9 CFR 311.30 - Livestock suffocated and hogs scalded alive.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Livestock suffocated and hogs scalded alive. 311.30 Section 311.30 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT... PARTS § 311.30 Livestock suffocated and hogs scalded alive. All livestock which have been suffocated in...

Respon Imun Anak Babi Pasca Vaksinasi Hog Cholera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I Made Jayanata

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh antibodi maternal terhadap titer antibodi anak babi yang di vaksin hog cholera umur 7 hari. Penelitian menggunakan tujuh sampel babi dari induk yang divaksin secara teratur yang diberikan perlakuan vaksinasi pada umur 7 hari. Pengambilan sampel serum dilakukan pravaksinasi (7 hari, dan satu minggu serta dua minggu pasca vaksinasi. Untuk menentukan titer antibodi virus Hog cholera pada sampel anak babi dilakukan uji ELISA. Data yang diperoleh kemudian dianalisis mengunakan paired sampel T test antara titer antibodi hog cholera. Hasil paired sample T test menunjukkan terjadinya penurunan titer antibodi maternal yang nyata (p<0,05 pada pra vaksinasi ( umur 7 hari dengan satu minggu pasca vaksinasi dan sangat nyata (p<0,01 dengan hari dua minggu pasca vaksinasi. Dari hasil penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa antibodi maternal yang tinggi akan mengakibatkan penurunan pada titer antibodi pasca vaksinasi. Perlu dilakukan penelitian lebih lanjut untuk mengetahui waktu vaksinasi yang efektif

Prokaryotic Diversity in the Rhizosphere of Organic, Intensive, and Transitional Coffee Farms in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Caldwell, Adam Collins; Silva, Lívia Carneiro Fidéles; da Silva, Cynthia Canêdo; Ouverney, Cleber Costa

2015-01-01

Despite a continuous rise in consumption of coffee over the past 60 years and recent studies showing positive benefits linked to human health, intensive coffee farming practices have been associated with environmental damage, risks to human health, and reductions in biodiversity. In contrast, organic farming has become an increasingly popular alternative, with both environmental and health benefits. This study aimed to characterize and determine the differences in the prokaryotic soil microbiology of three Brazilian coffee farms: one practicing intensive farming, one practicing organic farming, and one undergoing a transition from intensive to organic practices. Soil samples were collected from 20 coffee plant rhizospheres (soil directly influenced by the plant root exudates) and 10 control sites (soil 5 m away from the coffee plantation) at each of the three farms for a total of 90 samples. Profiling of 16S rRNA gene V4 regions revealed high levels of prokaryotic diversity in all three farms, with thousands of species level operational taxonomic units identified in each farm. Additionally, a statistically significant difference was found between each farm's coffee rhizosphere microbiome, as well as between coffee rhizosphere soils and control soils. Two groups of prokaryotes associated with the nitrogen cycle, the archaeal genus Candidatus Nitrososphaera and the bacterial order Rhizobiales were found to be abundant and statistically different in composition between the three farms and in inverse relationship to each other. Many of the nitrogen-fixing genera known to enhance plant growth were found in low numbers (e.g. Rhizobium, Agrobacter, Acetobacter, Rhodospirillum, Azospirillum), but the families in which they belong had some of the highest relative abundance in the dataset, suggesting many new groups may exist in these samples that can be further studied as potential plant growth-promoting bacteria to improve coffee production while diminishing negative

Low-temperature anaerobic treatment of hog manure and transformation of biogas into green energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van-Anh Truong, L.; Royer, R.

2004-08-01

A new environmental solution for hog manure management has been developed by Bio-Terre Systems Inc. in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The technical approach combines low-temperature anaerobic digestion, concentration of solids and production of biogas, a renewable energy source. Both small and large agricultural producers can benefit from this approach which helps transform organic matter into value-added by-products. They can fertilize their land with the liquid fraction, supply energy for their buildings with the biogas produced, and export surplus nutrients with the solid fraction. The technology also solves odour problems and destroys pathogenic microorganisms. No pretreatment is needed for this technology which makes use of robust anaerobic microorganisms that are low temperature tolerant. It is a stable process that provides continuous production of biogas with high energy potential. The automated system does not require much monitoring or maintenance. The environmental advantages include the production of biogas rich in methane, which can be used for electrical energy on the farm or sent to the electric power grids; production of high-value, odorless liquid fertilizer; a 50 per cent reduction of the amount of phosphorous in the liquid fraction; and, a 90 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from hog manure. The profitability of capital investment is assured by both the energy-savings and the agricultural benefits. 1 tab., 1 fig.

Modelling the Asymmetric Volatility in Hog Prices in Taiwan : The Impact of Joining the WTO

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); B-W. Huang (Bing-Wen); M-G. Chen (Meng-Gu)

2010-01-01

textabstractPrices in the hog industry in Taiwan are determined according to an auction system. There are significant differences in hog prices before, during and after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). The paper models growth rates and volatility in daily hog prices in Taiwan from 23

Human gait recognition by pyramid of HOG feature on silhouette images

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Guang; Yin, Yafeng; Park, Jeanrok; Man, Hong

2013-03-01

As a uncommon biometric modality, human gait recognition has a great advantage of identify people at a distance without high resolution images. It has attracted much attention in recent years, especially in the fields of computer vision and remote sensing. In this paper, we propose a human gait recognition framework that consists of a reliable background subtraction method followed by the pyramid of Histogram of Gradient (pHOG) feature extraction on the silhouette image, and a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) based classifier. Through background subtraction, the silhouette of human gait in each frame is extracted and normalized from the raw video sequence. After removing the shadow and noise in each region of interest (ROI), pHOG feature is computed on the silhouettes images. Then the pHOG features of each gait class will be used to train a corresponding HMM. In the test stage, pHOG feature will be extracted from each test sequence and used to calculate the posterior probability toward each trained HMM model. Experimental results on the CASIA Gait Dataset B1 demonstrate that with our proposed method can achieve very competitive recognition rate.

Human Impairment from Living near Confined Animal (Hog) Feeding Operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilburn, K.H.; Kilburn, K.H.

2012-01-01

Problem. To determine whether neighbors around manure lagoons and massive hog confinement buildings who complained of offensive odors and symptoms had impaired brain and lung functions. Method. We compared near hog manure neighbors of lagoons to people living beyond 3 kilometers in Ohio and to unexposed people controls in a nearby state for neuro physiological, cognitive, recall and memory functions, and pulmonary performance. Results. The 25 exposed subjects averaged 4.3 neuro behavioral abnormalities, significantly different from 2.5 for local controls and 2.3 for Tennessee controls. Exposed subjects mean forced vital capacity and expiratory volume in 1 sec were reduced significantly compared to local and regional controls. Conclusions. Near neighbors of hog enclosures and manure lagoon gases had impaired neuro behavioral functions and pulmonary functions and these effects extended to nearby people thought to be controls. Hydrogen sulfide must be abated because people living near lagoons cannot avoid rotten egg gas.

Overexpression of OLE1 enhances stress tolerance and constitutively activates the MAPK HOG pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasution, Olviyani; Lee, Young Mi; Kim, Eunjung; Lee, Yeji; Kim, Wankee; Choi, Wonja

2017-03-01

OLE1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes the sole and essential Δ-9 desaturase catalyzing the conversion of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids. Upon ectopic overexpression of OLE1 in S. cerevisiae, significant increases in the membrane oleic acid content were observed. OLE1-overexpressing strains displayed enhanced tolerance to various stresses, better proton efflux, lower membrane permeability, and lessened internal hydrogen peroxide content. The OLE1-mediated enhanced stress tolerance was considerably diminished upon deletion of HOG1, which encodes the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) Hog1 of the high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway. Furthermore, OLE1 overexpression constitutively activated Hog1, which remained in the cytoplasm. Hog1 activation was accomplished through the MAPK kinase kinase (MAPKKK) Ssk2, but not Ste11 and Ssk22, the other MAPKKKs of the HOG pathway. Despite its cytoplasmic location, activated Hog1 was able to activate the expression of its canonical targets, including CTT1, HSP12, and STL1, and further, the cAMP and stress response elements present in the promoter. OLE1 overexpression neither caused nor relieved endoplasmic reticulum stress. Individually or in combination, the physiological and molecular changes caused by OLE1 overexpression may contribute to enhanced tolerance to various types of stress. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 620-631. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Hybrid Vehicle Detection Method Based on Viola-Jones and HOG + SVM from UAV Images

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yongzheng; Yu, Guizhen; Wang, Yunpeng; Wu, Xinkai; Ma, Yalong

2016-01-01

A new hybrid vehicle detection scheme which integrates the Viola-Jones (V-J) and linear SVM classifier with HOG feature (HOG + SVM) methods is proposed for vehicle detection from low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images. As both V-J and HOG + SVM are sensitive to on-road vehicles’ in-plane rotation, the proposed scheme first adopts a roadway orientation adjustment method, which rotates each UAV image to align the roads with the horizontal direction so the original V-J or HOG + SVM method can be directly applied to achieve fast detection and high accuracy. To address the issue of descending detection speed for V-J and HOG + SVM, the proposed scheme further develops an adaptive switching strategy which sophistically integrates V-J and HOG + SVM methods based on their different descending trends of detection speed to improve detection efficiency. A comprehensive evaluation shows that the switching strategy, combined with the road orientation adjustment method, can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the vehicle detection from UAV images. The results also show that the proposed vehicle detection method is competitive compared with other existing vehicle detection methods. Furthermore, since the proposed vehicle detection method can be performed on videos captured from moving UAV platforms without the need of image registration or additional road database, it has great potentials of field applications. Future research will be focusing on expanding the current method for detecting other transportation modes such as buses, trucks, motors, bicycles, and pedestrians. PMID:27548179

A Hybrid Vehicle Detection Method Based on Viola-Jones and HOG + SVM from UAV Images.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yongzheng; Yu, Guizhen; Wang, Yunpeng; Wu, Xinkai; Ma, Yalong

2016-08-19

A new hybrid vehicle detection scheme which integrates the Viola-Jones (V-J) and linear SVM classifier with HOG feature (HOG + SVM) methods is proposed for vehicle detection from low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images. As both V-J and HOG + SVM are sensitive to on-road vehicles' in-plane rotation, the proposed scheme first adopts a roadway orientation adjustment method, which rotates each UAV image to align the roads with the horizontal direction so the original V-J or HOG + SVM method can be directly applied to achieve fast detection and high accuracy. To address the issue of descending detection speed for V-J and HOG + SVM, the proposed scheme further develops an adaptive switching strategy which sophistically integrates V-J and HOG + SVM methods based on their different descending trends of detection speed to improve detection efficiency. A comprehensive evaluation shows that the switching strategy, combined with the road orientation adjustment method, can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the vehicle detection from UAV images. The results also show that the proposed vehicle detection method is competitive compared with other existing vehicle detection methods. Furthermore, since the proposed vehicle detection method can be performed on videos captured from moving UAV platforms without the need of image registration or additional road database, it has great potentials of field applications. Future research will be focusing on expanding the current method for detecting other transportation modes such as buses, trucks, motors, bicycles, and pedestrians.

Hog Producers' Risk Management Attitudes and Desire for Additional Risk Management Education

OpenAIRE

Patrick, George F.; Peiter, Amy J.; Knight, Thomas O.; Coble, Keith H.; Baquet, Alan E.

2007-01-01

Hog producers in Indiana and Nebraska were surveyed about sources of risk, effectiveness of risk management strategies, and prior participation in and desire for additional risk management education. Ownership of hogs by the producer, size of the operation, and age did have significant effects on ratings of both sources of risk and effectiveness of risk management strategies. Probit analysis found age, prior attendance, knowledge and prior use of the tool, level of integration, and concern ab...

Comparing the costs and benefits of floating rice-based and intensive rice-based farming systems in the Mekong delta

OpenAIRE

Van Kien Nguyen; Oc Van Vo; Duc Ngoc Huynh

2015-01-01

This paper compares financial costs and benefits of floating rice-based and intensive rice farming systems using data from focus group discussions and household survey in four locations in the Mekong Delta. We argue that the net financial benefit per 1000m2 of integrated floating rice-based farming systems is greater than the net financial benefit of intensive rice farming system. The total net benefit of floating rice-leeks shows the highest net benefit (VND 24.8 mil./1000 m2), followed by f...

Short communication: Absence of campylobacter spp. In intensive rabbit farming in eastern Spain, preliminary results

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C. Marín

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis are the most frequently reported zoonoses and among the most common causes of diarrhoeal illness in the European Union and the United States, and their incidence appears to be increasing. Campylobacter species are routinely found in poultry, swine, cattle, dairy cows and sheep. So far, there are few descriptions of Campylobacter isolation from rabbits. Rabbit meat is a common item in the Mediterranean diet. In this context, the aim of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in healthy rabbits reared in intensive farms in the Alto Palancia region, eastern Spain. Caecal contents from 70 healthy does reared on 7 different farms were collected. Bacteriological culture was performed in accordance with ISO 10272-1:2006. All samples tested negative for Campylobacter spp. To our knowledge, this is the first study in which comprehensive monitoring was specifically carried out in order to provide data on the occurrence of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in large intensive rabbit farms in Spain. However, further microbiological studies throughout the Spanish territory are needed to determine the prevalence and risk of other foodborne pathogens in rabbits at farm level.

Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Campylobacter Cuniculorum Isolated from Rabbits Reared in Intensive and Rural Farms

Science.gov (United States)

Piva, Silvia; Florio, Daniela; Mion, Domenico; Zanoni, Renato Giulio

2016-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial susceptibility in Campylobacter cuniculorum. To do so, 29 isolates from rabbits reared in 18 intensive and 11 rural farms not epidemiologically correlated were tested. Minimum inhibitory concentration of 8 antimicrobial agents was determined using the agar dilution method recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (Wayne, PA, USA), modified – for what supplements in the base medium and incubation conditions concern – for C. cuniculorum isolates. The isolates obtained from rural farming resulted susceptible to all the antimicrobial agents tested, with the exception of one isolate resistant to nalidixic acid. All the isolates obtained from intensively farmed rabbits were sensitive to chloramphenicol and ampicillin; 16 isolates were resistant to tetracycline; 15 to nalidixic acid and erythromycin; 13 and 10 isolates to ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin, respectively; and only 1 to gentamicin. The resistance of several isolates to macrolides and fluoroquinolones, which are the drugs of choice in treatment of human campylobacteriosis, could pose a risk to human health if a pathogenic role of C. cuniculorum was demonstrated. PMID:27853713

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Campylobacter cuniculorum isolated from rabbits reared in intensive and rural farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Piva

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The present study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial susceptibility in Campylobacter cuniculorum. To do so, 29 isolates from rabbits reared in 18 intensive and 11 rural farms not epidemiologically correlated were tested. Minimum inhibitory concentration of 8 antimicrobial agents was determined using the agar dilution method recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (Wayne, PA, USA, modified – for what supplements in the base medium and incubation conditions concern – for C. cuniculorum isolates. The isolates obtained from rural farming resulted susceptible to all the antimicrobial agents tested, with the exception of one isolate resistant to nalidixic acid. All the isolates obtained from intensively farmed rabbits were sensitive to chloramphenicol and ampicillin; 16 isolates were resistant to tetracycline; 15 to nalidixic acid and erythromycin; 13 and 10 isolates to ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin, respectively; and only 1 to gentamicin. The resistance of several isolates to macrolides and fluoroquinolones, which are the drugs of choice in treatment of human campylobacteriosis, could pose a risk to human health if a pathogenic role of C. cuniculorum was demonstrated.

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

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

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation of Pseudocercospora fijiensis to Determine the Role of PfHog1 in Osmotic Stress Regulation and Virulence Modulation

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Francis Onyilo

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Black Sigatoka disease, caused by Pseudocercospora fijiensis is a serious constraint to banana production worldwide. The disease continues to spread in new ecological niches and there is an urgent need to develop strategies for its control. The high osmolarity glycerol (HOG pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is well known to respond to changes in external osmolarity. HOG pathway activation leads to phosphorylation, activation and nuclear transduction of the HOG1 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs. The activated HOG1 triggers several responses to osmotic stress, including up or down regulation of different genes, regulation of protein translation, adjustments to cell cycle progression and synthesis of osmolyte glycerol. This study investigated the role of the MAPK-encoding PfHog1 gene on osmotic stress adaptation and virulence of P. fijiensis. RNA interference-mediated gene silencing of PfHog1 significantly suppressed growth of P. fijiensis on potato dextrose agar media supplemented with 1 M NaCl, indicating that PfHog1 regulates osmotic stress. In addition, virulence of the PfHog1-silenced mutants of P. fijiensis on banana was significantly reduced, as observed from the low rates of necrosis and disease development on the infected leaves. Staining with lacto phenol cotton blue further confirmed the impaired mycelial growth of the PfHog1 in the infected leaf tissues, which was further confirmed with quantification of the fungal biomass using absolute- quantitative PCR. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that PfHog1 plays a critical role in osmotic stress regulation and virulence of P. fijiensis on its host banana. Thus, PfHog1 could be an interesting target for the control of black Sigatoka disease in banana.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation of Pseudocercospora fijiensis to Determine the Role of PfHog1 in Osmotic Stress Regulation and Virulence Modulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Onyilo, Francis; Tusiime, Geoffrey; Chen, Li-Hung; Falk, Bryce; Stergiopoulos, Ioannis; Tripathi, Jaindra N; Tushemereirwe, Wilberforce; Kubiriba, Jerome; Changa, Charles; Tripathi, Leena

2017-01-01

Black Sigatoka disease, caused by Pseudocercospora fijiensis is a serious constraint to banana production worldwide. The disease continues to spread in new ecological niches and there is an urgent need to develop strategies for its control. The high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is well known to respond to changes in external osmolarity. HOG pathway activation leads to phosphorylation, activation and nuclear transduction of the HOG1 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). The activated HOG1 triggers several responses to osmotic stress, including up or down regulation of different genes, regulation of protein translation, adjustments to cell cycle progression and synthesis of osmolyte glycerol. This study investigated the role of the MAPK-encoding PfHog1 gene on osmotic stress adaptation and virulence of P. fijie nsis. RNA interference-mediated gene silencing of PfHog1 significantly suppressed growth of P. fijiensis on potato dextrose agar media supplemented with 1 M NaCl, indicating that PfHog1 regulates osmotic stress. In addition, virulence of the PfHog1 -silenced mutants of P. fijiensis on banana was significantly reduced, as observed from the low rates of necrosis and disease development on the infected leaves. Staining with lacto phenol cotton blue further confirmed the impaired mycelial growth of the PfHog1 in the infected leaf tissues, which was further confirmed with quantification of the fungal biomass using absolute- quantitative PCR. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that PfHog1 plays a critical role in osmotic stress regulation and virulence of P. fijiensis on its host banana. Thus, PfHog1 could be an interesting target for the control of black Sigatoka disease in banana.

Veterinary Antibiotics in Young Dutch Groundwater under Intensive Livestock Farming

Science.gov (United States)

Vliet, M. V.; Kivits, T.; Broers, H. P.; Beeltje, H.; Griffioen, J.

2016-12-01

Dutch groundwater is heavily affected by nutrient loads from agricultural origin. The use of antibiotics is also widespread in Dutch farming practice, 200.000 kg active substance over 1.839.000 ha of agricultural land. National measures were established to reduce the applications. Spreading of manure over farmlands is assumed to be the main pathway for the leaching of antibiotics to groundwater, but actual numbers are lacking. We studied the occurrence of veterinary antibiotics in groundwater in two areas with intensive livestock farming, sampling existing multi-level wells that were previously age dated using tritium-helium. Wells were selected based on the following criteria: the uppermost screen is situated just below the average groundwater level, which is not deeper than 3 meters, the well is in an agricultural field where rainwater infiltrates avoiding areas adjacent to ditches or streams, the groundwater quality is known for several years and the age of the extracted water is known to be young (antibiotics used in in intensive livestock farming were analyzed belonging to the following groups: tetracyclines, sulfonamides, diaminopyrimidines, β-lactams, macrolides, lincosamides, quinolones and in addition nitrofurans and chloramphenicol. The samples were analyzed for antibiotics by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry preceded by solid phase extraction (Oasis HLB cartridge). Five out of 22 antibiotics were detected: sulfamethazine, sulfadiazine, sulfamethoxazole, lincomycin, chloramphenicol in concentration ranges of 0.2 to 18 ng/l. Sulfamethazine was most frequently found, and shows a continuous concentration-depth profile in 3 out of 4 multi-level wells. Sulfonamides were found in groundwater up to 20 m. depth and in water aged between 1 and 25 years old. The study shows that sulfonamides are omnipresent in groundwater up to 25 years old, which corresponds with the known history of the use of antibiotics in veterinary practice.

Water Environmental Carrying Capacity for Activities of Intensive Shrimp Farm in Banyuputih Sub-District, Situbondo Regency

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Abdul Muqsith

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This research was aimed to determine the width area of an intensive shrimp farm which can be supported by water environment of Banyuputih Sub-District, Situbondo Regency according to the water assimilation capacity towards the farm’s organic waste. We used survey method and secondary data collection from other researches or result report of relevant institution. This study was using two approaches of environmental carrying capacities, i.e. (1 quantitative method on available water volume in coast (coastal water and (2 quantitative method on available Dissolved Oxygen (DO in waste receiving water body of coastal water. The result showed that the utilization of coastal area for intensive shrimp farm activities in this study area is not exceeding its carrying capacity of water yet. Based on the analysis, the water environmental carrying capacity for the farm’s organic waste is 375.637 kg TSS. Organic waste (TSS disposed from an intensive shrimp cultivation at the study area is 6.506 kg TSS.ha-1.MT-1. The width of intensive area which can be supported by Banyuputih Situbondo water environment is 58 ha. The width of available intensive pond area at study site is 113 ha, but only 39 ha is active/productive, the remaining 74 ha is inactive/unproductive area. If unproductive area will be re-operated/reactivated again, then we would recommend only 19 ha according to the water environment carrying capacity for the farm’s organic waste (58 ha. Estimation result of water environment carrying capacity for this organic waste of shrimp farm can be used as reference to determine the development or management threshold of sustainable pond area at this study site.   Keywords: environment carrying capacity, organic waste, shrimp farm

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

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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

Population characteristics and viability of the introduced hog deer (Axis porcinus Zimmermann, 1780 in Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand

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Worawidh Wajjwalku

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The purposes of this study were to study population characteristics of hog deer released into the wild, namely: density,age structure, sex ratio, recruitment rate, threats to hog deer, carrying capacity and inter-specific relationships, as well as toassess the population viability over time. In this study, direct observation was used to study the hog deer population characteristics,and population density was estimated from the pellet-group count method. Vortex program was used to analyze thepopulation viability. Results showed that the population density of hog deer at Thung Ka Mung (TKM in Phu Khieo WildlifeSanctuary (PKWS was 2.03-2.04 individuals/hectare (SD = 1.25. The population structure showed that the average herd sizewas 9.57 individuals. Hog deer in TKM preferred to stay with a group (91.5%, rather than being solitary (8.5%. The sex ratiofor males to females was 54.64:100, and for females to fawns was 100:26.18. The annual recruitment rate was 16.98 %. Theirpredators were Asian wild dogs, Burmese pythons, Asiatic jackals, leopard cats and clouded leopards. The mortality rate ofthe existing hog deer in TKM during the study period was 18.1%. The habitat sharing by camera traps revealed 4 ungulatespecies. They were sambar deer, barking deer, wild boar, and elephant, and their relative abundance were 28.41%, 7.38%,4.70%, and 2.01% respectively. Fifty-year simulation modeling using population viability analysis indicated the sustainabilityof this population. Hog deer population in the simulations did not exhibit sensitivity to an increase or decrease in carryingcapacity. Habitat management should be carried out continuously in TKM area, which is the main habitat for hog deer inPKWS.

Reconstruction of the High-Osmolarity Glycerol (HOG) Signaling Pathway from the Halophilic Fungus Wallemia ichthyophaga in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Science.gov (United States)

Konte, Tilen; Terpitz, Ulrich; Plemenitaš, Ana

2016-01-01

The basidiomycetous fungus Wallemia ichthyophaga grows between 1.7 and 5.1 M NaCl and is the most halophilic eukaryote described to date. Like other fungi, W. ichthyophaga detects changes in environmental salinity mainly by the evolutionarily conserved high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG) signaling pathway. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the HOG pathway has been extensively studied in connection to osmotic regulation, with a valuable knock-out strain collection established. In the present study, we reconstructed the architecture of the HOG pathway of W. ichthyophaga in suitable S. cerevisiae knock-out strains, through heterologous expression of the W. ichthyophaga HOG pathway proteins. Compared to S. cerevisiae, where the Pbs2 (ScPbs2) kinase of the HOG pathway is activated via the SHO1 and SLN1 branches, the interactions between the W. ichthyophaga Pbs2 (WiPbs2) kinase and the W. ichthyophaga SHO1 branch orthologs are not conserved: as well as evidence of poor interactions between the WiSho1 Src-homology 3 (SH3) domain and the WiPbs2 proline-rich motif, the absence of a considerable part of the osmosensing apparatus in the genome of W. ichthyophaga suggests that the SHO1 branch components are not involved in HOG signaling in this halophilic fungus. In contrast, the conserved activation of WiPbs2 by the S. cerevisiae ScSsk2/ScSsk22 kinase and the sensitivity of W. ichthyophaga cells to fludioxonil, emphasize the significance of two-component (SLN1-like) signaling via Group III histidine kinase. Combined with protein modeling data, our study reveals conserved and non-conserved protein interactions in the HOG signaling pathway of W. ichthyophaga and therefore significantly improves the knowledge of hyperosmotic signal processing in this halophilic fungus.

Project recovers free wasted energy from an OSB dryer while eliminating a hog boiler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Normandin, A.; Levesque, S.; Laflamme, Y.; Charron, R. [Mesar-Environair Inc., Quebec, PQ (Canada)

2008-09-15

This article described how a mill producing oriented strand board (OSB) in Quebec optimized its energy balance with the installation of a flue gas heat recovery (FGHR) system developed by Mesar-Environair Inc. Many OSB mills produce enough wood waste heat to supply their hog boilers with valuable, yet inexpensive, fuel. The objective of this project was to recover waste heat and to find an application in the milling process to re-valorize it. The plant was using 3 hog boilers to heat thermal oil for their process, but only the newest hog boiler was in compliance for particulate emissions levels. The solution involved the use of a direct contact heat exchanger to meet the mill's requirements. The process consisted of pumping the log pond water in a counter-current direction to the humid OSB dryer flue gas. The energy was transferred from the gas to the water via vapor condensation. The customized equipment recovered most of the wasted heat and transferred it to the plant's log ponds. Cool process water from the log ponds was then recirculated through the condenser to trap the wasted energy. The efficiency of the main hog boiler and the chip dry was about 80 per cent. The FGHR process was designed to recover 85 per cent of the wasted energy that was directed to the atmosphere. The heat recovery unit can typically generate temperatures of 70 to 80 degrees C. In addition to fewer emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides going out the stack, the FGHR system offers the advantages of heating the process water without additional fuel, and shutting down an old hog boiler. 1 tabs., 3 figs.

The HOG pathway controls osmotic regulation of transcription via the stress response element (STRE) of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CTT1 gene.

Science.gov (United States)

Schüller, C; Brewster, J L; Alexander, M R; Gustin, M C; Ruis, H

1994-09-15

The HOG signal pathway of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is defined by the PBS2 and HOG1 genes encoding members of the MAP kinase kinase and of the MAP kinase family, respectively. Mutations in this pathway (deletions of PBS2 or HOG1, or point mutations in HOG1) almost completely abolish the induction of transcription by osmotic stress that is mediated by stress response elements (STREs). We have demonstrated previously that STREs also mediate induction of transcription by heat shock, nitrogen starvation and oxidative stress. This study shows that they are also activated by low external pH, sorbate, benzoate or ethanol stress. Induction by these other stress signals appears to be HOG pathway independent. HOG1-dependent osmotic induction of transcription of the CTT1 gene encoding the cytosolic catalase T occurs in the presence of a protein synthesis inhibitor and can be detected rapidly after an increase of tyrosine phosphorylation of Hog1p triggered by high osmolarity. Consistent with a role of STREs in the induction of stress resistance, a number of other stress protein genes (e.g. HSP104) are regulated like CTT1. Furthermore, catalase T was shown to be important for viability under severe osmotic stress, and heat shock was demonstrated to provide cross-protection against osmotic stress.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza and their effect on the soil structure in farms with agroecological and intensive management

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Juan David Lozano Sánchez

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi help to reduce the damage caused by erosion and maintain soil structure through the production of mycelium and adhering substances. This study evaluated the structural stability; estimated the diversity and density of mycorrhizal spores present in three systems of soil (eroded, forest and coffee plantations in the rural area of Dagua, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. The systems evaluated were classified as farms with intensive or agroecological management. There were 25 morphospecies of mycorrhiza grouped in 13 genera, being Glomus and Entrophospora the most representative. The mean index values of mean weight (DPM and geometric (DGM diameters and diversity of mycorrhizal spores were statistically higher in farms with agroecological management than in farms with intensive management. The aggregate stability analysis revealed that eroded soils have significantly lower stability than forest and crop soils. A statistically significant correlation was found between diversity (r = 0.579 and spore density (r = 0.66 regarding DGM, and DPM with Shannon diversity (r = 0.54. Differences in practices, use and soil management affect mycorrhizal diversity found on farms and its effect such as particle aggregation agent generates remarkable changes in the stability and soil structure of evaluated areas. It is concluded, that agroecological management tends to favour both mycorrhizae and the structure of soils.

Income Disparities and the Global Distribution of Intensively Farmed Chicken and Pigs.

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Marius Gilbert

Full Text Available The rapid transformation of the livestock sector in recent decades brought concerns on its impact on greenhouse gas emissions, disruptions to nitrogen and phosphorous cycles and on land use change, particularly deforestation for production of feed crops. Animal and human health are increasingly interlinked through emerging infectious diseases, zoonoses, and antimicrobial resistance. In many developing countries, the rapidity of change has also had social impacts with increased risk of marginalisation of smallholder farmers. However, both the impacts and benefits of livestock farming often differ between extensive (backyard farming mostly for home-consumption and intensive, commercial production systems (larger herd or flock size, higher investments in inputs, a tendency towards market-orientation. A density of 10,000 chickens per km2 has different environmental, epidemiological and societal implications if these birds are raised by 1,000 individual households or in a single industrial unit. Here, we introduce a novel relationship that links the national proportion of extensively raised animals to the gross domestic product (GDP per capita (in purchasing power parity. This relationship is modelled and used together with the global distribution of rural population to disaggregate existing 10 km resolution global maps of chicken and pig distributions into extensive and intensive systems. Our results highlight countries and regions where extensive and intensive chicken and pig production systems are most important. We discuss the sources of uncertainties, the modelling assumptions and ways in which this approach could be developed to forecast future trajectories of intensification.

Income Disparities and the Global Distribution of Intensively Farmed Chicken and Pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Marius; Conchedda, Giulia; Van Boeckel, Thomas P; Cinardi, Giuseppina; Linard, Catherine; Nicolas, Gaëlle; Thanapongtharm, Weerapong; D'Aietti, Laura; Wint, William; Newman, Scott H; Robinson, Timothy P

2015-01-01

The rapid transformation of the livestock sector in recent decades brought concerns on its impact on greenhouse gas emissions, disruptions to nitrogen and phosphorous cycles and on land use change, particularly deforestation for production of feed crops. Animal and human health are increasingly interlinked through emerging infectious diseases, zoonoses, and antimicrobial resistance. In many developing countries, the rapidity of change has also had social impacts with increased risk of marginalisation of smallholder farmers. However, both the impacts and benefits of livestock farming often differ between extensive (backyard farming mostly for home-consumption) and intensive, commercial production systems (larger herd or flock size, higher investments in inputs, a tendency towards market-orientation). A density of 10,000 chickens per km2 has different environmental, epidemiological and societal implications if these birds are raised by 1,000 individual households or in a single industrial unit. Here, we introduce a novel relationship that links the national proportion of extensively raised animals to the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (in purchasing power parity). This relationship is modelled and used together with the global distribution of rural population to disaggregate existing 10 km resolution global maps of chicken and pig distributions into extensive and intensive systems. Our results highlight countries and regions where extensive and intensive chicken and pig production systems are most important. We discuss the sources of uncertainties, the modelling assumptions and ways in which this approach could be developed to forecast future trajectories of intensification.

Income Disparities and the Global Distribution of Intensively Farmed Chicken and Pigs

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Marius; Conchedda, Giulia; Van Boeckel, Thomas P.; Cinardi, Giuseppina; Linard, Catherine; Nicolas, Gaëlle; Thanapongtharm, Weerapong; D'Aietti, Laura; Wint, William; Newman, Scott H.; Robinson, Timothy P.

2015-01-01

The rapid transformation of the livestock sector in recent decades brought concerns on its impact on greenhouse gas emissions, disruptions to nitrogen and phosphorous cycles and on land use change, particularly deforestation for production of feed crops. Animal and human health are increasingly interlinked through emerging infectious diseases, zoonoses, and antimicrobial resistance. In many developing countries, the rapidity of change has also had social impacts with increased risk of marginalisation of smallholder farmers. However, both the impacts and benefits of livestock farming often differ between extensive (backyard farming mostly for home-consumption) and intensive, commercial production systems (larger herd or flock size, higher investments in inputs, a tendency towards market-orientation). A density of 10,000 chickens per km2 has different environmental, epidemiological and societal implications if these birds are raised by 1,000 individual households or in a single industrial unit. Here, we introduce a novel relationship that links the national proportion of extensively raised animals to the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (in purchasing power parity). This relationship is modelled and used together with the global distribution of rural population to disaggregate existing 10 km resolution global maps of chicken and pig distributions into extensive and intensive systems. Our results highlight countries and regions where extensive and intensive chicken and pig production systems are most important. We discuss the sources of uncertainties, the modelling assumptions and ways in which this approach could be developed to forecast future trajectories of intensification. PMID:26230336

Improving HOG with image segmentation: application to human detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salas, Y.S.; Bermudez, D.V.; Peña, A.M.L.; Gomez, D.G.; Gevers, T.

2012-01-01

In this paper we improve the histogram of oriented gradients (HOG), a core descriptor of state-of-the-art object detection, by the use of higher-level information coming from image segmentation. The idea is to re-weight the descriptor while computing it without increasing its size. The benefits of

A New Method of Histogram Computation for Efficient Implementation of the HOG Algorithm

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Mariana-Eugenia Ilas

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper we introduce a new histogram computation method to be used within the histogram of oriented gradients (HOG algorithm. The new method replaces the arctangent with the slope computation and the classical magnitude allocation based on interpolation with a simpler algorithm. The new method allows a more efficient implementation of HOG in general, and particularly in field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs, by considerably reducing the area (thus increasing the level of parallelism, while maintaining very close classification accuracy compared to the original algorithm. Thus, the new method is attractive for many applications, including car detection and classification.

CaZF, a plant transcription factor functions through and parallel to HOG and calcineurin pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to provide osmotolerance.

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Deepti Jain

Full Text Available Salt-sensitive yeast mutants were deployed to characterize a gene encoding a C2H2 zinc finger protein (CaZF that is differentially expressed in a drought-tolerant variety of chickpea (Cicer arietinum and provides salinity-tolerance in transgenic tobacco. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae most of the cellular responses to hyper-osmotic stress is regulated by two interconnected pathways involving high osmolarity glycerol mitogen-activated protein kinase (Hog1p and Calcineurin (CAN, a Ca(2+/calmodulin-regulated protein phosphatase 2B. In this study, we report that heterologous expression of CaZF provides osmotolerance in S. cerevisiae through Hog1p and Calcineurin dependent as well as independent pathways. CaZF partially suppresses salt-hypersensitive phenotypes of hog1, can and hog1can mutants and in conjunction, stimulates HOG and CAN pathway genes with subsequent accumulation of glycerol in absence of Hog1p and CAN. CaZF directly binds to stress response element (STRE to activate STRE-containing promoter in yeast. Transactivation and salt tolerance assays of CaZF deletion mutants showed that other than the transactivation domain a C-terminal domain composed of acidic and basic amino acids is also required for its function. Altogether, results from this study suggests that CaZF is a potential plant salt-tolerance determinant and also provide evidence that in budding yeast expression of HOG and CAN pathway genes can be stimulated in absence of their regulatory enzymes to provide osmotolerance.

Rent Sharing in Multi-Site Hog Production

OpenAIRE

Brian P. Cozzarin; Randall E. Westgren

2000-01-01

A firm-level model of three-site hog production is used compare a franchise organizational structure to a three-firm alliance. The results of the simulations imply that the franchise system is better equipped to mitigate underproduction in the nursery and finishing units, the nursery and finishing units lose relatively more profit than they otherwise would in an alliance. The pig-space guatantee does little to offset the financial risk for the nursery and finishing units when underproduction ...

Hydroquinone, a benzene metabolite, induces Hog1-dependent stress response signaling and causes aneuploidy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiga, Takeki; Suzuki, Hiroyuki; Yamamoto, Hiroaki; Yamamoto, Kazuo; Yamamoto, Ayumi

2010-01-01

Previously, we have shown that phenyl hydroquinone, a hepatic metabolite of the Ames test-negative carcinogen o-phenylphenol, efficiently induced aneuploidy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by arresting the cell cycle at the G2/M transition as a result of the activation of the Hog1 (p38 MAPK homolog)-Swe1 (Wee1 homolog) pathway. In this experiment, we examined the aneuploidy forming effects of hydroquinone, a benzene metabolite, since both phenyl hydroquinone and hydroquinone are Ames-test negative carcinogens and share similar molecular structures. As was seen in phenyl hydroquinone, hydroquinone induced aneuploidy in yeast by delaying the cell cycle at the G2/M transition. Deficiencies in SWE1 and HOG1 abolished the hydroquinone-induced delay at the G2/M transition and aneuploidy formation. Furthermore, Hog1 was phosphorylated by hydroquinone, which may stabilize Swe1. These data indicate that the hydroquinone-induced G2/M transition checkpoint, which is activated by the Hog1-Swe1 pathway, plays a role in the formation of aneuploidy. (author)

Differential gene expression and Hog1 interaction with osmoresponsive genes in the extremely halotolerant black yeast Hortaea werneckii

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Plemenitaš Ana

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Fluctuations in external salinity force eukaryotic cells to respond by changes in the gene expression of proteins acting in protective biochemical processes, thus counteracting the changing osmotic pressure. The high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG signaling pathway is essential for the efficient up-regulation of the osmoresponsive genes. In this study, the differential gene expression of the extremely halotolerant black yeast Hortaea werneckii was explored. Furthermore, the interaction of mitogen-activated protein kinase HwHog1 and RNA polymerase II with the chromatin in cells adapted to an extremely hypersaline environment was analyzed. Results A cDNA subtraction library was constructed for H. werneckii, adapted to moderate salinity or an extremely hypersaline environment of 4.5 M NaCl. An uncommon osmoresponsive set of 95 differentially expressed genes was identified. The majority of these had not previously been connected with the adaptation of salt-sensitive S. cerevisiae to hypersaline conditions. The transcriptional response in hypersaline-adapted and hypersaline-stressed cells showed that only a subset of the identified genes responded to acute salt-stress, whereas all were differentially expressed in adapted cells. Interaction with HwHog1 was shown for 36 of the 95 differentially expressed genes. The majority of the identified osmoresponsive and HwHog1-dependent genes in H. werneckii have not been previously reported as Hog1-dependent genes in the salt-sensitive S. cerevisiae. The study further demonstrated the co-occupancy of HwHog1 and RNA polymerase II on the chromatin of 17 up-regulated and 2 down-regulated genes in 4.5 M NaCl-adapted H. werneckii cells. Conclusion Extremely halotolerant H. werneckii represents a suitable and highly relevant organism to study cellular responses to environmental salinity. In comparison with the salt-sensitive S. cerevisiae, this yeast shows a different set of genes being expressed at

Ship detection based on rotation-invariant HOG descriptors for airborne infrared images

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Guojing; Wang, Jinyan; Qi, Shengxiang

2018-03-01

Infrared thermal imagery is widely used in various kinds of aircraft because of its all-time application. Meanwhile, detecting ships from infrared images attract lots of research interests in recent years. In the case of downward-looking infrared imagery, in order to overcome the uncertainty of target imaging attitude due to the unknown position relationship between the aircraft and the target, we propose a new infrared ship detection method which integrates rotation invariant gradient direction histogram (Circle Histogram of Oriented Gradient, C-HOG) descriptors and the support vector machine (SVM) classifier. In details, the proposed method uses HOG descriptors to express the local feature of infrared images to adapt to changes in illumination and to overcome sea clutter effects. Different from traditional computation of HOG descriptor, we subdivide the image into annular spatial bins instead of rectangle sub-regions, and then Radial Gradient Transform (RGT) on the gradient is applied to achieve rotation invariant histogram information. Considering the engineering application of airborne and real-time requirements, we use SVM for training ship target and non-target background infrared sample images to discriminate real ships from false targets. Experimental results show that the proposed method has good performance in both the robustness and run-time for infrared ship target detection with different rotation angles.

