Organic farming at the heart of the rural development policy. The example of Austria

OpenAIRE

Darnhofer, Ika

2006-01-01

With about 10% of all Austrian farms being certified organic, Austria has one of the highest rates of organic farms in the European Union. Organic farms receive payments within the agri-environmental programme (AEP). With about 78% of farms participating in the AEP, Austria is also leading the field in the EU. The high participation rates can be seen as a result of a successful Austrian agricultural policy which aims to reconcile agricultural production, environmental protection, social cohes...

Modelling farm vulnerability to flooding: A step toward vulnerability mitigation policies appraisal

Science.gov (United States)

Brémond, P.; Abrami, G.; Blanc, C.; Grelot, F.

2009-04-01

Recent catastrophic flood events such as Elbe in 2002 or Rhône in 2003 have shown limits of flood management policies relying on dykes protection: worsening of flood impacts downstream, increased damage by dykes rupture. Those events, among others, contributes to radical changes on the philosophy of flood prevention, with the promotion of new orientations for mitigating flood exposition. Two new trends may have a significant impact on rural areas: floodplain restoration and vulnerability mitigation. The Rhône River program, which is an contract of objectives signed between French Government and local collectivites, is highly illustrative of these new trends and their impact on agricultural sector. In this program, it appears that areas to be concerned by floodplain restoration are agricultural ones, because their supposed vulnerability to flood is expected to be less important to urban areas. As a consequence, agricultural sector is particularly concerned by planned actions on mitigation of assets vulnerability, an important part of the program (financial support of European Union of 7.5 Million euros). Mitigation of agricultural assets vulnerability reveals particularly interesting for two following reasons. Firstly, it is a way to maintain agricultural activities in floodplains yet existing, without promoting flood protection. Secondly, in case of floodplain restoration, vulnerability mitigation is a way for local authorities to compensate over-flooding impacts. In practice, local authorities may financially support farmers for implementing measures to mitigate their farm vulnerability. On the Rhône River, an important work has already been done to identify farm vulnerability to flooding, and propose measures to mitigate it. More than 3 000 farms exposed to flood risk have been identified representing 88 690 ha of agricultural areas which is estimated to generate damage between 400 and 800 Million euros depending on the season of occurrence for a catastrophic

Public policy for family farming: evaluation of the Program “Farmer's Factory” (Fábrica do Agricultor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Decio Estevão do Nascimento

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In the state of Paraná, in 1999 the Family Agribusiness program "Factory Farmer" (PFA was created with the objective of adding value to products from family farming through the vertical integration of production by small agro-industrialization. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the Family Agribusiness program "Factory Farmer". The research was conducted descriptively as to approach their goals with the use of bibliographic research techniques, document research and survey, using structured interviews. The policy presented different results between the proposed objectives, being extremely successful in technological innovation objectives, market focus and support for family farming. He highlighted the importance of family farming in Paraná state and the significant contribution of public policies to strengthen family farming.

Power-flow control and stability enhancement of four parallel-operated offshore wind farms using a line-commutated HVDC link

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Li; Wang, Kuo-Hua; Lee, Wei-Jen

2010-01-01

This paper presents an effective control scheme using a line-commutated high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) link with a designed rectifier current regulator (RCR) to simultaneously perform both power-fluctuation mitigation and damping improvement of four parallel-operated 80-MW offshore wind farms...... delivering generated power to a large utility grid. The proposed RCR of the HVDC link is designed by using modal control theory to contribute adequate damping to the studied four offshore wind farms under various wind speeds. A systematic analysis using a frequency-domain approach based on eigenvalue...... characteristics to the studied offshore wind farms under various wind speeds but also effectively mitigate power fluctuations of the offshore wind farms under wind-speed disturbance conditions....

Whole-farm models to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and their potential use for linking climate change mitigation and adaptation in temperate grassland ruminant-based farming systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

del Prado, A; Crosson, P; Olesen, Jørgen E

2013-01-01

The farm level is the most appropriate scale for evaluating options for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, because the farm represents the unit at which management decisions in livestock production are made. To date, a number of whole farm modelling approaches have been developed to quant......The farm level is the most appropriate scale for evaluating options for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, because the farm represents the unit at which management decisions in livestock production are made. To date, a number of whole farm modelling approaches have been developed...... components and the sensitivity of GHG outputs and mitigation measures to different approaches. Potential challenges for linking existing models with the simulation of impacts and adaptation measures under climate change are explored along with a brief discussion of the effects on other ecosystem services....

Modeling of the maintenance policy of an offshore wind farm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maddens, L.; Labeau, P.E.

2004-01-01

Wind energy has a key position in the market of renewable electricity production means. Offshore wind farms offer additional surfaces to exploit this form of energy, together with more favourable wind conditions. Yet offshore windmills ask for higher investment and maintenance costs. Optimising the latter costs should therefore turn out to be particularly beneficial for this technology. The present paper summarizes the main modelling aspects of the maintenance of a typical offshore wind farm, such as the accessibility of the wind turbines and the impact of weather conditions, the cost of the different transport resources, the number of maintenance teams, a tolerated unavailability of part of the windmills, the opportunity to combine corrective and preventive maintenance actions on one or several windmills. All these features were embedded in a Petri net model of the maintenance policy of the farm, allowing to estimate the maintenance costs entailed by several strategies. Advantages and drawbacks of using Petri nets for the modelling of such a maintenance strategy are finally discussed. (authors)

A Linked Hydro-Economic Model to Examine the Effects of Water Policy on Rural Poverty

Science.gov (United States)

Maneta, M. P.; Torres, M.; Vosti, S. A.; Wallender, W. W.; Howitt, R.; Rodrigues, L. N.; Bassoi, L. H.; Pfeiffer, L.; Young, J.

2006-12-01

The sustainable intensification of small-scale agriculture is a necessary condition for reducing rural poverty in developing countries. Increasing the amount of irrigated cropland and the economic efficiency of irrigation are two key components of most intensification strategies. Improved access to water generally increases farm income but richer farmers use a disproportionate share of the available water, decreasing the chances of poor farmers to meet their water needs. Furthermore, water and poverty have strong spatial components that have so far been neglected in water planning. In that sense, too little is known about the short and long term hydrological effects, especially the externality effects of changes in on-farm water use and its implications to nearby farmers. To address this gap in knowledge, a spatially distributed and transient description of changes in surface and groundwater allocation under different agricultural management scenarios is needed. We propose a hydro-economic model providing a realistic spatio-temporal description of the linkages between the economic and hydrologic subsystems. This hydro-economic model is composed of a basin-level 3D spatially distributed transient hydrologic model (MOD-HMS) and a farm-level, spatially distributed agricultural production model. Both models are explicitly linked through the boundary conditions of the hydrologic model. The linkage will account for the spatial and temporal impact of different crop mixes, irrigation techniques and groundwater pumpage on water availability at farm level to assess the effects of policy action on the hydro-economic components of the system.

FSSIM, a bio-economic farm model for simulating the response of EU farming systems to agricultural and environmental policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Louhichi, K.; Kanellopoulos, A.; Janssen, S.J.C.; Flichman, G.; Blanco, M.; Hengsdijk, H.; Heckelei, T.; Berentsen, P.; Oude Lansink, A.G.J.M.; Ittersum, van M.K.

2010-01-01

The disciplinary nature of most existing farm models as well as the issue specific orientation of most of the studies in agricultural systems research are main reasons for the limited use and re-use of bio-economic modelling for the ex-ante integrated assessment of policy decisions. The objective of

SD simulation study on degraded farmland policy on farming-pastoral area under the constrains of water resources-Taking Tongliao City of Inner Mongolia as example

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, D. P.; Zhao, B.; Li, T. S.; Zhu, J. W.; Yu, M. M.

2017-08-01

Water resources are the primary factor in restricting the sustainable development of farming-pastoral regions. To support the sustainable development of water resources, whether or not the land uses patterns of farming-pastoral areas is a reasonably important issue. This paper takes Tongliao city as example for the purpose of sustainably developing the farming-pastoral area in the north. Several scientific preductions and evaluations were conducted to study the farming-pastoral landuse pattern, which is the key problem that effects sustainable development of farming-pastoral areas. The paper then proposes that 1:7 landuse pattern is suitable for the sustainable development of farming-pastotal area. Based on the analysis of the research findings on sustainable development of farming-pastoral area, the paper established a suitability evaluation indicators system of degraded farmland policies in Tongliao city, and used an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to determine the weight to run system dynamic (SD) model. The simulation results were then obtained on social economic ecological development in Tongliao city under different degraded farmland policies, and used the comprehensive evaluation model to optimize the results. It is concluded that stabilizing the policy of degraded farmland policy is the preferential policy in Tongliao, which provides useful theoretical research for the sustainable development of farming-pastoral area.

Modelling agri-environmental contracting of Dutch dairy farms: the role of manure policies and lock-in

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peerlings, J.H.M.; Polman, N.B.P.

2008-01-01

The paper examines the possibility of lock-in on the area contracted under an agri-environmental contract in Dutch dairy farming, using a mathematical programming model, and the interaction of these contracts with Dutch national manure policy. Stricter manure policies increase contract

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2010-08-01

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

Leadership Program for Promoting Policies Linking the Environment ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Leadership Program for Promoting Policies Linking the Environment and Health in Africa. It is obvious that in many African countries, no linkages are being made between health policy and environment policy. In 2005, the global network Environment and Development Action in the Third World (ENDA-TM) francophone ...

Farm data needed for Agri-environmental reporting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oenema, O.; Amon, B.; van Beek, C.

from the annual surveys of the annual Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) and sales data of market organization. Evidently, this proposal has the lowest farm data collection burden, but may face some loss of accuracy. Finally, the 28 AEIs capture the main agri-environmental interactions...... that will serve primarily European and national statisticians for creating the agreed 28 agrienvironmental indicators (AEIs) and thus serve policy makers, but as well agricultural and environmental researchers, observers of climate change and other environmental issues linked to agriculture”. The analysis of EU......): 1. Proceed as indicated in Regulation 1166/2008 with FSS in 2010, 2013 and 2016, and SAPM in 2010/2011. Include data from existing and additional survey(s) related to fertilizers, pesticides, energy, animal feeding and manure management in intermediate years, preferably at farm level. From 2016...

Linking African Researchers with Adaptation Policy Spaces | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Linking African Researchers with Adaptation Policy Spaces. Poor understanding of policy processes tends to reduce the value of research results and the ability of researchers to influence policy. One of the main goals of IDRC's Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) program is to build the capacity of researchers to ...

