL LAND AND FARM STRUCTURE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agatha POPESCU

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper aimed to analyze the EU-27 agricultural land, farms structure and size based on Eurostat data. In the EU, farm structure shows that farms have a small size accounting for 12 ha in average. The highest farm size is in Czech Republic (152 ha and the smallest one in Romania and Cyprus (3 ha. The size of farms has slowly increased from a year to another while the number of farms declined. About 80 % farms are situated in Romania, Italy, Poland, Spain, Greece, Hungary and France. Three countries France, Italy and Germany produces 50.51 % gross margin of the EU-27 which accounted for Euro 278.33 Billion in 2010. A number of 199,400 farms achieved 46.6 % of the total gross margin, more exactly Euro 129,810 million. These farms utilized 25 % of the Eu-27 agricultural land. The farms with less than Euro 2,000 gross margin represent 45.44 % of the total number of farms and keep 5 % of the utilized agricultural land and produce 3.39 % of the EU-27 gross margin. The farms with a higher dimension produce the highest gross margin proving that farm size has a direct influence on profitability and economic efficiency.

  11. Feasibility study on the wind farm; Wind farm no kanosei chosa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    For assessment of the possibility of the wind farm (collective wind power facility) in Japan, site conditions, business plans and various issues in development were arranged using some projects in a planning stage. The case study of a system design was also conducted for a typical site. Four sites were selected based on geographical conditions, topographic features and weather conditions. Scales of every site are as large as 1000-3000kW and 400- 750kW in wind turbine capacity. Every developer expects a subsidy, and governmental economic support is indispensable for the wind farm. In the case of Hisai city, Mie prefecture with the most favorable wind condition in Japan, the annual mean wind velocity of the site is valued at nearly 8m/s, suggesting that it is promising for the wind farm. From the planned scale of 750kWtimes4, the annual generated power and availability factor are valued at 9,800,000kWh/y and 37%, respectively. From the construction cost of 1 billion yen including a subsidy of its half, the generation cost is valued at 14.5 yen/kWh in durability of 15 years, and 12.2 yen/kWh in 20 years, and the profitability is dependent on the purchase price of a power company. 27 figs., 36 tabs.

  12. TANK 12 SLUDGE CHARACTERIZATION AND ALUMINUM DISSOLUTION DEMONSTRATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reboul, S.; Hay, Michael; Zeigler, Kristine; Stone, Michael

    2009-01-01

    A 3-L sludge slurry sample from Tank 12 was characterized and then processed through an aluminum dissolution demonstration. The dominant constituent of the sludge was found to be aluminum in the form of boehmite. The iron content was minor, about one-tenth that of the aluminum. The salt content of the supernatant was relatively high, with a sodium concentration of ∼7 M. Due to these characteristics, the yield stress and plastic viscosity of the unprocessed slurry were relatively high (19 Pa and 27 cP), and the settling rate of the sludge was relatively low (∼20% settling over a two and a half week period). Prior to performing aluminum dissolution, plutonium and gadolinium were added to the slurry to simulate receipt of plutonium waste from H-Canyon. Aluminum dissolution was performed over a 26 day period at a temperature of 65 C. Approximately 60% of the insoluble aluminum dissolved during the demonstration, with the rate of dissolution slowing significantly by the end of the demonstration period. In contrast, approximately 20% of the plutonium and less than 1% of the gadolinium partitioned to the liquid phase. However, about a third of the liquid phase plutonium became solubilized prior to the dissolution period, when the H-Canyon plutonium/gadolinium simulant was added to the Tank 12 slurry. Quantification of iron dissolution was less clear, but appeared to be on the order of 1% based on the majority of data (a minor portion of the data suggested iron dissolution could be as high as 10%). The yield stress of the post-dissolution slurry (2.5 Pa) was an order of magnitude lower than the initial slurry, due most likely to the reduced insoluble solids content caused by aluminum dissolution. In contrast, the plastic viscosity remained unchanged (27 cP). The settling rate of the post-dissolution slurry was higher than the initial slurry, but still relatively low compared to settling of typical high iron content/low salt content sludges. Approximately 40% of the

  13. 12 CFR 614.4125 - Funding and discount relationships between Farm Credit Banks or agricultural credit banks and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ..., Risk Management, Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation. (f) A direct lender association shall... Administration office that the Chief Examiner designates, and the Director, Risk Management, Farm Credit System... Credit Banks or agricultural credit banks and direct lender associations. 614.4125 Section 614.4125 Banks...

  14. 2018-05-09T12:11:53Z https://www.ajol.info/index.php/all/oai oai:ojs ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    article/7559 2018-05-09T12:11:53Z ajns:ART HYDROCEPHALIE: UN CAS RARE DE TOXOPLAMOSE CEREBRALE DANS LE CADRE D\\'UN SYNDROME D\\'IMMUNO-DEFICIENCE ACQUISE Djientcheu, Vincent de Paul; Neurosurgery Unit, ...

  15. Practical difficulties in raising finance for wind farms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johns, J.H.

    1995-01-01

    The 15 year term of NFFO3 will significantly alter the financial structures of wind farm projects. Senior debt terms will extend to 10-12 years and returns are unlikely to reach the levels required by venture capitalists. Returns to equity investors can be enhanced by debt and equity gearing techniques, for example the introduction of preference shares. Two investment schemes and an additional capital gains relief which were introduced in the November 1993 budget could benefit potential investors in wind farms. (Author)

  16. Livestock Farming Systems in the Northern Tablelands of NSW: An Economic Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Alford, Andrew R.; Griffith, Garry R.; Davies, Lloyd

    2003-01-01

    The Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales covers an area of approximately 3.12 million hectares including 2.11 million hectares occupied by some 2300 agricultural establishments producing agricultural commodities valued at more than $220 million. Sheep and wool production and cattle production are the dominant agricultural enterprises. In this Report, a whole-farm model of a representative livestock farming system in the Northern Tablelands is developed. Whole-farm economic models of ...

  17. Quantifying antimicrobial resistance at veal calf farms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela B Bosman

    Full Text Available This study was performed to determine a sampling strategy to quantify the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance on veal calf farms, based on the variation in antimicrobial resistance within and between calves on five farms. Faecal samples from 50 healthy calves (10 calves/farm were collected. From each individual sample and one pooled faecal sample per farm, 90 selected Escherichia coli isolates were tested for their resistance against 25 mg/L amoxicillin, 25 mg/L tetracycline, 0.5 mg/L cefotaxime, 0.125 mg/L ciprofloxacin and 8/152 mg/L trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (tmp/s by replica plating. From each faecal sample another 10 selected E. coli isolates were tested for their resistance by broth microdilution as a reference. Logistic regression analysis was performed to compare the odds of testing an isolate resistant between both test methods (replica plating vs. broth microdilution and to evaluate the effect of pooling faecal samples. Bootstrap analysis was used to investigate the precision of the estimated prevalence of resistance to each antimicrobial obtained by several simulated sampling strategies. Replica plating showed similar odds of E. coli isolates tested resistant compared to broth microdilution, except for ciprofloxacin (OR 0.29, p ≤ 0.05. Pooled samples showed in general lower odds of an isolate being resistant compared to individual samples, although these differences were not significant. Bootstrap analysis showed that within each antimicrobial the various compositions of a pooled sample provided consistent estimates for the mean proportion of resistant isolates. Sampling strategies should be based on the variation in resistance among isolates within faecal samples and between faecal samples, which may vary by antimicrobial. In our study, the optimal sampling strategy from the perspective of precision of the estimated levels of resistance and practicality consists of a pooled faecal sample from 20 individual animals, of which

  18. Automatic Voltage Control System with Market Price Employing Large Wind Farms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qin, Nan; Bak, Claus Leth; Abildgaard, Hans

    2018-01-01

    of the voltage control service provided by the power plant owners. The benefit of employing the large offshore wind farms in this AVC system is investigated. The simulation based on the measurement data from the Danish electricity control center demonstrates the superiority of the proposed approach in terms...... of the cost minimization. The gained profit by employing the wind farms can be an argument to purchase the voltage control service provided by these wind farms....

  19. Summary report on the Y-12 Sludge Detoxification Demonstration project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jolley, R.L.; Hollenbeck, P.E.; Kennerly, J.M.; Singh, S.P.N.

    1994-07-01

    The Y-12 Sludge Detoxification Demonstration was conducted in late 1988 at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (subsequently renamed the K-25 Site). The erstwhile Waste Management Technology Center (WMTC) managed the conduct of this waste treatment technology to assist the US Department of Energy/Oak Ridge Operations (DOE/ORO) in implementing the DOE Model. This demonstration was the first project selected by the Hazardous Waste Remedial Actions Program (HAZWRAP)(and funded by DOE) in which a private-sector vendor was contracted to demonstrate an innovative treatment process for treating some of the Oak Ridge Site's radioactive mixed wastes to enable their environmentally compliant disposal. Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc. (CNSI) was the private-sector vendor selected to demonstrate its X*TRAX trademark process. Briefly, the X*TRAX trademark process consisted of thermally treating the sludge in an inert atmosphere (to remove the volatile components) to yield a dry residue (containing the nonvolatilized sludge components) and condensed liquids. The dry residue can then be immobilized in cementitious matrix for delisting and disposal in an industrial landfill; the condensed liquids can be disposed in, for example, an incinerator

  20. Tuno Knob Offshore Wind Farm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madsen, P.S.

    1996-01-01

    In 1995 Midtkraft Power Company built Denmark's second offshore wind farm as a demonstration project. The project purpose is first of all to investigate the environmental aspects of offshore wind energy. The two primary objects are to study the impact on bird life and to test different methods for predicting the visual effect. The wind farm consists of 10 pitch-regulated Vestas V39 500 kW wind turbines placed on box caisson foundations in a shallow water area 6 km east of Jutland. The project has been implemented successfully under a very narrow time schedule, and during the first 6 months in operation, the production has been approx. 30% higher than expected. (author)

  1. Conventional, organic and biodynamic farming: differences in polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of Batavia lettuce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heimler, Daniela; Vignolini, Pamela; Arfaioli, Paola; Isolani, Laura; Romani, Annalisa

    2012-02-01

    Lactuca sativa L. ssp. acephala L., cv. Batavia red Mohican plants were cultivated under intensive conventional, organic and biodynamic farming and were analyzed for their polyphenol content and antiradical activity in order to demonstrate the influence of farming on yield, polyphenol content and antiradical activity. The yield of plants from conventional farming was the highest (2.89 kg m⁻²), while polyphenol content, measured by spectrophotometry, of these plants was lower at P flavonoid and hydroxycinnamic acid contents. Flavonoid, hydroxycinnamic acid and anthocyan patterns were not affected by the type of cultivation, while quantitative differences were demonstrated and some differences were found between conventional farming and organic or biodynamic farming. The yield of conventionally grown salads was the highest. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

  2. 12 CFR 619.9050 - Associations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... credit associations, production credit associations, and agricultural credit associations. [55 FR 24888... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Associations. 619.9050 Section 619.9050 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM DEFINITIONS § 619.9050 Associations. The...

  3. 12 CFR 614.4710 - [Reserved

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false [Reserved] 614.4710 Section 614.4710 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS Banks for Cooperatives and Agricultural Credit Banks Financing International Trade § 614.4710 [Reserved] ...

  4. Use of donkeys and their draught performance in smallholder farming in Zimbabwe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagmann, J; Prasad, V L

    1995-11-01

    Animal traction constitutes the most important source of power for agricultural work in smallholder farming in Zimbabwe. Two studies, a survey and a short term on-farm trial were conducted to evaluate the use of donkeys as draught animals. The survey covered 59 households in 2 smallholder farming areas. For the on-farm trial, 12 donkeys and 12 cattle were spanned separately in teams of 4 animals to plough 40 m x 70 m plots of medium textured soil. The survey findings highlighted the drought tolerance of donkeys compared to cattle. Mortality rates of donkeys were lower. Results of the draught performance trial indicated that donkeys ploughed less area per day (P draught force between the 2 species. The work rate per hour for ploughing with donkeys was 65% of that of cattle. It was concluded that donkeys play a critical role in providing draught power for smallholder farmers but that their potential is not fully utilised.

  5. Chlamydia abortus in Dairy Farms in Costa Rica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Fonseca Salazar

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to determine the presence of antibodies against Chlamydia abortus in specialized dairy farms. A total of 608 blood samples were collected during 2012 from 24 dairy farms located in the Northern regions of the provinces of Alajuela (15 and Heredia (9, and surveys were carried out to determine management practices in these farms. Serum samples were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA to detect antibodies against C. abortus (sensitivity 100.0%, specificity 99.7%. Only one serum yielded positive results (S/P 62 %, two sera weak positive results (S/P 51% and 52%, respectively, while the remaining sera (n=605 were negative in ELISA. Six months later, 22 animals that showed S/P values >22% in ELISA were analyzed again, yielding all negative results. Blood, milk, conjunctival and vulvar swabs from these animals were analyzed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR, and only one vulvar swab tested positive for Chlamydia spp. The analysis of the management practices and results obtained with ELISA and PCR lead us to conclude that C. abortus is not significantly present (<0.5% in dairy farms in the Northern regions of the provinces of Heredia and Alajuela in Costa Rica.

  6. Fractal water quality fluctuations spanning the periodic table in an intensively farmed watershed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aubert, Alice H; Kirchner, James W; Gascuel-Odoux, Chantal; Faucheux, Mikael; Gruau, Gérard; Mérot, Philippe

    2014-01-21

    Recently developed measurement technologies can monitor surface water quality almost continuously, creating high-frequency multiparameter time series and raising the question of how best to extract insights from such rich data sets. Here we use spectral analysis to characterize the variability of water quality at the AgrHys observatory (Western France) over time scales ranging from 20 min to 12 years. Three years of daily sampling at the intensively farmed Kervidy-Naizin watershed reveal universal 1/f scaling for all 36 solutes, yielding spectral slopes of 1.05 ± 0.11 (mean ± standard deviation). These 36 solute concentrations show varying degrees of annual cycling, suggesting different controls on watershed export processes. Twelve years of daily samples of SO4, NO3, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) show that 1/f scaling does not continue at frequencies below 1/year in those constituents, whereas a 12-year daily record of Cl shows a general 1/f trend down to the lowest measurable frequencies. Conversely, approximately 12 months of 20 min NO3 and DOC measurements show that at frequencies higher than 1/day, the spectra of these solutes steepen to slopes of roughly 3, and at time scales shorter than 2-3 h, the spectra flatten to slopes near zero, reflecting analytical noise. These results confirm and extend the recent discovery of universal fractal 1/f scaling in water quality at the relatively pristine Plynlimon watershed in Wales, further demonstrating the importance of advective-dispersive transport mixing in catchments. However, the steeper scaling at subdaily time scales suggests additional short-term damping of solute concentrations, potentially due to in-stream or riparian processes.

  7. CleverFarm - A superSCADA system for wind farms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juhl, A.; Hansen, K.G.; Giebhardt, J.

    2004-01-01

    The CleverFarm project started out to build an integrated monitoring system for wind farms, where all information would be available and could be used across the wind farm for maintenance and component health assessments. This would enable wind farmoperators to prioritise their efforts, since the...

  8. Gradient-Based Optimization of Wind Farms with Different Turbine Heights: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanley, Andrew P. J.; Thomas, Jared; Ning, Andrew; Annoni, Jennifer; Dykes, Katherine; Fleming, Paul

    2017-05-08

    Turbine wakes reduce power production in a wind farm. Current wind farms are generally built with turbines that are all the same height, but if wind farms included turbines with different tower heights, the cost of energy (COE) may be reduced. We used gradient-based optimization to demonstrate a method to optimize wind farms with varied hub heights. Our study includes a modified version of the FLORIS wake model that accommodates three-dimensional wakes integrated with a tower structural model. Our purpose was to design a process to minimize the COE of a wind farm through layout optimization and varying turbine hub heights. Results indicate that when a farm is optimized for layout and height with two separate height groups, COE can be lowered by as much as 5%-9%, compared to a similar layout and height optimization where all the towers are the same. The COE has the best improvement in farms with high turbine density and a low wind shear exponent.

  9. Estimating the true energy value of a wind farm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bass, J.

    1995-01-01

    To assess the true energy yield of a wind farm taking into account real-world effects such as control losses in individual turbines, losses in the distribution network and wake and topographic effects, this report from the Energy Technology Support Unit, has developed a more appropriate methodology for making economic assessments of wind farm projects. Simulations of wind turbines are used to enable control losses to be quantified, and long term performance data from wind turbines in operational United Kingdom wind farms adds to the accuracy of assessment. A model has also been used to estimate performance of a power distribution system for a wind farm, to enable losses associated with wind turbine, wind speed and various distribution layouts to be predicted. Data on wake effects are drawn from a separate study. All these are drawn into an economic simulation model which predicts a wind farm's likely achievement of its target energy yield, thus demonstrating the risk factors involved. (UK)

  10. Management practices and milk production in dairy donkey farms distributed over the Italian territory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Dai

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Limited information is available about the actual management characteristics of dairy donkeys in Southern Europe. The aim of the present study is to describe animal management of dairy donkey farms in Italy. Twelve farmers were asked to answer a questionnaire on the management of their animals and their farms distributed over the Italian territory. Six farms grouped their animals in paddocks according to the production characteristics (e.g. lactating, dry, stallions; three farms housed the stallions in single boxes. Most of the visited farms were family run and the number of animals cared for by a single person varied from five to 103 animals. All the farms but one performed mechanical milking with a modified goat milkmaid.Vaccinations were regularly performed only on two farms. All the foals received colostrum and suckled from their own mothers. Foals were nursed by their mother until 6-12 months old. During the separation period before milking, foals were usually (83% housed in paddocks near their mothers with the possibility of visual and/or tactile contact, however such separations could be for up to 12 hours (17%. Even though the assessed sample was small, considerable differences were seen between farms, likely due to lack of uniform information available for the farmers. The adoption of scientific based procedures is suggested in order to improve both animal welfare and milk quality.

  11. Surveillance Data Highlights Feed Form, Biosecurity, and Disease Control as Significant Factors Associated with Salmonella Infection on Farrow-to-Finish Pig Farms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hector Argüello

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Among the zoonotic pathogens affecting pigs, Salmonella stands out due to the high number of human cases linked to pork consumption. In the last two decades many countries have put considerable effort into the control of the infection by surveillance and control strategies on farm. Despite this effort, many herds still have a high Salmonella prevalence and they require guidance to address this problem. The present study, using the serological surveillance data of finishing pigs from the Irish National pig Salmonella Control Programme, aimed to highlight factors associated with increased risk or that might mitigate Salmonella occurrence on farm. A questionnaire with 33 questions regarding herd characteristics, management, feeding, biosecurity, and health was completed for 61 individual herds. After the multivariate analysis by linear regression, nine variables were retained in the final model and linked to herd seroprevalence. Home produced-feed linked to the use of meal showed an eight points reduction in Salmonella prevalence compared to purchased feed (p = 0.042. Different biosecurity measures were associated to lower seroprevalence. Changing of footwear from outside to inside the farm decreased seroprevalence nearly 20 units (p = 0.014 and policies not permitting access to the farmyard to feed trucks (p = 0.048 or avoiding the presence of cats on the farm (p = 0.05 were estimated in 10 units less of seroprevalence. In contrast, the lack of perimeter fence increased the chance to have higher seroprevalence in five units (p = 0.05. Finally, intestinal diseases such as swine dysentery (p = 0.044 and E. coli diarrhea (p = 0.1 were estimated to increase Salmonella prevalence in ~20 and 10 units, respectively, demonstrating the importance of controlling other enteric pathogens in an on-farm Salmonella control programme. These results show the usefulness of surveillance data to improve on-farm control and confirm that Salmonella infection in pigs is

  12. On-Farm Crop Species Richness Is Associated with Household Diet Diversity and Quality in Subsistence- and Market-Oriented Farming Households in Malawi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Andrew D

    2017-01-01

    On-farm crop species richness (CSR) may be important for maintaining the diversity and quality of diets of smallholder farming households. The objectives of this study were to 1) determine the association of CSR with the diversity and quality of household diets in Malawi and 2) assess hypothesized mechanisms for this association via both subsistence- and market-oriented pathways. Longitudinal data were assessed from nationally representative household surveys in Malawi between 2010 and 2013 (n = 3000 households). A household diet diversity score (DDS) and daily intake per adult equivalent of energy, protein, iron, vitamin A, and zinc were calculated from 7-d household consumption data. CSR was calculated from plot-level data on all crops cultivated during the 2009-2010 and 2012-2013 agricultural seasons in Malawi. Adjusted generalized estimating equations were used to assess the longitudinal relation of CSR with household diet quality and diversity. CSR was positively associated with DDS (β: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.12; P CSR and household diet diversity or quality (P ≥ 0.05). Households with greater CSR were more commercially oriented (least-squares mean proportion of harvest sold ± SE, highest tertile of CSR: 17.1 ± 0.52; lowest tertile of CSR: 8.92 ± 1.09) (P CSR may be a beneficial strategy for simultaneously supporting enhanced diet quality and diversity while also creating opportunities for smallholder farmers to engage with markets in subsistence agricultural contexts. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

  13. Game farming as a supplementary farming activity in the Karoo ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Game farming as a supplementary farming activity in the Karoo. ... Veld management in a game farming situation poses problems due to the ineffectiveness of rotational grazing systems. Simplification of natural ... AJOL African Journals Online.

  14. 12 CFR 613.3030 - Rural home financing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Rural home financing. 613.3030 Section 613.3030 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM ELIGIBILITY AND SCOPE OF FINANCING Financing Under Titles I and II of the Farm Credit Act § 613.3030 Rural home financing. (a) Definitions. (1...

  15. Transfer of 137Cs to cow's milk: investigations on dairy farms in Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karlen, G.; Johanson, K.J.; Bertilsson, J.

    1995-01-01

    Since 1986, the year of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, 137 Cs activity concentrations in cow's milk on dairy farms were studied in Sweden. Transfer coefficients, F m , of 137 Cs from pasture and fodder to cow's milk were determined on farms in the counties of Uppsala, Gaevleborg and Vaestmanland in central Sweden for one month on winter-fodder, and for the first month in 1987 and 1988 on pasture. The average F m for all investigations (of 10 farms on winter-fodder and 11 farms on pasture in 1987 and 4 farms on pasture in 1988) south of Gaevle was estimated to be 0.0055 with a range of 0.0039 to 0.0080. The 137 Cs activity concentration in milk decreased with time. In summer 1992 and 1993, 137 Cs in milk, on the farms still producing milk, was determined. On these farms, 137 Cs activity concentration in milk was found to be -1 . The effective ecological half-life from 1987 was estimated to be 1.4 ± 0.5(sd) years for milk from 10 farms with a range of 0.8-2.0 years. One farm where 137 Cs milk decreased at a slower rate, or not at all, used semi-natural and uncultivated pasture, forest meadows. On intensely managed farms, where potassium fertilizer was distributed, ploughing was performed and, in 1986, forage was cut at a higher stubble-height, the decrease of 137 Cs in milk was observed to be faster. (Author)

  16. CleverFarm - A SuperSCADA system for wind farms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Giebel, G [ed.; Juhl, A; Gram Hansen, K; Biebhardt, J [and others

    2004-08-01

    The CleverFarm project started out to build an integrated monitoring system for wind farms, where all information would be available and could be used across the wind farm for maintenance and component health assessments. This would enable wind farm operators to prioritise their efforts, since they have a good view of the farm status from home. A large emphasis was placed on the integration of condition monitoring approaches in the central system, enabling estimates of the remaining lifetime of components, especially in the nacelle. During the 3,5 years of the project, software and hardware was developed and installed in two wind farms in Denmark and Germany. The connected hardware included two different condition monitoring systems based on vibration sensors from Gram&Juhl and ISET, plus a camera system developed by Overspeed. Additionally, short-term predictions of the wind farm output were delivered by DMI and Risoes Prediktor system throughout the period of the project. All these diverse information sources are integrated through a web interface based on Java Server Pages. The software was developed in Java, and is delivered as so-called CleverBeans. The main part of the software is open-sourced. The report contains the experiences and results of a one-year experimental period. This report is a slightly edited version of the final publishable report to the EU Commission as part of the requirements of the CleverFarm project.

  17. Towards an assessment of on-farm niches for improved forages in Sud-Kivu, DR Congo

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Paul, Birthe K.; Muhimuzi, Fabrice L.; Bacigale, Samy B.; Wimba, Benjamin M.M.; Chiuri, Wanjiku L.; Amzati, Gaston S.; Maass, Brigitte L.

    2016-01-01

    Inadequate quantity and quality of livestock feed is a persistent constraint to productivity for mixed crop-livestock farming in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. To assess on-farm niches of improved forages, demonstration trials and participatory on-farm research were conducted in four

  18. Long Term Expected Revenue of Wind Farms Considering the Bidding Admission Uncertainty

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bashi, Mazaher Haji; Yousefi, G.R.; Bak, Claus Leth

    2016-01-01

    in the long term expected revenue of wind farms. We show that this consideration could perfectly explain the observed bid shading behavior of wind farm owners. We use a novel market price model with a stochastic model of a wind farm to derive indices describing the uncertainty of bidding admission....... The optimal behavior of the wind farm is then obtained by establishing a multi objective optimization problem and subsequently solved using genetic algorithm. The method is applied to the analysis of long term bidding behavior of a wind farm participating in a Pay-as-Bid (PAB) auction such as Iran Electricity...... Market (IEM). The results demonstrate that wind farm owners change their bid shading behavior in a PAB Auction. However, the expected revenue of the wind farm will also decrease in a PAB auction. As a result, it is not recommended to make an obligation for the wind farms to participate in a PAB auction...

  19. Prevalence and associated risk factors of intestinal parasites among children of farm workers in the southeastern Anatolian region of Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nebiye Yentur Doni

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available [b][/b]Objective. To determine the species, prevalence, and associated risk factors of intestinal parasites in farm workers’ children in a representative sample in the southeastern Anatolian region of Turkey. Materials and method. A total of 333 farm workers’ children, under the age of six years, were selected using the probability sampling method. Mean age of the children was 3.63±0.5; 55.5% were female. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and laboratory analysis of faecal samples. Results. The overall prevalence was 44.6% and the infected children had single, double, and triple parasitic infections at 72.3%, 23.0%, and 4.7%, respectively. The most common parasite was [i]G. intestinalis[/i] (47.97%, followed by [i]E. vermicularis[/i] (37.84%, [i]T. saginata[/i] (27.03%, [i]H. nana[/i] (12.16%, and [i]A. lumbricoides[/i] (7.43%, respectively. Age, gender, illiteracy of the households, poverty, absence of toilets, bathrooms, and kitchens at the place of residence, lack of safe potable water, geophagia (soil eating habit, and being a child of a seasonal farmworker were the most significant factors associated with intestinal parasitic infection (P<0.05. [i]G. intestinalis[/i] and [i]E. vermicularis[/i] were found as the most common parasites that cause salivation, abdominal pain, and tiredness (P<0.05. Conclusion. The study revealed that health education programmes for farm workers and farmers should be improved to increase awareness about living and working conditions, in order to control intestinal parasites. However, early diagnosis and treatment services for intestinal parasites should be provided by primary health care staff in the national child screening programme in agricultural populations.

  20. W-12 valve pit decontamination demonstration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benson, C.E.; Parfitt, J.E.; Patton, B.D.

    1995-12-01

    Waste tank W-12 is a tank in the ORNL Low-Level Liquid Waste (LLLW) system that collected waste from Building 3525. Because of a leaking flange in the discharge line from W-12 to the evaporator service tank (W-22) and continual inleakage into the tank from an unknown source, W-12 was removed from service to comply with the Federal Facilities Agreement requirement. The initial response was to decontaminate the valve pit between tank W-12 and the evaporator service tank (W-22) to determine if personnel could enter the pit to attempt repair of the leaking flange. Preventing the spread of radioactive contamination from the pit to the environment and to other waste systems was of concern during the decontamination. The drain in the pit goes to the process waste system; therefore, if high-level liquid waste were generated during decontamination activities, it would have to be removed from the pit by means other than the available liquid waste connection. Remote decontamination of W-12 was conducted using the General Mills manipulator bridge and telescoping trolley and REMOTEC RM-10 manipulator. The initial objective of repairing the leaking flange was not conducted because of the repair uncertainty and the unknown tank inleakage. Rather, new piping was installed to empty the W-12 tank that would bypass the valve pit and eliminate the need to repair the flange. The radiological surveys indicated that a substantial decontamination factor was achieved

  1. Wind Farm Wake: The Horns Rev Photo Case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pierre-Elouan Réthoré

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to examine the nowadays well-known wind farm wake photographs taken on 12 February 2008 at the offshore Horns Rev 1 wind farm. The meteorological conditions are described from observations from several satellite sensors quantifying clouds, surface wind vectors and sea surface temperature as well as ground-based information at and near the wind farm, including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA data. The SCADA data reveal that the case of fog formation occurred 12 February 2008 on the 10:10 UTC. The fog formation is due to very special atmospheric conditions where a layer of cold humid air above a warmer sea surface re-condensates to fog in the wake of the turbines. The process is fed by warm humid air up-drafted from below in the counter-rotating swirl generated by the clock-wise rotating rotors. The condensation appears to take place primarily in the wake regions with relatively high axial velocities and high turbulent kinetic energy. The wind speed is near cut-in and most turbines produce very little power. The rotational pattern of spiraling bands produces the large-scale structure of the wake fog.

  2. 12 CFR 618.8000 - Definitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Definitions. 618.8000 Section 618.8000 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS Related Services § 618... means the method or procedures used to deliver a related service. This distinguishes the particulars of...

  3. Stability analysis of offshore wind farm and marine current farm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shawon, Mohammad Hasanuzzaman

    -trend for large electric energy production using offshore wind generators and marine current generators, respectively. Thus DFIG based offshore wind farm can be an economic solution to stabilize squirrel cage induction generator based marine current farm without installing any addition FACTS devices. This thesis first focuses on the stabilization of fixed speed IG based marine current farm using SDBR. Also stabilization of DFIG based variable speed wind farm utilizing SDBR is studied in this work. Finally a co-operative control strategy is proposed where DFIG is controlled in such a way that it can even provide necessary reactive power demand of induction generator, so that additional cost of FACTS devices can be avoided. In that way, the DFIGs of the offshore wind farm (OWF) will actively compensate the reactive power demand of adjacent IGs of the marine current farm (MCF) during grid fault. Detailed modeling and control scheme for the proposed system are demonstrated considering some realistic scenarios. The power system small signal stability analysis is also carried out by eigenvalue analysis for marine current generator topology, wind turbine generator topology and integrated topology. The relation between the modes and state variables are discussed in light of modal and sensitivity analyses. The results of theoretical analyses are verified by MATLAB/SIMULINK and laboratory standard power system simulator PSCAD/EMTDC.

  4. Training needs of farm women in dairy farming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Durgga Rani V. And Subhadra M.R.

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available A study was conducted in Thrissur taluk of Thrissur district to assess the training needs of farm women engaged in dairy farming. It was found that out of the five major farm operations studied, the farm women needed training the most in housing. The minor operations preferred the most for knowledge need were proper design of cattle shed, selection of breeds, compounding balanced feed using locally available ingredients, vaccination and banking and insurance. As for skill need, construction of scientific low cost cattle shed, selection of breeds, compounding balanced feed using locally available ingredients, symptoms of common diseases and banking and insurance were preferred the most. [Vet World 2009; 2(6.000: 221-223

  5. Farm-by-farm analysis of microsatellite, mtDNA and SNP genotype data reveals inbreeding and crossbreeding as threats to the survival of a native Spanish pig breed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrero-Medrano, J M; Megens, H J; Crooijmans, R P; Abellaneda, J M; Ramis, G

    2013-06-01

    The Chato Murciano (CM), a pig breed from the Murcia region in the southeastern region of Spain, is a good model for endangered livestock populations. The remaining populations are bred on approximately 15 small farms, and no herdbook exists. To assess the genetic threats to the integrity and survival of the CM breed, and to aid in designing a conservation program, three genetic marker systems - microsatellites, SNPs and mtDNA - were applied across the majority of the total breeding stock. In addition, mtDNA and SNPs were genotyped in breeds that likely contributed genetically to the current CM gene pool. The analyses revealed the levels of genetic diversity within the range of other European local breeds (H(e) = 0.53). However, when the eight farms that rear at least 10 CM pigs were independently analyzed, high levels of inbreeding were found in some. Despite the evidence for recent crossbreeding with commercial breeds on a few farms, the entire breeding stock remains readily identifiable as CM, facilitating the design of traceability assays. The genetic management of the breed is consistent with farm size, farm owner and presence of other pig breeds on the farm, demonstrating the highly ad hoc nature of current CM breeding. The results of genetic diversity and substructure of the entire breed, as well as admixture and crossbreeding obtained in the present study, provide a benchmark to develop future conservation strategies. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that identifying farm-based practices and farm-based breeding stocks can aid in the design of a sustainable breeding program for minority breeds. © 2012 The Authors, Animal Genetics © 2012 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

  6. Metrics and methods for characterizing dairy farm intensification using farm survey data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez-Mejia, Alejandra; Styles, David; Wilson, Paul; Gibbons, James

    2018-01-01

    Evaluation of agricultural intensification requires comprehensive analysis of trends in farm performance across physical and socio-economic aspects, which may diverge across farm types. Typical reporting of economic indicators at sectorial or the "average farm" level does not represent farm diversity and provides limited insight into the sustainability of specific intensification pathways. Using farm business data from a total of 7281 farm survey observations of English and Welsh dairy farms over a 14-year period we calculate a time series of 16 key performance indicators (KPIs) pertinent to farm structure, environmental and socio-economic aspects of sustainability. We then apply principle component analysis and model-based clustering analysis to identify statistically the number of distinct dairy farm typologies for each year of study, and link these clusters through time using multidimensional scaling. Between 2001 and 2014, dairy farms have largely consolidated and specialized into two distinct clusters: more extensive farms relying predominantly on grass, with lower milk yields but higher labour intensity, and more intensive farms producing more milk per cow with more concentrate and more maize, but lower labour intensity. There is some indication that these clusters are converging as the extensive cluster is intensifying slightly faster than the intensive cluster, in terms of milk yield per cow and use of concentrate feed. In 2014, annual milk yields were 6,835 and 7,500 l/cow for extensive and intensive farm types, respectively, whilst annual concentrate feed use was 1.3 and 1.5 tonnes per cow. For several KPIs such as milk yield the mean trend across all farms differed substantially from the extensive and intensive typologies mean. The indicators and analysis methodology developed allows identification of distinct farm types and industry trends using readily available survey data. The identified groups allow the accurate evaluation of the consequences of the

  7. Metrics and methods for characterizing dairy farm intensification using farm survey data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandra Gonzalez-Mejia

    Full Text Available Evaluation of agricultural intensification requires comprehensive analysis of trends in farm performance across physical and socio-economic aspects, which may diverge across farm types. Typical reporting of economic indicators at sectorial or the "average farm" level does not represent farm diversity and provides limited insight into the sustainability of specific intensification pathways. Using farm business data from a total of 7281 farm survey observations of English and Welsh dairy farms over a 14-year period we calculate a time series of 16 key performance indicators (KPIs pertinent to farm structure, environmental and socio-economic aspects of sustainability. We then apply principle component analysis and model-based clustering analysis to identify statistically the number of distinct dairy farm typologies for each year of study, and link these clusters through time using multidimensional scaling. Between 2001 and 2014, dairy farms have largely consolidated and specialized into two distinct clusters: more extensive farms relying predominantly on grass, with lower milk yields but higher labour intensity, and more intensive farms producing more milk per cow with more concentrate and more maize, but lower labour intensity. There is some indication that these clusters are converging as the extensive cluster is intensifying slightly faster than the intensive cluster, in terms of milk yield per cow and use of concentrate feed. In 2014, annual milk yields were 6,835 and 7,500 l/cow for extensive and intensive farm types, respectively, whilst annual concentrate feed use was 1.3 and 1.5 tonnes per cow. For several KPIs such as milk yield the mean trend across all farms differed substantially from the extensive and intensive typologies mean. The indicators and analysis methodology developed allows identification of distinct farm types and industry trends using readily available survey data. The identified groups allow the accurate evaluation of the

  8. Wind Farm Wake: The Horns Rev Photo Case

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hasager, Charlotte Bay; Rasmussen, Leif; Peña, Alfredo

    2013-01-01

    The aim of the paper is to examine the nowadays well-known wind farm wake photographs taken on 12 February 2008 at the offshore Horns Rev 1 wind farm. The meteorological conditions are described from observations from several satellite sensors quantifying clouds, surface wind vectors and sea surf...... in the wake regions with relatively high axial velocities and high turbulent kinetic energy. The wind speed is near cut-in and most turbines produce very little power. The rotational pattern of spiraling bands produces the large-scale structure of the wake fog....

  9. NAFTA and Farm Subsidies: A Recipe for Poor Regional Security

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-31

    Hemisphere.12 Mexico’s agricultural economy, consisting of a large number of small farms with major harvests in corn, wheat, beans , rice, coffee and...agriculture.1 More than any other sector in Mexico, agriculture with its integral heritage and cultural values has been left behind for a more...farm subsidies provides for a chain that begins with votes for U.S. politicians and results in decreased theater stability. Partisan politics between

  10. Respirable dust and quartz exposure from three South African farms with sandy, sandy loam, and clay soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanepoel, Andrew J; Kromhout, Hans; Jinnah, Zubair A; Portengen, Lützen; Renton, Kevin; Gardiner, Kerry; Rees, David

    2011-07-01

    To quantify personal time-weighted average respirable dust and quartz exposure on a sandy, a sandy loam, and a clay soil farm in the Free State and North West provinces of South Africa and to ascertain whether soil type is a determinant of exposure to respirable quartz. Three farms, located in the Free State and North West provinces of South Africa, had their soil type confirmed as sandy, sandy loam, and clay; and, from these, a total of 298 respirable dust and respirable quartz measurements were collected between July 2006-November 2009 during periods of major farming operations. Values below the limit of detection (LOD) (22 μg · m(-3)) were estimated using multiple 'imputation'. Non-parametric tests were used to compare quartz exposure from the three different soil types. Exposure to respirable quartz occurred on all three farms with the highest individual concentration measured on the sandy soil farm (626 μg · m(-3)). Fifty-seven, 59, and 81% of the measurements on the sandy soil, sandy loam soil, and clay soil farm, respectively, exceeded the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit value (TLV) of 25 μg · m(-3). Twelve and 13% of respirable quartz concentrations exceeded 100 μg · m(-3) on the sandy soil and sandy loam soil farms, respectively, but none exceeded this level on the clay soil farm. The proportions of measurements >100 μg · m(-3) were not significantly different between the sandy and sandy loam soil farms ('prop.test'; P = 0.65), but both were significantly larger than for the clay soil farm ('prop.test'; P = 0.0001). The percentage of quartz in respirable dust was determined for all three farms using measurements > the limit of detection. Percentages ranged from 0.5 to 94.4% with no significant difference in the median quartz percentages across the three farms (Kruskal-Wallis test; P = 0.91). This study demonstrates that there is significant potential for over-exposure to respirable quartz in

  11. Renewable Energy From Animal Biomass – Farm Methane

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    St. Amour, Kenneth [Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, Waterbury Center, VT (United States)

    2013-08-31

    The major goal of the project is to develop 2 anaerobic digesters on family farms in rural Vermont. We have accomplished half of that goal, with 1 digester operating on the Gebbie Maplehurst Farm in Greensboro, Vermont. The 2nd digester is planned as a student demonstration unit at Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center, Vermont. That half of the project has not commenced. We will limit our discussion to the Gebbie Maplehurst Farm project. A 150MW generator is installed on the farm and is producing electricity which is being sold as part of the Standard Offer Program within the State of Vermont. The induction generator is the first of its kind manufactured by Martin Machinery of Latham, Missouri. The project is currently generating approximately 15% - 20% of the capacity as shown in appendix I. However, it is anticipated that details will quickly be worked out to increase that capacity factor.

  12. Farm Population Trends and Farm Characteristics. Rural Development Research Report No. 3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banks, Vera J.

    While total farm population is declining, the number of people living on the farms which produce the bulk of the nation's food and fiber is increasing. The 1970-75 total farm population decline was 13 percent, but the number of people living on farms with annual sales greater than $40,000 increased 76 percent. Such farms account for about 80…

  13. The combined effects of family size and farm exposure on childhood hay fever and atopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genuneit, Jon; Strachan, David P; Büchele, Gisela; Weber, Juliane; Loss, Georg; Sozanska, Barbara; Boznanski, Andrzej; Horak, Elisabeth; Heederik, Dick; Braun-Fahrländer, Charlotte; von Mutius, Erika

    2013-05-01

    Exposure to farming environments and siblings is associated with reduced risks of childhood hay fever and atopy. We explored the independence and interaction of these protective effects in the GABRIELA study. Questionnaire surveys on farming, asthma, and allergies were conducted in four central European areas among 79,888 6-12-yr-old children. Aeroallergen-specific serum IgE was measured in a stratified sample of 8,023 children. Multiple logistic regression was used to compare gradients in allergy prevalence by sibship size across three categories of exposure to farming environments. The prevalence of hay fever ranged from 2% (95% confidence interval 1.6%; 2.7%) among farmers' children with more than two siblings to 12% (11.2%; 13.0%) among children with no farm exposure and no siblings. Farming families were larger on average. More siblings and exposure to farming environments independently conferred protection from hay fever and atopy. There was no substantial effect modification between family size and exposure to farming environments. The odds ratios for hay fever per additional sibling were 0.79 among unexposed non-farm children, 0.77 among farm-exposed non-farm children, and 0.72 among children from farming families (2df interaction test: p = 0.41). The inverse association of exposure to farming environments with hay fever is found in all sizes of family, with no substantial tendency to saturation or synergism. This suggests that different biological mechanisms may underlie these two protective factors. Combinations of a large family and exposure to farming environments markedly reduce the prevalence of hay fever and indicate the strength of its environmental determinants. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  14. TOPFARM: Multi-fidelity optimization of wind farms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Réthoré, Pierre-Elouan; Fuglsang, Peter; Larsen, Gunner Chr.