An evolutionarily stable strategy and the critical point of hog futures trading entities based on replicator dynamic theory: 2006-2015 data for China's 22 provinces.

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Jinbo; Deng, Lingfei; Wang, Gangyi

2017-01-01

Although frequent fluctuations in domestic hog prices seriously affect the stability and robustness of the hog supply chain, hog futures (an effective hedging instrument) have not been listed in China. To better understand hog futures market hedging, it is important to study the steady state of intersubjective bidding. This paper uses evolutionary game theory to construct a game model between hedgers and speculators in the hog futures market, and replicator dynamic equations are then used to obtain the steady state between the two trading entities. The results show that the steady state is one in which hedgers adopt a "buy" strategy and speculators adopt a "do not speculate" strategy, but this type of extreme steady state is not easily realized. Thus, to explore the rational proportion of hedgers and speculators in the evolutionary stabilization strategy, bidding processes were simulated using weekly average hog prices from 2006 to 2015, such that the conditions under which hedgers and speculators achieve a steady state could be analyzed. This task was performed to achieve the stability critical point, and we show that only when the value of λ is satisfied and the conditions of hog futures price changes and futures price are satisfied can hedgers and speculators achieve a rational proportion and a stable hog futures market. This market can thus provide a valuable reference for the development of the Chinese hog futures market and the formulation and guidance of relevant departmental policies.

Using infrared HOG-based pedestrian detection for outdoor autonomous searching UAV with embedded system

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Yanhua; Mei, Yanying; Chu, Hongyu; Chang, Zhiyuan; He, Yuxuan; Zhan, Huayi

2018-04-01

Pedestrian detection (PD) is an important application domain in computer vision and pattern recognition. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become a major field of research in recent years. In this paper, an algorithm for a robust pedestrian detection method based on the combination of the infrared HOG (IR-HOG) feature and SVM is proposed for highly complex outdoor scenarios on the basis of airborne IR image sequences from UAV. The basic flow of our application operation is as follows. Firstly, the thermal infrared imager (TAU2-336), which was installed on our Outdoor Autonomous Searching (OAS) UAV, is used for taking pictures of the designated outdoor area. Secondly, image sequences collecting and processing were accomplished by using high-performance embedded system with Samsung ODROID-XU4 and Ubuntu as the core and operating system respectively, and IR-HOG features were extracted. Finally, the SVM is used to train the pedestrian classifier. Experiment show that, our method shows promising results under complex conditions including strong noise corruption, partial occlusion etc.

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.

Serological investigation of Leptospira infection and its circulation in one intensive-type water buffalo farm in the Philippines.

Science.gov (United States)

Villanueva, Marvin A; Mingala, Claro N; Gloriani, Nina G; Yanagihara, Yasutake; Isoda, Norikazu; Nakajima, Chie; Suzuki, Yasuhiko; Koizumi, Nobuo

2016-02-01

Water buffalo is an indispensable livestock in the Philippines. Leptospirosis is a serious zoonosis that can be fatal to humans and cause reproductive problems in livestock. Leptospirosis has been reported in some countries where water buffaloes are commercially raised, highlighting the Leptospira prevalence in this farming system, but information on leptospirosis in water buffalo farms in the Philippines is limited. In this study, we collected blood samples from rats (n = 21), and water buffaloes (n = 170) from different groups and locations in one intensive-type buffalo farm in the Philippines. Serum was analyzed by microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Anti-Leptospira antibodies reacting with serogroups Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Pomona were found in sera of 30% tested rats, and 48% of water buffalo sera tested positive for at least one Leptospira strain, in which serogroups Mini, Hebdomadis, Tarassovi and Pyrogenes were predominantly agglutinated. The number of seropositive young water buffaloes (Leptospira strains with variable MAT titers. In addition, antibodies against serogroups Icterohaemorrhagiae and Pomona were detected in both animals. Finally, Leptospira infection was found associated with age and animal grouping, highlighting the impact of management in the persistence of leptospirosis at intensive-type buffalo farm settings in the Philippines. Further investigation and appropriate control strategies are required to prevent leptospirosis from causing risks to public health and economic losses to the water buffalo farming industry.

Effect of Adding the White Legged Shrimp (Penaeus vannamei on Growth and Survival of Tiger Shrimp (Penaeus monodon in Intensive Farming

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. Tarsim

2007-12-01

Full Text Available This experiment was carried out in the framework of a project to develop a viable shrimp polyculture technology under intensive farming. The objectives were to assess the effect of adding white legged shrimp (Penaeus vannamei on growth and survival of tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon in intensive Farming. Tiger shrimp were stocked in 2800-3400 m2 earthen ponds at 40 individuals/m2 and reared for 133 days. White legged shrimp added at 70 day at 8±2 individuals/m2. Growth rate and total yield affected by addition of this species. Final  affected by white legged shrimp addition. No adding effects were found on the water quality parameters. The results indicate that, at densities tested, white legged shrimp addition to the intensive farming of tiger shrimp polyculture is viable as species increase crop production Key words: Penaeus vannamei, P. monodon, growth, survival, polyculture

Sistem Verifikasi Tanda Tangan Off-Line Berdasar Ciri Histogram Of Oriented Gradient (HOG Dan Histogram Of Curvature (HoC

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Agus Wahyu Widodo

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Abstrak Tanda tangan dengan sifat uniknya merupakan salah satu dari sekian banyak atribut personal yang diterima secara luas untuk verifikasi indentitas seseorang, alat pembuktian kepemilikan berbagai transaksi atau dokumen di dalam masyarakat. Keberhasilan penggunaan ciri gradien dan curvature dalam bidang-bidang penelitian pengenalan pola dan bahwa tanda tangan dapat dikatakan merupakan hasil tulisan tangan yang tersusun atas beragam garis dan lengkungan (curve yang memiliki arah atau orientasi merupakan alasan bahwa kedua ciri tersebut digunakan sebagai metoda verifikasi tanda tangan offline di penelitian ini. Berbagai implementasi dari pre-processing, ekstraksi dan representasi ciri, dan pembelajaran SVM serta usaha perbaikan yang telah dilakukan dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan hasil bahwa ciri HOG dan HoC mampu dimanfaatkan dalam proses verifikasi tanda tangan secara offline.  Pada basis data GPDS960Signature, HOG dan HoC yang dihitung pada ukuran sel 30 x 30 piksel memberikan dengan nilai %FRR terbaik 26,90 dan %FAR 37,56.  Sedangkan pada basis data FUM-PHSDB, HOG dn HoC yang dihitung pada ukuran 60 x 60 piksel memberikan nilai %FRR terbaik 4 dan %FAR 57. Kata kunci: verifikasi tanda tangan, curvature, orientation, gradient, histogram of curvature (HoC, histogram of oriented gradient (HOG Abstract Signature with unique properties is one of the many personal attributes that are widely accepted to verify a person's identity, proof of ownership transactions instrument or document in the community. The successful use of gradient and curvature feature in the research fields of pattern recognition is the reason that both of these features are used as an offline signature verification method in this study. Various implementations of preprocessing, feature extraction and representation, and SVM learning has been done in the study showed results that HOG and HoC feature can be utilized in the process of offline signature verification.  HOG and

SAR Target Recognition via Supervised Discriminative Dictionary Learning and Sparse Representation of the SAR-HOG Feature

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Shengli Song

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Automatic target recognition (ATR in synthetic aperture radar (SAR images plays an important role in both national defense and civil applications. Although many methods have been proposed, SAR ATR is still very challenging due to the complex application environment. Feature extraction and classification are key points in SAR ATR. In this paper, we first design a novel feature, which is a histogram of oriented gradients (HOG-like feature for SAR ATR (called SAR-HOG. Then, we propose a supervised discriminative dictionary learning (SDDL method to learn a discriminative dictionary for SAR ATR and propose a strategy to simplify the optimization problem. Finally, we propose a SAR ATR classifier based on SDDL and sparse representation (called SDDLSR, in which both the reconstruction error and the classification error are considered. Extensive experiments are performed on the MSTAR database under standard operating conditions and extended operating conditions. The experimental results show that SAR-HOG can reliably capture the structures of targets in SAR images, and SDDL can further capture subtle differences among the different classes. By virtue of the SAR-HOG feature and SDDLSR, the proposed method achieves the state-of-the-art performance on MSTAR database. Especially for the extended operating conditions (EOC scenario “Training 17 ∘ —Testing 45 ∘ ”, the proposed method improves remarkably with respect to the previous works.

A Decade of Progress toward Ending the Intensive Confinement of Farm Animals in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Shields, Sara; Shapiro, Paul; Rowan, Andrew

2017-01-01

Simple Summary Over the past ten years, unprecedented changes in the way farm animals are kept on intensive production facilities have begun to take hold in the U.S. veal, egg and pork industries. Propelled by growing public support for animal welfare, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has successfully led the effort to transition farms from using restrictive cages and crates to more open aviary and group housing systems that offer the animals far more freedom to express natural behavior. This paper describes the background history of the movement, the strategy and approach of the campaign and the challenges that were overcome to enable this major shift in farming practices. The events chronicled are set within the context of the larger societal concern for animals and the important contributions of other animal protection organizations. Abstract In this paper, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) farm animal protection work over the preceding decade is described from the perspective of the organization. Prior to 2002, there were few legal protections for animals on the farm, and in 2005, a new campaign at the HSUS began to advance state ballot initiatives throughout the country, with a decisive advancement in California (Proposition 2) that paved the way for further progress. Combining legislative work with undercover farm and slaughterhouse investigations, litigation and corporate engagement, the HSUS and fellow animal protection organizations have made substantial progress in transitioning the veal, pork and egg industries away from intensive confinement systems that keep the animals in cages and crates. Investigations have become an important tool for demonstrating widespread inhumane practices, building public support and convincing the retail sector to publish meaningful animal welfare policies. While federal legislation protecting animals on the farm stalled, there has been steady state-by-state progress, and this is complemented by

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

Price Density Forecasts in the U.S. Hog Market: Composite Procedures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Trujillo Barrera, A.A.; Garcia, P.; Mallory, M.

2013-01-01

Abstract We develop and evaluate quarterly out-of-sample individual and composite density forecasts for U.S. hog prices using data from 1975.I to 2010.IV. Individual forecasts are generated from time series models and the implied distribution of USDA outlook forecasts. Composite density forecasts

HOG MAP kinase regulation of alternariol biosynthesis in Alternaria alternata is important for substrate colonization.

Science.gov (United States)

Graf, Eva; Schmidt-Heydt, Markus; Geisen, Rolf

2012-07-16

Strains of the genus Alternaria are ubiquitously present and frequently found on fruits, vegetables and cereals. One of the most commonly found species from this genus is A. alternata which is able to produce the mycotoxin alternariol among others. To date only limited knowledge is available about the regulation of the biosynthesis of alternariol, especially under conditions relevant to food. Tomatoes are a typical substrate of A. alternata and have a high water activity. On the other hand cereals with moderate water activity are also frequently colonized by A. alternata. In the current analysis it was demonstrated that even minor changes in the osmotic status of the substrate affect the alternariol biosynthesis of strains from vegetables resulting in nearly complete inhibition. High osmolarity in the environment is usually transmitted to the transcriptional level of downstream regulated genes by the HOG signal cascade (high osmolarity glycerol cascade) which is a MAP kinase transduction pathway. The phosphorylation status of the A. alternata HOG (AaHOG) was determined. Various concentrations of NaCl induce the phosphorylation of AaHOG in a concentration, time and strain dependent manner. A strain with a genetically inactivated aahog gene was no longer able to produce alternariol indicating that the activity of the aahog gene is required for alternariol biosynthesis. Further experiments revealed that the biosynthesis of alternariol is important for the fungus to colonize tomato tissue. The tight water activity dependent regulation of alternariol biosynthesis ensures alternariol biosynthesis at conditions which indicate an optimal colonization substrate for the fungus. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of Adding the White Legged Shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) on Growth and Survival of Tiger Shrimp (Penaeus monodon) in Intensive Farming

OpenAIRE

. Tarsim

2007-01-01

This experiment was carried out in the framework of a project to develop a viable shrimp polyculture technology under intensive farming. The objectives were to assess the effect of adding white legged shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) on growth and survival of tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) in intensive Farming. Tiger shrimp were stocked in 2800-3400 m2 earthen ponds at 40 individuals/m2 and reared for 133 days. White legged shrimp added at 70 day at 8±2 individuals/m2. Growth rate and total yield af...

The Hog1p kinase regulates Aft1p transcription factor to control iron accumulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Martins, Telma S; Pereira, Clara; Canadell, David; Vilaça, Rita; Teixeira, Vítor; Moradas-Ferreira, Pedro; de Nadal, Eulàlia; Posas, Francesc; Costa, Vítor

2018-01-01

Iron acquisition systems have to be tightly regulated to assure a continuous supply of iron, since it is essential for survival, but simultaneously to prevent iron overload that is toxic to the cells. In budding yeast, the low‑iron sensing transcription factor Aft1p is a master regulator of the iron regulon. Our previous work revealed that bioactive sphingolipids modulate iron homeostasis as yeast cells lacking the sphingomyelinase Isc1p exhibit an upregulation of the iron regulon. In this study, we show that Isc1p impacts on iron accumulation and localization. Notably, Aft1p is activated in isc1Δ cells due to a decrease in its phosphorylation and an increase in its nuclear levels. Consistently, the expression of a phosphomimetic version of Aft1p-S210/S224 that favours its nuclear export abolished iron accumulation in isc1Δ cells. Notably, the Hog1p kinase, homologue of mammalian p38, interacts with and directly phosphorylates Aft1p at residues S210 and S224. However, Hog1p-Aft1p interaction decreases in isc1Δ cells, which likely contributes to Aft1p dephosphorylation and consequently to Aft1p activation and iron overload in isc1Δ cells. These results suggest that alterations in sphingolipid composition in isc1Δ cells may impact on iron homeostasis by disturbing the regulation of Aft1p by Hog1p. To our knowledge, Hog1p is the first kinase reported to directly regulate Aft1p, impacting on iron homeostasis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Production Contracts and the Spot Market Price of Hogs

OpenAIRE

Key, Nigel D.

2010-01-01

The increasing use of production contracts in the hog sector has reduced the number of spot market transactions, raised concerns about price manipulation and helped to spur legislation requiring price reporting by packers. Using data from the 2002 and 2007 Censuses of Agriculture, this study looks for evidence of market manipulation by examining whether the local prevalence of contracting affects the average price received by independent producers. The empirical approach uses a fixed-effects ...

78 FR 45057 - Safety Zone; Alpena Area HOG Rally Fireworks, Alpena, Michigan

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-26

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Alpena Area HOG Rally Fireworks, Alpena, Michigan AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION... rally in Alpena, Michigan with a fireworks display. Fireworks will be launched near the end of Mason Street, South of State Avenue, approximately 50 yards west of Thunder Bay in Alpena, Michigan. The...

Impact of the intensity of milk production on ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions in Portuguese cattle farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pereira, J.; Trindade, H.

2015-07-01

The aim of this study was evaluate the relationship between the intensity of milk production for a wide range of Portuguese commercial cattle farms and NH3 and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manure management and enteric fermentation. A survey was carried out at 1471 commercial dairy cattle farms (Holstein-Friesian) and the NH3, N2O and CH4 emissions at each stage of manure management were estimated as well as CH4 losses from enteric fermentation. Gaseous emissions were estimated by a mass flow approach and following the recommendations of IPCC guidelines. The manure management and enteric fermentation in a typical Portuguese cattle farm contributes with 7.5±0.15 g N/L milk produced as NH3 and 1.2±0.22 kg CO2 equivalent per litre of milk as GHG. Increasing milk production will significantly reduce NH3 and GHG emissions per litre of milk produced. It can be concluded that a win-win strategy for reducing NH3 and GHG emissions from dairy cattle farms will be the increase of milk production on these farms. This goal can be achieved by implementing animal breeding programs and improving feed efficiency in order to increase productivity. (Author)

Simulation of the Impact of SRT on Anaerobic Digestability of Ultrasonicated Hog Manure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elsayed Elbeshbishy

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Ultrasonication at a specific energy of 500 kJ/kgTS was applied to hog manure in a continuous mode completely mixed anaerobic digestion. A process model in BioWin was developed, calibrated and tested at different solids retention times (SRTs to evaluate the process economics. The results showed that there was a 36% increase in volatile suspended solids (VSS removal efficiency, a 20% increase in methane production rate, a 13.5% increase in destruction of bound proteins, and a reduction from 988 to 566 ppm in H2S concentration in the digester headspace. Furthermore, a calibrated model of the process using BioWin to assess the impact of SRTs on the economics of anaerobic digestion for unsonicated and sonicated hog manure revealed that ultrasonication resulted in a net benefit of $42–46/ton dry solids at SRTs of 15–30 days.

Simulation of the impact of SRT on anaerobic digestability of ultrasonicated hog manure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elbeshbishy, E.; Hafez, H.; Nakhla, G. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B9 (Canada); Nakevski, A.; Ray, M. [Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B9 (Canada)

2010-07-01

Ultrasonication at a specific energy of 500 kJ/kgTS was applied to hog manure in a continuous mode completely mixed anaerobic digestion. A process model in BioWin was developed, calibrated and tested at different solids retention times (SRTs) to evaluate the process economics. The results showed that there was a 36% increase in volatile suspended solids (VSS) removal efficiency, a 20% increase in methane production rate, a 13.5% increase in destruction of bound proteins, and a reduction from 988 to 566 ppm in H{sub 2}S concentration in the digester headspace. Furthermore, a calibrated model of the process using BioWin to assess the impact of SRTs on the economics of anaerobic digestion for unsonicated and sonicated hog manure revealed that ultrasonication resulted in a net benefit of $42-46/ton dry solids at SRTs of 15-30 days. (author)

Osmostress induces autophosphorylation of Hog1 via a C-terminal regulatory region that is conserved in p38α.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inbal Maayan

Full Text Available Many protein kinases require phosphorylation at their activation loop for induction of catalysis. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs are activated by a unique mode of phosphorylation, on neighboring Tyrosine and Threonine residues. Whereas many kinases obtain their activation via autophosphorylation, MAPKs are usually phosphorylated by specific, dedicated, MAPK kinases (MAP2Ks. Here we show however, that the yeast MAPK Hog1, known to be activated by the MAP2K Pbs2, is activated in pbs2Δ cells via an autophosphorylation activity that is induced by osmotic pressure. We mapped a novel domain at the Hog1 C-terminal region that inhibits this activity. Removal of this domain provides a Hog1 protein that is partially independent of MAP2K, namely, partially rescues osmostress sensitivity of pbs2Δ cells. We further mapped a short domain (7 amino acid residues long that is critical for induction of autophosphorylation. Its removal abolishes autophosphorylation, but maintains Pbs2-mediated phosphorylation. This 7 amino acids stretch is conserved in the human p38α. Similar to the case of Hog1, it's removal from p38α abolishes p38α's autophosphorylation capability, but maintains, although reduces, its activation by MKK6. This study joins a few recent reports to suggest that, like many protein kinases, MAPKs are also regulated via induced autoactivation.

Osmostress induces autophosphorylation of Hog1 via a C-terminal regulatory region that is conserved in p38α.

Science.gov (United States)

Maayan, Inbal; Beenstock, Jonah; Marbach, Irit; Tabachnick, Shira; Livnah, Oded; Engelberg, David

2012-01-01

Many protein kinases require phosphorylation at their activation loop for induction of catalysis. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are activated by a unique mode of phosphorylation, on neighboring Tyrosine and Threonine residues. Whereas many kinases obtain their activation via autophosphorylation, MAPKs are usually phosphorylated by specific, dedicated, MAPK kinases (MAP2Ks). Here we show however, that the yeast MAPK Hog1, known to be activated by the MAP2K Pbs2, is activated in pbs2Δ cells via an autophosphorylation activity that is induced by osmotic pressure. We mapped a novel domain at the Hog1 C-terminal region that inhibits this activity. Removal of this domain provides a Hog1 protein that is partially independent of MAP2K, namely, partially rescues osmostress sensitivity of pbs2Δ cells. We further mapped a short domain (7 amino acid residues long) that is critical for induction of autophosphorylation. Its removal abolishes autophosphorylation, but maintains Pbs2-mediated phosphorylation. This 7 amino acids stretch is conserved in the human p38α. Similar to the case of Hog1, it's removal from p38α abolishes p38α's autophosphorylation capability, but maintains, although reduces, its activation by MKK6. This study joins a few recent reports to suggest that, like many protein kinases, MAPKs are also regulated via induced autoactivation.

Five-dimensional Monopole Equation with Hedge-Hog Ansatz and Abel's Differential Equation

OpenAIRE

Kihara, Hironobu

2008-01-01

We review the generalized monopole in the five-dimensional Euclidean space. A numerical solution with the Hedge-Hog ansatz is studied. The Bogomol'nyi equation becomes a second order autonomous non-linear differential equation. The equation can be translated into the Abel's differential equation of the second kind and is an algebraic differential equation.

Life cycle assessment of intensive striped catfish farming in the Mekong Delta for screening hotspots as input to environmental policy and research agenda

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosma, R.H.; Pham Thi Ahn,; Potting, J.

2011-01-01

Purpose Intensive striped catfish production in the Mekong Delta has, in recent years, raised environmental concerns. We conducted a stakeholder-based screening life cycle assessment (LCA) of the intensive farming system to determine the critical environmental impact and their causative processes in

Learning from the Neighbors: Economic and Environmental Impacts from Intensive Shrimp Farming in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thuy T.H. Nguyen

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Intensive shrimp farming is a lucrative and highly risky business. Before entering this industry, most farmers spend time observing the operation of pilot farms. This stage is important to master essential techniques and judge the profitability and risk associated with shrimp farming. Learning is a complex process that leads to misconceptions about the nature of short-term and long-term risks. This paper uses computer simulation to illuminate the dynamic nature of the learning processes, land conversion, shrimp production and environmental contamination. The model is based on conditions of the Dai Hoa Loc Commune in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Initial simulations match statistical data by revealing the high risk: high initial profits from the pilot farms followed by conversion from rice land to shrimp farms. When rapid conversion occurs, the region is vulnerable to excessive accumulation of nutrients, a decline in shrimp yields and financial failure. In contrast, low stock densities deliver a lower profit which is insufficient to stimulate mass land conversion. The paper concludes with testing recovery strategies for farmers who have suffered the longer term impacts of high stocking density. Results show that yield recovery is possible by improving the channel and imposing regulatory control over stocking density.

Do Transaction Costs and Risk Preferences Influence Marketing Arrangements in the Illinois Hog Industry?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Franken, J.R.V.; Pennings, J.M.E.; Garcia, P.

2008-01-01

Studies of hog industry structure often invoke risk reduction and transaction costs explanations for empirical observations but fail to directly examine the core concepts of risk behavior and transaction costs theories. Using a more unified conceptual framework and unique survey and accounting data,

A Decade of Progress toward Ending the Intensive Confinement of Farm Animals in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Shields, Sara; Shapiro, Paul; Rowan, Andrew

2017-05-15

In this paper, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) farm animal protection work over the preceding decade is described from the perspective of the organization. Prior to 2002, there were few legal protections for animals on the farm, and in 2005, a new campaign at the HSUS began to advance state ballot initiatives throughout the country, with a decisive advancement in California (Proposition 2) that paved the way for further progress. Combining legislative work with undercover farm and slaughterhouse investigations, litigation and corporate engagement, the HSUS and fellow animal protection organizations have made substantial progress in transitioning the veal, pork and egg industries away from intensive confinement systems that keep the animals in cages and crates. Investigations have become an important tool for demonstrating widespread inhumane practices, building public support and convincing the retail sector to publish meaningful animal welfare policies. While federal legislation protecting animals on the farm stalled, there has been steady state-by-state progress, and this is complemented by major brands such as McDonald's and Walmart pledging to purchase only from suppliers using cage-free and crate-free animal housing systems. The evolution of societal expectations regarding animals has helped propel the recent wave of progress and may also be driven, in part, by the work of animal protection organizations.

A Decade of Progress toward Ending the Intensive Confinement of Farm Animals in the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Shields

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS farm animal protection work over the preceding decade is described from the perspective of the organization. Prior to 2002, there were few legal protections for animals on the farm, and in 2005, a new campaign at the HSUS began to advance state ballot initiatives throughout the country, with a decisive advancement in California (Proposition 2 that paved the way for further progress. Combining legislative work with undercover farm and slaughterhouse investigations, litigation and corporate engagement, the HSUS and fellow animal protection organizations have made substantial progress in transitioning the veal, pork and egg industries away from intensive confinement systems that keep the animals in cages and crates. Investigations have become an important tool for demonstrating widespread inhumane practices, building public support and convincing the retail sector to publish meaningful animal welfare policies. While federal legislation protecting animals on the farm stalled, there has been steady state-by-state progress, and this is complemented by major brands such as McDonald’s and Walmart pledging to purchase only from suppliers using cage-free and crate-free animal housing systems. The evolution of societal expectations regarding animals has helped propel the recent wave of progress and may also be driven, in part, by the work of animal protection organizations.

75 FR 56914 - Removal of the List of Ports of Embarkation and Export Inspection Facilities from the Regulations

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-17

... farming operations, dairy cattle and milk production operations, hog and pig farming operations, sheep and goat farming operations, and cattle feedlots. The Small Business Administration has established...

Automatic Samples Selection Using Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG Feature Distance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inzar Salfikar

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Finding victims at a disaster site is the primary goal of Search-and-Rescue (SAR operations. Many technologies created from research for searching disaster victims through aerial imaging. but, most of them are difficult to detect victims at tsunami disaster sites with victims and backgrounds which are look similar. This research collects post-tsunami aerial imaging data from the internet to builds dataset and model for detecting tsunami disaster victims. Datasets are built based on distance differences from features every sample using Histogram-of-Oriented-Gradient (HOG method. We use the longest distance to collect samples from photo to generate victim and non-victim samples. We claim steps to collect samples by measuring HOG feature distance from all samples. the longest distance between samples will take as a candidate to build the dataset, then classify victim (positives and non-victim (negatives samples manually. The dataset of tsunami disaster victims was re-analyzed using cross-validation Leave-One-Out (LOO with Support-Vector-Machine (SVM method. The experimental results show the performance of two test photos with 61.70% precision, 77.60% accuracy, 74.36% recall and f-measure 67.44% to distinguish victim (positives and non-victim (negatives.

Cold exposure affects carbohydrates and lipid metabolism, and induces Hog1p phosphorylation in Dekkera bruxellensis strain CBS 2499.

Science.gov (United States)

Galafassi, Silvia; Toscano, Marco; Vigentini, Ileana; Zambelli, Paolo; Simonetti, Paolo; Foschino, Roberto; Compagno, Concetta

2015-05-01

Dekkera bruxellensis is a yeast known to affect the quality of wine and beer. This species, due to its high ethanol and acid tolerance, has been reported also to compete with Saccharomyces cerevisiae in distilleries producing fuel ethanol. In order to understand how this species responds when exposed to low temperatures, some mechanisms like synthesis and accumulation of intracellular metabolites, changes in lipid composition and activation of the HOG-MAPK pathway were investigated in the genome sequenced strain CBS 2499. We show that cold stress caused intracellular accumulation of glycogen, but did not induce accumulation of trehalose and glycerol. The cellular fatty acid composition changed after the temperature downshift, and a significant increase of palmitoleic acid was observed. RT-PCR analysis revealed that OLE1 encoding for Δ9-fatty acid desaturase was up-regulated, whereas TPS1 and INO1 didn't show changes in their expression. In D. bruxellensis Hog1p was activated by phosphorylation, as described in S. cerevisiae, highlighting a conserved role of the HOG-MAP kinase signaling pathway in cold stress response.

77 FR 59120 - Butylate, Clethodim, Dichlorvos, Dicofol, Isopropyl Carbanilate, et al.; Tolerance Actions

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-26

... certification for organic farming and food processing), Frutban S.A. (an organic banana farm in Ecuador), DFFI........ 3.0 10/31/16 Egg 0.05 10/31/16 Goat, fat 50.0 10/31/16 Goat, liver 5.0 10/31/16 Goat, meat 3.0 10/31/16 Goat, meat byproducts, except liver....... 3.0 10/31/16 Hog, fat 50.0 10/31/16 Hog, liver 5.0 10...

The assessment of the intensive poultry rearing farms within the context of the IPPC Directive (B)

OpenAIRE

MIHĂIESCU Tania; R. MIHĂIESCU

2008-01-01

Poultry production in intensive farms has been steadily increasing since the 1970s. This has occurredthrough a number of factors including increased feed supply through greater use of nitrogen (N) fertilizer andincreased use of supplementary forage feeds. Potentially, the integration of low-protein forage (e.g. maize), toreduce dietary-N concentration, or management practices (e.g. deep layer, cage tier), to reduce excreta to waste,water and soil, can mitigate environmental N emissions and in...

Detection and segmentation of virus plaque using HOG and SVM: toward automatic plaque assay.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Yihao; Liu, Hong; Ye, Rong; Shi, Yonghong; Song, Zhijian

2014-01-01

Plaque assaying, measurement of the number, diameter, and area of plaques in a Petri dish image, is a standard procedure gauging the concentration of phage in biology. This paper presented a novel and effective method for implementing automatic plaque assaying. The method was mainly comprised of the following steps: In the training stage, after pre-processing the images for noise suppression, an initial training set was readied by sampling positive (with a plaque at the center) and negative (plaque-free) patches from the training images, and extracting the HOG features from each patch. The linear SVM classifier was trained in a self-learnt supervised learning strategy to avoid possible missing detection. Specifically, the training set which contained positive and negative patches sampled manually from training images was used to train the preliminary classifier which exhaustively searched the training images to predict the label for the unlabeled patches. The mislabeled patches were evaluated by experts and relabeled. And all the newly labeled patches and their corresponding HOG features were added to the initial training set to train the final classifier. In the testing stage, a sliding-window technique was first applied to the unseen image for obtaining HOG features, which were inputted into the classifier to predict whether the patch was positive. Second, a locally adaptive Otsu method was performed on the positive patches to segment the plaques. Finally, after removing the outliers, the parameters of the plaques were measured in the segmented plaques. The experimental results demonstrated that the accuracy of the proposed method was similar to the one measured manually by experts, but it took less than 30 seconds.

Demographics and practices of semi-intensive free-range farming systems in Australia with an outdoor stocking density of ≤1500 hens/hectare.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Mini; Ruhnke, Isabelle; de Koning, Carolyn; Drake, Kelly; Skerman, Alan G; Hinch, Geoff N; Glatz, Philip C

2017-01-01

Baseline information on demographics and practices on semi-intensive free-range egg farms with an outdoor stocking density of ≤1500 hens/hectare in Australia is presented. Free-range egg production is changing the structure of the egg industry in Australia and a broad variety and tiers of free-range systems have emerged due to lack of concrete legislative standards on outdoor stocking densities in the past. Information was extracted from a pre-existing online free-range poultry survey dataset, consisting of a total of 79 questions related to nutrition, pasture management, welfare and health, animal housing, environmental impact and economics. Forty-one free-range egg farms, with an outdoor stocking density of ≤1500 hens/hectare, were identified in the dataset from all major Australian states. Two types of semi-intensive free-range housing systems were documented: mobile (modified caravan/trailer) housing (56%), and fixed sheds (44%). Seventy-two percent of respondents reported >75% of the hens in the flock used the outdoor range. All respondents reported ingestion of range components by hens in the form of vegetation, insects, stones and grit. Up to 10% mortality was reported by 40% respondents with predation (34%), cannibalism (29%), heat stress (24%) and grass impaction (19.5%) as major causes. Biosecurity on farms was sub-optimal with 8 of the 10 actions implemented by free-range egg production. This study resulted in identification of current practices and key challenges on semi-intensive free-range egg farms. Applied research and communication of results to farmers is highly recommended to ensure optimum health and welfare of free-range laying hens and sustained egg production.

[Life cycle of Gongylonema mucronatum Seurat, 1916, parasite of the African hedge-hog (author's transl)].

Science.gov (United States)

Quentin, J C; Seguignes, M

1979-01-01

The Gongylonematid Nematode parasite of the Tunisian hedge-hog has been identified as Gongylonema mucronatum Seurat, 1916. The infective larva has been obtained from Locusta migratoria as intermediate host. The larval characters of this Gongylonema link it to the species G. pulchrum.

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.

RNAi-mediated silencing of MAP kinase signalling genes (Fmk1, Hog1, and Pbs2) in Fusarium oxysporum reduces pathogenesis on tomato plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Pareek, Manish; Rajam, Manchikatla Venkat

2017-09-01

Fusarium oxysporum is a soil-borne plant fungal pathogen, and causes colossal losses in several crop plants including tomato. Effective control measures include the use of harmful fungicides and resistant cultivars, but these methods have shown limited success. Conventional methods to validate fungal pathogenic genes are labour intensive. Therefore, an alternative strategy is required to efficiently characterize unknown pathogenic genes. RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a potential tool to functionally characterize novel fungal pathogenic genes and also to control fungal diseases. Here, we report an efficient method to produce stable RNAi transformants of F. oxysporum using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation (AMT). We have transformed F. oxysporum spores using RNAi constructs of Fmk1, Hog1, and Pbs2 MAP kinase signalling genes. Fmk1 RNAi fungal transformants showed loss of surface hydrophobicity, reduced invasive growth on tomato fruits and hypo-virulence on tomato seedlings. Hog1 and Pbs2 RNAi transformants showed altered conidial size, and reduced invasive growth and pathogenesis. These results showed that AMT using RNAi constructs is an effective approach for dissecting the role of genes involved in pathogenesis in F. oxysporum and this could be extended for other fungal systems. The obtained knowledge can be easily translated for developing fungal resistant crops by RNAi. Copyright © 2017 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Farm-made aquafeeds

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

New, Michael B; Tacon, Albert G. J; Csavas, I

1995-01-01

.... Five other working papers are on economics, the selection of equipment, feed ingredients, formulation and on-farm management and supplementary feeding in semi-intensive aquaculture, all directed...

75 FR 31843 - Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That Are Solid Waste

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-04

... Cattle Ranching and Farming 1121 Warehouse 493 Hog and Pig Farming 1122 Retail 442-454 Poultry and Egg Production 1123 Education 611 Sheep and Goat Farming 1124 Social Assistance...... 624 Horses and Other Equine...

Contract Farming: Conceptual Framework and Indian Panorama

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amit Kumar Chakrabarty

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with conceptual framework of contract farming and portrays Indian scenario especially after announcement of National Agricultural Policy (2000 which encouraged private participation through contract farming. The conception of contract farming is not new in India, but it gets momentum in the era of agricultural globalization, as an alternative method of farming. The study reveals that while contract farming can be effective in introducing new technologies and providing external inputs to farmers, danger lies in firms extending technologies that bring financial benefits in the short-term but result in negative long-term health and environmental impacts. Contract farming is not appropriate for all types of crops. To have a significant poverty impact, crops produced under contract farming should be labour-intensive rather than input-intensive and should be appropriate for production on small plots of land. Since the contracting company is financially stronger than individual farmers, the terms of the contract may go against the farmers. Herein the government will have to come forward.

Demographics and practices of semi-intensive free-range farming systems in Australia with an outdoor stocking density of ≤1500 hens/hectare.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mini Singh

Full Text Available Baseline information on demographics and practices on semi-intensive free-range egg farms with an outdoor stocking density of ≤1500 hens/hectare in Australia is presented. Free-range egg production is changing the structure of the egg industry in Australia and a broad variety and tiers of free-range systems have emerged due to lack of concrete legislative standards on outdoor stocking densities in the past. Information was extracted from a pre-existing online free-range poultry survey dataset, consisting of a total of 79 questions related to nutrition, pasture management, welfare and health, animal housing, environmental impact and economics. Forty-one free-range egg farms, with an outdoor stocking density of ≤1500 hens/hectare, were identified in the dataset from all major Australian states. Two types of semi-intensive free-range housing systems were documented: mobile (modified caravan/trailer housing (56%, and fixed sheds (44%. Seventy-two percent of respondents reported >75% of the hens in the flock used the outdoor range. All respondents reported ingestion of range components by hens in the form of vegetation, insects, stones and grit. Up to 10% mortality was reported by 40% respondents with predation (34%, cannibalism (29%, heat stress (24% and grass impaction (19.5% as major causes. Biosecurity on farms was sub-optimal with 8 of the 10 actions implemented by <50% respondents. Customer demand, consumer sentiment and welfare were the major factors for farmers moving into free-range egg production. This study resulted in identification of current practices and key challenges on semi-intensive free-range egg farms. Applied research and communication of results to farmers is highly recommended to ensure optimum health and welfare of free-range laying hens and sustained egg production.

Effect of raw sunflower seeds on goat milk production in different farming systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Rapetti

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Aim of this study was to test the effect of raw sunflower seeds on goat milk production. Two farms with different farming systems (intensive and semi-intensive participated to the trial. In each farm about 60 mid-lactation Alpine goats were divided in two groups during spring-summer time. A diet containing 5-6% of sunflower seeds on DM basis was compared with a control diet in a change-over design. In the semi-intensive farm milk yield of goats fed sunflower was 3.46 kg/d compared to 3.58 kg/d of goats fed control diet, whereas in the intensive farm milk yield was 4.60 kg/d vs 4.66 kg/d. Fat content increased significantly from 2.99% to 3.23% only in the intensive farm. The research in the intensive farm investigated also milk and cheese fatty acids composition. Medium and short chain fatty acids (C8-C16 content dropped and long chain fatty acids content increased when sunflower was added. In conclusion raw sunflower seed inclusion in dairy goat diets can be useful, in order to limit the inversion of fat and protein percentages in milk.

A partial life cycle assessment approach to evaluate the energy intensity and related greenhouse gas emission in dairy farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lelia Murgia

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Dairy farming is constantly evolving towards more intensive levels of mechanization and automation which demand more energy consumption and result in higher economic and environmental costs. The usage of fossil energy in agricultural processes contributes to climate change both with on-farm emissions from the combustion of fuels, and by off-farm emissions due to the use of grid power. As a consequence, a more efficient use of fossil resources together with an increased use of renewable energies can play a key role for the development of more sustainable production systems. The aims of this study were to evaluate the energy requirements (fuels and electricity in dairy farms, define the distribution of the energy demands among the different farm operations, identify the critical point of the process and estimate the amount of CO2 associated with the energy consumption. The inventory of the energy uses has been outlined by a partial Life Cycle Assessment (LCA approach, setting the system boundaries at the farm level, from cradle to farm gate. All the flows of materials and energy associated to milk production process, including crops cultivation for fodder production, were investigated in 20 dairy commercial farms over a period of one year. Self-produced energy from renewable sources was also accounted as it influence the overall balance of emissions. Data analysis was focused on the calculation of energy and environmental sustainability indicators (EUI, CO2-eq referred to the functional units. The production of 1 kg of Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM required on average 0.044 kWhel and 0.251 kWhth, corresponding to a total emission of 0.085 kg CO2-eq. The farm activities that contribute most to the electricity requirements were milk cooling, milking and slurry management, while feeding management and crop cultivation were the greatest diesel fuel consuming operation and the largest in terms of environmental impact of milk production (73% of

Effects of switching between production systems in dairy farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Alvarez

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The increasing intensification of dairy farming in Europe has sparked an interest in studying the economic consequences of this process. However, empirically classifying farms as extensive or intensive is not a straightforward task. In recent papers, Latent Class Models (LCM have been used to avoid an ad-hoc split of the sample into intensive and extensive dairy farms. A limitation of current specifications of LCM is that they do not allow farms to switch between different productive systems over time. This feature of the model is at odds with the process of intensification of the European dairy industry in recent decades. We allow for changes of production system over time by estimating a single LCM model but splitting the original panel into two periods, and find that the probability of using the intensive technology increases over time. Our estimation proposal opens up the possibility of studying the effects of intensification not only across farms but also over time.