SUCCESSOR EFFECT IN FAMILY FARMS IN POLAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michał Dudek

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In the literature and sectoral policy strategies, a generation change among farm managers is often linked with the expectations of positive developments in agriculture and rural areas. The farm succession is usually perceived as favourable for economic situation of farming families. As a consequence of this process diff erent methods of management are often implemented. The new farmer’s experiences, ideas and skills that could contribute to the development of production and improvement of its profi tability are also brought. The aim of this paper is to describe the changes that have occurred in the farms after succession. In total, among this group an increased number of actions aimed at the development of the agricultural businesses were not observed. However, analyses showed that among successors diff erent attitudes towards acquired production assets were observed. The empirical material used in the study were the results of the IAFE-NRI panel surveys conducted on a sample of more than 2,5 thousand of the same farms in 2000, 2005 and 2011.

On the development and use of farm models for policy impact assessment in the European Union – A review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reidsma, Pytrik; Janssen, Sander; Jansen, Jacques; Ittersum, van Martin K.

2018-01-01

Farm models are potentially relevant tools for policy impact assessment. Governments and international organizations use impact assessment (IA) as an ex-ante policy process and procedure to evaluate impacts of policy options as part of the introduction of new policies. IA is increasingly used. This

Farm forestry and land-use in India: Some policy issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saxena, N C [Allahabad (India)

1992-01-01

Farm forestry was promoted in India in the late 1970s to produce fuelwood for rural consumption. The program was immensely successful in the green revolution regions in the early 1980s, but farmers produced wood for markets, and not to meet local needs. This market orientation of farmers was recognized in the new National Forest Policy of 1988. Lately, two serious problems have been noted. First, the program remained confined only to the commercialized and monetized regions, and elsewhere made little impact. Second, even in regions where it was successful in the early 1980s, it could not be sustained after 1986. This paper analyzes the likely causes for its limited success, and suggests that while market-led farm forestry may continue without subsidies on a reduced scale, government attention should shift to strengthening the traditional agroforestry practices based on indigenous species. (33 refs.).

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

Bio-economic farm modelling for integrated assessment of agricultural and environmental policies: towards re-usability and improved empirical validity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kanellopoulos, A.

2010-01-01

Keywords: integrated assessment, environmental policy, agricultural policy, market liberalization, bio-economic model, farming systems, mathematical programming, maximum entropy estimation, data envelopment analysis, agricultural activity, land use, future studies.

The main objective of

Adaptation Finance: Linking Research, Policy, and Business | CRDI ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Adaptation Finance: Linking Research, Policy, and Business. This project will train up to 36 emerging climate change leaders in the field of adaptation finance, which funds efforts to adapt to climate change impacts. The goal is to bring together participants from research, policy, and private sector backgrounds to equip them ...

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

Combined analysis of climate, technological and price changes on future arable farming systems in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wolf, J.; Kanellopoulos, Argyris; Kros, J.; Webber, H.; Zhao, G.; Britz, W.; Reinds, G.J.; Ewert, F.; Vries, de W.

2015-01-01

In this study, we compare the relative importance of climate change to technological, management, price and policy changes on European arable farming systems. This required linking four models: the SIMPLACE crop growth modelling framework to calculate future yields under climate change for arable

Bio-economic modelling to assess the impact of water pricing policies at the farm level in the Oum Zessar watershed, southern Tunisia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jeder, H.; Sghaier, M.; Louhchi, P.; Reidsma, P.

2014-01-01

For integrated assessment at farm level, the Farm System SIMulator model (FSSIM) was used. FSSIM is a bio-economic model developed for the European context, and was adapted and tested for Tunisian conditions to assess, ex-ante, impacts of water pricing policies at the farm level to the year 2015.

Policy Directions for U. S. Agriculture; Long-Range Choices in Farming and Rural Living.

Science.gov (United States)

Clawson, Marion

A comprehensive view of agriculture is presented in this volume written to aid critical re-examination of long-range agricultural policy. Farm people, rural institutions and services, rural towns, the spatial organization of agriculture, and its capital structure, in addition to the usual subjects of agricultural output, demand, trade, price, and…

The Development and Persistence of Agricultural Policy in the EU

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berthou, Silas

Abstract The analysis of which factors affect the development of European agricultural policy, the CAP, combines economic, political and historic methods to examine the interaction between politicians, farmers and voters/taxpayers. The objective of this PhD thesis is to examine the development...... and persistence of agricultural policy in the EU, based on the hypothesis that the political process and the agricultural structure are linked together. This is achieved through an examination of the foundation, the Danish farm household income and the future of agricultural support. The result of this study...... is that the foundation of agricultural policy in Europe depends on domestic policy, thus how the policy measures will affect voters. The farm households in Denmark have a living standard which is equal to rest of the society....

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...

Policies Supporting Local Food in the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steve W. Martinez

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Local food has been the subject of federal, state, and local government policies in recent years throughout the United States as consumer demand has grown. Local foods have been linked to several government priorities—including enhancing the rural economy, the environment, and supporting agricultural producers. This article provides an overview of U.S. Federal, State and regional policies designed to support local food systems. It details the latest economic information on policy, relying on findings from several national surveys and a synthesis of recent literature. Federal policies related to local food systems were greatly expanded by the 2008 Farm Bill, and are further expanded in the Agricultural Act of 2014. United States policies address several barriers to the further expansion of local food markets, including scaling up output of small farms to address the needs of larger commercial outlets, lack of infrastructure for increasing local food sales, ability to trace product source, and producer education regarding local food expansion.

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.

Policy and Environmental Implications of Photovoltaic Systems in Farming in Southeast Spain: Can Greenhouses Reduce the Greenhouse Effect?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angel Carreño-Ortega

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Solar photovoltaic (PV systems have grown in popularity in the farming sector, primarily because land area and farm structures themselves, such as greenhouses, can be exploited for this purpose, and, moreover, because farms tend to be located in rural areas far from energy production plants. In Spain, despite being a country with enormous potential for this renewable energy source, little is being done to exploit it, and policies of recent years have even restricted its implementation. These factors constitute an obstacle, both for achieving environmental commitments and for socioeconomic development. This study proposes the installation of PV systems on greenhouses in southeast Spain, the location with the highest concentration of greenhouses in Europe. Following a sensitivity analysis, it is estimated that the utilization of this technology in the self-consumption scenario at farm level produces increased profitability for farms, which can range from 0.88% (worst scenario to 52.78% (most favorable scenario. Regarding the Spanish environmental policy, the results obtained demonstrate that the impact of applying this technology mounted on greenhouses would bring the country 38% closer to reaching the 2030 greenhouse gas (GHG target. Furthermore, it would make it possible to nearly achieve the official commitment of 20% renewable energies by 2020. Additionally, it would have considerable effects on the regional socioeconomy, with increases in job creation and contribution to gross domestic product (GDP/R&D (Research and Development, allowing greater profitability in agrifood activities throughout the entire region.

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...

An LP-model to analyse economic and ecological sustainability on Dutch dairy farms: model presentation and application for experimental farm "de Marke"

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Calker, van K.J.; Berentsen, P.B.M.; Boer, de I.J.M.; Giesen, G.W.J.; Huirne, R.B.M.

2004-01-01

Farm level modelling can be used to determine how farm management adjustments and environmental policy affect different sustainability indicators. In this paper indicators were included in a dairy farm LP (linear programming)-model to analyse the effects of environmental policy and management

Determinants of farm diversification in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meraner, M.; Heijman, W.J.M.; Kuhlman, J.W.; Finger, R.

2015-01-01

Farm diversification has been prominently supported by agricultural policy makers aiming to support rural development. To increase the understanding of determinants influencing diversification and hence to increase the efficiency of policies aiming to support farm diversification this paper presents

Effects of EU dairy policy reform for Dutch dairy farming : a primal approach using GMM estimation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ooms, D.L.; Peerlings, J.H.M.

2005-01-01

This paper estimates a production function for milk using a generalised method of moments estimator to avoid the endogeneity problem. Using the first-order conditions for profit maximisation, the economic effects for individual Dutch dairy farms of the 2003 EU dairy policy reform are analysed. With

Rural and Regional Development Policies in Europe: Social Farming in the Common Strategic Framework (Horizon 2020

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antoni Francesc TULLA

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Social Farming (SF is an emerging sector in the rural European context, but the European Economic and Social Committee (2013/C 44/07 emphasizes that SF should be planned and implemented under the new 2014-20 rural development policy because of the positive results obtained. The SF concept can be associated with agriculture as a multifunctional activity, giving agricultural practice new meanings and functions and incorporating social services, medical treatment and rehabilitation, and educational training and support. In addition, agriculture must be considered as a means of employment and social integration for groups as diverse as individuals who are unemployed or living with mental retardation, mental disorders, or addictions, among others. As a result, innovative SF activities are contributing to the social economy, rural and regional development, and support for a new agro-social paradigm. These are mainly activities linked with the endogenous resources of the territory that generate new enterprises, together with complementary activities that consolidate an economic network as the basis for regional development.

Trafficking in tobacco farm culture: Tobacco companies use of video imagery to undermine health policy

Science.gov (United States)

Otañez, Martin G; Glantz, Stanton A

2009-01-01

The cigarette companies and their lobbying organization used tobacco industry-produced films and videos about tobacco farming to support their political, public relations, and public policy goals. Critical discourse analysis shows how tobacco companies utilized film and video imagery and narratives of tobacco farmers and tobacco economies for lobbying politicians and influencing consumers, industry-allied groups, and retail shop owners to oppose tobacco control measures and counter publicity on the health hazards, social problems, and environmental effects of tobacco growing. Imagery and narratives of tobacco farmers, tobacco barns, and agricultural landscapes in industry videos constituted a tobacco industry strategy to construct a corporate vision of tobacco farm culture that privileges the economic benefits of tobacco. The positive discursive representations of tobacco farming ignored actual behavior of tobacco companies to promote relationships of dependency and subordination for tobacco farmers and to contribute to tobacco-related poverty, child labor, and deforestation in tobacco growing countries. While showing tobacco farming as a family and a national tradition and a source of jobs, tobacco companies portrayed tobacco as a tradition to be protected instead of an industry to be regulated and denormalized. PMID:20160936

Trafficking in tobacco farm culture: Tobacco companies use of video imagery to undermine health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Otañez, Martin G; Glantz, Stanton A

2009-05-01

The cigarette companies and their lobbying organization used tobacco industry-produced films and videos about tobacco farming to support their political, public relations, and public policy goals. Critical discourse analysis shows how tobacco companies utilized film and video imagery and narratives of tobacco farmers and tobacco economies for lobbying politicians and influencing consumers, industry-allied groups, and retail shop owners to oppose tobacco control measures and counter publicity on the health hazards, social problems, and environmental effects of tobacco growing. Imagery and narratives of tobacco farmers, tobacco barns, and agricultural landscapes in industry videos constituted a tobacco industry strategy to construct a corporate vision of tobacco farm culture that privileges the economic benefits of tobacco. The positive discursive representations of tobacco farming ignored actual behavior of tobacco companies to promote relationships of dependency and subordination for tobacco farmers and to contribute to tobacco-related poverty, child labor, and deforestation in tobacco growing countries. While showing tobacco farming as a family and a national tradition and a source of jobs, tobacco companies portrayed tobacco as a tradition to be protected instead of an industry to be regulated and denormalized.