    2014-01-01

    design of the Middelgrunden wind farm, this work focuses on demonstrating a method that optimizes the profit of wind farms over their lifetime based on a balance of the energy production income, the electrical grid costs, the foundations cost, and the cost of wake turbulence induced fatigue degradation...... of different wind turbine components. A multi-fidelity concept is adapted, which uses cost function models of increasing complexity (and decreasing speed) to accelerate the convergence to an optimum solution. In the EU-FP6 TOPFARM project, three levels of complexity are considered. The first level uses...... a simple stationary wind farm wake model to estimate the Annual Energy Production (AEP), a foundations cost model depending on the water depth and an electrical grid cost function dictated by cable length. The second level calculates the AEP and adds a wake-induced fatigue degradation cost function...

  15. Cervical cancer screening in rural South Africa among HIV-infected migrant farm workers and sex workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afzal, Omara; Lieber, Molly; Dottino, Peter; Beddoe, Ann Marie

    2017-05-01

    At an HIV clinic in the Limpopo province of South Africa, chart reviews revealed long delays in addressing abnormal Pap smears, difficulty in referrals, poor quality and lost results, and increasing cases of cervical cancer. To address these barriers, a "see and treat" approach to screening was proposed. The objective was to integrate this method into current HIV care offered by local providers and to obtain demographic and risk factor data for use in future educational and intervention programs in the region. A cross sectional study of HIV farm workers and at-risk sex workers attending an HIV clinic was performed with visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA). Those with positive screens were offered cryotherapy. Clinic charts were reviewed retrospectively for Pap smear results for the previous year at the time of program initiation and at 12 and 18 months post-program. A total of 403 participants consented and underwent screening with VIA (306 Farm workers and 97 sex workers participated). 83.9% of participants (32.9% sex workers and 100% farm workers) were HIV +. VIA was positive in 30.5% of participants, necessitating cryotherapy. There was no significant difference in VIA positivity between HIV + farm workers and sex workers. There was a positive correlation between Pap smears and VIAs results. We demonstrate successful integration of cervical cancer screening using VIA for HIV + farm workers and sex workers into an existing HIV treatment and prevention clinic in rural South Africa, addressing and treating abnormal results promptly.

  16. Life cycle assessment of different sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus Selenka) farming systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Guodong; Dong, Shuanglin; Tian, Xiangli; Gao, Qinfeng; Wang, Fang; Xu, Kefeng

    2015-12-01

    The life cycle assessment was employed to evaluate the environmental impacts of three farming systems (indoor intensive, semi-intensive and extensive systems) of sea cucumber living near Qingdao, China, which can effectively overcome the interference of inaccurate background parameters caused by the diversity of economic level and environment in different regions. Six indicators entailing global warming potential (1.86E + 04, 3.45E + 03, 2.36E + 02), eutrophication potential (6.65E + 01, -1.24E + 02, -1.65E + 02), acidification potential (1.93E + 02, 4.33E + 01, 1.30E + 00), photochemical oxidant formation potential (2.35E-01, 5.46E -02, 2.53E-03), human toxicity potential (2.47E + 00, 6.08E-01, 4.91E + 00) and energy use (3.36E + 05, 1.27E + 04, 1.48E + 03) were introduced in the current study. It was found that all environmental indicators in the indoor intensive farming system were much higher than those in semi-intensive and extensive farming systems because of the dominant role of energy input, while energy input also contributed as the leading cause factor for most of the indicators in the semi-intensive farming system. Yet in the extensive farming system, infrastructure materials played a major role. Through a comprehensive comparison of the three farming systems, it was concluded that income per unit area of indoor intensive farming system was much higher than those of semi-intensive and extensive farming systems. However, the extensive farming system was the most sustainable one. Moreover, adequate measures were proposed, respectively, to improve the environmental sustainability of each farming system in the present study.

  17. The Impact of Farming and Land Ownership on Soil Erosion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Čermáková

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper was to compare two methods of farming, especially their effect on water soil erosion. The examined methods were (1 large-scale farming, where more than 50% of the land was leased, and (2 small-scale farming, where the land was almost exclusively privately owned. The research area was 8 cadastres in the district of Hodonín, South Moravia, Czech Republic. In these cadastres 48 land blocks representing both large-scale and small-scale farming (i.e. owners and tenants were chosen. The long-term average annual soil loss caused by water erosion (G was calculated using the erosion model USLE 2D and ArcGIS 10.1. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used for the statistical evaluation of the data. The difference between the soil loss (G on land blocks farmed by small producers (owners and large producers (tenants was significant (p < 0.05. Differences between the values of the cropping-management factor (C were not statistically significant (p = 0.054. Based on the analysis of other variables in the USLE equation it can be stated that a continuous slope length, conditioned by the size of land blocks, played an important role in the amount of soil loss caused by water erosion. Above all, to protect the soil from erosion and maintain soil quality it is necessary to reduce the size of land blocks farmed by tenants and improve the crop rotation systems.

  18. FTIR spectra of the solid solutions (Na0.88K0.12)VO3, (Na0.5K0.5)VO3, and Na(V0.66P0.34)O3

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Waal, D.; Heyns, A. M.

    1992-03-01

    It is known that three different solid solutions, (Na0.88K0.12)VO3, (Na0.5K0.5)VO3 and Na(V0.66P0.34)O3, form in the (Na,K)(V,P)O3 system. These compounds all have monoclinic crystal structures similar to the pure alkali metal metavanadates containing small cations, e.g. Li+ and Na+ (Space group C2/c). Metavanadates with large cations like K+, Rb+, C+s and NH+4 form orthorhombic crystals, space group Pbcm. All those are structurally related to the silicate pyroxenes. Na(V0.66P0.34)O3 and (Na0.88K0.12)VO3 have the same modified diopside structure as (alpha) - NaVO3 while (Na0.5K0.5)VO3 adopts the true diopside structure. The infrared spectra of the three solid solutions are reported here in comparison with those of (alpha) -NaVO3 and KVO3. The results are also correlated with those obtained in two independent high pressure Raman studies of NH4VO3 and RbVO3 as the introduction of a larger cation like K+ should increase the pressure in the structure.

  19. Assessing agro-environmental performance of dairy farms in northwest Italy based on aggregated results from indicators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaudino, Stefano; Goia, Irene; Grignani, Carlo; Monaco, Stefano; Sacco, Dario

    2014-07-01

    Dairy farms control an important share of the agricultural area of Northern Italy. Zero grazing, large maize-cropped areas, high stocking densities, and high milk production make them intensive and prone to impact the environment. Currently, few published studies have proposed indicator sets able to describe the entire dairy farm system and their internal components. This work had four aims: i) to propose a list of agro-environmental indicators to assess dairy farms; ii) to understand which indicators classify farms best; iii) to evaluate the dairy farms based on the proposed indicator list; iv) to link farmer decisions to the consequent environmental pressures. Forty agro-environmental indicators selected for this study are described. Northern Italy dairy systems were analysed considering both farmer decision indicators (farm management) and the resulting pressure indicators that demonstrate environmental stress on the entire farming system, and its components: cropping system, livestock system, and milk production. The correlations among single indicators identified redundant indicators. Principal Components Analysis distinguished which indicators provided meaningful information about each pressure indicator group. Analysis of the communalities and the correlations among indicators identified those that best represented farm variability: Farm Gate N Balance, Greenhouse Gas Emission, and Net Energy of the farm system; Net Energy and Gross P Balance of the cropping system component; Energy Use Efficiency and Purchased Feed N Input of the livestock system component; N Eco-Efficiency of the milk production component. Farm evaluation, based on the complete list of selected indicators demonstrated organic farming resulted in uniformly high values, while farms with low milk-producing herds resulted in uniformly low values. Yet on other farms, the environmental quality varied greatly when different groups of pressure indicators were considered, which highlighted the

  20. Semi-continuously addition of peracetic acid to a flow-through fish farm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Lars-Flemming; Henriksen, Niels Henrik

    2017-01-01

    Demonstration of a safe and reliable practical method to reduce ectoparasites related mortality of farmed fish.•Central peracetic acid application caused even distribution to all ponds and considered suitable for organic fish farming.•Low dose and easy degradable peracetic acid is an alternative...

  1. Integrated watershed- and farm-scale modeling framework for targeting critical source areas while maintaining farm economic viability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghebremichael, Lula T; Veith, Tamie L; Hamlett, James M

    2013-01-15

    environmental mitigation at the farm- and watershed-levels. This paper also outlines steps needed to extract important CSA-related information from a watershed model to help inform targeting decisions at the farm scale. The modeling framework is demonstrated with two unique case studies in the northeastern United States (New York and Vermont), with supporting data from numerous published, location-specific studies at both the watershed and farm scales. Using the integrated modeling framework, it can be possible to compare the costs (in terms of changes required in farm system components or financial compensations for retiring crop lands) and benefits (in terms of measurable water quality improvement goals) of implementing targeted BMPs. This multi-scale modeling approach can be used in the multi-objective task of mitigating CSAs of pollution to meet water quality goals while maintaining farm-level economic viability. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Leverages for on-farm innovation from farm typologies? An illustration for family-based dairy farms in north-west Michoacán, Mexico

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cortez Arriola, J.; Rossing, W.A.H.; Amendola Massiotti, R.D.; Scholberg, J.M.S.; Groot, J.C.J.; Tittonell, P.A.

    2015-01-01

    Knowledge on farm diversity provides insight into differences among farms, enables scaling from individual farm to farm population level and vice versa, and has been used in the definition of recommendation domains for introduction of novel technologies. Farm diversity can be broadly described in

  3. Analysis of the offshore installations regulations 2005 (SCR05r12) within Brazilian reality; Analise da regulacao das instalacoes offshore 2005 (SCR05r12) dentro da realidade brasileira

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nalvarte, Gladys; Storch, Rafael; Araujo, Pedro; Oliveira, Luiz Fernando [Det Norske Veritas (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    The main motivation for the present study is the modifications presented in the guidance Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005 (SCR05 r12), released by HSE, in relation to the Offshore Installation Regulation 1992, SCR92. A critical analysis of the new regulation issued by HSE is developed and conclusions are obtained. A cost-benefit approach applied to the Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA), using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques, is suggested. Thereby, a method to identify the mitigation measures that most reduces the risks with the minimum cost is obtained. On the other hand, this new QRA approach combined with a cost benefit analysis is intended to have a total cost diminished. In this case, the cost of the new QRA study is dependant on the number of reevaluations needed to determine the mitigation measures to be applied. (author)

  4. Accurate wind farm development and operation. Advanced wake modelling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brand, A.; Bot, E.; Ozdemir, H. [ECN Unit Wind Energy, P.O. Box 1, NL 1755 ZG Petten (Netherlands); Steinfeld, G.; Drueke, S.; Schmidt, M. [ForWind, Center for Wind Energy Research, Carl von Ossietzky Universitaet Oldenburg, D-26129 Oldenburg (Germany); Mittelmeier, N. REpower Systems SE, D-22297 Hamburg (Germany))

    2013-11-15

    The ability is demonstrated to calculate wind farm wakes on the basis of ambient conditions that were calculated with an atmospheric model. Specifically, comparisons are described between predicted and observed ambient conditions, and between power predictions from three wind farm wake models and power measurements, for a single and a double wake situation. The comparisons are based on performance indicators and test criteria, with the objective to determine the percentage of predictions that fall within a given range about the observed value. The Alpha Ventus site is considered, which consists of a wind farm with the same name and the met mast FINO1. Data from the 6 REpower wind turbines and the FINO1 met mast were employed. The atmospheric model WRF predicted the ambient conditions at the location and the measurement heights of the FINO1 mast. May the predictability of the wind speed and the wind direction be reasonable if sufficiently sized tolerances are employed, it is fairly impossible to predict the ambient turbulence intensity and vertical shear. Three wind farm wake models predicted the individual turbine powers: FLaP-Jensen and FLaP-Ainslie from ForWind Oldenburg, and FarmFlow from ECN. The reliabilities of the FLaP-Ainslie and the FarmFlow wind farm wake models are of equal order, and higher than FLaP-Jensen. Any difference between the predictions from these models is most clear in the double wake situation. Here FarmFlow slightly outperforms FLaP-Ainslie.

  5. Farm management information systems: A case study on a German multifunctional farm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Husemann Christoph

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Accurate and easy to use Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS are of fundamental importance for a successful operational farm management. However, still today many farmers do not use FMISs for various reasons, like lack of knowledge and the complexity of many available FMISs. In particular for small to medium-sized farms and for multifunctional farms appropriate FMISs hardly exist. This paper aims on the deduction of a concrete FMIS from a general FMIS. The concrete FMIS has to focus on the needs of medium-sized and multifunctional farms. This means that the farmer has to be empowered to allocate the scarce resources of the farm. Therefore, we picked a German farm from the state North Rhine Westphalia as a case-study to apply a system analysis. The case study farm helps to identify and to analyze relevant material and information flows, production processes, and their interconnections and synergies.

  6. Soil management practices under organic farming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aly, Adel; Chami Ziad, Al; Hamdy, Atef

    2015-04-01

    Organic farming methods combine scientific knowledge of ecology and modern technology with traditional farming practices based on naturally occurring biological processes. Soil building practices such as crop rotations, intercropping, symbiotic associations, cover crops, organic fertilizers and minimum tillage are central to organic practices. Those practices encourage soil formation and structure and creating more stable systems. In farm nutrient and energy cycling is increased and the retentive abilities of the soil for nutrients and water are enhanced. Such management techniques also play an important role in soil erosion control. The length of time that the soil is exposed to erosive forces is decreased, soil biodiversity is increased, and nutrient losses are reduced, helping to maintain and enhance soil productivity. Organic farming as systematized and certifiable approach for agriculture, there is no surprise that it faces some challenges among both farmers and public sector. This can be clearly demonstrated particularly in the absence of the essential conditions needed to implement successfully the soil management practices like green manure and composting to improve soil fertility including crop rotation, cover cropping and reduced tillage. Those issues beside others will be fully discussed highlighting their beneficial impact on the environmental soil characteristics. Keywords: soil fertility, organic matter, plant nutrition

  7. 12 CFR 609.950 - Electronic communications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Electronic communications. 609.950 Section 609.950 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM ELECTRONIC COMMERCE General Requirements for Electronic Communications § 609.950 Electronic communications. (a) Agreement. In accordance...

  8. 12 CFR 614.4600 - Insolvency of an OFI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Insolvency of an OFI. 614.4600 Section 614.4600 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS Farm Credit Bank and Agricultural Credit Bank Financing of Other Financing Institutions § 614.4600 Insolvency of an...

  9. Organic farming of dairy goats in the Veneto region: feeding management and milk quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucia Bailoni

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The relationship between the quality of goat milk and the feeding management in organic farms located in the Veneto Region was evaluated. Five organic dairy goat farms with Alpine and Saanen breeds were considered. Samples of bulk milk and feeds were collected monthly and analysed for chemical composition. Milk fatty acids profile was also determined. All data were submitted by ANCOVA analysis using breed (B, time of sampling (ST and B x ST as fixed effects and dry matter intake (DMI, dietary concentrations of crude protein (CPc, NDF (NDFc, starch (starchc, and use of grazing as linear covariates. Milk urea N was positively affected by DMI (r=3.64; P<0.05 and negatively by starchc (r=-5.91; P<0.05 and total bacterial count increased significantly (P<0.05 with the increase of CPc and starchc. DMI affected positively the milk fatty acid (FA profile by increasing of PUFA (P<0.01, n-3 (P<0.001 and n-6 (P<0.05 acids and decreasing of SFA (P<0.05 levels in milk. Opposite effects on FA profile were observed by CPc, NDFc and starchc. The use of grazing only caused a significant increase (P<0.05 in the content of CLA in milk.

  10. High-energy Gamma Rays from the Milky Way: Three-dimensional Spatial Models for the Cosmic-Ray and Radiation Field Densities in the Interstellar Medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Porter, T. A.; Moskalenko, I. V. [W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Jóhannesson, G., E-mail: tporter@stanford.edu [Science Institute, University of Iceland, IS-107 Reykjavik (Iceland)

    2017-09-01

    High-energy γ -rays of interstellar origin are produced by the interaction of cosmic-ray (CR) particles with the diffuse gas and radiation fields in the Galaxy. The main features of this emission are well understood and are reproduced by existing CR propagation models employing 2D galactocentric cylindrically symmetrical geometry. However, the high-quality data from instruments like the Fermi Large Area Telescope reveal significant deviations from the model predictions on few to tens of degrees scales, indicating the need to include the details of the Galactic spiral structure and thus requiring 3D spatial modeling. In this paper, the high-energy interstellar emissions from the Galaxy are calculated using the new release of the GALPROP code employing 3D spatial models for the CR source and interstellar radiation field (ISRF) densities. Three models for the spatial distribution of CR sources are used that are differentiated by their relative proportion of input luminosity attributed to the smooth disk or spiral arms. Two ISRF models are developed based on stellar and dust spatial density distributions taken from the literature that reproduce local near- to far-infrared observations. The interstellar emission models that include arms and bulges for the CR source and ISRF densities provide plausible physical interpretations for features found in the residual maps from high-energy γ -ray data analysis. The 3D models for CR and ISRF densities provide a more realistic basis that can be used for the interpretation of the nonthermal interstellar emissions from the Galaxy.

  11. Improving productivity through the use of artificial insemination in dual purpose farms in Costa Rica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Estrada, S.; Perez, E.

    2001-01-01

    The objective of the present study was to identify the major causes of inefficiency in the AI services provided to dual-purpose farms in the region of Tilaran, Guanacaste. The study included four representative farms from the region, where AI was done on a routine basis in which 80 to 100 first services were done annually. The overall conception rate (CR) was 42.7% (271/635) and was significantly influenced by three variables: lactation, oestrus signs and technician. Cows that were inseminated during their lactation number 5 had 2.17 times greater chance of getting pregnant (P<0.001) than cows inseminated during any other lactation. Cows inseminated after detecting oestrus because they were mounting others had 1.2 less chance to get pregnant than those detected by standing heat, but those cows detected by other signs such as restlessness or bellowing had 1.8 more opportunity to get pregnant than those detected by standing heat. The interval from calving to first service was 114.1 days and three variables had significant (P<0.05) effects on this interval: farm, calving season and lactation. Cows calving during the rainy season had a shorter interval than those calving in the dry season. There was a significant difference between the first lactation and the others. Only lactation had significant effect on first service CR. It was concluded that farm type, lactation, season, and heat signs were the most important factors having an influence on the efficiency of AI. Variables involved are closely related to management and should be targeted in future work aimed at improving reproductive efficiency. (author)

  12. 12 CFR 622.81 - Default.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Default. 622.81 Section 622.81 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Rules and Procedures... Default. If the subject individual fails to file a petition for a hearing, or fails to appear at a hearing...

  13. Measuring power output intermittency and unsteady loading in a micro wind farm model

    OpenAIRE

    Bossuyt, Juliaan; Howland, Michael; Meneveau, Charles; Meyers, Johan

    2016-01-01

    In this study porous disc models are used as a turbine model for a wind-tunnel wind farm experiment, allowing the measurement of the power output, thrust force and spatially averaged incoming velocity for every turbine. The model's capabilities for studying the unsteady turbine loading, wind farm power output intermittency and spatio temporal correlations between wind turbines are demonstrated on an aligned wind farm, consisting of 100 wind turbine models.

  14. Farm production performance in Russian regions: farm panel data analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bezlepkina, I.

    2003-01-01

    The Russian agricultural sector has experienced many problems since the beginning of the 1990s that resulted in a fall in farm output. Employing a production function approach and, unlike other studies, farm-level data on more than 20,000 Russian large-scale farms for the period 1995-2000, this

  15. 12 CFR 609.945 - Records retention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Records retention. 609.945 Section 609.945 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Standards for Boards and Management § 609.945 Records retention. Records stored electronically must be accurate, accessible...

  16. Do differences in food web structure between organic and conventional farms affect the ecosystem service of pest control?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macfadyen, Sarina; Gibson, Rachel; Polaszek, Andrew; Morris, Rebecca J; Craze, Paul G; Planqué, Robert; Symondson, William O C; Memmott, Jane

    2009-03-01

    While many studies have demonstrated that organic farms support greater levels of biodiversity, it is not known whether this translates into better provision of ecosystem services. Here we use a food-web approach to analyse the community structure and function at the whole-farm scale. Quantitative food webs from 10 replicate pairs of organic and conventional farms showed that organic farms have significantly more species at three trophic levels (plant, herbivore and parasitoid) and significantly different network structure. Herbivores on organic farms were attacked by more parasitoid species on organic farms than on conventional farms. However, differences in network structure did not translate into differences in robustness to simulated species loss and we found no difference in percentage parasitism (natural pest control) across a variety of host species. Furthermore, a manipulative field experiment demonstrated that the higher species richness of parasitoids on the organic farms did not increase mortality of a novel herbivore used to bioassay ecosystem service. The explanation for these differences is likely to include inherent differences in management strategies and landscape structure between the two farming systems.

  17. Effects of C/N controlled periphyton based organic farming of freshwater prawn on water quality parameters and biotic factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md. Rezoanul Haque

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The effects of C:N controlled periphyton based organic farming of freshwater prawn on water quality parameters and biotic factors were investigated. The experiment had two treatments: T1 and T2 each with three replications. Stocking density was maintained at 20,000 juveniles ha-1. In T1, only commercially available prawn feed was applied and in T2, a locally formulated and prepared feed containing 24% crude protein with C:N ratio close to 20 was used, and maize flour and bamboo side shoots were provided for maintaining C:N ratio 20.Mean values of water quality parameters did not vary significantly (P>0.05 between treatments. Periphytic biomass in terms of dry matter, ash free dry matter (AFDM and chlorophyll a showed significant difference (P<0.05 among different sampling months. Individual harvesting weight, individual weight gain, specific growth rates, gross and net yields of prawn were significantly higher (P<0.05 in T2 than T1. Therefore, it was concluded that freshwater prawn might consume periphyton biomass in C:N controlled periphyton based organic farming practices resulted a significantly (P<0.05 higher production of freshwater prawn than traditional farming.

  18. Effect of farming systems on the yield, quality parameters and sensory properties of conventionally and organically grown potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brazinskiene, V; Asakaviciute, R; Miezeliene, A; Alencikiene, G; Ivanauskas, L; Jakstas, V; Viskelis, P; Razukas, A

    2014-02-15

    The objectives of this two-year research were to study the impact of two different farming types, conventional and organic, on the yield and sensory properties of five Lithuanian varieties of potato tuber. The parameters and properties examined were: phenolic acids; dry matter and starch content; and the spread and intensity of Phytophthora infestans growth. It was determined that potato yield fluctuates with the variety, but for conventional farming it is significantly (p0.05) on the content of phenolic acids. No significant effect (p>0.05) of farming type on dry matter and starch content, or sensory properties was found. No significant relation (p>0.05) was found between the content of phenolic acids and P. infestans spread. The spread of P. infestans was faster and infection was heavier in organically grown potatoes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. 50 CFR 14.23 - Live farm-raised fish and farm-raised fish eggs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Live farm-raised fish and farm-raised fish eggs. 14.23 Section 14.23 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF... Exportation at Designated Ports § 14.23 Live farm-raised fish and farm-raised fish eggs. Live farm-raised fish...

  20. Analysis of Anholt offshore wind farm SCADA measurements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Kurt Schaldemose; Volker, Patrick; Pena Diaz, Alfredo

    SCADA measurements from the Danish Anholt offshore wind farm (ANH) for a period of 2½ years have been qualified. ANH covers 12 km × 22 km and is located between Djursland and the island Anholt in Kattegat, Denmark. This qualification encompasses identification of curtailment and idling periods......, start/stop events and a power curve control for each wind turbine in the wind farm. Data also include wind speed measurements from a nearby WindCube lidar and simulations from the WRF model for the same period as the SCADA. An equivalent wind speed (wsi) is derived from the combined power and pitch...

  1. Farm Population of the United States: 1975. Current Population Reports: Farm Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banks, Vera J.; And Others

    Presented via narrative and tabular data, this report includes: Population of the U.S., Total and Farm: 1960-1975; Metropolitan-Nonmetropolitan Residence of the Farm and Nonfarm Population, by Race: 1975; Fertility Characteristics of Farm and Nonfarm Women, by Race: 1975; Persons 14 Years Old and Over Employed in Agriculture, by Farm-Nonfarm…

  2. Integrating Characterization of Smallholders’ Feeding Practices with On-Farm Feeding Trials to Improve Utilization of Crop Residues on Smallholder Farms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. O. Kashongwe

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study characterized wheat straw feeding practices in smallholder farms using cross sectional survey and the results informed the design of an experiment to improve the nutritive value of wheat straw with urea and yeast culture treatment. Three diets tested in 49 days’ feeding trial were farmers’ rainy season feeding practice (FP, addition of urea to wheat straw at the time of feeding (USWS, and 14 days’ incubation of straw with urea (UTWS. Yeast culture (15 g/day was mixed with commercial dairy meal at the point of feeding. Survey data identified farmers’ strategies in utilizing crop residues of which most important were improving storage facility (77.6%, adding molasses (54.5%, and buying a shredding machine (45.1%. On-farm feeding trial showed that intake was higher for UTWS than (p<0.05 for USWS while milk yield was higher with FP than (p<0.005 with UTWS or USWS but not different (p≥0.05 between UTWS and USWS. Results imply that farmers feeding practices of crop residues may be improved for dairy cows’ feeding and therefore UTWS could be used to support maintenance and milk production during dry season. Improving farmers feed storage facilities and training on incubation of wheat straw for dairy cattle feeding were recommended.

  3. DETERMINANTS OF INCOME DIVERSIFICATION AMONG MAIZE FARM HOUSEHOLDS IN THE GARU-TEMPANE DISTRICT, GHANA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilbert DAGUNGA

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This study explores the determinants of income diversification using a sample of 200 farm-level data collected from households in the Garu-Tampane district, Ghana. The Simpson Index of Diversification was used to determine the extent of income diversification while Fractional Response Model, particularly Generalized Linear Model (GLM was employed to identify the determinants of income diversification. Results from the Simpson Index of Diversification showed that the average income diversification index was 0.65 with the minimum and maximum of 0.13 and 0.83, respectively. No farm household was found to depend solely on a single source of income for its survival. The results from the Generalized Linear Model revealed that extension services, attendance to demonstration fields, membership of Farmer-based Organizations (FBOs, farmer accessibility to credit, the number of days spent on on-farm activities per month and the number of years in maize farming significantly influence income diversification. The study, therefore, concludes that farm-level policies geared towards alternative sources of income for the rural farm household should focus on improving extension services, the formation of farmer-based organizations, use of demonstration fields as well as ensuring farmers’ accessibility to credit.

  4. A Wind Farm Electrical Systems Evaluation with EeFarm-II

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pierik, J.; Axelsson, U.; Eriksson, E.; Salomonsson, D.; Bauer, P.; Czech, B.

    2010-01-01

    EeFarm-II is used to evaluate 13 different electrical systems for a 200 MW wind farm with a 100 km connection to shore. The evaluation is based on component manufacturer data of 2009. AC systems are compared to systems with DC connections inside the wind farm and DC connection to shore. Two options

  5. Sustaining without Changing: The Metabolic Rift of Certified Organic Farming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julius Alexander McGee

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Many proponents of organic farming claim that it is a sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture due to its reliance on natural agro-inputs, such as manure based fertilizers and organic pesticides. However, in this analysis we argue that although particular organic farming practices clearly benefit ecosystems and human consumers, the social context in which some organic farms develop, limit the potential environmental benefits of organic agriculture. Specifically, we argue that certified organic farming’s increased reliance on agro-inputs, such as organic fertilizers and pesticides, reduces its ability to decrease global water pollution. We review recent research that demonstrates the environmental consequences of specific organic practices, as well as literature showing that global organic farming is increasing its reliance on agro-inputs, and contend that organic farming has its own metabolic rift with natural water systems similar to conventional agriculture. We use a fixed-effects panel regression model to explore how recent rises in certified organic farmland correlate to water pollution (measured as biochemical oxygen demand. Our findings indicate that increases in the proportion of organic farmland over time increases water pollution. We conclude that this may be a result of organic farms increasing their reliance on non-farm agro-inputs, such as fertilizers.

  6. 12 CFR 618.8025 - Feasibility reviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Feasibility reviews. 618.8025 Section 618.8025 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS Related Services § 618.8025 Feasibility reviews. (a) Prior to an association offering a related service program for the...

  7. 12 CFR 611.1000 - General authority.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false General authority. 611.1000 Section 611.1000 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM ORGANIZATION Bank Mergers, Consolidations and Charter Amendments § 611.1000 General authority. (a) An amendment to a bank charter may relate...

  8. 12 CFR 618.8015 - Policy guidelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Policy guidelines. 618.8015 Section 618.8015 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS Related Services § 618.8015 Policy guidelines. (a) The board of directors of each System bank or association providing...

  9. 12 CFR 609.935 - Business planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Business planning. 609.935 Section 609.935 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Standards for Boards and Management § 609.935 Business planning. When engaging in E-commerce, the business plan required...

  10. Chemical, physical, profile and other oceanographic data collected aboard the Brooks McCall in the Gulf of Mexico from 2010-05-07 to 2010-05-12 in response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill event (NODC Accession 0084555)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Chemical, physical, profile, tows and underway oceanographic data were collected aboard the Brooks McCall in the Gulf of Mexico from 2010-05-07 to 2010-05-12 in...

  11. Wind Farm Wake: The 2016 Horns Rev Photo Case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charlotte Bay Hasager

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Offshore wind farm wakes were observed and photographed in foggy conditions at Horns Rev 2 on 25 January 2016 at 12:45 UTC. These new images show highly contrasting conditions regarding the wind speed, turbulence intensity, atmospheric stability, weather conditions and wind farm wake development as compared to the Horns Rev 1 photographs from 12 February 2008. The paper examines the atmospheric conditions from satellite images, radiosondes, lidar and wind turbine data and compares the observations to results from atmospheric meso-scale modelling and large eddy simulation. Key findings are that a humid and warm air mass was advected from the southwest over cold sea and the dew-point temperature was such that cold-water advection fog formed in a shallow layer. The flow was stably stratified and the freestream wind speed was 13 m/s at hub height, which means that most turbines produced at or near rated power. The wind direction was southwesterly and long, narrow wakes persisted several rotor diameters downwind of the wind turbines. Eventually mixing of warm air from aloft dispersed the fog in the far wake region of the wind farm.

  12. The impact of farm size on sustainability of dutch dairy farms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meulen, van der H.A.B.; Dolman, M.A.; Jager, J.H.; Venema, G.S.

    2014-01-01

    Sustainable milk production systems require economically viable, environmentally sound and socially acceptable practices. This study compared the economic, environmental and societal impact of large-scale farms with other dairy farms in the Dutch Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). Moreover the

  13. 77 FR 76356 - Disclosure to Investors in System-wide and Consolidated Bank Debt Obligations of the Farm Credit...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-28

    ... FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION 12 CFR Part 630 RIN 3052-AC77 Disclosure to Investors in System-wide and Consolidated Bank Debt Obligations of the Farm Credit System; System Audit Committee; Effective... Corporation System Audit Committee and the Farm Credit System annual report to investors. In accordance with...

  14. Optimisation of electrical system for offshore wind farms via genetic algorithm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Zhe; Zhao, Menghua; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2009-01-01

    An optimisation platform based on genetic algorithm (GA) is presented, where the main components of a wind farm and key technical specifications are used as input parameters and the electrical system design of the wind farm is optimised in terms of both production cost and system reliability....... The power losses, wind power production, initial investment and maintenance costs are considered in the production cost. The availability of components and network redundancy are included in the reliability evaluation. The method of coding an electrical system to a binary string, which is processed by GA......, is developed. Different GA techniques are investigated based on a real example offshore wind farm. This optimisation platform has been demonstrated as a powerful tool for offshore wind farm design and evaluation....

  15. Neutron diffraction and thermoelectric properties of indium filled In{sub x}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} (x = 0.05, 0.2) and indium cerium filled Ce{sub 0.05}In{sub 0.1}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} skutterudites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sesselmann, Andreas [Institute of Materials Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Linder Hoehe, 51147 Koeln (Germany); Klobes, Benedikt [Juelich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS und Peter Gruenberg Institute PGI, JARA-FIT, Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, 52425 Juelich (Germany); Dasgupta, Titas [Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai (India); Gourdon, Olivier [Los Alamos National Laboratory, LANSCE, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States); Hermann, Raphael [Juelich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS und Peter Gruenberg Institute PGI, JARA-FIT, Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, 52425 Juelich (Germany); Faculte des Sciences, Universite de Liege, 4000 Liege (Belgium); Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Mueller, Eckhard [Institute of Materials Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Linder Hoehe, 51147 Koeln (Germany); Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Justus Liebig University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 58, 35392 Giessen (Germany)

    2016-03-15

    The thermoelectric properties on polycrystalline single (In) and double filled (Ce, In) skutterudites are characterized between 300 and 700 K. Powder neutron diffraction measurements of the skutterudite compositions In{sub x}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} (x = 0.05, 0.2) and Ce{sub 0.05}In{sub 0.1}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} as a function of temperature (12-300 K) were carried out, which gives more insight into the structural data of single and double-filled skutterudites. Results show that due to the annealing treatment, a Sb deficiency is detectable and thus verifies defects at the Sb lattice site of the skutterudite. Furthermore, we show by electron microprobe analysis that a considerable amount of indium is lost during synthesis and post-processing for the single indium filled samples, but not for the double cerium and indium skutterudite sample. In our experiments, the double-filled skutterudite is superior to the single-filled skutterudite composition due to a higher charge carrier density, a comparable lattice thermal resistivity, and a higher density of states effective mass. Furthermore, we obtained a significantly higher Einstein temperature for the double-filled skutterudite composition in comparison to the single-filled species, which reflects the high sensitivity due to filling of the void lattice position within the skutterudite crystal. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  16. 12 CFR 619.9025 - Agricultural land.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agricultural land. 619.9025 Section 619.9025 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM DEFINITIONS § 619.9025 Agricultural land. Land improved or unimproved which is devoted to or available for the production of crops and other...

  17. 12 CFR 1402.11 - Current index.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Current index. 1402.11 Section 1402.11 Banks... the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation § 1402.11 Current index. The Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation will make available for public inspection and copying a current index to provide identifying...

  18. Economic effect of reducing nitrogen and phosphorus mass balance on Wisconsin and Québec dairy farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pellerin, D; Charbonneau, E; Fadul-Pacheco, L; Soucy, O; Wattiaux, M A

    2017-10-01

    Our objective was to explore the trade-offs between economic performance (farm net income, FNI) and environmental outcomes (whole-farm P and N balances) of dairy farms in Wisconsin (WI; United States) and Québec (QC; Canada). An Excel-based linear program model (N-CyCLES; nutrient cycling: crops, livestock, environment, and soil) was developed to optimize feeding, cropping, and manure management as a single unit of management. In addition to FNI, P and N balances model outputs included (1) the mix of up to 9 home-grown and 17 purchased feeds for up to 5 animal groups, (2) the mix of up to 5 crop rotations in up to 5 land units and c) the mix of up to 7 fertilizers (solid and liquid manure and 5 commercial fertilizers) to allocate in each land unit. The model was parameterized with NRC nutritional guidelines and regional nutrient management planning rules. Simulations were conducted on a typical WI farm of 107 cows and 151 ha of cropland and, a Southern QC farm of 87 cows and 142 ha of cropland and all results were expressed per kg of fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM). In absence of constraints on P and N balances, maximum FNI was 0.12 and 0.11 $/kg of FPCM for WI and QC, respectively, with P and N balances of 1.05 and 14.29 g/kg of FPCM in WI but 0.60 and 15.70 g/kg of FPCM in QC. The achievable reduction (balance at maximum FNI minus balance when the simulation objective was to minimize P or N balance) was 0.31 and 0.54 g of P/kg of FPCM (29 and 89% reduction), but 2.37 and 3.31 g of N/kg of FPCM (17 and 24% reduction) in WI and QC, respectively. Among other factors, differences in animal unit per hectare and reliance on biological N fixation may have contributed to lower achievable reductions of whole-farm balances in WI compared with QC. Subsequent simulations to maximize FNI under increasing constraints on nutrient balances revealed that it was possible to reduce P balance, N balance, and both together by up to 33% without a substantial effect on FNI

  19. Life cycle assessment of a wind farm and related externalities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schleisner, Liselotte

    2000-01-01

    This paper concentrates on the assessment of energy and emissions related to the production and manufacture of materials for an offshore wind farm as well as a wind farm on land based on a life cycle analysis (LCA) model. In Denmark a model has been developed for life cycle assessments of different...... materials. The model is able to assess the energy use related to the production, transportation and manufacture of 1 kg of material. The energy use is divided into fuels used in order to estimate the emissions through the life cycle. In the paper the model and the attached assumptions are described......, and the model is demonstrated for two wind farms. The externalities for the wind farms are reported, showing the importance of life cycle assessment for renewable energy technologies. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved....

  20. Development of a Team-Based On-Farm Learning Program While Challenging Soybean Growers to Increase Yield

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Vince M.; Kull, Linda S.; Nelson, James A.

    2012-01-01

    Illinois soybean growers have not been satisfied with recent lagging yield trends. A yield "challenge" was created to blend the motivation and creativity of a yield contest with the learning power of teamwork and on-farm demonstration. In the initial year (2010), 123 on-farm side-by-side demonstration plots were located throughout the…

  1. Farm Management: rethinking directions?

    OpenAIRE

    Kemp, David R.; Girdwood, John; Parton, Kevin A.; Charry, Al A.

    2004-01-01

    Farms and farming are major contributors to the world economy, directly responsible for a large part of GDP. These achievements are not trivial and imply that farms are being managed in reasonably effective ways, else agricultural industries would not be sustained. However has the study of Farm Management within Australia made significant contributions to agriculture or lagged in the background. Is it contributing to better Farm Management or merely cataloguing what has happened? Is it leadin...

  2. Is Farm Management Skill Persistent?

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Xin; Paulson, Nicholas

    2014-01-01

    Farm management skills can affect farm managers' performance. In this article, farm management performance is analyzed based on yearly Illinois Farm Business Farm Management (FBFM) panel data across 6,760 farms from 1996 through 2011. Two out-of-sample measures of skill are used to analyze the ability of farm managers that consistently perform well over yearly and longer time horizons. Persistence tests show management skills are consistent and predictable. Results also suggest that the most ...

  3. Cost structure and profitability of Assaf dairy sheep farms in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milán, M J; Frendi, F; González-González, R; Caja, G

    2014-01-01

    Twenty dairy sheep farms of Assaf breed, located in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla y León and included in a group receiving technical support, were used to study their production cost structure and to assess their economic profitability during 2009. On average, farms had 89.2±38.0 ha (own, 38%), 592±63 ewes, yielded 185.9±21.1×10(3) L/yr (i.e., 316±15 L/ewe), and were attended by 2.3±0.2 annual working units (family, 72%). Total annual income was €194.4±23.0×10(3)/yr (€1.0=$1.3) from milk (78.6%), lamb (13.2%), culled ewes (0.5%), and other sales (0.8%, wool and manure), and completed with the European Union sheep subsidy (6.9%). Total costs were €185.9±19.0×10(3)/yr to attend to feeding (61.6%), labor (18.2%), equipment maintenance and depreciation (7.6%), finances (3.0%), animal health (2.5%), energy, water and milking supplies (2.2%), milk recording (0.5%), and other costs (4.4%; assurances, shearing, association fees, and so on). Mean dairy sheep farm profit was €8.5±5.8×10(3)/yr (€7.4±8.3/ewe) on average, and varied between -€40.6 and €81.1/ewe among farms. Only 60% of farms were able to pay all costs, the rest had negative balances. Nevertheless, net margin was €31.0±6.5×10(3)/yr on average, varying between €0.6 and €108.4×10(3)/yr among farms. In this case, without including the opportunity costs, all farms had positive balances. Total annual cost (TAC; €/ewe) and total annual income (TAI; €/ewe) depended on milk yield (MY; L/ewe) and were TAC=161.6 + 0.502 MY (R(2)=0.50), and TAI=78.13 + 0.790 MY (R(2)=0.88), respectively, with the break-even point being 291 L/ewe. Conversely, farm TAC (€/yr) and farm TAI (€/yr) were also predicted as a function of the number of ewes (NOE) per flock, as TAC=18,401 + 282.8 NOE (R(2)=0.89) and TAI=330.9 NOE (R(2)=0.98), with the break-even point being 383 ewes/flock. Finally, according to the increasing trend expected for agricultural commodity prices, it was

  4. FARM PERFORMANCE AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Li

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This article emphasizes the strategic and operations aspects of managing a farm. In this article, farm management performance is analyzed based on yearly Illinois Farm Business Farm Management (FBFM panel data across 9,831 farms from 1996 through 2014. The alpha scores (or skill estimates for farm managers are analyzed to determine if most profitable farmers possess specific skills or knowledge against adverse events in a volatile environment. Farms are evaluated under different scenarios of management skill portfolios. Fundamental farm management basics are discussed in this study, including budgeting, production planning, financial analysis, financial management, investment analysis, and control management. We find substantial difference of farm management styles and performance efficiency in management skill portfolios. We also find evidence of most skilled farm managers are more efficient on both revenue side and costs side. The approaches used in this study also allow comparison among farms of different sizes and types. The activities of top farms can be replicated by poorer performers and the study provide a unique way for comparing the farm management styles and ability of most skilled farm managers to that of less skilled ones. The innovative method is framed by comparing business strategies and performance styles in the following aspects: production and operations planning, land management and control, and production costs evaluation. Farm managers will want to consult it as well to improve the effectiveness, objectivity, and success of their decisions.