Enzyme-catalyzed degradation of biodegradable polymers derived from trimethylene carbonate and glycolide by lipases from Candida antarctica and Hog pancreas.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Feng; Yang, Jian; Fan, Zhongyong; Li, Suming; Kasperczyk, Janusz; Dobrzynski, Piotr

2012-01-01

Enzyme-catalyzed degradation of poly(trimethylene carbonate) homo-polymer (PTMC) and poly(trimethylene carbonate-co-glycolide) co-polymer (PTGA) was investigated in the presence of lipases from Candida antarctica and Hog pancreas. Degradation was monitored by gravimetry, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), tensiometry and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). PTMC can be rapidly degraded by Candida antarctica lipase with 98% mass loss after 9 days, while degradation by Hog pancreas lipase leads to 27% mass loss. Introduction of 16% glycolide units in PTMC chains strongly affects the enzymatic degradation. Hog pancreas lipase becomes more effective to PTGA co-polymer with a mass loss of 58% after 9 days, while Candida antarctica lipase seems not able to degrade PTGA. Bimodal molecular weight distributions are observed during enzymatic degradation of both PTMC and PTGA, which can be assigned to the fact that the surface is largely degraded while the internal part remains intact. The composition of the PTGA co-polymer remains constant, and ESEM shows that the polymers are homogeneously eroded during enzymatic degradation. Contact angle measurements confirm the enzymatic degradation mechanism, i.e., enzyme adsorption on the polymer surface followed by enzyme-catalyzed chain cleavage.

Effect of different substrates in aquaponic lettuce production associated with intensive tilapia farming with water recirculation systems

OpenAIRE

Geisenhoff, Luciano O.; Jordan, Rodrigo A.; Santos, Rodrigo C.; Oliveira, Fabricio C. de; Gomes, Eder P.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT The integration of fish farming in intensive system and plant production, called "aquaponics" is practiced successfully in countries like the USA, Australia and Europe. In Brazil, this integration has attracted the attention of researchers and producers. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two substrates (crushed stone number 3, CS III and flexible polyurethane foam, FPF) on the production of aquaponic lettuce, moreover, to show that the residual wate...

Does “Convenience Agriculture” Affect Off‐farm Labor Allocation Decisions?

OpenAIRE

Uematsu, Hiroki; Mishra, Ashok K.; Chintawar, Sachin

2010-01-01

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of adoption intensity of GM crops on off‐farm labor supply by farm households. Using ARMS data in 2004, 2005 and 2006, we estimate a two stage simultaneous Tobit model and find that adoption intensity of GM crops has a negative impact on off‐farm labor supply by operators and a positive impact on off‐farm labor supply by spouse. This may be due to the comparative advantage of operators and spouses. Our results find that GM crops adoption ha...

Reducing nitrate leaching to groundwater in an intensive dairy farming system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verloop, J.; Boumans, L.J.M.; Keulen, van H.; Oenema, J.; Hilhorst, G.J.; Aarts, H.F.M.; Sebek, L.B.J.

2006-01-01

Dairy farming is one of the main contributors to nitrate leaching to groundwater, particularly on soils that are susceptible to leaching, such as light well-drained sandy soils. In the Netherlands, as in many other European countries, these soils are predominantly used for dairy farming. A prototype

Demographics and practices of semi-intensive free-range farming systems in Australia with an outdoor stocking density of ≤1500 hens/hectare

Science.gov (United States)

Ruhnke, Isabelle; de Koning, Carolyn; Drake, Kelly; Skerman, Alan G.; Hinch, Geoff N.; Glatz, Philip C.

2017-01-01

Baseline information on demographics and practices on semi-intensive free-range egg farms with an outdoor stocking density of ≤1500 hens/hectare in Australia is presented. Free-range egg production is changing the structure of the egg industry in Australia and a broad variety and tiers of free-range systems have emerged due to lack of concrete legislative standards on outdoor stocking densities in the past. Information was extracted from a pre-existing online free-range poultry survey dataset, consisting of a total of 79 questions related to nutrition, pasture management, welfare and health, animal housing, environmental impact and economics. Forty-one free-range egg farms, with an outdoor stocking density of ≤1500 hens/hectare, were identified in the dataset from all major Australian states. Two types of semi-intensive free-range housing systems were documented: mobile (modified caravan/trailer) housing (56%), and fixed sheds (44%). Seventy-two percent of respondents reported >75% of the hens in the flock used the outdoor range. All respondents reported ingestion of range components by hens in the form of vegetation, insects, stones and grit. Up to 10% mortality was reported by 40% respondents with predation (34%), cannibalism (29%), heat stress (24%) and grass impaction (19.5%) as major causes. Biosecurity on farms was sub-optimal with 8 of the 10 actions implemented by farms. Applied research and communication of results to farmers is highly recommended to ensure optimum health and welfare of free-range laying hens and sustained egg production. PMID:29065169

Variability of CO2 emissions during the rearing cycle of a semi-intensive shrimp farm in a mangrove coastal zone (New Caledonia).

Science.gov (United States)

Aimé, Joanne; Allenbach, Michel; Bourgeois, Carine; Léopold, Audrey; Jacotot, Adrien; Vinh, Truong Van; Nho, Nguyen Thanh; Patrona, Luc Della; Marchand, Cyril

2018-04-01

In New Caledonia, shrimp ponds are built not on cleared mangroves but on salt flats behind the mangroves. The objectives of this study were to determine the variability of CO 2 fluxes from a semi-intensive shrimp pond during active and non-active periods of the farm and to determine the carbon dynamics from the upstream tidal creek to the downstream creek, which receives the farm's effluents. CO 2 emissions from the active pond were estimated at 11.1 ± 5.26 mmol CO 2  m -2  d -1 . By modifying the hydrodynamics of the creeks, farm practices also influenced CO 2 emissions from both the upstream and downstream creeks. After tillage, all the organic carbon deposited at the pond bottom during the active period was mineralized, resulting in CO 2 emissions to the atmosphere estimated at 7.9 TCO 2  ha -1 . Therefore, shrimp farming is an anthropogenic source of CO 2 to the atmosphere, but suitable and optimized rearing practices limit these emissions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

76 FR 15455 - Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That Are Solid Waste

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-21

...* Industrial Boilers: Crop Production 111 Food Manufacturing........ 311, 312, Cattle Ranching and Farming 1121 Pulp and Paper Mills...... 3221 Hog and Pig Farming 1122 Petroleum Refining........ 32411 Poultry and Egg Production 1123 Chemical Manufacturing.... 325 Sheep and Goat Farming 1124 Primary Metal 331...

Limnological characteristics of a reservoir in semiarid Northeastern Brazil subject to intensive tilapia farming (Orechromis niloticus Linnaeus, 1758

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Luis Artur Valões Bezerra

2014-03-01

Full Text Available AIM: There is currently no consensus regarding the physical and chemical variability of tropical reservoirs. In semiarid Northeastern Brazil, reservoirs are among other things used for human consumption, industrial water supply and intensive fish farming, all of which can impact water quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical and chemical variability of the water in Sítios Novos, a reservoir in semiarid Northeastern Brazil, comparing samples collected in areas of intensive tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus farming to samples from areas not directly impacted by aquaculture, in both the dry and the rainy season. METHODS: Between October 2010 and July 2011, data were collected on temperature, conductivity, pH, turbidity, salinity, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen, oxygen demand, total phosphorus and total nitrogen levels in the water column using a multiparametric probe at four different sampling locations. Physical and chemical differences between the four locations were evaluated with the Kruskal-Wallis (KW test and Dunn's post test, while the t test, followed by Welchʼs correction, was used to compare samples collected in different seasons. RESULTS: No influence of intensive aquaculture was detected when comparing sampling locations near fish farms (180C and 300C to locations not directly impacted by aquaculture (LIMN1, near the dam, and LIMN2, near the debouch of the São Gonçalo river. However, the sampling locations differed significantly (p<0.05 with regard to conductivity, pH, turbidity and chlorophyll a levels. CONCLUSIONS: The physical and chemical variability was greater between seasons than between locations when the data were analyzed with the t test. That analysis showed significant differences for 22 of 40 comparisons between the 10 physical and chemical parameters in the two seasons at the four sampling locations. In conclusion, the physical and chemical variability registered for the Sítios Novos reservoir

HedgeHOGS: A Rapid Nuclear Hedge Sizing and Analysis Tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reynolds, Adam F. [United States Military Academy, West Point, NY (United States); Steinfeldt, Bradley Alexander [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Lafleur, Jarret Marshall [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Hawley, Marilyn F. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Shannon, Lisa M. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

2017-07-01

The U.S. nuclear stockpile hedge is an inventory of non-deployed nuclear warheads and a force structure capable of deploying those warheads. Current guidance is to retain this hedge to mitigate the risk associated with the technical failure of any single warhead type or adverse geopolitical developments that could require augmentation of the force. The necessary size of the hedge depends on the composition of the nuclear stockpile and assumed constraints. Knowing the theoretical minimum hedge given certain constraints is useful when considering future weapons policy. HedgeHOGS, an Excel-based tool, was developed to enable rapid calculation of the minimum hedge size associated with varying active stockpile composition and hedging strategies.

FRUIT FLIES (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE AND THEIR PARASITOIDS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT HOG PLUM GENOTYPES IN TERESINA, PIAUÍ

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LEONARDO DA SILVA SOUSA

2017-10-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The aim of this work was to identify and quantify the infestation of fruit fly species and their parasitoids, associated with 20 hog plum genotypes (Spondias mombin L. in a commercial orchard in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil. The survey was conducted by fruit sampling and monitoring through traps stocked with bait food, in the period from January to December 2012. Overall, 6560 fruits were collected (79.58 kg, resulting in 23059 pupae, of which 10080 fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha and 4984 braconid parasitoids emerged. Anastrepha obliqua species was the predominant with 99.92%. F16P13 and F11P10 genotypes had the highest infestation indexes and F15P11 and F04P01 genotypes, the lowest. The main parasitoids collected were Opius bellus (77.65%, Doryctobracon areolatus (19.88% and Utetes anastrephae (2.47%. The average parasitism rate among genotypes was of 30.46%. In traps, a total of 1434 fruit flies were collected, whose species were: A. obliqua (97.6%, A. serpentina (1.4%, A. fraterculus (0.4%, A. striata (0.4%, A. dissimilis (0.1%, A. pseudoparallela (0.1%. Anastrepha obliqua species was predominant in the area, based on faunistic analysis. The infestation index in the orchard was relevant for five months (January-May, coinciding with the period of availability of hog plum fruits, reaching the highest peak in March (2.86 FAT. There was a significant negative correlation between number of fruit flies in the orchard and the average air temperature, and a significant positive correlation with rainfall and relative humidity. However, the main factor that influenced the observed infestation index in the hog plum orchard was fruit availability.

Opportunities and limiting factors of intensive vegetable farming in malaria endemic Côte d'Ivoire.

Science.gov (United States)

Girardin, Olivier; Dao, Daouda; Koudou, Benjamin G; Essé, Clémence; Cissé, Guéladio; Yao, Tano; N'Goran, Eliézer K; Tschannen, Andreas B; Bordmann, Gérard; Lehmann, Bernard; Nsabimana, Christian; Keiser, Jennifer; Killeen, Gerry F; Singer, Burton H; Tanner, Marcel; Utzinger, Jürg

2004-01-01

Poverty reduction policies guide development strategies. In economies that depend heavily on agriculture, in the face of rapid population growth, innovative approaches are required to satisfy food needs, increase household welfare and alleviate poverty. Irrigated agriculture is an important strategy to enhance crop production, but it must be well tailored to specific socio-ecological settings, as otherwise, it might increase the burden of water-related parasitic diseases and delay economic advance. The purpose of this study is to assess and quantify the effect of ill health, particularly malaria, on the performance of farm activity, with an emphasis on drip-irrigated vegetable farming in rural Côte d'Ivoire. Vegetable yields and revenues were monitored among 12 farmers and linked with longitudinal medical and entomological surveys. Over the course of 10 months, farmers were classified as sick, on average, for 14-15 days, with malaria accounting for 8-9 days (58%), confirming that malaria is the most important disease in this setting. There was a large heterogeneity among farmers, with malaria-related work losses ranging between 0 and 26 days. Work absenteeism correlated with overall yields and revenues. During a single cabbage production cycle, those farmers who were prescribed sick because of malaria for more than 2 days (mean: 4.2 days) had 47% lower yields and 53% lower revenues than farmers who missed a maximum of 2 days (mean: 0.3 days). This is consequential in an intensive cropping system, where substitutes for qualified workers are not readily available. We conclude that mitigating the burden of malaria is an important step towards reducing the vulnerability of people engaged in intensive agricultural production. This calls for targeted interventions to facilitate agriculture-based rural development that might spur social and economic development and reduce inequities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Nitrous oxide emissions and soil mineral nitrogen status following application of hog slurry and inorganic fertilisers to acidic soils under forage grass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mkhabela, M.S.; Gordon, R.; Madani, A.; Burton, D.; Hart, W.

2008-01-01

This paper examined the influence of hog slurry and inorganic fertilizers on nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions and soil inorganic nitrogen (N) composition. Factors controlling N 2 O production were also identified. The study was comprised of 3 field experiments conducted during the summer months of 2005 on 2 acidic soils seeded with forage grass at a site in Nova Scotia. Treatments included hog slurry; ammonium sulphate; potassium nitrate; and an unamended control site. Emissions were measured using vented polyvinyl chloride static chambers. Gas fluxes and NO 2 measurements were analyzed using gas chromatography. Data were then subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). N 2 O flux and soil mineral N data from each sampling day were analyzed separately. Cumulative N 2 O losses were also calculated. Results demonstrated that the addition of hog slurry resulted in lower N 2 O emissions than the samples containing potassium nitrate fertilizer. The study also demonstrated that nitrate (NO 3 ) production drives NO 2 production in acidic soils. It was concluded that further research is needed to verify results obtained during the study. 29 refs., 3 tabs., 3 figs

Simulation of the Impact of SRT on Anaerobic Digestability of Ultrasonicated Hog Manure

OpenAIRE

Elbeshbishy; Nakevski; Hafez; Ray; Nakhla

2010-01-01

Ultrasonication at a specific energy of 500 kJ/kgTS was applied to hog manure in a continuous mode completely mixed anaerobic digestion. A process model in BioWin was developed, calibrated and tested at different solids retention times (SRTs) to evaluate the process economics. The results showed that there was a 36% increase in volatile suspended solids (VSS) removal efficiency, a 20% increase in methane production rate, a 13.5% increase in destruction of bound proteins, and a reduction from ...

Development of Immune Cells in the Intestinal Mucosa Can Be Affected by Intensive and Extensive Farm Environments, and Antibiotic Use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zoe Christoforidou

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that exposure to farm environments during childhood can be linked to reductions in the incidence of immune disorders, but generating an appropriate model is difficult. 108 half-sibling piglets were born on either extensive (outdoor or intensive (indoor farms: at 1 day old, a subset of piglets from each litter were transferred to a high-hygiene isolator facility to create differences in rearing environment either during birth/first day or during the subsequent 56 days of life. Interactions between CD14, CD16, MHCIIDR, and capillary endothelium were assessed using four-color quantitative fluorescence immunohistology. Effects of birth and rearing environment on the antigen-presenting microenvironment of the proximal and distal jejunum (professional and stromal were apparent at 5, 28, and 56 days after birth However, effects on CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T-cells (Tregs in the intestinal mucosa were apparent around weaning at 28 days but had disappeared by 56 days. These Tregs were reduced in the isolator piglets compared to their farm-reared siblings, but this effect was less marked in piglets born on the extensive farm and required administration of antibiotics. Our results suggest that there may be at least two windows of opportunity in which different farm environments were influencing immune development: one during the perinatal period (up to the first day of life, and one during later infancy. Furthermore, the differences on Tregs suggest that the effects of early life influences may be particularly critical around weaning.

Intensive management in grasslands causes diffuse water pollution at the farm scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Peukert, Sabine; Griffith, Bruce A; Murray, Phillip J; Macleod, Christopher J A; Brazier, Richard E

2014-11-01

Arable land use is generally assumed to be the largest contributor to agricultural diffuse pollution. This study adds to the growing evidence that conventional temperate intensively managed lowland grasslands contribute significantly to soil erosion and diffuse pollution rates. This is the first grassland study to monitor hydrological characteristics and multiple pollutant fluxes (suspended sediment [SS] and the macronutrients: total oxidized nitrogen-N [TON], total phosphorus [TP], and total carbon [TC]) at high temporal resolution (monitoring up to every 15 min) over 1 yr. Monitoring was conducted across three fields (6.5-7.5 ha) on the North Wyke Farm Platform, UK. The estimated annual erosion rates (up to 527.4 kg ha), TP losses (up to 0.9 kg ha), and TC losses (up to 179 kg ha) were similar to or exceeded the losses reported for other grassland, mixed land-use, and arable sites. Annual yields of TON (up to 3 kg ha) were less than arable land-use fluxes and earlier grassland N studies, an important result as the study site is situated within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone. The high-resolution monitoring allowed detailed "system's functioning" understanding of hydrological processes, mobilization- transport pathways of individual pollutants, and the changes of the relative importance of diffuse pollutants through flow conditions and time. Suspended sediment and TP concentrations frequently exceeded water quality guidelines recommended by the European Freshwater Fisheries Directive (25 mg L) and the European Water Framework Directive (0.04 mg soluble reactive P L), suggesting that intensively managed grasslands pose a significant threat to receiving surface waters. Such sediment and nutrient losses from intensively managed grasslands should be acknowledged in land management guidelines and advice for future compliance with surface water quality standards. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of

Farming: Animals or machines? | Mitchell | Southern African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The intensive farming industry, where nonhuman animals are treated as machines in a production process, is abhorrent to many people, and more traditional farming may seem more acceptable ethically. Nowadays, one finds products on the market with labels such as organic and green, which suggest more humane ...

Arabic sign language recognition based on HOG descriptor

Science.gov (United States)

Ben Jmaa, Ahmed; Mahdi, Walid; Ben Jemaa, Yousra; Ben Hamadou, Abdelmajid

2017-02-01

We present in this paper a new approach for Arabic sign language (ArSL) alphabet recognition using hand gesture analysis. This analysis consists in extracting a histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) features from a hand image and then using them to generate an SVM Models. Which will be used to recognize the ArSL alphabet in real-time from hand gesture using a Microsoft Kinect camera. Our approach involves three steps: (i) Hand detection and localization using a Microsoft Kinect camera, (ii) hand segmentation and (iii) feature extraction using Arabic alphabet recognition. One each input image first obtained by using a depth sensor, we apply our method based on hand anatomy to segment hand and eliminate all the errors pixels. This approach is invariant to scale, to rotation and to translation of the hand. Some experimental results show the effectiveness of our new approach. Experiment revealed that the proposed ArSL system is able to recognize the ArSL with an accuracy of 90.12%.

Farm animal welfare

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandøe, Peter; Christiansen, Stine Billeschou; Appleby, M. C.

2003-01-01

An experimental survey was undertaken to explore the links between the characteristics of a moral issue, the degree of moral intensity/moral imperative associated with the issue (Jones, 1991), and people’s stated willingness to pay (wtp) for policy to address the issue. Two farm animal welfare...

Cyanobacteria Community Dynamics and Trophic Status of Intensive Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei Farming Pond in Situbondo East Java Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dian Aliviyanti

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to analyze the dynamics community structure of Cyanobacteria and trophic status in ponds of intensive shrimp culture (Litopenaeus vannamei in Situbondo based on Trophic Diatom Index (TDI.  The ex post facto research was conducted in situ in the hamlet of Pond Mutiara Mas III Klatakan Situbondo East Java Indonesia.  Observation of Cyanobacteria and Diatoms community structure were done every week during four cycles of shrimp farming ponds.  Cycle of shrimp farming ponds is the times for enlargement process of the shrimps from seed to mature which ranges from 90-120 days.  The dependent variables were the density of Cyanobacteria and Diatoms community, as well as chemical parameters nitrite and orthophosphate.  Trophic status was determined from TDI be counted from data of diatom density.  All of the data were then classified using cluster and biplot analysis program PAST Ver. 3.11 to discribe the profile of ecosystem quality.  The research results showed that there were four taxa of Cyanobacteria during farming cycle which the highest density was found from the genus of Oscillatoria.  Based on the value of TDI, we found that the trophic status of water in shrimps pond during the production process was eutrophic until hyper-eutrophic.  The water quality was decreases along with the length of incubation time.

BASIC PARAMETERS FOR DESIGNING PHYSICAL SEPARATION TREATMENTS FROM AN INTENSIVE ON-SHORE FISH FARM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Biagio Bianchi

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The pollutant load was monitored in an intensive on-shore plant; evaluation especially concerned one basin,during a period of time in which the water temperature (21-23°c, the stocking density (25 kg/m3, the loading and unloading flow (40 dm3/s remained steady at the highest values. The results show that the maximum pollution levels are characterized by high concentrations of suspended organic materials, as well as by high BOD5/COD rates; moreover, more than 60% of the suspended solid waste consists of particles with a maximum dimension ranging from 200 μm to more than 500 μm. Tests show that an effluent channel is not efficient in reducing the pollutant load of waste water. The laboratory sedimentation trials showed – for a period of about 3 hours – minimum and maximum solid particle sedimentation speeds of 2.56 mm/s and 46.8 mm/s respectively, which should be considered when deciding the turbid speed and the dimensions of basins for this type of effluent. In any case, the sedimentation process carried out in the laboratory was only just sufficient to bring the farm effluent within the legal limits. Therefore a mechanical filtration treatment may suit the specific requirements of the farm waste water used for the experimental trials. A 50 μm mesh would be considered sufficient for any critical situation.

Life cycle assessment of Chinese shrimp farming systems targeted for export and domestic sales.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Ling; Diana, James S; Keoleian, Gregory A; Lai, Qiuming

2011-08-01

We conducted surveys of six hatcheries and 18 farms for data inputs to complete a cradle-to-farm-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental performance for intensive (for export markets in Chicago) and semi-intensive (for domestic markets in Shanghai) shrimp farming systems in Hainan Province, China. The relative contribution to overall environmental performance of processing and distribution to final markets were also evaluated from a cradle-to-destination-port perspective. Environmental impact categories included global warming, acidification, eutrophication, cumulative energy use, and biotic resource use. Our results indicated that intensive farming had significantly higher environmental impacts per unit production than semi-intensive farming in all impact categories. The grow-out stage contributed between 96.4% and 99.6% of the cradle-to-farm-gate impacts. These impacts were mainly caused by feed production, electricity use, and farm-level effluents. By averaging over intensive (15%) and semi-intensive (85%) farming systems, 1 metric ton (t) live-weight of shrimp production in China required 38.3 ± 4.3 GJ of energy, as well as 40.4 ± 1.7 t of net primary productivity, and generated 23.1 ± 2.6 kg of SO(2) equiv, 36.9 ± 4.3 kg of PO(4) equiv, and 3.1 ± 0.4 t of CO(2) equiv. Processing made a higher contribution to cradle-to-destination-port impacts than distribution of processed shrimp from farm gate to final markets in both supply chains. In 2008, the estimated total electricity consumption, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions from Chinese white-leg shrimp production would be 1.1 billion kW·h, 49 million GJ, and 4 million metric tons, respectively. Improvements suggested for Chinese shrimp aquaculture include changes in feed composition, farm management, electricity-generating sources, and effluent treatment before discharge. Our results can be used to optimize market-oriented shrimp supply chains and promote more

A novel technique for hydrogen production from hog-manure in supercritical partial oxidation (SCWPO)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Youssef, Emhemmed A.; Charpentier, Paul [Western Ontario Univ., London, ON (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; Nakhla, George [Western Ontario Univ., London, ON (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; Western Ontario Univ., London, ON (Canada). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Elbeshbishy, Elsayed; Hafez, Hisham [Western Ontario Univ., London, ON (Canada). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

2010-07-01

In this study, the catalytic hydrogen production from hog manure using supercritical water partial oxidation was investigated in a batch reactor at a temperature of 500 C, and pressure of 28 MPa using several metallic catalysts. Hog manure was characterized by a total and soluble chemical oxygen demand (TCOD, SCOD) of 57000 and 28000 mg/L, total and volatile suspended solids (TSS, VSS) of 25000, 19000, and ammonia of 2400 mg/L, respectively. The order of H{sub 2} production was the following: Pd/AC > Ru/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} > Ru/AC > AC > NaOH. The order of COD reduction efficiency was as follows: NaOH > Ru/AC > AC > Ru/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} > Pd/AC. The behaviour of the volatile fatty acids (VFA's), ethanol, methanol, ammonia, H{sub 2}S, and Sulfate was investigated experimentally and discussed. A 35 % reduction in the H{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} yields was observed in the sequential gasification partial oxidation (oxidant at an 80 % of theoretical requirement) experiments compared to the gasification experiments (catalyst only). Moreover, this reduction in gas yields was coincided with a 45 % reduction in the liquid effluent chemical oxygen demand (COD), 60 % reduction of the ammonia concentration in the liquid effluent, and 20 % reduction in the H{sub 2}S concentration in the effluent gas. (orig.)

Mammalian folylpoly-γ-glutamate synthetase. 1. Purification and general properties of the hog liver enzyme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cichowicz, D.J.; Shane, B.

1987-01-01

Folylpolyglutamate synthetase was purified 30,000-150,000-fold from hog liver. Purification required the use of protease inhibitors, and the protein was purified to homogeneity in two forms. Both forms of the enzyme were monomers of M/sub r/ 62,000 and had similar specific activities. The specific activity of the homogeneous protein was over 2000-fold higher than reported for partially purified folylpolyglutamate synthetases from other mammalian sources. Enzyme activity was absolutely dependent on the presence of a reducing agent and a monovalent cation, of which K + was most effective. The purified enzyme catalyzed a MgATP-dependent addition of glutamate to tetrahydrofolate with the concomitant stoichiometric formation of MgADP and phosphate. Under conditions that resembled the expected substrate and enzyme concentrations in hog liver, tetrahydrofolate was metabolized to long glutamate chain length derivatives with the hexaglutamate, the major in vivo folate derivative, predominating. Enzyme activity was maximal at about pH 9.5. The high-pH optimum was primarily due to an increase in the K/sub m/ value for the L-glutamate substrate at lower pH values, and the reaction proceeded effectively at physiological pH provided high levels of glutamate were supplied

Developing novel farming systems: effective use of nutrients from cover crops in intensive organic farming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burgt, van der G.J.H.M.; Scholberg, J.M.S.; Koopmans, C.J.

2011-01-01

On-farm nitrogen fixation is a driving force in organic agriculture. The efficiency with which this nitrogen is used can be increased by using alfalfa or grass-clover crops directly as fertilizer on other fields: cut-and-carry fertilizers. In two crops in two years, the use of several types of

Organic Farming Research in India: Present Status and Way Forward

OpenAIRE

Mitnala, Jayalakshmi; Ka, Gopinath

2018-01-01

Organic farming is a knowledge intensive system and has been developed by practitioners themselves over the years. Organic farming is native to India. The farmers of ancient India are known to have evolved nature friendly farming systems and practices such as mixed farming, mixed cropping and crop rotation. The first “scientific” approach to organic farming can be quoted back to the Vedas of the “Later Vedic Period”, 1000 BC to 600 BC. There has been significant increase in the area under cer...

Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Danish organic pig farms: seasonal and age-related variation in prevalence, infection intensity and species/genotypes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Heidi Huus; Jianmin, Wang; Katakam, Kiran K.

2015-01-01

Although pigs are commonly infected with Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis, including potentially zoonotic species or genotypes, little is known about age-related infection levels, seasonal differences and genetic variation in naturally infected pigs raised in organic management systems....... Therefore, the current study was conducted to assess seasonal and age-related variations in prevalence and infection intensity of Cryptosporidium and Giardia, evaluate zoonotic potential and uncover correlations between species/genotypes, infection intensity and faecal consistency. Shedding of oocysts...... and cysts ((oo-) cysts) was monitored at quarterly intervals (September 2011 to June 2012) in piglets (n=152), starter pigs (n=234), fatteners (n=230) and sows (n=240) from three organic farms in Denmark. (Oo-) cysts were quantified by immunofluorescence microscopy; and 56/75 subsamples from Cryptosporidium...

Evolution of livestock farming systems and landscape changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giuseppe Pulina

2009-10-01

Full Text Available In the last fifty years, the rural landscape of vast areas, historically modelled by livestock farming, has experienced radical changes. The marginalisation of traditional farming systems resulted in a shift towards intensive systems in the more favourable areas, and in the abandoning of farming in the less favourable areas. Consequences of these trends are numerous: intensification and abandoning concurred in determining the disappearance of traditional architectural styles and in disrupting the historical links between local landscape, way of farming, and variety of products; intensification of farming caused local excesses of nutrients releases and/or land degradation; abandoning has permitted an extensive natural reforestation, which in turn has greatly modified the aesthetic value and biodiversity richness of landscape. Research for a sustainable “livestock farming landscape” will need the ability to integrate a systemic and geographic description of the interactions of farming systems with landscape quality and biodiversity with the definition of consequent technologies and farm management options.

Determinants of milk production in FADN dairy farms in the regions of the European Union with predominance of intensive production in 2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guth Marta

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The main aim of the considerations was to determine the factors determining the variability of milk production in selected macroregions of the European Union. The regions were selected on the basis of the analysis of the diversity of dairy farms FADN in the regions of the European Union, which was determined by the agglomeration cluster analysis using Ward method. In order to highlight the determinants of production there was factor analysis made. On the basis of the results of factor analysis there were factors that have a decisive impact on milk production in dairy farms from areas with a predominance of intensive production identified, and there was a possibility to find out which macro-regions of the European Union reached a relatively best and worst performance in terms of the distinguished factors.

Leaching of Copper and Zinc in a Garden Soil Receiving Poultry and Livestock Manures from Intensive Farming

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2008-01-01

The leaching characteristics of a garden soil may be greatly affected by application of poultry and livestock manures from intensive farming.Packed soil columns of a garden soil(CK)and the soils after respectively receiving 2% pig manure (PM),chicken manure(CM),and commercial organic manure(OM)were leached with 0.05 mol L-1 Ca(NO3)2 and 0.01 mol L-1 EDTA solutions.The leachate EC(electric conductivity)values gradually increased at the beginning and then reached a stable value when the soil columns were leached with 0.05 mol L-1 Ca(NO3)2 solution.The leachate EC values showed a peak-shape when leached with 0.01 mol L-1 EDTA solution.In all the soil columns,the pH values of the leachates decreased with increase of displacement volumes when the Ca(NO3)2 solution was used.The total amounts of Cu and Zn eluted from the four soil columns were significantly correlated with the extracted soil Cu and Zn concentrations by 1.0 mol L-1 NH4NO3,but were not correlated with the leachate dissolved organic carbon(DOC)contents.The Zn concentration in the leachate of the PM-treated soil column with 0.05 mol L-1 Ca(NO3)2 solution was above the Quality Standard III for Ground Water of China(GB/T 14848-93,Zn ＜ 1.0 mg L-1).When compared with 0.05 mol L-1 Ca(NO3)2,the EDTA solution significantly accelerated Cu and Zn elutions in the manure-treated columns.This suggested that applying poultry and livestock manures from intensive farming to farmland might pose a threat to the groundwater quality.

Nitrogen cycling in organic farming systems with rotational grass-clover and arable crops

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berntsen, Jørgen; Grant, Ruth; Olesen, Jørgen E.

2006-01-01

Organic farming is considered an effective means of reducing nitrogen losses compared with more intensive conventional farming systems. However, under certain conditions, organic farming may also be susceptible to large nitrogen (N) losses. This i especially the case for organic .....

The farming system component of European agricultural landscapes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Erling

2017-01-01

Agricultural landscapes are the outcome of combined natural and human factors over time. This paper explores the scope of perceiving the agricultural landscapes of the European Union (EU) as distinct patterns of farming systems and landscape elements in homogeneous biophysical and administrative...... landscapes evolve from the praxis of the farmers and takes into account the scale, intensity and specialisation of the agricultural production. From farming system design point of view, the approach can be used to integrate the landscape in the design process. From a policy point of view, the approach offers...... endowments. The focus is on the farming systems component of the agricultural landscapes by applying a typology to the sample farms of the Farm Accountancy Data Network and scaling up the results to the landscape level for the territory of the EU. The farming system approach emphasises that agricultural...

Consumer perception and communication on welfare in organic laying hen farming

OpenAIRE

Heerkens, Jasper; Tuyttens, Frank

2012-01-01

A major reason for increased societal popularity of organic production systems is the growing general discontent with intensive farming practices. However, urbanization leads to limited knowledge of farming and farm animal welfare. Consumers believe organic farming leads to better animal welfare, although most health and welfare issues seen in conventional systems are also found in organic poultry systems. The majority of consumers do not translate attitude and good intention into action, the...

Limits of effective nutrient management in dairy farming: analyses of experimental farm De Marke

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verloop, K.

2013-01-01

Key words: nutrient management, dairy, prototyping, organic matter, soil fertility, nitrogen, phosphor.

Intensive dairy production in the Netherlands is associated with high farm nutrient (N and P) inputs and high losses to the environment. The Dutch government and the dairy sector

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

77 FR 49011 - Texas Mid-Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Matagorda, and Wharton...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-15

... all three moist soil units into Brazoria NWR and refuges. farming rotation at eliminate farming at... partnerships and to moist soil units structures. purchase of water during drought rights; expand periods; and... release natural but diversify the (Fauna). hogs. Baiting and predators to control types of management...

Incidence of Poverty and the Role of Non-Farm Activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fatima, A.

2015-01-01

The incidence of poverty, poverty gap and the severity of poverty for the nine agro-climatic zones of the country (rice/wheat Punjab, mixed Punjab, cotton/wheat Punjab, low intensity Punjab, Barani Punjab, cotton/wheat Sindh, rice other Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan) were calculated for farming and non-farming households. The indices of poverty were also measured for households that only did farming, undertook farming and non-farm activities and those that did no farming in the various agro-climatic zones. Finally, incidence and severity of poverty as well as the spread of income among the poor for non-farm wage earners, farm wage earners, non-farm self-employed and the crop cultivators in the nine agro-climatic zones of rural Pakistan was also carried out. The relationship between incidence of poverty and non-farm activities is ambivalent with non-farm households being better off in regions that are less fertile. The incidence of poverty was highest amongst farm wage workers, followed by non-farm wage workers, non-farm self-employed and lastly crop cultivators. (author)

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.

Identification of lysophosphatidylcholine, γ-stearoyl (LPCD) as an endogenous Na+, K+-ATPase inhibitor in volume-expanded hog plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamura, M.; Inagami, T.

1986-01-01

We have shown that the Na + , K + -ATPase inhibitory activities in the plasma of volume-expanded hog consist of multiple components. One group of the major inhibitory activities induced by intravascular saline infusion was identified as unsaturated free fatty acids. The present study was undertaken to determine the identity of the remaining Na + , K + -ATPase inhibitory activity in the plasma of volume-expanded hogs. Three peaks with ouabain displacing activity (ODA) were separated by HPLC on a reversed phase octadecyl column. The slowest eluting material which showed good solubility in water and recognizable optical absorbance at 214 nm was purified further by three additional steps of reverse phase HPLC. FAB mass spectrometry and 1 H NMR spectroscopy identified this substance as lysophosphatidylcholine, γ-stearoyl. Both purified and synthetic LPCS showed dose-dependent inhibition of Na + , K + -ATPase and displacement of [ 3 H] ouabain from the ATPase. Lysophosphatidylcholines containing either palmitoyl or myristoyl groups also exhibited the Na + , K + -ATPase inhibitory activity and the ODA. The ODA in the LPCS containing fraction increased during the saline infusion. These results indicate that LPCS is an endogenous Na + , K + -ATPase inhibitor which is induced by the expansion of plasma volume

Validation of enzyme immunoassay applied to the serological diagnosis of hog brucellosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramondino, Romina; Marticorena, Damian

1997-01-01

The application of an enzyme immunization test in the serological diagnostic of a disease demands its validation as a previous stage. A test validation requires to know: cut off, diagnostic and relative specificity and sensitivity and harmonization grade between the new test and the classical test in use. The purpose of this work is the following: a) To determine the cut off and to calculate the specificity of two immunization tests, indirect (I-ELISA) and competitive (C-ELISA) by the analysis of serum coming from Canada (country free of this disease); b) To calculate the values of relative sensitivity of the tests with serum coming from infected populations and diagnostic sensitivity with samples of serum from hogs with positive isolation to Brucella suis

MARKETING STRATEGY FOR START UP BUSINESS OF BROILER PEKING DUCK FARM WITH ECO-GREEN INTEGRATED

OpenAIRE

Silitonga N.; Syah T.Y.R.; Erni N.

2018-01-01

The increasing number and the rate of Banten population growth from year to year make it as a potential market which is quite large for the development of broiler duck farming business in the future. In this case, intensive system broiler Peking duck farming which is integrated, economic, and eco-green intensive, eco-green commonly utilizes Azolla microphylla and flour of pluchea leaves and other germ plasmas as the feed supplements. As a company in Peking duck farming with Eco Green concept,...

Dairy production in some selected integrated farms in Sokoto State ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A survey of eight integrated farms in four local government areas of Sokoto state in north-western Nigeria revealed the following about dairy production on such farms:breed of cattle kept, Sokoto Gudali, Friesian, and Sahiwal; average dairy herd size,69.4 head; husbandry system was largely semi-intensive; milking was ...

Sustainability evaluation of different systems for sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus) farming based on emergy theory

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-06-01

Emergy analysis is effective for analyzing ecological economic systems. However, the accuracy of the approach is affected by the diversity of economic level, meteorological and hydrological parameters in different regions. The present study evaluated the economic benefits, environmental impact, and sustainability of indoor, semi-intensive and extensive farming systems of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus) in the same region. The results showed that A. japonicus indoor farming system was high in input and output (yield) whereas pond extensive farming system was low in input and output. The output/input ratio of indoor farming system was lower than that of pond extensive farming system, and the output/input ratio of semi-intensive farming system fell in between them. The environmental loading ratio of A. japonicus extensive farming system was lower than that of indoor farming system. In addition, the emergy yield and emergy exchange ratios, and emergy sustainability and emergy indexes for sustainable development were higher in extensive farming system than those in indoor farming system. These results indicated that the current extensive farming system exerted fewer negative influences on the environment, made more efficient use of available resources, and met more sustainable development requirements than the indoor farming system. A. japonicus farming systems showed more emergy benefits than fish farming systems. The pond farming systems of A. japonicus exploited more free local environmental resources for production, caused less potential pressure on the local environment, and achieved higher sustainability than indoor farming system.

Demographics and practices of semi-intensive free-range farming systems in Australia with an outdoor stocking density of ≤1500 hens/hectare

OpenAIRE

Singh, Mini; Ruhnke, Isabelle; de Koning, Carolyn; Drake, Kelly; Skerman, Alan G.; Hinch, Geoff N.; Glatz, Philip C.