Analysis of control alternatives for offshore wind farms connected through a VSC-HVDC link

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belenguer, Enrique; Vidal, Ricardo; Beltran, Hector [Jaume I Univ., Castellon de la Plana (Spain). Dept. of Industrial Engineering Systems; Blasco-Gimenez, Ramon [Univ. Politecnica de Valencia (Spain). Dept. of Systems Engineering and Control

2012-07-01

The use of VSC-HVDC transmission systems for the connection of offshore wind power plants increases the control capabilities of the whole system with respect to the use of standard LCC-HVDC systems. In this paper two different control strategies for an offshore wind farm connected through a VSC-HVDC link have been developed and analyzed through PSCAD simulations. Both, steady state and transient behavior have been simulated in order to find the best control strategy for such a system. (orig.)

An analysis of policy scenario effects on the adoption of energy production on the farm: A case study in Emilia–Romagna (Italy)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartolini, Fabio; Viaggi, Davide

2012-01-01

The agriculture sector’s contribution to energy production is a central issue in ongoing policy debates, and one of the central elements of the development of Bioeconomy sector. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of the main determinants of the different farm strategies of European farmers. The CAP is now undergoing a thorough revision process which necessarily includes a debate of the role of the policy in rural areas and the effectiveness of the various CAP policy mechanisms. The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of alternative CAP scenarios in the light of the possible changes in 2013 and the willingness to adopt energy plants for energy crops in the Province of Bologna (Italy). This is pursued using both survey information and farm-household mathematical programming models, hence using stated intentions and simulated profitability to analyse the adopt of new technologies for energy production. The results underscore the relevance of the CAP scenarios in altering intentions with regard to the adoption of energy production and the relevant effect of uncertainty in delaying the diffusion of energy production systems. - Highlights: ► We analyse policy effects on adoption of energy production by the farms. ► CAP scenario strongly affects the intention to adopt energy productions. ► Uncertainty in decision variables have the effect to postpone the decision on energy productions.

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.

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

Bridging the gaps between agricultural policy, land-use and biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattison, Elizabeth H A; Norris, Ken

2005-11-01

The fate of biodiversity is intimately linked to agricultural development. Policy reform is an important driver of changes in agricultural land-use, but there is considerable spatial variation in response to policy and its potential impact on biodiversity. We review the links between policy, land-use and biodiversity and advocate a more integrated approach. Ecologists need to recognize that wildlife-friendly farming is not the only land-use strategy that can be used to conserve biodiversity and to research alternative options such as land sparing. There is also a need for social scientists and ecologists to bring their approaches together, so that land-use change and its consequences can be investigated in a more holistic way.

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)

Analysis of future agricultural change : a farm economics approach applied to Dutch arable farming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wossink, A.

1993-01-01

This study of agricultural change deals simultaneously with: (a) farm planning, ie. the constant adaptation to changing circumstances at the level of the individual farm firm and (b) conditional forecasting, ie. the analysis of alternative agricultural and environmental policy views and

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…

Linking international trademark databases to inform IP research and policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petrie, P.

2016-07-01

Researchers and policy makers are concerned with many international issues regarding trademarks, such as trademark squatting, cluttering, and dilution. Trademark application data can provide an evidence base to inform government policy regarding these issues, and can also produce quantitative insights into economic trends and brand dynamics. Currently, national trademark databases can provide insight into economic and brand dynamics at the national level, but gaining such insight at an international level is more difficult due to a lack of internationally linked trademark data. We are in the process of building a harmonised international trademark database (the “Patstat of trademarks”), in which equivalent trademarks have been identified across national offices. We have developed a pilot database that incorporates 6.4 million U.S., 1.3 million Australian, and 0.5 million New Zealand trademark applications, spanning over 100 years. The database will be extended to incorporate trademark data from other participating intellectual property (IP) offices as they join the project. Confirmed partners include the United Kingdom, WIPO, and OHIM. We will continue to expand the scope of the project, and intend to include many more IP offices from around the world. In addition to building the pilot database, we have developed a linking algorithm that identifies equivalent trademarks (TMs) across the three jurisdictions. The algorithm can currently be applied to all applications that contain TM text; i.e. around 96% of all applications. In its current state, the algorithm successfully identifies ~ 97% of equivalent TMs that are known to be linked a priori, as they have shared international registration number through the Madrid protocol. When complete, the internationally linked trademark database will be a valuable resource for researchers and policy-makers in fields such as econometrics, intellectual property rights, and brand policy. (Author)

Impressions of cattle farming in the landscape of Uruguay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Gómez Sena

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The development of cattle farming has influenced and modeled the social and economic organization of Uruguay along history and has culturally acquired several expressions, including decisive evidence in the historical organization of its territory and the conformation of its rural landscape. The historic marks of cattle farming are key to understand the logics of land use planning and the natural-culturalconstruction of the Uruguayan landscape and have exerted great influence on the country’s internal policy organization, the division of land, the organization of roads and trails, its toponymy, etc. From the modifications of flora and fauna caused by the first introduction of cattle in the country, the conformation of the rural landscape of our territory has been linked to cattle farming, especially to the economic unit represented by the “estancia ganadera” (cattle farm. Its historic evolution delineated processes for land occupancy, holding and exploitation which lasted very long periods and with the so called “modernization of cattle farming” established the way and typology of rural architecture as well as forestry treatment and equipment which defined the predominant profile of rural areas in the country. The estate systems related to the industrialization of meat, which resulted from the productive situation of the country in the 70’s are also as significant, although their territorial dimension is much less. These industrial remains (unequally preserved, recognized and restored require to be approached as cultural landscapes and demand the set up of their links with the territory and the productive chain. This approach focuses on recognizing and activating the most significant elements of this cultural heritage, integrating its management to cattle farming today and to sustainable strategies of local and regional productive development.

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.

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.

Control of Groundwater Pollution from Animal Feeding Operations: A Farm-Level Dynamic Model for Policy Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J.; Baerenklau, K.

2012-12-01

Consolidation in livestock production generates higher farm incomes due to economies of scale, but it also brings waste disposal problems. Over-application of animal waste on adjacent land produces adverse environmental and health effects, including groundwater nitrate pollution. The situation is particularly noticeable in California. In respond to this increasingly severe problem, EPA published a type of command-and-control regulation for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in 2003. The key component of the regulation is its nutrient management plans (NMPs), which intend to limit the land application rates of animal waste. Although previous studies provide a full perspective on potential economic impacts for CAFOs to meet nutrient standards, their models are static and fail to reflect changes in management practices other than spreading manure on additional land and changing cropping patterns. We develop a dynamic environmental-economic modeling framework for representative CAFOs. The framework incorporates four models (i.e., animal model, crop model, hydrologic model, and economic model) that include various components such as herd management, manure handling system, crop rotation, water sources, irrigation system, waste disposal options, and pollutant emissions. We also include the dynamics of soil characteristics in the rootzone as well as the spatial heterogeneity of the irrigation system. The operator maximizes discounted total farm profit over multiple periods subject to environmental regulations. Decision rules from the dynamic optimization problem demonstrate best management practices for CAFOs to improve their economic and environmental performance. Results from policy simulations suggest that direct quantity restrictions of emission or incentive-based emission policies are much more cost-effective than the standard approach of limiting the amount of animal waste that may be applied to fields (as shown in the figure below); reason being

Perspectives on the Structure of American Agriculture. Volume II: Federal Farm Policies--Their Effects on Low-Income Farmers and Rural Communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Coughlin, Kenneth M., Ed.

Agriculture and farming are the economic context for rural education. This is the second of two volumes of papers describing the impact of national agricultural policy on the poor. The nine articles in this volume (shot-titled below) analyze federal policy from the standpoint of the low-income farmer: (1) "Agricultural Price Supports,"…

Acidification as an example of the link between science and policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolters, G.J.R.; Marseille, H.

1992-01-01

The paper describes the development of acidification policy in the Netherlands as an example of the link between science and policy. In particular the paper examines how scientific information was translated into policy and the treatment of uncertainties. Aspects covered include: the research programme Dutch Priority Programme in Acidification; deposition objectives; emission reduction objectives; and ozone. The original National Environmental Policy Plan was seen as not strong enough by the new Dutch government which annouced the National Environmental Policy Plan 'Plus'. This reduced the time limits for emission reduction objectives for SO 2 and NO x . 9 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs

CAP payments and agricultural GHG emissions in Italy. A farm-level assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Coderoni, Silvia; Esposti, Roberto

2018-06-15

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is an important external driver of European agricultural production. Nowadays and in its envisioned future structure post-2020, the CAP has among its major objectives tackling climate change, for what concerns both adaptation and mitigation strategies. However, little is known about the link between past CAP reforms and agricultural greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. This paper investigates the possible role played by the Fischler Reform (FR) on the agricultural GHG emissions at the farm level. The FR represents a major CAP reform for which data availability allows an ex-post analysis about its actual impacts. The empirical analysis concerns a balanced panel of 6542 Italian Farm Accountancy Data Network observed over years the 2003-2007. Multinomial Logit models are estimated in sequence to express how the farm-level production choices, and the respective emissions, vary over time also in response to CAP expenditure. Results suggest that CAP expenditure had a role in the evolution of the farm-level emissions, though the direction of this effect may differ across farms and deserves further investigation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

From Research to Policy: Linking Climate Change Adaptation to ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

From Research to Policy: Linking Climate Change Adaptation to Sustainable Agriculture. Research on climate change and its impact on the ... Outputs. Journal articles. Factors affecting households vulnerability to climate change in Swaziland : a case of Mpolonjeni Area Development Programme (ADP). Download PDF ...

A Simple Forecasting Model Linking Macroeconomic Policy to Industrial Employment Demand.

Science.gov (United States)

Malley, James R.; Hady, Thomas F.