  5. Whole farm management to reduce nutrient losses from dairy farms: a simulation study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rotz, C.A.; Oenema, J.; Keulen, van H.

    2003-01-01

    Whole farm simulation provides a tool for evaluating the impact of nutrient conservation technologies and strategies on dairy farms. A farm simulation model was verified by simulating the production and nutrient flows of the De Marke experimental dairy farm in the Netherlands. Technology such as a

  6. ARIZONA FARM LABOR REPORT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    SALTER, RICHARD H.

    THE ORGANIZATION OF THE FARM PLACEMENT PROGRAM IS DESCRIBED. INCLUDED ARE THE ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATIONS, THE LOCAL LEVELS, THE STATE FARM LABOR ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND THE PLANNING AND OPERATING METHODS USED BY FARM PLACEMENT PERSONNEL IN MEETING FARM LABOR NEEDS. MAJOR CROP ACTIVITIES ARE RELATED TO COTTON AND VEGETABLES. THE LABOR FORCE IS…

  7. 12 CFR 32.7 - Residential real estate loans, small business loans, and small farm loans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... concerns about credit quality, undue concentrations in the bank's portfolio of residential real estate, small business, or small farm loans, or concerns about the bank's overall credit risk management systems...

  8. CONSEQUENCES OF ORGANIC FARMING ON THE SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY - ROMANIA AND EU

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BURJA CAMELIA

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available A major trend adopted by the European Union member countries that are making efforts for sustainable development is the development of organic farming. The article studies the influences generated by the organic farming development in the EU countries, in the period 2006-2014, in terms of sustainable society. The statistical analysis is based on the use of certain variables that have a significant influence on the components of sustainable society. The identification of estimators for panelling data showed the favourable consequences of increasing the organic area for many indicators underpinning the economic, environmental and human wellbeing. The results confirm that the organic farming is a viable alternative to the conventional agriculture for raising the quality of life. The paper essentially quantifies the multiple effects of the organic farming for sustainable development and demonstrates that one of the directions to accelerate the development of the European economy on a sustainable basis is to stimulate the organic farming.

  9. Organic farming benefits local plant diversity in vineyard farms located in intensive agricultural landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nascimbene, Juri; Marini, Lorenzo; Paoletti, Maurizio G

    2012-05-01

    The majority of research on organic farming has considered arable and grassland farming systems in Central and Northern Europe, whilst only a few studies have been carried out in Mediterranean agro-systems, such as vineyards, despite their economic importance. The main aim of the study was to test whether organic farming enhances local plant species richness in both crop and non-crop areas of vineyard farms located in intensive conventional landscapes. Nine conventional and nine organic farms were selected in an intensively cultivated region (i.e. no gradient in landscape composition) in northern Italy. In each farm, vascular plants were sampled in one vineyard and in two non-crop linear habitats, grass strips and hedgerows, adjacent to vineyards and therefore potentially influenced by farming. We used linear mixed models to test the effect of farming, and species longevity (annual vs. perennial) separately for the three habitat types. In our intensive agricultural landscapes organic farming promoted local plant species richness in vineyard fields, and grassland strips while we found no effect for linear hedgerows. Differences in species richness were not associated to differences in species composition, indicating that similar plant communities were hosted in vineyard farms independently of the management type. This negative effect of conventional farming was probably due to the use of herbicides, while mechanical operations and mowing regime did not differ between organic and conventional farms. In grassland strips, and only marginally in vineyards, we found that the positive effect of organic farming was more pronounced for perennial than annual species.

  10. Whole Farm Management to Reduce Nutrient Losses From Dairy Farms: A Simulation Study

    OpenAIRE

    Rotz, C.A.; Oenema, J.; Keulen, van, H.

    2006-01-01

    Whole-farm simulation provides a tool for evaluating long-term impacts of nutrient conservation technologies and strategies on dairy farms. A farm simulation model was verified to predict the production and nutrient flows of the De Marke experimental dairy farm in the Netherlands. On this farm, technologies such as a low ammonia emission barn floor, enclosed manure storage, manure injection into the soil, and intraseeding of a grass cover crop on corn land were used to reduce nitrogen loss an...

  11. Antibacterial efficacies of some plant extracts against Aeromonas and Pseudomonas diseases of farmed catfish (Heterobranchus longifilis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Albert P. Ekanem

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Aeromonas and Pseudomonas diseases are responsible for mortalities of some farmed catfish in Nigeria. The objective of the study is to investigate the efficacies of extracts of some plants against Aeromonas and Pseudomonas diseases of Heterobranchus longifilis. Ethanol extracts of Phyllanthus amarus, Allium sativum, Artemisia annua, Citrus limon, Moringa oleifera, Allium cepa and Azadirachta indica were tested against Aeromonas hydrophila and Pseudomonas flourescens of H. longifilis by disc diffusion assay. Extracts of P. amarus, A. sativum, A. annua and C. limon were significantly (P<0.05 more sensitive to A. hydrophila and P. flourescens than M. oleifera, A. cepa and A. indica which were effective against P. flourescens. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC of the extracts were 25mg/ml for P. amarus and A. annua; 25 and 100mg/ml for C. lemon and A. cepa respectively and 50mg/ml for A. indica.  Alkaloid was demonstrated in all plants except A. annua by qualitative methods. Moderate amount (++ of cardiac glycosides was demonstrated in A. sativum, M. oleifera and P. amarus. Saponin (+++ was present in M. oleifera and A. indica while, tannin (++ was present in M. oleifera, P. amarus and A. indica respectively. Phlobatanins and Anthraquinones (++ were present in P. amarus and M. oleifera respectively.  Extracts of aforementioned plants have potentials as therapy against Aeromonas hydrophila and Pseudomonas flourescens of farmed catfish.

  12. Exploring the Role of Farm Animals in Providing Care at Care Farms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassink, Jan; De Bruin, Simone R.; Berget, Bente; Elings, Marjolein

    2017-01-01

    Simple Summary This paper provides insight into the role of farm animals in farm-based programs and their importance to different types of participants. Farm animals provide real work, close relationships, challenging tasks and opportunities for reflection. They also contribute to a welcoming atmosphere for various types of participants. Abstract We explore the role of farm animals in providing care to different types of participants at care farms (e.g., youngsters with behavioural problems, people with severe mental problems and people with dementia). Care farms provide alternative and promising settings where people can interact with animals compared to a therapeutic healthcare setting. We performed a literature review, conducted focus group meetings and carried out secondary data-analysis of qualitative studies involving care farmers and different types of participants. We found that farm animals are important to many participants and have a large number of potential benefits. They can (i) provide meaningful day occupation; (ii) generate valued relationships; (iii) help people master tasks; (iv) provide opportunities for reciprocity; (v) can distract people from them problems; (vi) provide relaxation; (vii) facilitate customized care; (viii) facilitate relationships with other people; (ix) stimulate healthy behavior; (x) contribute to a welcoming environment; (xi) make it possible to experience basic elements of life; and (xii) provide opportunities for reflection and feedback. This shows the multi-facetted importance of interacting with animals on care farms. In this study the types of activities with animals and their value to different types of participants varied. Farm animals are an important element of the care farm environment that can address the care needs of different types of participants. PMID:28574435

  13. Alley Farming in Thailand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teerapol Silakul

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Poverty alleviation and environmental preservation are very important issues to many governments. Alley farming is beneficial to the environment because it conserves soil and sustains yields over time. Specifically, alley farming reduces soil erosion, which is a major problem in Thailand. Alley farming was conducted on a farmer’s field at Khaokwan Thong, a village in Uthaithani Province, Northern Thailand. We did a two-by-two factorial with and without alley farming, and with and without fertilizer. From this study, we observed that the two species used, Leucaena leucocephala and Acacia auriculiformis, grow well in Thailand, and that alley farming is suitable for Thailand. Few Thai farmers have heard about alley farming. However, it is nevertheless useful to know that there is potential for alley farming in Thailand using the two species. These plants, based upon the diameter and height measurements provided, grew well.

  14. Magnetoelectric effect of (1−x) Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Zr{sub 0.5}Ti{sub 0.5}O{sub 3}+(x) Ni{sub 0.12}Mg{sub 0.18}Cu{sub 0.2}Zn{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} composites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rahaman, Md. D., E-mail: dalilurrahaman1976@gmail.com [Department of Physics, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000 (Bangladesh); Saha, S.K.; Ahmed, T.N. [Department of Physics, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000 (Bangladesh); Department of Physics, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000 (Bangladesh); Saha, D.K. [Materials Science Division, Atomic Energy Centre, PO Box 164, Dhaka 1000 (Bangladesh); Hossain, A.K.M. Akther [Department of Physics, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000 (Bangladesh)

    2014-12-15

    The magnetoelectric composites with chemical compositions (1−x) Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Zr{sub 0.5}Ti{sub 0.5}O{sub 3}+(x) Ni{sub 0.12}Mg{sub 0.18}Cu{sub 0.2}Zn{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (x=20, 40, 60 and 80 wt%) was prepared by the conventional solid state reaction method. The presence of a biphase composition was confirmed by X-ray diffraction while the microstructure of the composites was studied by scanning electron microscopy revealing a good mixing of the two phases and a good densification of the bulk ceramics. The dielectric dispersion is observed at lower frequencies due to interfacial polarization arising from the interface of the two phases. At higher frequencies, the dielectric constant is almost constant due to the inability of electric dipoles to follow the first variation of the alternating applied electric field. The dielectric loss shows maxima which are attributed when the hopping frequency of electrons between different ionic sites becomes nearly equal to the frequency of the applied field. The linearity in the log(σ{sub AC}) vs. log(ω{sup 2}) plots confirmed the small polaron hopping type of conduction mechanism. The composite materials are found to exhibit an excellent frequency dependence of magnetic properties. In the high frequency range, with increasing ferrite concentration the initial permeability increases and cut-off frequency decreases. An optimal magnetoelectric coupling responding voltage of about 600 μV cm{sup −1} Oe{sup −1} is obtained for x=20 wt% at room temperature. - Highlights: • XRD patterns confirmed the coexistence of ferroelectric and ferrimagnetic phases. • Dielectric dispersion observed at low frequencies due to interfacial polarization. • Linearity in logσ{sub ac} vs. logω{sup 2} is due to small polaron hopping mechanism. • Maximum ME voltage coefficient 600 μV cm{sup −1} Oe{sup −1} observed for 20% of ferrite.

  15. A survey for selected avian viral pathogens in backyard chicken farms in Finland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pohjola, L; Tammiranta, N; Ek-Kommonen, C; Soveri, T; Hänninen, M L; Fredriksson Ahomaa, M; Huovilainen, A

    2017-04-01

    Backyard poultry are regaining popularity in Europe and increased interest in the health and management of non-commercial farms has resulted. Furthermore, commercial poultry farm owners have become concerned about the risk represented by contagious avian diseases that nearby backyard poultry could transmit. Fifty-one voluntary backyard chicken farms were visited between October 2012 and January 2013. Blood samples and individual cloacal swabs were collected from 457 chickens. In 44 farms (86%), one or more of the tested chickens had antibodies against avian encephalomyelitis and chicken infectious anaemia viruses, 24 farms (47%) had chickens seropositive for infectious bronchitis virus, 10 farms (20%) had chickens seropositive for infectious bursal disease virus, six farms (12%) had chickens seropositive for infectious laryngotracheitis virus and two farms (5.4%) had chickens seropositive for avian influenza virus. No farms had chickens seropositive for Newcastle disease virus. Of the 51 farms, five (10%) had chickens positive for coronavirus reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. A phylogenetic analysis showed that all backyard chicken coronaviruses collected were QX type infectious bronchitis viruses. All chickens tested for avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses using real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were negative. To our knowledge, there is no evidence to date to suggest that these diseases would have been transmitted between commercial and non-commercial flocks.

  16. uFarm: a smart farm management system based on RFID

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyoungsuk; Lee, Moonsup; Jung, Jonghyuk; Lee, Hyunwook; Kim, Taehyoun

    2007-12-01

    Recently, the livestock industry in Korea has been threatened by many challenges such as low productivity due to labor intensiveness, global competition compelled by the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and emerging animal disease issues such as BSE or foot-and-mouth. In this paper, we propose a smart farm management system, called uFarm, which would come up with such challenges by automating farm management. First, we automate labor-intensive jobs using equipments based on sensors and actuators. The automation subsystem can be controlled by remote user through wireless network. Second, we provide real-time traceability of information on farm animals using the radio-frequency identification (RFID) method and embedded data server with network connectivity.

  17. The complete atlas of wind farms and projects in France

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Jannic, N.; Guillier, A.

    2012-01-01

    932 wind farms are in operation or in project at the end of the first semester of 2012 in France. Wind energy continues increasing, the total installed power reaches 7182 MW and about 738 MW have been installed during the last 12 months. This document lists all these wind farms and gives some information like the locality, the name of the operator, the power installed, the number of turbines, the name of the turbine manufacturer and the past or future date of commissioning. (A.C.)

  18. Towards the creation of a welfare assessment system in intensive beef cattle farms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igino Andrighetto

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to develop an assessment scheme for the evaluation at farm level of beef cattle welfare in the intensive rearing system that is capable of both identifying weak points in animal welfare and grading farms to such extent. The basic principle of the method was the avoidance of animal handling and the prolonged observation of cattle using animal-based and resource provision measures grouped in four classes of parameters: 1 Housing systems and facilities; 2 Health and cleanliness; 3 Animal behaviour and reactivity; 4 Quality of management and stockmanship. Each parameter was graded giving the highest scores to the best option for animal welfare, and the threshold value for distinguishing good from poor welfare conditions was set primarily on the results of scientific reports and investigations. An overall Welfare Index was calculated summing the scores of the 4 classes of parameters to formulate a general judgement of the farm and to allow comparison among them. The protocol was applied to 102 Italian intensive beef cattle farms rearing more than 300 young bulls/year. Regarding housing and facilities, the study showed that space allowance and space at the manger were the most frequent critical points. Within the “poor welfare” farms, more than 80% provided less than 3.5 m2/head to bulls weighing more than 500 kg, and none adopted a feeding frontage of at least 60 cm/head. Negatively judged farms compared to those ranked in the good welfare area for health and cleanliness showed a higher incidence of emergency slaughter (score 1.7: >1% vs score 3: 0.5-1%, P<0.05 and lameness (score 1.9: 1.5-3% vs score 3.3: <1.5%, P<0.05. Animal behaviour and reactivity parameters showed that in the “poor welfare” farms, bulls had a quicker flight reaction to the presence of both farmer and observer (P<0.01 likely due to a negative human-animal interaction. The quality of stockmanship was the category in which the highest number of farms

  19. Farm workers' health and pesticide residue analysis of three farms in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cross sectional survey on the health status of the farm workers, engaged with pesticide use, at three agricultural farms; one in Debre zeit and two in Meki, Ethiopia, was conducted. A low prevalence of respiratory symptoms, chronic cough = 2.4%, in the farm workers as well as, chronic cough = 2.7%, in the control group was ...

  20. INCLUFAR – INCLUSIVE FARMING – A NEW EDUCATIONAL APPROACH IN SOCIAL FARMING

    OpenAIRE

    van Elsen, Thomas; Herz, Gerhard; Ehlers, Hartwig; Schäfer, Winfried; Merckens, Klaus

    2014-01-01

    "Social farming" and “Green Care” are being developed throughout Europe: farms which put the "multifunctionality" demanded by the policy makers into practice, contributing to the creation of jobs in rural areas through the creation of social services. The team of authors has applied successfully to run the project “Inclusive farming – transfer of concepts, experiences, skills and training tools for Social Farming and eco-social inclusion” within the “Leonardo da Vinci - Transfer of Innovation...

  1. 12 CFR 619.9130 - Differential interest rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Differential interest rates. 619.9130 Section 619.9130 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM DEFINITIONS § 619.9130 Differential interest rates. An interest rate program under which different rates of interest may be made...

  2. 12 CFR 614.4010 - Agricultural credit banks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ...) of this chapter, for the export (including the cost of freight) of agricultural commodities or... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agricultural credit banks. 614.4010 Section 614.4010 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS...

  3. 12 CFR 615.5330 - Minimum surplus ratios.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Minimum surplus ratios. 615.5330 Section 615.5330 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM FUNDING AND FISCAL AFFAIRS, LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS, AND FUNDING OPERATIONS Surplus and Collateral Requirements § 615.5330 Minimum...

  4. Farm tourism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blichfeldt, Bodil Stilling; Nielsen, Niels Christian; Just, Flemming

    2011-01-01

    This paper draws on a study of one specific type of small tourism enterprises (i.e. farm tourism enterprises) and argues that these enterprises differ from other enterprises in relation to a series of issues other than merely size. The analysis shows that enterprises such as these are characterized......, our study suggests that it is problematic to threat farm tourism enterprises as if they have much in common with both larger corporations and other types of SMTEs. Farm tourism enterprises seem to differ significantly from other enterprises as the hosts are not in the tourism business because...

  5. Photovoltaic demonstration projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gillett, W B; Hacker, R J; Kaut, W [eds.

    1991-01-01

    This book, the proceedings of the fourth PV-Contractors' Meeting organized by the Commission of the European Communities, Directorate-General for Energy, held at Brussels on 21 and 22 November 1989, provides an overview of the photovoltaic demonstration projects which have been supported in the framework of the Energy Demonstration Program since 1983. It includes reports by each of the contractors who submitted proposals in 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986, describing progress with their projects. Summaries of the discussions held at the meeting, which included contractors whose projects were submitted in 1987, are also presented. The different technologies which are being demonstrated concern the modules, the cabling of the array, structure design, storage strategy and power conditioning. The various applications include desalination, communications, dairy farms, water pumping, and warning systems. Papers have been processed separately for inclusion on the data base.

  6. T Tank Farm Interim Surface Barrier Demonstration--Vadose Zone Monitoring Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Z. F.; Keller, Jason M.; Strickland, Christopher E.

    2007-01-01

    The Hanford Site has 149 underground single-shell tanks that store hazardous radioactive waste. Many of these tanks and their associated infrastructure (e.g., pipelines, diversion boxes) have leaked. Some of the leaked waste has entered the groundwater. The largest known leak occurred from the T-106 Tank in 1973. Many of the contaminants from that leak still reside within the vadose zone beneath the T Tank Farm. CH2M Hill Hanford Group, Inc. seeks to minimize movement of this residual contaminant plume by placing an interim barrier on the surface. Such a barrier is expected to prevent infiltrating water from reaching the plume and moving it further. A plan has been prepared to monitor and determine the effectiveness of the interim surface barrier. Soil water content and water pressure will be monitored using off-the-shelf equipment that can be installed by the hydraulic hammer technique. In fiscal year 2006, two instrument nests were installed. Each instrument nest contains a neutron probe access tube, a capacitance probe, four heat-dissipation units, and a drain gauge to measure soil water flux. A meteorological station has been installed outside of the fence. In fiscal year 2007, two additional instrument nests are planned to be installed beneath the proposed barrier.

  7. Exploring the Role of Farm Animals in Providing Care at Care Farms.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hassink, Jan; De Bruin, Simone R; Berget, Bente; Elings, Marjolein

    2017-01-01

    We explore the role of farm animals in providing care to different types of participants at care farms (e.g., youngsters with behavioural problems, people with severe mental problems and people with dementia). Care farms provide alternative and promising settings where people can interact with

  8. Prototyping and farm system modelling - Partners on the road towards more sustainable farm systems?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sterk, B.; Ittersum, van M.K.; Leeuwis, C.; Wijnands, F.G.

    2007-01-01

    Farm system modelling and prototyping are two research methods proposed to enhance the process of developing sustainable farm systems. Farm system models provide means to formalize, expand and refine expert knowledge and to integrate this with scientific agro-ecological knowledge at the farm level.

  9. Modelling Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus Dispersion from Marine Salmon Farms in the Discovery Islands, British Columbia, Canada.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael G G Foreman

    Full Text Available Finite volume ocean circulation and particle tracking models are used to simulate water-borne transmission of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV among Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar farms in the Discovery Islands region of British Columbia, Canada. Historical simulations for April and July 2010 are carried out to demonstrate the seasonal impact of river discharge, wind, ultra-violet (UV radiation, and heat flux conditions on near-surface currents, viral dispersion and survival. Numerical particles released from infected farm fish in accordance with IHNV shedding rates estimated through laboratory experiments are dispersed by model oceanic flows. Viral particles are inactivated by ambient UV radiation levels and by the natural microbial community at rates derived through laboratory studies. Viral concentration maps showing temporal and spatial changes are produced and combined with lab-determined minimum infectious dosages to estimate the infective connectivity among farms. Results demonstrate that neighbouring naïve farms can become exposed to IHNV via water-borne transport from an IHNV diseased farm, with a higher risk in April than July, and that many events in the sequence of farm outbreaks in 2001-2002 are consistent with higher risks in our farm connectivity matrix. Applications to other diseases, transfers between farmed and wild fish, and the effect of vaccinations are also discussed.

  10. Wind Farm-LA Coordinated Operation Mode and Dispatch Model in Wind Power Accommodation Promotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Lin

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available With the support of a smart grid, a load aggregator (LA that aggregates the demand response resources of small- and medium-sized customers to participate in the electricity market would be a novel way to promote wind power accommodation. This paper proposes a wind farm–LA coordinated operation mode (WLCOM, which enables LAs to deal with wind farms directly at an agreement price. Afterwards, according to the accommodation demand of the wind farm, a coordinated dispatch model taking advantage of the various response capabilities of different flexible loads is set up to maximize the revenue of the LA. A case study was conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed WLCOM and the coordinated dispatch model. The demonstration indicates that: (a load fluctuations and wind curtailment were obviously reduced; and (b both the LA and the wind farm participating in coordinated operation obtained higher revenues. Factors that influence the accommodation level, as well as revenues of wind farms and LA, are also investigated.

  11. Effects of flux additives on the characteristics of Y2.95Al5O12:0.05Ce3+ phosphor: Particle growth mechanism and luminescence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiang, Chung-Hao; Liu, Te-Hsing; Lin, Han-Yu; Kuo, Hung-Yi; Chu, Sheng-Yuan

    2013-01-01

    The dependence of the amount of the BaF 2 flux additive on the luminescence of Y 2.95 Al 5 O 12 :0.05Ce 3+ phosphors was investigated. The integrated emission intensity of Y 2.95 Al 5 O 12 :0.05Ce 3+ prepared without the flux was enhanced by 29% with the addition of BaF 2 flux at the optimum amount of 6 wt. %. Such an enhancement can be attributed to the purer phase of Y 3 Al 5 O 12 and the morphology change from the irregular shape to spherical shape with the smoother surface due to the flux. The morphology and luminescence of Y 2.95 Al 5 O 12 :0.05Ce 3+ prepared with the 6 wt. % BaF 2 flux additive (Sample II) were further compared with those of Y 2.95 Al 5 O 12 :0.05Ce 3+ prepared with the 7 wt. % H 3 BO 3 flux additive (Sample I). The particle size, particle shape, and integrated emission intensity (λ ex  = 450 nm) of the former were found to be larger, more regular, and 6% higher than those of the latter. The difference in the morphology of Samples I and II, which led to the difference in the emission intensity and the external quantum efficiency, were well explained by the particle growth mechanism

  12. Assessment of heavy metals contamination and human health risk in shrimp collected from different farms and rivers at Khulna-Satkhira region, Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkar, T; Alam, M Masihul; Parvin, N; Fardous, Z; Chowdhury, Alamgir Z; Hossain, S; Haque, M E; Biswas, N

    2016-01-01

    This study is aimed to assess the heavy metals contamination and health risk in Shrimp ( Macrobrachium rosenbergii and Penaeus monodon ) collected from Khulna-Satkhira region in Bangladesh. The results showed that the Pb concentrations (0.52-1.16 mg/kg) in all shrimp samples of farms were higher than the recommended limit. The Cd levels (0.05-0.13 mg/kg) in all samples and Cr levels in all farms except tissue content at Satkhira farm were higher than the permissible limits. The individual concentration of Pb, Cd, and Cr between shrimp tissue and shell in all rivers and farms were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) were estimated to assess the non-carcinogenic health risks. Shrimp samples from all locations under the current study were found to be safe for consumption, the possibility of health risk associated with non-carcinogenic effect is very low for continuous consumption for 30 years.

  13. Integration of a wind farm with a wave- and an aquaculture farm

    OpenAIRE

    He, J.; Weissenberger, J.; Bergh, Øivind; Hjøllo, Solfrid Sætre; Wehde, Henning; Agnalt, Ann-Lisbeth; Chen, Z.; Olason, D.; Thorsteinson, B.; Fosso, O.B.

    2011-01-01

    There is a growing interest in placing wind farms offshore. 140 GW of offshore wind are currently being planned to reach the EU energy 2020 goal. However, an offshore wind farm occupies a large area and competes with other users of the maritime space. The integration of an offshore wind farm with other marine energy producers such as wave energy and other maritime users such as aquaculture farms may result in significant benefits in terms of economics, optimising spatial utilization, and mini...

  14. Exploring the role of farm animals in providing care at care farms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hassink, Jan; Bruin, de Simone R.; Berget, Bente; Elings, Marjolein

    2017-01-01

    We explore the role of farm animals in providing care to different types of participants at care farms (e.g., youngsters with behavioural problems, people with severe mental problems and people with dementia). Care farms provide alternative and promising settings where people can interact with

  15. Reducing pesticide use while preserving crop productivity and profitability on arable farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lechenet, Martin; Dessaint, Fabrice; Py, Guillaume; Makowski, David; Munier-Jolain, Nicolas

    2017-03-01

    Achieving sustainable crop production while feeding an increasing world population is one of the most ambitious challenges of this century 1 . Meeting this challenge will necessarily imply a drastic reduction of adverse environmental effects arising from agricultural activities 2 . The reduction of pesticide use is one of the critical drivers to preserve the environment and human health. Pesticide use could be reduced through the adoption of new production strategies 3-5 ; however, whether substantial reductions of pesticide use are possible without impacting crop productivity and profitability is debatable 6-17 . Here, we demonstrated that low pesticide use rarely decreases productivity and profitability in arable farms. We analysed the potential conflicts between pesticide use and productivity or profitability with data from 946 non-organic arable commercial farms showing contrasting levels of pesticide use and covering a wide range of production situations in France. We failed to detect any conflict between low pesticide use and both high productivity and high profitability in 77% of the farms. We estimated that total pesticide use could be reduced by 42% without any negative effects on both productivity and profitability in 59% of farms from our national network. This corresponded to an average reduction of 37, 47 and 60% of herbicide, fungicide and insecticide use, respectively. The potential for reducing pesticide use appeared higher in farms with currently high pesticide use than in farms with low pesticide use. Our results demonstrate that pesticide reduction is already accessible to farmers in most production situations. This would imply profound changes in market organization and trade balance.

  16. Paratuberculosis on small ruminant dairy farms in Ontario, Canada: A survey of management practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauman, Cathy A; Jones-Bitton, Andria; Menzies, Paula; Jansen, Jocelyn; Kelton, David

    2016-05-01

    A cross-sectional study was undertaken (October 2010 to August 2011) to determine the risk factors for dairy goat herds and dairy sheep flocks testing positive for paratuberculosis (PTB) in Ontario, Canada. A questionnaire was administered to 50 producers during a farm visit in which concurrently, 20 randomly selected, lactating animals over the age of 2 years underwent sampling for paratuberculosis testing. Only 1 of 50 farms (2.0%) was closed to animal movement, whereas 96.6% of dairy goat farms and 94.1% of sheep farms purchased livestock from other producers. Only 10.3% of dairy goat, and no dairy sheep farms used artificial insemination. Manure was spread on grazing pastures by 65.5% and 70.6% of dairy goat and dairy sheep farms, respectively. Because of the high true-prevalence of paratuberculosis infection detected, no risk factor analysis could be performed. This study demonstrates that biosecurity practices conducive to transmission of PTB are highly prevalent in Ontario small ruminant dairy farms.

  17. Tourism as revitalizing factor of farms- example of Cvetni salaš (Flowery farm and Majkin salaš (Grandma′s farm in Palić

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragićević Vanja

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Farms are cultural and ambience special feature of pannonian plain and, in the sense of cultural heritage, they are the protective symbol of Northern Bačka. Farm or "salaš" on Serbian language, represents green oasis made of house, farm buildings, sweep and the endless cultivated plain, but also represents the way of living. As a specific creation of folk architecture and as a special ethnographic museum, with preserved old tools, pottery, folk costume and folk customs, usually situated in preserved natural ambience, farms are attractive for tourists. Unfortunately, they have never been used enough in tourist presentation. The best results in tourist valorization are achieved with farms near towns Subotica and Sombor. These farms require relatively small investments for tourist arrangement and farmers are interested in developing tourism, which can contribute in different ways to revitalization of farms. Farms should create tourist offer, based on unique experience of the plain, authentic ambience, tradition, healthy food. In many European countries, tourism has been recognized as an appropriate tool to revitalize rural areas and to ensure their sustainable development. In this paper, there is going to be presented tourist arrangement and offer of Cvetni salaš (Flowery farm and Majkin salaš (Grandma’s farm, which are situated on Palić, settlement with long tourist tradition.

  18. Comparison of three distinct management strategies for pig slurry applied to three groups of farms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dauden, A.; Teresa, M.; Siegler, C.; Bescos, B.; Burton, C.

    2009-01-01

    Poor management of pig slurry can lead to the contamination of the soil, water and air, which is mostly of the result of sur-plus nutrients. Such environmental impact from pig farming are common in areas with intensive livestock farming. The projects primary objectives is to demonstrate at farm scale the application of the three main manure management technologies deployed within structured local schemes to minimize the environmental impact. (Author)

  19. Modelling the smart farm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael J. O'Grady

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Smart farming envisages the harnessing of Information and Communication Technologies as an enabler of more efficient, productive, and profitable farming enterprises. Such technologies do not suffice on their own; rather they must be judiciously combined to deliver meaningful information in near real-time. Decision-support tools incorporating models of disparate farming activities, either on their own or in combination with other models, offer one popular approach; exemplars include GPFARM, APSIM, GRAZPLAN amongst many others. Such models tend to be generic in nature and their adoption by individual farmers is minimal. Smart technologies offer an opportunity to remedy this situation; farm-specific models that can reflect near real-time events become tractable using such technologies. Research on the development, and application of farm-specific models is at a very early stage. This paper thus presents an overview of models within the farming enterprise; it then reviews the state-of the art in smart technologies that promise to enable a new generation of enterprise-specific models that will underpin future smart farming enterprises.

  20. Estimating risk factors for farm-level transmission of disease: Foot and mouth disease during the 2001 epidemic in Great Britain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul R. Bessell

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Controlling an epidemic would be aided by establishing whether particular individuals in infected populations are more likely to transmit infection. However, few analyses have characterised such individuals. Such analyses require both data on who infected whom and on the likely determinants of transmission; data that are available at the farm level for the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease epidemic in Great Britain. Using these data a putative number of daughter infected premises (IPs resulting from each IP was calculated where these daughters were within 3 km of the IP. A set of possible epidemiological, demographic, spatial and temporal risk factors were analysed, with the final multivariate generalised linear model (Poisson error term having 6 statistically significant (p<0.05 main effects including geographic area, local cattle and sheep densities, and the number of non-IP culls. This model demonstrates that farms are heterogeneous in their propensity to transmit infection to other farms and, importantly, that it may be possible to identify holdings that are at high risk of spreading disease a priori. Such information could be used to help prioritise the response to an epidemic. Keywords: Foot and mouth disease, Epidemiology, Risk modelling, Livestock, Disease control

  1. Farm Mapping to Assist, Protect, and Prepare Emergency Responders: Farm MAPPER.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes, Iris; Rollins, Tami; Mahnke, Andrea; Kadolph, Christopher; Minor, Gerald; Keifer, Matthew

    2014-01-01

    Responders such as firefighters and emergency medical technicians who respond to farm emergencies often face complex and unknown environments. They may encounter hazards such as fuels, solvents, pesticides, caustics, and exploding gas storage cylinders. Responders may be unaware of dirt roads within the farm that can expedite their arrival at critical sites or snow-covered manure pits that act as hidden hazards. A response to a farm, unless guided by someone familiar with the operation, may present a risk to responders and post a challenge in locating the victim. This project explored the use of a Web-based farm-mapping application optimized for tablets and accessible via easily accessible on-site matrix barcodes, or quick response codes (QR codes), to provide emergency responders with hazard and resource information to agricultural operations. Secured portals were developed for both farmers and responders, allowing both parties to populate and customize farm maps with icons. Data were stored online and linked to QR codes attached to mailbox posts where emergency responders may read them with a mobile device. Mock responses were conducted on dairy farms to test QR code linking efficacy, Web site security, and field usability. Findings from farmer usability tests showed willingness to enter data as well as ease of Web site navigation and data entry even with farmers who had limited computer knowledge. Usability tests with emergency responders showed ease of QR code connectivity to the farm maps and ease of Web site navigation. Further research is needed to improve data security as well as assess the program's applicability to nonfarm environments and integration with existing emergency response systems. The next phases of this project will expand the program for regional and national use, develop QR code-linked, Web-based extrication guidance for farm machinery for victim entrapment rescue, and create QR code-linked online training videos and materials for limited

  2. Farm Population of the United States: 1976. Current Population Reports: Farm Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banks, Vera J.; And Others

    Prepared cooperatively by the Bureau of the Census and the Economic Research Service of the U.S. DeparLment of Agriculture, this document presents narrative and tabular data on: demographic and social characteristics of the farm population; economic characteristics of the farm population; revision of farm population processing procedures; and…

  3. Vertical bifacial solar farms: Physics, design, and global optimization

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, M. Ryyan

    2017-09-04

    There have been sustained interest in bifacial solar cell technology since 1980s, with prospects of 30–50% increase in the output power from a stand-alone panel. Moreover, a vertical bifacial panel reduces dust accumulation and provides two output peaks during the day, with the second peak aligned to the peak electricity demand. Recent commercialization and anticipated growth of bifacial panel market have encouraged a closer scrutiny of the integrated power-output and economic viability of bifacial solar farms, where mutual shading will erode some of the anticipated energy gain associated with an isolated, single panel. Towards that goal, in this paper we focus on geography-specific optimization of ground-mounted vertical bifacial solar farms for the entire world. For local irradiance, we combine the measured meteorological data with the clear-sky model. In addition, we consider the effects of direct, diffuse, and albedo light. We assume the panel is configured into sub-strings with bypass-diodes. Based on calculated light collection and panel output, we analyze the optimum farm design for maximum yearly output at any given location in the world. Our results predict that, regardless of the geographical location, a vertical bifacial farm will yield 10–20% more energy than a traditional monofacial farm for a practical row-spacing of 2 m (corresponding to 1.2 m high panels). With the prospect of additional 5–20% energy gain from reduced soiling and tilt optimization, bifacial solar farm do offer a viable technology option for large-scale solar energy generation.

  4. Optimized dispatch of wind farms with power control capability for power system restoration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xie, Yunyun; Liu, Changsheng; Wu, Qiuwei

    2017-01-01

    As the power control technology of wind farms develops, the output power of wind farms can be constant, which makes it possible for wind farms to participate in power system restoration. However, due to the uncertainty of wind energy, the actual output power can’t reach a constant dispatch power...... in all time intervals, resulting in uncertain power sags which may induce the frequency of the system being restored to go outside the security limits. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the dispatch of wind farms participating in power system restoration. Considering that the probability...... distribution function (PDF) of transient power sags is hard to obtain, a robust optimization model is proposed in this paper, which can maximize the output power of wind farms participating in power system restoration. Simulation results demonstrate that the security constraints of the restored system can...

  5. 12 CFR 619.9340 - Variable interest rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Variable interest rate. 619.9340 Section 619.9340 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM DEFINITIONS § 619.9340 Variable interest rate. An interest rate on the outstanding loan balances, which may be changed from time to time...

  6. 12 CFR 619.9170 - Fixed interest rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Fixed interest rate. 619.9170 Section 619.9170 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM DEFINITIONS § 619.9170 Fixed interest rate. The rate of interest specified in the note or loan document which will prevail as the maximum...

  7. Solving the Turbine Positioning Problem for Large Offshore Wind Farms by Simulated Annealing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rivas, Rajai Aghabi; Clausen, Jens; Hansen, Kurt Schaldemose

    2009-01-01

    search operations are performed recursively until the system converges. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated on a suite of real life test cases, including Horns Rev offshore wind farm. The results are verified using a commercial wind resource software indicating that this method...... is negligible while, as the wind farm's size reduces, the differences start becoming significant. A sensitivity analysis is also performed showing that greater density of turbines in the perimeter of the optimized wind farm reduces the wake losses even if the wind climate changes....

  8. Photovoltaic demonstration projects 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gillett, W B; Hacker, R J [Halcrow (William) and Partners, Swindon (UK); Kaut, W [eds.

    1989-01-01

    This book, the proceedings of the third Photovoltaic Contractors' Meeting organised by the Commission of the European Communities, Directorate-General for Energy provides an overview of the photovoltaic demonstration projects which have been supported by the Energy Directorate of the Commission of the European Communities since 1983. It includes reports by each of the contractors who submitted proposals in 1983, 1984 and 1985, describing progress with their projects. The different technologies which are being demonstrated concern the modules, the cabling of the array, structure design, storage strategy and power conditioning. The various applications include powering of houses, villages, recreation centres, water desalination, communications, dairy farms, water pumping and warning systems. (author).

  9. Improving environmental management on small-scale farms: perspectives of extension educators and horse farm operators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rebecca, Perry-Hill; Linda, Prokopy

    2015-01-01

    Although the number of small-scale farms is increasing in North America and Europe, few studies have been conducted to better understand environmental management in this sector. We investigate this issue by examining environmental management on horse farms from both the perspective of the "expert" extension educator and horse farm operator. We conducted a Delphi survey and follow-up interviews with extension educators in Indiana and Kentucky. We also conducted interviews and farm assessments with 15 horse farm operators in the two states. Our results suggest a disconnection between the perceptions of extension educators and horse farm operators. Extension educators believed that operators of small horse farms are unfamiliar with conservation practices and their environmental benefits and they found it difficult to target outreach to this audience. In the interviews with horse farm operators, we found that the majority were somewhat familiar with conservation practices like rotational grazing, soil testing, heavy use area protection, and manure composting. It was not common, however, for practices to be implemented to generally recognized standards. The horse farm respondents perceived these practices as interrelated parts of a system of farm management that has developed over time to best deal with the physical features of the property, needs of the horses, and available resources. Because conservation practices must be incorporated into a complex farm management system, traditional models of extension (i.e., diffusion of innovations) may be inappropriate for promoting better environmental management on horse farms.

  10. Load flow analysis for variable speed offshore wind farms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Zhe; Zhao, Menghua; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2009-01-01

    factors such as the different wind farm configurations, the control of wind turbines and the power losses of pulse width modulation converters are considered. The DC/DC converter model is proposed and integrated into load flow algorithm by modifying the Jacobian matrix. Two iterative methods are proposed...... and integrated into the load flow algorithm: one takes into account the control strategy of converters and the other considers the power losses of converters. In addition, different types of variable speed wind turbine systems with different control methods are investigated. Finally, the method is demonstrated......A serial AC-DC integrated load flow algorithm for variable speed offshore wind farms is proposed. It divides the electrical system of a wind farm into several local networks, and different load flow methods are used for these local networks sequentially. This method is fast, more accurate, and many...