2017-01-01

Baseline information on demographics and practices on semi-intensive free-range egg farms with an outdoor stocking density of ≤1500 hens/hectare in Australia is presented. Free-range egg production is changing the structure of the egg industry in Australia and a broad variety and tiers of free-range systems have emerged due to lack of concrete legislative standards on outdoor stocking densities in the past. Information was extracted from a pre-existing online free-range poultry survey dataset...

75 FR 12489 - Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: Minor Harmonizing Changes to the General Provisions

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-16

... FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carole Cook, Climate Change Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs (MC... feedlots. 112120 Dairy cattle and milk production facilities. 112210 Hog and pig farms. 112310 Chicken egg...

In situ observations of the influence of a large onshore wind farm on near-surface temperature, turbulence intensity and wind speed profiles

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Craig M.; Barthelmie, R. J.; Pryor, S. C.

2013-09-01

Observations of wakes from individual wind turbines and a multi-megawatt wind energy installation in the Midwestern US indicate that directly downstream of a turbine (at a distance of 190 m, or 2.4 rotor diameters (D)), there is a clear impact on wind speed and turbulence intensity (TI) throughout the rotor swept area. However, at a downwind distance of 2.1 km (26 D downstream of the closest wind turbine) the wake of the whole wind farm is not evident. There is no significant reduction of hub-height wind speed or increase in TI especially during daytime. Thus, in high turbulence regimes even very large wind installations may have only a modest impact on downstream flow fields. No impact is observable in daytime vertical potential temperature gradients at downwind distances of >2 km, but at night the presence of the wind farm does significantly decrease the vertical gradients of potential temperature (though the profile remains stably stratified), largely by increasing the temperature at 2 m.

In situ observations of the influence of a large onshore wind farm on near-surface temperature, turbulence intensity and wind speed profiles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Craig M; Barthelmie, R J; Pryor, S C

2013-01-01

Observations of wakes from individual wind turbines and a multi-megawatt wind energy installation in the Midwestern US indicate that directly downstream of a turbine (at a distance of 190 m, or 2.4 rotor diameters (D)), there is a clear impact on wind speed and turbulence intensity (TI) throughout the rotor swept area. However, at a downwind distance of 2.1 km (26 D downstream of the closest wind turbine) the wake of the whole wind farm is not evident. There is no significant reduction of hub-height wind speed or increase in TI especially during daytime. Thus, in high turbulence regimes even very large wind installations may have only a modest impact on downstream flow fields. No impact is observable in daytime vertical potential temperature gradients at downwind distances of >2 km, but at night the presence of the wind farm does significantly decrease the vertical gradients of potential temperature (though the profile remains stably stratified), largely by increasing the temperature at 2 m. (letter)

The role of renewable energy on animal farms

Science.gov (United States)

Csatári, Nándor; Vántus, András

2015-04-01

The recent measures in the European Union promote the usage of renewable energies and enhancing the energy efficiency. These measures also effect agriculture, on the one hand by using biofuels mixed into fuel for machinery. Besides biofuels animal farms have opportunities in using renewable energy in several other ways. There are sectors in animal farming, where the energy demand is continuously high in electricity (e.g. forage grinders, mixers, milk coolers, air ventilation systems) or in heating (e.g. stables for poultry or piglets). Beside the energy demand in agricultural sector there are several products and side products suitable for energy production. For example different kinds of organic manures and corn silage could be raw materials for biogas production; plant residues like cereal straw and corn stalk bales could be combusted in boilers. Furthermore solar cells or solar collectors can be mounted on the big roof surfaces of animal farm buildings. Among animal farming sectors, dairy farming in the most energy intensive, and uses the widest variety of energy forms. It is often mentioned as the "heavy industry" of animal farming. In this research 14 dairy farms were examined in Hajdú-Bihar County in the topic of energy demand, renewable energy usage. The questioned farms covers 35% of the dairy cow population in Hajdú-Bihar County. The questions covered the general attributes of the farms and the details of the (existing or planned) renewable energy application. In terms of economic analysis saving, the investment return time and the employment effect was examined. The results show wide variety of applied renewable energy application. Fifty percent of farms uses at least one kind of renewable energy. Two biogas plants, 6 boilers for solid biomass, 2 solar cells. Regarding employment effect biogas plants created some full time workplaces, biomass boilers also needs some work hours to maintain, but none of the farms applied more labour. Besides renewable

[Chile's experience with developing abalone (Haliotis spp.) farming: opportunities and challenges].

Science.gov (United States)

Enríquez, R; Villagrán, R

2008-04-01

Intensive abalone farming--specifically of the red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) and the green (or Japanese) abalone (Haliotis discus hannai)--has expanded rapidly in Chile since the late 1990s, and this article presents an overview of the challenges facing the industry and the factors which favour its development. At present, 100% of Chile's abalone enterprises farm the H. rufescens species, owing to its suitability for full-cycle culture. In the analysis of factors that facilitate the development of abalone farming in Chile, those that stand out include the characteristics of the aquatic ecosystem, existing entrepreneurial and professional skills, decisive government support in co-financing scientific and technological projects, infrastructure and associated services to support these development initiatives and a market where prices have remained stable and demand for abalone products has been steady. The greatest challenges facing intensive abalone farming in Chile are providing a constant supply of macroalgae for abalone feed and developing complementary feed, as well as updating current legislation on intensive abalone farming, strengthening producer associations and establishing health certification. The article discusses examples of the impact that native organisms can have on animals introduced into an aquatic ecosystem and the international transmission of agents such as withering syndrome and sabellid polychaete infestation disease, associated with the movement of abalone seeds and broodstock. The article also emphasises the importance of implementing the recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health.

Lysophosphatidylcholines containing polyunsaturated fatty acids were found as Na+,K+-ATPase inhibitors in acutely volume-expanded hog

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamura, M.; Harris, T.M.; Higashimori, K.; Sweetman, B.J.; Blair, I.A.; Inagami, T.

1987-01-01

Na + ,K + -ATPase inhibitors activities against the specific binding of ouabain to Na + ,K + -ATPase and 86 Rb uptake into hog erythrocytes have been purified from the plasma of acutely saline-infused hog. The purifications were performed by a combination of Amberlite XAD-2 adsorption chromatography and four steps of high-performance liquid chromatography with four different types of columns. Fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass and proton NMR spectrometric studies identified the purified substances as γ-arachidoyl- [LPCA(γ), 34%], β-arachidoyl- [LPCA(β), 4%], γ-linoleoyl- (LPCL, 33%), and γ-oleoyl- (LPCO, 25%) lysophosphatidylcholine, expressed in molar ratio in the plasma. Small amounts of γ-docosapentaenoyl-, γ-eicosatrienoyl-, and γpalmitoyllysophosphatidylcholine were also detected by both FAB mass and 1 H NMR spectrometric studies. The inhibition of Na + ,K + -ATPase activity due to these compounds was always more sensitive than that of both ouabain-binding and 86 Rb uptake activities. The ouabain-displacing activity in plasma due to these compounds increased with time during saline infusion. The maximal plasma level was approximately 10 times higher than that in the preinfusion plasma sample. Although these results suggest that γ-acyl-LPC's with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are not simple competitive inhibitors to Na + ,K + -ATPase, these compounds could be implicated in the pathogenesis of the circulation abnormality through the modulation of membrane enzyme

Land Loss and Poverty in North Carolina: A Research Report Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George H. Conklin

2003-10-01

Full Text Available Large hog farms in North Carolina tend to be placed where opposition to them will be weakest. The results, however, are quite complex and for the white population farm loss is positively associated with rising incomes, suggesting once again that farming is not a way out of poverty. This is a review of a report by by Bob Edwards and Anthony Ladd from an earlier Sociation Bulletin posting.

Dispersive stresses in wind farms

Science.gov (United States)

Segalini, Antonio; Braunbehrens, Robert; Hyvarinen, Ann

2017-11-01

One of the most famous models of wind farms is provided by the assumption that the farm can be approximated as a horizontally-homogeneous forest canopy with vertically-varying force intensity. By means of this approximation, the flow-motion equations become drastically simpler, as many of the three-dimensional effects are gone. However, the application of the horizontal average operator to the RANS equations leads to the appearance of new transport terms (called dispersive stresses) originating from the horizontal (small-scale) variation of the mean velocity field. Since these terms are related to the individual turbine signature, they are expected to vanish outside the roughness sublayer, providing a definition for the latter. In the present work, an assessment of the dispersive stresses is performed by means of a wake-model approach and through the linearised code ORFEUS developed at KTH. Both approaches are very fast and enable the characterization of a large number of wind-farm layouts. The dispersive stress tensor and its effect on the turbulence closure models are investigated, providing guidelines for those simulations where it is impossible to resolve the farm at a turbine scale due to grid requirements (as, for instance, mesoscale simulations).

Enhanced Gender Recognition System Using an Improved Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG Feature from Quality Assessment of Visible Light and Thermal Images of the Human Body

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dat Tien Nguyen

2016-07-01

Full Text Available With higher demand from users, surveillance systems are currently being designed to provide more information about the observed scene, such as the appearance of objects, types of objects, and other information extracted from detected objects. Although the recognition of gender of an observed human can be easily performed using human perception, it remains a difficult task when using computer vision system images. In this paper, we propose a new human gender recognition method that can be applied to surveillance systems based on quality assessment of human areas in visible light and thermal camera images. Our research is novel in the following two ways: First, we utilize the combination of visible light and thermal images of the human body for a recognition task based on quality assessment. We propose a quality measurement method to assess the quality of image regions so as to remove the effects of background regions in the recognition system. Second, by combining the features extracted using the histogram of oriented gradient (HOG method and the measured qualities of image regions, we form a new image features, called the weighted HOG (wHOG, which is used for efficient gender recognition. Experimental results show that our method produces more accurate estimation results than the state-of-the-art recognition method that uses human body images.

Enhanced Gender Recognition System Using an Improved Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) Feature from Quality Assessment of Visible Light and Thermal Images of the Human Body.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Dat Tien; Park, Kang Ryoung

2016-07-21

With higher demand from users, surveillance systems are currently being designed to provide more information about the observed scene, such as the appearance of objects, types of objects, and other information extracted from detected objects. Although the recognition of gender of an observed human can be easily performed using human perception, it remains a difficult task when using computer vision system images. In this paper, we propose a new human gender recognition method that can be applied to surveillance systems based on quality assessment of human areas in visible light and thermal camera images. Our research is novel in the following two ways: First, we utilize the combination of visible light and thermal images of the human body for a recognition task based on quality assessment. We propose a quality measurement method to assess the quality of image regions so as to remove the effects of background regions in the recognition system. Second, by combining the features extracted using the histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) method and the measured qualities of image regions, we form a new image features, called the weighted HOG (wHOG), which is used for efficient gender recognition. Experimental results show that our method produces more accurate estimation results than the state-of-the-art recognition method that uses human body images.

77 FR 44494 - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Regulation for Concentrated Animal Feeding...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-30

... CAFO: Beef cattle feedlots (including veal 112112 0211 calves). Beef cattle ranching and farming........ 112111 0212 Hogs 11221 0213 Sheep and Goats 11241, 11242 0214 General livestock except dairy and 11299...

Farm, land, and soil nitrogen budgets for agriculture in Europe calculated with CAPRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leip, Adrian; Britz, Wolfgang; Weiss, Franz; Vries, Wim de

2011-01-01

We calculated farm, land, and soil N-budgets for countries in Europe and the EU27 as a whole using the agro-economic model CAPRI. For EU27, N-surplus is 55 kg N ha -1 yr -1 in a soil budget and 65 kg N 2 O-N ha -1 yr -1 and 67 kg N ha -1 yr -1 in land and farm budgets, respectively. NUE is 31% for the farm budget, 60% for the land budget and 63% for the soil budget. NS values are mainly related to the excretion (farm budget) and application (soil and land budget) of manure per hectare of total agricultural land. On the other hand, NUE is best explained by the specialization of the agricultural system toward animal production (farm NUE) or the share of imported feedstuff (soil NUE). Total N input, intensive farming, and the specialization to animal production are found to be the main drivers for a high NS and low NUE. - Highlights: → Farm, land and soil N-budgets are important tools to characterize agricultural systems. → Farm N Use Efficiency (NUE) is lower than soil NUE; farm nitrogen surplus is higher. → On EU27 average, farm NUE is 31%, soil NUE is 63%, N surplus is 55-67 kg N ha -1 yr -1 . → Soil NUE is best explained by the share of imported feedstuff. → Intensive farming and specialization to animal production cause a high NS and low NUE. - Consistent calculations of farm, land and soil N-budgets for agriculture in Europe are presented and discussed at the national level and for EU27.

The impact of biogas production on the circularity of nitrogen flows around a dairy farm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoang, Dieu Linh; Davis, Christopher Bryan; Nonhebel, Sanderine; Dijkema, Gerhard

2017-01-01

Dairy farms require a significant amount of nitrogen to enter the production system via cattle fodder, which in intensive farming can be traced back to artificial fertilizers. As a by-product of dairy farms, cattle manure contains undigested nitrogen that allows the farmers to reuse it for their

Evaluation model of wind energy resources and utilization efficiency of wind farm

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Jie

2018-04-01

Due to the large amount of abandoned winds in wind farms, the establishment of a wind farm evaluation model is particularly important for the future development of wind farms In this essay, consider the wind farm's wind energy situation, Wind Energy Resource Model (WERM) and Wind Energy Utilization Efficiency Model(WEUEM) are established to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the wind farm. Wind Energy Resource Model (WERM) contains average wind speed, average wind power density and turbulence intensity, which assessed wind energy resources together. Based on our model, combined with the actual measurement data of a wind farm, calculate the indicators using the model, and the results are in line with the actual situation. We can plan the future development of the wind farm based on this result. Thus, the proposed establishment approach of wind farm assessment model has application value.

Hydrological and Farming System Impacts of Agricultural Water Management Interventions in North Gujarat

OpenAIRE

Singh, O.P.

2013-01-01

Groundwater over-exploitation is a common phenomenon in many arid and semi arid regions of the world. Within India, north Gujarat is one of such intensively exploited regions. Groundwater supports irrigated crop production and intensive dairy farming in the region. Well irrigation is critical to the region’s rural economy and livelihoods. The overall objective of the study was to examine the water demand management interventions on farming system, livelihood patterns, food and nutritional s...

75 FR 12451 - Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: Minor Harmonizing Changes to the General Provisions

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-16

... number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carole Cook, Climate Change.... 112120 Dairy cattle and milk production facilities. 112210 Hog and pig farms. 112310 Chicken egg...

Ecologically sound management: aspects of modern sustainable deer farming systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearse, A J; Drew, K R

1998-01-01

Modern deer farming systems have become increasingly intensive allowing strategic feeding for production and genetic improvement programmes. Meeting feeding standards that account for changing nutritional demands related to seasonality and reproductive state is critical. As the industry matures there is a growing awareness of the balance between retaining natural behaviour in producing breeding stock on larger extensive holdings and intensification systems for performance in young stock. Stocking rates are critical determinants of success as land use and capability needs are matched with an increasing stratification of stock type and purpose. Food product safety and welfare considerations of farmed deer are being driven by consumer demands. Farm quality assurance and codes of practice are developing to ensure that deer farming meets and exceeds international expectations of land use and deer welfare in modern deer farming systems.

Feeding habits of Molina's hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus chinga (Carnivora: Mephitidae) in the extreme south of Brazil

OpenAIRE

Peters, Felipe Bortolotto; Roth, Paulo Ricardo de Oliveira; Christoff, Alexandre Uarth

2011-01-01

Feeding habits of the Molina's hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus chinga (Molina, 1782) in the extreme south of Brazil. We analyzed 60 stomachs of road-kills of C. chinga in the extreme south of Brazil. The contents revealed 808 prey parts, including invertebrates (frequency of occurrence - FO = 96.7% and relative abundance - RA = 94.7%), vertebrates (FO = 18.3% and RA = 2.8%) and plants (FO = 31.7% and RA = 2.3%). We identified 18 kinds of food, including the invertebrate order Coleoptera which show...

An assay for serum vitamin-B12 and for intrinsic factor antibody type I by means of hog intrinsic factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hudak, J.; Berger, Z.; Varga, L.

1980-01-01

A new radioassay method was elaborated for the determination of the plasma level of vitamin B 12 and of the intrinsic factor antibody type I. The assay applies vitamin-B 12 labelled with 58 Co, but replaces human intrinsic factor by hog intrinsic factor. 124 cases were investigated by both the original and this modified method, and the results were in very good agreement. (L.E.)

The operation and production in Penaeid farm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ludi parwadani aji

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Penaeid prawn demand in the world market has brought about a dramatic raise in the price of prawns, so, the aquaculture prawn industry also increase. Prawn farming can be divided by intensive, semi intensive or extensive culture system. Extensive culture system has low stocking densities, whereas, intensive culture (very high stocking densities has highest level of environmental control such as recirculation system and stable ecological system. Predation and disease is the major obstacles in culture system. To deal with predation, farmers use net for covering the ponds and fencing the ponds. Disease organism such as parasites, bacteria, fungal and viruses may be eliminated through sterilization of the water. The commercial diets made from squid and white fish meal may replace fresh diet in semi-intensive culture as fish diet has a problem with preservation. Moreover, maintaining water quality such as dissolve oxygen, pH, nitrogen (ammonia and ammonium and temperature is very important to support productivity and profitability in prawn farming. The most prominent aims at harvest are to pack the prawn in a way that avoids physical damage, minimize the quantity of prawn left on the bottom of pond, and directly chill prawn. Therefore, good management of water quality, feeding, disease, predation, and harvesting is important in prawn culture.

Analyzing farming systems diversity: a case study in south-western France

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choisis, J. P.; Thevenet, C.; Girbon, A.

2012-11-01

The huge changes in agricultural activities, which may be amplified by the forthcoming Common Agriculture Policy reform, call the future of crop-livestock systems into question and hence the impact of these changes on landscapes and biodiversity. We analyzed relationships between agriculture, landscape and biodiversity in south-western France. The study area covered about 4,000 ha and included four villages. We conducted a survey of 56 farms. Multivariate analysis (multiple factor analysis and cluster analysis) were used to analyze relationships between 25 variables and to build a typology. The type of farming (beef and/or dairy cattle, cash crops), size (area and workforce) and cultivation practices, among others, were revealed as differentiating factors of farms. Six farming types were identified (1) hillside mixed crop-livestock farms, (2) large corporate farms, (3) extensive cattle farms, (4) large intensive farms on the valley sides, (5) small multiple-job holdings, and (6) hobby farms. The diversity of farming systems revealed the variable impact of the main drivers of change affecting agricultural development, particularly the enlargement and modernization of farms along with the demography of agricultural holdings. (Author) 41 refs.

Perception of Job-Related Risk, Training, and Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE among Latino Immigrant Hog CAFO Workers in Missouri: A Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Athena K. Ramos

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Hog production in the United States is a large industry that has seen dramatic changes over the last few decades. Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs are growing in number throughout the country. This pilot study explores the perception of risk, receipt of work-related training, provision and usage of personal protective equipment (PPE, and prevention preferences of Latino immigrant hog CAFO workers in Missouri. Forty workers (M age = 36.08 years, SD = 10.04; 92.5% male; 70.0% Mexican were interviewed. Results indicate that most workers did not perceive their job as dangerous. Limited English proficient workers were significantly less likely to report receiving any work-related training. Although most workers had access to employer provided PPE, usage was inconsistent. As the demographic composition of the farmworker population in the Midwest becomes increasingly comprised of hired immigrant workers, it will be imperative to develop occupational safety and health educational and outreach efforts focused on the needs of these workers.

Perception of Job-Related Risk, Training, and Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) among Latino Immigrant Hog CAFO Workers in Missouri: A Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Athena K; Fuentes, Axel; Trinidad, Natalia

2016-01-01

Hog production in the United States is a large industry that has seen dramatic changes over the last few decades. Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are growing in number throughout the country. This pilot study explores the perception of risk, receipt of work-related training, provision and usage of personal protective equipment (PPE), and prevention preferences of Latino immigrant hog CAFO workers in Missouri. Forty workers (M age = 36.08 years, SD = 10.04; 92.5% male; 70.0% Mexican) were interviewed. Results indicate that most workers did not perceive their job as dangerous. Limited English proficient workers were significantly less likely to report receiving any work-related training. Although most workers had access to employer provided PPE, usage was inconsistent. As the demographic composition of the farmworker population in the Midwest becomes increasingly comprised of hired immigrant workers, it will be imperative to develop occupational safety and health educational and outreach efforts focused on the needs of these workers.

Shrimp farming in estuarine environment: Points to ponder

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Achuthankutty, C.T.

of the expansion has taken place around the estuarine area as it facilitates water exchange and waste disposal. In semi-intensive and extensive type of farming practices, use of different types of chemicals and antibiotics, artificial feeds, probiotics...

Spatial and temporal extension of eutrophication associated with shrimp farm wastewater discharges in the New Caledonia lagoon.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Yoann; Courties, Claude; El Helwe, Yasmin; Herbland, Alain; Lemonnier, Hugues

2010-01-01

Shrimp farming in New Caledonia typically uses a flow-through system with water exchange rates as a tool to maintain optimum hydrological and biological parameters for the crop. Moreover, the effluent shows hydrobiological characteristics (minerals, phytoplankton biomass and organic matter) significantly higher than that of the receiving environment. Separate surveys were carried out in a bay (CH Bay) with a medium-size intensive farm (30 ha) (PO) and in a mangrove-lined creek (TE Creek) near a larger semi-intensive farm (133 ha) (SO). Net loads of nitrogen exported from the semi-intensive farm and the intensive farm amounted to 0.68 and 1.36 kg ha(-1)day(-1), respectively. At CH Bay, discharge effects were spatially limited and clearly restricted to periods of effluent release. The high residence time at site TE favoured the installation of a feedback system in which organic matter was not exported. Mineralization of organic matter led to the release of nutrients, which in turn, caused in an increased eutrophication of this ecosystem. The study of the pico- and nanophytoplankton assemblages showed (i) a shift in composition from picophytoplankton to nanophytoplankton from offshore towards the coast and (ii) a shift within the picophytoplankton with the disappearance of Prochlorococcus and the increase of picoeucaryotes towards the shoreline. These community changes may partially be related to a nitrogen enrichment of the environment by shrimp farm discharges. Thus, in view of the recent addition of the New Caledonian lagoon to the UNESCO World Heritage list, the data presented here could be a first approach to quantify farm discharges and evaluate their impact on the lagoon. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coping with the work constraints in crop-livestock farming systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Taher Sraïri

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This research aims to characterize the ways crop-livestock farms adapt themselves to work constraints. A follow-up of work activities was achieved in a sample of 14 family farms. Work times in each agricultural activity (livestock and crops were quantified, distinguishing the contributions of family members and that of the off-farm workers. Results showed that the annual working time averaged 1030 days per year per farm. It increased with multiple activities within farms. Work devoted to livestock averaged 581 days a year, mainly achieved by family members, while crops necessitated 449 days of work, mostly assumed by off farm workers. Farms with limited arable land devoted significant time to livestock. The results also revealed that the gross incomes from one day of work in livestock were almost 50-times less than those from the same duration in cash crops. Altogether, the results confirm the necessity to consider work as a crucial variable determining farming systems’ performances and the use efficiency of this input. As a consequence, in many developing countries, the assumption of plenty of family workers availability may not be valid anymore to justify agricultural policies mainly based on intense on-farm work uses.

NON-FARMING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE FARM ACTIVITY DIVERSIFICATION PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam Czudec

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article shows the scale and reasons of regional disparities in the development of selected activities in multifunctional farmers in Poland, which are a an example of the diversification of farm activities. Moreover, they presented the benefits for farmers as a result of taking up and pursuit of selected multifunctional activities. Empirically, the paper is based on primary and secondary data. The primary data is derived from the findings of a survey carried out among farmers (interview with a questionnaire, whereas the secondary data comes from the Central Statistical Office of Poland. The findings of the research show high regional diversification of the development level of farmers’ nonfarming activity. The highest discrepancy was observed in the case of the percentage of organic farms in the total number of farms. Less intense were those in the case of the share of agritourism farm households, whereas the lowest regional differences were recorded for the farm households holding its own direct sales scheme of farm produce. Another important finding from the survey of the farmers running nonfarming economic activity is that the highest advantages of such activity are the increase in farm household income and improvement of the farm family living standard. However, farmers found it difficult to observe any advantages of nonfarming economic activity in rural areas.

Multiscale effects of management, environmental conditions, and land use on nitrate leaching in dairy farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Oenema, Jouke; Burgers, Saskia; Verloop, Koos; Hooijboer, Arno; Boumans, Leo; ten Berge, Hein

2010-01-01

Nitrate leaching in intensive grassland- and silage maize-based dairy farming systems on sandy soil is a main environmental concern. Here, statistical relationships are presented between management practices and environmental conditions and nitrate concentration in shallow groundwater (0.8 m depth) at farm, field, and point scales in The Netherlands, based on data collected in a participatory approach over a 7-yr period at one experimental and eight pilot commercial dairy farms on sandy soil. Farm milk production ranged from 10 to 24 Mg ha(-1). Soil and hydrological characteristics were derived from surveys and weather conditions from meteorological stations. Statistical analyses were performed with multiple regression models. Mean nitrate concentration at farm scale decreased from 79 mg L(-1) in 1999 to 63 in 2006, with average nitrate concentration in groundwater decreasing under grassland but increasing under maize land over the monitoring period. The effects of management practices on nitrate concentration varied with spatial scale. At farm scale, nitrogen surplus, grazing intensity, and the relative areas of grassland and maize land significantly contributed to explaining the variance in nitrate concentration in groundwater. Mean nitrate concentration was negatively correlated to the concentration of dissolved organic carbon in the shallow groundwater. At field scale, management practices and soil, hydrological, and climatic conditions significantly contributed to explaining the variance in nitrate concentration in groundwater under grassland and maize land. We conclude that, on these intensive dairy farms, additional measures are needed to comply with the European Union water quality standard in groundwater of 50 mg nitrate L(-1). The most promising measures are omitting fertilization of catch crops and reducing fertilization levels of first-year maize in the rotation.

Uses of glyphosate in German arable farming – operational aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wiese, Armin

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Glyphosate is the most frequently used herbicide active ingredient in Germany. Studies regarding its usage in non-GMO arable farming are still rare even though it plays an important role in several agronomic situations. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive survey, which was carried out among conventional German farms in Winter 2014/2015. Based on the results of this survey we analyzed via cluster analysis how types of farms differ in terms of glyphosate usage. An illustration of seven clusters allows deep insights into arable farm structures. The farm types can be distinguished regarding their tillage system and similar to this differentiation also concerning their intensity of glyphosate application. Furthermore, it becomes obvious that farm clusters with a higher level of glyphosate usage are characterized by a lower number of labourers per hectare, more arable land and/or enhanced cover cropping. Moreover, groups of farmers who rely more on glyphosate are more likely to state that they need glyphosate for herbicide resistance management. Farmers’ assessments of the economic importance of glyphosate usage vary depending on the type of farm. By means of the farm clusters, the most important situations of glyphosate usage can be further analyzed economically and scenarios for impact assessments can be made.

Energy and emergy analysis of mixed crop-livestock farming

Science.gov (United States)

Kuczuk, Anna; Pospolita, Janusz; Wacław, Stefan

2017-10-01

This paper contains substance and energy balances of mixed crop-livestock farming. The analysis involves the period between 2012 and 2015. The structure of the presentation in the paper includes: crops and their structure, details of the use of plants with a beneficial effect on soil and stocking density per 1ha of agricultural land. Cumulative energy intensity of agricultural animal and plant production was determined, which is coupled the discussion of the energy input in the production of a grain unit obtained from plant and animal production. This data was compared with the data from the literature containing examples derived from intensive and organic production systems. The environmental impact of a farm was performed on the basis of emergy analysis. Emergy fluxes were determined on the basis of renewable and non-renewable sources. As a consequence, several performance indicators were established: Emergy Yield Ratio EYR, Environmental Loading Ratio ELR and ratio of emergy from renewable sources R! . Their values were compared with the parameters characterizing other production patterns followed in agricultural production. As a consequence, conclusions were derived, in particular the ones concerning environmental sustainability of production systems in the analyzed farm.

Collecting sustainability data in different organisational settings of the European Farm Accountancy Data Network

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vrolijk, H.C.J.; Poppe, K.J.; Keszthelyi, Szilard

2016-01-01

The European Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) collects detailed financial economic information on a sample of farms in Europe. These data are used intensively for the evaluation of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy. Owing to changes in policies, there is a need for a broader set of

Water-hydraulic power transmission for offshore wind farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diepeveen, N.F.B.; Jarquin Laguna, A.; Kempenaar, A.S.

2012-01-01

The current state of the art of offshore wind turbine power transmission technology is expensive, heavy and maintenance intensive. The Delft Offshore Turbine project considers a radically new concept for power transmission in an offshore wind farm: using seawater as power transmission medium. For

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)

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.

Livestock-associated risk factors for pneumonia in an area of intensive animal farming in the Netherlands.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gudrun S Freidl

Full Text Available Previous research conducted in 2009 found a significant positive association between pneumonia in humans and living close to goat and poultry farms. However, as this result might have been affected by a large goat-related Q fever epidemic, the aim of the current study was to re-evaluate this association, now that the Q-fever epidemic had ended. In 2014/15, 2,494 adults (aged 20-72 years living in a livestock-dense area in the Netherlands participated in a medical examination and completed a questionnaire on respiratory health, lifestyle and other items. We retrieved additional information for 2,426/2,494 (97% participants from electronic medical records (EMR from general practitioners. The outcome was self-reported, physician-diagnosed pneumonia or pneumonia recorded in the EMR in the previous three years. Livestock license data was used to determine exposure to livestock. We quantified associations between livestock exposures and pneumonia using odds ratios adjusted for participant characteristics and comorbidities (aOR. The three-year cumulative frequency of pneumonia was 186/2,426 (7.7%. Residents within 2,000m of a farm with at least 50 goats had an increased risk of pneumonia, which increased the closer they lived to the farm (2,000m aOR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4-2.6; 500m aOR 4.4, 95% CI 2.0-9.8. We found no significant associations between exposure to other farm animals and pneumonia. However, when conducting sensitivity analyses using pneumonia outcome based on EMR only, we found a weak but statistically significant association with presence of a poultry farm within 1,000m (aOR: 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-2.7. Living close to goat and poultry farms still constitute risk factors for pneumonia. Individuals with pneumonia were not more often seropositive for Coxiella burnetii, indicating that results are not explained by Q fever. We strongly recommend identification of pneumonia causes by the use of molecular diagnostics and investigating the role of non

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.

Lysophosphatidylcholines containing polyunsaturated fatty acids were found as Na/sup +/,K/sup +/-ATPase inhibitors in acutely volume-expanded hog

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tamura, M.; Harris, T.M.; Higashimori, K.; Sweetman, B.J.; Blair, I.A.; Inagami, T.

1987-05-19

Na/sup +/,K/sup +/-ATPase inhibitors activities against the specific binding of ouabain to Na/sup +/,K/sup +/-ATPase and /sup 86/Rb uptake into hog erythrocytes have been purified from the plasma of acutely saline-infused hog. The purifications were performed by a combination of Amberlite XAD-2 adsorption chromatography and four steps of high-performance liquid chromatography with four different types of columns. Fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass and proton NMR spectrometric studies identified the purified substances as ..gamma..-arachidoyl- (LPCA(..gamma..), 34%), ..beta..-arachidoyl- (LPCA(..beta..), 4%), ..gamma..-linoleoyl- (LPCL, 33%), and ..gamma..-oleoyl- (LPCO, 25%) lysophosphatidylcholine, expressed in molar ratio in the plasma. Small amounts of ..gamma..-docosapentaenoyl-, ..gamma..-eicosatrienoyl-, and ..gamma..palmitoyllysophosphatidylcholine were also detected by both FAB mass and /sup 1/H NMR spectrometric studies. The inhibition of Na/sup +/,K/sup +/-ATPase activity due to these compounds was always more sensitive than that of both ouabain-binding and /sup 86/Rb uptake activities. The ouabain-displacing activity in plasma due to these compounds increased with time during saline infusion. The maximal plasma level was approximately 10 times higher than that in the preinfusion plasma sample. Although these results suggest that ..gamma..-acyl-LPC's with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are not simple competitive inhibitors to Na/sup +/,K/sup +/-ATPase, these compounds could be implicated in the pathogenesis of the circulation abnormality through the modulation of membrane enzyme.

Influence of a trout farm on macrozoobenthos communities of the Trešnjica river, Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Živić Ivana

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Trout farming poses an increasing threat to quality of the water of clean highland streams. Research of this problem has focused primarily on changes in physico-chemical composition of the water and structure of the river bottom, and less on the effects on living organisms. In the present work, we investigated influence of the farm with the highest trout production in Serbia, the 'Riboteks' Trout Farm on the Trešnjica River, on its macrozoobenthos communities. Our investigations showed that the 'Riboteks' Trout Farm wastewaters caused a clear and statistically significant change of moderate intensity in all measured parameters describing the composition and structure of macrozoobenthos communities. These changes were most pronounced in the part of the watercourse closest to the influx of waste water (locality III but remained statistically significant even 500 m downstream (locality IV and were lost only about 3.5 km away from the influx of the farm's wastewater (locality V. The most pronounced were changes in the participation in total abundance of the Baetidae, Chironomidae, and Plecoptera. Additionally, results of the present work confirmed that the mass of fish on the trout farm is a parameter that adequately defines the strength of its action, above all the intensity of its influence on structure of the macrozoobenthos community.

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

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...

Nitrates in drinking water: relation with intensive livestock production.

Science.gov (United States)

Giammarino, M; Quatto, P

2015-01-01

An excess of nitrates causes environmental pollution in receiving water bodies and health risk for human, if contaminated water is source of drinking water. The directive 91/676/ CEE [1] aims to reduce the nitrogen pressure in Europe from agriculture sources and identifies the livestock population as one of the predominant sources of surplus of nutrients that could be released in water and air. Directive is concerned about cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry and their territorial loads, but it does not deal with fish farms. Fish farms effluents may contain pollutants affecting ecosystem water quality. On the basis of multivariate statistical analysis, this paper aims to establish what types of farming affect the presence of nitrates in drinking water in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy. In this regard, we have used data from official sources on nitrates in drinking water and data Arvet database, concerning the presence of intensive farming in the considered area. For model selection we have employed automatic variable selection algorithm. We have identified fish farms as a major source of nitrogen released into the environment, while pollution from sheep and poultry has appeared negligible. We would like to emphasize the need to include in the "Nitrate Vulnerable Zones" (as defined in Directive 91/676/CEE [1]), all areas where there are intensive farming of fish with open-system type of water use. Besides, aquaculture open-system should be equipped with adequate downstream system of filtering for removing nitrates in the wastewater.

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.

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

Effects of stored feed cropping systems and farm size on the profitability of Maine organic dairy farm simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoshide, A K; Halloran, J M; Kersbergen, R J; Griffin, T S; DeFauw, S L; LaGasse, B J; Jain, S

2011-11-01

United States organic dairy production has increased to meet the growing demand for organic milk. Despite higher prices received for milk, organic dairy farmers have come under increasing financial stress due to increases in concentrated feed prices over the past few years, which can make up one-third of variable costs. Market demand for milk has also leveled in the last year, resulting in some downward pressure on prices paid to dairy farmers. Organic dairy farmers in the Northeast United States have experimented with growing different forage and grain crops to maximize on-farm production of protein and energy to improve profitability. Three representative organic feed systems were simulated using the integrated farm system model for farms with 30, 120, and 220 milk cows. Increasing intensity of equipment use was represented by organic dairy farms growing only perennial sod (low) to those with corn-based forage systems, which purchase supplemental grain (medium) or which produce and feed soybeans (high). The relative profitability of these 3 organic feed systems was strongly dependent on dairy farm size. From results, we suggest smaller organic dairy farms can be more profitable with perennial sod-based rather than corn-based forage systems due to lower fixed costs from using only equipment associated with perennial forage harvest and storage. The largest farm size was more profitable using a corn-based system due to greater economies of scale for growing soybeans, corn grain, winter cereals, and corn silages. At an intermediate farm size of 120 cows, corn-based forage systems were more profitable if perennial sod was not harvested at optimum quality, corn was grown on better soils, or if milk yield was 10% higher. Delayed harvest decreased the protein and energy content of perennial sod crops, requiring more purchased grain to balance the ration and resulting in lower profits. Corn-based systems were less affected by lower perennial forage quality, as corn silage

Life cycle assessment of the offshore wind farm alpha ventus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, Hermann-Josef; Baack, Christoph; Eickelkamp, Timo; Epe, Alexa; Lohmann, Jessica; Troy, Stefanie

2011-01-01

Due to better wind conditions at sea, offshore wind farms have the advantage of higher electricity production compared to onshore and inland wind farms. In contrast, a greater material input, leading to increased energy consumptions and emissions during the production phase, is required to build offshore wind farms. These contrary effects are investigated for the first German offshore wind farm alpha ventus in the North Sea. In a life cycle assessment its environmental influence is compared to that of Germany's electricity mix. In comparison to the mix, alpha ventus had better indicators in nearly every investigated impact category. One kilowatt-hour electricity, generated by the wind farm, was burdened with 0.137 kWh Primary Energy-Equivalent and 32 g CO 2 -Equivalent, which represented only a small proportion of the accordant values for the mix. Furthermore, the offshore foundations as well as the submarine cable were the main energy intensive components. The energetic and greenhouse gas payback period was less than one year. Therefore, offshore wind power, even in deep water, is compatible with the switch to sustainable electricity production relying on renewable energies. Additional research, taking backup power plants as well as increasingly required energy storage systems into account, will allow further calculation. -- Highlights: → Offshore wind energy represents an environmentally friendly way of power generation. → The offshore foundations and the submarine cable are energy intensive components. → Alpha ventus emits 30 g CO 2 per kWh electricity over the entire life cycle. → Less specific emissions occur in comparison to the existing German electricity grid. → The energetic and greenhouse gas payback periods are less than one year.

Visual Localization by Place Recognition Based on Multifeature (D-λLBP++HOG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongliang Qiao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Visual localization is widely used in the autonomous navigation system and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS. This paper presents a visual localization method based on multifeature fusion and disparity information using stereo images. We integrate disparity information into complete center-symmetric local binary patterns (CSLBP to obtain a robust global image description (D-CSLBP. In order to represent the scene in depth, multifeature fusion of D-CSLBP and HOG features provides valuable information and permits decreasing the effect of some typical problems in place recognition such as perceptual aliasing. It improves visual recognition performance by taking advantage of depth, texture, and shape information. In addition, for real-time visual localization, local sensitive hashing method (LSH was used to compress the high-dimensional multifeature into binary vectors. It can thus speed up the process of image matching. To show its effectiveness, the proposed method is tested and evaluated using real datasets acquired in outdoor environments. Given the obtained results, our approach allows more effective visual localization compared with the state-of-the-art method FAB-MAP.