A study detailed further a model linking monetary and fiscal policy to industrial employment in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas of four United States regions. The model was used to simulate the impacts on area and regional employment of three events in the economy: changing real gross national product (GNP) via monetary policy, holding the…

Energy for climate in Europe. An assessment of energy policies with climate-relevance. The LinkS Project.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruud, Audun; Knudsen, Joergen K.; Jacobsen, Gerd B.

2011-07-01

The LinkS project aims at providing a better linkage between perspectives and projections for global climate policy development and regional energy systems, by linking relevant modelling tools. The present report provides a specific focus on energy policy measures within the EY with climate relevance. The EU has in recent years aimed at reinforcing the linkage between the climate and energy policies, both at strategic and operational levels. The EU has pledged itself to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with 8 percent by 2008-12 as compared to the 1990 level, and by 20 percent by 2020 as compared to the as compared to the 2005 level. The EU-27 reduced it GHG emissions with 11,3 percent in 1990-2008. The 2020-target, however, will require stronger efforts and energy is a key sector: The EU has decided that 20 percent of the energy must be renewable, and that the energy usage in 2020 is to be 20 per sent more efficient than in 2005. A number of policy strategies, measures and legislation are formulated to fulfil these targets. In order to highlight the potential of these measures, this report specifically addresses the drivers and limitations given the existing decision-making structures in the EU. The methodology employed is mainly qualitative, based on document analysis and a review of secondary literature. Climate-change mitigation is in principle based on supra-national decision-making, but unanimity among all Eu Member States is still required in critical issues related to the energy sector. In addition, the national follow-up of the targets constitutes a particular challenge. This is here illustrated by the cases of Denmark and Norway. Energy policy is also substantially characterised by several conflicting interests between the Member States, resulting in diverging policy priorities. It is, therefore, an open question whether the EU will succeed in fulfilling its 20/20/20 percent targets by 2020, and will be the actual role of energy within the climate

Contract farming for improving smallholder incomes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ton, Giel; Vellema, Wytse; Desiere, Sam; Weituschat, Sophia; Haese, D' Marijke

2018-01-01

Contract farming is a sales arrangement between a farmer and a firm, agreed before production begins, which provides the farmer with resources or services. Many governments and donors promote contract farming as part of agricultural development policies. However, there is serious concern whether

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-01-01

Simple Summary Companies that produce or sell food products from farm animals can have a major influence on the lives and welfare of these animals. The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) conducts an annual evaluation of the farm animal welfare-related disclosures of some of the world’s largest food companies. The programme looks at companies’ published policies and commitments and examines whether these might lead to actions that can improve animal welfare on farms. It also assesses whether companies show leadership in this field. The BBFAW found that, in 2012 and 2013, around 70% of companies acknowledged animal welfare as a business issue, and that, between 2012 and 2013, there was clear evidence of an increased level of disclosure on farm animal welfare awareness in the companies that were assessed. However, only 34% (2012) and 44% (2013) of companies had published comprehensive farm animal welfare policies, suggesting that many companies have yet to report on farm animal welfare as a business issue or disclose their approach to farm animal welfare to stakeholders and society. Abstract The views that food companies hold about their responsibilities for animal welfare can strongly influence the lives and welfare of farm animals. If a company’s commitment is translated into action, it can be a major driver of animal welfare. The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is an annual evaluation of farm animal welfare-related practices, reporting and performance of food companies. The framework evaluates how close, based on their disclosures, companies are to best practice in three areas: Management Commitment, Governance & Performance and Leadership & Innovation. The BBFAW analysed information published by 68 (2012) and 70 (2013) of the world’s largest food companies. Around 70% of companies acknowledged animal welfare as a business issue. Between 2012 and 2013, the mean BBFAW score increased significantly by 5% (p animal welfare

Firms’ wage policies: New evidence from linked employer-employee data

OpenAIRE

Suleman, F.; Lagoa, S.; Suleman, A.; Pereira, M.L.

2013-01-01

The research on wage policies has been triggered by the interest in identifying whether labour market or institutional forces shape the wage settings inside firms. This paper draws on linked employer-employee data and uses a fuzzy c-means clustering analysis to identify typical wage policies of medium and large firms in Portugal. Empirical evidence suggests that firms are segmented into four clusters that can be labelled according to wage rules as “Regulated”, “Asymmetric”, “Hierarchical” and...

Reducing non-allocative costs on Danish dairy farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Mogens; Jacobsen, Brian H.; Hansen, Lars C.E.

1993-01-01

inefficiencies are far more important for dairy farms than inefficiencies due to sub-optimal farm size. Non-proportional reductions are shown to be as important as reductions due to scale economies. The paper closes with a discussion of the implications for farm policy and management practice....

Carbon farming economics: What have we learned?

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Kai; Kragt, Marit E; Hailu, Atakelty; Ma, Chunbo

2016-05-01

This study reviewed 62 economic analyses published between 1995 and 2014 on the economic impacts of policies that incentivise agricultural greenhouse (GHG) mitigation. Typically, biophysical models are used to evaluate the changes in GHG mitigation that result from landholders changing their farm and land management practices. The estimated results of biophysical models are then integrated with economic models to simulate the costs of different policy scenarios to production systems. The cost estimates vary between $3 and $130/t CO2 equivalent in 2012 US dollars, depending on the mitigation strategies, spatial locations, and policy scenarios considered. Most studies assessed the consequences of a single, rather than multiple, mitigation strategies, and few considered the co-benefits of carbon farming. These omissions could challenge the reality and robustness of the studies' results. One of the biggest challenges facing agricultural economists is to assess the full extent of the trade-offs involved in carbon farming. We need to improve our biophysical knowledge about carbon farming co-benefits, predict the economic impacts of employing multiple strategies and policy incentives, and develop the associated integrated models, to estimate the full costs and benefits of agricultural GHG mitigation to farmers and the rest of society. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

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

Climate change, water security and the need for integrated policy development: the case of on-farm infrastructure investment in the Australian irrigation sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maraseni, T N; Mushtaq, S; Reardon-Smith, K

2012-01-01

The Australian Government is currently addressing the challenge of increasing water scarcity through significant on-farm infrastructure investment to facilitate the adoption of new water-efficient pressurized irrigation systems. However, it is highly likely that conversion to these systems will increase on-farm energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, suggesting potential conflicts in terms of mitigation and adaptation policies. This study explored the trade-offs associated with the adoption of more water efficient but energy-intensive irrigation technologies by developing an integrated assessment framework. Integrated analysis of five case studies revealed trade-offs between water security and environmental security when conversion to pressurized irrigation systems was evaluated in terms of fuel and energy-related emissions, except in cases where older hand-shift sprinkler irrigation systems were replaced. These results suggest that priority should be given, in implementing on-farm infrastructure investment policy, to replacing inefficient and energy-intensive sprinkler irrigation systems such as hand-shift and roll-line. The results indicated that associated changes in the use of agricultural machinery and agrochemicals may also be important. The findings of this study support the use of an integrated approach to avoid possible conflicts in designing national climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, both of which are being developed in Australia. (letter)

The Potential for Joint Farming Ventures in Irish Agriculture: A Sociological Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cush Peter

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Joint farming ventures (JFVs are promoted within Irish and EU policy discourses as strategies that can enhance the economic and social sustainability of family farming. Research has shown that JFVs, including arrangements such as farm partnerships, contract rearing and share farming, can potentially enable farmers to work cooperatively to improve farm productivity, reduce working hours, facilitate succession, develop skills and improve relationships within the farm household. In the context of increasing policy promotion of JFVs, there is a need to make some attempt at understanding the macro socio-cultural disposition of family farming to cooperation. Reviewing sociological studies of agricultural cooperation and taking a specific focus on the Irish contextual backdrop, this paper draws the reader’s attention to the importance of historical legacy, pragmatic economic and social concerns, communicative norms, inter-personal relationships, individualism and, policy and extension stimuli, all of which shape farmers’ dispositions to cooperation and to JFVs specifically.

On the choice of farm management practices after the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2003.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmid, Erwin; Sinabell, Franz

2007-02-01

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was fundamentally reformed in 2003. From 2005, farmers will receive decoupled income support payments instead of production premiums if basic standards for environment, food safety, animal health and welfare are met. Farmers are likely to adjust production and management practices to the new policy framework. We describe how this reform fits into the EU strategy of making agricultural production more environmentally friendly by concentrating on the financial aspects of the reforms. Using an agricultural sector model for Austria, we show that the reform will further decrease agricultural outputs, reduce farm inputs, lessen nitrogen surpluses and make environmentally friendly management practices more attractive for farmers.

The Impact of Agricultural Policy Distortions on the Productivity Gap: Evidence from the Rice Production

OpenAIRE

Rakotoarisoa, Manitra A.

2008-01-01

This study determines how production and trade policy distortions affected rice productivity in thirty-three rice-producing countries. A rice-productivity index for each country is constructed, and a model linking the productivity gap with policy distortions is presented. After controlling for the differences in infrastructure, openness, and human capital, this article shows that high subsidies and protection in developed countries combined with taxation of rice farming in poor countries have...

Farm factors associated with the use of antobiotics in pig production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate farm-level economic and technical factors that are associated with the use of antibiotics on pig farms. Identification of such factors, like farm size and net farm result, may help to increase epidemiological knowledge and to specify farm advice and policy

Determinants of wind and solar energy system adoption by U.S. farms: A multilevel modeling approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borchers, Allison M.; Xiarchos, Irene; Beckman, Jayson

2014-01-01

This article offers the first national examination of the determinants of adoption of wind and solar energy generation on U.S. farming operations. The inclusion of state policies and characteristics in a multilevel modeling approach distinguishes this study from past research utilizing logit models of technology adoption which focus only on the characteristics of the farm operation. Results suggest the propensity to adopt is higher for livestock operations, larger farms, operators with internet access, organic operations, and newer farmers. The results find state characteristics such as solar resources, per capita income levels, and predominantly democratic voting increasing the odds of farm adoption. This research suggests the relevance of state policy variables in explaining farm level outcomes is limited, although in combination best practice net metering and interconnection policies—policies designed to encourage the development of small scale distributed applications—are shown to increase the likelihood of farm solar and wind adoption. The prevalence of electric cooperatives—which are often not subject to state renewable energy policies and often service farms—is negatively related with the propensity to adopt and suggests that policy design may be a factor. - Highlights: • This is the first national examination of wind and solar energy adoption on U.S. farms. • Controlling for state policies distinguishes this study from past research of technology adoption. • We find net metering and interconnection policies increase the likelihood of farm adoption. • Results suggest that the design of renewable energy policies may limit their impact on farms

Environmental health impacts of tobacco farming: a review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Lecours, Natacha; Almeida, Guilherme E G; Abdallah, Jumanne M; Novotny, Thomas E

2012-03-01

To review the literature on environmental health impacts of tobacco farming and to summarise the findings and research gaps in this field. A standard literature search was performed using multiple electronic databases for identification of peer-reviewed articles. The internet and organisational databases were also used to find other types of documents (eg, books and reports). The reference lists of identified relevant documents were reviewed to find additional sources. The selected studies documented many negative environmental impacts of tobacco production at the local level, often linking them with associated social and health problems. The common agricultural practices related to tobacco farming, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, lead to deforestation and soil degradation. Agrochemical pollution and deforestation in turn lead to ecological disruptions that cause a loss of ecosystem services, including land resources, biodiversity and food sources, which negatively impact human health. Multinational tobacco companies' policies and practices contribute to environmental problems related to tobacco leaf production. Development and implementation of interventions against the negative environmental impacts of tobacco production worldwide are necessary to protect the health of farmers, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. Transitioning these farmers out of tobacco production is ultimately the resolution to this environmental health problem. In order to inform policy, however, further research is needed to better quantify the health impacts of tobacco farming and evaluate the potential alternative livelihoods that may be possible for tobacco farmers globally.