  11. An on-farm investigation of beef suckler herds using an animal welfare index (AWI).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazurek, Mickael; Prendiville, Daniel J; Crowe, Mark A; Veissier, Isabelle; Earley, Bernadette

    2010-12-13

    Beef suckler farms (194 farms throughout 13 counties) were assessed once with housed cattle and once with cattle at grass using an animal welfare index (AWI). Twenty-three of the 194 farms were revisited a year later and re-evaluated using the AWI and the Tier-Gerechtheits-Index 35L/2000 (TGI35L/2000). Thirty-three indicators were collected in five categories: locomotion (5 indicators); social interactions (between animals) (7), flooring (5), environment (7) and Stockpersonship (9). Three indicators relating to the size of the farm were also collected.Improving animal welfare is an increasingly important aspect of livestock production systems predominantly due to increased consumer concern about the source of animal products. The objectives were (i) to evaluate animal welfare of Irish beef suckler herds using an animal welfare index (AWI), (ii) to examine correlations between parameters, how they influence the AWI and investigate the applicability of the parameters used, (iii) to investigate the impact of the activity of the farmer (full-time or part-time), the interest of the farmer and the number of animals on the AWI. The mean AWI was 65% and ranged from 54% to 83%. The grazing period represented 16.5% of the total points of the AWI. Seventy percent of the farms were rated as "Very Good" or "Excellent". There was no difference (P > 0.05) in AWI between full-time and part-time farmers. Part-time farmers had greater (P = 0.01) "social interactions": calving (P = 0.03) and weaning (P animals (P = 0.03) and their animals had less lameness (P = 0.01). The number of animals on-farm and the interest of the Stockperson were negatively and positively correlated (P = 0.001), respectively, with the AWI. A hierarchical classification was performed to examine how the indicators influenced the AWI. The AWI was easily applicable for an on-farm evaluation of welfare. The Stockpersonship was an important factor in determining the AWI (11% of the total variation) more

  12. Sustainable extensification as an alternative model for reducing GHG emissions from agriculture. The case of an extensively managed organic farm in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bluwstein, Jevgeniy; Braun, Martin; Henriksen, Christian Bugge

    2015-01-01

    GHG emissions of an extensively managed Danish organic farm were estimated upstream and on-farm. The results were compared to Danish national levels based on land area and output. Overall, the farm emitted 2.12 t CO2eq ha−1 yr−1. Excluding land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) related...... emissions, the combined GHG emissions from energy- and agriculture-based activities at the case farm were 47% lower (per unit area) and 12% higher (per unit output), than GHG emissions from Danish agriculture. With current livestock density (0.64 LU ha−1) and crop production area, the case study farm would...... supply at average 1,466 kcal per inhabitant per day in Denmark, if the farm was scaled up to Danish national level. With a reduction of livestock density to 0.36 LU ha−1 and proportional cropland area expansion for food production (ceteris paribus), the case study farm could supply around 4,940 kcal...

  13. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF FISH FARMING IN FLOATING CAGES IN ISLA ARENA, CAMPECHE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yadira Silva-Cruz

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Mariculture is the cultivation of marine species of commercial importance. This activity has intensified in recent decades due to the need for food production. The present study evaluated the impact of Rachycentron canadum (Cobia and Sciaenops ocellatus (Red Drum farming in floating cages along the coasts of Campeche, Mexico. The impact of this mariculture system was evaluated through the physicochemical analysis of the sediment from underneath the cages and the analysis of the quality of the water from the farming area. Results showed high concentrations of nitrogen (> 0.5 % and organic matter (> 80 %, both in the farming area and in the control sites. The concentration of fine sediment showed no spatial or temporal changes. There were no detectable concentrations of nitrites, nitrates, ammonium and phosphates in the water, in a range of 0.1 to 100 mg L-1. The impact caused by this farming system appeared to be non significant, at least in the area of study, due to the constant movement of the water caused by ocean currents which, very likely, carried the waste from the cages to other places.

  14. Summary Report: The Shadow effect of large wind farms: measurements, data analysis and modelling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frandsen, Sten Tronæs; Barthelmie, Rebecca Jane; Rathmann, Ole

    It was the goal of the project – by means of data from the demonstration wind farms Horns Rev and Nysted, analyses of these data and modelling – to facilitate prediction of the power losses from a wind farm should a new wind farm be built upwind relative to the prevailing wind direction...... it may appropriate to build new wind farms rather close to the existing wind farms. A relevant question is therefore how far away new wind farms must be placed to avoid too large power losses. Measurements have been carried out for several years at the two sites, and databases have been prepared....... Thus, if different modelling efforts results in comparable results, the quality of the models will be tested outside the physical range where data are available. All considered the project participants find that the project has been immensely successful. The main achievements of the project are...

  15. Farm Household Survival Strategies and Diversification on Marginal Farms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meert, H.; Van Huylenbroeck, G.; Vernimmen, T.; Bourgeois, M.; van Hecke, E.

    2005-01-01

    On marginal farms, and in agriculture in general, sustainability is largely guaranteed by a broad range of survival strategies, closely interlinked and embedded in the household structure of typical family farms. This paper reports results of a socio-economic study carried out among Belgian farmers, focusing specifically on the opportunities…

  16. 12 CFR 600.10 - Service of Process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Service of Process. 600.10 Section 600.10 Banks... Procedures for Service Upon the Farm Credit Administration § 600.10 Service of Process. (a) Except as... Administration Board, 1501 Farm Credit Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102-5090. (b) Service of process upon the...

  17. Farm Population of the United States: 1972. Current Population Reports: Farm Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bureau of the Census (DOC), Suitland, MD. Population Div.

    Based on data derived from the Current Population Survey of the Bureau of Census, this statistical report presents demographic and labor force characteristics of the U.S. farm population and comparisons of the farm and nonfarm populations. Tabular data are presented as follows: (1) U.S. Population, Total and Farm: April 1960 to 1972; (2) Persons…

  18. Farm Population of the United States: 1971. Current Population Reports: Farm Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bureau of the Census (DOC), Suitland, MD. Population Div.

    Based on data derived from the Current Population Survey of the Bureau of the Census, this statistical report presents demographic and labor force characteristics of the U.S. farm population and comparisons of the farm and nonfarm populations. Tabular data are presented as follows: (1) U.S. Population, Total and Farm: April 1960 and 1971; (2)…

  19. Cystic echinococcosis in cattle dairy farms: spatial distribution and epidemiological dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scala, Antonio; Bosco, Antonio; Pipia, Anna Paola; Tamponi, Claudia; Musella, Vincenzo; Costanzo, Nicola; Testoni, Francesco; Montisci, Antonio; Mocci, Giovanni; Longhi, Alessandro; Tilocca, Laura; Rinaldi, Laura; Cringoli, Giuseppe; Varcasia, Antonio

    2017-05-29

    A study monitoring cystic echinococcosis (CE) in adult dairy cattle from intensive livestock farms located in the municipality of Arborea (Sardinia, Italy) was carried out between 2012 and 2015. A retrospective study of veterinary reporting forms of post-mortem inspections in 10 different Italian slaughterhouses was also performed. In addition, data on viability and molecular characterisation of hydatid cysts removed from parasitised organs in cattle was carried out. A geographical information system (GIS) with data layers of the study area and the geo-referenced points of 160 cattle farms was constructed. CE was found in 21.9% (35/160) of the surveyed farms. The retrospective study revealed that 0.05% (13/23,656) of adult slaughtered animals (over one year of age) from Arborea had tested positive to CE. The results stratified per year showed the following CE prevalences: 0.09% (5/5673) in 2012; 0.02% (1/5682) in 2013; 0.08% (5/6261) in 2014; and 0.03% (2/6040) in 2015 (χ2 with 3 degrees of freedom=3.81; P=0.282). The E. granulosus sensu stricto (formerly called G1 or sheep strain) was detected in all cysts subjected to molecular analysis. The GIS analysis showed that CE is fairly resilient in the Arborea territory where most of cattle farms are located, while a small cluster of cases was found located in the southeastern part of Arborea, close to districts where sheep farms are situated. The present survey reports the presence of CE in Sardinian dairy cattle intensive farms and suggests that the parasitic pressure of CE in the island continues to be very strong.

  20. Polarisation parameter measurement in the proton-proton elastic scattering from 0.5 to 1.2 GeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ducros, Yves

    1970-01-01

    The angular distribution of the polarisation parameter was measured in the proton-proton elastic - scattering at seven energies between 0.5 and 1.2 GeV. A polarized proton target was used. The results show a maximum of the polarisation parameter of 0.6, at 0.73 GeV. This maximum is due to the important increase of the total cross section between 0.6 and 0.73 GeV. At 1.2 GeV the angular distribution of the polarisation shows a minimum for a momentum transfer value of -1 (GeV/c) 2 . A phase shift analysis was done at 0.66 GeV, using all available experimental data at this energy. There is no evidence of a di-baryonic resonance in the 1 D 2 phase. (author) [fr

  1. Where is Farm Management Going?

    OpenAIRE

    Kemp, David R.; Girdwood, John; Parton, Kevin A.; Charry, Al A.

    2003-01-01

    Farms and farming are major contributors to the world economy, directly responsible for a large part of GDP. These achievements are not trivial and imply that farms are being managed in reasonably effective ways, else agricultural industries would not be sustained. However the study of Farm Management within Australia has been limited over recent decades. Is it contributing to better farm management or merely cataloguing what has happened? Is it leading or following? During that time there ha...

  2. Effectiveness of biosecurity measures in preventing badger visits to farm buildings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Judge, Johanna; McDonald, Robbie A; Walker, Neil; Delahay, Richard J

    2011-01-01

    Bovine tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis is a serious and economically important disease of cattle. Badgers have been implicated in the transmission and maintenance of the disease in the UK since the 1970s. Recent studies have provided substantial evidence of widespread and frequent visits by badgers to farm buildings during which there is the potential for close direct contact with cattle and contamination of cattle feed. Here we evaluated the effectiveness of simple exclusion measures in improving farm biosecurity and preventing badger visits to farm buildings. In the first phase of the study, 32 farms were surveyed using motion-triggered infrared cameras on potential entrances to farm buildings to determine the background level of badger visits experienced by each farm. In the second phase, they were divided into four treatment groups; "Control", "Feed Storage", "Cattle Housing" and "Both", whereby no exclusion measures were installed, exclusion measures were installed on feed storage areas only, cattle housing only or both feed storage and cattle housing, respectively. Badger exclusion measures included sheet metal gates, adjustable metal panels for gates, sheet metal fencing, feed bins and electric fencing. Cameras were deployed for at least 365 nights in each phase on each farm. Badger visits to farm buildings occurred on 19 of the 32 farms in phase one. In phase two, the simple exclusion measures were 100% effective in preventing badger entry into farm buildings, as long as they were appropriately deployed. Furthermore, the installation of exclusion measures also reduced the level of badger visits to the rest of the farmyard. The findings of the present study clearly demonstrate how relatively simple practical measures can substantially reduce the likelihood of badger visits to buildings and reduce some of the potential for contact and disease transmission between badgers and cattle.

  3. Effectiveness of biosecurity measures in preventing badger visits to farm buildings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johanna Judge

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Bovine tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis is a serious and economically important disease of cattle. Badgers have been implicated in the transmission and maintenance of the disease in the UK since the 1970s. Recent studies have provided substantial evidence of widespread and frequent visits by badgers to farm buildings during which there is the potential for close direct contact with cattle and contamination of cattle feed. METHODOLOGY: Here we evaluated the effectiveness of simple exclusion measures in improving farm biosecurity and preventing badger visits to farm buildings. In the first phase of the study, 32 farms were surveyed using motion-triggered infrared cameras on potential entrances to farm buildings to determine the background level of badger visits experienced by each farm. In the second phase, they were divided into four treatment groups; "Control", "Feed Storage", "Cattle Housing" and "Both", whereby no exclusion measures were installed, exclusion measures were installed on feed storage areas only, cattle housing only or both feed storage and cattle housing, respectively. Badger exclusion measures included sheet metal gates, adjustable metal panels for gates, sheet metal fencing, feed bins and electric fencing. Cameras were deployed for at least 365 nights in each phase on each farm. RESULTS: Badger visits to farm buildings occurred on 19 of the 32 farms in phase one. In phase two, the simple exclusion measures were 100% effective in preventing badger entry into farm buildings, as long as they were appropriately deployed. Furthermore, the installation of exclusion measures also reduced the level of badger visits to the rest of the farmyard. The findings of the present study clearly demonstrate how relatively simple practical measures can substantially reduce the likelihood of badger visits to buildings and reduce some of the potential for contact and disease transmission between badgers and cattle.

  4. 12 CFR 614.4354 - Federal land bank associations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Federal land bank associations. 614.4354 Section 614.4354 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND... association may assume endorsement liability on any loan if the total amount of the association's endorsement...

  5. 12 CFR 609.940 - Internal systems and controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Internal systems and controls. 609.940 Section 609.940 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Standards... business plan objectives and policies and procedures requirements regarding E-commerce; and (b) Prevent and...

  6. Economic versus environmental improvement potentials of Danish pig farms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Asmild, Mette; Hougaard, Jens Leth

    2006-01-01

    This article demonstrates how economic and environmental improvement potentials of Danish pig farms can be estimated using Data envelopment analysis (DEA). To avoid some of the problems associated with the definition of undesirable outputs, environmental variables are included as nutrients applied...

  7. Increased respiratory symptoms in COPD patients living in the vicinity of livestock farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borlée, Floor; Yzermans, C Joris; van Dijk, Christel E; Heederik, Dick; Smit, Lidwien A M

    2015-12-01

    Several studies have investigated the effect of livestock farm emissions on the respiratory health of local residents, but results are inconsistent. This study aims to explore associations between the presence of livestock farms and respiratory health in an area of high-density livestock farming in the Netherlands. We focused especially on associations between farm exposures and respiratory symptoms within subgroups of potentially susceptible patients with a pre-existing lung disease.In total, 14 875 adults (response rate 53.4%) completed a questionnaire concerning respiratory health, smoking habits and personal characteristics. Different indicators of livestock farm exposures relative to the home address were computed using a geographic information system.Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma was lower among residents living within 100 m of a farm (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.24-0.91 and OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.45-0.93, respectively). However, >11 farms in 1000 m compared to fewer than four farms in 1000 m (fourth quartile versus first quartile) was associated with wheezing among COPD patients (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.01-2.89). Using general practitioners' electronic medical records, we demonstrated that selection bias did not affect the observed associations.Our data suggest a protective effect of livestock farm emissions on the respiratory health of residents. Nonetheless, COPD patients living near livestock farms reported more respiratory symptoms, suggesting an increased risk of exacerbations. Copyright ©ERS 2015.

  8. Real-time measurement of dust in the workplace using video exposure monitoring: Farming to pharmaceuticals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walsh, P T; Forth, A R; Clark, R D R; Dowker, K P; Thorpe, A

    2009-01-01

    Real-time, photometric, portable dust monitors have been employed for video exposure monitoring (VEM) to measure and highlight dust levels generated by work activities, illustrate dust control techniques, and demonstrate good practice. Two workplaces, presenting different challenges for measurement, were used to illustrate the capabilities of VEM: (a) poultry farming activities and (b) powder transfer operations in a pharmaceutical company. For the poultry farm work, the real-time monitors were calibrated with respect to the respirable and inhalable dust concentrations using cyclone and IOM reference samplers respectively. Different rankings of exposure for typical activities were found on the small farm studied here compared to previous exposure measurements at larger poultry farms: these were mainly attributed to the different scales of operation. Large variations in the ratios of respirable, inhalable and real-time monitor TWA concentrations of poultry farm dust for various activities were found. This has implications for the calibration of light-scattering dust monitors with respect to inhalable dust concentration. In the pharmaceutical application, the effectiveness of a curtain barrier for dust control when dispensing powder in a downflow booth was rapidly demonstrated.

  9. Values in Organic Farming

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjærgård, Bente; Pedersen, Kirsten Bransholm; Land, Birgit

    The study focuses on the recent debate about what is, or what constitutes, organic farming and what is the right path for organic farming in the future. The study is based on a critical discourse analysis of the controversy about suspending the private standard for organic farming adopted by the ...

  10. Health effects of agrochemicals among farm workers in commercial farms of Kwekwe district, Zimbabwe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magauzi, Regis; Mabaera, Bigboy; Rusakaniko, Simbarashe; Chimusoro, Anderson; Ndlovu, Nqobile; Tshimanga, Mufuta; Shambira, Gerald; Chadambuka, Addmore; Gombe, Notion

    2011-01-01

    Farm workers are at a very high risk of occupational diseases due to exposure to pesticides resulting from inadequate education, training and safety systems. The farm worker spends a lot of time exposed to these harmful agrochemicals. Numerous acute cases with symptoms typical of agrochemical exposure were reported from the commercial farms. We assessed the health effects of agrochemicals in farm workers in commercial farms of Kwekwe District (Zimbabwe), in 2006. An analytical cross sectional study was conducted amongst a sample of 246 farm workers who handled agrochemicals when discharging their duties in the commercial farms. Plasma cholinesterase activity in blood specimens obtained from farm workers was measured using spectrophotometry to establish levels of poisoning by organophosphate and/or carbamates. Information on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of farm workers on agrochemicals use was collected using a pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine factors that were associated with abnormal cholinesterase activity. The prevalence of organophosphate poisoning, indicated by cholinesterase activity of 75% or less, was 24.1%. The median period of exposure to agrochemicals was 3 years (Q(1):=1 year, Q(3):=7 years). Ninety eight (41.5%) farm workers knew the triangle colour code for the most dangerous agrochemicals. Not being provided with personal protective equipment (OR 2.00; 95% CI: 1.07 - 3.68) and lack of knowledge of the triangle colour code for most dangerous agrochemicals (OR 2.02; 95% CI: 1.02 - 4.03) were significantly associated with abnormal cholinesterase activity. There was organophosphate poisoning in the commercial farms. Factors that were significantly associated with the poisoning were lack of protective clothing and lack of knowledge of the triangle colour code for most dangerous agrochemicals. We recommended intensive health education and training of farm workers on

  11. No indication of Coxiella burnetii infection in Norwegian farmed ruminants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kampen Annette H

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Infection with Coxiella burnetii, the cause of Q-fever, has never been detected in Norwegian animals. Recognising the increasing prevalence of the infection in neighbouring countries, the aim of the study was to perform a survey of Norwegian farmed ruminants for the prevalence of C. burnetii infection. Results Milk and blood samples from more than 3450 Norwegian dairy cattle herds, 55 beef cattle herds, 348 dairy goat herds and 118 sheep flocks were serologically examined for antibodies against C. burnetii. All samples were negative for antibodies against C. burnetii. The estimated prevalences of infected herds were 0 (95% confidence interval: 0% - 0.12%, 0 (0% - 12%, 0 (0% - 1.2% and 0 (0% - 10% for dairy cattle herds, beef cattle herds, goat herds and sheep flocks, respectively. Conclusions The study indicates that the prevalence of C. burnetii infection in farmed Norwegian ruminants is low, and it cannot be excluded that Norway is free of the infection. It would be beneficial if Norway was able to maintain the current situation. Therefore, preventive measures should be continued.

  12. Grid Integration of Wind Farms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giæver Tande, John Olav

    2003-07-01

    This article gives an overview of grid integration of wind farms with respect to impact on voltage quality and power system stability. The recommended procedure for assessing the impact of wind turbines on voltage quality in distribution grids is presented. The procedure uses the power quality characteristic data of wind turbines to determine the impact on slow voltage variations, flicker, voltage dips and harmonics. The detailed assessment allows for substantially more wind power in distribution grids compared with previously used rule-of-thumb guidelines. Power system stability is a concern in conjunction with large wind farms or very weak grids. Assessment requires the use of power system simulation tools, and wind farm models for inclusion in such tools are presently being developed. A fixed-speed wind turbine model is described. The model may be considered a good starting point for development of more advanced models, hereunder the concept of variable-speed wind turbines with a doubly fed induction generator is briefly explained. The use of dynamic wind farm models as part of power system simulation tools allows for detailed studies and development of innovative grid integration techniques. It is demonstrated that the use of reactive compensation may relax the short-term voltage stability limit and allow integration of significantly more wind power, and that application of automatic generation control technology may be an efficient means to circumvent thermal transmission capacity constraints. The continuous development of analysis tools and technology for cost-effective and secure grid integration is an important aid to ensure the increasing use of wind energy. A key factor for success, however, is the communication of results and gained experience, and in this regard it is hoped that this article may contribute.

  13. Child Work Safety on the Farms of Local Agricultural Market Producers: Parent and Child Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Summers, Phillip; Quandt, Sara A; Spears Johnson, Chaya R; Arcury, Thomas A

    2018-01-01

    Agriculture is a hazardous industry, yet there are few regulations on the ages at which children may engage in farm work. Local agricultural market producers (LAMPs) are a growing subset of farmers within "sustainable agriculture" who engage in direct-to-consumer and direct-to-retailer enterprises. This study explores the occupational health and safety perceptions of parents and children for children who work on their families' LAMP farms. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 parent-child dyads from LAMP farms in Illinois and North Carolina. Four themes emerged from these 24 interviews; parents and children perceived that: (1) the nature of small farms makes them safer than industrial agricultural operations; (2) child safety on farms is common sense; (3) avoiding hazardous tasks keeps children safe; and (4) parents know best (compared to regulations) about ways to keep their children safe. Some of these themes echo the results of earlier studies conducted with more conventional farms. Further research is needed to develop programs to improve child occupational safety on LAMP farms.

  14. Productive, economic and environmental effects of optimised feeding strategies in small-scale dairy farms in the Highlands of Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Velarde-Guillén

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Since most dairy production in developing countries comes from small farms, there is scope to reduce their contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG emissions. In the highlands of Mexico, the limitations in these systems are high feeding costs. This paper assessed the production, economics and estimated methane emissions from traditional feeding strategies (TFS in 22 small-scale dairy farms compared to optimised feeding strategies (OFS evaluated through on-farm research in eight participating farms in the dry (DS and in the rainy (RS seasons. Results were analysed with a completely randomized design. There were no differences (P>0.05 in milk fat, body condition score (BCS or live weight between TFS and OFS, but there was higher (P

  15. Integrated rice-duck farming decreases global warming potential and increases net ecosystem economic budget in central China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheng, Feng; Cao, Cou-Gui; Li, Cheng-Fang

    2018-05-31

    Over the past decades, many attempts have been made to assess the effects of integrated rice-duck farming on greenhouse gas emissions, use efficient of energy, soil fertility, and economic significance. However, very few studies have been focused on the effects of the farming on net ecosystem economic budget (NEEB). Here, a 2-year field experiment was conducted to comprehensively investigate the effects of ducks raised in paddy fields on CH 4 and N 2 O emissions, global warming potential (GWP), rice grain yield, and NEEB in central China. The experiment included two treatments: integrated rice-duck farming (RD) and conventional rice farming (R). The introduction of ducks into the paddy fields markedly increased the rice grain yield due to enhanced tiller number and root bleeding rate. RD treatment significantly elevated the N 2 O emissions (p < 0.05) but decreased CH 4 emissions (p < 0.05) during rice growing seasons compared with R treatment. Analysis of GWP based on CH 4 and N 2 O emissions showed that compared with R treatment, RD treatment significantly decreased the GWP by 28.1 and 28.0% and reduced the greenhouse gas intensity by 30.6 and 29.8% in 2009 and 2010, respectively. In addition, RD treatment increased NEEB by 40.8 and 39.7% respectively in 2009 and 2010 relative to R treatment. Taken together, our results suggest that the integrated rice-duck farming system is an effective strategy to optimize the economic and environmental benefits of paddy fields in central China.

  16. Content of Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn on Pacific white shrimp cultured in modern farm at BLUPPB, Karawang, West Java

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takarina, N. D.; Rahman, A.; Siswanting, T.; Pin, T. J.

    2018-03-01

    Heavy metal is one of the hazardous substances which often found in shrimp farm. Since this shrimp become mostly favorable food, it is necessary to determine the content of metal in this shrimps. This research was aimed to determine the content of Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn on Pacific white shrimp cultured on the modern farm at BLUPPB, Karawang, West Java. Samples were taken from five farms. During transport, samples were kept in a more relaxed box. Farms used were designed using black plastic as the bottom layer to separate contact with soil. Heavy metal of Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn on shrimp meat was analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry method. The content of Cr was ranged from 0.06 – 0.38 ppm and Pb were 0.02 – 0.05 ppm. The content of Cu was ranged from 1.89 – 15.25 ppm and Zn were 2.16 – 3.92 ppm. According to government rules and literature, those content were below a threshold which was 0.4 ppm for Cu, 0.5 ppm for Pb, 20 ppm for Cu and 0.2 ppm for Zn.

  17. 12 CFR 621.9 - Reinstatement to accrual status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Reinstatement to accrual status. 621.9 Section 621.9 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS Loan Performance and Valuation Assessment § 621.9 Reinstatement to accrual status. A loan may be...

  18. 12 CFR 652.70 - Risk-based capital level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... risk-based capital level is the sum of the following amounts: (a) Credit and interest rate risk. The... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Risk-based capital level. 652.70 Section 652.70 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL MORTGAGE...

  19. 12 CFR 615.5335 - Bank net collateral ratio.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Bank net collateral ratio. 615.5335 Section 615.5335 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM FUNDING AND FISCAL AFFAIRS, LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS, AND FUNDING OPERATIONS Surplus and Collateral Requirements § 615.5335 Bank net...

  20. DETERMINANTS OF FARMERS’ WILLINGNESS TO PAYFOR SUBSIDISED FARM INPUTS IN MALAWI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laston Petro Manja

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Most recently, citing low price elasticity of demand for inputs in theagro-based Malawian economy, economists and non-economistshave advocated for increasing prices forsubsidizedinputs. However,elasticities alone arenot enoughto make inferencessince knowledgeof whether higher prices are indeed affordableby farmers is ofspecialsignificance. This study uses the standard The results revealthat smallholder farmers are willing to pay for more inputs in theFarm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP withthe mean WTP for eachhouseholdat MK 1000beingabout ten50kgfertilizerbags and thetotal WTP at the same price being46891 bags per yearfor4742 observedhouseholds. Using datafrom the Malawi 2011/12 FarmInput Subsidy Study (FISS4, the model identifies age,sexandeducationof household head, farm size,food securityas well asradioownershipas positivedeterminants ofWTP;withcoupon receipt andfarm incomes as negative determinants.

  1. Farm Population of the United States: 1977. Current Population Reports: Farm Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banks, Vera J.; DeAre, Diana

    The farm population has declined fairly steadily for more than half a century. By 1970 the proportion of the U.S. population residing on farms had fallen to about 5 per cent, and by 1977 had dropped to 3.6 per cent. About 1.4 per cent of the farm population was of Spanish origin (represented for the first time in this year's report), as compared…

  2. The case for offshore wind farms, artificial reefs and sustainable tourism in the French mediterranean

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Westerberg, Vanja; Jacobsen, Jette Bredahl; Lifran, Robert

    2013-01-01

    As the French government strives to achieve their offshore renewable energy target, the impact of offshore wind farms on coastal tourism in the Languedoc Rousillon is now being questioned. To assess this issue, a choice experiment was undertaken to elicit tourist preferences for wind turbines...... attitudes towards compensatory policies. Two policy recommendations are suggested. First, everything else being equal, wind farms should be located no closer than 12 km from the shore. Second, and alternatively, a wind farm can be located from 5 km and outwards without a loss in tourism revenues...

  3. Power-Production Diagnostic Tools for Low-Density Wind Farms with Applications to Wake Steering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takle, E. S.; Herzmann, D.; Rajewski, D. A.; Lundquist, J. K.; Rhodes, M. E.

    2016-12-01

    Hansen (2011) provided guidelines for wind farm wake analysis with applications to "high density" wind farms (where average distance between turbines is less than ten times rotor diameter). For "low-density" (average distance greater than fifteen times rotor diameter) wind farms, or sections of wind farms we demonstrate simpler sorting and visualization tools that reveal wake interactions and opportunities for wind farm power prediction and wake steering. SCADA data from a segment of a large mid-continent wind farm, together with surface flux measurements and lidar data are subjected to analysis and visualization of wake interactions. A time-history animated visualization of a plan view of power level of individual turbines provides a quick analysis of wake interaction dynamics. Yaw-based sectoral histograms of enhancement/decline of wind speed and power from wind farm reference levels reveals angular width of wake interactions and identifies the turbine(s) responsible for the power reduction. Concurrent surface flux measurements within the wind farm allowed us to evaluate stability influence on wake loss. A one-season climatology is used to identify high-priority candidates for wake steering based on estimated power recovery. Typical clearing prices on the day-ahead market are used to estimate the added value of wake steering. Current research is exploring options for identifying candidate locations for wind farm "build-in" in existing low-density wind farms.

  4. Assessment of heavy metals contamination and human health risk in shrimp collected from different farms and rivers at Khulna-Satkhira region, Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Sarkar

    Full Text Available This study is aimed to assess the heavy metals contamination and health risk in Shrimp (Macrobrachium rosenbergii and Penaeus monodon collected from Khulna-Satkhira region in Bangladesh. The results showed that the Pb concentrations (0.52–1.16 mg/kg in all shrimp samples of farms were higher than the recommended limit. The Cd levels (0.05–0.13 mg/kg in all samples and Cr levels in all farms except tissue content at Satkhira farm were higher than the permissible limits. The individual concentration of Pb, Cd, and Cr between shrimp tissue and shell in all rivers and farms were not statistically significant (P > 0.05. Target hazard quotient (THQ and hazard index (HI were estimated to assess the non-carcinogenic health risks. Shrimp samples from all locations under the current study were found to be safe for consumption, the possibility of health risk associated with non-carcinogenic effect is very low for continuous consumption for 30 years. Keywords: Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, Shrimp, Health hazard, Noncarcinogenic risk

  5. 76 FR 72697 - Heritage Garden Wind Farm I, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ER12-421-000] Heritage Garden Wind Farm I, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for... Heritage Garden Wind Farm I, LLC's application for market-based rate authority, with an accompanying rate...

  6. Retrospective analysis of Bluetongue farm risk profile definition, based on biology, farm management practices and climatic data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cappai, Stefano; Loi, Federica; Coccollone, Annamaria; Contu, Marino; Capece, Paolo; Fiori, Michele; Canu, Simona; Foxi, Cipriano; Rolesu, Sandro

    2018-07-01

    Bluetongue (BT) is a vector-borne disease transmitted by species of Culicoides midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Many studies have contributed to clarifying various aspects of its aetiology, epidemiology and vector dynamic; however, BT remains a disease of epidemiological and economic importance that affects ruminants worldwide. Since 2000, the Sardinia region has been the most affected area of the Mediterranean basin. The region is characterised by wide pastoral areas for sheep and represents the most likely candidate region for the study of Bluetongue virus (BTV) distribution and prevalence in Italy. Furthermore, specific information on the farm level and epidemiological studies needs to be provided to increase the knowledge on the disease's spread and to provide valid mitigation strategies in Sardinia. This study conducted a punctual investigation into the spatial patterns of BTV transmission to define a risk profile for all Sardinian farmsby using a logistic multilevel mixed model that take into account agro-meteorological aspects, as well as farm characteristics and management. Data about animal density (i.e. sheep, goats and cattle), vaccination, previous outbreaks, altitude, land use, rainfall, evapotranspiration, water surface, and farm management practices (i.e. use of repellents, treatment against insect vectors, storage of animals in shelter overnight, cleaning, presence of mud and manure) were collected for 12,277 farms for the years 2011-2015. The logistic multilevel mixed model showed the fundamental role of climatic factors in disease development and the protective role of good management, vaccination, outbreak in the previous year and altitude. Regional BTV risk maps were developed, based on the predictor values of logistic model results, and updated every 10 days. These maps were used to identify, 20 days in advance, the areas at highest risk. The risk farm profile, as defined by the model, would provide specific information about the role of each

  7. 12 CFR 615.5040 - Borrowings from financial institutions other than commercial banks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Borrowings from financial institutions other than commercial banks. 615.5040 Section 615.5040 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM... § 615.5040 Borrowings from financial institutions other than commercial banks. The Farm Credit banks may...

  8. Assessing farm animal welfare without visiting the farm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jan Tind; Houe, Hans; Sandøe, Peter

    Animal welfare is typically assessed on farms by external observers making systematic observations of animals and/or the environment. External observers are costly, and efforts to minimize the time spent by external observers are giving rise to a delicate discussion of priorities of costs, validity...... and reliability. In this situation, it is worthwhile to consider the option of systems for assessing the animal welfare without having an external observer visiting the farm....

  9. Results of an online questionnaire to survey calf management practices on dairy cattle breeding farms in Austria and to estimate differences in disease incidences depending on farm structure and management practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein-Jöbstl, Daniela; Arnholdt, Tim; Sturmlechner, Franz; Iwersen, Michael; Drillich, Marc

    2015-08-19

    Calf disease may result in great economic losses. To implement prevention strategies it is important to gain information on management and to point out risk factors. The objective of this internet based survey was to describe calf management practices on registered dairy breeding farms in Austria and to estimate differences in calf disease incidences depending on farm structure and management practices. A total of 1287 questionnaires were finally analysed (response rate 12.2 %). Herd characteristics and regional distribution of farms indicated that this survey gives a good overview on calf management practices on registered dairy farms in Austria. The median number of cows per farm was 20 (interquartile range 13-30). Significant differences regarding farm characteristics and calf management between small and large farms (≤20 vs >20 cows) were present. Only 2.8 % of farmers tested first colostrum quality by use of a hydrometer. Storing frozen colostrum was more prevalent on large farms (80.8 vs 64.2 %). On 85.1 % of the farms, whole milk, including waste milk, was fed to the calves. Milk replacer and waste milk were more often used on large farms. In accordance with similar studies from other countries, calf diarrhoea was indicated as the most prevalent disease. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that herd size was associated with calf diarrhoea and calf respiratory tract disease, with higher risk of disease on large farms. Furthermore, feeding waste milk to the calves was associated with increasing calf diarrhoea incidence on farm. In the final model with calf respiratory tract disease as outcome, respondents from organic farms reported less often a respiratory tract disease incidence of over 10 % compared with conventional farms [odds ratio (OR) 0.40, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.21-0.75] and farmers that housed calves individually or in groups after birth significantly reported more often to have an incidence of respiratory tract

  10. Freeze drying synthesis of LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 cathode materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shlyakhtin, O.A.; Yoon, Young Soo; Choi, Sun Hee; Oh, Young-Jei

    2004-01-01

    The influence of several processing conditions on the phase formation and electrochemical performance of LiNi 0.5 Mn 0.5 O 2 powders, obtained by freeze drying method, is studied. Thermal processing in pellets at maximum heating rate promotes better crystallographic ordering of hexagonal LiNi 0.5 Mn 0.5 O 2 and maximum capacity values irrespectively of chemical composition of the precursor. Instead, intense mechanical processing of precursors exerts considerable negative effect on the electrochemical performance. Cathode materials containing superstoichiometric amount of lithium (Li 1.3 Mn 0.5 Ni 0.5 O 2+δ ) demonstrate reversible capacity values up to 190 mAh/g between 2.5 and 4.6 V

  11. Validation of good agricultural practices (GAP) on Minnesota vegetable farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, Karin E; Umber, Jamie; Hultberg, Annalisa; Tong, Cindy; Schermann, Michele; Diez-Gonzalez, Francisco; Bender, Jeff B

    2015-02-01

    The United States Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture jointly published the "Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables," which is used as a basis for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) audits. To understand barriers to incorporation of GAP by Minnesota vegetable farmers, a mail survey completed in 2008 was validated with visits to a subset of the farms. This was done to determine the extent to which actual practices matched perceived practices. Two hundred forty-six producers completed the mail survey, and 27 participated in the on-farm survey. Over 75% of the on-farm survey respondents produced vegetables on 10 acres or less and had 10 or fewer employees. Of 14 questions, excellent agreement between on-farm interviews and mail survey responses was observed on two questions, four questions had poor or slight agreement, and eight questions had no agreement. Ninety-two percent of respondents by mail said "they took measures to keep animals and pests out of packing and storage buildings." However, with the on-site visit only 45% met this requirement. Similarly, 81% of respondents by mail said "measures were taken to reduce the risk of wild and/or domestic animals entering into fruit and vegetable growing areas." With direct observation, 70% of farms actually had taken measures to keep animals out of the growing areas. Additional, on-farm assessments were done regarding employee hygiene, training, presence of animals, water sources, and composting practices. This validation study demonstrated the challenge of creating nonleading and concise questions that are not open to broad interpretation from the respondents. If mail surveys are used to assess GAP, they should include open-ended questions and ranking systems to better assess farm practices. To provide the most accurate survey data for educational purposes or GAP audits, on-farm visits are recommended.

  12. Quality of Water used at pig farms in the Red River delta

    OpenAIRE

    Nguyen Van Duy; Vu Dinh, Ton; Lai Thi, Cuc; Dang Vu, Binh

    2008-01-01

    A research was carried out to evaluate water quality using at 12 different pig farms in Bac Ninh, Hung Yen and Hai Duong provinces. Water samples were taken in two periods from October to December 2006 and from March to April 2007. Physical and chemical parameters were analysed at the laboratory of the Department of Veterinary Parasitology-Inspection and Hygiene - Hanoi University of Agriculture. The results showed that, all water sources using the pig farms came from underground and a half o...

  13. A survey of bacteria found in Belgian dairy farm products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N'Guessan, E.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Description of the subject. Due to the potential hazards caused by pathogenic bacteria, farm dairy production remains a challenge from the point of view of food safety. As part of a public program to support farm diversification and short food supply chains, farm dairy product samples including yogurt, ice cream, raw-milk butter and cheese samples were collected from 318 Walloon farm producers between 2006 and 2014. Objectives. Investigation of the microbiological quality of the Belgian dairy products using the guidelines provided by the European food safety standards. Method. The samples were collected within the framework of the self-checking regulation. In accordance with the European Regulation EC 2073/2005, microbiological analyses were performed to detect and count Enterobacteriaceae, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Results. Even when results met the microbiological safety standards, hygienic indicator microorganisms like E. coli and S. aureus exceeded the defined limits in 35% and 4% of butter and cheese samples, respectively. Unsatisfactory levels observed for soft cheeses remained higher (10% and 2% for S. aureus and L. monocytogenes respectively than those observed for pressed cheeses (3% and 1% and fresh cheeses (3% and 0% (P ≥ 0.05. Furthermore, the percentages of samples outside legal limits were not significantly higher in the summer months than in winter months for all mentioned bacteria. Conclusions. This survey showed that most farm dairy products investigated were microbiologically safe. However, high levels of hygiene indicators (e.g., E. coli in some products, like butter, remind us of applying good hygienic practices at every stage of the dairy production process to ensure consumer safety.

  14. 29 CFR 500.41 - Farm labor contractor is responsible for actions of his farm labor contractor employee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ..., prior to such employee's engagement in any activity enumerated in section 3(6) of the Act. A farm labor... farm labor contractor employee. 500.41 Section 500.41 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued... PROTECTION Registration of Farm Labor Contractors and Employees of Farm Labor Contractors Engaged in Farm...

  15. Offshore Wind Farms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lundtang Petersen, Erik; Hasager, Charlotte Bay; Courtney, Michael

    2015-01-01

    : the rotor, the nacelle, the tower, and the foundation. Further the determinations of the essential environmental conditions are treated: the wind field, the wave field, the sea current, and the soil conditions. The various options for grid connections, advantages, and disadvantages are discussed. Of special...... concern are the problems associated with locating the turbines close together in a wind farm and the problems of placing several large wind farms in a confined area. The environmental impacts of offshore wind farms are also treated, but not the supply chain, that is, the harbors, the installation vessels...

  16. 12 CFR 614.4810 - Standby letters of credit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... party in the performance of an obligation. (b) As a matter of sound banking practice, banks for... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Standby letters of credit. 614.4810 Section 614.4810 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS Banks...

  17. Characterization of the Emerging Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:- in Danish Animal Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Argüello, Hector; Sørensen, Gitte; Carvajal, Ana

    2014-01-01

    Abstract The monophasic Salmonella variant with the antigenic formula Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:- has emerged in the last decade as one of the main serotypes related to human salmonellosis. In the present study, a collection of 94 isolates of the S. 4,12:i:- and S. 4,5,12:i:- coming from Danish farm ...... in Danish food animal production with well-characterized clones that are described by previous studies, demonstrating the emergence and spread of this serotype in Denmark....... animals, swine (86), cattle (7), and poultry (1), with well-defined identification was further typed by polymerase chain reaction serotyping, phage typing, and molecular typing (polymerase chain reaction and multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis [MLVA]). Moreover, the determination...

  18. Antimicrobial use on Canadian dairy farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saini, V; McClure, J T; Léger, D; Dufour, S; Sheldon, A G; Scholl, D T; Barkema, H W

    2012-03-01

    Antimicrobial use (AMU) data are critical for formulating policies for containing antimicrobial resistance. The present study determined AMU on Canadian dairy farms and characterized variation in AMU based on herd-level factors such as milk production, somatic cell count, herd size, geographic region and housing type. Drug use data were collected on 89 dairy herds in 4 regions of Canada, Alberta, Ontario, Québec, and the Maritime provinces (Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia) for an average of 540 d per herd. Dairy producers and farm personnel were asked to deposit empty drug containers into specially provided receptacles. Antimicrobial use was measured as antimicrobial drug use rate (ADUR), with the unit being number of animal defined-daily doses (ADD)/1,000 cow-days. Antimicrobial drug use rates were determined at farm, region, and national level. Combined ADUR of all antimicrobial classes was 14.35 ADD/1,000 cow-days nationally. National level ADUR of the 6 most commonly used antimicrobial drug classes, cephalosporins, penicillins, penicillin combinations, tetracyclines, trimethoprim-sulfonamide combinations, and lincosamides were 3.05, 2.56, 2.20, 1.83, 0.87, and 0.84 ADD/1,000 cow-days, respectively. Dairy herds in Ontario were higher users of third-generation cephalosporins (ceftiofur) than in Québec. Alberta dairy herds were higher users of tetracyclines in comparison to Maritimes. Antimicrobial drug use rate was higher via systemic route as compared with intramammary and other routes of administration (topical, oral, and intrauterine). The ADUR of antimicrobials used intramammarily was higher for clinical mastitis treatment than dry cow therapy. For dry cow therapy, penicillin ADUR was greater than ADUR of first-generation cephalosporins. For clinical mastitis treatment, ADUR of intramammary penicillin combinations was greater than ADUR of cephapirin. Herd-level milk production was positively associated with overall ADUR, ADUR of

  19. Analyzing the Determinants of Non-farm Income Diversification of Farm Households in Peshawar District of Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kanwal Nazish

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The agricultural sector in Pakistan is not well-established to provide full employment opportunities and sufficient income for needed living standard to the rural population. Stagnant agricultural productivity and low returns in farming have led rural residents to look for alternative livelihoods, especially non-farm employment. With this background, the present study is an endeavor to empirically determine the factors of non-farm income diversification of rural farm households in Peshawar district of Pakistan. The study was undertaken in four villages and data was amassed from 196 small farming households by using the multi-stage sampling technique. The data were analyzed using the descriptive statistical measures, the mean of income shares approach and the ordinary least squares regression analysis. The results indicate that in all the selected villages, the pattern of non-farm employment was more or less the same; however, the income from non-farm employment activities had an important contribution towards incrementing the absolute income of farm households. Non-farm income diversification is hence crucial for sustaining livelihoods and an integral dimension for invigorating rural economies. Therefore, the study recommends the promotion of non-farm employment as a good strategy for supplementing the income of small farmers without shifting attention from agriculture.