Livestock-associated risk factors for pneumonia in an area of intensive animal farming in the Netherlands

Science.gov (United States)

Freidl, Gudrun S.; Spruijt, Ineke T.; Borlée, Floor; Smit, Lidwien A. M.; van Gageldonk-Lafeber, Arianne B.; Heederik, Dick J. J.; Yzermans, Joris; van Dijk, Christel E.; Maassen, Catharina B. M.; van der Hoek, Wim

2017-01-01

Previous research conducted in 2009 found a significant positive association between pneumonia in humans and living close to goat and poultry farms. However, as this result might have been affected by a large goat-related Q fever epidemic, the aim of the current study was to re-evaluate this association, now that the Q-fever epidemic had ended. In 2014/15, 2,494 adults (aged 20–72 years) living in a livestock-dense area in the Netherlands participated in a medical examination and completed a questionnaire on respiratory health, lifestyle and other items. We retrieved additional information for 2,426/2,494 (97%) participants from electronic medical records (EMR) from general practitioners. The outcome was self-reported, physician-diagnosed pneumonia or pneumonia recorded in the EMR in the previous three years. Livestock license data was used to determine exposure to livestock. We quantified associations between livestock exposures and pneumonia using odds ratios adjusted for participant characteristics and comorbidities (aOR). The three-year cumulative frequency of pneumonia was 186/2,426 (7.7%). Residents within 2,000m of a farm with at least 50 goats had an increased risk of pneumonia, which increased the closer they lived to the farm (2,000m aOR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4–2.6; 500m aOR 4.4, 95% CI 2.0–9.8). We found no significant associations between exposure to other farm animals and pneumonia. However, when conducting sensitivity analyses using pneumonia outcome based on EMR only, we found a weak but statistically significant association with presence of a poultry farm within 1,000m (aOR: 1.7, 95% CI 1.1–2.7). Living close to goat and poultry farms still constitute risk factors for pneumonia. Individuals with pneumonia were not more often seropositive for Coxiella burnetii, indicating that results are not explained by Q fever. We strongly recommend identification of pneumonia causes by the use of molecular diagnostics and investigating the role of non

Biomass energy in organic farming - the potential role of short rotation coppice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joergensen, Uffe; Dalgaard, Tommy [Danish Inst. of Agricultural Sciences (DIAS), Dept. of Agroecology, Research Centre Foulum, Tjele (Denmark); Kristensen, Erik Steen [Danish Research Centre for Organic Farming (DARCOF), Research Centre Foulum, Tjele (Denmark)

2005-02-01

One of the aims of organic farming is to 'reduce the use of non-renewable resources (e.g. fossil fuels) to a minimum'. So far, however, only very little progress has been made to introduce renewable energy in organic farming. This paper presents energy balances of Danish organic farming compared with energy balances of conventional farming. In general, the conversion to organic farming leads to a lower energy use (approximately 10% per unit of product). But the production of energy in organic farming is very low compared with the extensive utilisation of straw from conventional farming in Denmark (energy content of straw used for energy production was equivalent to 18% of total energy input in Danish agriculture in 1996). Biomass is a key energy carrier with a good potential for on-farm development. Apart from utilising farm manure and crop residues for biogas production, the production of nutrient efficient short rotation coppice (SRC) is an option in organic farming. Alder (Alnus spp.) is an interesting crop due to its symbiosis with the actinomycete Frankia, which has the ability to fix up to 185 kg/ha nitrogen (N{sub 2}) from the air. Yields obtained at different European sites are presented and the R and D needed to implement energy cropping in organic farming is discussed. Possible win-win solutions for SRC production in organic farming that may facilitate its implementation are; the protection of ground water quality in intensively farmed areas, utilisation of wastewater for irrigation, or combination with outdoor animal husbandry such as pigs or poultry. (Author)

Investigations on the effect of grazing intensity on the transfer of radionuclides to cow`s milk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Voigt, G. [GSF - Forschungszentrum fuer Umwelt und Gesundheit Neuherberg GmbH, Oberschleissheim (Germany). Inst. fuer Strahlenschutz; Schotola, C. [GSF - Forschungszentrum fuer Umwelt und Gesundheit Neuherberg GmbH, Oberschleissheim (Germany). Inst. fuer Strahlenschutz; Crout, N.M.J. [Nottingham Univ. (United Kingdom). Dept. of Physiology and Environmental Science; Absalom, J. [Nottingham Univ. (United Kingdom). Dept. of Physiology and Environmental Science

1997-03-01

For these investigations two farms were chosen. Farm A carries out a rotational grazing regime with 4 grazed pastures which is the more commonly used farm practice in Bavaria, farm B practises a continuous grazing regime with one grazed pasture only. In farm B a tenfold lower Cs-137 activity concentration was observed in milk though activity concentrations in soil and pasture grass were the same as that at farm A, indicating the same transfer rate soil-plant at both locations. It could be shown under normal agricultural conditions that with a higher grazing pressure lower activity concentrations in milk (in this case a factor of about 2 to 3) were obtained. Therefore changing stock density in combination with a continuous grazing regime on a given pasture after a major nuclear accident can be considered as a possible countermeasure which can be easily applied. Mainly to get more synchronised growth rates and a homogeneous distribution of radiocontamination plot experiments were performed to simulate the influence of grazing intensity. Under the experimental design used here no effect of grazing intensity on the transfer of radionuclides to vegetation could be found. Effects of grazing intensity as found for the farm experiment, therefore must be due to other sources than vegetation activities, and are presumably due to soil ingestion preventing uptake of soluble plant incorporated radiocaesium in the animal rumen. (orig./MG)

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.

The Social Situation of Immigrant Farm Workers : A Comparative Study between Spain and the U.S.

OpenAIRE

Izcara Palacios, Simón Pedro; Yamamoto, Yasutaka; Sawauchi, Daisuke; Sajiki, Takahiro; Demura, Katsuhiko

2009-01-01

In Spain and in the United States domestic farm laborers are not available in sufficient numbers during peak harvest seasons. Therefore, intensive farm production has a dependence on immigrant workers, mainly laborers who lack proper documentation to legally reside or work. Moreover increases in the labor supply, prompted by continued unauthorized entries and employment has adversely affected the wages and working conditions in the farming sector, speeding the exit of local workers from agric...

Mongolia Report, Number 369.

Science.gov (United States)

1983-10-20

cultivation of vegetables and potatoes, livestock fattening, poultry farming, and hog breeding. This young cooperative is also engaged in transport...monopolies. Communists, trade union leaders, and other patriots are subject to cruel persecution by Pinochet’s butchers , and their lives are in constant

Farm Agrotourism Alternative Sources Of Income In Rural Area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cornelia Petroman

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Agrotourist movement in rural areas is influenced by several factors of economic, psychological, demographic, natural or circumstantial nature. Along with increasing of the incomes and exceeding the critical level of satisfaction only of consume requirements intensifies the agrotourist circulation and regarding tariffs practiced, they can have an inhibiting effect if they increase or will promote tourist flows if they decrease. The agrotourist motivation has a major influence, being the one that determines the tourist to move from his place of residence, this referring to the demands, impulses, desires, with personal character and intentions to spend their holidays in the country. Farm agrotourism is an activity of which raw material is represented by the environment surrounding and from the farm, their attractiveness, elements that develop a wide range of shapes, capable of responding to various reasons to spend a holiday in rural area. Through the diversification of agrotourist activities it will improuve the economic activity of the farms with specific and will increase the incomes additional obtained in farms at a time when the main activity is not so intense.

MANAGING MANURE TO IMPROVE AIR AND WATER QUALITY

OpenAIRE

Aillery, Marcel P.; Gollehon, Noel R.; Johansson, Robert C.; Kaplan, Jonathan D.; Key, Nigel D.; Ribaudo, Marc

2005-01-01

Animal waste from confined animal feeding operations is a potential source of air and water quality degradation from evaporation of gases, runoff to surface water, and leaching to ground water. This report assesses the potential economic and environmental tradeoffs between water quality policies and air quality policies that require the animal agriculture sector to take potentially costly measures to abate pollution. A farm-level analysis of hog farms estimates the economic and environmental ...

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

Energy Economics of Farm Biogas in Cold Climates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pillay, Pragasen; Grimberg, Stefan; Powers, Susan E

2012-10-24

Anaerobic digestion of farm and dairy waste has been shown to be capital intensive. One way to improve digester economics is to co-digest high-energy substrates together with the dairy manure. Cheese whey for example represents a high-energy substrate that is generated during cheese manufacture. There are currently no quantitative tools available that predict performance of co-digestion farm systems. The goal of this project was to develop a mathematical tool that would (1) predict the impact of co-digestion and (2) determine the best use of the generated biogas for a cheese manufacturing plant. Two models were developed that separately could be used to meet both goals of the project. Given current pricing structures of the most economical use of the generated biogas at the cheese manufacturing plant was as a replacement of fuel oil to generate heat. The developed digester model accurately predicted the performance of 26 farm digesters operating in the North Eastern U.S.

Baseline layout and design of a 0.8 GW reference wind farm in the North Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bak, Thomas; Graham, Angus; Sapronova, Alla

2017-01-01

A model of a reference wind farm is presented. It considers the wind and wave climatologies for a specific site and derives two different wind farm layouts. The layouts are then examined in terms of effective wake turbulence intensity for a given climatology, and a model for the influence on capi...

Trade-offs between pasture production and farmland bird conservation: exploration of options using a dynamic farm model.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabatier, R; Teillard, F; Rossing, W A H; Doyen, L; Tichit, M

2015-05-01

In European grassland landscapes, grazing and mowing play a key role for the maintenance of high-quality habitats that host important bird populations. As grasslands are also key resources for cattle feeding, there is a need to develop management strategies that achieve the double objective of production and biodiversity conservation. The objective of this study was to use a modelling approach to generate recognisable patterns of bird dynamics in farms composed of different land use proportions, and to compare their production and ecological dimensions. We developed a dynamic model, which linked grassland management to bird population dynamics at the field and farm levels. The model was parameterised for two types of suckling farms corresponding to contrasting levels of grassland intensification and for two bird species of high conservation value. A viability algorithm was used to define and assess viable management strategies for production and ecological performance so as to draw the shape of the relationship between both types of performances for the two types of farms. Our results indicated that, at the farm level, there was a farming system effect with a negative and non-linear relationship linking performance. Improving bird population maintenance was less costly in extensive farms compared with intensive farms. At the field level, the model predicted the timing and intensity of land use, maximising either production or ecological performance. The results suggested that multi-objective grassland management would benefit from public policies that consider levels of organisation higher than the field level, such as the farm or the landscape.

Current Status of the Use of Antibiotics and the Antimicrobial Resistance in the Chilean Salmon Farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudio D. Miranda

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The Chilean salmon industry has undergone a rapid development making the country the world’s second largest producer of farmed salmon, but this growth has been accompanied by an intensive use of antibiotics. This overuse has become so significant that Chilean salmon aquaculture currently has one of the highest rates of antibiotic consumption per ton of harvested fish in the world. This review has focused on discussing use of antibiotics and current status of scientific knowledge regarding to incidence of antimicrobial resistance and associated genes in the Chilean salmonid farms. Over recent years there has been a consistent increase in the amount of antimicrobials used by Chilean salmonid farms, from 143.2 tons in 2010 to 382.5 tons in 2016. During 2016, Chilean companies utilized approximately 0.53 kg of antibiotics per ton of harvested salmon, 363.4 tons (95% were used in marine farms, and 19.1 tons (5% in freshwater farms dedicated to smolt production. Florfenicol and oxytetracycline were by far the most frequently used antibiotics during 2016 (82.5 and 16.8%, respectively, mainly being used to treat Piscirickettsia salmonis, currently considered the main bacterial threat to this industry. However, the increasing development of this industry in Chile, as well as the intensive use of antimicrobials, has not been accompanied by the necessary scientific research needed to understand the impact of the intensive use of antibiotics in this industry. Over the last two decades several studies assessing antimicrobial resistance and the resistome in the freshwater and marine environment impacted by salmon farming have been conducted, but information on the ecological and environmental consequences of antibiotic use in fish farming is still scarce. In addition, studies reporting the antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial pathogens, mainly P. salmonis, have been developed, but a high number of these studies were aimed at setting their

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.

Effects of cattle and manure management on the nutrient economy of mixed farms in East Africa: A scenario study

OpenAIRE

Snijders, P.J.M.; Meer, van der, H.G.; Onduru, D.D.; Ebanyat, P.; Ergano, K.; Zake, J.Y.K.; Wouters, A.P.; Gachimbi, L.N.; Keulen, van, H.

2013-01-01

This paper explores effects of animal and manure management in a dairy unit on the nutrient economy of crop-livestock farms in East Africa. For this purpose, 8 cattle management scenarios have been developed based on farming systems in Mbeere, Kenya (extensive), Wakiso, Uganda (semi-intensive) and Kibichoi, Kenya (intensive). Three baseline scenarios represent present-day cattle management; five improved scenarios use the same dairy breeds but have improved nutrition, using younger grass, mor...

Regenerative agriculture: merging farming and natural resource conservation profitably.

Science.gov (United States)

LaCanne, Claire E; Lundgren, Jonathan G

2018-01-01

Most cropland in the United States is characterized by large monocultures, whose productivity is maintained through a strong reliance on costly tillage, external fertilizers, and pesticides (Schipanski et al., 2016). Despite this, farmers have developed a regenerative model of farm production that promotes soil health and biodiversity, while producing nutrient-dense farm products profitably. Little work has focused on the relative costs and benefits of novel regenerative farming operations, which necessitates studying in situ , farmer-defined best management practices. Here, we evaluate the relative effects of regenerative and conventional corn production systems on pest management services, soil conservation, and farmer profitability and productivity throughout the Northern Plains of the United States. Regenerative farming systems provided greater ecosystem services and profitability for farmers than an input-intensive model of corn production. Pests were 10-fold more abundant in insecticide-treated corn fields than on insecticide-free regenerative farms, indicating that farmers who proactively design pest-resilient food systems outperform farmers that react to pests chemically. Regenerative fields had 29% lower grain production but 78% higher profits over traditional corn production systems. Profit was positively correlated with the particulate organic matter of the soil, not yield. These results provide the basis for dialogue on ecologically based farming systems that could be used to simultaneously produce food while conserving our natural resource base: two factors that are pitted against one another in simplified food production systems. To attain this requires a systems-level shift on the farm; simply applying individual regenerative practices within the current production model will not likely produce the documented results.

Use of Chemical Pesticides in Ethiopia : A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Farmers and Farm Workers in Three Farming Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Negatu, Beyene; Kromhout, Hans|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/074385224; Mekonnen, Yalemtshay; Vermeulen, Roel|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/216532620

Chemical pesticides, regardless of their inherent hazard, are used intensively in the fast changing agricultural sector of Ethiopia. We conducted a cross-sectional pesticide Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) survey among 601 farmers and farm workers (applicators and re-entry workers) in three

Assessment of on-farm anaerobic digester grid interconnections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruhnke, W.

2006-01-01

While several anaerobic digestion (AD) pilot plants have recently been built in Canada, early reports suggest that interconnection barriers are delaying their widescale implementation. This paper examined grid interconnection experiences from the perspectives of farmers, local distributing companies (LDCs) and other stakeholders. The aim of the paper was to identify challenges to the implementation of AD systems. Case studies included an Ontario Dairy Herd AD system generating 50 kW; a Saskatchewan hog farm AD system generating 120 kW and an Alberta outdoor beef feedlot AD system generating 1000 kW. Two survey forms were created for project operators, and LDCs. The following 3 category barriers were identified: (1) technical concerns over islanding conditions, power quality requirements, power flow studies and other engineering analyses; (2) business practices barriers such as a lack of response after initial utility contact; and (3) regulatory barriers including the unavailability of fair buy-back rates, the lack of net metering programs, restrictive net metering programs, and pricing issues. It was suggested that collaborative efforts among all stakeholders are needed to resolve barriers quickly. Recommendations included the adoption of uniform technical standards for connecting generators to the grid, as well as adopting standard commercial practices for any required LDC interconnection review. It was also suggested that standard business terms for interconnection agreements should be established. Regulatory principles should be compatible with distributed power choices in regulated and unregulated markets. It was concluded that resolving interconnection barriers is a critical step towards realizing market opportunities available for AD technologies. refs., tabs., figs

Dutch notes on BAT (Best Available Techniques) for pig- and poultry intensive lifestock farms (draft)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hendriks, H.J.M.; Van de Weerdhof, A.M. [Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, National Reference Centre Agriculture, Ede (Netherlands)

1999-08-01

This document describes available environmental control techniques for the pig- and poultry intensive lifestock farms. The purpose of this document is to support the identification of BAT for the European pig- and poultry housing, following the requirements of article 16 of the Council Directive 96/61, concerning Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC Directive), which has been adopted on 24 September 1996. In this document, an attempt is made to include all relevant environmental aspects of the presented techniques. In this way, the integral weighing of available techniques is facilitated. Economical aspects of presented techniques are given as well. This document comprises the following elements: Process description; Emissions, economics and energy demand; and Candidate Best Available Techniques The rules concerning covered manure storage and low emission housing are based on the Environmental Management Act. This act sees to the activities in the 'appliance', which is in fact the farmyard and the animal-housing. The permit based on the Environmental Management Act regulates the nuisance and the environmental effects in relation to the housing. Manure application does not take place in the appliance but the application techniques are also added in this document as extra information. Those measures which are based on the Manure Act and the Manure Relocation Act are not taken into account. The Netherlands will deliver separate information on these subjects.

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.

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.

Removal of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from the separated liquid phase of hog manure by the multi-zone BioCAST technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Yerushalmi, Laleh; Alimahmoodi, Mahmood; Afroze, Niema; Godbout, Stephane; Mulligan, Catherine N

2013-06-15

The removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) at concentrations of 960 ± 38 to 2400 ± 96 mg/L, 143 ± 9 to 235 ± 15 mg/L and 25 ± 2 to 57 ± 4 mg/L, respectively, from the separated liquid phase of hog manure by the multi-zone BioCAST technology is discussed. Despite the inhibitory effect of hog waste toward microbial activities, removal efficiencies up to 89.2% for COD, 69.2% for TN and 47.6% for TP were obtained during 185 d of continuous operation. The free ammonia inhibition was postulated to be responsible for the steady reduction of COD and TP removal with the increase of TN/TP ratio from 3.6 to 5.8. On the contrary, the increase of COD/TN ratio from 4.8 to 14.1 improved the removal of all contaminants. Nitrogen removal did not show any dependence on the COD/TP ratio, despite the steady increase of COD and TP removal with this ratio in the range of 19.3-50.6. The removal efficiencies of organic and inorganic contaminants increased progressively owing to the adaptation of microbial biomass, resulting from the presence of suspended biomass in the mixed liquor that circulated continuously between the three zones of aerobic, microaerophilic and anoxic, as well as the attached biomass immobilized inside the aerobic zone. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Organic Farming as a Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

For climate change adaptation, OF systems have a strong potential for building resilient food systems through farm diversification and building soil fertility with organic matter. In developing countries, OF offers alternatives to energy-intensive production inputs such as synthetic fertilizers which are limited for poor rural ...

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.

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)

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...

MARKETING STRATEGY FOR START UP BUSINESS OF BROILER PEKING DUCK FARM WITH ECO-GREEN INTEGRATED

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silitonga N.

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The increasing number and the rate of Banten population growth from year to year make it as a potential market which is quite large for the development of broiler duck farming business in the future. In this case, intensive system broiler Peking duck farming which is integrated, economic, and eco-green intensive, eco-green commonly utilizes Azolla microphylla and flour of pluchea leaves and other germ plasmas as the feed supplements. As a company in Peking duck farming with Eco Green concept, it requires the right marketing strategy to get into the target market. Therefore, the focus of this study is the marketing strategy to start up the business of eco-green integrated Peking duck farming. The results of the analysis of this study are that the marketing strategies used are: objectives and target marketing; analysis of market situation, market size, market share, market description; strategy of marketing, segmenting, targeting, positioning; tactics of marketing, networking, interaction, common interest, experience; CRM, continuity marketing, one to one marketing, partnership; blueprint for building a winning sales force; marketing budget, sales estimation, net marketing contribution.

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)

Organic Farming: Biodiversity Impacts Can Depend on Dispersal Characteristics and Landscape Context

Science.gov (United States)

Feber, Ruth E.; Johnson, Paul J.; Bell, James R.; Chamberlain, Dan E.; Firbank, Leslie G.; Fuller, Robert J.; Manley, Will; Mathews, Fiona; Norton, Lisa R.; Townsend, Martin; Macdonald, David W.

2015-01-01

Organic farming, a low intensity system, may offer benefits for a range of taxa, but what affects the extent of those benefits is imperfectly understood. We explored the effects of organic farming and landscape on the activity density and species density of spiders and carabid beetles, using a large sample of paired organic and conventional farms in the UK. Spider activity density and species density were influenced by both farming system and surrounding landscape. Hunting spiders, which tend to have lower dispersal capabilities, had higher activity density, and more species were captured, on organic compared to conventional farms. There was also evidence for an interaction, as the farming system effect was particularly marked in the cropped area before harvest and was more pronounced in complex landscapes (those with little arable land). There was no evidence for any effect of farming system or landscape on web-building spiders (which include the linyphiids, many of which have high dispersal capabilities). For carabid beetles, the farming system effects were inconsistent. Before harvest, higher activity densities were observed in the crops on organic farms compared with conventional farms. After harvest, no difference was detected in the cropped area, but more carabids were captured on conventional compared to organic boundaries. Carabids were more species-dense in complex landscapes, and farming system did not affect this. There was little evidence that non-cropped habitat differences explained the farming system effects for either spiders or carabid beetles. For spiders, the farming system effects in the cropped area were probably largely attributable to differences in crop management; reduced inputs of pesticides (herbicides and insecticides) and fertilisers are possible influences, and there was some evidence for an effect of non-crop plant species richness on hunting spider activity density. The benefits of organic farming may be greatest for taxa with lower

Organic Farming: Biodiversity Impacts Can Depend on Dispersal Characteristics and Landscape Context.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth E Feber

Full Text Available Organic farming, a low intensity system, may offer benefits for a range of taxa, but what affects the extent of those benefits is imperfectly understood. We explored the effects of organic farming and landscape on the activity density and species density of spiders and carabid beetles, using a large sample of paired organic and conventional farms in the UK. Spider activity density and species density were influenced by both farming system and surrounding landscape. Hunting spiders, which tend to have lower dispersal capabilities, had higher activity density, and more species were captured, on organic compared to conventional farms. There was also evidence for an interaction, as the farming system effect was particularly marked in the cropped area before harvest and was more pronounced in complex landscapes (those with little arable land. There was no evidence for any effect of farming system or landscape on web-building spiders (which include the linyphiids, many of which have high dispersal capabilities. For carabid beetles, the farming system effects were inconsistent. Before harvest, higher activity densities were observed in the crops on organic farms compared with conventional farms. After harvest, no difference was detected in the cropped area, but more carabids were captured on conventional compared to organic boundaries. Carabids were more species-dense in complex landscapes, and farming system did not affect this. There was little evidence that non-cropped habitat differences explained the farming system effects for either spiders or carabid beetles. For spiders, the farming system effects in the cropped area were probably largely attributable to differences in crop management; reduced inputs of pesticides (herbicides and insecticides and fertilisers are possible influences, and there was some evidence for an effect of non-crop plant species richness on hunting spider activity density. The benefits of organic farming may be greatest for

Collision risks at sea: species composition and altitude distributions of birds in Danish offshore wind farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blew, J.; Hoffmann, M.; Nehls, G. [BioConsult SH (Germany)

2007-07-01

This study investigates the collision risks of birds in operating offshore wind farms, focussing on all bird species present in the direct vicinity of the wind farms, their altitude distribution and reactions. The project was conducted jointly by BioConsult SH and the University of Hamburg in the two Danish offshore wind farms Horns Rev (North Sea) and Nysted (Baltic Sea) in the framework of a Danish-German cooperation and financed by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). Data were collected between March 2005 and November 2006, using a ship anchored at the edge of the offshore wind farms. In this way, bird species of all sizes could be considered. Daytime observations yielded data on species composition, flight routes and potential reactions of the birds. Radar observations provided altitude distributions inside and outside the wind farm area and also reactions. The results shall help to further describe and assess the collision risk of different species groups. Since data analysis is still running, exemplary results will be presented here. 114 species have been recorded in Nysted and 99 in Horns Rev, approximately 65% of which have been observed inside the wind farm areas. Migrating birds seem to avoid flying into the wind farms, whereas individuals present in the areas for extended time periods utilize areas within the wind farms. While a barrier effect exists for species on migration, resident species probably have a higher collision risk. Raptors migrating during daylight frequently enter the wind farm area on their flight routes, correcting their flight paths in order to avoid collisions. Radar results show that during times of intensive migration, the proportion of birds flying at high altitudes and thus above windmill height is higher than in times of low migration intensity. Consequently, there is a lower proportion of migrating birds flying within the risk area. Data will be further analysed to

Removal Characteristics of Nitrogen and Phosphorus and Their Land Application Rates During a Multi-level Treatment Process for Manure and Waste Water:An Example from Intensive Swine Farm in Water Network Region of Southern Jiangsu Province, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JIN Hong-mei

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The actual removal rates of nitrogen and phosphorus in animal manure and waste water during multi-level treatment process remain vague for large-scale farms. This limits its land application in water network regions of China. The aims of this study were:(1 to verify the removal characteristics of total nitrogen(TN and phosphorus(TP during a multi-level treatment process for swine manure and waste water, and(2 to calculate its land carrying capacity. An intensive swine farm in Southern Jiangsu, which possessed a typical manure and waste water treatment plant with two anaerobic digesters, three natural sediment ponds, and one aquatic plant ponds, was chosen to monitor for the four seasons during a whole year. The results showed that total productions of manure and urine were 4 086.9 t and 10 995.8 t, respectively, in 2016. The collection rate of manure was around 90.5%. The available TN and TP were 183.12 t and 148.97 t, respectively, for land application. The removal rates of TN and TP were less than 25.3% and 57.2% respectively, after secondary anaerobic digestion. The residual TN and TP in the digestates could be removed more than 80% by oxygen ponds treatments. Then the effluent was processed by aquatic plants, and the removal rates for TN and TP were more than 95%, which guaranteed the effluent to be up to the discharge standard. The multi-level processing technology could improve the land carrying capacity and reduce the manure and waste water treatment costs for the intensive animal farms, which were suitable for very intensive, economically developed and land resource limited regions.

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...

Integrating forest ecosystem services into the farming landscape: A stochastic economic assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Monge, Juan J; Parker, Warren J; Richardson, James W

2016-06-01

The objective of this study was to assess how payments for ecosystem services could assist plantation forestry's integration into pastoral dairy farming in order to improve environmental outcomes and increase business resilience to both price uncertainty and production limits imposed by environmental policies. Stochastic Dominance (SD) criteria and portfolio analysis, accounting for farmers' risk aversion levels, were used to rank different land-use alternatives and landscapes with different levels of plantation forestry integration. The study was focused on a modal 200-ha dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua Catchment of the Central North Island region of New Zealand, where national environmental policies are being implemented to improve water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrogen and carbon payments would help farmers improve early cash flows for forestry, provide financial leverage to undertake afforestation projects and contribute to improved environmental outcomes for the catchment. The SD criteria demonstrated that although dairy farming generates the highest returns, plantation forestry with nitrogen and carbon payments would be a preferred alternative for landowners with relatively low risk aversion levels who consider return volatility and environmental limits within their land-use change criteria. Using the confidence premium concept, environmental payments to encourage plantation forestry into the landscape were shown to be lower when the majority of landowners are risk averse. The certainty equivalence approach helped to identify the optimal dairy-forestry portfolio arrangements for landowners of different levels of risk aversion, intensities of dairy farming (status quo and intensified) and nitrogen prices. At low nitrogen prices, risk neutral farmers would choose to afforest less than half of the farm and operate at the maximum nitrogen allowance, because dairy farming at both intensities provides the highest return among the different land

Yersiniosis outbreak in rainbow trout at fish farm in Oromia Regional ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study showed the importance of stress induced by higher temperature and poor water quality associated with infestations by Trichodina species as predisposing factors to bacterial diseases in intensive fish farming practices. Key words: bacterial culture, histopathology, rainbow trout, Yersinia ruckeri, Trichodina species ...

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...

Monitoring and economics of a 60 kW wind turbine generator on a pig farm in Scotland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saluja, G.S.

1990-01-01

Low cost monitoring of a 60 kW wind turbine generator connected to an intensive pig farm in the Grampian area of Scotland is described. A method of calculating the economic implications of installing a small grid-connected wind turbine generator at a farm is based on monitored data, electricity bills and energy production is proposed. (author)

China’s new-age small farms and their vertical integration: agribusiness or co-ops?

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Philip C C

2011-01-01

The future of Chinese agriculture lies not with large mechanized farms but with small capital-labor dual intensifying family farms for livestock-poultry-fish raising and vegetable-fruit cultivation. Chinese food consumption patterns have been changing from the old 8:1:1 pattern of 8 parts grain, 1 part meat, and 1 part vegetables to a 4:3:3 pattern, with a corresponding transformation in agricultural structure. Small family-farming is better suited for the new-age agriculture, including organic farming, than large-scale mechanized farming, because of the intensive, incremental, and variegated hand labor involved, not readily open to economies of scale, though compatible with economies of scope. It is also better suited to the realities of severe population pressure on land. But it requires vertical integration from cultivation to processing to marketing, albeit without horizontal integration for farming. It is against such a background that co-ops have arisen spontaneously for integrating small farms with processing and marketing. The Chinese government, however, has been supporting aggressively capitalistic agribusinesses as the preferred mode of vertical integration. At present, Chinese agriculture is poised at a crossroads, with the future organizational mode for vertical integration as yet uncertain.

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.

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.

[The attitude of German veterinarians towards farm animal welfare: results of a cluster analysis].

Science.gov (United States)

Heise, Heinke; Kemper, Nicole; Theuvsen, Ludwig

2016-01-01

In recent years the issue of animal welfare in intensive livestock production systems has been subjected to increasing criticism from the broad public. Some groups in society ask for higher animal welfare standards and there is an increas- ing number of consumers who prefer meat from more animal friendly husbandry systems. An intense social debate on animal welfare has flared up in the recent past. Veterinarians are considered as experts for the assessment of animal welfare. Nevertheless they are rarely consulted in the current debate. Therefore, only little is known about their attitude towards animal welfare in livestock farming. Even for Germany, there is so far no comprehensive analysis about their atti- tudes towards animal welfare and animal welfare programs. In the present study, 433 veterinarians were questioned via an online survey. The results show that veterinarians have a very differentiated perception of the issue animal welfare. Four groups (clusters) which have different attitudes towards livestock farming, voluntary animal welfare programs, farm size and the effects of national animal welfare standards were identified.

Influence of farming system and production purpose on the morphostructure of Spanish goat breeds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Gonzalez-Martinez

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to examine the possible influence of farming systems, based on the morphostructure of 1,571 female goats drawn from 40 flocks containing seven Spanish breeds (Blanca Andaluza, Blanca Celtiberica, Negra Serrana, Pirenaica, Payoya, Murciano-Granadina and Malagueña raised under four different farming systems. Analysis of morphometric variables showed that the morphostructure of native Spanish goat breeds was linked to the farming system used and thus to the production purpose. The morphostructure of grazing breeds may be more influenced by natural selection within the physical environment and less by human selection. That of stall-fed breeds, by contrast, reflects intense artificial selection aimed at achieving a highly-productive dairy type. For this reason, morphological evaluation systems used in breeding programmes for meat or dual-purpose goat breeds farmed extensively or semi-extensively should be specific, and should reflect the influence of the environment in which these goats are farmed.

Estimation of the dynamics and rate of transmission of classical swine fever (hog cholera) in wild pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hone, J; Pech, R; Yip, P

1992-04-01

Infectious diseases establish in a population of wildlife hosts when the number of secondary infections is greater than or equal to one. To estimate whether establishment will occur requires extensive experience or a mathematical model of disease dynamics and estimates of the parameters of the disease model. The latter approach is explored here. Methods for estimating key model parameters, the transmission coefficient (beta) and the basic reproductive rate (RDRS), are described using classical swine fever (hog cholera) in wild pigs as an example. The tentative results indicate that an acute infection of classical swine fever will establish in a small population of wild pigs. Data required for estimation of disease transmission rates are reviewed and sources of bias and alternative methods discussed. A comprehensive evaluation of the biases and efficiencies of the methods is needed.

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

On-FarmWelfare Assessment Protocol for Adult Dairy Goats in Intensive Production Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monica Battini

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Within the European AWIN project, a protocol for assessing dairy goats’ welfareon the farm was developed. Starting from a literature review, a prototype includinganimal-based indicators covering four welfare principles and 12 welfare criteria was set up.The prototype was tested in 60 farms for validity, reliability, and feasibility. After testing theprototype, a two-level assessment protocol was proposed in order to increase acceptabilityamong stakeholders. The first level offers a more general overview of the welfare status,based on group assessment of a few indicators (e.g., hair coat condition, latency to thefirst contact test, severe lameness, Qualitative Behavior Assessment, with no or minimalhandling of goats and short assessment time required. The second level starts if welfareAnimals 2015, 5 935problems are encountered in the first level and adds a comprehensive and detailed individualevaluation (e.g., Body Condition Score, udder asymmetry, overgrown claws, supported byan effective sampling strategy. The assessment can be carried out using the AWIN Goatapp. The app results in a clear visual output, which provides positive feedback on welfareconditions in comparison with a benchmark of a reference population. The protocol maybe a valuable tool for both veterinarians and technicians and a self-assessment instrumentfor farmers.

Persistence of livestock-associated antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among industrial hog operation workers in North Carolina over 14 days

Science.gov (United States)

Nadimpalli, Maya; Rinsky, Jessica L; Wing, Steve; Hall, Devon; Stewart, Jill; Larsen, Jesper; Nachman, Keeve E; Love, Dave C; Pierce, Elizabeth; Pisanic, Nora; Strelitz, Jean; Harduar-Morano, Laurel; Heaney, Christopher D

2015-01-01

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the persistence of nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus and multidrug-resistant S. aureus over 14 days of follow-up among industrial hog operation workers in North Carolina. Methods Workers anticipating at least 24 h away from work were enrolled June–August 2012. Participants self-collected a nasal swab and completed a study journal on the evening of day 1, and each morning and evening on days 2–7 and 14 of the study. S. aureus isolated from nasal swabs were assessed for antibiotic susceptibility, spa type and absence of the scn gene. Livestock association was defined by absence of scn. Results Twenty-two workers provided 327 samples. S. aureus carriage end points did not change with time away from work (mean 49 h; range >0–96 h). Ten workers were persistent and six were intermittent carriers of livestock-associated S. aureus. Six workers were persistent and three intermittent carriers of livestock-associated multidrug-resistant S. aureus. One worker persistently carried livestock-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Six workers were non-carriers of livestock-associated S. aureus. Eighty-two per cent of livestock-associated S. aureus demonstrated resistance to tetracycline. A majority of livestock-associated S. aureus isolates (n=169) were CC398 (68%) while 31% were CC9. No CC398 and one CC9 isolate was detected among scn-positive isolates. Conclusions Nasal carriage of livestock-associated S. aureus, multidrug-resistant S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus can persist among industrial hog operation workers over a 14-day period, which included up to 96 h away from work. PMID:25200855

Persistence of livestock-associated antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among industrial hog operation workers in North Carolina over 14 days.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadimpalli, Maya; Rinsky, Jessica L; Wing, Steve; Hall, Devon; Stewart, Jill; Larsen, Jesper; Nachman, Keeve E; Love, Dave C; Pierce, Elizabeth; Pisanic, Nora; Strelitz, Jean; Harduar-Morano, Laurel; Heaney, Christopher D

2015-02-01

This study aimed to evaluate the persistence of nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus and multidrug-resistant S. aureus over 14 days of follow-up among industrial hog operation workers in North Carolina. Workers anticipating at least 24 h away from work were enrolled June-August 2012. Participants self-collected a nasal swab and completed a study journal on the evening of day 1, and each morning and evening on days 2-7 and 14 of the study. S. aureus isolated from nasal swabs were assessed for antibiotic susceptibility, spa type and absence of the scn gene. Livestock association was defined by absence of scn. Twenty-two workers provided 327 samples. S. aureus carriage end points did not change with time away from work (mean 49 h; range >0-96 h). Ten workers were persistent and six were intermittent carriers of livestock-associated S. aureus. Six workers were persistent and three intermittent carriers of livestock-associated multidrug-resistant S. aureus. One worker persistently carried livestock-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Six workers were non-carriers of livestock-associated S. aureus. Eighty-two per cent of livestock-associated S. aureus demonstrated resistance to tetracycline. A majority of livestock-associated S. aureus isolates (n=169) were CC398 (68%) while 31% were CC9. No CC398 and one CC9 isolate was detected among scn-positive isolates. Nasal carriage of livestock-associated S. aureus, multidrug-resistant S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus can persist among industrial hog operation workers over a 14-day period, which included up to 96 h away from work. 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.

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398 in veal calf farming: human MRSA carriage related with animal antimicrobial usage and farm hygiene.

Science.gov (United States)

Graveland, Haitske; Wagenaar, Jaap A; Heesterbeek, Hans; Mevius, Dik; van Duijkeren, Engeline; Heederik, Dick

2010-06-08

Recently a specific MRSA sequence type, ST398, emerged in food production animals and farmers. Risk factors for carrying MRSA ST398 in both animals and humans have not been fully evaluated. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated factors associated with MRSA colonization in veal calves and humans working and living on these farms. A sample of 102 veal calf farms were randomly selected and visited from March 2007-February 2008. Participating farmers were asked to fill in a questionnaire (n = 390) to identify potential risk factors. A nasal swab was taken from each participant. Furthermore, nasal swabs were taken from calves (n = 2151). Swabs were analysed for MRSA by selective enrichment and suspected colonies were confirmed as MRSA by using slide coagulase test and PCR for presence of the mecA-gene. Spa types were identified and a random selection of each spa type was tested with ST398 specific PCR. The Sequence Type of non ST398 strains was determined. Data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Human MRSA carriage was strongly associated with intensity of animal contact and with the number of MRSA positive animals on the farm. Calves were more often carrier when treated with antibiotics, while farm hygiene was associated with a lower prevalence of MRSA. This is the first study showing direct associations between animal and human carriage of ST398. The direct associations between animal and human MRSA carriage and the association between MRSA and antimicrobial use in calves implicate prudent use of antibiotics in farm animals.

French intensive truck garden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Edwards, T D

1983-01-01

The French Intensive approach to truck gardening has the potential to provide substantially higher yields and lower per acre costs than do conventional farming techniques. It was the intent of this grant to show that there is the potential to accomplish the gains that the French Intensive method has to offer. It is obvious that locally grown food can greatly reduce transportation energy costs but when there is the consideration of higher efficiencies there will also be energy cost reductions due to lower fertilizer and pesticide useage. As with any farming technique, there is a substantial time interval for complete soil recovery after there have been made substantial soil modifications. There were major crop improvements even though there was such a short time since the soil had been greatly disturbed. It was also the intent of this grant to accomplish two other major objectives: first, the garden was managed under organic techniques which meant that there were no chemical fertilizers or synthetic pesticides to be used. Second, the garden was constructed so that a handicapped person in a wheelchair could manage and have a higher degree of self sufficiency with the garden. As an overall result, I would say that the garden has taken the first step of success and each year should become better.

Technique de production intensive du poisson chat africain, Clarias gariepinus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ducarme, C.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Intensive Production of African Catfish, Clarias gariepinus. The African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, is well appreciated in Africa and reaches high prices on the town markets (2 - 3 Euro/kg. Although it is raised since 1974 and its production is increasing in Europe, Asia and Latin America, the African production is on standby. The intensive production systems (biomass: 10 - 400 kg/m3, production: 1 - 4 kg/m3/j in recirculated systems recently developed in Europe (family farms: 200 - 250 t/year are profitable when the selling price on the farm reach 1,2 Euro/kg. This kind of model could be adapted by the African fish farmers to their local conditions and finally contributed to an important development of fish culture in Africa.

26 CFR 1.182-4 - Definition of “land suitable for use in farming”, etc.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... (continued) § 1.182-4 Definition of “land suitable for use in farming”, etc. For purposes of section 182, the term land suitable for use in farming means land which, as a result of the land clearing activities... term livestock includes cattle, hogs, horses, mules, donkeys, sheep, goats, captive fur-bearing animals...

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…

The Hog Cycle of Law Professors: An Econometric Time Series Analysis of the Entry-Level Job Market in Legal Academia.

Science.gov (United States)

Engel, Christoph; Hamann, Hanjo

2016-01-01

The (German) market for law professors fulfils the conditions for a hog cycle: In the short run, supply cannot be extended or limited; future law professors must be hired soon after they first present themselves, or leave the market; demand is inelastic. Using a comprehensive German dataset, we show that the number of market entries today is negatively correlated with the number of market entries eight years ago. This suggests short-sighted behavior of young scholars at the time when they decide to prepare for the market. Using our statistical model, we make out-of-sample predictions for the German academic market in law until 2020.