The impact of micro financing on poverty levels of rural women farm households in Abia state, Nigeria; implication for policy intervention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

EZEH Innocent

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This study determined the impact of micro-finance on poverty level of rural women farm households in Abia State, Nigeria: Implication for policy intervention. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to +select the local government areas, communities and respondents in the three (Aba, Ohafia and Umuahia agricultural zones of the State. The sample size was 240 (120 a piece for rural women farmer borrowers and non borrowers. Instrument of data collection was a set of structured and pre-tested questionnaire administered on both groups of rural women farmers. The result indicated that incidence of poverty or head count ratio was 0.558 for the rural women farmers borrowers and 0.933 for the rural women farmer non borrowers; poverty gap otherwise known as income short fall was 0.4547 for the rural women farmer borrowers and 0.6995 for the rural women farmer non borrowers. The result of the paired t-test showed that micro-finance impacted significantly on annual farm income, farm size and fertilizer use level of rural women farmer borrowers at given levels of significance. It was however, recommended that increased subsidy policy on agro-inputs and increased funding by the micro-finance will significantly aim at reducing the poverty levels of these women.

12 CFR 614.4000 - Farm Credit Banks.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

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

Family farming between national development projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Fernanda de Torres Álvarez

2015-04-01

Full Text Available During the last ten years, Uruguay has pursued public policies aimed at expanding the collective capacity to decide about forms of land use planning, shaping relationships with the environment, and access to public resources. The same impulse has generated specific policies of recognition and support for family farming as a key component of a rural future with greater justice and the preservation of the rural lifestyle to which we aspire. However, the design of this objective competes with another reality of agricultural modernization, determined by corporate agriculture and mining, where the emergence of large-scale capital does not leave much room for collective participation. This article presents the case of a small country, with agricultural potential, that initiated specific policies to support family farming and decentralization during the past decade, but those initiatives have to coexist with economic policies that still favor big business.

Analysis of future agricultural change : a farm economics approach applied to Dutch arable farming

OpenAIRE

Wossink, A.

1993-01-01

This study of agricultural change deals simultaneously with: (a) farm planning, ie. the constant adaptation to changing circumstances at the level of the individual farm firm and (b) conditional forecasting, ie. the analysis of alternative agricultural and environmental policy views and their impact.

Chapter I gives a general introduction and sets out the objectives and scope of the study. The specific research objectives were: (1) to develop a model syst...

Stress influencing production and welfare in farmed mink

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malmkvist, Jens

2012-01-01

Results linking stress, production and welfare in farmed mink, with special focus on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis, are presented. Interpretation of stress responses are discussed, combining context, neuroendocrine and behavioural indicators. Results from the development and valid......Results linking stress, production and welfare in farmed mink, with special focus on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis, are presented. Interpretation of stress responses are discussed, combining context, neuroendocrine and behavioural indicators. Results from the development...... animals and whether fur-chewing/stereotypic behaviour is associated with hippocampal neurogenesis in mink. Perspectives and suggested future research aiming to improve production and welfare in farmed mink are given....

Performance assessment of Portuguese wind farms: Ownership and managerial efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pestana Barros, Carlos; Sequeira Antunes, Olinda

2011-01-01

This paper analyzes ownership and unobserved managerial ability as factors affecting the performance of a representative sample of Portuguese wind farms by means of frontier models. These farms are ranked according to their technical efficiency during the period 2004-2008 and homogenous and heterogeneous variables are disentangled in the cost function, which leads us to advise the implementation of common policies as well as policies by segments. Economic implications arising from the study are also considered. - Research highlights: → Wind farms are heterogeneous displaying distinct ownership and managerial characteristics that affect efficiency. → Managerial practices has a positive impact on the efficiency. → Ownership has a positive impact on the efficiency. Large wind farms are more efficient.

Farm functionality changes in relation to changes in Agricultural policies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Peter Stubkjær; Vejre, Henrik; Dalgaard, Tommy

2015-01-01

function is strengthened, and the habitat and the recreation function are unchanged. This trend is also true for small, hobby farms whereas for big, full-time farms the production function is strengthened. In terms of multifunctionality the results suggest a general decrease in the balanced focus...

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maurizio Ramanzin

2010-01-01

but also in the ability to maintain landscape, which is generally higher in the extensive or even marginal systems. Within a given livestock system, farms may be managed with different styles, which implies that informative knowledge to address policy decisions needs to integrate the definition of livestock systems with the assessment of farming styles.

Economic analysis and policy implications of farm and off-farm employment : a case study in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Woldehanna, T.

2000-01-01

The central item of this research is the impact of off-farm employment and income on farm households and agricultural production. The interaction between farm and non-farm activities, the adjustment of labor demand and supply, the performance of the labor market, and wage determination are

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

Organic Farming in Europe

OpenAIRE

Willer, Helga

2014-01-01

In this article latest developments in Europe are presented: › Current statistics › Review of the European political and legal framework for organic agriculture › EU regulation on organic farming › Policy support › Action plans › Research › Progress of the OrganicDataNetwork project › Successful policy work of IFOAM EU › Further reading › Websites

The potential of wind farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-01-01

Summaries of papers presented at the European wind energy conference on the potential of wind farms are presented. It is stated that in Denmark today, wind energy provides about 3% to the Danish electricity consumption and the wind power capacity is, according to Danish wind energy policy, expected to increase substantially in the years to come. A number of countries in Europe and elsewhere are making significant progress in this repect. Descriptions of performance are given in relation to some individual wind farms. The subjects covered concern surveys of national planning and policies regarding wind utilization and national and global development of wind turbine arrays. Papers also deal with utility and project planning, wind prediction and certification, wind loads and fatigue, wakes, noise and control. (AB).

Party policy position of Die Linke. A continuation of the PDS?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coffé, H.R.; Plassa, R.

2010-01-01

In 2007, the German party Die Linke emerged as the result of the PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism; the successor of the Communist Party) merging with the WASG (Wahlalternative Arbeit und Soziale Gerechtigkeit; a break away left wing of the Social Democrats). This article compares the policy

The relative importance of geophysical constraints, amenity values, and farm-related factors in the dynamics of grassland set-aside

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Odgaard, Mette Vestergaard; Moeslund, Jesper Erenskjold; Bøcher, Peder Klith

2013-01-01

This study aimed at quantifying the spatial distribution of set-aside – highly valuable biodiversity reservoirs – in a typical lowland agricultural region (Denmark), just before and after the set-aside policy change (years 2007 and 2008), to assess which factors drive farmers’ set-aside priorities......, and to elaborate the potential consequence of the set-aside spatial transformation from 2007 to 2008 on nature. Multiple regressions were used to test if and how set-aside is linked to three potential groups of drivers: (1) geophysical constraints (topographic and edaphic constraints on the farming......-suitability of an area), (2) amenity values (nature conservation and aesthetic values), and (3) farming-related factors (e.g., field size and livestock density). The spatial distribution of set-aside was influenced by both geophysical constraints and amenity values and only some extent farming-related factors. More...

Farmer Support and Extension to Land Reform Farms in the Central ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In addition, farm management knowledge, skills and experience are at low levels. Baseline evidence suggests that agricultural extension services and institutions involved in land reform policies need to upscale on farm economics and viability assessments of farm operations. Management information systems need to be ...

Building policy capacities: an interactive approach for linking knowledge to action in health promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Rütten, Alfred; Gelius, Peter

2014-09-01

This article outlines a theoretical framework for an interactive, research-driven approach to building policy capacities in health promotion. First, it illustrates how two important issues in the recent public health debate, capacity building and linking scientific knowledge to policy action, are connected to each other theoretically. It then introduces an international study on an interactive approach to capacity building in health promotion policy. The approach combines the ADEPT model of policy capacities with a co-operative planning process to foster the exchange of knowledge between policy-makers and researchers, thus improving intra- and inter-organizational capacities. A regional-level physical activity promotion project involving governmental and public-law institutions, NGOs and university researchers serves as a case study to illustrate the potential of the approach for capacity building. Analysis and comparison with a similar local-level project indicate that the approach provides an effective means of linking scientific knowledge to policy action and to planning concrete measures for capacity building in health promotion, but that it requires sufficiently long timelines and adequate resources to achieve adequate implementation and sustainability. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Utopian dream: a new farm bill.

Science.gov (United States)

Nestle, Marion

2012-01-01

In the fall of 2011, I taught a graduate food studies course at New York University devoted to the farm bill, a massive and massively opaque piece of legislation passed most recently in 2008 and up for renewal in 2012. The farm bill supports farmers, of course, but also specifies how the United States deals with such matters as conservation, forestry, energy policy, organic food production, international food aid, and domestic food assistance. My students came from programs in nutrition, food studies, public health, public policy, and law, all united in the belief that a smaller scale, more regionalized, and more sustainable food system would be healthier for people and the planet.

Ecohealth Approach to Flood Recession Farming in Okavango Delta ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

In the Okavango Delta, Botswana, flood-recession farming (molapu) is a lucrative but ... Moreover, some practices involved in molapu farming may pose a threat to the ... Linking research to urban planning at the ICLEI World Congress 2018.