  20. 12 CFR 615.5462 - Restrictive endorsement of bearer securities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Credit Securities § 615.5462 Restrictive endorsement of bearer securities. When consolidated and... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Restrictive endorsement of bearer securities. 615.5462 Section 615.5462 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM FUNDING AND...

  1. Agrichem.ical safety practices on farm.s in the western Cape

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abstract In order to study agrichemical safety practices in a rural farming area in the western ... their work, the environment and intentional misuse.I.}-; Little information is ... the farmer, farm manager or supervisor directly involved in production ...

  2. Avian metapneumovirus subtypes circulating in Brazilian vaccinated and nonvaccinated chicken and turkey farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chacón, Jorge Luis; Mizuma, Matheus; Vejarano, Maria P; Toquín, Didier; Eterradossi, Nicolas; Patnayak, Devi P; Goyal, Sagar M; Ferreira, Antonio J Piantino

    2011-03-01

    Avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) causes turkey rhinotracheitis and is associated with swollen head syndrome in chickens, which is usually accompanied by secondary infections that increase mortality. AMPVs circulating in Brazilian vaccinated and nonvaccinated commercial chicken and turkey farms were detected using a universal reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR assay that can detect the four recognized subtypes of AMPV. The AMPV status of 228 farms with respiratory and reproductive disturbances was investigated. AMPV was detected in broiler, hen, breeder, and turkey farms from six different geographic regions of Brazil. The detected viruses were subtyped using a nested RT-PCR assay and sequence analysis of the G gene. Only subtypes A and B were detected in both vaccinated and nonvaccinated farms. AMPV-A and AMPV-B were detected in 15 and 23 farms, respectively, while both subtypes were simultaneously found in one hen farm. Both vaccine and field viruses were detected in nonvaccinated farms. In five cases, the detected subtype was different than the vaccine subtype. Field subtype B virus was detected mainly during the final years of the survey period. These viruses showed high molecular similarity (more than 96% nucleotide similarity) among themselves and formed a unique phylogenetic group, suggesting that they may have originated from a common strain. These results demonstrate the cocirculation of subtypes A and B in Brazilian commercial farms.

  3. Landscape integration and harmonization assessment guide : wind farm siting project on public land

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bouchard, M.A.; Boudart, M.; Arsenault, M.; Lauzon, M.; Lizotte, C.; Munoz, P.; Poirier, C.; Guimont, C.; Sainte-Marie, L.

    2005-07-01

    The development of a wind farm industry depends greatly on obtaining land use rights. This paper describes a program created by the Quebec Government to make public land available for wind farm construction. In particular, the program allows the government to set aside public land to promote the development of the wind industry in the Gaspe Region and the Matane Regional County Municipality. It also awards land rights for wind farm construction to bidders who have signed wind energy sales contracts with Hydro-Quebec Distribution. The program allows the government to set lease rates for public land used for wind farms based on market rates. This document is a guide used by Quebec's Ministry of Natural Resources to evaluate projects and issue leases for parcels of public land to be used for wind turbine arrays. It identifies major landscape issues associated with wind farms and allows proponents to demonstrate the natural and anthropogenic impacts of a wind farm on the landscape and present mitigative measures to minimize these impacts. This document also identifies the wind farm landscape integration and harmonization principles for public lands in Quebec. It was noted that wind farm projects with 10 MW capacity or less are not subject to guidelines established by the Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks. 23 refs., 2 tabs.

  4. Residents' Perceptions toward Utility-Scale Wind Farm Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Joseph; Romich, Eric

    2015-01-01

    Increased development of wind farms in the U.S. has fostered debates surrounding the siting and support for the projects. Prior research demonstrates the importance of understanding the attitudes and opinions of community members when developing projects. This article reviews a case study of an Ohio community that integrated a local survey to…

  5. Farm Building Contractors and Manufacturers: Their Role in Midwest Farm Construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyle Solverson; David C. Baumgartner

    1974-01-01

    Describes and analyzes the activities of farm building contractors and manufacturers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. Contractors and manufacturers are setting the trend in the farm building market in terms of building type and size and materials used.

  6. Dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in farmed salmon of various origin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karl, H. [Bundesforschungszentrum fuer Ernaehrung und Nahrung, Hamburg (Germany); Ruoff, U. [Bundesforschungszentrum fuer Ernaehrung und Nahrung, Kiel (Germany); Schwind, K.H.; Jira, W. [Bundesforschungszentrum fuer Ernaehrung und Nahrung, Kulmbach (Germany)

    2004-09-15

    With a market share of 8.4% in 2001 (approx. 100,000 t) farmed salmon is one of the most important fish species on the German market. The world wide production of salmon in 2001 was approximately 1.2 Mio t. Norway has produced around 450,000 t of Atlantic salmon of which 60,000 t has been exported to Germany. Other important suppliers of salmon to the German market are Scotland, Denmark, Chile and Ireland. The annual amount from Ireland is relatively small, being approximately 2,000 t. Most salmon is raised under conventional farming conditions. During the last years also high priced organically grown salmon is available on the German market, mainly produced in Ireland. With 800 t per year the market share of organically farmed salmon is less than 1%. Within the context of a study to develop methods for the detection of organically produced products taking salmon as example it was checked if the contaminant levels and/or the contaminant patterns are suitable to differentiate between organically and conventionally farmed salmon. Conventionally farmed salmon, referred as to farmed salmon, was collected from different European farms; organically farmed salmon, referred as to organic salmon, came from Ireland as well as wild Atlantic salmon, which was included into the study. In the present study dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs, marker PCBs and a range of organochlorine pesticides (toxaphene, chlordane, DDT, HCB etc.) in the muscle meat of salmon were investigated.

  7. Hanford radiochemical site decommissioning demonstration program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, D.C.

    1971-01-01

    A program is proposed for the innovation, development, and demonstration of technologies necessary to decommission the Hanford radiochemical plant area to the extent that the sites can have unrestricted public access. The five tasks selected for development and demonstration of restoration techniques were restoration of a burial ground, decommissioning of a separations plant, restoration of a separations plant waste interim storage tank farm, restoration of a liquid disposal area, and disposal of large contaminated equipment. Process development requirements are tabulated and discussed. A proposed schedule and estimated costs are given

  8. Parameters affecting the environmental impact of a range of dairy farming systems in Denmark, Germany and Italy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guerci, Matteo; Knudsen, Marie Trydeman; Bava, L.

    2013-01-01

    The environmental impact of 12 dairy farms in Denmark, Germany and Italy was evaluated using an LCA approach and the most important parameters influencing their environmental sustainability were identified. The farms represent different production methods (organic vs. conventional), summer feeding...... intensive Italian farming system with very similar environmental impact values. However, a sensitivity analysis showed that when emissions relating to direct land use change of soybean production were included in the assessment, the GWP changed considerably for the conventional farms due to the inclusion...... of conventional soymeal in the feed concentrate. There were strong and positive correlations between the four impact categories, and overall the results indicate that improving greenhouse gas emissions would improve the general environmental sustainability of the dairy farm. The land occupation was lowest...

  9. Prospective Randomized Trial Comparing Efficacy of Topical Loteprednol Etabonate 0.5% Versus Cyclosporine-A 0.05% for Treatment of Dry Eye Syndrome Following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boynton, Grace E; Raoof, Duna; Niziol, Leslie M; Hussain, Munira; Mian, Shahzad I

    2015-07-01

    To evaluate the safety and efficacy of topical loteprednol etabonate (LE) 0.5% compared with cyclosporine A (CsA) 0.05% for the prophylaxis and treatment of dry eye syndrome (DES) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Seventy-five patients were randomized to LE (n = 76 eyes of 38 patients) or CsA (n = 74 eyes of 37 patients) pre-HSCT. Lissamine green and fluorescein staining, tear break-up time, tear osmolarity (Osm), Schirmer score (Sch), intraocular pressure, visual acuity, and Ocular Surface Disease Index were assessed pre-HSCT, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-HSCT. There were no differences in DES incidence (P = 0.22; log-rank test) or progression (P = 0.41; log-rank test) between the 2 treatment arms during the course of the study. Among eyes with no DES at enrollment, the Kaplan-Meier analysis yielded a 90% rate of DES development in cyclosporine-treated eyes and a 79% rate of DES development in LE-treated eyes by 12 months post-HSCT. The Kaplan-Meier analysis of eyes with DES at enrollment demonstrated a 38% rate of disease progression among cyclosporine-treated eyes and a 26% rate of disease progression among loteprednol-treated eyes by 12 months. No patient in either group had an elevation of 10 mm Hg or greater from baseline at any study visit, and no patients had their treatment discontinued for elevation in intraocular pressure. Pre-HSCT initiation of LE 0.5% appears to be safe and may be as effective as CsA 0.5% for the treatment and prophylaxis of DES following HSCT.

  10. Summary of Data Farming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gary Horne

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Data Farming is a process that has been developed to support decision-makers by answering questions that are not currently addressed. Data farming uses an inter-disciplinary approach that includes modeling and simulation, high performance computing, and statistical analysis to examine questions of interest with a large number of alternatives. Data farming allows for the examination of uncertain events with numerous possible outcomes and provides the capability of executing enough experiments so that both overall and unexpected results may be captured and examined for insights. Harnessing the power of data farming to apply it to our questions is essential to providing support not currently available to decision-makers. This support is critically needed in answering questions inherent in the scenarios we expect to confront in the future as the challenges our forces face become more complex and uncertain. This article was created on the basis of work conducted by Task Group MSG-088 “Data Farming in Support of NATO”, which is being applied in MSG-124 “Developing Actionable Data Farming Decision Support for NATO” of the Science and Technology Organization, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (STO NATO.

  11. Wind farm production estimates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Torben J.; Larsen, Gunner Chr.; Aagaard Madsen, Helge

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, the Dynamic Wake Meandering (DWM) model is applied for simulation of wind farm production. In addition to the numerical simulations, measured data have been analyzed in order to provide the basis for a full-scale verification of the model performance. The basic idea behind the DWMm......In this paper, the Dynamic Wake Meandering (DWM) model is applied for simulation of wind farm production. In addition to the numerical simulations, measured data have been analyzed in order to provide the basis for a full-scale verification of the model performance. The basic idea behind...... the DWMmodel is to model the in- stationary wind farm flow characteristics by considering wind turbine wakes as passive tracers continuously emitted from the wind farm turbines each with a downstream transport pro- cess dictated by large scale turbulent eddies (lateral and ver- tical transportation; i.......e. meandering) and Taylor advection. For the present purpose, the DWM model has been im- plemented in the aeroelastic code HAWC2 [1], and the per- formance of the resulting model complex is mainly verified by comparing simulated and measured loads for the Dutch off-shore Egmond aan Zee wind farm [2]. This farm...

  12. AN INTEGRATED ON-FARM EXPERIMENT AND SURVEY APPROACH TO MAIZE AND GROUNDNUT CONSTRAINT ANALYSIS IN ZIMBABWE

    OpenAIRE

    Shumba, Enos Mutambu

    1987-01-01

    On-farm trials conducted in Zimbabwe communal areas (peasant sector) have demonstrated the existence of a yield gap between potential farm yields and those achieved by farmers. This study utilizes the experimental and survey approach to quantify the size of the maize and groundnut yield gaps at the farm level and evaluates the economic returns associated with the yield increasing technologies. Three major conclusions drawn from the study are: First, the diagnostic survey and the yield gap pac...

  13. Wind farm acceptance for sale? Evidence from the Danish wind farm co-ownership scheme

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, K.; Emborg, J.

    2018-01-01

    -investors already support the planned wind farm projects, and many project opponents will not engage themselves in something they are against in principle. Finally, economic benefits potentially gained via OPSS do not appear to compensate for values feared violated by wind farms by many wind farm project...

  14. Can stress in farm animals increase food safety risk?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rostagno, Marcos H

    2009-09-01

    All farm animals will experience some level of stress during their lives. Stress reduces the fitness of an animal, which can be expressed through failure to achieve production performance standards, or through disease and death. Stress in farm animals can also have detrimental effects on the quality of food products. However, although a common assumption of a potential effect of stress on food safety exists, little is actually known about how this interaction may occur. The aim of this review was to examine the current knowledge of the potential impact of stress in farm animals on food safety risk. Colonization of farm animals by enteric pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Campylobacter, and their subsequent dissemination into the human food chain are a major public health and economic concern for the food industries. This review shows that there is increasing evidence to demonstrate that stress can have a significant deleterious effect on food safety through a variety of potential mechanisms. However, as the impact of stress is difficult to precisely determine, it is imperative that the issue receives more research attention in the interests of optimizing animal welfare and minimizing losses in product yield and quality, as well as to food safety risks to consumers. While there is some evidence linking stress with pathogen carriage and shedding in farm animals, the mechanisms underlying this effect have not been fully elucidated. Understanding when pathogen loads on the farm are the highest or when animals are most susceptible to infection will help identifying times when intervention strategies for pathogen control may be most effective, and consequently, increase the safety of food of animal origin.

  15. Pola Kemitraan Contract Farming Antara Petani Cluster Dan PT Mitratani Agro Unggul (PT Mau) Di Kabupaten Lampung Selatan

    OpenAIRE

    Maliki, Azhari; Ismono, R Hanung; Yanfika, Helvi

    2013-01-01

    This research aimed to know the partnership pattern of contract farming between cluster farmers and PT Mitratani Agro Unggul and the partnership benefits for the farmers. This research was conducted in South Lampung Regency in October 2012, in which 12 farmers joined this partnership program as respondents. The data was analyzed by descriptive and farming income analysis. The results showed that the related partners to contract farming partnership covered: capital assistance, marketing, an...

  16. Experimental study of the impact of large-scale wind farms on land–atmosphere exchanges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Wei; Markfort, Corey D; Porté-Agel, Fernando

    2013-01-01

    Large-scale wind farms, covering a significant portion of the land and ocean surface, may affect the transport of momentum, heat, mass and moisture between the atmosphere and the land locally and globally. To understand the wind-farm–atmosphere interaction, we conducted wind-tunnel experiments to study the surface scalar (heat) flux using model wind farms, consisting of more than ten rows of wind turbines—having typical streamwise and spanwise spacings of five and four rotor diameters—in a neutral boundary layer with a heated surface. The spatial distribution of the surface heat flux was mapped with an array of surface heat flux sensors within the quasi-developed regime of the wind-farm flow. Although the overall surface heat flux change produced by the wind farms was found to be small, with a net reduction of 4% for a staggered wind farm and nearly zero change for an aligned wind farm, the highly heterogeneous spatial distribution of the surface heat flux, dependent on the wind-farm layout, was significant. The difference between the minimum and maximum surface heat fluxes could be up to 12% and 7% in aligned and staggered wind farms, respectively. This finding is important for planning intensive agriculture practice and optimizing farm land use strategy regarding wind energy project development. The well-controlled wind-tunnel experiments presented in this study also provide a first comprehensive dataset on turbulent flow and scalar transport in wind farms, which can be further used to develop and validate new parameterizations of surface scalar fluxes in numerical models. (letter)

  17. Is the increase of scale in the tropics a pathway to smallholders? Dimension and ecological zone effect on the mixed crop-livestock farms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rangel, J.; Espinosa, J.A.; Pablos-Heredero, C. de; Rivas, J.; Perea, J.; Angón, E.; García-Martínez, A.

    2017-07-01

    Mixed crop-livestock farms are widely spread in different tropical regions in the world; they contribute to food security, rural development, sustainability and poverty alleviation. The effect of scale on performance of dual purpose (DP) cattle farms was evaluated in two Mexican ecological zones: dry (DT) and wet tropics (WT). In 2011, a questionnaire of 184 items distributed into technical and social characteristics was applied to a representative sample of 3,285 farms with 50 or less cows (0.97%). The farms were classified into three groups according to their dimension: very small (1-9 cows), small (10-19 cows) and medium (20-50 cows). A general linear model (GLM) with two factors and their interactions was applied. Significant effects in dimension and ecological zone were found as well as seven interactions between both factors (p<0.05). Native pastures were used in all farms for grazing. However, small farms’ herds frequently grazed on cultivated pastures and on crop residues (p<0.05). Medium farms showed the highest grazing surface, but in the WT silage and green fodder were used while in the DT dry fodders were used (p<0.001). The interactions between factors showed a bigger specialization in milk production in DT farms, whereas WT farms were more specialized in meat production. The mixed crop-livestock system in tropic region requires an increase in herd size according to farm’s own productive structure, which is strongly influenced by the ecological zone. The systems would improve with the active participation of smallholders to identify and achieve best practices, higher technological adoption level and with an effective support from public and private Institutions.

  18. Is the increase of scale in the tropics a pathway to smallholders? Dimension and ecological zone effect on the mixed crop-livestock farms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaime Rangel

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Mixed crop-livestock farms are widely spread in different tropical regions in the world; they contribute to food security, rural development, sustainability and poverty alleviation. The effect of scale on performance of dual purpose (DP cattle farms was evaluated in two Mexican ecological zones: dry (DT and wet tropics (WT. In 2011, a questionnaire of 184 items distributed into technical and social characteristics was applied to a representative sample of 3,285 farms with 50 or less cows (0.97%. The farms were classified into three groups according to their dimension: very small (1-9 cows, small (10-19 cows and medium (20-50 cows. A general linear model (GLM with two factors and their interactions was applied. Significant effects in dimension and ecological zone were found as well as seven interactions between both factors (p<0.05. Native pastures were used in all farms for grazing. However, small farms’ herds frequently grazed on cultivated pastures and on crop residues (p<0.05. Medium farms showed the highest grazing surface, but in the WT silage and green fodder were used while in the DT dry fodders were used (p<0.001. The interactions between factors showed a bigger specialization in milk production in DT farms, whereas WT farms were more specialized in meat production. The mixed crop-livestock system in tropic region requires an increase in herd size according to farm’s own productive structure, which is strongly influenced by the ecological zone. The systems would improve with the active participation of smallholders to identify and achieve best practices, higher technological adoption level and with an effective support from public and private Institutions.

  19. Is the increase of scale in the tropics a pathway to smallholders? Dimension and ecological zone effect on the mixed crop-livestock farms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rangel, J.; Espinosa, J.A.; Pablos-Heredero, C. de; Rivas, J.; Perea, J.; Angón, E.; García-Martínez, A.

    2017-01-01

    Mixed crop-livestock farms are widely spread in different tropical regions in the world; they contribute to food security, rural development, sustainability and poverty alleviation. The effect of scale on performance of dual purpose (DP) cattle farms was evaluated in two Mexican ecological zones: dry (DT) and wet tropics (WT). In 2011, a questionnaire of 184 items distributed into technical and social characteristics was applied to a representative sample of 3,285 farms with 50 or less cows (0.97%). The farms were classified into three groups according to their dimension: very small (1-9 cows), small (10-19 cows) and medium (20-50 cows). A general linear model (GLM) with two factors and their interactions was applied. Significant effects in dimension and ecological zone were found as well as seven interactions between both factors (p<0.05). Native pastures were used in all farms for grazing. However, small farms’ herds frequently grazed on cultivated pastures and on crop residues (p<0.05). Medium farms showed the highest grazing surface, but in the WT silage and green fodder were used while in the DT dry fodders were used (p<0.001). The interactions between factors showed a bigger specialization in milk production in DT farms, whereas WT farms were more specialized in meat production. The mixed crop-livestock system in tropic region requires an increase in herd size according to farm’s own productive structure, which is strongly influenced by the ecological zone. The systems would improve with the active participation of smallholders to identify and achieve best practices, higher technological adoption level and with an effective support from public and private Institutions.

  20. Cattle productivity on smallholder farms in the Western Highlands of Cameroon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Njoya, A.; Mbanya, N.J.; Nguemdjom, A.; Kamga, P.; Ndi, C.; Kameni, A.; Nfi, N.A.

    1999-01-01

    A study of the traditional cattle production systems in the Western Highlands of Cameroon was carried out between August 1994 and September 1997. Fifty two cows selected from 14 farms in 4 locations were monitored monthly. Data were collected on calf and dam weight, dam's body condition, milk offtake and forage quality. Reproductive performance was monitored by measuring progesterone levels in milk sampled weekly. Crude protein content of grazed pastures rose from 12.5% in July to 14.5% in October and declined steadily to reach 4.5% in February. With such a decline in forage quality during the dry season, cows are unable to obtain their nutrient needs, thus productivity was low. Body condition score declined from medium (5.6) at calving to upper low (4.5) 4 months after the initiation of milk offtake. Body weight of cows decreased by nearly 14% during the same period. The interval between calving to first progesterone rise, calving to conception, and inter-calving intervals were 172 ± 116, 185 ± 106 and 448 ± 86 days, respectively. Milk offtake averaged 1.29 ± 0.44 kg/cow/day for a lactation length of 10.5 months. A significant effect of season was detected in milk offtake (P <0.001), body condition score (P <0.05), body weight of cows (P <0.05), intervals from calving to first progesterone rise (P <0.05), calving to conception (P <0.05) and inter-calving interval (P <0.01). Supplementary feeding during the dry season and early lactation to cover the nutrient requirements of the cows in the traditional production system of Western Highlands of Cameroon is recommended and forms the purpose of the second part of this study which is now underway. (author)

  1. Farm-level risk factors for Fasciola hepatica infection in Danish dairy cattle as evaluated by two diagnostic methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Takeuchi-Storm, Nao; Denwood, Matthew; Hansen, Tina Vicky Alstrup

    2017-01-01

    ) as a tool for diagnosis in Danish dairy cattle farms was assessed. This case-control study aimed to identify farm-level risk factors for fasciolosis in Danish dairy farms (> 50 animals slaughtered in 2013) using two diagnostic methods: recordings of liver condemnation at slaughter, and farm-level Fasciola...... on wet pastures, dry cows grazing on wet pastures, herd size, breed and concurrent beef cattle production were identified as risk factors associated with being classified as a case farm. With the categorised BTM ELISA result as the response variable, heifers grazing on wet pastures, dry cows grazing...... on wet pastures, and purchase of cows were identified as risk factors. Within the case and control groups, 74.8 and 12.7% of farms were positive for fasciolosis on BTM ELISA, respectively. The differences are likely to be related to the detection limit of the farm-level prevalence by the BTM ELISA test...

  2. Association between farming and chronic energy deficiency in rural South India.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asvini K Subasinghe

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To examine factors associated with chronic energy deficiency (CED and anaemia in disadvantaged Indian adults who are mostly involved in subsistence farming. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study in which we collected information on socio-demographic factors, physical activity, anthropometry, blood haemoglobin concentration, and daily household food intake. These data were used to calculate body mass index (BMI, basal metabolic rate (BMR, daily energy expenditure, and energy and nutrient intake. Multivariable backward stepwise logistic regression was used to assess socioeconomic and lifestyle factors associated with CED (defined as BMI<18 kg/m² and anaemia. SETTING: The study was conducted in 12 villages, in the Rishi Valley, Andhra Pradesh, India. SUBJECTS: Individuals aged 18 years and above, residing in the 12 villages, were eligible to participate. RESULTS: Data were available for 1178 individuals (45% male, median age 36 years (inter quartile range (IQR 27-50. The prevalence of CED (38% and anaemia (25% was high. Farming was associated with CED in women (2.20, 95% CI: 1.39-3.49 and men (1.71, 95% CI: (1.06-2.74. Low income was also significantly associated with CED, while not completing high school was positively associated with anaemia. Median iron intake was high: 35.7 mg/day (IQR 26-46 in women and 43.4 mg/day (IQR 34-55 in men. CONCLUSIONS: Farming is an important risk factor associated with CED in this rural Indian population and low dietary iron is not the main cause of anaemia. Better farming practice may help to reduce CED in this population.

  3. The role of women on Dutch farms

    OpenAIRE

    Meulen, van der, H.A.B.; Terluin, I.J.; Matser, I.A.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper an analysis is made of the contribution of women to labour input and management on Dutch farms. We used a written survey among the participants of the Dutch Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), in-depth interviews and a group discussion with farm women. Over half of the women on Dutch farms spend more than ten hours per week on agricultural activitieson the farm. More than 40% of women on Dutch farms have paid work off farm. The majority of the respondents’ farms is legally org...

  4. The Profitability of Animal Husbandry Activities on Farms in Dry Farming Areas and the Interaction between Crop Production and Animal Husbandry: The Case of Ankara Province in Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harun Tanrıvermis

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the linkages between livestock and crop farming activities and provides a comparative analysis of the profitability of different livestock activities in the highlands of Ankara. The data was collected from 52 sample farms in the Nallıhan, Aya¸s, Güdül and Beypazarı districts of Ankara by way of a questionnaire, where the farms have, on average, 20.7 ha of land and are thus regarded as small family farms. Insufficient irrigated land and working capital, weak market relations and the pressure of high population brings about a requirement to strengthen crop-livestock interaction. Production on the farms is generally carried out in extensive conditions, with goat, sheep and cattle husbandry in addition to crop production. Crop production makes up for 20.8% of the total gross production value on the farms. Of this figure, the entire yields of wheat, barley, pulses, straw and fodder crops are used for own consumption by the households, along with 74% of the wheat and 77% of the barley produced. The research results indicate that the current management systems may be defined as mixed farms in terms of crop–livestock linkages. The average total income of the households surveyed is 9,412.0 USD, of which 63.4% comes from farming activities. Every 1 USD invested in animal husbandry provides an income of 1.12 USD from dairy cattle breeding, 1.13 USD from Angora goat breeding, 1.16 USD from sheep breeding and 1.27 USD from ordinary goat breeding. It has been found that ordinary goat breeding, which provides the greatest relative profitability for the farms, offers many advantages, and that the transition from Angora goat breeding to ordinary goat breeding through the breeding of ordinary male goats into the Angora herd has occurred in recent years. The results of the survey indicate that supporting crop production with animal husbandry is considered a requirement in order to maintain economic and social sustainability in the farms

  5. Three-fold embeddedness of farm development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Methorst, R.G.; Roep, D.; Verstegen, J.A.A.M.

    2016-01-01

    Farm development strategy is affected by, and affects, the biophysical and socio-economic context of the farm leading to agri-environmental challenges for farm development. For effective policies and support programmes it is important to understand the drivers for choices farm development.

  6. 12 MW

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hasager, Charlotte Bay; Pena Diaz, Alfredo; Mikkelsen, Torben

    '12MW: final report' is for the project with the full title ‘12 MW wind turbines: the scientific basis for their operation at 70 to 270 m height offshore’ that had the goal to experimentally investigate the wind and turbulence characteristics between 70 and 270 m above sea level and thereby...... establish the scientific basis relevant for the next generation of huge 12 MW wind turbines operating offshore. The project started 1st October 2005 and ended 31st March 2009. Firstly was conducted a 6-month experiment at the Horns Rev offshore wind farm deploying a lidar and a sodar on the transformer...

  7. Development of FAST.Farm: A New Multiphysics Engineering Tool for Wind-Farm Design and Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jonkman, Jason; Annoni, Jennifer; Hayman, Greg; Jonkman, Bonnie; Purkayastha, Avi

    2017-01-09

    This paper presents the development of FAST.Farm, a new multiphysics tool applicable to engineering problems in research and industry involving wind farm performance and cost optimization that is needed to address the current underperformance, failures, and expenses plaguing the wind industry. Achieving wind cost-of-energy targets - which requires improvements in wind farm performance and reliability, together with reduced uncertainty and expenditures - has been eluded by the complicated nature of the wind farm design problem, especially the sophisticated interaction between atmospheric phenomena and wake dynamics and array effects. FAST.Farm aims to balance the need for accurate modeling of the relevant physics for predicting power performance and loads while maintaining low computational cost to support a highly iterative and probabilistic design process and system-wide optimization. FAST.Farm makes use of FAST to model the aero-hydro-servo-elastics of distinct turbines in the wind farm, and it is based on some of the principles of the Dynamic Wake Meandering (DWM) model, but avoids many of the limitations of existing DWM implementations.

  8. Technical, economic, environmental and social follow-up of innovating farm-based small methanization plants: BIOGAZ PLUS - Report after a 12-month follow-up; Installation: EARL Guilbaud - Report after a 15-month follow-up; Installation: GAEC Des Buissons - Report after a 12-month follow-up

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lalanne, Mathieu; Cordelier, Marine; Pouech, Philippe; Thual, Julien; Bastide, Guillaume; Faure, Benoit; Faure, Jean-Marie; Bousquet, Dominique; El Habti, Audrey; L'Heriau, Germain; Guianvarch, David; Farcy, Alexandre; Banville, Sandrine; Chauvin, Damien; Frederic, Sylvain; Haumont, Francois; Guilbaud, Gerard; Leroux, Yannick; Tronc, Jean-Sebastien; Menard, Anthony

    2015-08-01

    This document contains three follow-up reports, each concerning a small farm-based methanization unit. For each one, the report proposes a technical description (operation, provisional exploitation assessment, process principle and implementation, installed instrumentation), describes the status of production (noticed dysfunctions and identified causes, returns on experience), an operation assessment after 12 or 15 months in terms of biological performance (composition of input mixture, methane generation potential, organic load) and energetic performance (biogas, electric, thermal and energetic assessments), an assessment of environmental and social performance (time spent, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas assessment, integration of the installation within the farm, risk and pollution assessment), an economic assessment in terms of investment, of operating statements and of indicators of financial profitability. Results of composition measurements performed on input materials and digestates are provided

  9. Giant strain with ultra-low hysteresis and high temperature stability in grain oriented lead-free K0.5Bi0.5TiO3-BaTiO3-Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 piezoelectric materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurya, Deepam; Zhou, Yuan; Wang, Yaojin; Yan, Yongke; Li, Jiefang; Viehland, Dwight; Priya, Shashank

    2015-02-26

    We synthesized grain-oriented lead-free piezoelectric materials in (K0.5Bi0.5TiO3-BaTiO3-xNa0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (KBT-BT-NBT) system with high degree of texturing along the [001]c (c-cubic) crystallographic orientation. We demonstrate giant field induced strain (~0.48%) with an ultra-low hysteresis along with enhanced piezoelectric response (d33 ~ 190pC/N) and high temperature stability (~160°C). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) results demonstrate smaller size highly ordered domain structure in grain-oriented specimen relative to the conventional polycrystalline ceramics. The grain oriented specimens exhibited a high degree of non-180° domain switching, in comparison to the randomly axed ones. These results indicate the effective solution to the lead-free piezoelectric materials.

  10. 12 CFR 615.5451 - Book-entry and definitive securities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Book-entry and definitive securities. 615.5451... AFFAIRS, LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS, AND FUNDING OPERATIONS Book-Entry Procedures for Farm Credit Securities § 615.5451 Book-entry and definitive securities. Subject to subpart C of this part: (a) Farm...

  11. 12 CFR 618.8030 - Out-of-territory related services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Out-of-territory related services. 618.8030 Section 618.8030 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS Related Services § 618.8030 Out-of-territory related services. (a) System banks and associations may offer...

  12. 12 CFR 614.4470 - Loans subject to bank approval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Loans subject to bank approval. 614.4470 Section 614.4470 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS Loan Approval Requirements § 614.4470 Loans subject to bank approval. (a) The following loans...

  13. Effects of farm heterogeneity and methods for upscaling on modelled nitrogen losses in agricultural landscapes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalgaard, Tommy; Hutchings, Nicholas John; Dragosits, U

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study is to illustrate the importance of farm scale heterogeneity on nitrogen (N) losses in agricultural landscapes. Results are exemplified with a chain of N models calculating farm-N balances and distributing the N-surplus to N-losses (volatilisation, denitrification, leaching......) and soil-N accumulation/release in a Danish landscape. Possible non-linearities in upscaling are assessed by comparing average model results based on (i) individual farm level calculations and (ii) averaged inputs at landscape level. Effects of the non-linearities that appear when scaling up from farm...... to landscape are demonstrated. Especially in relation to ammonia losses the non-linearity between livestock density and N-loss is significant (p > 0.999), with around 20–30% difference compared to a scaling procedure not taking this non-linearity into account. A significant effect of farm type on soil N...

  14. Is the distribution and abundance of waterbirds altered in and around Danish Offshore wind farms?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Ib Krag

    programmes for Horns Rev 1 and the Nysted offshore wind farms were initiated, and after the erection of the turbines post-construction monitoring programmes were initiated. Data from these investigations will be touched upon. At Nysted offshore wind farm common eiders (Somateria mollissima) avoided flying...... and the near surroundings. Common scoters (Melanitta nigra) initially showed signs of avoidance, but in the spring of 2007 birds were seen in densities within the Horns Rev 1 wind farm that was equal to the densities found around the wind farm. Very recent findings from Horns Rev 2 indicate that this have......In 1999 a Danish demonstration programme concerning offshore wind farms was initiated. The aim was to evaluate environmental and technical aspects in relation to introducing these new structures at sea. Aarhus University was involved in ornithological investigations in that respect. Monitoring...

  15. Genetic characterisation of farmed rainbow trout in Norway: intra- and inter-strain variation reveals potential for identification of escapees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glover Kevin A

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss is one of the most important aquaculture species in the world, and Norway is one of the largest producers. The present study was initiated in response to a request from the Norwegian police authority to identify the farm of origin for 35 escaped rainbow trout captured in a fjord. Eleven samples, each consisting of approximately 47 fish, were collected from the three farms operating in the fjord where the escapees were captured. In order to gain a better general understanding of the genetic structure of rainbow trout strains used in Norwegian aquaculture, seven samples (47 fish per sample were collected from six farms located outside the region where the escapees were captured. All samples, including the escapees, were genotyped with 12 microsatellite loci. Results All samples displayed considerable genetic variability at all loci (mean number of alleles per locus per sample ranged from 5.4–8.6. Variable degrees of genetic differentiation were observed among the samples, with pair-wise FST values ranging from 0–0.127. Self-assignment tests conducted among the samples collected from farms outside the fjord where the escapees were observed gave an overall correct assignment of 82.5%, demonstrating potential for genetic identification of escapees. In the "real life" assignment of the 35 captured escapees, all were excluded from two of the samples included as controls in the analysis, and 26 were excluded from the third control sample. In contrast, only 1 of the escapees was excluded from the 11 pooled samples collected on the 3 farms operating in the fjord. Conclusion Considerable genetic variation exists within and among rainbow trout strains farmed in Norway. Together with modern statistical methods, this will provide commercial operators with a tool to monitor breeding and fish movements, and management authorities with the ability to identify the source of escapees. The data

  16. Ships as future floating farm systems?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moustafa, Khaled

    2018-04-03

    Environmental and agriculture challenges such as severe drought, desertification, sprawling cities and shrinking arable lands in large regions in the world compel us to think about alternative and sustainable farming systems. Ongoing projects to build floating cities in the sea suggest that building specific ships for farming purposes (as farming ships or farming boats) would also be attainable to introduce new farming surfaces and boost food production worldwide to cope with food insecurity issues.

  17. Do economic stresses influence child work hours on family farms?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadomski, Anne; de Long, Rachel; Burdick, Patrick; Jenkins, Paul

    2005-01-01

    Economic stresses are a frequently cited reason for children doing farm work. To explore the relationship between economic indicators and child agricultural work hours between January 2001 and October 2003. This ecologic study design compares trends in aggregate child work hours with national and regional economic indicators. Child work hours were obtained from quarterly surveillance data from a randomized field trial of agricultural task guidelines for children. 2,360 children living or working on 845 farms in central New York participated in the original study. The relationship between child work hours and three economic indicators: national all farm index (AFI) ratio, national fuel index, and regional milk prices was analyzed using times series plots, correlation, and multiple linear regression. The AFI ratio was positively correlated with child work hours (r = 0.49, p = 0.008) but there was no significant correlation between child work hours and fuel or milk prices. Multiple linear regression demonstrated that the relationship between AFI and child work hours is independent of a seasonal effect. Increased child work hours may be associated with periods of higher farm sector productivity, rather than economic stress per se. Findings are limited by the ecologic study design, use of national economic indicators, and the limited number of cycles of child work hours available for time series analysis. Economic conditions may influence decisions about children's farm work.

  18. Wind farms and planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arkesteijn, L.; Havinga, R.; Benner, J.H.B.

    1992-01-01

    The siting of wind farms is becoming an increasingly important issue in the Netherlands. This paper gives an overview of the current situation concerning the planning of wind farms. We will pay attention to: Wind energy in official Dutch planning policy. To select the optimal sites, the government has made an administrative agreement with the 7 windy provinces. Nevertheless, wind energy is still fighting for a rightful position in physical planning policy. Some examples will illustrate this. Studies on siting and siting problems in the Netherlands. In order to gain more insight into aspects of wind farming several studies have been executed. In this paper special attention will be paid to the results of a study on the potential impact of large windturbine clusters on an existing agricutural area. Experiences with siting of wind farms in the Netherlands. Based on experiences with the planning and realization of farms, this paper gives the main problems. In the final part of the paper we present some general conclusions. Generally speaking, the knowledge is available for selecting optimal sites in the Netherlands. The basic problems for wind farming nowadays seem to be the visual impact and actually obtaining the ground. Nevertheless, there do seem to be enough sites for realizing the goals in the Netherlands. (au)

  19. Subclinical Ketosis on Dairy Cows in Transition Period in Farms with Contrasting Butyric Acid Contents in Silages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Vicente

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the relationship between subclinical ketosis (SCK in dairy cows and the butyric acid content of the silage used in their feeding. Twenty commercial farms were monitored over a period of 12 months. The feed at each farm and the silages used in its ration were sampled monthly for proximal analysis and for volatile fatty acid analysis. A total of 2857 urine samples were taken from 1112 cows to examine the ketonuria from about 30 days prepartum to 100 postpartum. Wide variation was recorded in the quality of silages used in the preparation of diets. Approximately 80% of the urine samples analyzed had no detectable ketone bodies, 16% returned values indicative of slight SCK, and the remainder, 4%, showed symptoms of ketosis. Most of the cases of hyperkenuria were associated with the butyric acid content of the silage used (r2=0.56; P<0.05. As the metabolizable energy content of the feed was similar, no relationship was observed between the proportion of cows with SCK and the energy content of the feed. In our study, the probability of dairy cows suffering SCK is higher when they are eating feed made from silage with a high butyric acid content (35.2 g/kg DM intake.

  20. Subclinical ketosis on dairy cows in transition period in farms with contrasting butyric acid contents in silages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vicente, Fernando; Rodríguez, María Luisa; Martínez-Fernández, Adela; Soldado, Ana; Argamentería, Alejandro; Peláez, Mario; de la Roza-Delgado, Begoña

    2014-01-01

    This study examines the relationship between subclinical ketosis (SCK) in dairy cows and the butyric acid content of the silage used in their feeding. Twenty commercial farms were monitored over a period of 12 months. The feed at each farm and the silages used in its ration were sampled monthly for proximal analysis and for volatile fatty acid analysis. A total of 2857 urine samples were taken from 1112 cows to examine the ketonuria from about 30 days prepartum to 100 postpartum. Wide variation was recorded in the quality of silages used in the preparation of diets. Approximately 80% of the urine samples analyzed had no detectable ketone bodies, 16% returned values indicative of slight SCK, and the remainder, 4%, showed symptoms of ketosis. Most of the cases of hyperkenuria were associated with the butyric acid content of the silage used (r2=0.56; P<0.05). As the metabolizable energy content of the feed was similar, no relationship was observed between the proportion of cows with SCK and the energy content of the feed. In our study, the probability of dairy cows suffering SCK is higher when they are eating feed made from silage with a high butyric acid content (35.2 g/kg DM intake).

  1. Suitability of Sr{sub 0.5}Ba{sub 0.5-x}Ce{sub x}Fe{sub 12-y}Ni{sub y}O{sub 19} co-precipitated nanomaterials for inductor applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iqbal, Muhammad Javed, E-mail: mjiqauchem@yahoo.co [Surface and Solid State Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320 (Pakistan); Farooq, Saima [Surface and Solid State Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320 (Pakistan)

    2010-03-18

    The present investigation deals with the synthesis and characterization of Ce-Ni ions substituted nanocrystalline strontium-barium hexaferrites (Sr{sub 0.5}Ba{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 12}O{sub 19}) by the chemical co-precipitation method, with focus on the optimization of annealing temperature for the hexagonal phase development. The synthesis involves co-precipitation of aqueous solutions of water-soluble salts of strontium, barium and iron, at pH 9 using an ammonium hydroxide solution as a precipitating agent. The optimum temperature of annealing, necessary for the hexagonal phase development, is determined on the basis of thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The co-precipitate is annealed at a temperature of 1323 K for 6 h, to produce a single magnetoplumbite phase of Sr-Ba hexaferrites, with the corresponding average crystallite size ranging from 36 to 48 nm. Observed changes in the lattice structure determined by the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies are not in contradiction with the results of TGA. DC-electrical resistivity increases from 1.8 x 10{sup 10} to 12.5 x 10{sup 10} {Omega} cm, whereas the drift mobility, dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent decrease with increasing the Ce-Ni content of the samples. Material of above-mentioned characteristics is considered to be suitable for applications in the microwave and surface mount devices (SMD) for fabricating the multilayer chip inductors (MLCI).