Estimation of turbulence intensity using rotor effective wind speed in Lillgrund and Horns Rev-I offshore wind farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gögmen, Tuhfe; Giebel, Gregor

2016-01-01

varies over the extent of the wind farm. This paper describes a method to estimate the TI at individual turbine locations by using the rotor effective wind speed calculated via high frequency turbine data. The method is applied to Lillgrund and Horns Rev-I offshore wind farms and the results are compared...... with TI derived from the meteorological mast, nacelle mounted anemometer on the turbines and estimation based on the standard deviation of power. The results show that the proposed TI estimation method is in the best agreement with the meteorological mast. Therefore, the rotor effective wind speed...... is shown to be applicable for the TI assessment in real-time wind farm calculations under different operational conditions. Furthermore, the TI in the wake is seen to follow the same trend with the estimated wake deficit which enables to quantify the turbulence in terms of the wake loss locally inside...

Earthworm assemblages as affected by field margin strips and tillage intensity: An on-farm approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Crittenden, S.; Huerta, E.; Goede, de R.G.M.; Pulleman, M.M.

2015-01-01

Earthworm species contribute to soil ecosystem functions in varying ways. Important soil functions like structural maintenance and nutrient cycling are affected by earthworms, thus it is essential to understand how arable farm management influences earthworm species. One aim of arable field margin

Farming for Ecosystem Services: An Ecological Approach to Production Agriculture.

Science.gov (United States)

Philip Robertson, G; Gross, Katherine L; Hamilton, Stephen K; Landis, Douglas A; Schmidt, Thomas M; Snapp, Sieglinde S; Swinton, Scott M

2014-05-01

A balanced assessment of ecosystem services provided by agriculture requires a systems-level socioecological understanding of related management practices at local to landscape scales. The results from 25 years of observation and experimentation at the Kellogg Biological Station long-term ecological research site reveal services that could be provided by intensive row-crop ecosystems. In addition to high yields, farms could be readily managed to contribute clean water, biocontrol and other biodiversity benefits, climate stabilization, and long-term soil fertility, thereby helping meet society's need for agriculture that is economically and environmentally sustainable. Midwest farmers-especially those with large farms-appear willing to adopt practices that deliver these services in exchange for payments scaled to management complexity and farmstead benefit. Surveyed citizens appear willing to pay farmers for the delivery of specific services, such as cleaner lakes. A new farming for services paradigm in US agriculture seems feasible and could be environmentally significant.

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

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.

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.

Study on the Measurement and Calculation of Environmental Pollution Bearing Index of China’s Pig Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Leng, Bi-Bin; Gong, Jian; Zhang, Wen-bo; Ji, Xue-Qiang

2017-11-01

According to the environmental pollution caused by large-scale pig breeding, the SPSS statistical software and factor analysis method were used to calculate the environmental pollution bearing index of China’s breeding scale from 2006 to 2015. The results showed that with the increase of scale the density of live pig farming and the amount of fertilizer application in agricultural production increased. However, due to the improvement of national environmental awareness, industrial waste water discharge is greatly reduced. China's hog farming environmental pollution load index is rising.

Trends in nitrogen concentrations and load in 48 minor streams draining intensively farmed Danish catchments, 1990-2014. How can the observed trend be explained?

Science.gov (United States)

Windolf, Jørgen; Børgesen, Christen; Blicher-Mathiesen, Gitte; Kronvang, Brian; Larsen, Søren E.; Tornbjerg, Henrik

2016-04-01

The total land-based nitrogen load to Danish coastal waters has decreased by 50% since 1990 through a reduction of the outlet of nitrogen from sewage point sources and diffuse sources. On a national scale nitrogen load from diffuse sources, has been reduced by 43% , mainly due to limitation of the amount of N input to different crops, rules for timing and application of manure, mandatory demands for catch crops and restoration of wetlands. The latter increasing the nitrogen retention capacity in surface waters. However, on a local scale huge variations exist in the reduction of the diffuse nitrogen load. Since 1990, an important part of the Danish national monitoring program on the aquatic environment (NOVANA) has been directed at quantifying the nitrogen concentrations and load in 48 minor streams draining small intensively farmed catchments. The 48 catchments have a mean size of 18 km2, farmed area constitutes more than 60% of the catchment area and the catchments have no significant outlets of sewage to the streams. The statistical trend results (based on a seasonal Mann-Kendall) from these 48 streams show a 9-65% reduction in the diffuse nitrogen load (mean: 48%). The large differences in trends in the diffuse N load are related to differences in catchment-specific variables such as nitrogen surpluses, nitrogen leaching from the root zone, hydrogeology and nitrogen retention in ground and surface waters.

Prevalence of Salmonella Infection in Intensive Poultry Farms in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A bacteriological study of Salmonella Gallinarum/Pullorum was conducted in intensively managed chickens in Hawassa, Ethiopia between November 2008 and May 2009. The objectives of the study were to estimate the bacteriological prevalence of S. Gallinarum/Pullorum in apparently healthy chickens and to assess the ...

Helminthes and protozoan of farmed pirarucu (Arapaima gigas in eastern Amazon and host-parasite relationship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.G.B. Marinho

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The parasitofauna in the giant Amazon basin, pirarucu (Arapaima gigas Schinz, 1822 cultured in fish farms from the state of Amapá, in eastern Amazonia (Brazil was investigated. Of the 100 examined fish, 90.0% were parasitized by Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora, Dawestrema cycloancistrium, Dawestrema cycloancistrioides (Monogenoidea and Polyacanthorhynchus macrorhynchus (Acanthocephala, which had an aggregated distribution pattern. The highest infection rates were caused by I. multifiliis and the lowest by P. macrorhynchus. Infection rates were different for each fish farm, due to different water quality and management characteristics. A negative correlation was found between the intensity of monogenoideans D. cycloancistrium and D. cycloancistrioides and the relative condition factor (Kn, but the welfare of fish was not affected by parasitism. The number of I. multifiliis was positively correlated with the weight and total length of hosts, while the intensity of monogenoideans was negatively correlated with body weight and total length. This study is the first to record the occurrence of P. macrorhynchus in A. gigas farmed in Amazon.

Interactions of glyphosate use with farm characteristics and cropping patterns in Central Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiese, Armin; Schulte, Michael; Theuvsen, Ludwig; Steinmann, Horst-Henning

2018-05-01

Although glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the European Union, little is known about the patterns of its usage in arable farming. Therefore, a nationwide survey of 2026 German farmers was analysed to obtain further knowledge about glyphosate applications in conventional European arable farming. Given its broad range of agri-environmental and farm-type conditions, Germany can be regarded as a suitable study region to represent Central European farming. The growing season 2013/2014 was set as a reference. Farmers who participated in the survey employ diverse patterns of glyphosate use. While 23% stated that they did not use glyphosate in the season in question, others applied glyphosate to their total arable area. However, most applications occurred on specific parts of the farm. Application patterns of oilseed rape, winter wheat, maize and sugar beet were studied in detail, and U-shaped distributions of glyphosate use intensity were observed. The effects of farm type and management practices on glyphosate use patterns were mixed in the various crops. Motivation for glyphosate use differs widely within the farming community. Agricultural researchers, extension services and policy makers are recommended to mitigate vulnerabilities associated with glyphosate use, such as routine spraying and practices that increase selection pressure for the evolution of glyphosate-resistant weeds. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Influence of farming system and production purpose on the morpho structure of Spanish goat breeds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonzalez-Martinez, A.; Herrera, M.; Luque, M.; Rodero, E.

2014-06-01

The aim of this study was to examine the possible influence of farming systems, based on the morpho structure of 1,571 female goats drawn from 40 flocks containing seven Spanish breeds (Blanca Andaluza, Blanca Celtiberica, Negra Serrana, Pirenaica, Payoya, Murciano-Granadina and Malaguena) raised under four different farming systems. Analysis of morphometric variables showed that the morphostructure of native Spanish goat breeds was linked to the farming system used and thus to the production purpose. The morphostructure of grazing breeds may be more influenced by natural selection within the physical environment and less by human selection. That of stall-fed breeds, by contrast, reflects intense artificial selection aimed at achieving a highly-productive dairy type. For this reason, morphological evaluation systems used in breeding programmes for meat or dual-purpose goat breeds farmed extensively or semiextensively should be specific, and should reflect the influence of the environment in which these goats are farmed. (Author)

Extensive farming in Estonia started through a sex-biased migration from the steppe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saag, Lehti; Varul, Liivi; Scheib, Christiana Lyn

2017-01-01

The transition from hunting and gathering to farming in Europe was brought upon by arrival of new people carrying novel material culture and genetic ancestry. The exact nature and scale of the transition—both material and genetic—varied in different parts of Europe [1–7]. Farming-based economies...... Age populations, and European Late Neolithic/Bronze Age populations, while their X chromosomes are in addition equally closely related to European and Anatolian and Levantine early farmers. These findings suggest that the shift to intensive cultivation and animal husbandry in Estonia was triggered...

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

Saving water? : analysis of options for rice-based farms in Tamil Nadu, India

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Senthilkumar, K.

2008-01-01

Keywords: Modified rice cultivation, Water-saving, Farm typology, Technology adoption, Policy interventions, Farmers livelihoods, Resource use efficiency and Linear programming.

The looming water crisis and water-intensive nature of rice cultivation are driving the search for alternative

Optimized Power Dispatch in Wind Farms for Power Maximizing Considering Fatigue Loads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Baohua; N. Soltani, Mohsen; Hu, Weihao

2018-01-01

Wake effects in a wind farm (WF) include the wind velocity deficit and added turbulence. The wind velocity deficit may bring significant loss of the wind power and the added turbulence may cause extra fatigue load on the wind turbines (WTs). Inclusion of the wake effects in the wind farm control...... at a series of turbulence intensity, mean wind speed and active power reference to form a lookup table, which is used for the WF control. The proposed strategy is compared with WT MPPT control strategy and WF MPPT control strategy. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed strategy....

Antimicrobial drug use and related management practices among Ontario swine producers.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunlop, R H; McEwen, S A; Meek, A H; Friendship, R A; Clarke, R C; Black, W D

1998-02-01

A mail survey of swine producers in Ontario was undertaken during 1991 to describe the types, frequency, and motives for antimicrobial use. Two hundred operations that marketed fewer than 350 hogs per year, and 800 that marketed more than 350 per year were sent questionnaires, 63% of which were completed and returned. Most operations (86%) added antimicrobials to starter (weanling pig) rations, while fewer (29%) added these drugs to finisher pig rations. The most commonly used antimicrobials were tylosin, carbadox, and furazolidone in weanling pigs, and tylosin, lincomycin, and tetracycline in finishers. Water medication of grower-finisher pigs was practised on 25% of farms; 80% of farms had injected at least some grower-finisher pigs with antimicrobials in the 12 mo preceding the survey. Approximately 20% of operations that added antimicrobials to finisher rations did so for growth promotion purposes only, while others used them for disease treatment, prevention, control, or a combination of reasons. Among those not using antimicrobials in finisher rations, 83% did not believe they were necessary and 37% were concerned about the potential for residues in marketed hogs.

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...

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)

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…

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

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

Pathogens in Dairy Farming: Source Characterization and Groundwater Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Atwill, E. R.; Watanabe, N.; Li, X.; Hou, L.; Harter, T.; Bergamaschi, B.

2007-12-01

Intense animal husbandry is of growing concern as a potential contamination source of enteric pathogens as well as antibiotics. To assess the public health risk from pathogens and their hydrologic pathways, we hypothesize that the animal farm is not a homogeneous diffuse source, but that pathogen loading to the soil and, therefore, to groundwater varies significantly between the various management units of a farm. A dairy farm, for example, may include an area with calf hutches, corrals for heifers of various ages, freestalls and exercise yards for milking cows, separate freestalls for dry cows, a hospital barn, a yard for collection of solid manure, a liquid manure storage lagoon, and fields receiving various amounts of liquid and solid manure. Pathogen shedding and, hence, therapeutic and preventive pharmaceutical treatments vary between these management units. We are implementing a field reconnaissance program to determine the occurrence of three different pathogens ( E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter) and one indicator organism ( Enterococcus) at the ground-surface and in shallow groundwater of seven different management units on each of two farms, and in each of four seasons (spring/dry season, summer/irrigation season, fall/dry season, winter/rainy season). Initial results indicate that significant differences exist in the occurrence of these pathogens between management units and between organisms. These differences are weakly reflected in their occurrence in groundwater, despite the similarity of the shallow geologic environment across these sites. Our results indicate the importance of differentiating sources within a dairy farm and the importance of understanding subsurface transport processes for these pathogens.

Epidemiology of Eimeria species in selected broiler farms of Khoy suburb, West Azarbaijan Province, Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fakhri, M.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Intestinal coccidiosis, caused by Eimeria species, is an economically-important disease of poultry production industry worldwide. This study was designed to investigate the prevalence of different Eimeria species in the farmed broilers of Khoy city, West Azarbaijan, North West Iran. A total of 26 broiler farms of different production capacities were arbitrarily selected and examined in 2013. In each of the farms, Litters of two broilers farms were randomly sampled twice a week and examined. The intensity of infection with each of the Eimeria species was assessed on the basis of number of oocysts per gram of litter using Clayton-Lane and McMaster methods. Eimeria species diversity was determined by using oocyst sporulation technique in 2% potassium dichromate solution. Results indicated that 23.08% (6/26 of the broiler farms were infected with Eimeria oocysts. The maximum litter infection rate (7.5×103 was observed in fifth week of the rearing period. The litter infection rate was significantly correlated with kinds of water dispenser, feeder, ventilation, and density. The litters were infected with five Eimeria species; E. maxima (32.67% in 6 farms (23.07%, E. mitis (24% in 6 farms (23.07%, E. acervulina (18% in 5 farms (19.23%, E. tenella (14.67% in 4 farms (15.38%, and E. necatrix (10.67% in 3 farms (11.58%. Results of this study uncovered high rates of litter infection with various Eimeria species in the studied farms, suggesting the establishment of firm health management strategies in the region.

Control strategies for wind farm power optimization: LES study

Science.gov (United States)

Ciri, Umberto; Rotea, Mario; Leonardi, Stefano

2017-11-01

Turbines in wind farms operate in off-design conditions as wake interactions occur for particular wind directions. Advanced wind farm control strategies aim at coordinating and adjusting turbine operations to mitigate power losses in such conditions. Coordination is achieved by controlling on upstream turbines either the wake intensity, through the blade pitch angle or the generator torque, or the wake direction, through yaw misalignment. Downstream turbines can be adapted to work in waked conditions and limit power losses, using the blade pitch angle or the generator torque. As wind conditions in wind farm operations may change significantly, it is difficult to determine and parameterize the variations of the coordinated optimal settings. An alternative is model-free control and optimization of wind farms, which does not require any parameterization and can track the optimal settings as conditions vary. In this work, we employ a model-free optimization algorithm, extremum-seeking control, to find the optimal set-points of generator torque, blade pitch and yaw angle for a three-turbine configuration. Large-Eddy Simulations are used to provide a virtual environment to evaluate the performance of the control strategies under realistic, unsteady incoming wind. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, Grants No. 1243482 (the WINDINSPIRE project) and IIP 1362033 (I/UCRC WindSTAR). TACC is acknowledged for providing computational time.

Feasibility and validity of animal-based indicators for on-farm welfare assessment of thermal stress in dairy goats

Science.gov (United States)

Battini, Monica; Barbieri, Sara; Fioni, Luna; Mattiello, Silvana

2016-02-01

This investigation tested the feasibility and validity of indicators of cold and heat stress in dairy goats for on-farm welfare assessment protocols. The study was performed on two intensive dairy farms in Italy. Two different 3-point scale (0-2) scoring systems were applied to assess cold and heat stress. Cold and heat stress scores were visually assessed from outside the pen in the morning, afternoon and evening in January-February, April-May and July 2013 for a total of nine sessions of observations/farm. Temperature (°C), relative humidity (%) and wind speed (km/h) were recorded and Thermal Heat Index (THI) was calculated. The sessions were allocated to three climatic seasons, depending on THI ranges: cold (65). Score 2 was rarely assessed; therefore, scores 1 and 2 were aggregated for statistical analysis. The amount of goats suffering from cold stress was significantly higher in the cold season than in neutral ( P farm feasibility of both indicators: No constraint was found and time required was less than 10 min. Our results show that cold and heat stress scores are valid indicators to detect thermal stress in intensively managed dairy goats. The use of a binary scoring system (presence/absence), merging scores 1 and 2, may be a further refinement to improve the feasibility. This study also allows the prediction of optimal ranges of THI for dairy goat breeds in intensive husbandry systems, setting a comfort zone included into 55 and 70.

Operation and Equivalent Loads of Wind Turbines in Large Wind Farms

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Soren Juhl; Sorensen, Jens Norkaer; Mikkelsen, Robert Flemming

2017-11-01

Wind farms continue to grow in size and as the technology matures, the design of wind farms move towards including dynamic effects besides merely annual power production estimates. The unsteady operation of wind turbines in large wind farms has been modelled with EllipSys3D(Michelsen, 1992, and Sørensen, 1995) for a number of different scenarios using a fully coupled large eddy simulations(LES) and aero-elastic framework. The turbines are represented in the flow fields using the actuator line method(Sørensen and Shen, 2002), where the aerodynamic forces and deflections are derived from an aero-elastic code, Flex5(Øye, 1996). The simulations constitute a database of full turbine operation in terms of both production and loads for various wind speeds, turbulence intensities, and turbine spacings. The operating conditions are examined in terms of averaged power production and thrust force, as well as 10min equivalent flapwise bending, yaw, and tilt moment loads. The analyses focus on how the performance and loads change throughout a given farm as well as comparing how various input parameters affect the operation and loads of the wind turbines during different scenarios. COMWIND(Grant 2104-09- 067216/DSF), Nordic Consortium on Optimization and Control of Wind Farms, Eurotech Greentech Wind project, Winds2Loads, and CCA LES. Ressources Granted on SNIC and JESS. The Vestas NM80 turbine has been used.

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...

Macelignan inhibits bee pathogenic fungi Ascophaera apis growth through HOG1 pathway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y.K. Shin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Ascosphaera apis is a bee pathogen that causes bee larvae infection disease, to which treatment is not yet well investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate antifungal susceptibility in vitro against A. apis and to identify a new antifungal agent for this pathogen through minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC assay and western blot analysis. Macelignan had 1.56 and 3.125 μg/mL MIC against A. apis after 24 and 48 h, respectively, exhibiting the strongest growth inhibition against A. apis among the tested compounds (corosolic acid, dehydrocostus lactone, loganic acid, tracheloside, fangchinoline and emodin-8-O-β-D-glucopyranoside. Furthermore, macelignan showed a narrow-ranged spectrum against various fungal strains without any mammalian cell cytotoxicity. In spite of miconazole having powerful broad-ranged anti-fungal activity including A. apis, it demonstrated strong cytotoxicity. Therefore, even if macelignan alone was effective as an antifungal agent to treat A. apis, combined treatment with miconazole was more useful to overcome toxicity, drug resistance occurrence and cost effectiveness. Finally, HOG1 was revealed as a target molecule of macelignan in the anti-A. apis activity by inhibiting phosphorylation using S. cerevisiae as a model system. Based on our results, macelignan, a food-grade antimicrobial compound, would be an effective antifungal agent against A. apis infection in bees.

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 ...

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.

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

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…

Distributions of emissions intensity for individual beef cattle reared on pasture-based production systems.

Science.gov (United States)

McAuliffe, G A; Takahashi, T; Orr, R J; Harris, P; Lee, M R F

2018-01-10

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of livestock production systems is often based on inventory data for farms typical of a study region. As information on individual animals is often unavailable, livestock data may already be aggregated at the time of inventory analysis, both across individual animals and across seasons. Even though various computational tools exist to consider the effect of genetic and seasonal variabilities in livestock-originated emissions intensity, the degree to which these methods can address the bias suffered by representative animal approaches is not well-understood. Using detailed on-farm data collected on the North Wyke Farm Platform (NWFP) in Devon, UK, this paper proposes a novel approach of life cycle impact assessment that complements the existing LCA methodology. Field data, such as forage quality and animal performance, were measured at high spatial and temporal resolutions and directly transferred into LCA processes. This approach has enabled derivation of emissions intensity for each individual animal and, by extension, its intra-farm distribution, providing a step towards reducing uncertainty related to agricultural production inherent in LCA studies for food. Depending on pasture management strategies, the total emissions intensity estimated by the proposed method was higher than the equivalent value recalculated using a representative animal approach by 0.9-1.7 kg CO 2 -eq/kg liveweight gain, or up to 10% of system-wide emissions. This finding suggests that emissions intensity values derived by the latter technique may be underestimated due to insufficient consideration given to poorly performing animals, whose emissions becomes exponentially greater as average daily gain decreases. Strategies to mitigate life-cycle environmental impacts of pasture-based beef productions systems are also discussed.

Cofactors Influencing Prevalence and Intensity of Schistosoma ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Urine samples were collected from 657 individuals and analyzed by centrifugation, and the number of ova was determined by microscopy. ... Cattle rearing (OR=9.01; CI=4.00-20.75; P=0.00) and farming (OR=3.14; CI=1.82-5.43; P=0.00) showed significant association with the prevalence and intensity of the disease.

Soil biota and agriculture production in conventional and organic farming

Science.gov (United States)

Schrama, Maarten; de Haan, Joj; Carvalho, Sabrina; Kroonen, Mark; Verstegen, Harry; Van der Putten, Wim

2015-04-01

Sustainable food production for a growing world population requires a healthy soil that can buffer environmental extremes and minimize its losses. There are currently two views on how to achieve this: by intensifying conventional agriculture or by developing organically based agriculture. It has been established that yields of conventional agriculture can be 20% higher than of organic agriculture. However, high yields of intensified conventional agriculture trade off with loss of soil biodiversity, leaching of nutrients, and other unwanted ecosystem dis-services. One of the key explanations for the loss of nutrients and GHG from intensive agriculture is that it results in high dynamics of nutrient losses, and policy has aimed at reducing temporal variation. However, little is known about how different agricultural practices affect spatial variation, and it is unknown how soil fauna acts this. In this study we compare the spatial and temporal variation of physical, chemical and biological parameters in a long term (13-year) field experiment with two conventional farming systems (low and medium organic matter input) and one organic farming system (high organic matter input) and we evaluate the impact on ecosystem services that these farming systems provide. Soil chemical (N availability, N mineralization, pH) and soil biological parameters (nematode abundance, bacterial and fungal biomass) show considerably higher spatial variation under conventional farming than under organic farming. Higher variation in soil chemical and biological parameters coincides with the presence of 'leaky' spots (high nitrate leaching) in conventional farming systems, which shift unpredictably over the course of one season. Although variation in soil physical factors (soil organic matter, soil aggregation, soil moisture) was similar between treatments, but averages were higher under organic farming, indicating more buffered conditions for nutrient cycling. All these changes coincide with

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...

An ecosystem approach to assess soil quality in organically and conventionally managed farms in Iceland and Austria

Science.gov (United States)

van Leeuwen, J. P.; Lehtinen, T.; Lair, G. J.; Bloem, J.; Hemerik, L.; Ragnarsdóttir, K. V.; Gísladóttir, G.; Newton, J. S.; de Ruiter, P. C.

2015-01-01

Intensive agricultural production can be an important driver for the loss of long-term soil quality. For this reason, the European Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) network adopted four pairs of agricultural CZO sites that differ in their management: conventional or organic. The CZO sites include two pairs of grassland farms in Iceland and two pairs of arable farms in Austria. Conventional fields differed from the organic fields in the use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides. Soils of these eight farms were analysed in terms of their physical, chemical, and biological properties, including soil aggregate size distribution, soil organic matter contents, abundance of soil microbes and soil fauna, and taxonomic diversity of soil microarthropods. In Icelandic grasslands, organically farmed soils had larger mean weight diameters of soil aggregates than the conventional farms, while there were no differences on the Austrian farms. Organic farming did not systematically influence organic matter contents or composition, nor soil carbon and nitrogen contents. Also, soil food web structures, in terms of presence of trophic groups of soil organisms, were highly similar among all farms, indicating a low sensitivity of trophic structure to land use or climate. However, soil organism biomass, especially of bacteria and nematodes, was consistently higher on organic farms than on conventional farms. Within the microarthropods, taxonomic diversity was systematically higher in the organic farms compared to the conventional farms. This difference was found across countries and farm, crop, and soil types. The results do not show systematic differences in physical and chemical properties between organic and conventional farms, but confirm that organic farming can enhance soil biomass and that microarthropod diversity is a sensitive and consistent indicator for land management.

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

Alley Farming in Thailand

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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.

Enhancing Ecoefficiency in Shrimp Farming through Interconnected Ponds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramón Héctor Barraza-Guardado

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The future development of shrimp farming needs to improve its ecoefficiency. The purpose of this study was to evaluate water quality, flows, and nitrogen balance and production parameters on a farm with interconnected pond design to improve the efficiency of the semi-intensive culture of Litopenaeus vannamei ponds. The study was conducted in 21 commercial culture ponds during 180 days at densities of 30–35 ind m−2 and daily water exchange <2%. Our study provides evidence that by interconnecting ponds nutrient recycling is favored by promoting the growth of primary producers of the pond as chlorophyll a. Based on the mass balance and flow of nutrients this culture system reduces the flow of solid, particulate organic matter, and nitrogen compounds to the environment and significantly increases the efficiency of water (5 to 6.5 m3 kg−1 cycle−1, when compared with traditional culture systems. With this culture system it is possible to recover up to 34% of the total nitrogen entering the system, with production in excess of 4,000 kg ha−1 shrimp. We believe that the production system with interconnected ponds is a technically feasible model to improve ecoefficiency production of shrimp farming.

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.

Scaling point/plot measurements of greenhouse gas fluxes, balances and intensities to whole-farms and landscapes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rosenstock, T.S.; Rufino, Mariana; Chirinda, N.; Bussel, van L.G.J.; Reidsma, P.; Butterbach-Bahl, K.

2015-01-01

Measurements of nutrient stocks and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes are typically collected at very local scales (<1 to 30 m2) and then extrapolated to estimate impacts at larger spatial extents (farms, landscapes, or even countries). Translating point measurements to higher levels of aggregation is

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.

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 ...

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...

Prevalence and intensity of gill monogenean parasites of Tilapia ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... C. arthracanthus, C. yanni, C. lagoonaris, C. louipaysani and C. kouassii based on the sex of Tilapia guineensis. This could enable the use of appropriate methods to fight against these pathogens, especially in intensive fish farming. Keywords: Monogeneans, Tilapia guineensis, population dynamics, Lake Ayamé 2.

A DISAGGREGATED MEASURES APPROACH OF POVERTY STATUS OF FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grace Oluwabukunmi Akinsola

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In a bid to strengthen the agricultural sector in Nigeria, the Kwara State Government invited thirteen Zimbabwean farmers to participate in agricultural production in Kwara State in 2004. The main objective of this study therefore was to examine the effect of the activities of these foreign farmers on local farmers’ poverty status. A questionnaire was administered on the heads of farming households. A total of 240 respondents were used for the study, which was comprised of 120 contact and 120 non-contact heads of farming households. The analytical tools employed included descriptive statistics and the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke method. The result indicated that the non-contact farming households are poorer than the contact farming households. Using the disaggregated poverty profile, poverty is most severe among the age group of above 60 years. The intensity of poverty is also higher among the married group than the singles. Based on the education level, poverty seems to be most severe among those without any formal education. It is therefore recommended that a minimum of secondary school education should be encouraged among the farming households to prevent higher incidence of poverty in the study area.

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...

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)

Diversity in the dry land mixed system and viability of dairy sheep farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose Rivas

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Castilla La Mancha is a Spanish region where sheep farming system is traditionally pasture-based. Recently, this territory has undergone a recession of dairy sheep activity, which changed the type and intensity of land utilization and led to environmental and landscape degradation. The present study analyzed the diversity and viability of dairy sheep of mixed systems. Multivariate analysis was conducted on 157 dairy sheep farms, factor analysis selected 3 productivity factors (level of intensification, land use, size and family labour, and cluster analysis classified farms into three groups. Group 1, smallholders – with the smallest size (405.5 ewes and 564.7 ha, lowest area in ownership (1.5%, and agriculture activity (6.5% crops area: family farms (90.8% highly dependent on external inputs. Group 2, large-scale farms (1058.7 ewes and 1755.1 ha – with the lowest stocking rate (0.14 livestock unit/ha and productivity: nonfamily farms (39.1% with low area in ownership (4.1% and agriculture activity (7.6%. Group 3, mixed-technified – with the highest levels of technology and least use of family labour (27.0%: large-scale farms (1387.4 ewes and 955.8 ha, combining milk production with agricultural activities (55.7% crops area, with the highest area in ownership (63.1% and the best productivity performance. In conclusion, the dry land mixed system of Castilla La Mancha showed diversity of farms. Improving viability requires a systemic approach where the key tool is grazing, allowing the mixed system to be consolidated as a model that enhances the positive impact of livestock on the environment in the Mediterranean basin.

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

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.

Applying Customized Climate Advisory Information to Translate Extreme Rainfall Events into Farming Options in the Sudan-Sahel of West Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Salack, S.; Worou, N. O.; Sanfo, S.; Nikiema, M. P.; Boubacar, I.; Paturel, J. E.; Tondoh, E. J.

2017-12-01

In West Africa, the risk of food insecurity linked to the low productivity of small holder farming increases as a result of rainfall extremes. In its recent evolution, the rainy season in the Sudan-Sahel zone presents mixed patterns of extreme climatic events. In addition to intense rain events, the distribution of events is associated with pockets of intra-seasonal long dry spells. The negative consequences of these mixed patterns are obvious on the farm: soil water logging, erosion of arable land, dwartness and dessication of crops, and loss in production. The capacity of local farming communities to respond accordingly to rainfall extreme events is often constrained by lack of access to climate information and advisory on smart crop management practices that can help translate extreme rainfall events into farming options. The objective of this work is to expose the framework and the pre-liminary results of a scheme that customizes climate-advisory information package delivery to subsistence farmers in Bakel (Senegal), Ouahigouya & Dano (Burkina Faso) and Bolgatanga (Ghana) for sustainable family agriculture. The package is based on the provision of timely climate information (48-hours, dekadal & seasonal) embedded with smart crop management practices to explore and exploite the potential advantage of intense rainfall and extreme dry spells in millet, maize, sorghum and cowpea farming communities. It is sent via mobile phones and used on selected farms (i.e agro-climatic farm schools) on which some small on-farm infrastructure were built to alleviate negative impacts of weather. Results provide prominent insight on how co-production of weather/climate information, customized access and guidiance on its use can induce fast learning (capacity building of actors), motivation for adaptation, sustainability, potential changes in cropping system, yields and family income in the face of a rainfall extremes at local scales of Sudan-Sahel of West Africa. Keywords: Climate

The drought risk of maize in the farming-pastoral ecotone in Northern China based on physical vulnerability assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhiqiang; Jiang, Jingyi; Ma, Qing

2016-12-01

Climate change is affecting every aspect of human activities, especially the agriculture. In China, extreme drought events caused by climate change have posed a great threat to food safety. In this work we aimed to study the drought risk of maize in the farming-pastoral ecotone in Northern China based on physical vulnerability assessment. The physical vulnerability curve was constructed from the relationship between drought hazard intensity index and yield loss rate. The risk assessment of agricultural drought was conducted from the drought hazard intensity index and physical vulnerability curve. The probability distribution of drought hazard intensity index decreased from south-west to north-east and increased from south-east to north-west along the rainfall isoline. The physical vulnerability curve had a reduction effect in three parts of the farming-pastoral ecotone in Northern China, which helped to reduce drought hazard vulnerability on spring maize. The risk of yield loss ratio calculated based on physical vulnerability curve was lower compared with the drought hazard intensity index, which suggested that the capacity of spring maize to resist and adapt to drought is increasing. In conclusion, the farming-pastoral ecotone in Northern China is greatly sensitive to climate change and has a high probability of severe drought hazard. Risk assessment of physical vulnerability can help better understand the physical vulnerability to agricultural drought and can also promote measurements to adapt to climate change.

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...

Landscape composition influences farm management effects on farmland birds in winter: A pan-European approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geiger, F.; Snoo, de G.R.; Berendse, F.

2010-01-01

This study examined the effects of agricultural intensity, various farming practices, landscape composition and vegetation cover on the abundance and species richness of wintering farmland birds, assessed simultaneously across seven European regions. The abundance and species richness of wintering

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

Profile and Role of Woman Involvement in Dry System Pig Farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hartoko Hartoko

2004-01-01

Full Text Available This research was purposed to study the profile and role of woman involvement in dry system pig farming (pig housing with mattress from grass, pig manure, vegetable waste and kitchen waste.  The research was carried out from August to November 2003.  Pig housing areas were located on eight villages of Kertek District in Wonosobo Regency (Central Java.  The method applied was survey with intensive observation.  Sample were randomly selected, involved 180 respondents (15 percent of total pig farmers, while the locations of the sample were selected based on purposive sampling method.  The result showed that respondents were in productive age, with low formal education level. Most of all are Moslems (98% and they have small family size.  The level of woman involvement in pig farming was high, approximately 85 percent.  They have other income source and they involve in pig farming to help their husbands in generating income.  Experience in the dry system pig farming was quite long (more than 10 years and skill come from imitating their neighbours otherwise of autodidact. (Animal Production 6(1: 23-29 (2004   Key Words: Pig, Dry System, Woman Profile and Role

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.

Livestock-associated risk factors for pneumonia in an area of intensive animal farming in the Netherlands.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Freidl, G.S.; Spruijt, I.T.; Borlée, F.; Smit, L.A.M.; Gageldonk-Lafeber, A.B. van; Heederik, D.; Yzermans, J.; Dijk, C.E. van; Maassen, C.B.M.; Hoek, W. van der

2017-01-01

Previous research conducted in 2009 found a significant positive association between pneumonia in humans and living close to goat and poultry farms. However, as this result might have been affected by a large goat-related Q fever epidemic, the aim of the current study was to re-evaluate this

Longitudinal effects of environmental enrichment on behaviour and physiology of pigs reared on an intensive-stock farm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Augusto Vitale

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper was to provide a longitudinal evaluation of the effects of physical enrichments on the behaviour and physiology of intensive stock-farming pigs. Twenty-eight crossbred pigs of both sexes, were exposed to four types of enrichments (hemp ropes, steel chains, plastic balls, rubber hoses over a period of eleven weeks. This investigation was based on specific abnormal behaviours and physiological indicators, including hematologic parameters. For behavioural score, focal sampling was used with recording of abnormal behaviours (body-, tail- and ear-biting, belly nosing, running, and interaction with objects (for Enriched pigs. The presence of skin injuries was also recorded. In general, the frequency of abnormal behaviours was significantly reduced in the Enriched group. A timerelated profile appeared in the use of the enrichments. Males showed higher occurrence of skin injuries than females. Physiological measurements, such as levels of complement system, white blood cells and neutrophils, were lower in pigs from the Enriched group. Enriched pigs, as a whole, presented much lower levels of serum DHEA-S concentration over two weeks. The findings of this study show the successful provision of appropriate enrichments to encourage behaviours which may result in satisfactory animal oral interaction with the enriching objects, preventing them biting pen-mates. In this respect, the objects proposed were strongly effective in producing changes in behaviour which could mitigate inadequate conditions, such as the relationship between animal body weight and the available space allowance.

Relative emissions intensity of dairy production systems: employing different functional units in life-cycle assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, S A; Topp, C F E; Ennos, R A; Chagunda, M G G

2017-08-01

This study aimed to assess the merit and suitability of individual functional units (FU) in expressing greenhouse gas emissions intensity in different dairy production systems. An FU provides a clearly defined and measurable reference to which input and output data are normalised. This enables the results from life-cycle assessment (LCA) of different systems to be treated as functionally equivalent. Although the methodological framework of LCA has been standardised, selection of an appropriate FU remains ultimately at the discretion of the individual study. The aim of the present analysis was to examine the effect of different FU on the emissions intensities of different dairy production systems. Analysis was based on 7 years of data (2004 to 2010) from four Holstein-Friesian dairy systems at Scotland's Rural College's long-term genetic and management systems project, the Langhill herd. Implementation of LCA accounted for the environmental impacts of the whole-farm systems and their production of milk from 'cradle to farm gate'. Emissions intensity was determined as kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents referenced to six FU: UK livestock units, energy-corrected milk yield, total combined milk solids yield, on-farm land used for production, total combined on- and off-farm land used for production, and the proposed new FU-energy-corrected milk yield per hectare of total land used. Energy-corrected milk was the FU most effective for reflecting differences between the systems. Functional unit that incorporated a land-related aspect did not find difference between systems which were managed under the same forage regime, despite their comprising different genetic lines. Employing on-farm land as the FU favoured grazing systems. The proposed dual FU combining both productivity and land use did not differentiate between emissions intensity of systems as effectively as the productivity-based units. However, this dual unit displayed potential to quantify in a simple way

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…

Pyrethroid insecticide exposure in school-aged children living in rice and aquacultural farming regions of Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohitrattana, Juthasiri; Siriwong, Wattasit; Robson, Mark; Panuwet, Parinya; Barr, Dana Boyd; Fiedler, Nancy

2014-01-01

Pyrethroid insecticides (PYR) are commonly used in rice farms and household pest control in Thailand. No investigative study has yet been made regarding factors associated with PYR exposure among Thai children. This study aimed to compare the levels of PYR exposure between children living in rice farms (high-intensity PYR used) and aquacultural areas (low-intensity PYR used) during the wet and dry seasons in Thailand, during which different amounts of PYR are applied. Environmental conditions and common activities of children were used to identify factors associated with PYR exposure. A cross-sectional study was done during the wet and dry seasons, respectively. A total of 53 participants aged between 6 and 8 years old were recruited from rice farms and aquacultural areas. A parental-structured interview was used to gather information about PYR use, household environments, and participants' activities. First voided morning urine samples were collected for PYR urinary metabolites (ie, 3-phenoxybenzoic acid [3-PBA] and cis/trans-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane carboxylic acid [DCCA]) measurements. Hand wipe samples were collected during home visits, to measure PYR residues on the hands. The concentrations of urinary PYR metabolites were not significantly different between participants who lived in rice farming and those who lived in aquacultural areas, during both wet and dry seasons. Both participant groups had slightly increased urinary PYR metabolites during the wet season compared with the dry season. The results from linear regression analysis revealed that some environmental conditions and activities or practices may be used to predict trends of PYR exposure. Frequency of PYR use in farms (β=0.004) and households (β=0.07), proximity to rice farms (β=0.09), playing in rice farms (β=0.11), and oral exposure from objects exposed to PYR (β=0.08) were likely to be related to increased concentrations of PYR metabolites. These findings suggest that

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.

Multiscale Effects of Management, Environmental Conditions, and Land Use on Nitrate Leaching in Dairy Farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oenema, J.; Burgers, S.L.G.E.; Verloop, J.; Hooijboer, A.; Boumans, L.; Berge, ten H.F.M.

2010-01-01

Nitrate leaching in intensive grassland- and silage maize-based dairy farming systems on sandy soil is a main environmental concern. Here, statistical relationships are presented between management practices and environmental conditions and nitrate concentration in shallow groundwater (0.8 m depth)

Intensidade da cercosporiose da alface em cultivos convencionais e orgânicos em Pernambuco Intensity of Cercospora leaf spot of lettuce in conventional and organic farming systems in State of Pernambuco, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andréa Maria André Gomes

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Foram realizados levantamentos da intensidade da cercosporiose da alface, causada por Cercospora longissima, em 25 plantios manejados no sistema convencional e 25 no sistema orgânico, em dois períodos de plantio, janeiro-abril (I e junho-setembro (II de 2002, no estado de Pernambuco. A prevalência da doença foi elevada (> 88% em todas as situações avaliadas. Nas áreas de cultivo convencional a severidade da cercosporiose variou de 0,0 a 16,9%, enquanto em cultivos orgânicos de 0,0 a 22,5%. Nos dois sistemas de cultivo a severidade da doença foi significativamente mais elevada no período I, quando a precipitação pluviométrica foi quase três vezes superior ao período II. No entanto, somente no período II foram constatadas diferenças significativas na severidade da doença entre os sistemas de cultivo, sendo superior no sistema orgânico. Não foram constatadas correlações significativas entre os níveis de severidade da cercosporiose nas áreas de plantio nos dois períodos avaliados, dentro de cada sistema de cultivo.Surveys of the intensity of cercospora leaf spot of lettuce caused by Cercospora longissima were performed in 25 conventional and 25 organic farming areas in 2 planting periods, January-April (I and June-September (II 2002, in State of Pernambuco (Brazil. Disease prevalence was high (> 88% in all evaluated situations. Disease severity ranged from 0.0 to 16.9% in conventional farming areas and from 0.0 to 22.5% in organic farming areas. In both systems, disease severity was significantly higher in period I when precipitation was almost 3 times higher to that in period II. However, only in period II, significant differences in disease severity were found between farming systems, with high values in the organic system. There were no significant correlations among disease severity levels in the areas in both evaluated periods inside each farming system.