The economic results of farms in the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaroslav Svoboda

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Czech agrarian sector has undergone significant changes during last ten years. Since the Czech Republic has entered the European Union in 2004, agrarian sector has had to adapt to conditions of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP. This policy is taken as a crucial within the EU policies as it includes orientation of food production as well as a broader sense of sustainable development and employment. The paper assesses profit/loss and its efficiency of a sample of farms in the Czech Republic (about 830 farms in 2004 2010. This analysis employed methods of financial analysis both traditional ratios and systems of bankruptcy and value models. Time series is long enough to monitor results after establishing the UE and the CAP principles in the Czech Republic. The paper shows that although since 2004, revenue per employee has been increasing, the value added per worker has been static without any major changes. However, farms on average were profitable with the exception of 2009. It was verified by bankruptcy and value models that an average farm is in a relatively good financial situation (without any problems or debt and sufficiently liquid.

Rural Livelihoods: Interplay Between Farm Activities, Non-Farm Activities and the Resource Base

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuiper, M.H.; Meijerink, G.W.; Eaton, D.J.F.

2007-01-01

Despite ongoing urbanization, over 70% of the world's poor are located in rural areas (IFAD 2001). Agriculture plays an important part in their livelihoods. Rural households play a central role in realizing policy objectives. Production decisions at farm household level determine the current

High Penetrated Wind Farm Impacts on the Electricity Price

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2016-01-01

of the high penetrated wind farm integration into electricity markets. Then, stochastic programming approach is employed to compare the volume of trades for a typical wind farm in a high and low wind penetrated market. Although increasing price spikes and volatility was reported in the literature......Energy trading policies, intermittency of wind farm output power, low marginal cost of the production, are the key factors that cause the wind farms to be effective on the electricity price. In this paper, the Danish electricity market is studied as a part of Nord Pool. Considering the completely...... fossil fuel free overview in Danish energy policies, and the currently great share of wind power (more than 100% for some hours) in supplying the load, it is an interesting benchmark for the future electricity markets. Negative prices, price spikes, and price volatility are considered as the main effects...

12 CFR 618.8015 - Policy guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

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

Modelling conventional and organic farming : a literature review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Acs, S.; Berentsen, P.B.M.; Huirne, R.B.M.

2005-01-01

Literature shows a significant development of organic farming in Europe but with considerable differences between countries. These depend on general agricultural policy (the set of regulations and laws), specific policy incentives, and also on differences in consumer behaviour. This paper reviews

Pacioli 11; New roads for farm accounting and FADN

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poppe, K.J.

2004-01-01

The Pacioli network explores the needs for and feasibility of innovation in farm accounting and its consequences for data gathering for policy analysis in Farm Accountancy Data Networks (FADNs). PACIOLI-11 was held in Przysick (Poland), in October 2003. This workshop report presents the papers. In

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2011-06-01

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

Time-Varying Estimation of Crop Insurance Program in Altering North Dakota Farm Economic Structure

OpenAIRE

Coleman, Jane A.; Shaik, Saleem

2009-01-01

This study examines how federal farm policies, specifically crop insurance, have affected the farm economic structure of North Dakota’s agriculture sector. The system of derived input demand equations is estimated to quantify the changes in North Dakota farmers’ input use when they purchase crop insurance. Further, the cumulative rolling regression technique is applied to capture the varying effects of the farm policies over time. Empirical results from the system of input demand functions in...

A review of Agent Based Modeling for agricultural policy evaluation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kremmydas, Dimitris; Athanasiadis, I.N.; Rozakis, Stelios

2018-01-01

Farm level scale policy analysis is receiving increased attention due to a changing agricultural policy orientation. Agent based models (ABM) are farm level models that have appeared in the end of 1990's, having several differences from traditional farm level models, like the consideration of

Regional Absorption of Common Agricultural Policy's Rural Development Funds Targeted for Semi-Subsistence Farms in Romania in the 2007-2013 Programming Period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BORÓKA-JÚLIA BÍRÓ

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Land fragmentation and the need for consolidation are major problems of current Romanian agriculture. The transition from the status-quo of an agricultural structure dominated by subsistence and semi-subsistence farms in the view of restructuring, resulting in a more efficient sector - is a must. Present study proposes to evaluate the application of specific measures of the Romanian National Rural Development Programme (NRDP that sought to support semi-subsistence farms between 2007 and 2013. Three NRDP measures have been identified under which semi-subsistence farms were eligible: Measure 112 "Setting up of young farmers", Measure 121 "Modernization of agricultural holdings", and Measure 141 "Supporting semi-subsistence agricultural holdings". The above measures belong to the 1st Axis of the Common Agricultural Policy's second pillar, thus having a common general goal the improvement of the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, while aiming at restructuring and developing the physical potential and management of generation change - trying to keep the rural population in place. Available data on a seven-year time horizon was analyzed. The absorption level of measures 112, 121 and 141 - under which the Romanian semi-subsistence farms were eligible - on national and subnational scale was mapped.

75 FR 68533 - Funding and Fiscal Affairs, Loan Policies and Operations, and Funding Operations; Capital...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-08

... FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION 12 CFR Part 615 RIN 3052-AC25 Funding and Fiscal Affairs, Loan Policies... K. Van Meter, Deputy Director, Office of Regulatory Policy, Farm Credit Administration, 1501 Farm... Director, Office of Regulatory Policy, Farm Credit Administration, McLean, VA 22102- 5090, (703) 883-4232...

Environmental criteria for wind farm development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hinson, P.; Lloyd, A.

1997-01-01

The development of commercial wind farms in the U.K. started only in the early 1990s and the standards of environmental assessment applied to them through the planning consents procedure have changed considerably. For a realistic level of further expansion in line with the imperatives of global warming, landscape planning policy needs to be in accord with energy policy. (author)

Environmental criteria for wind farm development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hinson, P.; Lloyd, A. [National Wind Power Ltd., Buckinghamshire (United Kingdom)

1997-06-01

The development of commercial wind farms in the U.K. started only in the early 1990s and the standards of environmental assessment applied to them through the planning consents procedure have changed considerably. For a realistic level of further expansion in line with the imperatives of global warming, landscape planning policy needs to be in accord with energy policy. (author)

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

A framework for guiding sustainability assessment and on-farm strategic decision making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coteur, Ine; Marchand, Fleur; Debruyne, Lies; Dalemans, Floris; Lauwers, Ludwig

2016-01-01

Responding to future challenges and societal needs, various actions are taken in agriculture to evolve towards more sustainable farming practices. These actions imply strategic choices and suppose adequate sustainability assessments to identify, measure, evaluate and communicate sustainable development. However, literature is scarce on the link between strategic decision making and sustainability assessment. As questions emerge on how, what and when to measure, the objective of this paper is to construct a framework for guiding sustainability assessment and on-farm strategic decision making. Qualitative research on own experiences from the past and a recent project revealed four categories of actual needs farmers, advisors and experts have regarding sustainability assessment: context, flexibility, focus on farm and farmer and communication. These stakeholders' needs are then incorporated into a two-dimensional framework that marries the intrinsic complexity of sustainability assessment tools and the time frame of strategic decision making. The framework allows a farm-specific and flexible approach leading to harmonized actions towards sustainable farming. As this framework is mainly a procedural instrument to guide the use of sustainability assessment tools within strategic decision making, it fits to incorporate, even guide, future research on sustainability assessment tools themselves and on their adoption on farms. - Highlights: • How to link sustainability assessment and on-farm strategic decision making is unclear. • Two-dimensional framework incorporating stakeholders' needs regarding sustainability assessment • Linking complexity of sustainability assessment tools and the time frame of strategic decision making • Farm-specific and flexible approach to harmonize action towards sustainable farming

A framework for guiding sustainability assessment and on-farm strategic decision making

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coteur, Ine, E-mail: ine.coteur@ilvo.vlaanderen.be [Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO)-Social sciences Unit, Burg. Van Gansberghelaan 115, box 2, 9820 Merelbeke (Belgium); Marchand, Fleur [Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO)-Social sciences Unit, Burg. Van Gansberghelaan 115, box 2, 9820 Merelbeke (Belgium); University of Antwerp, Ecosystem Management Research Group and IMDO, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk (Belgium); Debruyne, Lies; Dalemans, Floris [Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO)-Social sciences Unit, Burg. Van Gansberghelaan 115, box 2, 9820 Merelbeke (Belgium); Lauwers, Ludwig [Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO)-Social sciences Unit, Burg. Van Gansberghelaan 115, box 2, 9820 Merelbeke (Belgium); University of Ghent, Department of Agricultural Economics, Coupure Links 53, 9000 Ghent (Belgium)

2016-09-15

Responding to future challenges and societal needs, various actions are taken in agriculture to evolve towards more sustainable farming practices. These actions imply strategic choices and suppose adequate sustainability assessments to identify, measure, evaluate and communicate sustainable development. However, literature is scarce on the link between strategic decision making and sustainability assessment. As questions emerge on how, what and when to measure, the objective of this paper is to construct a framework for guiding sustainability assessment and on-farm strategic decision making. Qualitative research on own experiences from the past and a recent project revealed four categories of actual needs farmers, advisors and experts have regarding sustainability assessment: context, flexibility, focus on farm and farmer and communication. These stakeholders' needs are then incorporated into a two-dimensional framework that marries the intrinsic complexity of sustainability assessment tools and the time frame of strategic decision making. The framework allows a farm-specific and flexible approach leading to harmonized actions towards sustainable farming. As this framework is mainly a procedural instrument to guide the use of sustainability assessment tools within strategic decision making, it fits to incorporate, even guide, future research on sustainability assessment tools themselves and on their adoption on farms. - Highlights: • How to link sustainability assessment and on-farm strategic decision making is unclear. • Two-dimensional framework incorporating stakeholders' needs regarding sustainability assessment • Linking complexity of sustainability assessment tools and the time frame of strategic decision making • Farm-specific and flexible approach to harmonize action towards sustainable farming.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunday B. Akpan

2016-09-01

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

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.

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...

Evaluation of a whole-farm model for pasture-based dairy systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Beukes, P C; Palliser, C C; Macdonald, K A; Lancaster, J A S; Levy, G; Thorrold, B S; Wastney, M E

2008-06-01

In the temperate climate of New Zealand, animals can be grazed outdoors all year round. The pasture is supplemented with conserved feed, with the amount being determined by seasonal pasture growth, genetics of the herd, and stocking rate. The large number of factors that affect production makes it impractical and expensive to use field trials to explore all the farm system options. A model of an in situ-grazed pasture system has been developed to provide a tool for developing and testing novel farm systems; for example, different levels of bought-in supplements and different levels of nitrogen fertilizer application, to maintain sustainability or environmental integrity and profitability. It consists of a software framework that links climate information, on a daily basis, with dynamic, mechanistic component-models for pasture growth and animal metabolism, as well as management policies. A unique feature is that the component models were developed and published by other groups, and are retained in their original software language. The aim of this study was to compare the model, called the whole-farm model (WFM) with a farm trial that was conducted over 3 yr and in which data were collected specifically for evaluating the WFM. Data were used from the first year to develop the WFM and data from the second and third year to evaluate the model. The model predicted annual pasture production, end-of-season cow liveweight, cow body condition score, and pasture cover across season with relative prediction error pasture and supplement intake were predicted with acceptable accuracy, suggesting that the metabolic conversion of feed to fat, protein, and lactose in the mammary gland needs to be refined. Because feed growth and intake predictions were acceptable, economic predictions can be made using the WFM, with an adjustment for milk yield, to test different management policies, alterations in climate, or the use of genetically improved animals, pastures, or crops.