  2. Assessment of ocular hypotensive effect and safety 12 months after changing from an unfixed combination to a latanoprost 0.005% + timolol maleate 0.5% fixed combination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inoue, Kenji; Okayama, Ryoko; Higa, Risako; Wakakura, Masato; Tomita, Goji

    2012-01-01

    Latanoprost 0.005% + timolol maleate 0.5% combined eyedrops were recently made available in Japan. We prospectively investigated the intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering effect, visual preservation effect, and adverse reactions of a one-year administration of this fixed combination. The subjects included 162 eyes from 162 patients diagnosed with either primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension and using an unfixed combination of latanoprost 0.005% and timolol maleate 0.5%. The unfixed combination was discontinued and replaced with the latanoprost 0.005% + timolol maleate 0.5% fixed combination with no washout period. IOP was measured before (baseline) and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the change. The mean deviation value of Humphrey field analysis was compared. Adverse reactions were examined at every follow-up. No significant differences were found between mean IOP values obtained at baseline (mean ± standard deviation, 15.2 ± 3.3 mmHg) 3 months (15.1 ± 3.2 mmHg), 6 months (15.3 ± 3.1 mmHg), 9 months (15.3 ± 3.1 mmHg), and 12 months (15.1 ± 3.2 mmHg) after the change from the unfixed to the fixed combination of eyedrops (P = 0.212). In addition, no significant differences were observed between mean deviation values obtained at baseline (-9.11 ± 6.94 dB) and 12 months (-10.08 ± 7.24 dB) after the change (P = 0.114). Thirty-one patients discontinued the fixed combination within 12 months of replacement, due to an insufficient IOP decrease (20 patients, 12.3%) and adverse reactions (11 patients, 6.8%). Following replacement of two eyedrop medications (latanoprost 0.005% and timolol maleate 0.5%) by one fixed combination (latanoprost 0.005% + timolol maleate 0.5%), IOP and visual field were preserved. However, 20% of the patients discontinued the new treatment because of an insufficient IOP decrease and complaints of adverse reactions.

  3. 12 CFR 611.1210 - Advance notices-commencement resolution and notice to equity holders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Advance notices-commencement resolution and notice to equity holders. 611.1210 Section 611.1210 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM..., within 10 days of adopting the commencement resolution, your bank and the other Farm Credit banks must...

  4. All in the family: Work-family enrichment and crossover among farm couples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sprung, Justin M; Jex, Steve M

    2017-04-01

    This study expands upon the contextualization of the work-family interface by examining positive work-family experiences within the farming industry. Both individual and crossover effects were examined among a sample of 217 married farm couples. Results demonstrated multiple significant relationships between self-reported attitudes, work-family enrichment, and health outcomes. In addition, crossover effects reveal the importance of individual attitudes (husband work engagement and wife farm satisfaction) for spousal work-family enrichment and health outcomes. Furthermore, individual work-family enrichment was positively related to spousal psychological health and negatively related to spousal physical symptoms. Many of these findings remained significant after controlling for work-family conflict. Overall, our results suggest the potential beneficial impact of the integrated work-family dynamic associated with the farming profession for positive work-family experiences. Implications of these findings, as well as directions for future research, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. Effects of farm heterogeneity and methods for upscaling on modelled nitrogen losses in agricultural landscapes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dalgaard, T.; Hutchings, N.; Dragosits, U.; Olesen, J.E.; Kjeldsen, C.; Drouet, J.L.; Cellier, P.

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study is to illustrate the importance of farm scale heterogeneity on nitrogen (N) losses in agricultural landscapes. Results are exemplified with a chain of N models calculating farm-N balances and distributing the N-surplus to N-losses (volatilisation, denitrification, leaching) and soil-N accumulation/release in a Danish landscape. Possible non-linearities in upscaling are assessed by comparing average model results based on (i) individual farm level calculations and (ii) averaged inputs at landscape level. Effects of the non-linearities that appear when scaling up from farm to landscape are demonstrated. Especially in relation to ammonia losses the non-linearity between livestock density and N-loss is significant (p > 0.999), with around 20-30% difference compared to a scaling procedure not taking this non-linearity into account. A significant effect of farm type on soil N accumulation (p > 0.95) was also identified and needs to be included when modelling landscape level N-fluxes and greenhouse gas emissions. - Highlights: → Farm-N balances and the distribution on types of N-losses are modelled for 56 farms. → Farm type significantly affects N-losses and soil-N accumulation. → A non-linear relation between livestock density and ammonia loss is identified. → Approaches for upscaling from farm to landscape level are discussed. → Accounting farm heterogeneity is important when upscaling N-losses. - This study illustrates the importance of including non-linear effects of farm and landscape heterogeneity on the modelling and upscaling of farm nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural landscapes.

  6. Effects of farm heterogeneity and methods for upscaling on modelled nitrogen losses in agricultural landscapes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dalgaard, T., E-mail: tommy.dalgaard@agrsci.dk [Aarhus University, Department of Agroecology, Blichers Alle 20, P.O. Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele (Denmark); Hutchings, N. [Aarhus University, Department of Agroecology, Blichers Alle 20, P.O. Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele (Denmark); Dragosits, U. [CEH Edinburgh, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0QB, Scotland (United Kingdom); Olesen, J.E.; Kjeldsen, C. [Aarhus University, Department of Agroecology, Blichers Alle 20, P.O. Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele (Denmark); Drouet, J.L.; Cellier, P. [INRA, UMR Environnement et Grandes Cultures, BP 01, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon (France)

    2011-11-15

    The aim of this study is to illustrate the importance of farm scale heterogeneity on nitrogen (N) losses in agricultural landscapes. Results are exemplified with a chain of N models calculating farm-N balances and distributing the N-surplus to N-losses (volatilisation, denitrification, leaching) and soil-N accumulation/release in a Danish landscape. Possible non-linearities in upscaling are assessed by comparing average model results based on (i) individual farm level calculations and (ii) averaged inputs at landscape level. Effects of the non-linearities that appear when scaling up from farm to landscape are demonstrated. Especially in relation to ammonia losses the non-linearity between livestock density and N-loss is significant (p > 0.999), with around 20-30% difference compared to a scaling procedure not taking this non-linearity into account. A significant effect of farm type on soil N accumulation (p > 0.95) was also identified and needs to be included when modelling landscape level N-fluxes and greenhouse gas emissions. - Highlights: > Farm-N balances and the distribution on types of N-losses are modelled for 56 farms. > Farm type significantly affects N-losses and soil-N accumulation. > A non-linear relation between livestock density and ammonia loss is identified. > Approaches for upscaling from farm to landscape level are discussed. > Accounting farm heterogeneity is important when upscaling N-losses. - This study illustrates the importance of including non-linear effects of farm and landscape heterogeneity on the modelling and upscaling of farm nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural landscapes.

  7. Study of Concentrations and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals Resulting From the Consumption of Agriculture Product in Different Farms of Dayyer City, Bushehr

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hosein Arfaeinia

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Accumulation of heavy metals and increasing their concentration and reaching them to the danger range can threaten human health by entering to food chain. Thus, continuous monitoring of pollutants consentration in agricultural products is important. So, the aim of this study was to investigate the heavy metals concentration and risk assessment resulting from them in agriculture product with two types of irrigation in farms of Dayyer city which is one of the counties in Boushehr province. Material and Methods: Samples of agriculture product were harvested in three in three categories vegetables included: leafy (lettuce, spinach, cabbage, tuber (onion, potato, and fruit (tomato, green pepper from farms of Dayyer city with two types of irrigation included River Water Irrigation (RWI( and Ground Water Irrigation (GWI. Totally 320 samples were analyzed by using (ICP-OES -Spectrum Arcos after acidic digestion steps and extraction of heavy metals from samples. Then, the obtained results were analyzed by diffrent equations and statistic softwares. Results: results showed that the concentrations of metals were 68.75 (47.71, 277.62 (196.12, 32.68 (18.31, 42.19 (17.09, 1.76 (0.87 and 12.04 (5.83 mg kg-1 for Zn, Mn, Cu, Cr, Cd and Pb in RWI (and GWI, respectively in irrigated farms with river water (farms irrigated by ground water. The concentration of heavy metals was significantly higher in the soil of farms which irrigated with river water than those which irrigated with ground water (P<0.05. Also, results showed that in farms which irrigated by ground water, the highest Target hazard quotient (THQ have been reported in spinach with mentioned values; Zn (0.1150, Cd (1.2846, Cu (0.2030 and Pb (1.9141. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the concentration of heavy metals in soil and agricultural products which irrigated with contaminated water with urban and industrial sewage was higher than soil and agricultural productswhich

  8. Research and Demonstration of‘Double-chain’Eco-agricultural Model Standardization and Industrialization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ZHANG Jia-hong

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available According to agricultural resource endowment of Jiangsu Province, this paper created kinds of double-chain eco-agricultural model and integrated supporting system based on 'waterfowl, marine lives, aquatic vegetable and paddy rice', 'special food and economic crops with livestock’and‘special food and economic crops with livestock and marine lives’, which were suitable for extension and application in Jiangsu Province. Besides, it set 12 provincial standards and established preliminary technical standard system of‘double-chain’eco-agricultural model. In addition, it explored that‘the leading agricultural enterprises (agricultural co-operatives or family farms+demonstration zones+farmer households’was adopted as operating mechanism of industrialization of eco-agricultural model, which pushed forward rapid development of standardization and industrialization of‘double-chain’eco-agricultural model.

  9. 2018-03-29T05:10:46Z https://www.ajol.info/index.php/all/oai oai:ojs ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    article/84944 2018-03-29T05:10:46Z zjer:ART A Comparative Analysis of the Causes of Primary School Dropout in an Urban and Commercial Farm Setting in Norton Area Muchenje, F.; University of Zimbabwe This study sought to compare the ...

  10. Numerical simulations of flow fields through conventionally controlled wind turbines and wind farms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yilmaz, Ali Emre; Meyers, Johan

    2014-01-01

    In the current study, an Actuator-Line Model (ALM) is implemented in our in-house pseudo-spectral LES solver SP-WIND, including a turbine controller. Below rated wind speed, turbines are controlled by a standard-torque-controller aiming at maximum power extraction from the wind. Above rated wind speed, the extracted power is limited by a blade pitch controller which is based on a proportional-integral type control algorithm. This model is used to perform a series of single turbine and wind farm simulations using the NREL 5MW turbine. First of all, we focus on below-rated wind speed, and investigate the effect of the farm layout on the controller calibration curves. These calibration curves are expressed in terms of nondimensional torque and rotational speed, using the mean turbine-disk velocity as reference. We show that this normalization leads to calibration curves that are independent of wind speed, but the calibration curves do depend on the farm layout, in particular for tightly spaced farms. Compared to turbines in a lone-standing set-up, turbines in a farm experience a different wind distribution over the rotor due to the farm boundary-layer interaction. We demonstrate this for fully developed wind-farm boundary layers with aligned turbine arrangements at different spacings (5D, 7D, 9D). Further we also compare calibration curves obtained from full farm simulations with calibration curves that can be obtained at a much lower cost using a minimal flow unit

  11. Evaluation of wind farm efficiency and wind turbine wakes at the Nysted offshore wind farm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barthelmie, Rebecca Jane; Jensen, L.E.

    2010-01-01

    Here, we quantify relationships between wind farm efficiency and wind speed, direction, turbulence and atmospheric stability using power output from the large offshore wind farm at Nysted in Denmark. Wake losses are, as expected, most strongly related to wind speed variations through the turbine...... thrust coefficient; with direction, atmospheric stability and turbulence as important second order effects. While the wind farm efficiency is highly dependent on the distribution of wind speeds and wind direction, it is shown that the impact of turbine spacing on wake losses and turbine efficiency can...... be quantified, albeit with relatively large uncertainty due to stochastic effects in the data. There is evidence of the ‘deep array effect’ in that wake losses in the centre of the wind farm are under-estimated by the wind farm model WAsP, although overall efficiency of the wind farm is well predicted due...

  12. Comparing offshore wind farm wake observed from satellite SAR and wake model results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bay Hasager, Charlotte

    2014-05-01

    Offshore winds can be observed from satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR). In the FP7 EERA DTOC project, the European Energy Research Alliance project on Design Tools for Offshore Wind Farm Clusters, there is focus on mid- to far-field wind farm wakes. The more wind farms are constructed nearby other wind farms, the more is the potential loss in annual energy production in all neighboring wind farms due to wind farm cluster effects. It is of course dependent upon the prevailing wind directions and wind speed levels, the distance between the wind farms, the wind turbine sizes and spacing. Some knowledge is available within wind farm arrays and in the near-field from various investigations. There are 58 offshore wind farms in the Northern European seas grid connected and in operation. Several of those are spaced near each other. There are several twin wind farms in operation including Nysted-1 and Rødsand-2 in the Baltic Sea, and Horns Rev 1 and Horns Rev 2, Egmond aan Zee and Prinses Amalia, and Thompton 1 and Thompton 2 all in the North Sea. There are ambitious plans of constructing numerous wind farms - great clusters of offshore wind farms. Current investigation of offshore wind farms includes mapping from high-resolution satellite SAR of several of the offshore wind farms in operation in the North Sea. Around 20 images with wind farm wake cases have been retrieved and processed. The data are from the Canadian RADARSAT-1/-2 satellites. These observe in microwave C-band and have been used for ocean surface wind retrieval during several years. The satellite wind maps are valid at 10 m above sea level. The wakes are identified in the raw images as darker areas downwind of the wind farms. In the SAR-based wind maps the wake deficit is found as areas of lower winds downwind of the wind farms compared to parallel undisturbed flow in the flow direction. The wind direction is clearly visible from lee effects and wind streaks in the images. The wind farm wake cases

  13. Cattle management practices and milk production on mixed smallholder organic pineapple farms in Central Uganda

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nalubwama, S; Kabi, F; Vaarst, M

    2016-01-01

    A longitudinal study to assess animal management practices and milk production was conducted for a period of 12 months on 30 smallholder farms keeping dairy cattle and certified organic pineapple production in Luwero and Kayunga districts, based on questionnaire and on-farm collected data. Farm...... sizes were 9.3 ± 6.7 acres in tethering system and 4.3 ± 2.6 acres in zero-grazing. Fifty-four percent of the zero-grazing herds had animal housing facilities. All farmers in tethering system kept cows on earthen floors and calves without bedding. Hygiene level in existing farms was low. Majority...... of calves were fed once a day by restricted suckling (77 %). Seventy-four percent of tethered cows were only fed on natural grass, while cows under zero-grazing system had a more diversified diet but with 82 % feeding mainly Napier grass. Most farms (87 %) used bulls for breeding. Milk production was higher...

  14. Multi-objective genetic algorithm based innovative wind farm layout optimization method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Ying; Li, Hua; He, Bang; Wang, Pengcheng; Jin, Kai

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Innovative optimization procedures for both regular and irregular shape wind farm. • Using real wind condition and commercial wind turbine parameters. • Using multiple-objective genetic algorithm optimization method. • Optimize the selection of different wind turbine types and their hub heights. - Abstract: Layout optimization has become one of the critical approaches to increase power output and decrease total cost of a wind farm. Previous researches have applied intelligent algorithms to optimizing the wind farm layout. However, those wind conditions used in most of previous research are simplified and not accurate enough to match the real world wind conditions. In this paper, the authors propose an innovative optimization method based on multi-objective genetic algorithm, and test it with real wind condition and commercial wind turbine parameters. Four case studies are conducted to investigate the number of wind turbines needed in the given wind farm. Different cost models are also considered in the case studies. The results clearly demonstrate that the new method is able to optimize the layout of a given wind farm with real commercial data and wind conditions in both regular and irregular shapes, and achieve a better result by selecting different type and hub height wind turbines.

  15. Intra-farm risk factors for Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae colonization at weaning age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pieters, Maria; Cline, Greg S; Payne, Brian J; Prado, Cesar; Ertl, Jonathan R; Rendahl, Aaron K

    2014-08-27

    The objective of this study was to identify intra-farm risk factors that affected the colonization with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae at weaning age. Three farrow-to-wean farms were visited at least 5 times each. An average of 54 piglets were sampled at each visit and assayed by means of real-time PCR in nasal swabs. The proportion of PCR positive piglets was evaluated as a response to several variables including dam's PCR status, piglet serological status, and local climatic conditions during the lactation period, as well as other factors. All piglets at weaning age were negative to M. hyopneumoniae in 2 of the 3 farms. M. hyopneumoniae positive piglets were demonstrated in 5 of 7 weaning groups in 1 farm. The proportion of M. hyopneumoniae positive piglets in each weaning group at the positive farm was correlated with the proportion of positive dams in the group. The prevalence of M. hyopneumoniae at weaning increased with the piglet's age in the groups where at least one dam was positive. These results highlight the influence of the sow in the sow-to-piglet colonization process, as previously reported, and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of M. hyopneumoniae infections. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Empirical investigation of wind farm blockage effects in Horn Rev 1 offshore wind farm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mitraszewski, Karol; Hansen, Kurt Schaldemose; Nygaard, Nicolai

    We present an empirical study of wind farm blockage effects based on Horns Rev 1 SCADA data. The mean inflow non-uniformities in wind speed are analyzed by calculating the mean power outputs of turbines located along the outer edges of the farm for different wind directions, wind speeds and stabi......We present an empirical study of wind farm blockage effects based on Horns Rev 1 SCADA data. The mean inflow non-uniformities in wind speed are analyzed by calculating the mean power outputs of turbines located along the outer edges of the farm for different wind directions, wind speeds...

  17. Project Turnover Deliverables for the SY Farm Enraf Annulus Leak Detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    SCAIEF, C.C.

    2000-01-01

    This document identifies the deliverables that ensure the end user of the SY Farm Enraf Annulus Leak Detectors (ALD) has all the documentation and training required for operating and maintaining the new system. All deliverable items checked on the Acceptance For Beneficial Use (ABU) form have been completed and are available to the end user. This document was written as required by HNF-IP-0842, Volume IV section 3.12 Acceptance of Structures, Systems, and Components for Beneficial Use. This document applies to the deliverable documentation required to operate and maintain the SY Farm Enraf ALD System. Appendix A provides a copy of the ABU form as listed in the appendix of TWR-4092, Engineering Task Plan for the New SY Farm Annulus Leak Detectors. This document attests that all required deliverable items checked on the ABU have been completed and are available to the end user

  18. Comparing technical efficiency of farms with an automatic milking system and a conventional milking system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steeneveld, W; Tauer, L W; Hogeveen, H; Oude Lansink, A G J M

    2012-12-01

    Changing from a conventional milking system (CMS) to an automatic milking system (AMS) necessitates a new management approach and a corresponding change in labor tasks. Together with labor savings, AMS farms have been found to have higher capital costs, primarily because of higher maintenance costs and depreciation. Therefore, it is hypothesized that AMS farms differ from CMS farms in capital:labor ratio and possibly their technical efficiency, at least during a transition learning period. The current study used actual farm accounting data from dairy farms in the Netherlands with an AMS and a CMS to investigate the empirical substitution of capital for labor in the AMS farms and to determine if the technical efficiency of the AMS farms differed from the CMS farms. The technical efficiency estimates were obtained with data envelopment analysis. The 63 AMS farms and the 337 CMS farms in the data set did not differ in general farm characteristics such as the number of cows, number of hectares, and the amount of milk quota. Farms with AMS have significantly higher capital costs (€12.71 per 100 kg of milk) than CMS farms (€10.10 per 100 kg of milk). Total labor costs and net outputs were not significantly different between AMS and CMS farms. A clear substitution of capital for labor with the adoption of an AMS could not be observed. Although the AMS farms have a slightly lower technical efficiency (0.76) than the CMS farms (0.78), a significant difference in these estimates was not observed. This indicates that the farms were not different in their ability to use inputs (capital, labor, cows, and land) to produce outputs (total farm revenues). The technical efficiency of farms invested in an AMS in 2008 or earlier was not different from the farms invested in 2009 or 2010, indicating that a learning effect during the transition period was not observed. The results indicate that the economic performance of AMS and CMS farms are similar. What these results show is that

  19. Farming for Health: Aspects from Germany

    OpenAIRE

    Neuberger, Konrad; Stephan, Ingrid; Hermanowski, Robert; Flake, Albrecht; Post, Franz-Joseph; van Elsen, Thomas

    2006-01-01

    Until now, the term ‘Farming for Health’ is unknown in Germany but it would cover a wide spectrum of different kinds of social agriculture already existing in Germany, such as farms that integrate disabled people or drug therapy into their farming system, or farms that integrate children, pupils or older people. Relevant work in Germany is done in ‘Sheltered Workshops’, where supporting and healing powers of farming and gardening are used for disabled people with a diversity of work possibili...

  20. A Wind Farm Controller for Load and Power Optimization in a Farm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soleimanzadeh, Maryam; Brand, Arno; Wisniewski, Rafal

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes the design procedure of an optimal wind farm controller. The controller optimizes the structural load and power production simultaneously, on the basis of an analytical wind farm model. The farm model delivers maps of wind, loads and energy in the wind farm. Moreover, the model...... computes the wind speed at the turbines, turbine bending moments and aerodynamic power and torque. The optimal control problem is formulated based on the model for two different wind directions. The controller determines the reference signals for each individual wind turbine controller in two scenarios...... based on low and high wind speed. In low wind speed, the reference signals for rotor speed are adjusted, taking the trade-off between power maximization and load minimization into account. In high wind speed, the power and pitch angle reference signals are determined while structural loads are minimized....

  1. Genotyping of virulent Escherichia coli obtained from poultry and poultry farm workers using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Soma Sekhar

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study was to characterize virulent Escherichia coli isolated from different poultry species and poultry farm workers using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR genotyping. Materials and Methods: Fecal swabs from different poultry species (n=150 and poultry farm workers (n=15 were analyzed for E. coli and screened for virulence genes (stx1, stx2, eaeA, and hlyA by multiplex PCR. Virulent E. coli was serotyped based on their "O" antigen and then genotyped using ERIC-PCR. Results: A total of 134 E. coli isolates (122/150 from poultry and 12/15 from farm workers were recovered. Virulence genes were detected in a total of 12 isolates. Serological typing of the 12 virulent E. coli revealed nine different serotypes (O2, O49, O60, O63, O83, O101, O120, UT, and Rough. ERIC-PCR genotyping allowed discrimination of 12 virulent E. coli isolates into 11 ERIC-PCR genotypes. The numerical index of discrimination was 0.999. Conclusion: Our findings provide information about the wide genetic diversity and discrimination of virulent E. coli in apparently healthy poultry and poultry farm workers of Andhra Pradesh (India based on their genotype.

  2. Ecosystem Services in Biologically Diversified versus Conventional Farming Systems: Benefits, Externalities, and Trade-Offs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire Kremen

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available We hypothesize that biological diversification across ecological, spatial, and temporal scales maintains and regenerates the ecosystem services that provide critical inputs - such as maintenance of soil quality, nitrogen fixation, pollination, and pest control - to agriculture. Agrobiodiversity is sustained by diversified farming practices and it also supplies multiple ecosystem services to agriculture, thus reducing environmental externalities and the need for off-farm inputs. We reviewed the literature that compares biologically diversified farming systems with conventional farming systems, and we examined 12 ecosystem services: biodiversity; soil quality; nutrient management; water-holding capacity; control of weeds, diseases, and pests; pollination services; carbon sequestration; energy efficiency and reduction of warming potential; resistance and resilience to climate change; and crop productivity. We found that compared with conventional farming systems, diversified farming systems support substantially greater biodiversity, soil quality, carbon sequestration, and water-holding capacity in surface soils, energy-use efficiency, and resistance and resilience to climate change. Relative to conventional monocultures, diversified farming systems also enhance control of weeds, diseases, and arthropod pests and they increase pollination services; however, available evidence suggests that these practices may often be insufficient to control pests and diseases or provide sufficient pollination. Significantly less public funding has been applied to agroecological research and the improvement of diversified farming systems than to conventional systems. Despite this lack of support, diversified farming systems have only somewhat reduced mean crop productivity relative to conventional farming systems, but they produce far fewer environmental and social harms. We recommend that more research and crop breeding be conducted to improve diversified farming

  3. Optimizing transmission from distant wind farms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pattanariyankool, Sompop; Lave, Lester B.

    2010-01-01

    We explore the optimal size of the transmission line from distant wind farms, modeling the tradeoff between transmission cost and benefit from delivered wind power. We also examine the benefit of connecting a second wind farm, requiring additional transmission, in order to increase output smoothness. Since a wind farm has a low capacity factor, the transmission line would not be heavily loaded, on average; depending on the time profile of generation, for wind farms with capacity factor of 29-34%, profit is maximized for a line that is about 3/4 of the nameplate capacity of the wind farm. Although wind generation is inexpensive at a good site, transmitting wind power over 1600 km (about the distance from Wyoming to Los Angeles) doubles the delivered cost of power. As the price for power rises, the optimal capacity of transmission increases. Connecting wind farms lowers delivered cost when the wind farms are close, despite the high correlation of output over time. Imposing a penalty for failing to deliver minimum contracted supply leads to connecting more distant wind farms.

  4. Socio-economic aspects of goat farming enterprise in Teso region ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ACSS

    Socio-economic aspects of goat farming enterprise in Teso region,. Uganda ... 41.2% of the farmers were aged 51 years and more. The average number of .... Business (retail shopping). 24. 0. Regular .... able 5. Sales of goats by district in 12 months preceding the study. District ..... more efficient management practices that.

  5. Tank 241-AX-104 upper vadose zone cone penetrometer demonstration sampling and analysis plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    FIELD, J.G.

    1999-01-01

    This sampling and analysis plan (SAP) is the primary document describing field and laboratory activities and requirements for the tank 241-AX-104 upper vadose zone cone penetrometer (CP) demonstration. It is written in accordance with Hanford Tank Initiative Tank 241-AX-104 Upper Vadose Zone Demonstration Data Quality Objective (Banning 1999). This technology demonstration, to be conducted at tank 241-AX-104, is being performed by the Hanford Tanks Initiative (HTI) Project as a part of Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Retrieval Program (EM-30) and the Office of Science and Technology (EM-50) Tanks Focus Area. Sample results obtained as part of this demonstration will provide additional information for subsequent revisions to the Retrieval Performance Evaluation (RPE) report (Jacobs 1998). The RPE Report is the result of an evaluation of a single tank farm (AX Tank Farm) used as the basis for demonstrating a methodology for developing the data and analyses necessary to support making tank waste retrieval decisions within the context of tank farm closure requirements. The RPE includes a study of vadose zone contaminant transport mechanisms, including analysis of projected tank leak characteristics, hydrogeologic characteristics of tank farm soils, and the observed distribution of contaminants in the vadose zone in the tank farms. With limited characterization information available, large uncertainties exist as to the nature and extent of contaminants that may exist in the upper vadose zone in the AX Tank Farm. Traditionally, data has been collected from soils in the vadose zone through the installation of boreholes and wells. Soil samples are collected as the bore hole is advanced and samples are screened on site and/or sent to a laboratory for analysis. Some in-situ geophysical methods of contaminant analysis can be used to evaluate radionuclide levels in the soils adjacent to an existing borehole. However, geophysical methods require compensation for well

  6. Prevalence of genital campylobacteriosis and trichomonosis in crossbred breeding bulls kept on zero-grazed smallholder dairy farms in the Tanga region of Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.S. Swai

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available A survey to demonstrate the presence or absence of genital campylobacteriosis and trichomonosis in cross-bred breeding bulls kept under smallholding dairy farms in the Tanga region of Tanzania was carried out during the period of January-June 1996. Sheath washings, swabs and preputial scrapings were collected from 58 randomly selected bulls. Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis was demonstrated in 3/58 (5.1 % and Tritrichomonas foetus in 0/58 (0 % of all bulls tested. Bull-level variables of level of taurine genes (62.5 % taurine genes, F2; 75 % taurine genes, F3 and age were not significantly associated with campylobacteriosis (P > 0.05. The result of the study identifies Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerelias as the agent of enzootic infertility in smallholder herds and suggests that may be a significant problem.

  7. Farming transitions under socioeconomic and climatic constraints in the southern part of Sétif, Algeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amar Rouabhi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This study was carried out on a sample of 224 farms in the southern region of Sétif-Algeria, aimed to identify the different typologies and the agricultural changes caused by the climatic constrains experienced in recent decades. Indeed, the combined effect of climatic and anthropogenic factors on agricultural practices transitions is too tangled. A series of multivariate and classification statistical tests have been implemented to demonstrate the main trends and adaptation tactics of farmers in such conditions. The farming characterization analysis showed that the medium scale farming was more economically efficient than small and large scale farming. Moreover, the study showed the effect of climate change on some farming transitions, where farming practices transited to bovine and poultry farming as well as for market gardening cultivation. Indeed, these changes were occurred at the expense of rainfed agriculture (cereals and ovine breeding. These transitions have impacted the economic performance of farms in some municipalities. However, greenhouse crops and tobacco cultivation were observed as being a Local Production Systems (LPS that could be a good alternative to mitigate the natural and socioeconomic constraints. The emergence of Local Production Systems in agricultural system may facilitate farmer adaptation that will provide a tool for agricultural development policies, through financial and technical assistance. Key words: Climate change, Farming, Local Production Systems, Sétif

  8. Simulation of Intra- or transboundary surface-water-rights hierarchies using the farm process for MODFLOW-2000

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmid, W.; Hanson, R.T.

    2007-01-01

    Water-rights driven surface-water allocations for irrigated agriculture can be simulated using the farm process for MODFLOW-2000. This paper describes and develops a model, which simulates routed surface-water deliveries to farms limited by streamflow, equal-appropriation allotments, or a ranked prior-appropriation system. Simulated diversions account for deliveries to all farms along a canal according to their water-rights ranking and for conveyance losses and gains. Simulated minimum streamflow requirements on diversions help guarantee supplies to senior farms located on downstream diverting canals. Prior appropriation can be applied to individual farms or to groups of farms modeled as "virtual farms" representing irrigation districts, irrigated regions in transboundary settings, or natural vegetation habitats. The integrated approach of jointly simulating canal diversions, surface-water deliveries subject to water-rights constraints, and groundwater allocations is verified on numerical experiments based on a realistic, but hypothetical, system of ranked virtual farms. Results are discussed in light of transboundary water appropriation and demonstrate the approach's suitability for simulating effects of water-rights hierarchies represented by international treaties, interstate stream compacts, intrastate water rights, or ecological requirements. ?? 2007 ASCE.

  9. Reactive Power Compensation of a 24 MW Wind Farm using a 12-Pulse Voltage Source Converter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søbrink, K.H.; Pedersen, Jørgen Kaas; Pedersen, Knud Ole Helgesen

    1998-01-01

    Integration of large wind farms in distribution and transmission systems may have severe influence on the power quality at the connection point and may also influence the voltage controlling capability of the electrical system. The purpose of the described project has been to develop and investig...

  10. Valence behavior of Eu-ions in intermetallic compound Ce{sub 0.5}Eu{sub 0.5}Pd{sub 3}B{sub 0.5}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pandey, Abhishek, E-mail: apandey@ameslab.gov [Experimental Condensed Matter Physics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF, Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700064 (India); S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Block-JD, Sector-III, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700098 (India); Mazumdar, Chandan, E-mail: chandan.mazumdar@saha.ac.in [S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Block-JD, Sector-III, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700098 (India); Ranganathan, R. [S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Block-JD, Sector-III, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700098 (India); Raghavendra Reddy, V.; Gupta, Ajay [UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, University Campus, Khandawa Road, Indore (India)

    2011-12-15

    We have studied the valence behavior of rare-earth ions, in particular Eu-ions, in a cubic intermetallic compound Ce{sub 0.5}Eu{sub 0.5}Pd{sub 3}B{sub 0.5} which is a homogeneous solid solution of two mixed-valent compounds CePd{sub 3} and EuPd{sub 3}B. Results of {sup 151}Eu Moessbauer spectroscopic measurements show that two different valence states, i.e., divalent- and trivalent-like states of Eu-ions exist in the compound. The possible reason for the observed heterogeneous valency vis-a-vis the variation in the chemical environment and the number of nearest-neighbor B atoms surrounding the Eu-ions has been discussed. Our results demonstrate that B incorporation in such Eu-based cubic intermetallic compounds leads to a situation where heterogeneous-valence state of Eu-ions is an energetically favorable ground state. - Highlights: > Intermetallic compound Ce{sub 0.5}Eu{sub 0.5}Pd{sub 3}B{sub 0.5} crystallizes in a single phase. > Eu-ions in Ce{sub 0.5}Eu{sub 0.5}Pd{sub 3}B{sub 0.5} are charge-ordered compared to +2.3 valency in Ce{sub 0.5}Eu{sub 0.5}Pd{sub 3}. > B incorporation makes charge-ordered state of Eu-ions energetically more favorable. > Nearest-neighbor chemical environment affects the Eu valency.

  11. Assessing the status of food safety management systems for fresh produce production in East Africa: evidence from certified green bean farms in Kenya and noncertified hot pepper farms in Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanyunja, J; Jacxsens, L; Kirezieva, K; Kaaya, A N; Uyttendaele, M; Luning, P A

    2015-06-01

    The farms of fresh produce farmers are major sources of food contamination by microbiological organisms and chemical pesticides. In view of their choice for farming practices, producers are influenced by food safety requirements. This study analyzes the role of food safety standard certification toward the maturity of food safety management systems (FSMS) in the primary production of fresh produce. Kenya and Uganda are two East African countries that export green beans and hot peppers, respectively, to the European Union but have contrasting features in terms of agricultural practices and certification status. In the fresh produce chain, a diagnostic instrument for primary production was used to assess context factors, core control and assurance activities, and system output to measure the performance of FSMS for certified green bean farms in Kenya and noncertified hot pepper farms in Uganda. Overall, our findings show that in Uganda, noncertified hot pepper farms revealed only a "basic level of control and assurance" activities in their FSMS, which was not satisfactory, because no insight into potential pesticide microbial contamination was presented by these farmers. On the other hand, certified green bean farms in Kenya had an "average level of control and assurance," providing insight into the delivered food safety and quality by the farmers. Farm size did not impact the maturity level of FSMS. This study confirms the role played by food safety standard certification toward the maturity of FSMS implemented in developing countries and demonstrates the possibility of Ugandan farms to upgrade agricultural practices in the fresh produce sector.

  12. Immigrant Workers and Farm Performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Munch, Jakob R.; Seidelin, Claus Aastrup

    2013-01-01

    for Danish farms in 1980–2008 to analyze the micro-level relationship between these two developments. Farms employing immigrants tend to be both larger than and no less productive than other farms. Furthermore, an increased use of immigrants is associated with an improvement in job creation and revenue......In many developed countries, the agricultural sector has experienced a significant inflow of immigrants. At the same time, agriculture is still in a process of structural transformation, resulting in fewer but larger and presumably more efficient farms. We exploit matched employer-employee data...

  13. Synthetic observations of molecular clouds in a galactic centre environment - I. Studying maps of column density and integrated intensity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertram, Erik; Glover, Simon C. O.; Clark, Paul C.; Ragan, Sarah E.; Klessen, Ralf S.

    2016-02-01

    We run numerical simulations of molecular clouds, adopting properties similar to those found in the central molecular zone (CMZ) of the Milky Way. For this, we employ the moving mesh code AREPO and perform simulations which account for a simplified treatment of time-dependent chemistry and the non-isothermal nature of gas and dust. We perform simulations using an initial density of n0 = 103 cm-3 and a mass of 1.3 × 105 M⊙. Furthermore, we vary the virial parameter, defined as the ratio of kinetic and potential energy, α = Ekin/|Epot|, by adjusting the velocity dispersion. We set it to α = 0.5, 2.0 and 8.0, in order to analyse the impact of the kinetic energy on our results. We account for the extreme conditions in the CMZ and increase both the interstellar radiation field (ISRF) and the cosmic ray flux (CRF) by a factor of 1000 compared to the values found in the solar neighbourhood. We use the radiative transfer code RADMC-3D to compute synthetic images in various diagnostic lines. These are [C II] at 158 μm, [O I] (145 μm), [O I] (63 μm), 12CO (J = 1 → 0) and 13CO (J = 1 → 0) at 2600 and 2720 μm, respectively. When α is large, the turbulence disperses much of the gas in the cloud, reducing its mean density and allowing the ISRF to penetrate more deeply into the cloud's interior. This significantly alters the chemical composition of the cloud, leading to the dissociation of a significant amount of the molecular gas. On the other hand, when α is small, the cloud remains compact, allowing more of the molecular gas to survive. We show that in each case the atomic tracers accurately reflect most of the physical properties of both the H2 and the total gas of the cloud and that they provide a useful alternative to molecular lines when studying the interstellar medium in the CMZ.

  14. CleverFarm final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2003-09-15

    Wind turbine technology has ventured in recent years from prototypes and first deployments towards large power plant scale projects. With this, also the ownership structure of wind farms changed: from single farmers to cooperatives, and to large multi-national developers specialised in building and running wind power projects. At the same time, the best sites for wind energy were already taken, leading to more remote sites and offshore sites being developed. Both these developments lead to an increased wish for remote monitoring of turbines. Ideally, the turbine would know on its own accord when it would need maintenance, and call the maintenance crew autonomously. The crew then would have all the information they need to have before they go out to the turbine and do the necessary tasks. Having knowledge of the type of fault that has happened would help the maintenance crew to deal with it efficiently. This also could mean to wait until the next scheduled maintenance is due. The potential savings for this alone are considerable, if you think of the plans for offshore wind farms tens of kilometres from the coast, where access would probably be by helicopter. The idea behind this project was to take the existing techniques developed for optimising and enhancing the performance of wind farms, integrate them into one system and implement the system at a number of wind farms. The techniques include remote measuring of the status and production of the wind farm, short-term prediction of the expected wind speeds at and power output from the wind farm, models for wake calculations, remote control of wind farm production and so on. (au)

  15. Benefits of Two Turbine Rotor Diameters and Hub Heights in the Same Wind Farm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dykes, Katherine L [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Stanley, Andrew P. J. [Brigham Young University; Ning, Andrew [Brigham Young University

    2018-01-12

    Significant turbine-wake interactions greatly reduce power output in a wind farm. If different turbine hub heights and rotor diameters are included in the same wind farm, the wake interference in the farm will be reduced, resulting in a lower cost of energy (COE) than a farm with identical turbines. In this paper, we present a method to model wind farm COE in farms with hub heights and rotor diameters that vary across the wind farm. We also demonstrate how to optimize these wind farms to minimize COE. The results show that COE can be greatly reduced in wind farms with non-homogeneous turbines, especially when the turbines are spaced close together. For a unidirectional wind rose, including different turbine design in the wind farm has a similar decrease in COE to spreading the wind turbines farther apart. When the rotor diameter and hub height of the wind turbines in a farm are optimized uniformly, a COE decrease of 4% to 13% (depending on the grid spacing and wind shear exponent) is achieved compared to the baseline. When the rotor diameter and turbine heights are optimized non-uniformly, with two different diameters and heights throughout the farm, there is a COE decrease of 22% to 41% compared to the baseline. For a more spread wind rose with a dominant probability from the west, there is a COE decrease between 3% and 10% for uniformly optimized rotor diameter and height compared to the baseline. With two optimized rotor diameters and heights through the farm, a COE decrease of 3% to 19% is achieved. For a similar wind rose shifted such that the dominant wind direction is from the northwest, a COE decrease between 3% and 10% results from uniformly optimized wind turbines compared to the baseline. A COE decrease of 3% to 17% compared to the baseline occurs with two different turbines are optimized throughout the wind farm.

  16. Importance of bee pollination for cotton production in conventional and organic farms in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viviane C. Pires

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the importance of wild bee and feral honeybee visits for cotton production on conventional and organic farms. Experiments were conducted in Brazil, on a conventional cotton farm in Mato Grosso state in the Amazon biome and on an organic farm in Paraíba state in the Caatinga biome. On the conventional farm, bee assemblage and cotton production were measured near to and far from natural vegetation. Bee richness, fibre fraction, seed number and yield (Kg/ha were higher by 57.14, 1.95, 17.77 and 18.44% respectively in plots near natural vegetation, but bee abundance did not vary with distance to natural vegetation. On the organic farm, because the cropping area is surrounded by natural vegetation, pollination deficit was evaluated using an exclusion experiment where cotton production of flowers bagged to prevent bee visitation (spontaneous self-pollination was compared to production of flowers open to bee visitation (open pollination. Open pollinated flowers had higher average boll weight, fibre weight and seed number. Although cotton is not directly dependent on bee pollination, bees increased cotton production on the organic farm by more than 12% for fibre weight and over 17% for seed number. Our data confirm the importance of maintaining communities of pollinators on cotton farms, especially for organic production.