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

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…

The Relationship of Dairy Farm Eco-Efficiency with Intensification and Self-Sufficiency. Evidence from the French Dairy Sector Using Life Cycle Analysis, Data Envelopment Analysis and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Diomedes Soteriades

Full Text Available We aimed at quantifying the extent to which agricultural management practices linked to animal production and land use affect environmental outcomes at a larger scale. Two practices closely linked to farm environmental performance at a larger scale are farming intensity, often resulting in greater off-farm environmental impacts (land, non-renewable energy use etc. associated with the production of imported inputs (e.g. concentrates, fertilizer; and the degree of self-sufficiency, i.e. the farm's capacity to produce goods from its own resources, with higher control over nutrient recycling and thus minimization of losses to the environment, often resulting in greater on-farm impacts (eutrophication, acidification etc.. We explored the relationship of these practices with farm environmental performance for 185 French specialized dairy farms. We used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling to build, and relate, latent variables of environmental performance, intensification and self-sufficiency. Proxy indicators reflected the latent variables for intensification (milk yield/cow, use of maize silage etc. and self-sufficiency (home-grown feed/total feed use, on-farm energy/total energy use etc.. Environmental performance was represented by an aggregate 'eco-efficiency' score per farm derived from a Data Envelopment Analysis model fed with LCA and farm output data. The dataset was split into two spatially heterogeneous (bio-physical conditions, production patterns regions. For both regions, eco-efficiency was significantly negatively related with milk yield/cow and the use of maize silage and imported concentrates. However, these results might not necessarily hold for intensive yet more self-sufficient farms. This requires further investigation with latent variables for intensification and self-sufficiency that do not largely overlap- a modelling challenge that occurred here. We conclude that the environmental 'sustainability' of intensive

The Relationship of Dairy Farm Eco-Efficiency with Intensification and Self-Sufficiency. Evidence from the French Dairy Sector Using Life Cycle Analysis, Data Envelopment Analysis and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Soteriades, Andreas Diomedes; Stott, Alistair William; Moreau, Sindy; Charroin, Thierry; Blanchard, Melanie; Liu, Jiayi; Faverdin, Philippe

2016-01-01

We aimed at quantifying the extent to which agricultural management practices linked to animal production and land use affect environmental outcomes at a larger scale. Two practices closely linked to farm environmental performance at a larger scale are farming intensity, often resulting in greater off-farm environmental impacts (land, non-renewable energy use etc.) associated with the production of imported inputs (e.g. concentrates, fertilizer); and the degree of self-sufficiency, i.e. the farm's capacity to produce goods from its own resources, with higher control over nutrient recycling and thus minimization of losses to the environment, often resulting in greater on-farm impacts (eutrophication, acidification etc.). We explored the relationship of these practices with farm environmental performance for 185 French specialized dairy farms. We used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling to build, and relate, latent variables of environmental performance, intensification and self-sufficiency. Proxy indicators reflected the latent variables for intensification (milk yield/cow, use of maize silage etc.) and self-sufficiency (home-grown feed/total feed use, on-farm energy/total energy use etc.). Environmental performance was represented by an aggregate 'eco-efficiency' score per farm derived from a Data Envelopment Analysis model fed with LCA and farm output data. The dataset was split into two spatially heterogeneous (bio-physical conditions, production patterns) regions. For both regions, eco-efficiency was significantly negatively related with milk yield/cow and the use of maize silage and imported concentrates. However, these results might not necessarily hold for intensive yet more self-sufficient farms. This requires further investigation with latent variables for intensification and self-sufficiency that do not largely overlap- a modelling challenge that occurred here. We conclude that the environmental 'sustainability' of intensive dairy farming

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.

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

Concentrations of cadmium, Cobalt, Lead, Nickel, and Zinc in Blood and Fillets of Northern Hog Sucker (Hypentelium nigricans) from streams contaminated by lead-Zinc mining: Implications for monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, C.J.; Brumbaugh, W.G.; May, T.W.

2009-01-01

Lead (Pb) and other metals can accumulate in northern hog sucker (Hypentelium nigricans) and other suckers (Catostomidae), which are harvested in large numbers from Ozark streams by recreational fishers. Suckers are also important in the diets of piscivorous wildlife and fishes. Suckers from streams contaminated by historic Pb-zinc (Zn) mining in southeastern Missouri are presently identified in a consumption advisory because of Pb concentrations. We evaluated blood sampling as a potentially nonlethal alternative to fillet sampling for Pb and other metals in northern hog sucker. Scaled, skin-on, bone-in "fillet" and blood samples were obtained from northern hog suckers (n = 75) collected at nine sites representing a wide range of conditions relative to Pb-Zn mining in southeastern Missouri. All samples were analyzed for cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), Pb, nickel (Ni), and Zn. Fillets were also analyzed for calcium as an indicator of the amount of bone, skin, and mucus included in the samples. Pb, Cd, Co, and Ni concentrations were typically higher in blood than in fillets, but Zn concentrations were similar in both sample types. Concentrations of all metals except Zn were typically higher at sites located downstream from active and historic Pb-Zn mines and related facilities than at nonmining sites. Blood concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Co were highly correlated with corresponding fillet concentrations; log-log linear regressions between concentrations in the two sample types explained 94% of the variation for Pb, 73-83% of the variation for Co, and 61% of the variation for Cd. In contrast, relations for Ni and Zn explained Fillet Pb and calcium concentrations were correlated (r = 0.83), but only in the 12 fish from the most contaminated site; concentrations were not significantly correlated across all sites. Conversely, fillet Cd and calcium were correlated across the range of sites (r = 0.78), and the inclusion of calcium in the fillet-to-blood relation explained an

Wake Measurements in ECN's Scaled Wind Farm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wagenaar, J.W.; Schepers, J.G. [ECN Wind Energy, Petten (Netherlands)

2013-02-15

In ECN's scaled wind farm the wake evolution is studied in two different situations. A single wake is studied at two different locations downstream of a turbine and a single wake is studied in conjunction with a triple wake. Here, the wake is characterized by the wind speed ratio, the turbulence intensity, the vertical wind speed and the turbulence (an)isotropy. Per situation all wake measurements are taken simultaneously together with the inflow conditions.

Rural Poultry Farming with Improved Breed of Backyard Chicken

OpenAIRE

P.K. Pathak; B.G. Nath

2013-01-01

Livestock and poultry rearing is an imperative factor for improving the nutritional security of rural poor in India. Rural farmers rear Desi type chicken with low egg and meat production in backyard system. For developing the rural poultry farming, improved backyard poultry like Vanaraja/Gramapriya birds rearing is of utmost important. These improved birds can rear in both intensive and free ranging system. Birds can be reared for egg production in small numbers (10- 20) in fre...

Invited review: Current production trends, farm structures, and economics of the dairy sheep and goat sectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Pulina, G; Milán, M J; Lavín, M P; Theodoridis, A; Morin, E; Capote, J; Thomas, D L; Francesconi, A H D; Caja, G

2018-05-30

Dairy small ruminants account for approximately 21% of all sheep and goats in the world, produce around 3.5% of the world's milk, and are mainly located in subtropical-temperate areas of Asia, Europe, and Africa. Dairy sheep are concentrated around the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, where their dairy products are typical ingredients of the human diet. Dairy goats are concentrated in low-income, food-deficit countries of the Indian subcontinent, where their products are a key food source, but are also present in high-income, technologically developed countries. This review evaluates the status of the dairy sheep and goat sectors in the world, with special focus on the commercially and technically developed industries in France, Greece, Italy, and Spain (FGIS). Dairy small ruminants account for a minor part of the total agricultural output in France, Italy, and Spain (0.9 to 1.8%) and a larger part in Greece (8.8%). In FGIS, the dairy sheep industry is based on local breeds and crossbreeds raised under semi-intensive and intensive systems and is concentrated in a few regions in these countries. Average flock size varies from small to medium (140 to 333 ewes/farm), and milk yield from low to medium (85 to 216 L/ewe), showing substantial room for improvement. Most sheep milk is sold to industries and processed into traditional cheese types, many of which are Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) cheeses for gourmet and export markets (e.g., Pecorino, Manchego, and Roquefort). By comparing break-even milk price among FGIS countries, we observed the following: (1) most Greek and French dairy sheep farms were unprofitable, with the exception of the intensive Chios farms of Greece; (2) milk price was aligned with cost of production in Italy; and (3) profitable farms coexisted with unprofitable farms in Spain. In FGIS, dairy goat production is based on local breeds raised under more extensive systems than sheep. Compared with sheep, average dairy goat herds are

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…

Some data on the behaviour of kites (Milvus milvus, Milvus migrans nesting close to two active wind farms in Saxony, Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Busse Przemysław

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The main aim of this study was to evaluate how local pairs of kites behave in the vicinity of two wind farms located in the same region (Saxony, Germany and at farms which are to be re-powered. We observed three pairs that had located their nests close to active wind farms (a few hundred to 1500 m from the wind farm. Special attention was focused on variation in the intensity of flights and its dependence on the local landscape and to active avoidance of existing wind turbines. Observations were made at the end of the breeding time, when the young were still in the nest and shortly after fledging. Despite the short observation periods, the results seem to show clearly how differentiated the flight patterns of these birds are in relation to the landscape features around the farm. The distance from the nest to the wind farm cannot be the only measure of the level of potential wind-farm-related danger to the birds nesting close to the farm site.

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…

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)…

Use of Colistin and Other Critical Antimicrobials on Pig and Chicken Farms in Southern Vietnam and Its Association with Resistance in Commensal Escherichia coli Bacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nguyen, Nhung T.; Nguyen, Hoa M.; Nguyen, Cuong V.; Nguyen, Trung V.; Nguyen, Men T.; Thai, Hieu Q.; Ho, Mai H.; Thwaites, Guy; Ngo, Hoa T.; Baker, Stephen; Carrique-Mas, Juan

2016-01-01

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health problem, and emerging semi-intensive farming systems in Southeast Asia are major contributors to the AMR burden. We accessed 12 pig and chicken farms at key stages of production in Tien Giang Province, Vietnam, to measure antimicrobial usage and to

Application of x-ray techniques in precision farming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arslan, Selcuk; Colvin, Thomas S.; Inanc, Feyzi; Gray, Joseph N.

2000-01-01

The precision farming is a relatively new concept basing farming upon quantitative determination of various parameters in the farming practices. One of these parameters is accurate measurement of grain flow rates on real time basis. Although there are various techniques already available for this purpose, x-rays provide a very competitive alternative to the current state of art. In this work, the use of low energy bremsstrahlung x-ray, up to 30 keV, densitometry is demonstrated for grain flow rate measurements. Mass flow rates for corn are related to measured x-ray intensity in gray scale units with a 0.99 correlation coefficient for flow rates ranging from 2 kg/s to 6 kg/s. Higher flow rate values can be measured by using slightly more energetic x-rays or a higher tube current. Measurements were done in real time at a 30 Hz sampling rate. Flow rate measurements are independent of grain moisture due to a negligible change in the x-ray attenuation coefficients at typical moisture content values from 15% to 25%. Grain flow profile changes do not affect measurement accuracy. X-rays easily capture variations in the corn stream. Due to the low energy of the x-ray photons, biological shielding can easily be accomplished with 2 mm thick lead foil or 5 mm of steel

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...

Wildlife-friendly farming benefits rare birds, bees and plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Pywell, Richard F; Heard, Matthew S; Bradbury, Richard B; Hinsley, Shelley; Nowakowski, Marek; Walker, Kevin J; Bullock, James M

2012-10-23

Agricultural intensification is a leading cause of global biodiversity loss, especially for threatened and near-threatened species. One widely implemented response is 'wildlife-friendly farming', involving the close integration of conservation and extensive farming practices within agricultural landscapes. However, the putative benefits from this controversial policy are currently either unknown or thought unlikely to extend to rare and declining species. Here, we show that new, evidence-based approaches to habitat creation on intensively managed farmland in England can achieve large increases in plant, bee and bird species. In particular, we found that habitat enhancement methods designed to provide the requirements of sensitive target biota consistently increased the richness and abundance of both rare and common species, with 10-fold to greater than 100-fold more rare species per sample area than generalized conventional conservation measures. Furthermore, targeting landscapes of high species richness amplified beneficial effects on the least mobile taxa: plants and bees. Our results provide the first unequivocal support for a national wildlife-friendly farming policy and suggest that this approach should be implemented much more extensively to address global biodiversity loss. However, to be effective, these conservation measures must be evidence-based, and developed using sound knowledge of the ecological requirements of key species.

Myosin dephosphorylation during rapid relaxation of hog carotid artery smooth muscle.

Science.gov (United States)

Driska, S P; Stein, P G; Porter, R

1989-02-01

Changes in myosin light chain phosphorylation were measured during histamine-induced rhythmic contractions of hog carotid artery smooth muscle strips. Histamine made the muscle strips contract spontaneously every 1-5 min, and this allowed measurement of the time course of phosphorylation in relation to force development under conditions where diffusion of the agonist through tissue would not complicate the interpretation of the data. In the absence of histamine, phosphorylation was low [0.12 +/- 0.04 mol P/mol of the 20,000-Da light chain (LC 20)]. Phosphorylation was slightly (but not significantly) higher in the presence of 10 microM histamine in the relaxed state between contractions (0.20 +/- 0.03 mol P/mol LC 20). In muscle strips frozen during force development, when force had reached half of its peak value, phosphorylation was 0.38 +/- 0.06 mol P/mol LC 20. The highest levels of phosphorylation (0.49 +/- 0.04 mol P/mol LC 20) were found in strips frozen at the peak of the rhythmic contractions. Strips frozen when force had declined to half of the peak force showed low levels of phosphorylation (0.17 +/- 0.07 mol P/mol LC 20), indicating that the myosin light chain phosphatase activity was quite high. Mathematical modeling of the kinase and phosphatase reactions suggested that the apparent first-order phosphatase rate constant was at least 0.08 s-1 under these conditions. To obtain a better estimate of this rate constant, a second series of phosphorylation measurements were made early in the relaxation phase of the rhythmic contractions. The highest phosphatase rate constant obtained from these measurements was 0.23 s-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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 ...

Feasibility and validity of animal-based indicators for on-farm welfare assessment of thermal stress in dairy goats.

Science.gov (United States)

Battini, Monica; Barbieri, Sara; Fioni, Luna; Mattiello, Silvana

2016-02-01

This investigation tested the feasibility and validity of indicators of cold and heat stress in dairy goats for on-farm welfare assessment protocols. The study was performed on two intensive dairy farms in Italy. Two different 3-point scale (0-2) scoring systems were applied to assess cold and heat stress. Cold and heat stress scores were visually assessed from outside the pen in the morning, afternoon and evening in January-February, April-May and July 2013 for a total of nine sessions of observations/farm. Temperature (°C), relative humidity (%) and wind speed (km/h) were recorded and Thermal Heat Index (THI) was calculated. The sessions were allocated to three climatic seasons, depending on THI ranges: cold (65). Score 2 was rarely assessed; therefore, scores 1 and 2 were aggregated for statistical analysis. The amount of goats suffering from cold stress was significantly higher in the cold season than in neutral (P stress were recorded only in the hot season (P stress scores are valid indicators to detect thermal stress in intensively managed dairy goats. The use of a binary scoring system (presence/absence), merging scores 1 and 2, may be a further refinement to improve the feasibility. This study also allows the prediction of optimal ranges of THI for dairy goat breeds in intensive husbandry systems, setting a comfort zone included into 55 and 70.

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…

Sensitivity analysis of semi-intensive method of swine production:a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Data were collected by means of structured questionnaire administered on twenty-one farms practicing semi-intensive technique of swine production with the aid of cluster sampling technique. Data collected was subjected to various measures of return on investment viz: Gross Margin, Benefit-Cost Ratio, Net Present Value, ...

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....

Farm size, land yields, and the agricultural production function: an analysis for fifteen developing countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cornia, G A

1985-04-01

This paper analyzes the relationship between factor inputs, land yields, and labor productivity for farms of different size on the basis of FAO farm management data for 15 developing countries. For all but three countries a strong negative correlation is found between farm size on the one side, and factor inputs and yields per hectare on the other. The fitting of unconstrained production functions to the above data suggests that in only few cases can the decline in yields for increasing farm size be attributed to decreasing returns to scale. The higher yields observed in small farms are mainly to be ascribed to higher factor inputs and to a more intensive use of land. Therefore, where conspicuous labor surpluses exist, the superiority of small farming provides solid arguments in favor of land redistribution. Such an agrarian reform would determine higher output, higher labor absorption and a more equitable income distribution, thus contributing in a decisive manner to the alleviation of rural poverty. The paper also provides estimates of cross-sectional production functions for the 15 countries analyzed. Empirical relations are found between the output elasticities of land, labor, and intermediate inputs and physical indicators of their scarcity. The paper concludes by proposing a simple method for deriving a long-term production function for agriculture. 23 references, 3 figures, 6 tables.

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

Sustainable innovation in intensive animal husbandry; policy and public protests towards a mega-farm in the Netherlands.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horlings, L.G.; Hinssen, J.P.P.

2014-01-01

In this paper the planning and implementation of a specific mega-farm in the Netherlands is discussed, the so called ‘New Mixed Business’ (NMB). The central question is: how did communication, contestation and controversies play a role in the implementation of this innovative concept for sustainable

From cruelty to welfare: the emergence of farm animal welfare in Britain, 1964-71.

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Abigail

2012-03-01

There is a long history of concern in Britain for how animals are treated. Until the 1960s, these concerns were expressed largely in terms of cruelty or suffering, which was prevented through various acts of Parliament. Over the period 1964-71, amidst public debates about intensive farming, a new discourse of animal welfare emerged. To understand what welfare meant and how it became established as a term, a concept and a target of government regulation, it is necessary to examine farming politics and practices, the existing tradition of animal protection and attempts to rethink the nature of animal suffering. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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...

Waste management of shrimp farms as starting point to develop integrated farming systems (case study: Kuwaru Coast, Bantul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H.G. Saiya

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Intensive waste management is a solution to maintain an area of ecological harmony but still can produce economic benefits that are beneficial to social welfare. So in this research, waste of shrimp farms which was just processed by using zeolite, was treated again with a few treatments, i.e. simple filters, constructed wetlands, shell, fish and composting. Simple filters were composed of stone, gravel, coral, charcoal, sand and coconut fibers. Constructed wetland system used was hybrid type which combines type of horizontal flow and type of vertical flow. The shell used was Polymesoda erosa. The fish used was Tilapia. In the composting sediment activator, biang kompos was used with the composting time of one month. The results indicated that the system of simple filters, constructed wetlands, shells and fish proved to be quite effective to reduce levels of pollutants in wastewater and will be more effective if treatment was accompanied with a proper aeration. While, the sediment composted into fertilizer needed to be composted with a longer time than normal composting time. This was because the composted materials were derived from waste having a very low nutrient, so it took longer to restore nutrients. The results also indicated the potential of shrimp farm waste of PT. IBD to be processed into clean water and fertilizer. With the appropriate policies and strategies, this can lead to the development of an integrated farming system to support sustainable coastal ecologically, economically and socially.

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...

Environmental-economic benefits and trade-offs on sustainably certified coffee farms

OpenAIRE

Haggar, Jeremy; Soto, Gabriela; Casanoves, Fernando; de Melo Virginio, Elias

2017-01-01

Coffee with diverse shade trees is recognized as conserving greater biodiversity than more intensive production methods. Sustainable certification has been proposed as an incentive to conserve shade grown coffee. With 40% of global coffee production certified as sustainable, evidence is needed to demonstrate whether certification supports the environmental benefits of shade coffee. Environmen-tal and economic data were taken from 278 coffee farms in Nicaragua divided between non-certified and...

Acid-base regulation in intensively farmed air-breathing fish

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bayley, Mark; Damsgaard, Christian; Thomsen, Mikkel

Hypercapnia in slow moving organically loaded tropical waters is a natural occurrence with several records of pCO2 at 60 mm Hg. Despite this, studies on South American air-breathing fish have revealed a low capacity for extracellular pH (pHe) regulation. The two underlying reasons proposed are; 1......) an osmorespiratory compromise with reduced branchial surface area and reduced branchial ventilation 2) low ion concentrations in the very soft amazon waters limiting the capacity for branchial pH regulation. The Mekong delta region houses extremely intensive aquaculture of a large number of air-breathing species...

The Cook Agronomy Farm LTAR: Knowledge Intensive Precision Agro-ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Huggins, D. R.

2015-12-01

Drowning in data and starving for knowledge, agricultural decision makers require evidence-based information to enlighten sustainable intensification. The agro-ecological footprint of the Cook Agronomy Farm (CAF) Long-Term Agro-ecosystem Research (LTAR) site is embedded within 9.4 million ha of diverse land uses primarily cropland (2.9 million ha) and rangeland (5.3 million ha) that span a wide annual precipitation gradient (150 mm through 1400 mm) with diverse social and natural capital (see Figure). Sustainable intensification hinges on the development and adoption of precision agro-ecological practices that rely on meaningful spatio-temporal data relevant to land use decisions at within-field to regional scales. Specifically, the CAF LTAR will provide the scientific foundation (socio-economical and bio-physical) for enhancing decision support for precision and conservation agriculture and synergistic cropping system intensification and diversification. Long- and short-term perspectives that recognize and assess trade-offs in ecosystem services inherent in any land use decision will be considered so as to promote the development of more sustainable agricultural systems. Presented will be current and future CAF LTAR research efforts required for the development of sustainable agricultural systems including cropping system cycles and flows of nutrients, water, carbon, greenhouse gases and other biotic and abiotic factors. Evaluation criteria and metrics associated with long-term agro-ecosystem provisioning, supporting, and regulating services will be emphasized.

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.

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 ...

Extreme wind estimate for Hornsea wind farm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsén, Xiaoli Guo

The purpose of this study is to provide estimation of the 50-year winds of 10 min and 1-s gust value at hub height of 100 m, as well as the design parameter shear exponent for the Hornsea offshore wind farm. The turbulence intensity required for estimating the gust value is estimated using two...... approaches. One is through the measurements from the wind Doppler lidar, WindCube, which implies serious uncertainty, and the other one is through similarity theory for the atmospheric surface layer where the hub height is likely to belong to during strong storms. The turbulence intensity for storm wind...... strength is taken as 0.1. The shear exponents at several heights were calculated from the measurements. The values at 100 m are less than the limit given by IEC standard for all sectors. The 50-year winds have been calculated from various global reanalysis and analysis products as well as mesoscale models...

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.

Creating a typology of tobacco farms according to determinants of diversification in Valle de Lerma (Salta-Argentina)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chavez, M. D.; Berentsen, P. B. M.; Oude Lansink, G. J. M.

2010-07-01

The objective of this article is to identify typical tobacco farms according to determinants of diversification that can be used to explore possibilities of diversification in the province of Salta (Northwest of Argentina). National Agriculture Census data of 278 farms in the main tobacco production area of Salta were used for the analysis. The variables selected concerning determinants of diversification were: land area, irrigation, general capital goods and specific capital goods, ownership of land, education, off-farm work, and labour availability. The analysis of the principal components applied to 16 selected variables allowed to reduce the dimensionality of the data to four components. Those components were used to apply K-means cluster approach to classify the farms. Four clusters were determined. Cluster 1 and Cluster 2 are the largest clusters. These concern highly specialized tobacco farms. They differ regarding determinants for diversification due to different levels of education of the farmer and different levels of off-farm work. Both clusters are interesting for further analysis regarding diversification alternatives to maintain or improve income and to reduce soil degradation. Cluster 3 concerns large tobacco farms being somewhat less specialized than the farms in clusters 1 and 2. Intensive tobacco production makes this group interesting for exploring diversification alternatives to improve soil conditions. Farms in cluster 4 already have a high level of diversification with substantial livestock production. The presence of perennial pastures suggests a better soil management than the other clusters. This cluster looks appealing to investigate what can be done regarding diversification. (Author) 44 refs.

Ecological and economic services provided by birds on Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kellermann, Jherime L; Johnson, Matthew D; Stercho, Amy M; Hackett, Steven C

2008-10-01

Coffee farms can support significant biodiversity, yet intensification of farming practices is degrading agricultural habitats and compromising ecosystem services such as biological pest control. The coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) is the world's primary coffee pest. Researchers have demonstrated that birds reduce insect abundance on coffee farms but have not documented avian control of the berry borer or quantified avian benefits to crop yield or farm income. We conducted a bird-exclosure experiment on coffee farms in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica, to measure avian pest control of berry borers, identify potential predator species, associate predator abundance and borer reductions with vegetation complexity, and quantify resulting increases in coffee yield. Coffee plants excluded from foraging birds had significantly higher borer infestation, more borer broods, and greater berry damage than control plants. We identified 17 potential predator species (73% were wintering Neotropical migrants), and 3 primary species composed 67% of migrant detections. Average relative bird abundance and diversity and relative resident predator abundance increased with greater shade-tree cover. Although migrant predators overall did not respond to vegetation complexity variables, the 3 primary species increased with proximity to noncoffee habitat patches. Lower infestation on control plants was correlated with higher total bird abundance, but not with predator abundance or vegetation complexity. Infestation of fruit was 1-14% lower on control plants, resulting in a greater quantity of saleable fruits that had a market value of US$44-$105/ha in 2005/2006. Landscape heterogeneity in this region may allow mobile predators to provide pest control broadly, despite localized farming intensities. These results provide the first evidence that birds control coffee berry borers and thus increase coffee yield and farm income, a potentially important conservation incentive for producers.

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.

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...

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.

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...

Farming for a Better Climate by Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions (FarmClim)

Science.gov (United States)

Amon, Barbara; Winiwarter, Wilfried; Schröck, Andrea; Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Sophie; Kasper, Martina; Sigmund, Elisabeth; Schaller, Lena; Moser, Tobias; Baumgarten, Andreas; Dersch, Georg; Zethner, Gerhard; Anderl, Michael; Kitzler, Barbara

2014-05-01

The project FarmClim (Farming for a better climate) assesses impacts of agriculture on N and GHG fluxes in Austria and proposes measures for improving N efficiency and mitigating emissions, including their economic assessment. This paper focuses on animal husbandry and crop production measures, and on N2O emissions from soils. FarmClim applies national inventory reporting methods to assess Austrian NH3 and GHG fluxes in order to develop flux estimates with implementation of mitigation measures. Based on scientific literature and on the outcome of the Austrian working group agriculture and climate protection a list of potential mitigation measures has been produced: phase feeding, dairy cattle diet, biogas production. Data cover resulting production levels as well as GHG mitigation. In crop production, an optimisation potential remains with respect to N fertilization and nutrient uptake efficiency. Projected regional yield data and information on the N content of arable crops have been delivered from field experiments. These data complement official statistics and allow assessing the effect of increasing proportions of legume crops in crop rotations and reducing fertilizer input on a regional scale. Economic efficiency of measures is a crucial factor for their future implementation on commercial farms. The economic model evaluates investment costs as well as changes in direct costs, labour costs and economic yield. Biophysical modelling with Landscape DNDC allows establishing a framework to move from the current approach of applying the IPCC default emission factor for N2O emissions from soils. We select two Austrian model regions to calculate N fluxes taking into account region and management practices. Hot spots and hot moments as well as mitigation strategies are identified. Two test regions have been identified for soil emission modelling. The Marchfeld is an intensively used agricultural area in North-East Austria with very fertile soils and dry climate. The

Classification of Maize in Complex Smallholder Farming Systems Using UAV Imagery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ola Hall

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Yield estimates and yield gap analysis are important for identifying poor agricultural productivity. Remote sensing holds great promise for measuring yield and thus determining yield gaps. Farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA are commonly characterized by small field size, intercropping, different crop species with similar phenologies, and sometimes high cloud frequency during the growing season, all of which pose real challenges to remote sensing. Here, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV system based on a quadcopter equipped with two consumer-grade cameras was used for the delineation and classification of maize plants on smallholder farms in Ghana. Object-oriented image classification methods were applied to the imagery, combined with measures of image texture and intensity, hue, and saturation (IHS, in order to achieve delineation. It was found that the inclusion of a near-infrared (NIR channel and red–green–blue (RGB spectra, in combination with texture or IHS, increased the classification accuracy for both single and mosaic images to above 94%. Thus, the system proved suitable for delineating and classifying maize using RGB and NIR imagery and calculating the vegetation fraction, an important parameter in producing yield estimates for heterogeneous smallholder farming systems.

Feeding habits of Molina's hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus chinga (Carnivora: Mephitidae in the extreme south of Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felipe Bortolotto Peters

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Feeding habits of the Molina's hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus chinga (Molina, 1782 in the extreme south of Brazil. We analyzed 60 stomachs of road-kills of C. chinga in the extreme south of Brazil. The contents revealed 808 prey parts, including invertebrates (frequency of occurrence - FO = 96.7% and relative abundance - RA = 94.7%, vertebrates (FO = 18.3% and RA = 2.8% and plants (FO = 31.7% and RA = 2.3%. We identified 18 kinds of food, including the invertebrate order Coleoptera which showed the highest FO (86.7% and RA (75.2%. Other important orders were Orthoptera (FO = 35% and RA = 10.4% and Araneae (FO = 41.7% and RA = 4%. The combination of occurrence and abundance of the preys consumed allowed classifying C. chinga as an omnivorous with a predominance of insects, especially Coleoptera, consuming other invertebrates, vertebrates and plants in smaller numbers. Behavioral and morphological adaptations of C. chinga favor the predation of insects, which are preys that offer low physical resistance and are available in all terrestrial environments.

Distribution of the Multidrug Resistance Gene cfr in Staphylococcus Isolates from Pigs, Workers, and the Environment of a Hog Market and a Slaughterhouse in Guangzhou, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing; Lin, Da-Chuan; Guo, Xiao-Mu; Wei, Hong-Kun; Liu, Xiao-Qin; Chen, Xiao-Jie; Guo, Jian-Ying; Zeng, Zhen-Ling; Liu, Jian-Hua

2015-07-01

Bacteria harboring cfr, a multidrug resistance gene, have high prevalence in livestock in China and might be transmitted to humans through direct contact or via contaminated food products. To better understand the epidemiology of cfr producers in the food chain, the prevalence and genetic analysis of Staphylococcus isolates recovered from pigs, workers, and meat-handling facilities (a slaughterhouse and a hog market in Guangzhou, China) were examined. Twenty (4.5%) cfr-positive Staphylococcus isolates (18 Staphylococcus simulans, 1 S. cohnii, and 1 S. aureus) were derived from pigs (16/312), the environment (2/52), and workers (2/80). SmaI pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of 26 staphylococcal strains (22 S. simulans and 4 S. cohnii), including previously reported cfr-carrying staphylococci of animal food origin, exhibited 19 major pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns (A-S). Clonal spread of cfr-carrying staphylococci among pigs, workers, and meat products was detected. The genetic contexts of cfr in plasmids (pHNKF3, pHNZT2, and pHNCR35) obtained from S. simulans of swine or human origin were similar to that of Staphylococcus species isolated from human clinics and animal-derived food. The cfr-carrying S. aureus strain isolated from floor swabs of the hog market was spa-type t889 and belonged to the ST9 clonal lineage. In summary, both clonal spread and horizontal transmission via mobile elements contributed to cfr dissemination among staphylococcal isolates obtained from different sources. To monitor potential outbreaks of cfr-positive bacteria, continued surveillance of this gene in animals at slaughter and in animal-derived food is warranted.

Data to calculate emissions intensity for individual beef cattle reared on pasture-based production systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.A. McAuliffe

2018-04-01

Full Text Available With increasing concern about environmental burdens originating from livestock production, the importance of farming system evaluation has never been greater. In order to form a basis for trade-off analysis of pasture-based cattle production systems, liveweight data from 90 Charolais × Hereford-Friesian calves were collected at a high temporal resolution at the North Wyke Farm Platform (NWFP in Devon, UK. These data were then applied to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC modelling framework to estimate on-farm methane emissions under three different pasture management strategies, completing a foreground dataset required to calculate emissions intensity of individual beef cattle.

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...

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.

Spatiotemporal distribution of nitrogen dioxide within and around a large-scale wind farm – a numerical case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Mo

2017-12-01

Full Text Available As a renewable and clean energy source, wind power has become the most rapidly growing energy resource worldwide in the past decades. Wind power has been thought not to exert any negative impacts on the environment. However, since a wind farm can alter the local meteorological conditions and increase the surface roughness lengths, it may affect air pollutants passing through and over the wind farm after released from their sources and delivered to the wind farm. In the present study, we simulated the nitrogen dioxide (NO2 air concentration within and around the world's largest wind farm (Jiuquan wind farm in Gansu Province, China using a coupled meteorology and atmospheric chemistry model WRF-Chem. The results revealed an edge effect, which featured higher NO2 levels at the immediate upwind and border region of the wind farm and lower NO2 concentration within the wind farm and the immediate downwind transition area of the wind farm. A surface roughness length scheme and a wind turbine drag force scheme were employed to parameterize the wind farm in this model investigation. Modeling results show that both parameterization schemes yield higher concentration in the immediate upstream of the wind farm and lower concentration within the wind farm compared to the case without the wind farm. We infer this edge effect and the spatial distribution of air pollutants to be the result of the internal boundary layer induced by the changes in wind speed and turbulence intensity driven by the rotation of the wind turbine rotor blades and the enhancement of surface roughness length over the wind farm. The step change in the roughness length from the smooth to rough surfaces (overshooting in the upstream of the wind farm decelerates the atmospheric transport of air pollutants, leading to their accumulation. The rough to the smooth surface (undershooting in the downstream of the wind farm accelerates the atmospheric transport of air pollutants, resulting in

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...

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…

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.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF MARINE FISH CAGE FARMS IN THE EASTERN ADRIATIC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan Katavić

2003-12-01

Full Text Available Mariculture in Croatia could play a more important role in development of rural communities along coastline. However, by increase of fish farming, public concern over environmental issues has been raised, and the need for more responsible mariculture development and management has been asked. There are opportunities and challenges for effectively integrating mariculture into coastal zone management with equal rights and obligations. This is primarily because of its social and economic mission consisting in preventing de-population of rural coastal areas and islands and meeting the growing needs of tourist market for seafood. Although intensive mariculture production is accused of producing negative environmental effects, many of these effects still need to be scientifically documented. The effect of nitrogen and phosphorous releases from farmed fish faeces or uneaten food is not of significant issues for marine ecosystem, and it is generally of little importance compared to the inflow of nutrients from other coastal sources. The impact on sediment and benthic communities is mainly local and short-term ones, and depends on the number and extent of the farms and their location. Recovery of some benthic communities after the cessation of farming activities may be delayed over several years (i. e. Posidonia beds due to the accumulated organic matter. Bluefin tuna farming if not properly located and managed might cause pollution problems, either from uneaten feed and metabolic waste or from harvesting and processing the fish. In most cases the problem comes from smell pollution during the summer time and the oily water surface that may be widespread much outside of the farm areas. It will be important for sustainable development of Croatian mariculture to offer a healthy and good quality product in the quantities required by the market, while not degrading the marine environment.

Turbulent Flow Inside and Above a Wind Farm: A Wind-Tunnel Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo P. Chamorro

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Wind-tunnel experiments were carried out to better understand boundary layer effects on the flow pattern inside and above a model wind farm under thermally neutral conditions. Cross-wire anemometry was used to characterize the turbulent flow structure at different locations around a 10 by 3 array of model wind turbines aligned with the mean flow and arranged in two different layouts (inter-turbine separation of 5 and 7 rotor diameters in the direction of the mean flow by 4 rotor diameters in its span. Results suggest that the turbulent flow can be characterized in two broad regions. The first, located below the turbine top tip height, has a direct effect on the performance of the turbines. In that region, the turbulent flow statistics appear to reach equilibrium as close as the third to fourth row of wind turbines for both layouts. In the second region, located right above the first one, the flow adjusts slowly. There, two layers can be identified: an internal boundary layer where the flow is affected by both the incoming wind and the wind turbines, and an equilibrium layer, where the flow is fully adjusted to the wind farm. An adjusted logarithmic velocity distribution is observed in the equilibrium layer starting from the sixth row of wind turbines. The effective surface roughness length induced by the wind farm is found to be higher than that predicted by some existing models. Momentum recovery and turbulence intensity are shown to be affected by the wind farm layout. Power spectra show that the signature of the tip vortices, in both streamwise and vertical velocity components, is highly affected by both the relative location in the wind farm and the wind farm layout.

PERSPECTIVES OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN THE LIGHT OF EMPIRICAL STUDY SURVEYED AMONG CONVENTIONAL FARMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karol Kociszewski

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to evaluate the perspectives of development of organic food supply in Poland. The work contains the results of the nationwide survey which was carried out among conventional farms’ owners. It was evaluated that – according to farmers’ declaration – organic farms number can be equal to 6.8-24.2% of all Polish farms. The main incentives influencing conversion into organic farming methods are health and environment care, satisfaction from work and agri-environmental subsidies. The main identified barriers are limited sales possibilities, low profitability of production, high labour intensity, high production cost, and low yield. In a long run the development of organic market could be stimulated by the increase of demand. In the middle time period, there is a need for the increase of subsidies rates which should be combined with the improvement of certification and control system.

Water Use and Conservation on a Free-Stall Dairy Farm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Etienne L. Le Riche

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Livestock watering can represent as much as 20% of total agricultural water use in areas with intensive dairy farming. Due to an increased emphasis on water conservation for the agricultural sector, it is important to understand the current patterns of on-farm water use. This study utilized in situ water meters to measure the year-round on-farm pumped water (i.e., blue water on a ~419 lactating cow confined dairy operation in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The average total water use for the farm was 90,253 ± 15,203 L day−1 and 33,032 m3 annually. Water use was divided into nutritional water (68%, parlour cleaning and operation (14%, milk pre-cooling (15%, barn cleaning, misters and other uses (3%. There was a positive correlation between total monthly water consumption (i.e., nutritional water and average monthly temperature for lactating cows, heifers, and calves (R2 = 0.69, 0.84, and 0.85, respectively. The blue water footprint scaled by milk production was 6.19 L kg−1 milk or 6.41 L kg−1 fat-and-protein corrected milk (FPCM including contributions from all animal groups and 5.34 L kg−1 milk (5.54 L kg−1 FPCM when excluding the water consumption of non-lactating animals. By applying theoretical water conservation scenarios we show that a combination of strategies (air temperature reduction, complete recycling of milk-cooling water, and modified cow preparation protocol could achieve a savings of 6229 m3 annually, a ~19% reduction in the total annual water use.

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.

Strongylus vulgaris associated with usage of selective therapy on Danish horse farms-is it reemerging?