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.

Visual disamenities from off-shore wind farms in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ladenburg, Jacob; Dubgaard, Alex; Tranberg, Jesper

2006-01-01

Expansion of the off-shore wind power plays a significant role in the energy policies of many EU countries. However, off-shore wind farms create visual disamenities. These disamenities can be reduced by locating wind farms at larger distances from the coast – and accepting higher costs per k......Wh produced. Base on the choices among alternative wind farm outlays, the preferences for reducing visual disamenities of off-shore wind farms were elicited using the Choice Experiment Method. The results show a clear picture; the respondents in three independent samples are willing to pay for mowing future...... off-shore wind farms away from the shore to reduce the wind farms visibility. However, the results also denote that the preferences vary with regards to the experiences with visual disamenities of off-shore wind farms. The respondents Horns Revs sample, where the off-shore wind farm is located...

Is agritourism eco-friendly? A comparison between agritourisms and other farms in Italy using farm accountancy data network dataset.

Science.gov (United States)

Mastronardi, Luigi; Giaccio, Vincenzo; Giannelli, Agostino; Scardera, Alfonso

2015-01-01

This paper presents the results of research regarding the environmental performances of Italian farms with agritourism compared with farms without agritourism. In Italy, agritourism is considered an agricultural activity and can only be performed by a farmer. Moreover, Italian national legislation forces the farmer to dedicate himself mainly to traditional farming, rather than to tourism activities. For this reason, environmental performances have been highlighted by analyzing only features and production systems of the farms. By utilizing the most frequent indicators used in studies regarding sustainability, the authors show how Italian agritourisms tend to develop more environmentally friendly agricultural methods, which have a positive impact on biodiversity, landscape and natural resources. The empirical analysis is based on the Italian FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network) dataset. The European FADN was created to represent farms' technical and economic operation in the European Union and on which it drafts the agricultural and rural policies. The dichotomous structure of the dependent variable (presence or absence of agritourism at the farm) has a propensity for an assessment method based on Binary Response Model Regression.

Environmental impact of heifer management decisions on Dutch dairy farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mourits, M.C.M.; Berentsen, P.B.M.; Huirne, R.B.M.; Dijkhuizen, A.A.

2000-01-01

Dairy farming contributes substantially to Dutch environmental problems. A dynamic heifer rearing model was used to determine the extent to which the rearing activity influences nutrient flows on a dairy farm. Based on current rearing conditions, the economic optimal rearing policy resulted in an

Final technical report: Certification of low carbon farming practices

OpenAIRE

TUOMISTO HANNA LEENA; ANGILERI Vincenzo; DE CAMILLIS CAMILLO; LOUDJANI Philippe; PELLETIER NATHANIEL; HAASTRUP Palle; NISINI SCACCHIAFICHI Luigi

2013-01-01

In 2010, the European Parliament asked the European Commission to carry out a pilot project on the “certification of low-carbon farming practices in the European Union” to promote reductions of GHG emissions from farming. The overall aim of the project was to assess how efforts of European farmers to produce agricultural products with carbon-neutral or low-carbon-footprint farming practices might be incorporated into policy approaches (possibly via certification), so as to promote the reducti...

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

Role of Subsidies Allocated by the Second Pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy and Diversification in Romanian Farms through Agritourism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NICOLA GALLUZZO

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses about the role and the economic impact of subsidies allocated by the Common Agricultural Policy between 2007 and 2012, predominantly through the second pillar, in order to stimulate farmers to stay in the countryside and diversify their activities by agritourism. The analysis has used a quantitative approach aimed at assessing the main correlations between the growth of agritourisms and the financial supports paid by the European Union in eight Romanian administrative regions using the Farm Accountancy Data Network. Findings have pointed out that in regions where the higher has been the development of agritourism, the more significant has been the positive socio-economic impact of the funds allocated by the European Union in favour of rural development. Rural areas characterized by a low level of farmer’s income and by a high incidence of subsidies paid by the European Union in supporting rural development have brought about a considerable growth of farm diversification through agritourism. This has also corroborated the hypothesis according to which the diversification in the countryside is sensitive both to the funds allocated by the EU and to a low level of income in farms.

Water Demand Analysis for Tree Crops in Spanish Mediterranean Farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Angeles Fernández-Zamudio

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Olive, vine and almond in rainfed farming systems are the most traditional crops in the large inland extensions of the Spanish Mediterranean. Their economic contributions enable farming activities to be maintained meaning that the villages remain inhabited. In the rainfed-farms in the Mediterranean regions it is possible to find only a certain proportion of the farms with some type of irrigation system. Given the water scarcity, the aim of this work is to determine the impact that an irrigationwater pricing policy would have on these regions, as outlined in the European Water Framework Directive. After analysing the direct effect water price would have on the net margin in these crops, demand functions have been obtained, applying the Multiattribute Utility Theory. The calculations, with reference to a farm that is representative of these regions, have been applied to two model scenarios, each with a different level of mechanization. Results show the impact on economic, social and environmental aspects of the pricing policy under the current water allotment. The work is completed by analysing the different contexts of irrigation-water availability on the farm. The study leads to the conclusion that increasing mechanization may be the most straightforward strategy to ensure the survival of these farms in the short to medium term if the current trend of increasing irrigation-water prices is consolidated.

Assessing the effect of off-farm income diversification on agricultural production in rural Nigeria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Babatunde, Raphael O.

2012-01-01

Farming as a primary source of income has failed to guarantee sufficient livelihood for most farming households in developing countries, and agricultural development policies have largely produced little improvement, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Diversification into off-farm activities has

The impact of shrimp farming on mangrove ecosystems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ashton, Elizabeth Clare

2008-01-01

. Policy to position shrimp farms behind mangroves can be effective but also requires good institutional capacity and coordination, effective enforcement, incentives, land tenure and participation of all stakeholders for success. Better management practices have been identified which reduce impacts......Farmed shrimp production and value continue to increase with Asia producing the global majority of shrimp and the USA, Japan and Europe being the main importers. Shrimp farming systems are very diverse in their management, size and impacts. There are many causes for mangrove loss but the conversion...... of mangroves to shrimp farms has caused considerable attention. The major issues of shrimp farming include the loss of important ecological and socio-economic functions of mangrove ecosystems, changes in hydrology, salinization, introduction of non-native species and diseases, pollution from effluents...

Trends in family, hired and contract labour use on French and Swiss crop farms: The role of agricultural policies

OpenAIRE

Dupraz, Pierre; Latruffe, Laure; Mann, Stefan

2010-01-01

The objective of this article is to analyse the trends in on-farm labour use, including own family labour, hired labour and contract work, and to assess the factors driving their evolution in France and in Switzerland during 1990-2007. A particular attention is given to agricultural policies, namely the level and type of support. Results indicate that crop area payments discourage the different labour demands in both countries. No other subsidies have a significant influence on labour use in ...

Multi-farm economic analysis of perennial energy crops in Central Greece, taking into account the CAP reform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lychnaras, Vassilis; Schneider, Uwe A.

2011-01-01

This study analyses farm level economic impacts of biomass production from perennial crops including Arundo donax L. (arundo), Miscanthus x giganteus (miscanthus), Panicum virgatum L. (switchgrass) and Cynara cardunculus L. (cardoon). Regional biomass supply curves are estimated with a dynamic, multi-farm, mathematical programming model. Micro-economic data for the model are generated from farm surveys covering 52 farms containing a total of 400 parcels, in Central Greece. The study also examines the potential effects of the Common Agricultural Policy reform in 2003 on regional biomass supply. Simulations show that the policy reform toward decoupled subsidies lowers the cost of biomass between 15 and 25 euro per tonne. Switchgrass appears to be the most attractive option, followed by cardoon and miscanthus. Due to high specific machinery cost, arundo is never preferred. Relative to the agricultural policy setting of Agenda 2000, the biomass potential increases more for farms of small economic size and farms with a higher share of cotton. (author)

Multi-farm economic analysis of perennial energy crops in Central Greece, taking into account the CAP reform

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lychnaras, Vassilis [Centre for Planning and Economic Research, 11, Amerikis str., 106 72 Athens (Greece); Schneider, Uwe A. [Research Unit Sustainability and Global Change, University of Hamburg, KlimaCampus Hamburg, Bundesstrasse 55, D-20146 Hamburg (Germany)

2011-01-15

This study analyses farm level economic impacts of biomass production from perennial crops including Arundo donax L. (arundo), Miscanthus x giganteus (miscanthus), Panicum virgatum L. (switchgrass) and Cynara cardunculus L. (cardoon). Regional biomass supply curves are estimated with a dynamic, multi-farm, mathematical programming model. Micro-economic data for the model are generated from farm surveys covering 52 farms containing a total of 400 parcels, in Central Greece. The study also examines the potential effects of the Common Agricultural Policy reform in 2003 on regional biomass supply. Simulations show that the policy reform toward decoupled subsidies lowers the cost of biomass between 15 and 25 euro per tonne. Switchgrass appears to be the most attractive option, followed by cardoon and miscanthus. Due to high specific machinery cost, arundo is never preferred. Relative to the agricultural policy setting of Agenda 2000, the biomass potential increases more for farms of small economic size and farms with a higher share of cotton. (author)

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hector Argüello

2018-02-01

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

Trends in family labour, hired labour and contract work on French and Swiss crop farms: The role of agricultural policies

OpenAIRE

Dupraz, Pierre; Latruffe, Laure; Mann, Stefan

2010-01-01

The objective of this article is to analyse the trends in on-farm labour use, including own family labour, hired labour and contract work, and to assess the factors driving their evolution in France and in Switzerland during 1990-2007. A particular attention is given to agricultural policies, namely the level and type of support. Results indicate that crop area payments discourage the different labour demands in both countries, while environment and investment payments favour contract and hir...