  17. Evaluation of conventional PCR for detection of Strongylus vulgaris on horse farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bracken, M K; Wøhlk, C B M; Petersen, S L; Nielsen, M K

    2012-03-23

    Strongyle parasites are ubiquitous in grazing horses. Of these, the bloodworm Strongylus vulgaris is regarded as most pathogenic. Increasing levels of anthelmintic resistance in strongyle parasites has led to recommendations of decreased treatment intensities, and there is now a pronounced need for reliable tools for detection of parasite burdens in general and S. vulgaris in particular. The only method currently available for diagnosing S. vulgaris in practice is the larval culture, which is laborious and time-consuming, so veterinary practitioners most often pool samples from several horses together in one culture to save time. Recently, molecular tools have been developed to detect S. vulgaris in faecal samples. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of a conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay with the traditional larval culture and furthermore test the performance of pooled versus individual PCR for farm screening purposes. Faecal samples were obtained from 331 horses on 18 different farms. Farm size ranged from 6 to 56 horses, and horses aged between 2 months and 31 years. Larval cultures and PCR were performed individually on all horses. In addition, PCR was performed on 66 faecal pools consisting of 3-5 horses each. Species-specific PCR primers previously developed were used for the PCR. PCR and larval culture detected S. vulgaris in 12.1 and 4.5% of individual horses, respectively. On the farm level, eight farms tested positive with the larval culture, while 13 and 11 farms were positive with the individual and pooled PCRs, respectively. The individual PCR method was statistically superior to the larval culture, while no statistical difference could be detected between pooled and individual PCR for farm screening. In conclusion, pooled PCR appears to be a useful tool for farm screening for S. vulgaris. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Efficacy of anthelmintics on South American camelid (llama and alpaca) farms in Georgia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillespie, Rose-Ann M; Williamson, Lisa H; Terrill, Thomas H; Kaplan, Ray M

    2010-08-27

    The number of South American camelid (SAC; llama and alpaca) farms is growing in the southeastern United States, and infection with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) is a major health concern in this region. There is widespread resistance to anthelmintic remedies in small ruminants (sheep and goats), but a paucity of information on llamas and alpacas. Anthelmintic resistance was evaluated on three SAC farms (two llama; one alpaca) in Georgia in the southern United States using fecal egg count reduction (FECR) tests. For each farm, animals were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 treatment groups based on initial fecal egg count (FEC) and number of animals available (2-5 groups, n=9-11 per treatment). Ivermectin (IVM, subcutaneous injection; 0.3mg/kg body weight (BW)) and a control group were tested on an alpaca farm, and fenbendazole (FBZ, oral; 10mg/kg BW; two farms), moxidectin (MOX oral; 0.2mg/kg BW; two farms), and levamisole (LEV, oral; 8 mg/kg BW; one farm) were added for the llama farms. Anthelmintic efficacy was determined by comparing FEC of treatment and control animals 14 days post-treatment, with resistance evaluated using the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP) guidelines. Based upon these guidelines, there was GIN resistance to IVM in both llamas and alpacas in Georgia and to FBZ on both llama farms where this drug was tested. There was MOX resistance on one llama farm using the FECR test, while there was no resistance to LEV detected in this study. These data demonstrate a serious emerging problem in the United States of llama and alpaca GIN resistant to drugs from two of the three major anthelmintic classes. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Risk factors for the introduction of high pathogenicity Avian Influenza virus into poultry farms during the epidemic in the Netherlands in 2003.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, M E; Bouma, A; Ekker, H M; Fonken, A J M; Stegeman, J A; Nielen, M

    2005-06-10

    An epidemic of high pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) occurred in the Netherlands in 2003. A census survey of 173 infected and 401 uninfected commercial poultry farms was carried out to identify factors associated with the introduction of the HPAI virus into poultry farms. Data on farm size, production characteristics, type of housing, presence of cattle and pigs were gathered by the National Inspection Service for Livestock and Meat from all farms included in this study. For each risk factor (RF) available for analysis, the Mantel-Haenszel odds ratio was calculated (stratified on farm size and housing type). We found an increased risk of HPAI virus introduction in layer finisher type poultry: OR = 2.05 (95% confidence interval, CI = 1.29-3.27). An explanation for this increased risk is the high number of contacts between these farms, especially via cardboard egg trays used for removal of eggs during the epidemic. Our analysis did not indicate significant differences between the infected and uninfected farms with regard to housing type, presence of cattle or pigs. Since layer finisher type farms are assumed to be at higher risk for HPAI virus introduction, more specific control measures might be applied in future outbreaks.

  20. Antimicrobial usage and risk of retreatment for mild to moderate clinical mastitis cases on dairy farms following on-farm bacterial culture and selective therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDougall, S; Niethammer, J; Graham, E M

    2018-03-01

    /331 (56.9%; kappa=0.31; p<0.001), but varied between farms from 44.7-88.2% (p<0.001). Use of on-farm culture with selective antimicrobial therapy resulted in approximately 25% lower antimicrobial usage, but was not associated with an increase in the proportion of cows retreated for clinical mastitis. This study has demonstrated that on-farm culture and selective therapy based on culture results can be implemented on-farm. However, farms varied in their implementation of both the treatment protocols and microbiology procedures. Where such systems are to be used on-farm, specific training and on-going monitoring is required.

  1. Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in wild birds on Danish livestock farms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hald, Birthe; Skov, Marianne Nielsine; Nielsen, Eva Møller

    2016-01-01

    . The farm environment provides attractive foraging and breeding habitats for some bird species reported to carry thermophilic Campylobacter spp. We investigated the Campylobacter spp. carriage rates in 52 wild bird species present on 12 Danish farms, sampled during a winter and a summer season, in order...... feeding on a diet of animal or mixed animal and vegetable origin, foraging on the ground and vegetation in close proximity to livestock stables were more likely to carry Campylobacter spp. in both summer (P birds foraging further away from the farm or in the air. Age...... food of animal or mixed animal and vegetable origin and foraging on the ground close to livestock were more likely to carry Campylobacter spp. than those foraging further away or hunting in the air. These findings suggest that wild birds may play a role in sustaining the epidemiology of Campylobacter...

  2. Development of FAST.Farm: A New Multiphysics Engineering Tool for Wind Farm Design and Analysis: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jonkman, Jason; Annoni, Jennifer; Hayman, Greg; Jonkman, Bonnie; Purkayastha, Avi

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents the development of FAST.Farm, a new multiphysics tool applicable to engineering problems in research and industry involving wind farm performance and cost optimization that is needed to address the current underperformance, failures, and expenses plaguing the wind industry. Achieving wind cost-of-energy targets - which requires improvements in wind farm performance and reliability, together with reduced uncertainty and expenditures - has been eluded by the complicated nature of the wind farm design problem, especially the sophisticated interaction between atmospheric phenomena and wake dynamics and array effects. FAST.Farm aims to balance the need for accurate modeling of the relevant physics for predicting power performance and loads while maintaining low computational cost to support a highly iterative and probabilistic design process and system-wide optimization. FAST.Farm makes use of FAST to model the aero-hydro-servo-elastics of distinct turbines in the wind farm, and it is based on some of the principles of the Dynamic Wake Meandering (DWM) model, but avoids many of the limitations of existing DWM implementations.

  3. A model of ammonia volatilization from a grazing livestock farm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchings, N. J.; Sommer, S. G.; Jarvis, S. C.

    A dynamic model was developed to predict the ammonia volatilization from grazing livestock farms and to allow potential control measures to be evaluated. The relationships within the model were based on the underlying physical and chemical processes but empirically based factors were used to reduce the demand for input data and where the understanding of the underlying processes was inadequate. On a daily basis, the model simulates the partitioning of dietary nitrogen into dung and urine and its subsequent fate within the pasture or the slurry handling system. The fate of dry matter and water added in dung, urine and from other sources is also predicted. The model illustrates the indirect interactions between ammonia sources, highlights the influence of slurry management on ammonia losses, stresses the need for integrated, whole farm measurements and demonstrates that assessments of the impact of control measures may be misleading unless considered at the scale of the whole farm.

  4. Comparison of game-farm and wild-strain mallard ducks in accumulation of methylmercury

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinz, G.H.

    1979-01-01

    The accumulation of mercury was compared in game-farm and wild-strain mallard ducks fed a diet containing 0.5 ppm mercury in the form of methylmercury dicyandiamide. There were no significant differences between the two strains in levels of mercury that accumulated in blood, kidney, liver, breast muscle, brain, eggs, or ducklings. Mercury levels in blood were significantly correlated with levels in other tissues and eggs, as were levels in down feathers of ducklings with levels in carcasses of ducklings. The results indicate that game-farm mallards are probably suitable substitutes for wild mallards in toxicological work, that blood samples can be used to estimate levels of mercury in other tissues of adults, and that down feathers are predictive of mercury levels in duckling carcasses.

  5. The Parasitic Contamination of Farm Vegetables in Asadabad City, West of Iran, in 2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matini

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Background Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is a basic component of a healthy diet. Thus, the consumption of vegetables can have an important role in public health. Objectives Because of this concern, a prevalence study of parasitic contamination was carried out on raw vegetables to estimate the human risk of parasitic infections in Asadabad city, west of Iran. Methods In a cross-sectional study, 383 samples of different vegetables were obtained randomly from 12 vegetable farms in and around Asadabad. These samples included 10 types of seasonal vegetables: coriander, radish, spring onion, leek, parsley, tarragon, savory, basil, mint, and cress. The samples were examined by two parasitological methods: sedimentation and floatation techniques. Results Parasitic contaminations were detected in 34 (8.4% vegetable samples, including five pathogenic and two non-pathogenic parasites. The parasites identified were Giardia intestinalis (1.6%, Entamoeba coli (2.6%, Toxocara spp. (0.8%, Fasciola spp. (0.5%, Taenia spp. (0.3%, Dicrocoelium dendriticum (0.3%, and free-living larvae (2.3%. Among the infested samples, coriander was the most contaminated vegetable (15.8%. The relationship between contamination of vegetables and untreated water used on farms was significant (P < 0.001. Conclusions The results implicate the importance of consumption of vegetables in the spread of parasitic diseases in the studied region. Thus, some basic hygiene measures should be carried out to improve public health and reduce infectious disease rates.

  6. KARAKTERISTIK MIKROSTRUKTUR DAN FASA PADUAN Zr- 0,3%Nb-0,5%Fe-0,5%Cr PASCA PERLAKUAN PANAS DAN PENGEROLAN DINGIN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sungkono Sungkono

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available KARAKTERISTIK MIKROSTRUKTUR DAN FASA PADUAN Zr-0,3%Nb-0,5%Fe-0,5%Cr PASCA PERLAKUAN PANAS DAN PENGEROLAN DINGIN. Logam paduan Zr-Nb-Fe-Cr dikembangkan sebagai material kelongsong elemen bakar dengan fraksi bakar tinggi untuk reaktor daya maju. Dalam penelitian ini telah dibuat paduan Zr-0,3%Nb-0,5%Fe-0,5%Cr yang mendapat perlakuan panas pada temperatur 650 dan 750°C dengan waktu penahanan 1–2 jam. Tujuan penelitian adalah mendapatkan karakter paduan Zr-0,3%Nb-0,5%Fe-0,5%Cr pasca perlakuan panas dan pengerolan dingin yaitu mikrostruktur, struktur kristal dan fasa-fasa yang ada dalam paduan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa paduan Zr-0,3%Nb-0,5%Fe-0,5%Cr pasca perlakuan panas (650ºC, 1-2 jam mempunyai struktur butir ekuiaksial dengan ukuran butir bertambah besar seiring dengan bertambahnya waktu penahanan. Sementara itu, pasca perlakuan panas (750ºC, 1-2 jam terjadi perubahan mikrostruktur paduan dari butir ekuiaksial dan kolumnar menjadi butir ekuiaksial lebih besar. Paduan Zr-0,3%Nb-0,5%Fe-0,5%Cr pasca perlakuan panas (650°C, 1 jam dan (750°C, 1 jam tidak dapat dirol dingin dengan reduksi tebal 5 – 10%, sedangkan pasca perlakuan panas (650ºC, 2 jam dan (750°C, 1.5-2 jam mampu menerima deformasi dingin dengan reduksi ketebalan 5-10% tanpa mengalami keretakan. Senyawa Zr2Fe, ZrCr2 dan FeCr teridentifikai dari hasil uji kristalografi paduan Zr-0,3%Nb-0,5%Fe-0,5%Cr.   MICROSTRUCTURE AND PHASE CHARACTERISTICSOF Zr-0.3%Nb-0.5%Fe-0.5%Cr ALLOY POST HEAT TREATMENT AND COLD ROLLING. Zr-Nb-Fe-Cr alloys was developed as fuel elements cladding with high burn up for advanced power reactors. In this research has been made of Zr-0.3% Nb-0.5% Fe-0.5% Cr alloy were heat treated with varying temperatures at650 and 750°C for 1 until 2 hours. The objectives of this research was to obtain the character of Zr-0.3% Nb-0.5% Fe-0.5% Cr alloy post heat treatment and cold rolling, microstructure nomenclature, crystal structure and phases that presents in the

  7. Impact of preparing for OSHA local emphasis program inspections of New York dairy farms: Case studies and financial cost analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadomski, Anne M; Vargha, Marybeth; Tallman, Nancy; Scribani, Melissa B; Kelsey, Timothy W

    2016-03-01

    OSHA inspection of dairy farms began in July 1, 2014 in New York State. As of September 2014, a total of eight farms were randomly selected for inspection. This case study addresses how dairy farm managers prepared for these inspections, and identifies farm level costs preparing for inspection and/or being inspected. Four farms that were OSHA inspected and 12 farms that were not inspected were included in this mixed method evaluation using a multimodal (telephone, email, or mail) survey. Descriptive analysis was carried out using frequencies, proportions, means, and medians. Overall, the impact of OSHA inspections was positive, leading to improved safety management and physical changes on the farm and worker trainings, although the farmers' perspectives about OSHA inspection were mixed. The cost of compliance was low relative to estimated overall production costs. Clarifications and engineering solutions for specific dairy farm hazard exposures are needed to facilitate compliance with OSHA regulations. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Management practices for male calves on Canadian dairy farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renaud, D L; Duffield, T F; LeBlanc, S J; Haley, D B; Kelton, D F

    2017-08-01

    Morbidity, mortality, and antimicrobial use and resistance are major concerns in the rearing of male dairy calves, so information to support disease prevention is important. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to describe management practices associated with the care of male calves during their first days of life on Canadian dairy farms. A survey was completed by dairy producers across Canada between March 1 and April 30, 2015. The survey included 192 questions covering producer background, farm characteristics, biosecurity practices, disease prevalence, calf health, animal welfare, lameness, milking hygiene, reproduction, and Internet and social media use. A total of 1,025 surveys were completed online, by telephone, or by mail, representing 9% of all dairy farms in Canada. Five percent of respondents (n = 49) answered that they had euthanized at least 1 male calf at birth in the previous year, and blunt force trauma was commonly used in these cases. The majority of respondents always fed colostrum to male calves; however, 9% (n = 80) did not always feed colostrum. Almost 40% (n = 418) of respondents reported always dipping the navels of male calves, 12% (n = 123) vaccinated male calves, and 17% (n = 180) did not provide the same quantity of feed to male calves as heifer calves. The care of male calves differed greatly depending on the geographical region of the respondents. However, some regional effects may be confounded by economic conditions and the logistics of marketing male dairy calves in different parts of the country. Herd size was another important variable in many aspects of the management of male calves on dairy farms. Larger herd sizes were more likely to use an appropriate method of euthanasia at birth but were less likely to always feed colostrum to their male calves or feed them the same as female calves. Familiarity with the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle (National Farm Animal Care Council) by respondents

  9. Orchid bees as bio-indicators for organic coffee farms in Costa Rica: does farm size affect their abundance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedström, Ingemar; Denzel, Andrew; Owens, Gareth

    2006-09-01

    The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs nonorganic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test). However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms.

  10. Analysis to develop a program for energy-integrated farm systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eakin, D.E.; Clark, M.A.; Inaba, L.K.; Johnson, K.I.

    1981-09-01

    A program to use renewable energy resources and possibly develop decentralization of energy systems for agriculture is discussed. The purpose of the research presented is to establish the objective of the program and identify guidelines for program development. The program's objective is determined by: (1) an analysis of the technologies that could be utilized to transform renewable farm resources to energy by the year 2000, (2) the quantity of renewable farm resources that are available, and (3) current energy-use patterns. Individual research, development, and demonstration projects are fit into a national program of energy-integrated farm systems on the basis of: (1) market need, (2) conversion potential, (3) technological opportunities, and (4) acceptability. Quantification of these factors for the purpose of establishing program guidelines is conducted using the following four precepts: (1) market need is identified by current use of energy for agricultural production; (2) conversion potential is determined by the availability of renewable resources; and (3) technological opportunities are determined by the state-of-the-art methods, techniques, and processes that can convert renewable resources into farm energy. Each of these factors is analyzed in Chapters 2 to 4. Chapter 5 draws on the analysis of these factors to establish the objective of the program and identify guidelines for the distribution of program funds. Chapter 6 then discusses the acceptability of integrated farm systems, which can not be quantified like the other factors.

  11. Utilization of Urea Treated and Untreated Cocoa Pod Husk Based Diets by Growing Pigs : An On-farm Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iyayi, EA.

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available An on-farm adaptation study of the utilization of urea treated and untreated cocoa pod husk (CPH by growing pigs was carried out on a commercial pig farm. Thirty-two Landrace X Large White growing pigs (16 males + 16 females were randomly assigned to 4 experimental diets. Diet 1 was a standard grower ration (control. In Diets 2 and 3 CPH meal was included at 250 g/kg, that used in Diet 3 being treated with a 5 % urea solution. Diet 4 was the farmer's diet. There was no significant difference (P> 0.05 between diets 3 and the control in their effect on the performance of the animals. These two diets caused a better (P 0.05 influence on the backfat thickness. Carcass cuts were also not significantly (P> 0.05 influenced by inclusion of CPH meal. Results suggest (1 the possibility of formulating diets for growing pigs using CPH meals and (2 that further treatment of the CPH meal with urea improves its nutritive value resulting in better performance and economy of production.

  12. Association of living in a farming environment with asthma incidence in Canadian children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsons, Marc A; Beach, Jeremy; Senthilselvan, Ambikaipakan

    2017-04-01

    The objective of this population-based 14-year follow-up study was to examine the effect of living in a farm environment on asthma incidence in children. A total of 10,941 children of ages 0 to 11 years who were free of asthma and wheeze at the baseline (1994-1995) in the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth were considered in the study. Children's living environment was classified, based on interviewer's observation, into three categories: non-rural, rural non-farming, and farming. An incidence of asthma was obtained from health-professional diagnosed asthma reported either by the person most knowledgeable for children under 15 years or by the children themselves if they were of ages 16 years and over. The 14-year cumulative incidence of asthma among children living in farming environments was 10.18%, which was significantly lower than that observed for children living in rural non-farming (13.12%) and non-rural environments (16.50%). After adjusting for age group, number of older siblings, allergy, parental history of asthma, dwelling in need of repairs and SES index, a dose-response relationship was observed with children living in rural non-farming and farming environments having significantly reduced risk of asthma [hazard ratio (HR): 0.77; 95% confidence interval (CI): (0.60, 1.00); p = 0.047 and HR: 0.56; 95% CI: (0.41,0.77); p living in non-rural environments. This cohort study provides further evidence that living in a farming environment during childhood is protective of asthma incidence in adolescence and adulthood and this finding provides further support for the hygiene hypothesis.

  13. Staphylococci Related to Farm Ostriches and Their Sensitivity to Enterocins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandričáková, Anna; Lauková, Andrea; Ščerbová, Jana

    2016-03-01

    In Slovakia, ostriches are reared mainly for their meat. There is still limited information related to microflora of ostriches, including staphylococci. Knowing the composition of microflora is very important for the recognition of potential pathogenic agents. Recently, a frequent problem in animals is the occurrence of bacteria resistant to antibiotics. The aim of this study was to detect staphylococcal species in feces of farm ostriches and to test their sensitivity to antibiotics and enterocins. Altogether 140 ostriches from three age groups were sampled (n = 18, faecal mixture samples from each group) on a farm in Slovakia or on Slovak farm. From 54 fecal samples, the staphylococcal count reached an average 4. 3 ± 0. 63 (log10) CFU/g. Twenty-four lactic acid producing strains were taxonomically classified to eight species of the genus Staphylococcus: Staphylococcus equorum, S. xylosus, S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, S. cohnii, S. succinus, S. warneri, and S. hominis. Strains were evaluated by secure probable species identification/probable species identification (score value up to 2.299) confirmed also by phenotypization. Most strains were sensitive to antibiotics. Four strains (S. haemolyticus SHae 111, S. haemolyticus SHAe 371, S. xylosus SX 2133, and S. warneri SW 292) were resistant to methicillin but sensitive to six or five of the seven enterocins tested (inhibitory activity 200-12,800 AU/mL). S. warneri SW 292 was sensitive to all enterocins (activity up to 12,800 AU/mL).

  14. Making space for wind farms: Practices of territorial stigmatisation in rural Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rudolph, David Philipp; Kirkegaard, Julia Kirch

    of territorial stigmatisation are mobilised and aligned by developers and municipalities in order to make space for and legitimise large wind farm projects in rural areas. In doing so, the paper will illustrate how stigmatisation practices are embedded in discourses of rurality as ‘Outskirts......Whilst issues of siting wind farms have mostly revolved around their public acceptance resulting from an unequal distribution of local costs and benefits, the perceived fairness of the planning process and the disruption of places, the challenge of finding adequate locations and getting access...... community involvement and ownership of wind farms, access to diminishing spatial resources reflects a key concern for developers, while putting the role of private landowners at the core of successful projects. By drawing on case studies from rural Northern Denmark it will be demonstrated how narratives...

  15. Do differences in food web structure between organic and conventional farms affect the ecosystem service of pest control?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Macfadyen, S.; Gibson, R.; Polaszek, A.; Morris, R.J.; Craze, P.G.; Planque, R.; Symondson, W.O.C.; Memmott, J.

    2009-01-01

    While many studies have demonstrated that organic farms support greater levels of biodiversity, it is not known whether this translates into better provision of ecosystem services. Here we use a food-web approach to analyse the community structure and function at the whole-farm scale. Quantitative

  16. Standardized facility record and report model system (FARMS) for material accounting and control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishimura, Hideo; Ihara, Hitoshi; Hisamatsu, Yoshinori.

    1990-07-01

    A facility in which nuclear materials are handled maintains a facility system of accounting for and control of nuclear material. Such a system contains, as one of key elements, a record and report system. This record and report information system is a rather complex one because it needs to conform to various requirements from the national or international safeguards authorities and from the plant operator who has to achieve a safe and economical operation of the plant. Therefore it is mandatory to computerize such information system. The authors have reviewed these requirements and standardized the book-keeping and reporting procedures in line with their computerization. On the basis of this result the authors have developed a computer system, FARMS, named as an acronym of standardized facility record and report model system, mainly reflecting the requirements from the national and international safeguards authorities. The development of FARMS has also been carried out as a JASPAS - Japan Support Programme for Agency Safeguards - project since 1985 and the FARMS code was demonstrated as an accountancy tool in the regional SSAC training courses held in Japan in 1985 and 1987. This report describes the standardization of a record and report system at the facility level, its computerization as a model system and the demonstration of the developed system, FARMS. (author)

  17. Controlled Traffic Farming

    OpenAIRE

    Controlled Traffic Farming Europe

    2011-01-01

    Metadata only record Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) is a farming method used to reduce soil compaction, decrease inputs, and improve soil structure when coupled with reduced-till or no-till practices. This practices utilizes permanent traffic/wheel zones to limit soil compaction to a specific area. This website provides practical information on CTF, case studies, workshops, and links to additional resources.

  18. The optimation of farmers families' revenue the integration of Pasundan cattle and paddy farming in West Java

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Tawaf

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This research aimed to analyze the revenue optimization of farmer family with ratio of the most ideal farm scale in the integration of Pasundan cattle and paddy farm, and to analyze the most leveraging production factor towards the family revenue. The respondents were 94 farmers who had integrated farming between cattle and paddy. This research used survey method in four regions purposively based on Pasundan cattle centre. Data were analyzed with linear programming and production function of Cobb Douglass. The results were: (1 max Z = -(4,584,841x1+1574260 (x2+x3 + (6,000,000jx1+4000000 (j x2 +j x3 ; this function consist of constraints: labour, transfer products between cattle and paddy farm, transfer fertilizer, capital of paddy farming in planting season-I and season-II. (2 Yintegration = 15,721,319.75 – 72.541 land – 1.317 fertilizer + 4.667 seeds + 487765.94 farminglabour + 6339170.199 cattlevalue – 935.559 feed + 162618.999 cattlelabour. There were some conclusions: First, the integration of Pasundan cattle and paddy farming produced the optimum family revenue/year, with ratio of 6.02 animal unit and 0.5 ha of paddy farming; Second, the production factor of agricultural land, labour, seeds, feed and capital (cattle were explained (R2=87.66% toward the integration revenue; Third, the variable which has the contribution to leverage the revenue was the capital of cattle (81.52%.

  19. Farm animal proteomics - A review

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bendixen, Emøke; Danielsen, Marianne; Hollung, Kristin

    2011-01-01

    In agricultural sciences as in all other areas of life science, the implementation of proteomics and other post-genomic tools is an important step towards more detailed understanding of the complex biological systems that control physiology and pathology of living beings. Farm animals are raised...... and cattle are relevant not only for farm animal sciences, but also for adding to our understanding of complex biological mechanisms of health and disease in humans. The aim of this review is to present an overview of the specific topics of interest within farm animal proteomics, and to highlight some...... of the areas where synergy between classic model organism proteomics and farm animal proteomics is rapidly emerging. Focus will be on introducing the special biological traits that play an important role in food production, and on how proteomics may help optimize farm animal production...

  20. Protocol for disposition of tank farm equipment lists and tank farm drawings for year 2000 compliance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ADAMS, M.R.

    1999-01-01

    A program has been initiated to assess, renovate, document and certify tank farm field equipment for year 2000 compliance. The program is necessary to assure no adverse effects occur in tank farm operations as a result of equipment malfunction due to what is widely known as the ''millennium bug''. This document elaborates the protocols for reviewing field equipment lists and tank farm drawings for the purpose of identifying and resolving year 2000 compliance problems in tank farm equipment

  1. Resistance delaying strategies on UK sheep farms: A cost benefit analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Learmount, Jane; Glover, Mike J; Taylor, Mike A

    2018-04-30

    UK guidelines for the sustainable control of parasites in sheep (SCOPS) were formulated with the primary aim of delaying development of anthelmintic resistance (AR) on UK sheep farms. Promoting their use requires the engagement and commitment of stakeholders. An important driver for behavioural change in sheep farmers is evidence of economic benefits. A recent evaluation of SCOPS guidance in practice demonstrated a significant reduction in anthelmintic use, suggesting economic benefits through a direct reduction in product and labour costs. However, in order to maintain production, a range of alternative control strategies are advised, resulting in additional costs to farmers and so a full cost benefit analysis of best practice management was undertaken. We allocated financial values to the management recommendations described in the SCOPS technical manual. Benefits were calculated using data for production variables and anthelmintic use measured during studies to evaluate the effect of SCOPS recommendations on 16 UK sheep farms and from other published work. As SCOPS control is not prescriptive and a range of different diagnostics are available, best and worst case scenarios were presented, comparing the cheapest methods (e.g. egg counts without larval culture) and management situations (e.g closed flocks not requiring quarantine treatments) with the most laborious and expensive. Simulations were run for farms with a small, medium or large flock (300; 1000; 1900 ewes) as well as comparing scenarios with and without potential production benefits from using effective wormers. Analysis demonstrated a moderate cost for all farms under both scenarios when production benefits were not included. A cost benefit was demonstrated for medium and large farms when production benefits were included and the benefit could be perceived as significant in the case of the large farms for the best case scenario (>£5000 per annum). Despite a significant potential reduction in

  2. Assessment of Farming Systems for Sustainability of Farming Activities in the Mazandaran Province

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Moumenihelali

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: One of the fundamental issues in the agricultural sector in Iran is the absence of optimal water and soil resources utilization and lack of new agricultural science and technology adoption through major prevailing transformations in agricultural land exploitation system. The studies conducted in the history of agricultural development in Iran cast light on the fact that the farming system’s role in the agricultural development in Iran is of great importance. And water and soil resources utilization has been one of the fundamental issues of agriculture which has enjoyed major consideration after the implementation of land restructuring. The agriculture farming systems are referred to as the focus of all activities related to sustainable agricultural development in Iran and it is believed that the shift and transition from traditional agriculture to modern and profitable agriculture through appropriate, improved and newly developed agricultural establishments are the major activities which can increase productivity and improve the overall performance of the agricultural sector and thus contribute to sustainable development more than any other factor. Hence, such significance will be more evident when the small and scattered farmlands in many cases have imposed some limitations in the application of agricultural techniques and machinery, equipping and developing the infrastructure and efficient use of resources with appropriate performance forcing agricultural policymakersto be always looking for ways to deal with it. Therefore, identifying the relative advantage of any farming system specified for each area and region in the country seems important. Accordingly, the Mazandaran province is regarded as one of the production hubs in producing crops such as rice, wheat and canola in the country playing a major role in supplying food. With a detailed analysis of research literature, the economic, ecological, social, technical and policy

  3. Amplified recruitment pressure of biofouling organisms in commercial salmon farms: potential causes and implications for farm management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloecher, Nina; Floerl, Oliver; Sunde, Leif Magne

    2015-01-01

    The development of biofouling on finfish aquaculture farms presents challenges for the industry, but the factors underlying nuisance growths are still not well understood. Artificial settlement surfaces were used to examine two possible explanations for high rates of biofouling in Norwegian salmon farms: (1) increased propagule release during net cleaning operations, resulting in elevated recruitment rates; and (2) potential reservoir effects of farm surfaces. The presence of salmon farms was associated with consistently and substantially (up to 49-fold) elevated recruitment rates. Temporal patterns of recruitment were not driven by net cleaning. Resident populations of biofouling organisms were encountered on all submerged farm surfaces. Calculations indicate that a resident population of the hydroid Ectopleura larynx, a major biofouling species, could release between 0.3 × 10(9) and 4.7 × 10(9) larvae per farm annually. Such resident populations could form propagule reservoirs and be one explanation for the elevated recruitment pressure at salmon farms.

  4. High performance Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-BiAlO3-K0.5Na0.5NbO3 lead-free pyroelectric ceramics for thermal detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhen; Ren, Weijun; Peng, Ping; Guo, Shaobo; Lu, Teng; Liu, Yun; Dong, Xianlin; Wang, Genshui

    2018-04-01

    Both high pyroelectric properties and good temperature stability of ferroelectric materials are desirable when used for applications in infrared thermal detectors. In this work, we report lead-free ternary 0.97(0.99Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-0.01BiAlO3)-0.03K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (BNT-BA-KNN) ceramics, which not only exhibits a large pyroelectric coefficient (p ˜ 3.7 × 10-8 C cm-2 K-1) and figures of merit (Fi, Fv, and Fd) but also shows excellent thermal stable properties. At room temperature, Fi, Fv, and Fd are determined as high as 1.32 × 10-10 m/V, 2.89 × 10-2 m2/C, and 1.15 × 10-5 Pa-1/2 at 1 kHz and 1.32 × 10-10 m/V, 2.70 × 10-2 m2/C, and 1.09 × 10-5 Pa-1/2 at 20 Hz, respectively. During the temperature range of RT to 85 °C, the achieved p, Fi, Fv, and Fd do not vary too much. The high depolarization temperature and the undispersed ferroelectric-ergodic relaxor phase transition with a sharp pyroelectric coefficient peak value of ˜400 × 10-8 C cm-2 K-1 are suggested to be responsible for this thermal stability, which ensures reliable actual operation. The results reveal the BNT-BA-KNN ceramics as promising lead-free candidates for infrared thermal detector applications.

  5. The Fermilab computing farms in 1997

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolbers, S.

    1998-01-01

    The farms in 1997 went through a variety of changes. First, the farms expansion, begun in 1996, was completed. This boosted the computing capacity to something like 20,000 MIPS (where a MIP is a unit defined by running a program, TINY, on the machine and comparing the machine performance to a VAX 11/780). In SpecInt92, it would probably rate close to 40,000. The use of the farms was not all that large. The fixed target experiments were not generally in full production in 1997, but spent time tuning up code. Other users processed on the farms, but tended to come and go and not saturate the resource. Some of the old farms were retired, saving the lab money on maintenance and saving the farms support staff effort

  6. Stocking density, milking duration, and lying times of lactating cows on Canadian freestall dairy farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlton, G L; Haley, D B; Rushen, J; de Passillé, A M

    2014-05-01

    Lying time is an important measure of cow comfort, and the lying behavior of dairy cattle can now be recorded automatically with the use of accelerometers. To assess the effect that stall stocking density and the time that cows spend away from the home pen being milked has on the lying behavior of Holstein cattle, a total of 111 commercial freestall dairy farms were visited in Canada. Accelerometers were used to automatically record the lying behavior of 40 focal cows per farm. Total duration of lying, lying bout frequency, and the mean duration of lying bouts were calculated. Pen population was the total number of cows in the pen. To calculate stall stocking density (%) the number of cows in the pen and the number of useable stalls were counted and multiplied by 100, and the length × width of the pen was divided by the number of cows in the pen to calculate area/cow (m(2)). Time away from the pen per day was recorded from when the first cow in each pen was taken out of the home pen for milking until the last cow returned to the home pen after milking, and this time was multiplied by daily milking frequency. The median value for lying duration at the farm level was 10.6h/d, with 10.5 lying bouts/d, and a median lying bout duration of 1.2h. Stall stocking density ranged from 52.2 to 160.0%, with very few farms (7%) stocking at greater than 120%. Although stall stocking density was not significantly correlated with lying behavior, the results showed that no farm with stocking density greater that 100% achieved an average herd lying duration of 12h/d or higher, whereas 21.6% of farms with a stocking density of 100% or less did achieve the target lying time of ≥ 12 h/d, as recommended by the Canadian Code of Practice (χ(2)=4.86, degrees of freedom = 1). Area/cow (m(2)) was not correlated with any aspect of lying behavior, but regardless of space per cow, pen population was correlated with daily frequency and duration of lying bouts. As the number of cows in the pen

  7. Success factors in the development of farm vacation tourism

    OpenAIRE

    Schulze, Holger; Sidali, Katia Laura; Spiller, Achim

    2007-01-01

    Farm vacation tourism allows many families to fully use their domestic resources; furthermore it generates social benefits for the surrounding community. We have conducted a study to examine the success factors of this type of tourism. The results clearly demonstrate that one of the key components relies on the entrepreneurial skills of the farmer.

  8. Wind farm design optimization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carreau, Michel; Morgenroth, Michael; Belashov, Oleg; Mdimagh, Asma; Hertz, Alain; Marcotte, Odile

    2010-09-15

    Innovative numerical computer tools have been developed to streamline the estimation, the design process and to optimize the Wind Farm Design with respect to the overall return on investment. The optimization engine can find the collector system layout automatically which provide a powerful tool to quickly study various alternative taking into account more precisely various constraints or factors that previously would have been too costly to analyze in details with precision. Our Wind Farm Tools have evolved through numerous projects and created value for our clients yielding Wind Farm projects with projected higher returns.

  9. Manual for prototyping integrated and ecological arable farming systems (I/EAFS) in interaction with pilot farms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vereijken, P.

    1999-01-01

    A manual for prototyping Integrated and Ecological Arable Farming Systems (I/EAFS) in interaction with pilot farms is presented. It concerns a comprehensive and consistent approach of 5 steps. Step 1 is establishing a hierarchy of objectives considering the shortcomings of current farming systems in

  10. Energy consumption across European Union farms: Efficiency in terms of farming output and utilized agricultural area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinho, Vítor João Pereira Domingues

    2016-01-01

    Energy consumption is a global concern, namely due to the limited availability of energy sources and the consequences in terms of gas emissions, with its implications upon greenhouse gas emissions. In the agricultural sector this question bears an additional concern, considering that it is an economic activity which is sensitive to the dimension of the costs associated with production factors. In this way, the objective of the study presented here is to analyze, the efficiency of energy consumption, for the twelve former European Union countries, at farm level, in terms of farming output and utilized agricultural area, over the period 1989–2009 and for the years 2004–2012, with data available in the Farm Accountancy Data Network. On the other hand, the implications of energy consumption in farms' economic performance were analyzed, through econometric techniques (time series, panel data and generalized method of moments) and models based on the Kaldor developments. As a main conclusion, to stress the decrease in efficiency related with energy consumption by farms in the twelve former European Union countries. - Highlights: • It was analyzed the efficiency of energy consumption. • It was considered data for the twelve former European Union states at farm level. • They were evaluated the implications of energy consumption in farms performance. • The conclusions stress the decrease in efficiency of the farms energy consumption.

  11. Identifying sources of metal exposure in organic and conventional dairy farming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Alonso, M; Rey-Crespo, F; Herrero-Latorre, C; Miranda, M

    2017-10-01

    In humans the main route of exposure to toxic metals is through the diet, and there is therefore a clear need for this source of contamination to be minimized, particularly in food of animal origin. For this purpose, the various sources of toxic metals in livestock farming (which vary depending on the production system) must be taken into account. The objectives of the present study were to establish the profile of metal exposure in dairy cattle in Spain and to determine, by chemometric (multivariate statistical) analysis, any differences between organic and conventional systems. Blood samples from 522 cows (341 from organic farms and 181 from conventional farms) were analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to determine the concentrations of 14 elements: As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, I, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn. In conventional systems the generally high and balanced trace element concentrations in the mineral-supplemented concentrate feed strongly determined the metal status of the cattle. However, in organic systems, soil ingestion was an important contributing factor. Our results demonstrate that general information about the effects of mineral supplementation in conventional farming cannot be directly extrapolated to organic farming and special attention should be given to the contribution of ingestion of soil during grazing and/or ingestion of soil contaminated forage. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Improving hearing health for farming families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lower, Tony; Fragar, Lyn; Depcynzksi, Julie; Challinor, Kathy; Mills, Jan; Williams, Warwick

    2010-01-01

    Occupational noise injury and hearing loss are common features of agricultural workforces internationally. Farmsafe Australia has identified hearing health as one of its 4 key priority goals and targets. Currently, approximately 60-70% of Australian farmers have measurable hearing loss, compared with 27% of those in the general Australian community. This article describes the findings of a community based demonstration project to address hearing health issues conducted in the Australian state of New South Wales. This program sought to implement local demonstration projects in 3 communities to identify what works well in hearing health promotion with farmers and what could be applied more broadly throughout Australia. Local advisory groups were established in each community to guide project development and implementation. Project implementation focused on 3 major aspects: (1) increasing awareness of priority noise injury prevention and hearing health practices; (2) improving access to hearing health services; and (3) networking services in local communities. Area-specific training was undertaken for stakeholders to maximize local information links. Service utilization data were monitored and analysed. There was variability among sites; however in general there was an increased awareness of hearing health issues by farming families and expanded opportunities for farmers to access screening services. Utilization rates of hearing services also increased markedly in one community. Local hearing health networks were strengthened by linkages to key stakeholders outside the health sector. Previously unidentified methods of promoting hearing health (eg using agricultural retail outlets that supply hearing protection equipment and are accepted by farmers as an information source) were identified and utilized. Hearing health promotion with farmers in local communities can be enhanced through utilization and strengthening of local networks. Integration of hearing health

  13. Structural and economic dynamics in diversified Italian farms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Salvioni

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective of this work is to investigate the structural change and economic dynamics of farms pursuing diversification and differentiation strategies in Italy. The analysis was performed on a panel of data built on the basis of information collected by the Italian FADN between 2003-2009. For the purpose of the analysis, we divided the population of commercial Italian farms into a five-fold farm typology based on size and the extent of diversification and differentiation strategies adopted by the farms. In detail, farms are defined as differentiated when they make use of a system of quality certification, while they are defined as diversified when they take up non farming activities (agritourism, social farms etc.. The findings show that conventional farms remain by far the largest category within the population of Italian commercial farms, while only 13% of the total commercial farms are classified as differentiated and/or diversified. Farms adopting product differentiation strategies are found to have an income growth path similar to that of conventional farms. Yet the category of diversified farms is the only one showing an upward trend with regard to income per worker in the observed years, while farms relying entirely on agricultural products appear to perform poorly in terms of labour productivity.

  14. On Farm Feeding;Replacing Bought in Pig Feed with Home-Grown Straights at Sheepdrove Organic Farm

    OpenAIRE

    Nelder, Rebecca

    2009-01-01

    Organic systems aim to operate in an ecological and economical way, importing cereals grown thousands of miles away, processed at a mill and then transported again to our farms is costly in oil and therefore money. It is neither ecologically nor economically sustainable. British farms are capable of producing a large amount of high quality cereal, the majority of which is usually sold. Transportation and processing of the grain uses oil and leaves farms vulnerable to market prices. If farm...

  15. Functions and requirements for a cesium demonstration unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howden, G.F.

    1994-04-01

    Westinghouse Hanford Company is investigating alternative means to pretreat the wastes in the Hanford radioactive waste storage tanks. Alternatives include (but are not limited to) in-tank pretreatment, use of above ground transportable compact processing units (CPU) located adjacent to a tank farm, and fixed processing facilities. This document provides the functions and requirements for a CPU to remove cesium from tank waste as a demonstration of the CPU concept. It is therefore identified as the Cesium Demonstration Unit CDU

  16. Does Contract Farming Improve Smallholder Farmers Income? The Case of Avocado Farming in Kenya

    OpenAIRE

    Mwambi, Mercy; Oduol, Judith; Mshenga, Patience M.; Mwanarusi, Saidi

    2013-01-01

    Contract farming is seen by its proponents as a tool for creating new market opportunities as well as for providing credit and training, leading to increased incomes of smallholder farmers. Critics, however, argue that contract farming encourages unequal bargaining relationships with agribusiness firms and is likely to pass risks to farmers, thus favouring large scale farmers at the expense of smallholders. Another school of thought contends that the effect of contract farming on the liveliho...