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, M K; Vidyashankar, A N; Olsen, S N; Monrad, J; Thamsborg, S M

2012-10-26

Nematodes belonging to the order Strongylida are ubiquitous in grazing horses, and the large strongyle Strongylus vulgaris is considered the most pathogenic. This parasite was originally described widely prevalent in equine establishments, but decades of frequent anthelmintic treatment appears to have reduced the prevalence dramatically. Increasing levels of anthelmintic resistance in cyathostomin parasites have led to implementation of selective therapy to reduce further development of resistance. It has been hypothesized that S. vulgaris could reoccur under these less intensive treatment circumstances. The aim with the present study was to evaluate the occurrence of S. vulgaris and the possible association with usage of selective therapy. A total of 42 horse farms in Denmark were evaluated for the presence of S. vulgaris using individual larval cultures. Farms were either using a selective therapy principle based on regular fecal egg counts from all horses, or they treated strategically without using fecal egg counts. A total of 662 horses were included in the study. Covariate information at the farm and horse level was collected using a questionnaire. The overall prevalence of S. vulgaris was 12.2% at the individual level and 64.3% at the farm level. Farms using selective therapy had horse and farm prevalences of 15.4% and 83.3%, respectively, while the corresponding results for farms not using selective therapy were 7.7% and 38.9%. These findings were found statistically significant at both the horse and the farm level. Stud farms using selective therapy were especially at risk, and occurrence of S. vulgaris was significantly associated with the most recent deworming occurring more than six months prior. The results suggest that a strict interpretation of the selective therapy regimen can be associated with an increased prevalence of S. vulgaris. This suggests that modifications of the parasite control programs could be considered on the studied farms, but it

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)

Environmental and economic impacts of feeding strategies in Costa Rican dairy farms.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Pablo Iñamagua-Uyaguari

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to analyze feeding practices in Costa Rica’s dairy farms and their influence on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG. Methane (CH4, nitrous oxide (N2O, and income over feed cost (IOFC were evaluated. This study was carried out at 104 dairy farms, which were distributed within a range of altitude from 1000 to 2400 meters above sea level. Using cluster analysis based on type of feed, grazing period, areas of forage and pastures; four feeding strategies were identified, which included different proportions of feed categories in daily rations. Emissions expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent per kilo of fat and protein corrected milk (CO2eq/FPCM were higher for forage feeding strategies and lower for farms found in higher altitudes. Concentrate feed accounted for the higher cost in all feeding strategies, and represented more than 50% in the intensive concentrate based production system, whereas the costs of fertilizers were higher in pasture based feeding strategies. Income from milk sales was higher for the concentrate based feeding strategy. However, IOFC was the same for all feeding strategies in spite of the large differences in daily milk production. Feeding strategies influenced GHG emissions and feeding costs. Feeding strategies associated with lower GHG emissions within the farm were more dependent from external inputs.

Modelling seasonal farm labour demand: What can we learn from rural Kakamega district, western Kenya?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincent Canwat

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Seasonality of agricultural activities causes fluctuation in the quantity of labour consumed by these activities, and yet many rural labour studies in developing countries still treat labour demand in agriculture as if it is the same across different farm operations. To unearth the amount of information hidden by this aggregated analysis, labour demand for specific farm operations was estimated based on data collected from Kakamega District. This analysis shows that increasing household size increases labour demand for planting, weeding and harvesting. Increasing the share of elderly household members has a negligible effect on labour demand for farm activities except for land preparation, with which it is positively related. Participation of primary school-going children in farm activities is the highest in planting and harvesting. Participation in off-farm employment seems to increase labour demand only during peak seasons. The area planted appears to have an insignificant effect on labour demand for land preparation. Planting sugar cane appears to reduce labour demand for weeding and primary processing, but planting tea increases labour demand for planting. Mechanising land preparation only reduces labour demand for land preparation, but it seems to be offset by other labour-intensive farm operations. The distance from water source is positively related to labour demand for land preparation, but the distance to the market is negatively related to labour demand for weeding and harvesting. These observations point to the need for supporting and investing in technological and organisational innovations in agriculture.

Impact of greenhouse gas metrics on the quantification of agricultural emissions and farm-scale mitigation strategies: a New Zealand case study

Science.gov (United States)

Reisinger, Andy; Ledgard, Stewart

2013-06-01

Agriculture emits a range of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gas metrics allow emissions of different gases to be reported in a common unit called CO2-equivalent. This enables comparisons of the efficiency of different farms and production systems and of alternative mitigation strategies across all gases. The standard metric is the 100 year global warming potential (GWP), but alternative metrics have been proposed and could result in very different CO2-equivalent emissions, particularly for CH4. While significant effort has been made to reduce uncertainties in emissions estimates of individual gases, little effort has been spent on evaluating the implications of alternative metrics on overall agricultural emissions profiles and mitigation strategies. Here we assess, for a selection of New Zealand dairy farms, the effect of two alternative metrics (100 yr GWP and global temperature change potentials, GTP) on farm-scale emissions and apparent efficiency and cost effectiveness of alternative mitigation strategies. We find that alternative metrics significantly change the balance between CH4 and N2O; in some cases, alternative metrics even determine whether a specific management option would reduce or increase net farm-level emissions or emissions intensity. However, the relative ranking of different farms by profitability or emissions intensity, and the ranking of the most cost-effective mitigation options for each farm, are relatively unaffected by the metric. We conclude that alternative metrics would change the perceived significance of individual gases from agriculture and the overall cost to farmers if a price were applied to agricultural emissions, but the economically most effective response strategies are unaffected by the choice of metric.

Impact of greenhouse gas metrics on the quantification of agricultural emissions and farm-scale mitigation strategies: a New Zealand case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reisinger, Andy; Ledgard, Stewart

2013-01-01

Agriculture emits a range of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gas metrics allow emissions of different gases to be reported in a common unit called CO 2 -equivalent. This enables comparisons of the efficiency of different farms and production systems and of alternative mitigation strategies across all gases. The standard metric is the 100 year global warming potential (GWP), but alternative metrics have been proposed and could result in very different CO 2 -equivalent emissions, particularly for CH 4 . While significant effort has been made to reduce uncertainties in emissions estimates of individual gases, little effort has been spent on evaluating the implications of alternative metrics on overall agricultural emissions profiles and mitigation strategies. Here we assess, for a selection of New Zealand dairy farms, the effect of two alternative metrics (100 yr GWP and global temperature change potentials, GTP) on farm-scale emissions and apparent efficiency and cost effectiveness of alternative mitigation strategies. We find that alternative metrics significantly change the balance between CH 4 and N 2 O; in some cases, alternative metrics even determine whether a specific management option would reduce or increase net farm-level emissions or emissions intensity. However, the relative ranking of different farms by profitability or emissions intensity, and the ranking of the most cost-effective mitigation options for each farm, are relatively unaffected by the metric. We conclude that alternative metrics would change the perceived significance of individual gases from agriculture and the overall cost to farmers if a price were applied to agricultural emissions, but the economically most effective response strategies are unaffected by the choice of metric. (letter)

Limits to intensity of milk production in sandy areas in The Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aarts, H.F.M.; Habekotté, B.; Keulen, van H.

1999-01-01

Agricultural land in sandy areas is mainly in use by dairy farms. As a result of intensive fertilisation and irrigation, environmental quality is threatened by lost nutrients and lowered groundwater levels. Therefore, Dutch government put decreasing limits to losses of nutrients, with lowest values

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...

Occurrence of Eimeria species parasites on small-scale commercial chicken farms in Africa and indication of economic profitability.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimberly M Fornace

Full Text Available Small-scale commercial poultry production is emerging as an important form of livestock production in Africa, providing sources of income and animal protein to many poor households, yet the occurrence and impact of coccidiosis on this relatively new production system remains unknown. The primary objective of this study was to examine Eimeria parasite occurrence on small-scale commercial poultry farms in Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. Additionally, farm economic viability was measured by calculating the farm gross margin and enterprise budget. Using these economic measures as global assessments of farm productivity, encompassing the diversity present in regional husbandry systems with a measure of fundamental local relevance, we investigated the detection of specific Eimeria species as indicators of farm profitability. Faecal samples and data on production parameters were collected from small-scale (less than 2,000 birds per batch intensive broiler and layer farms in peri-urban Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. All seven Eimeria species recognised to infect the chicken were detected in each country. Furthermore, two of the three genetic variants (operational taxonomic units identified previously in Australia have been described outside of Australia for the first time. Detection of the most pathogenic Eimeria species associated with decreased farm profitability and may be considered as an indicator of likely farm performance. While a causal link remains to be demonstrated, the presence of highly pathogenic enteric parasites may pose a threat to profitable, sustainable small-scale poultry enterprises in Africa.

Occurrence of Eimeria Species Parasites on Small-Scale Commercial Chicken Farms in Africa and Indication of Economic Profitability

Science.gov (United States)

Fornace, Kimberly M.; Clark, Emily L.; Macdonald, Sarah E.; Namangala, Boniface; Karimuribo, Esron; Awuni, Joseph A.; Thieme, Olaf; Blake, Damer P.; Rushton, Jonathan

2013-01-01

Small-scale commercial poultry production is emerging as an important form of livestock production in Africa, providing sources of income and animal protein to many poor households, yet the occurrence and impact of coccidiosis on this relatively new production system remains unknown. The primary objective of this study was to examine Eimeria parasite occurrence on small-scale commercial poultry farms in Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. Additionally, farm economic viability was measured by calculating the farm gross margin and enterprise budget. Using these economic measures as global assessments of farm productivity, encompassing the diversity present in regional husbandry systems with a measure of fundamental local relevance, we investigated the detection of specific Eimeria species as indicators of farm profitability. Faecal samples and data on production parameters were collected from small-scale (less than 2,000 birds per batch) intensive broiler and layer farms in peri-urban Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. All seven Eimeria species recognised to infect the chicken were detected in each country. Furthermore, two of the three genetic variants (operational taxonomic units) identified previously in Australia have been described outside of Australia for the first time. Detection of the most pathogenic Eimeria species associated with decreased farm profitability and may be considered as an indicator of likely farm performance. While a causal link remains to be demonstrated, the presence of highly pathogenic enteric parasites may pose a threat to profitable, sustainable small-scale poultry enterprises in Africa. PMID:24391923

Occurrence of Eimeria species parasites on small-scale commercial chicken farms in Africa and indication of economic profitability.

Science.gov (United States)

Fornace, Kimberly M; Clark, Emily L; Macdonald, Sarah E; Namangala, Boniface; Karimuribo, Esron; Awuni, Joseph A; Thieme, Olaf; Blake, Damer P; Rushton, Jonathan

2013-01-01

Small-scale commercial poultry production is emerging as an important form of livestock production in Africa, providing sources of income and animal protein to many poor households, yet the occurrence and impact of coccidiosis on this relatively new production system remains unknown. The primary objective of this study was to examine Eimeria parasite occurrence on small-scale commercial poultry farms in Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. Additionally, farm economic viability was measured by calculating the farm gross margin and enterprise budget. Using these economic measures as global assessments of farm productivity, encompassing the diversity present in regional husbandry systems with a measure of fundamental local relevance, we investigated the detection of specific Eimeria species as indicators of farm profitability. Faecal samples and data on production parameters were collected from small-scale (less than 2,000 birds per batch) intensive broiler and layer farms in peri-urban Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. All seven Eimeria species recognised to infect the chicken were detected in each country. Furthermore, two of the three genetic variants (operational taxonomic units) identified previously in Australia have been described outside of Australia for the first time. Detection of the most pathogenic Eimeria species associated with decreased farm profitability and may be considered as an indicator of likely farm performance. While a causal link remains to be demonstrated, the presence of highly pathogenic enteric parasites may pose a threat to profitable, sustainable small-scale poultry enterprises in Africa.

A Comprehensive Energy Analysis and Related Carbon Footprint of Dairy Farms, Part 1: Direct Energy Requirements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giuseppe Todde

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Dairy cattle farms are continuously developing more intensive systems of management which require higher utilization of durable and not-durable inputs. These inputs are responsible of significant direct and indirect fossil energy requirements which are related to remarkable emissions of CO2. This study aims to analyze direct energy requirements and the related carbon footprint of a large population of conventional dairy farms located in the south of Italy. A detailed survey of electricity, diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG consumptions has been carried out among on-farm activities. The results of the analyses showed an annual average fuel consumption of 40 kg per tonne of milk, while electricity accounted for 73 kWh per tonne of milk produced. Expressing the direct energy inputs as primary energy, diesel fuel results the main resource used in on-farm activities, accounting for 72% of the total fossil primary energy requirement, while electricity represents only 27%. Moreover, larger farms were able to use more efficiently the direct energy inputs and reduce the related emissions of carbon dioxide per unit of milk produced, since the milk yield increases with the herd size. The global average farm emissions of carbon dioxide equivalent, due to all direct energy usages, accounted for 156 kg CO2-eq per tonne of Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM, while farms that raise more than 200 heads emitted 36% less than the average value. In this two-part series, the total energy demand (Part 1 + Part 2 per farm is mainly due to agricultural inputs and fuel consumption, which have the largest quota of the annual requirements for each milk yield class. These results also showed that large size farms held lower CO2-eq emissions when referred to the mass of milk produced.

Magnitude, spatial scale and optimization of ecosystem services from a nutrient extraction mussel farm in the eutrophic Skive Fjord, Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Pernille; Cranford, P. J.; Maar, M.

2016-01-01

Suspended mussel aquaculture has been proposed as a possible mechanism by which to remove excess nutrients from eutrophic marine areas. In this study, seasonal mussel growth and water clarification (through seston and phytoplankton depletion) were studied at a commercial-scale nutrient extractive...... mussel farm in a highly eu - trophic Danish fjord. Spatial variations in mussel biomass were examined throughout the year and no significant differences were detected within the farm. Food depletion by mussels was examined at spatial scales ranging from individuals to the entire farm and surrounding area....... Phytoplankton depletion on the scale of individual mussel loops, determined using the siphon mimic approach, indicated between 27 and 44% depletion of chlorophyll a (chl a). Farm-scale depletion was detected and visualized based on intensive 3D spatial surveys of the distribution of chl a and total suspended...

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...

Farming for Ecosystem Services: An Ecological Approach to Production Agriculture

Science.gov (United States)

Philip Robertson, G.; Gross, Katherine L.; Hamilton, Stephen K.; Landis, Douglas A.; Schmidt, Thomas M.; Snapp, Sieglinde S.; Swinton, Scott M.

2014-01-01

A balanced assessment of ecosystem services provided by agriculture requires a systems-level socioecological understanding of related management practices at local to landscape scales. The results from 25 years of observation and experimentation at the Kellogg Biological Station long-term ecological research site reveal services that could be provided by intensive row-crop ecosystems. In addition to high yields, farms could be readily managed to contribute clean water, biocontrol and other biodiversity benefits, climate stabilization, and long-term soil fertility, thereby helping meet society's need for agriculture that is economically and environmentally sustainable. Midwest farmers—especially those with large farms—appear willing to adopt practices that deliver these services in exchange for payments scaled to management complexity and farmstead benefit. Surveyed citizens appear willing to pay farmers for the delivery of specific services, such as cleaner lakes. A new farming for services paradigm in US agriculture seems feasible and could be environmentally significant. PMID:26955069

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...

Strategies to meet the requirements of the Nitrates Directive on arable and field vegetable farms in The Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Langeveld, J.W.A.

2003-01-01

Intensive fertilisation practices in the Netherlands make it cumbersome to comply with the EU Nitrate Directive. Over the years, government has adopted increasingly strict environmental legislation, including the farm gate balance system MINAS (MINeral Accounting System) and a compulsory manure

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....

Performance of the constructed wetland systems in pollutants removal from hog wastewater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wallison da Silva Freitas

2010-08-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of a constructed wetland systems (CWS for pollutants removal, in mono crop and multi crop with three different species of plants, originated from hog wastewater treatment (HW. Therefore, 5 CWS of 24.0 m x 1.1 m x 0.7 m were constructed, sealed with a membrane of polyvinyl chloride (PVC and filled with 0.4 m of small gravel. In CWS1, CWS2 and CWS3 grown to cattail (Typha latifolia L., Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart. Griseb. and Tifton 85 grass (Cynodon dactylon Pers., respectively. In the bed of CWS4 was planted at 1st third Alternanthera, cattail, in the 2nd third and tifton-85 grass and in the 3rd third of. The CWS5 was not planted and it was used as control. After passing through a filter filled with crushed bagasse of sugar cane, the HW was applied to the CWS in a flow of 0.8 m3 d-1, which corresponded to a hydraulic detention time of 4.8 days. According to the results it was shown that the five CWS(s had statistically nearly the same removal of pollutants, and the average removal efficiency of TSS, COD, BOD and Zn, were 91, 89, 86 and 94%, respectively. Also high removals were obtained concerning the ST, N-total, NH4+ and P-total, with average values of 62, 59, 52 and 50%, respectively. The plants in all planted CWS worked in a similar way maintaining the system efficiency and the non cultivated CWS presented analogous capacity of pollutants removal when compared to the cultivated CWS(s.

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.

Analyzing complex wake-terrain interactions and its implications on wind-farm performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabib, Mandar; Rasheed, Adil; Fuchs, Franz

2016-09-01

Rotating wind turbine blades generate complex wakes involving vortices (helical tip-vortex, root-vortex etc.).These wakes are regions of high velocity deficits and high turbulence intensities and they tend to degrade the performance of down-stream turbines. Hence, a conservative inter-turbine distance of up-to 10 times turbine diameter (10D) is sometimes used in wind-farm layout (particularly in cases of flat terrain). This ensures that wake-effects will not reduce the overall wind-farm performance, but this leads to larger land footprint for establishing a wind-farm. In-case of complex-terrain, within a short distance (say 10D) itself, the nearby terrain can rise in altitude and be high enough to influence the wake dynamics. This wake-terrain interaction can happen either (a) indirectly, through an interaction of wake (both near tip vortex and far wake large-scale vortex) with terrain induced turbulence (especially, smaller eddies generated by small ridges within the terrain) or (b) directly, by obstructing the wake-region partially or fully in its flow-path. Hence, enhanced understanding of wake- development due to wake-terrain interaction will help in wind farm design. To this end the current study involves: (1) understanding the numerics for successful simulation of vortices, (2) understanding fundamental vortex-terrain interaction mechanism through studies devoted to interaction of a single vortex with different terrains, (3) relating influence of vortex-terrain interactions to performance of a wind-farm by studying a multi-turbine wind-farm layout under different terrains. The results on interaction of terrain and vortex has shown a much faster decay of vortex for complex terrain compared to a flatter-terrain. The potential reasons identified explaining the observation are (a) formation of secondary vortices in flow and its interaction with the primary vortex and (b) enhanced vorticity diffusion due to increased terrain-induced turbulence. The implications of

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...

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...

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)

Estimation of risk management effects on revenue and purchased feed costs on US dairy farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadrich, Joleen C; Johnson, Kamina K

2015-09-01

Variations in milk and feed prices directly affect dairy farm risk management decisions. This research used data from the 2010 US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Resource Management Surveys phase III dairy survey to examine how risk management tools affected revenues and expenses across US dairy farms. The survey was sent to 26 states and collected information on costs and returns to individual dairy farms. This research used the information from milk sales, crops sales, feed expenses, and farm and operator characteristics, as well as the use of risk management tools. Matching methodology was used to evaluate the effect of 5 independent risk management tools on revenues and expenses: selling milk to a cooperative, using a commodity contract to sell grain, feeding homegrown forage at a basic and intensive level, and use of a nutritionist. Results showed that dairy farms located in the Midwest and East benefit from selling milk to a cooperative and using commodity contracts to sell grain. Across the United States, using a nutritionist increased total feed costs, whereas a feeding program that included more than 65% homegrown forages decreased total feed costs. Results point to benefits from educational programming on risk management tools that are region specific rather than a broad generalization to all US dairy farmers. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact simulation of shrimp farm effluent on BOD-DO in Setiu River

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Michael Sueng Lock; Teh, Su Yean; Koh, Hock Lye

2017-08-01

Release of effluent from intensive aquaculture farms into a river can pollute the receiving river and exert negative impacts on the aquatic ecosystem. In this paper, we simulate the effects of effluent released from a marine shrimp aquaculture farm into Sg Setiu, focusing on two critical water quality parameters i.e. DO (dissolved oxygen) and BOD (biochemical oxygen demand). DO is an important constituent in a river in sustaining water quality, with levels of DO below 5 mg/L deemed undesirable. DO levels can be depressed by the presence of BOD and other organics that consume DO. Water quality simulations in conjunction with management of effluent treatment can suggest mitigation measures for reducing the adverse environmental impact. For this purpose, an in-house two-dimensional water quality simulation model codenamed TUNA-WQ will be used for these simulations. TUNA-WQ has been undergoing regular updates and improvements to broaden the applicability and to improve the robustness. Here, the model is calibrated and verified for simulation of DO and BOD dynamics in Setiu River (Sg Setiu). TUNA-WQ simulated DO and BOD in Setiu River due to the discharge from a marine shrimp aquaculture farm will be presented.

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.

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...

Blood metabolites and some fertility parameters in dairy cows under intensive management system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osman, Awad Ali

1998-08-01

Dairy farms (1, 2, 3 and 4) of the intensive management system were selected. They are located 50 kilometers south of Khartoum state in a semi-arid zone. The effect of management on some fertility parameters, blood metabolites and minerals were investigated. Changes in blood metabolites with stage of lactation were also monitored. Other parameters studied were body weight, body condition score at calving. The results revealed that days to first P 4 rise after calving and number of services per conception (NSPC) were lower in the farm s contained the cross-bred (Fresian X Zebu) compared to the farm contained the pure Fresian breed. The pure Fresian cows showed heavier weights and less body score at calving compared to the cross breed. Blood metabolites reflected the nutritional status of the dairy cows under study, plasma total protein, albumin, globulin, urea and Glucose did not show significant changes either either either between farms or in response to lactation stages. However, high levels of Globulins might indicate inflammation due to some diseases such as mastitis, metritis and lameness. Plasma level of Calcium and Phosphorous did not change significantly either between farms or due to stages of lactation.(Author)

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.

Marker Detection in Aerial Images

KAUST Repository

Alharbi, Yazeed

2017-04-09

The problem that the thesis is trying to solve is the detection of small markers in high-resolution aerial images. Given a high-resolution image, the goal is to return the pixel coordinates corresponding to the center of the marker in the image. The marker has the shape of two triangles sharing a vertex in the middle, and it occupies no more than 0.01% of the image size. An improvement on the Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) is proposed, eliminating the majority of baseline HOG false positives for marker detection. The improvement is guided by the observation that standard HOG description struggles to separate markers from negatives patches containing an X shape. The proposed method alters intensities with the aim of altering gradients. The intensity-dependent gradient alteration leads to more separation between filled and unfilled shapes. The improvement is used in a two-stage algorithm to achieve high recall and high precision in detection of markers in aerial images. In the first stage, two classifiers are used: one to quickly eliminate most of the uninteresting parts of the image, and one to carefully select the marker among the remaining interesting regions. Interesting regions are selected by scanning the image with a fast classifier trained on the HOG features of markers in all rotations and scales. The next classifier is more precise and uses our method to eliminate the majority of the false positives of standard HOG. In the second stage, detected markers are tracked forward and backward in time. Tracking is needed to detect extremely blurred or distorted markers that are missed by the previous stage. The algorithm achieves 94% recall with minimal user guidance. An average of 30 guesses are given per image; the user verifies for each whether it is a marker or not. The brute force approach would return 100,000 guesses per image.

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.

Prevalence and risk factor's analysis of bovine brucellosis in peri-urban areas under intensive system of production in Gujarat, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. D. Patel

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Aim: A study on surveillance of bovine brucellosis in dairy herds of peri-urban areas under intensive system of production was carried out by milk-ELISA. Various risk factors were identified having significant association with occurrence of bovine brucellosis in dairy herds of peri-urban areas. Materials and Methods: Five randomly selected peri-uban areas of six cities of Gujarat were included in the present study. Five randomly selected dairy herds under intensive system of production from each selected peri-urban area were included for further investigation. In total, 199 bulk and 582 individual milk samples were screened by milk-ELISA. Forty three different risk factors were identified and grouped into four major categories as general characteristics of farms, introduction of infection to farms, management systems of farms and exposure of disease. Further, their distribution and association with prevalence of bovine brucellosis was studied. Results: The overall herd and animal prevalence in peri-urban areas was 33.70 and 11.90%, respectively. Out of 11 risk factors on general characteristics of dairy farms, only five (herd size, type of animals, type of breed, age of owner and knowledge gained by owners showed significant (p<0.05 association with occurrence of bovine brucellosis. None of risk factors on introduction of infection to farms (n=6 and management systems of farms (n=11 was found significantly associated with occurrence of brucellosis. Among risk factors on exposure of disease (n=15, history of abortion, retention of placenta, still birth and metritis/endometritis showed significant (p<0.05 association with prevalence of bovine brucellosis. Conclusion: It was concluded that prevalence of bovine brucellosis in dairy herds under intensive system of production in peri-urban areas of Gujarat was comparatively higher than reported overall prevalence of brucellosis. Risk factors like larger herd in close confinement without adequate sheds

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF LIMITATION ON USE OUTFLOW POLLUTION WITH RURAL FARM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sławomir Szymczyk

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The intensity of the movement of mineral and organic substances in the agro-forestry catchment is decisive influenced by weather conditions. Intensive drainage caused an increase in the outflow of the substances of the farmstead. Rural farm located on light soils is a major source of groundwater contamination by organic and mineral substances. An important role in the through of pollutants migration played an ecological area, which contributed to a significant reduction in the concentration of the ash components, chlorides and sulfates in groundwater, and consequently reduced the negative impact of farmstead on the water quality in a nearby pond. Periodically functioning supply of forest area by groundwater of the midfield pond contributed to the deterioration of groundwater quality in the forest.

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.

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...

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

USSR Report Agriculture.

Science.gov (United States)

1986-04-24

perennial grasses. The green conveyer line also includes vegetable crops -- carrots, marrow squash and pumpkins . Pasturage for the animals and...squash, pumpkins ) -- 15 and grass meal -- 5 percent. The kolkhoz considers potatoes to be a mandatory component in the preparation of mixed silage...in pure form or in a mixture with other feeds. As a rule, the work carried out on small and average size hog farms is organized on a collective

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.

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...

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...

Interaction of PLP with GFP-MAL2 in the human oligodendroglial cell line HOG.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raquel Bello-Morales

Full Text Available The velocity of the nerve impulse conduction of vertebrates relies on the myelin sheath, an electrically insulating layer that surrounds axons in both the central and peripheral nervous systems, enabling saltatory conduction of the action potential. Oligodendrocytes are the myelin-producing glial cells in the central nervous system. A deeper understanding of the molecular basis of myelination and, specifically, of the transport of myelin proteins, will contribute to the search of the aetiology of many dysmyelinating and demyelinating diseases, including multiple sclerosis. Recent investigations suggest that proteolipid protein (PLP, the major myelin protein, could reach myelin sheath by an indirect transport pathway, that is, a transcytotic route via the plasma membrane of the cell body. If PLP transport relies on a transcytotic process, it is reasonable to consider that this myelin protein could be associated with MAL2, a raft protein essential for transcytosis. In this study, carried out with the human oligodendrocytic cell line HOG, we show that PLP colocalized with green fluorescent protein (GFP-MAL2 after internalization from the plasma membrane. In addition, both immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence assays, indicated the existence of an interaction between GFP-MAL2 and PLP. Finally, ultrastructural studies demonstrated colocalization of GFP-MAL2 and PLP in vesicles and tubulovesicular structures. Taken together, these results prove for the first time the interaction of PLP and MAL2 in oligodendrocytic cells, supporting the transcytotic model of PLP transport previously suggested.

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...

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.

Impact of subclinical mastitis on greenhouse gas emissions intensity and profitability of dairy cows in Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Özkan Gülzari, Şeyda; Vosough Ahmadi, Bouda; Stott, Alistair W

2018-02-01

Impaired animal health causes both productivity and profitability losses on dairy farms, resulting in inefficient use of inputs and increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced per unit of product (i.e. emissions intensity). Here, we used subclinical mastitis as an exemplar to benchmark alternative scenarios against an economic optimum and adjusted herd structure to estimate the GHG emissions intensity associated with varying levels of disease. Five levels of somatic cell count (SCC) classes were considered namely 50,000 (i.e. SCC50), 200,000, 400,000, 600,000 and 800,000cells/mL (milliliter) of milk. The effects of varying levels of SCC on milk yield reduction and consequential milk price penalties were used in a dynamic programming (DP) model that maximizes the profit per cow, represented as expected net present value, by choosing optimal animal replacement rates. The GHG emissions intensities associated with different levels of SCC were then computed using a farm-scale model (HolosNor). The total culling rates of both primiparous (PP) and multiparous (MP) cows for the five levels of SCC scenarios estimated by the model varied from a minimum of 30.9% to a maximum of 43.7%. The expected profit was the highest for cows with SCC200 due to declining margin over feed, which influenced the DP model to cull and replace more animals and generate higher profit under this scenario compared to SCC50. The GHG emission intensities for the PP and MP cows with SCC50 were 1.01kg (kilogram) and 0.95kg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO 2 e) per kg fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM), respectively, with the lowest emissions being achieved in SCC50. Our results show that there is a potential to reduce the farm GHG emissions intensity by 3.7% if the milk production was improved through reducing the level of SCC to 50,000cells/mL in relation to SCC level 800,000cells/mL. It was concluded that preventing and/or controlling subclinical mastitis consequently reduces the GHG

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...

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...

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...

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.

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

A fast wind-farm boundary-layer model to investigate gravity wave effects and upstream flow deceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Allaerts, Dries; Meyers, Johan

2017-11-01

Wind farm design and control often relies on fast analytical wake models to predict turbine wake interactions and associated power losses. Essential input to these models are the inflow velocity and turbulent intensity at hub height, which come from prior measurement campaigns or wind-atlas data. Recent LES studies showed that in some situations large wind farms excite atmospheric gravity waves, which in turn affect the upstream wind conditions. In the current study, we develop a fast boundary-layer model that computes the excitation of gravity waves and the perturbation of the boundary-layer flow in response to an applied force. The core of the model is constituted by height-averaged, linearised Navier-Stokes equations for the inner and outer layer, and the effect of atmospheric gravity waves (excited by the boundary-layer displacement) is included via the pressure gradient. Coupling with analytical wake models allows us to study wind-farm wakes and upstream flow deceleration in various atmospheric conditions. Comparison with wind-farm LES results shows excellent agreement in terms of pressure and boundary-layer displacement levels. The authors acknowledge support from the European Research Council (FP7-Ideas, Grant No. 306471).

Coupled Wave Energy and Erosion Dynamics along a Salt Marsh Boundary, Hog Island Bay, Virginia, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony M. Priestas

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The relationship between lateral erosion of salt marshes and wind waves is studied in Hog Island Bay, Virginia USA, with high-resolution field measurements and aerial photographs. Marsh retreat is compared to wave climate calculated in the bay using the spectral wave-model Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN. We confirm the existence of a linear relationship between long-term salt marsh erosion and wave energy, and show that wave power can serve as a good proxy for average salt-marsh erosion rates. At each site, erosion rates are consistent across several temporal scales, ranging from months to decades, and are strongly related to wave power. On the contrary, erosion rates vary in space and weakly depend on the spatial distribution of wave energy. We ascribe this variability to spatial variations in geotechnical, biological, and morphological marsh attributes. Our detailed field measurements indicate that at a small spatial scale (tens of meters, a positive feedback between salt marsh geometry and wave action causes erosion rates to increase with boundary sinuosity. However, at the scale of the entire marsh boundary (hundreds of meters, this relationship is reversed: those sites that are more rapidly eroding have a marsh boundary which is significantly smoother than the marsh boundary of sheltered and slowly eroding marshes.

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

Indicators of agricultural intensity and intensification: a review of the literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irune Ruiz-Martinez

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Since the 1960s, research has dealt with agricultural intensification (AI as a solution to ensure global food security. Recently, sustainable intensification (SI has increasingly been used to describe those agricultural and farming systems that ensure adequate ecosystem service provision. Studies differ in terms of the application scales and methodologies, thus we aim to summarize the main findings from the literature on how AI and SI are assessed, from the farm to global levels. Our literature review is based on 7865 papers selected from the Web of Science database and analysed using CorText software. A further selection of 105 relevant papers was used for an in-depth full-text analysis on: i farming systems studied; ii related ecosystem services; iii indicators of intensity; and iv temporal and spatial scales of analysis. Through this two-step analysis we were able to highlight three main research gaps in the AI research indicators. Firstly, the farming systems analysed for assessing AI are often quite simplified or monoculture- oriented, and they do not take the diversity and complex organisation of farming systems into account. Secondly, these studies mainly focus on northern countries or developing countries, whereas there is a gap of knowledge in Mediterranean areas, which are the areas with a high complexity of farming systems and diversity in ecosystem services. Finally, AI is mostly assessed through nitrogen inputs and economic yield, which are used the most both at very local and global levels. Intermediate regional or local levels, which are relevant for policy implementation and local planning, are often neglected.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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…

Eimeria species in young and adult sheep raised under intensive and / or semi-intensive systems of a herd from Umuarama city, Parana State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Welber Daniel Zanetti Lopes

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The present study aimed to identify Eimeria species in young and adult sheep raised under intensive and / or semi-intensive systems of a herd from Umuarama city, Parana State, Brazil using the traditional diagnostic methods and to correlate the infection level/types of infection in the different age/system in this herd. Fecal samples were collected from the rectum of 210 sheep and were subjected to laboratory analysis to differentiate the species. Furthermore, animals were observed to determine the occurrences of the clinical or subclinical forms of eimeriosis. Out of the 210 collected fecal samples, 147 (70% were positive for Eimeria oocysts, and 101 (47.86% belonged to young animals that were raised under intensive and / or semi-intensive farming systems. Oocysts from 9 species of Eimeria parasites were identified in the sheep at the following prevalence rates: E. crandallis, 50.0%; E. parva, 21.6%; E. faurei, 8.1%; E. ahsata, 8.1%; E. intricata, 5.4%; E. granulosa , 2.7%; E. ovinoidalis , 2.0%; E. ovina , 1.3%; and E. bakuensis , 0.6%. There were no differences regarding the more frequent Eimeria species among the different ages of animals or between the different farming management systems. Based on these data, E. crandallis was the most prevalent, followed by E. parva and E. faurei species, regardless of the age. Higher parasitism was diagnosed in the young animals that were raised in a confinement regime, and the disease found in the herd was classified as subclinical. Further studies should be conducted in this herd, to verify if the eimeriosis subclinical can cause damage especially in young animals with a high level of infection.

Measures to support the development of organic farming in the EU and Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roljević-Nikolić Svetlana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Aim of this paper work is analyzing the situation in the sector of organic agriculture, as well as system of support that this production provides in the European Union and Serbia. Organic farming shows a dynamic process of growth and development, especially in economically developed countries. In the past ten years, the area under organic production in the EU increased by 70%, the number of certified producers increased by 60%, while the total market value doubled. On the other hand, the growth and development of organic agriculture in Serbia is very slow. Currently, the area under organic production accounted for only 0.4% of total utilized agricultural area, while in this mode of food production certified 0.3% of the total number of farms. Intensive growth of organic farming in the EU provides a stable support both in terms of rate and financial resources, while in Serbia has been changed not only amount of support from year to year but also types of support. On this basis, it can be concluded that a stable government support is crucial for boosting growth and improving the sector of organic agriculture.

An Optimization Scheme for Water Pump Control in Smart Fish Farm with Efficient Energy Consumption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Israr Ullah

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Healthy fish production requires intensive care and ensuring stable and healthy production environment inside the farm tank is a challenging task. An Internet of Things (IoT based automated system is highly desirable that can continuously monitor the fish tanks with optimal resources utilization. Significant cost reduction can be achieved if farm equipment and water pumps are operated only when required using optimization schemes. In this paper, we present a general system design for smart fish farms. We have developed an optimization scheme for water pump control to maintain desired water level in fish tank with efficient energy consumption through appropriate selection of pumping flow rate and tank filling level. Proposed optimization scheme attempts to achieve a trade-off between pumping duration and flow rate through selection of optimized water level. Kalman filter algorithm is applied to remove error in sensor readings. We observed through simulation results that optimization scheme achieve significant reduction in energy consumption as compared to the two alternate schemes, i.e., pumping with maximum and minimum flow rates. Proposed system can help in collecting the data about the farm for long-term analysis and better decision making in future for efficient resource utilization and overall profit maximization.

Growth performance, carcass yield and gait score of Marshal broiler chicken reared on intensive and semi intensive management systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oluwadiya, B. O.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The rearing system used in highly productive farms is often subjected to harsh criticism, one of the reasons being its failure to provide adequate welfare. A number of attempts have been made to introduce new technologies in rearing poultry for meat production aiming at improving rearing conditions, protecting the environment and enhancing the quality of poultry products. Given the above, one hundred and sixty eight unsexed 14-day old Marshall broiler chicks were used in a completely randomized design study to compare the effect of management systems (intensive and semi intensive on the growth performance, carcass characteristics and gait score of broiler chickens. The experiment lasted for 42 d. Data were collected on weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, carcass yield and gait score. Result showed that birds on the intensive management system recorded higher weight gain (P 0.05; 66.94%, 11.44% than those in semi-intensive system (54.55%, 10.92%, respectively. For the gait score broiler birds on semi intensive management system recorded reduced number of cases of severe and slight leg problems (P < 0.05, 25.76% vs 49.3%. It was concluded that broiler birds should be reared on intensive management system for better growth performance and carcass yield. However, birds reared on semi intensive management system had fewer leg problems compared to birds reared on intensive management system. The fewer severe leg problems observed in birds on semi intensive management system will help improve their market value thereby making birds more profitable to rear on semi intensive management system.

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

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...

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...

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.,…

Blood metabolites and some fertility parameters in dairy cows under intensive management system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Osman, Awad Ali [Faculty of Animal Production, University of Khartoum, Khartoum (Sudan)

1998-08-01

Dairy farms (1, 2, 3 and 4) of the intensive management system were selected. They are located 50 kilometers south of Khartoum state in a semi-arid zone. The effect of management on some fertility parameters, blood metabolites and minerals were investigated. Changes in blood metabolites with stage of lactation were also monitored. Other parameters studied were body weight, body condition score at calving. The results revealed that days to first P{sup 4} rise after calving and number of services per conception (NSPC) were lower in the farm s contained the cross-bred (Fresian X Zebu) compared to the farm contained the pure Fresian breed. The pure Fresian cows showed heavier weights and less body score at calving compared to the cross breed. Blood metabolites reflected the nutritional status of the dairy cows under study, plasma total protein, albumin, globulin, urea and Glucose did not show significant changes either either either between farms or in response to lactation stages. However, high levels of Globulins might indicate inflammation due to some diseases such as mastitis, metritis and lameness. Plasma level of Calcium and Phosphorous did not change significantly either between farms or due to stages of lactation.(Author) 129 refs. , 12 tabs.

Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth infections in free-range laying hens under mountain farming production conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wuthijaree, K; Lambertz, C; Gauly, M

2017-12-01

1. A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2015 to July 2016 in South Tyrol, Northern Italy to examine the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths in free-range laying hens under mountain farming production conditions. 2. A total of 280 laying hens from 14 free-range mountain farms (4 organic, 10 conventional) were randomly collected at the end of the laying period. Faecal samples were taken to analyse faecal egg counts (FEC) and faecal oocyst counts (FOC). The gastrointestinal tracts were removed post mortem and examined for the presence of helminths. 3. In faeces, FEC values averaged 258 eggs per g of faeces, which were dominated by Ascaridia galli and Heterakis gallinarum. Mean FOC was 80 oocysts/g. In the gastrointestinal tract, at least one nematode species was found in 99.3% of the examined hens. H. gallinarum was the most prevalent nematode (95.7%), followed by Capillaria spp. (66.8%) and A. galli (63.6%). Thirty per cent of the chickens were infected with cestodes (tapeworms). Correlation coefficients between worm counts of H. gallinarum, Capillaria spp. and A. galli ranged from 0.41 to 0.51. 5. The helminth prevalence did not differ between conventional and organic farms, whereas total worm burden was higher in organic compared with conventional farms (318.9 vs. 112.0). Prevalence and infection intensity did not differ between farms that used anthelmintic treatments and those that did not. 6. In conclusion, free-range laying hens under the studied mountain farming conditions are at high risk of nematode infection, especially in organic systems. The vast majority of hens are subclinical infected with at least one helminth species.