  17. IMPACT OF THE EU FUNDS SUPPORTING FARM MODERNISATION ON THE CHANGES OF THE ASSETS IN POLISH FARMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wawrzyniec Czubak

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper focuses on the analysis of the changes in the production potential of Polish farms after implementing CAP mechanisms (2004-2011. Two criteria were used to share the farms: investment activity and economic size. Only those farms were selected, which continuously conducted the agricultural accounting FADN system in 2004--2011. Based on the analysis it was found that in the base period, farms making the most complex investments (supported by EU funds or financed on the basin of own financial resources, had greater production potential – in the matter of area and volume of assets. The investment activities contributed to the increase in disparities between groups of farms. Especially the non-investment farms were able to preserve the area of agricultural land, but the value of their assets was significantly reduced.

  18. Wind Farms: Modeling and Control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soleimanzadeh, Maryam

    2012-01-01

    is minimized. The controller is practically feasible. Yet, the results on load reduction in this approach are not very significant. In the second strategy, the wind farm control problem has been divided into below rated and above rated wind speed conditions. In the above rated wind speed pitch angle and power....... Distributed controller design commences with formulating the problem, where a structured matrix approach has been put in to practice. Afterwards, an H2 control problem is implemented to obtain the controller dynamics for a wind farm such that the structural loads on wind turbines are minimized.......The primary purpose of this work is to develop control algorithms for wind farms to optimize the power production and augment the lifetime of wind turbines in wind farms. In this regard, a dynamical model for wind farms was required to be the basis of the controller design. In the first stage...

  19. The 'Real Welfare' scheme: benchmarking welfare outcomes for commercially farmed pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandolfi, F; Stoddart, K; Wainwright, N; Kyriazakis, I; Edwards, S A

    2017-10-01

    Animal welfare standards have been incorporated in EU legislation and in farm assurance schemes, based on scientific information and aiming to safeguard the welfare of the species concerned. Recently, emphasis has shifted from resource-based measures of welfare to animal-based measures, which are considered to assess more accurately the welfare status. The data used in this analysis were collected from April 2013 to May 2016 through the 'Real Welfare' scheme in order to assess on-farm pig welfare, as required for those finishing pigs under the UK Red Tractor Assurance scheme. The assessment involved five main measures (percentage of pigs requiring hospitalization, percentage of lame pigs, percentage of pigs with severe tail lesions, percentage of pigs with severe body marks and enrichment use ratio) and optional secondary measures (percentage of pigs with mild tail lesions, percentage of pigs with dirty tails, percentage of pigs with mild body marks, percentage of pigs with dirty bodies), with associated information about the environment and the enrichment in the farms. For the complete database, a sample of pens was assessed from 1928 farm units. Repeated measures were taken in the same farm unit over time, giving 112 240 records at pen level. These concerned a total of 13 480 289 pigs present on the farm during the assessments, with 5 463 348 pigs directly assessed using the 'Real Welfare' protocol. The three most common enrichment types were straw, chain and plastic objects. The main substrate was straw which was present in 67.9% of the farms. Compared with 2013, a significant increase of pens with undocked-tail pigs, substrates and objects was observed over time (P0.3). The results from the first 3 years of the scheme demonstrate a reduction of the prevalence of animal-based measures of welfare problems and highlight the value of this initiative.

  20. Coordinated control strategy for hybrid wind farms with DFIG-based and PMSG-based wind farms during network unbalance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yao, Jun; Liu, Ruikuo; Zhou, Te

    2017-01-01

    This paper investigates the coordinated control strategy for a hybrid wind farm with doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-based and direct-driven permanent-magnet synchronous generator (PMSG)-based wind farms during network unbalance. The negative-sequence current output capabilities of DFIG...... to the controllable operating regions, a targets selection scheme for each control unit is proposed to improve the stability of the hybrid wind farms containing both DFIG-based and PMSG-based wind farms during network unbalance, especially to avoid DFIG-based wind farm tripping from connected power grid under severe...... grid voltage unbalance conditions. Finally, the proposed coordinated control strategy is validated by the simulation results of a 30-MW-DFIG-based wind farm and a 30-MW-PMSG-based wind farm under different operation conditions and experimental results on a laboratory-scale experimental rig under severe...

  1. Farming in an Agriburban Ecovillage Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lenore Newman

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available A growing desire for local food systems has increased interest in peri-urban farming, leading to the rise of agriburban landscapes, in which a desire to farm or to be near farmland is a contributing factor to development patterns. Interviews and site visits to the Yarrow Ecovillage near Vancouver, Canada, outline an example of a development that allows new farmers access to land in a setting with few tensions between farming and non-farming residents in a zone on the edge of a protected agricultural region. Although there are limitations to replication of this model, we suggest that intentional settlements with an agricultural element on the rural/urban fringe could buffer traditional tensions between farm usage and residential usage, while allowing small-scale farmers a place to farm in areas with prohibitively high land values.

  2. Hanford Tank Farms Vadose Zone, Addendum to the TX Tank Farm Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spatz, R.

    2000-01-01

    This addendum to the TX Tank Farm Report (GJO-97-13-TAR, GJO-HAN-11) published in September 1997 incorporates the results of high-rate and repeat logging activities along with shape factor analysis of the logging data. A high-rate logging system was developed and deployed in the TX Tank Farm to measure cesium-137 concentration levels in high gamma flux zones where the spectral gamma logging system was unable to collect usable data because of high dead times and detector saturation. This report presents additional data and revised visualizations of subsurface contaminant distribution in the TX Tank Farm at the DOE Hanford Site in the state of Washington

  3. Seroprevalence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection on pig farms in central China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Qing; Wang, Zhengsong; Feng, Huihui; Fang, Rui; Nie, Hao; Hu, Min; Zhou, Yanqin; Zhao, Junlong

    2011-04-01

    Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that causes severe diseases in mammals, including humans, around the world. In China, pork is the main meat source; accordingly, T. gondii in pigs is considered an important source for human toxoplasmosis. Understanding the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis in pig farms is thus important for control of the disease in humans. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the epizootiology of T. gondii infections in pig farms in central China by assessing the seroprevalence and risk factors of this disease. In the present study, 3,558 sera samples were collected from pigs in 37 large-scale pig farms in this region and tested by AG-ELISA. The total seroprevalence was 24.5%, with the greatest prevalence in breeding pigs. The risk factors for toxoplasmosis suggest that high frequency of the contact of pigs with cats (P ≤ 0.01; IC 95%), high density of pig breeding (P ≤ 0.01; IC 95%), the presence of mosquitoes and flies (P ≤ 0.01; IC 95%), semi-patency pens (P ≤ 0.05; IC 95%), and low frequency of scavenging (P ≤ 0.01; IC 95%) were all associated with seroprevalence. In addition, the use of sulfonamides (P ≤ 0.01; IC 95%) significantly decreased seroprevalence. This is the first report of anti- T. gondii antibodies in pigs on large-scale pig farms in central China. The findings will provide useful information for designing control strategies of toxoplasmasis in pig farms.

  4. Participatory farm management adaptations to reduce environmental impact on commercial pilot dairy farms in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oenema, J.; Keulen, van H.; Schils, R.L.M.; Aarts, H.F.M.

    2011-01-01

    Regulations in the Netherlands with respect to nutrient use force dairy farmers to improve nutrient management at the whole-farm level. On experimental farm ‘De Marke’, a coherent set of simple measures at farm level has been implemented, which has resulted in a drastic reduction in input of

  5. Regional climate model simulations indicate limited climatic impacts by operational and planned European wind farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vautard, Robert; Thais, Françoise; Tobin, Isabelle; Bréon, François-Marie; Devezeaux de Lavergne, Jean-Guy; Colette, Augustin; Yiou, Pascal; Ruti, Paolo Michele

    2014-01-01

    The rapid development of wind energy has raised concerns about environmental impacts. Temperature changes are found in the vicinity of wind farms and previous simulations have suggested that large-scale wind farms could alter regional climate. However, assessments of the effects of realistic wind power development scenarios at the scale of a continent are missing. Here we simulate the impacts of current and near-future wind energy production according to European Union energy and climate policies. We use a regional climate model describing the interactions between turbines and the atmosphere, and find limited impacts. A statistically significant signal is only found in winter, with changes within ±0.3 °C and within 0-5% for precipitation. It results from the combination of local wind farm effects and changes due to a weak, but robust, anticyclonic-induced circulation over Europe. However, the impacts remain much weaker than the natural climate interannual variability and changes expected from greenhouse gas emissions.

  6. Emergence of highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (HP-PRRS) in medium-scale swine farms in southeastern Cambodia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tornimbene, B; Frossard, J-P; Chhim, V; Sorn, S; Guitian, J; Drew, T W

    2015-01-01

    Since 2006, reports from China and Viet Nam have alerted of an emergent highly pathogenic variant of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (HP-PRRSV) in that region. The frequent occurrence of outbreaks in these countries puts Cambodian pig farms at high risk of infection, but no study had been conducted to investigate the presence of HP-PRRS in Cambodian farms. We investigated the presence of HP-PRRS in medium-scale (semi-commercial) swine farms in the Cambodian southeastern region. Specifically, one province bordering Viet Nam (Takeo) was selected due to the concentration of most semi-commercial farms in that province. A cross-sectional study was carried out, between July and September 2010 to assess whether the prevalence of infection in these farms was indicative of recent spread of PPRSV and to identify risk factors for infection. The number of farms to be sampled was established using methods for Lot Quality Assurance Surveys (LQAS), in order to achieve a pre-established ability to discriminate between two different prevalence settings. The target population comprised all semi-commercial farms in Takeo province from which a random sample of 35 farms was selected. Selected farms were visited and questionnaires administered to gather information on farm characteristics and husbandry practices. Blood samples from individual pigs were collected in each of the study farms and tested for PRRSV, along with a number of other swine respiratory pathogens in order to investigate potential interactions. Our results showed that the virus was already present in Takeo semi-commercial pig population (LQAS herd prevalence ≥85%) at the time of sampling. The presence of sows in the farm and farm density were significantly associated (P<0.05) with the introduction and the presence of PRRS - but this was an unadjusted association as small sample size precluded multivariate analysis. Spatiotemporal description of the supposed pattern of infection revealed that the

  7. Orchid bees as bio-indicators for organic coffee farms in Costa Rica: Does farm size affect their abundance?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingemar Hedström

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs non-organic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test. However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54 (3: 965-969. Epub 2006 Sept. 29.

  8. Simulation and optimal control of wind-farm boundary layers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyers, Johan; Goit, Jay

    2014-05-01

    In large wind farms, the effect of turbine wakes, and their interaction leads to a reduction in farm efficiency, with power generated by turbines in a farm being lower than that of a lone-standing turbine by up to 50%. In very large wind farms or `deep arrays', this efficiency loss is related to interaction of the wind farms with the planetary boundary layer, leading to lower wind speeds at turbine level. Moreover, for these cases it has been demonstrated both in simulations and wind-tunnel experiments that the wind-farm energy extraction is dominated by the vertical turbulent transport of kinetic energy from higher regions in the boundary layer towards the turbine level. In the current study, we investigate the use of optimal control techniques combined with Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) of wind-farm boundary layer interaction for the increase of total energy extraction in very large `infinite' wind farms. We consider the individual wind turbines as flow actuators, whose energy extraction can be dynamically regulated in time so as to optimally influence the turbulent flow field, maximizing the wind farm power. For the simulation of wind-farm boundary layers we use large-eddy simulations in combination with actuator-disk and actuator-line representations of wind turbines. Simulations are performed in our in-house pseudo-spectral code SP-Wind that combines Fourier-spectral discretization in horizontal directions with a fourth-order finite-volume approach in the vertical direction. For the optimal control study, we consider the dynamic control of turbine-thrust coefficients in an actuator-disk model. They represent the effect of turbine blades that can actively pitch in time, changing the lift- and drag coefficients of the turbine blades. Optimal model-predictive control (or optimal receding horizon control) is used, where the model simply consists of the full LES equations, and the time horizon is approximately 280 seconds. The optimization is performed using a

  9. 12 CFR 614.4080 - Loans and chartered territory-banks for cooperatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Loans and chartered territory-banks for cooperatives. 614.4080 Section 614.4080 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND OPERATIONS Chartered Territories § 614.4080 Loans and chartered territory—banks for...

  10. Off-Farm Employment and Economic Crisis: Evidence from Cyprus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elias Giannakis

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Off-farm employment is an important strategy for complementing farm household income and maintaining rural livelihoods. A multilevel logistic regression model was applied to investigate the effect of farm-level and regional-level factors on off-farm employment in Cyprus during the recent economic crisis period. The performance of nonfarm sectors positively affects off-farm employment; a one-percent increase in the share of the secondary and tertiary sector employment increases the likelihood of off-farm work by 9.5 times. The importance of location was also identified. Farm households located in rural areas are 70% less likely to engage in off-farm work than households located in urban areas. The positive effect of educational attainment and the negative effect of farm training confirmed the importance of human capital characteristics on off-farm labour participation. Farm structural factors are also significant determinants of off-farm employment. A one-hectare increase in the farm size decreases the odds of off-farm labour participation by 50%. Operators of crop farming holdings are 4.2 times more likely to work off the farm than operators of livestock and mixed-farming holdings. The results reveal the importance of adopting a multilevel and integrated approach for the analysis of off-farm employment.

  11. 10 MMBt/Hr AFBC Commercial Demonstration Cedar Lane Farms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harold M. Keener; Mary H. Wicks; Tom Machamer; Dave Hoecke; Don Bonk; Bob Brown

    2005-10-31

    The objective of this project was to demonstrate and promote the commercialization of coal-fired atmospheric fluidized bed combustion (AFBC) systems, with limestone addition for SO2 emissions control and a baghouse for particulate emissions control. This AFBC system was targeted for small scale industrial-commercial-institutional space and process heat applications in the 4-40 MMBtu/hr size range. A cost effective and environmentally acceptable AFBC technology in this size range could displace a considerable amount of heating gas and oil with coal, while resulting in significant total cost savings to the owner/operators.

  12. [Non-operation management of 12 cases with brain abscess demonstrated by CT scan].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, J

    1990-12-01

    This paper reported 12 cases with brain abscess demonstrated by CT scan. Using antibiotic management without surgical intervention, in 10 cases the curative effects were satisfactory. The paper indicated that CT scan was very useful in prompt and correct diagnosis of brain abscess and with sequential CT scan medical therapy was feasible. It is significant in treatment of brain abscess especially for the patients who have a poor general condition, have the brain abscess located in important functional area or have multiple abscesses so that the operation is difficult for them.

  13. Matching breeding goals with farming systems to enhance the sustainability of fish farming

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Besson, Mathieu

    2017-01-01

    Fish farming is growing but is also facing challenges regarding economic viability and environmental sustainability. Selective breeding could enhance the sustainability of fish farming by changing animal performances. Thus, our aim was to develop sustainable breeding goals by using economic (EV)

  14. A Comparative Study on Physicochemical Characteristics of Raw Goat Milk Collected from Different Farms in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaafar, Syarifah Hazirah Syd; Hashim, Roshada; Hassan, Zaiton; Arifin, Norlelawati

    2018-01-01

    This study was conducted to determine the physical and chemical composition of goat milk produced by eight local farms located in the central region of Malaysia. Farms 1 to 4 (F1-SC, F2-SP, F3-SP, F4-SBC) reared Saanen-type goats while farms 5 to 8 (F5-JK, F6-JPEC, F7-JTC, F8-JC), Jamnapari-type goats. The common feedstuffs used in all farms comprised of fresh or silage from Napier grass, feed pellets, and brans while two farms, F5-JK and F6-JPEC supplemented the feeds with soybean-based product. The total solid content, dry matter, and proximate composition of goat milk and feedstuffs from the different farms were determined and the results analysed using principal component analysis. Total solid content of goat milk from the Jamnapari crossbreed had the highest solid content ranging from 11.81% to 17.54% compared to milk from farms with Saanen and Saanen crossbreed (10.95% to 14.63%). Jamnapari-type goats from F5-JK, F6-JPEC, and F8-JC had significantly higher (p < 0.05) milk fat and protein contents (7.36%, 7.14%, and 6.59% fat; 5.08%, 6.19%, and 4.23% protein, respectively) than milk from other farms but, milk produced by Saanen-type goats from F4-SBC contained similar protein content (4.34%) to that from F8-JC. Total ash and carbohydrate contents in milk ranged between 0.67% to 0.86% and 3.26% to 4.71%, respectively, regardless of goat breed. Feeding soybean-based products appear to have a positive influence on milk fat and protein content in Jamnaparitype goats. PMID:29644024

  15. The Socioeconomic Basis of Farm Enterprise Diversification Decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anosike, Nnamdi; Coughenour, C. Milton

    1990-01-01

    Examines research relating farm size inversely to specialization and directly to farm-enterprise diversification. Develops model of farm management decision making. Tests model using survey examining land tenure, off-farm work, education, and environmental factors. Concludes diversification linked to farm size, human capital, and environmental…

  16. An Assessment of Direct on-Farm Energy Use for High Value Grain Crops Grown under Different Farming Practices in Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tek Maraseni

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Several studies have quantified the energy consumption associated with crop production in various countries. However, these studies have not compared the energy consumption from a broad range of farming practices currently in practice, such as zero tillage, conventional tillage and irrigated farming systems. This study examines direct on-farm energy use for high value grain crops grown under different farming practices in Australia. Grain farming processes are identified and “typical” farming operation data are collected from several sources, including published and unpublished literature, as well as expert interviews. The direct on-farm energy uses are assessed for 27 scenarios, including three high value grain crops―wheat, barley and sorghum―for three regions (Northern, Southern and Western Australia under three farming conditions with both dryland (both for conventional and zero-tillage and irrigated conditions. It is found that energy requirement for farming operations is directly related to the intensity and frequency of farming operations, which in turn is related to tillage practices, soil types, irrigation systems, local climate, and crop types. Among the three studied regions, Western Australia requires less direct on-farm energy for each crop, mainly due to the easily workable sandy soils and adoption of zero tillage systems. In irrigated crops, irrigation energy remains a major contributor to the total on-farm energy demand, accounting for up to 85% of total energy use.

  17. Preparation and Characterization of Pu0.5Am0.5O2-x-MgO Ceramic/Ceramic Composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jankowiak, A.; Jorion, F.; Donnet, L.; Maillard, C.

    2008-01-01

    This study describes the preparation and characterization of Pu 0.5 Am 0.5 O 2-x -MgO ceramic/ceramic (cercer) composites with 20 and 30 vol% of Pu 0.5 Am 0.5 O 2-x . The sintered materials demonstrated very different reduction behavior when exposed to a reducing sintering cycle. The composites were studied by combined X-ray diffraction (XRD) and oxygen-to-metal ratio measurements and exhibited various amounts of body-centered-cubic (bcc) and face-centered-cubic (fcc) phases corresponding to different reduction states of the mixed actinide oxide. The fcc phases correspond to a near stoichiometry phase while the bcc phases are attributed to most reduced phases, which demonstrate a greater similarity with the Am 2 O 3 bcc phase. The XRD results suggest a reduction of Am prior to Pu, which explains this greater similarity. In addition, the 30 vol% composite contains 65 wt% of the bcc phase while the 20 vol% composite exhibits only 29 wt%. This result can be explained by the percolation theory when applied to the oxygen diffusivity and indicates that a threshold value for Pu 0.5 Am 0.5 O 2-x content in the cercer composite exists where the reduction of the mixed oxide significantly increases. (authors)

  18. Prevalence and distribution of Eimeria species in broiler chicken farms of different capacities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Györke, Adriana; Pop, Loredana; Cozma, Vasile

    2013-01-01

    We conducted a survey in broiler farms from Romania to establish prevalence and distribution of Eimeria species using single PCR assay. We found Eimeria spp. in 21 (91%) out of 23 flocks, and in 11 (92%) out of 12 farms. Four species of Eimeria were identified: E. acervulina (21/23; 91%), E. tenella (14/23; 61%), E. maxima (5/23; 22%) and E. praecox (3/23; 13%). Infection with a single species (E. acervulina) was detected in 6 (26%) infected flocks originated from large farms. Mixed infections were found in 15 (65%) flocks and the most prevalent combination was E. acervulina + E. tenella (8/23; 35%). Four flocks (17%) harboured mixed infection with E. acervulina + E. tenella + E. maxima. E. acervulina was significantly more prevalent in flocks that received ionophores as anticoccidial feed additives. PMID:24309007

  19. Land Use Change on Coffee Farms in Southern Guatemala and its Environmental Consequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haggar, Jeremy; Medina, Byron; Aguilar, Rosa Maria; Munoz, Claudia

    2013-04-01

    Changes in commodity prices, such as the fall in coffee prices from 2000 to 2004, affect land use decisions on farms, and the environmental services they provide. A survey of 50 farms showed a 35 % loss in the area under coffee between 2000 and 2004 below 700 m with the majority of this area (64 %) being coffee agroforest systems that included native forest species. Loss of coffee only occurred on large and medium-scale farms; there was no change in area on cooperatives. Coffee productivity declined below 1,100 m altitude for sun and Inga shade coffee, but only below 700 m altitude for agroforest coffee. Coffee productivity was 37-53 % lower under agroforests than other systems. Increases in rubber and pasture were related to low altitude large-scale farms, and bananas and timber plantations to mid-altitude farms. Average aboveground carbon stocks for coffee agroforests of 39 t C ha-1 was similar to rubber plantations, but one-third to one half that of natural forest and timber plantations, respectively. Coffee agroforests had the highest native tree diversity of the productive systems (7-12 species ha-1) but lower than natural forest (31 species ha-1). Conversion of coffee agroforest to other land uses always led to a reduction in the quality of habitat for native biodiversity, especially avian, but was concentrated among certain farm types. Sustaining coffee agroforests for biodiversity conservation would require targeted interventions such as direct payments or market incentives specifically for biodiversity.

  20. Base line studies North Sea wind farms: Final report pelagic fish

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grift, R.E.; Tulp, I.Y.M.; Ybema, M.S.; Couperus, A.S.

    2004-01-01

    The Dutch government has decided to allow the construction of a Near Shore Wind Farm (NSW) demonstration project under the condition that a monitoring programme on - among other things - the ecological impacts is carried out. The Dutch government is responsible for providing a thorough description

  1. Guiding commercial pilot farms to bridge the gap between experimental and commercial farms; the project 'Cows & Opportunities'

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oenema, J.; Koskamp, G.J.; Galama, P.J.

    2001-01-01

    In the Netherlands there is a remarkable difference in environmental performance between the average commercial dairy farm and some experimental dairy farms. Despite 15 years of policies and measures to decrease nutrient losses, experimental dairy farms based on careful nutrient management, like 'De

  2. Effects of somatic cell count in subclinical mastitis on raw milk quality in dairy farms of Khuzestan province

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mohammad Hossieni nejad

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Mastitis is an infectious disease that is spread in livestock and can cause cattle mortality. Generally a cow with mastitis has a 15 per cent decrease in milk production. In addition, losses from changes in some components of milk should also be considered. Any change in milk properties can be severe hazard for milk producers, dairy factories and consumers. In this study, the effect of somatic cell count on row milk quality of cows affected by subclinical mastitis was studied. For this purpose 240 milk samples were collected from dairy farms with subclinical mastitis (traditional and industrial of Khuzestan province in 2014 and their somatic cell count, protein and lipid contact and acidity determined. The mean±SD for somatic cells, acidity, protein and fat were 3.20×105±1.37×105 SCC/ml, 14.50±0.62 D°, 3.12±0.06% and 3.23±0.14% respectively. After statistical analysis, reverse correlation were found between somatic cell count with milk fat and protein. However, direct correlation was observed between range of milk fat and protein (p>0.01. Furthermore the results indicated that the range of acidity in spring and winter, protein and fat in winter and somatic cell in summer and autumn were more than the other seasons. According to statistical analysis, protein percent of milk samples in industrial farms were higher than traditional farms although the range of somatic cells was higher for traditional milk samples ‏p>0.05 According to the result, it seems that the somatic cell count of milk influences raw milk fat and protein content and acidity.

  3. Sampling strategies in antimicrobial resistance monitoring: evaluating how precision and sensitivity vary with the number of animals sampled per farm.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takehisa Yamamoto

    Full Text Available Because antimicrobial resistance in food-producing animals is a major public health concern, many countries have implemented antimicrobial monitoring systems at a national level. When designing a sampling scheme for antimicrobial resistance monitoring, it is necessary to consider both cost effectiveness and statistical plausibility. In this study, we examined how sampling scheme precision and sensitivity can vary with the number of animals sampled from each farm, while keeping the overall sample size constant to avoid additional sampling costs. Five sampling strategies were investigated. These employed 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6 animal samples per farm, with a total of 12 animals sampled in each strategy. A total of 1,500 Escherichia coli isolates from 300 fattening pigs on 30 farms were tested for resistance against 12 antimicrobials. The performance of each sampling strategy was evaluated by bootstrap resampling from the observational data. In the bootstrapping procedure, farms, animals, and isolates were selected randomly with replacement, and a total of 10,000 replications were conducted. For each antimicrobial, we observed that the standard deviation and 2.5-97.5 percentile interval of resistance prevalence were smallest in the sampling strategy that employed 1 animal per farm. The proportion of bootstrap samples that included at least 1 isolate with resistance was also evaluated as an indicator of the sensitivity of the sampling strategy to previously unidentified antimicrobial resistance. The proportion was greatest with 1 sample per farm and decreased with larger samples per farm. We concluded that when the total number of samples is pre-specified, the most precise and sensitive sampling strategy involves collecting 1 sample per farm.

  4. 75 FR 34421 - Notice of Funds Availability for Section 514 Farm Labor Housing Loans and Section 516 Farm Labor...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Rural Housing Service Notice of Funds Availability for Section 514 Farm Labor Housing Loans and Section 516 Farm Labor Housing Grants for Off-Farm Housing for Fiscal Year (FY... the timeframe to submit pre-applications for section 514 Farm Labor Housing (FLH) loans and section...

  5. An indicator-based method for quantifying farm multifunctionality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Peter Stubkjær; Vejre, Henrik; Dalgaard, Tommy

    2013-01-01

    . The farm data that support the indicators is derived from an interview survey conducted in 2008. The aggregated function scores vary with farm size as well as farm type; smaller, hobby-based farms in general score highest in the residence function whereas bigger, full-time farms score highest...

  6. Farm Population of the United States: 1974. Current Population Reports, Farm Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banks, Vera J.; And Others

    Based on data derived primarily from the Current Population Survey of the Bureau of the Census, this statistical report presents demographic and labor force characteristics of the U.S. farm population and a comparison of selected characteristics of the farm and nonfarm population. Tabular data are presented as follows: (1) Population of the U.S.,…

  7. Crystal structure and optical absorption spectra of Ga0.5Fe0.5InS3 and Ga0.5Fe0.25In1.25S3 crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gusejnov, G.G.; Musaeva, N.N.; Kyazumov, M.G.; Asadova, I.B.; Aliev, O.M.

    2003-01-01

    Single crystals of Ga 0.5 Fe 0.5 InS 3 are grown by the method of chemical gas-transport reactions and those of Ga 0.5 Fe 0.25 In 1.25 S 3 - by Bridgman method. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that they crystallize in trigonal and rhombohedral systems with lattice parameters of a = 3.796 x 2 A, c = 12.210 A, P3m1; a = 3.786 x 2 A, c = 36.606 A, R3m, respectively. An optical absorption edge in a wide range of photon energy and an energy gap width are determined: E g = 1.885 eV for Ga 0.5 Fe 0.5 InS 3 and E g 1.843 eV for Ga 0.5 Fe 0.25 In 1.25 S 3 [ru

  8. Life cycle management on Swiss fruit farms. Relating environmental and income indicators for apple-growing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mouron, Patrik; Scholz, Roland W.; Weber, Olaf [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH, Department of Environmental Sciences, Institute for Human-Environment Systems, ETH Zentrum, HAD, CH-8092 Zurich (Switzerland); Nemecek, Thomas [Agroscope FAL Reckenholz, Swiss Federal Research Station of Agroecology and Agriculture, CH-8046 Zurich (Switzerland)

    2006-06-25

    Integrated fruit production (IFP) has been practiced in Switzerland on a large scale basis since the late 1980s, with the aim of improving sustainable farming. The guidelines of IFP emphasise an ecosystem approach that is based on scientific knowledge about self-regulatory mechanisms at the tree and orchard level. Empirical studies at the farm level are rare. An understanding of the relationship between income and environmental impacts at the farm level is a prerequisite for devising a robust system for orchard portfolio management. An income analysis based on full cost principle and environmental life cycle assessment were applied to 445 annual data sets of apple orchards, recorded on 12 specialised fruit farms over a period of 4 years. The main result was that environmental impacts such as ecotoxicity, eutrophication and non-renewable energy use did not necessarily increase when farms increased their income. A higher input level of pesticides, fertilisers and machinery did not lead to increased yields and receipts. In contrast, the choice of apple cultivars and high investment in pre-harvest labour hours were significantly correlated with high eco-efficiency and high farm income. The results of this study were summarised in a pyramid-shaped management model, providing key issues of successful orchard farming and attributing management rules to master them. The management pyramid indicates that cognitive competences such as distributional, conditional and non-linear thinking are crucial when knowledge from tree and orchard management is integrated at the farm level. A main recommendation is that more attention should be paid to improving management competence in order to contribute to sustainable farming. (author)

  9. Incidence of unintentional injuries in farming based on one year of weekly registration in Danish farms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, K; Carstensen, Ole; Lauritsen, J M

    2000-01-01

    In Denmark, farming ranks as the industry with the highest incidence rate of fatal injuries. For nonfatal injuries, insufficient registration practices prevent valid comparisons between occupations. This study examines the occurrence of farm accidents and injuries, as well as work-specific factors......, via weekly registration in a representative sample of 393 farms in one county during 1 year....

  10. Harnessing Technology to Improve K-12 Education. Discussion Paper 2012-05

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatterji, Aaron; Jones, Benjamin

    2012-01-01

    Technological progress has consistently driven remarkable advances in the U.S. economy, yet K-12 education sees little technological change compared to other sectors, even as U.S. K-12 students increasingly lag behind students in other nations. This proposal considers how we can take a signature American strength--innovation--and apply it to K-12

  11. Equivalent models of wind farms by using aggregated wind turbines and equivalent winds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, L.M.; Garcia, C.A.; Saenz, J.R.; Jurado, F.

    2009-01-01

    As a result of the increasing wind farms penetration on power systems, the wind farms begin to influence power system, and therefore the modeling of wind farms has become an interesting research topic. In this paper, new equivalent models of wind farms equipped with wind turbines based on squirrel-cage induction generators and doubly-fed induction generators are proposed to represent the collective behavior on large power systems simulations, instead of using a complete model of wind farms where all the wind turbines are modeled. The models proposed here are based on aggregating wind turbines into an equivalent wind turbine which receives an equivalent wind of the ones incident on the aggregated wind turbines. The equivalent wind turbine presents re-scaled power capacity and the same complete model as the individual wind turbines, which supposes the main feature of the present equivalent models. Two equivalent winds are evaluated in this work: (1) the average wind from the ones incident on the aggregated wind turbines with similar winds, and (2) an equivalent incoming wind derived from the power curve and the wind incident on each wind turbine. The effectiveness of the equivalent models to represent the collective response of the wind farm at the point of common coupling to grid is demonstrated by comparison with the wind farm response obtained from the detailed model during power system dynamic simulations, such as wind fluctuations and a grid disturbance. The present models can be used for grid integration studies of large power system with an important reduction of the model order and the computation time

  12. Kansas Farm and Ranch Management Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albracht, James, Ed.

    Thirty-four units of instruction are included in this core curriculum in farm management for postsecondary farm and ranch management programs. Units of instruction are divided into twelve instructional areas: (1) Introduction to Financial Management, (2) Farm Business Arrangement, (3) Credit Management, (4) Budgeting, (5) Record Keeping, (6)…

  13. IMPACT OF FARM SIZE AND TYPE ON COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

    OpenAIRE

    Morgan, Jeffery D.; Langemeier, Michael R.

    2003-01-01

    This study examined sustained competitive advantage for a sample of Kansas farms. Whole-farm data for 224 farms with continuous data from 1982-2001 were used. Overall efficiency was computed for each farm and year. Sixty farms exhibited a sustained competitive advantage. Seventy-six farms exhibited a sustained competitive disadvantage. Farms with a competitive advantage were relatively larger, received more of their gross farm income from dairy and swine production, had significantly lower ex...

  14. Acoustic and geophysical measurement of infrasound from turbines at wind farms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hepburn, H.G. [Hepburn Exploration Inc., Canmore, AB (Canada)

    2005-07-01

    An experiment was conducted at the Castle River Wind Farm in southern Alberta to measure and characterize infrasound from the turbines. The wind farm contains one 600 MW turbine and fifty-nine 660 MW wind turbines. Three types of sensors were used to measure both the low and high frequency acoustic energy and geophysical sound levels. These included low frequency geophones, acoustic microphones and a precision sound analyzer. Data was recorded for low, medium and high wind states, with the entire wind turbine array operating, and with the entire wind farm stopped. Downwind telemetry measurements were recorded for 30 continuous 50 metre offsets, up to a distance of 1450 metres from the wind farm. The objective of the project was to characterize the ambient noise levels and sound emitted by the turbines. Measurements were taken for wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, atmospheric temperature and turbine related data. Visual observations included atmospheric conditions, extraneous sources of noise such as aircraft, trains, motor vehicle traffic, highway noise, bird song, crickets and the rotational state of the turbines. It was concluded that for studying low frequency sound, the linear dB scale should be used instead of the dBA scale. Measurements of frequencies down to 6.3 Hz, showed that infrasound emission from the Castle River Wind Farm is not a significant concern. Lower frequencies down to about 2.5 Hz also confirmed that infrasound emissions are not significantly above the ambient noise levels. Any infrasound emissions were strongly coupled to the ground and were attenuated quickly. Time domain measurements showed that at all wind speeds and for frequencies up to 270 Hz, wind noise was actually attenuated when the wind farm is in operation. The noise levels were higher when the turbines were not turning. This finding was confirmed through spectral analysis. 12 refs., 2 tabs., 46 figs.

  15. Cost optimization of wind turbines for large-scale offshore wind farms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuglsang, P.; Thomsen, K.

    1998-02-01

    This report contains a preliminary investigation of site specific design of off-shore wind turbines for a large off-shore wind farm project at Roedsand that is currently being proposed by ELKRAFT/SEAS. The results were found using a design tool for wind turbines that involve numerical optimization and aeroelastic calculations of response. The wind climate was modeled in detail and a cost function was used to estimate costs from manufacture and installation. Cost of energy is higher for off-shore installations. A comparison of an off-shore wind farm site with a typical stand alone on-shore site showed an increase of the annual production of 28% due to the difference in wind climate. Extreme loads and blade fatigue loads were nearly identical, however,fatigue loads on other main components increased significantly. Optimizations were carried out to find the optimum overall off-shore wind turbine design. A wind turbine for the off-shore wind farm should be different compared with a stand-alone on-shore wind turbine. The overall design changed were increased swept area and rated power combined with reduced rotor speed and tower height. Cost was reduced by 12% for the final 5D/14D off-shore wind turbine from 0.306 DKr/kWh to 0.270 DKr/kWh. These figures include capital costs from manufacture and installation but not on-going costs from maintenance. These results make off-shore wind farms more competitive and comparable to the reference on-shore stand-alone wind turbine. A corresponding reduction of cost of energy could not be found for the stand alone on-shore wind turbine. Furthermore the fatigue loads on wind turbines in on-shore wind farms will increase and cost of energy will increase in favor of off-shore wind farms. (au) EFP-95; EU-JOULE-3; 21 tabs., 7 ills., 8 refs

  16. Reducing Stress of Farm Men and Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keating, Norah C.

    1987-01-01

    Questioned 753 farm men and women to identify factors associated with stress in farm families. Results suggest that high mastery provides the best buffer against stress for both farm men and women. The task of family life educators is to help farm families augment their personal and social resources while managing high financial and work demands.…

  17. Organic Farming, Gender, and the Labor Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Alan; Mogyorody, Veronika

    2007-01-01

    This paper seeks to explain variations in gender participation in farm production and decision-making through an analysis of organic farm types, sizes, and orientations. Based on both survey and case study data, the analysis shows that female farmers on vegetable farms and mixed livestock/cash crop farms are more likely to be involved in farm…

  18. Biofilm responses to marine fish farm wastes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanz-Lazaro, Carlos, E-mail: carsanz@um.es [Departamento de Ecologia e Hidrologia, Facultad de Biologia, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia (Spain); Navarrete-Mier, Francisco; Marin, Arnaldo [Departamento de Ecologia e Hidrologia, Facultad de Biologia, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia (Spain)

    2011-03-15

    The changes in the biofilm community due to organic matter enrichment, eutrophication and metal contamination derived from fish farming were studied. The biofilm biomass, polysaccharide content, trophic niche and element accumulation were quantified along an environmental gradient of fish farm wastes in two seasons. Biofilm structure and trophic diversity was influenced by seasonality as well as by the fish farm waste load. Fish farming enhanced the accumulation of organic carbon, nutrients, selenium and metals by the biofilm community. The accumulation pattern of these elements was similar regardless of the structure and trophic niche of the community. This suggests that the biofilm communities can be considered a reliable tool for assessing dissolved aquaculture wastes. Due to the ubiquity of biofilms and its wide range of consumers, its role as a sink of dissolved wastes may have important implications for the transfer of aquaculture wastes to higher trophic levels in coastal systems. - Research highlights: > Biofilms can act as a trophic pathway of fish farm dissolved wastes. > Biofilms are reliable tools for monitoring fish farm dissolved wastes. > The influence of the fish farm dissolved wastes can be detected 120-350 m from farm. - Under the influence of fish farming biofilm accumulates organic carbon, nutrients, selenium and metals, regardless of the structure and trophic niche of the community.

  19. Evaluation by employees of employee management on large US dairy farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durst, Phillip T; Moore, Stanley J; Ritter, Caroline; Barkema, Herman W

    2018-05-23

    Employees, many of whom are not native English speakers, perform the majority of work on large US dairy farms. Although management of employees is a critical role of dairy owners and managers, factors that improve employee engagement and retention are not well known. Objectives were to (1) identify key dairy farm employee management issues based on employee perceptions, (2) evaluate strengths and weaknesses of farms based on employee responses, (3) investigate differences between Latino and English-speaking employees, and (4) investigate differences in perception between employers and employees. Employees from 12 US dairy farms (each with a minimum of 10 employees) were interviewed by phone following a questionnaire provided. Employees provided their responses to 21 Likert scale questions and 8 open-ended questions. There was a wide range in employee turnover among farms (100%). Latino employees had much shorter tenure and were more often employed in milking and livestock care than English-speaking employees. Employee perceptions differed among farms regarding whether they would recommend their farm as a place to work, teamwork within the dairy, whether rules were fairly applied, availability of tools and equipment, clear lines of supervision, and recognition for good work in the previous 15 d. Latino employees (n = 91) were more positive in many of these measures than their English-speaking counterparts (n = 77) but less often provided ideas to their employer on how to improve the business. Employers, surveyed on how they thought their employees would answer, underestimated employee responses on several questions, particularly the interest of employees in learning about dairy. When asked to cite 3 goals of the operation, there were differences among owners, managers, and employees. Although employees rated their commitment to the farm and their interest in learning as high, based on turnover, there was an obvious disparity between reality and ideal employee

  20. Investigating the effect of multiple grain–grain interfaces on electric and magnetic properties of [50 wt% BaFe{sub 12}O{sub 19}–50 wt% Na{sub 0.5}Bi{sub 0.5}TiO{sub 3}] composite system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pattanayak, Ranjit, E-mail: ranjit.p20@gmail.com [Department of Physics and Astronomy, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela 769008 (India); Muduli, Rakesh; Panda, Ranjit Kumar [Department of Physics and Astronomy, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela 769008 (India); Dash, Tapan [CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha (India); Sahu, Priyanka; Raut, Subhajit; Panigrahi, Simanchala [Department of Physics and Astronomy, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela 769008 (India)

    2016-03-15

    This report presents the fabrication, electrical properties along with the magnetic parameters of a composite system considering a strong ferrimagnetic (BaFe{sub 12}O{sub 19}) and a ferroelectric (Na{sub 0.5}Bi{sub 0.5}TiO{sub 3}) material. Polycrystalline 50 wt% BaFe{sub 12}O{sub 19} (BaM)–50 wt% Na{sub 0.5}Bi{sub 0.5}TiO{sub 3} (NBT) composite system was prepared by the solid state reaction method. Rietveld refinement of XRD pattern confirms the presence of BaM and NBT phases without any impurity phase. From scanning electron micrograph both the phases are also clearly identified. In this report, the electric relaxation and conductivity properties were systematically investigated and analyzed in the frequency range of 100 Hz to 1 MHz and temperature range of 30–200 °C. The presence of different type of grains and significant reduction in the resistance of the composite system were found to be responsible for the nature of electric relaxation behavior. A peculiar and interesting evolution of grain boundary conduction was detected which was argued due to the existence of three possible grain boundaries such as: (i) BaM–BaM interface, (ii) NBT–NBT interface and (iii) BaM–NBT interface. The magnetization study (M–H loop) paves that, the saturation magnetization and coercive field reduces for composite system.