The effect of mandatory agro-environmental policy on farm environmental performance

OpenAIRE

Jaraite, Jurate; Kažukauskas, Andrius

2011-01-01

The EU farmers are subject to mandatory cross compliance measures requiring them to meet environmental conditions to be eligible for public support. These obligations reinforce incentives for the farmers to change their behaviour towards the environment. We apply quasi-experimental methods to measure the causal relationship between cross-compliance and farm environmental performance. We find that cross compliance reduced farm fertiliser and pesticide expenditure. This result also holds for fa...

Wind Farms Community Engagement Good Practice Review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aitken, Mhairi; Haggett, Claire; Rudolph, David Philipp

2014-01-01

This report sets out the findings of a review of community engagement for wind farm developments. We focus in particular on the engagement carried out by developers with communities. The aims of the study were to evaluate current good practice for engaging people in decision making about on......- and offshore wind farms in different European countries; to evaluate the effect that different practices have on public opinion and acceptance; and to make relevant recommendations for Scottish policy and planning....

Comparison of Farm Structures, Success Factors, Obstacles, Clients’ Expectations and Policy Wishes of Urban Farming’s Main Business Models in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernd Pölling

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Low-cost specialization, differentiation, and diversification are common business models of urban farms in developed countries. Similarities and differences between them as well as detailed insights into specific farm characteristics are widely absent in scientific discourses. This paper compares farm structures, success factors, obstacles, clients’ expectations, and policy wishes between specialized, differentiated, and diversified farms as well as diversifiers into agriculture. A standardized questionnaire was used for 21 personal in-depth farm interviews located in metropolitan areas of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Being located in a metropolitan area is the most often named Unique Selling Proposition (USP. This is also mentioned as most important success factor followed by sociability and personal contact to clients, which both underpin the importance of direct producer-consumer linkages in urban settings. Additionally, it is assumed that a single food criterion is not sufficient to be successful, but several have to be merged to meet clients’ expectations. In terms of marketing, differentiated and diversified farmers prefer a multi-channel approach, while specialized farmers and diversifiers into agriculture focus mainly on one specific channel. While both specialized farmers and diversifiers into agriculture cultivate smaller areas of farmland, the latter one offers the greatest number of jobs including those outside agricultural production. The findings obtained are expected to support farms and agricultural advisory services in individual decision making of future business development strategies and increase knowledge of urban farming’s main business models.

Linking biomedical engineering ethics case study approach and policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Dibrell, William; Dobie, Elizabeth Ann

2007-01-01

In this paper we link bioengineering case study methods to the development of policy. The case study approach to ethics is an excellent way to show the complex nature of practical/moral reasoning. This approach can, however, lead to a kind of overwhelming complexity. The individual nature of each case makes it difficult to identify the most important information and difficult to see what moral considerations are most relevant. In order to make the overwhelming complexity less debilitating, we present a framework for moral decision making derived from suggestions made by W.D. Ross and Virginia Held. Ross articulates the multiple sources of morality and Held deepens the discussion by reminding us of the foundational importance of care and sympathy to our moral natures. We show how to use the notion of prima facie duty and discuss moral conflict. In doing this, we show how the framework, applied to cases, can be of assistance in helping us develop policies and codes of ethics with sufficient plasticity to be useful in the complex world of the bioengineer.

Succession Planning in Australian Farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Hicks

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The theme of this paper is that succession planning in Australian farming is under-developed.It may be linked to economic and social change which suggests that farmers need to adapt togenerational change but this is being resisted or ignored. The implications of this are the slowdecline of family farming, a poor transfer of skills and knowledge to subsequent generationsof farmers in some parts of the agricultural sector and the potential for an extension of thefinancial services industry to develop a more effective raft of succession planning measuresto mitigate the effects of a traditional approach to succession in agriculture.

Effect of inter-annual variability in pasture growth and irrigation response on farm productivity and profitability based on biophysical and farm systems modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogeler, Iris; Mackay, Alec; Vibart, Ronaldo; Rendel, John; Beautrais, Josef; Dennis, Samuel

2016-09-15

Farm system and nutrient budget models are increasingly being used in analysis to inform on farm decision making and evaluate land use policy options at regional scales. These analyses are generally based on the use of average annual pasture yields. In New Zealand (NZ), like in many countries, there is considerable inter-annual variation in pasture growth rates, due to climate. In this study a modelling approach was used to (i) include inter-annual variability as an integral part of the analysis and (ii) test the approach in an economic analysis of irrigation in a case study within the Hawkes Bay Region of New Zealand. The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) was used to generate pasture dry matter yields (DMY) for 20 different years and under both dryland and irrigation. The generated DMY were linked to outputs from farm-scale modelling for both Sheep and Beef Systems (Farmaxx Pro) and Dairy Systems (Farmax® Dairy Pro) to calculate farm production over 20 different years. Variation in DMY and associated livestock production due to inter-annual variation in climate was large, with a coefficient of variations up to 20%. Irrigation decreased this inter-annual variation. On average irrigation, with unlimited available water, increased income by $831 to 1195/ha, but when irrigation was limited to 250mm/ha/year income only increased by $525 to 883/ha. Using pasture responses in individual years to capturing the inter-annual variation, rather than the pasture response averaged over 20years resulted in lower financial benefits. In the case study income from irrigation based on an average year were 10 to >20% higher compared with those obtained from individual years. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Agricultural policy and its impact on fuel usage: Empirical evidence from farm household analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Hung-Hao [Department of Agricultural Economics, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Roosevelt Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei 10617 (China); Mishra, Ashok K. [Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Louisiana State University, Ag Center (United States); Livingston, Michael [Production Economics and Technology Branch, Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, 1800 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036-5831 (United States)

2011-01-15

Off-farm work is a growing reality in the US agricultural sector as a whole. Another staple program in the US agriculture is the use of crop insurance. This paper assesses hitherto unaddressed issues of fuel consumption and hence pollution generated by farm households associated with off-farm work and crop insurance. We applied a quantile regression method on a unique national farm-level survey data to address the fuel consumption issues. Results indicate that off-farm work by operators tends to decrease fuel expenses. In contrast, households with crop insurance had higher fuel consumption thereby increasing fuel usage. Finally, our study shows that the net effect of these two activities resulted in an increase in the pollution level. (author)

Tank farm health and safety plan. Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mickle, G.D.

1995-01-01

This Tank Farm Health and Safety Plan (HASP) for the conduct of all operations and work activities at the Hanford Site 200 Area Tank Farms is provided in order to minimize health and safety risks to workers and other onsite personnel. The HASP accomplishes this objective by establishing requirements, providing general guidelines, and conveying farm and facility-specific hazard communication information. The HASP, in conjunction with the job-specific information required by the HASP, is provided also as a reference for use during the planning of work activities at the tank farms. This HASP applies to Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC), other prime contractors to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and subcontractors to WHC who may be involved in tank farm work activities. This plan is intended to be both a requirements document and a useful reference to aid tank farm workers in understanding the safety and health issues that are encountered in routine and nonroutine work activities. The HASP defines the health and safety responsibilities of personnel working at the tank farms. It has been prepared in recognition of and is consistent with National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)/Unlimited State Coast Guard (USCG)/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities (NIOSH 1985); WHC-CM-4-3, Industrial Safety Manual, Volume 4, open-quotes Health and Safety Programs for Hazardous Waste Operations;close quotes 29 CFR 1910.120, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response; WHC-CM-1-1, Management Policies; and WHC-CM-1-3, Management Requirements and Procedures. When differences in governing regulations or policies exist, the more stringent requirements shall apply until the discrepancy can be resolved

Tank farm health and safety plan. Revision 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mickle, G.D.

1995-03-29

This Tank Farm Health and Safety Plan (HASP) for the conduct of all operations and work activities at the Hanford Site 200 Area Tank Farms is provided in order to minimize health and safety risks to workers and other onsite personnel. The HASP accomplishes this objective by establishing requirements, providing general guidelines, and conveying farm and facility-specific hazard communication information. The HASP, in conjunction with the job-specific information required by the HASP, is provided also as a reference for use during the planning of work activities at the tank farms. This HASP applies to Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC), other prime contractors to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and subcontractors to WHC who may be involved in tank farm work activities. This plan is intended to be both a requirements document and a useful reference to aid tank farm workers in understanding the safety and health issues that are encountered in routine and nonroutine work activities. The HASP defines the health and safety responsibilities of personnel working at the tank farms. It has been prepared in recognition of and is consistent with National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)/Unlimited State Coast Guard (USCG)/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities (NIOSH 1985); WHC-CM-4-3, Industrial Safety Manual, Volume 4, {open_quotes}Health and Safety Programs for Hazardous Waste Operations;{close_quotes} 29 CFR 1910.120, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response; WHC-CM-1-1, Management Policies; and WHC-CM-1-3, Management Requirements and Procedures. When differences in governing regulations or policies exist, the more stringent requirements shall apply until the discrepancy can be resolved.

78 FR 41795 - Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee Teleconference

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-11

... Communities Committee Teleconference AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of Public..., EPA gives notice of a teleconference meeting of the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee (FRRCC). The FRRCC is a policy-oriented committee that provides policy advice, information, and...

Landscape properties as drivers for farm diversification: A Dutch case study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pfeifer, C.; Jongeneel, R.A.; Sonneveld, M.P.W.; Stoorvogel, J.J.

2009-01-01

Farm diversification is stimulated by the societal demand to transform production countryside into consumption countryside. In most empirical studies on farmers¿ decision making for diversification, geographical information is either omitted or reduced to a variable that links the farm to an

Cooperative control of VSC-HVDC connected offshore wind farm with Low-Voltage Ride-Through capability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Yan; Wang, Xiongfei; Chen, Zhe

2012-01-01

The Low-Voltage Ride-Through (LVRT) has become an important grid requirement for offshore wind farms connecting with Voltage Source Converter based High Voltage Direct Current (VSC-HVDC) links. In this paper, a cooperative control strategy with LVRT ability is proposed for a VSC-HVDC connected...... variable speed Squirrel-Cage Induction Generator (SCIG) wind farm. The approach employs a DC-link voltage versus offshore AC-bus frequency droop control on the offshore converter of VSC-HVDC link. Thus, the back-to-back converters of SCIG wind turbines can adjust the generated active power based on the AC......-bus frequency deviations, so that a fast power reduction on the wind farm side can be achieved. The EMTDC/PSCAD simulations are performed on a 300 MW offshore variable speed SCIG wind farm. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control method....

Expected Effects of Offshore Wind Farms on Mediterranean Marine Life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Bray

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Current climate policy and issues of energy security mean wind farms are being built at an increasing rate to meet energy demand. As wind farm development is very likely in the Mediterranean Sea, we provide an assessment of the offshore wind potential and identify expected biological effects of such developments in the region. We break new ground here by identifying potential offshore wind farm (OWF “hotspots” in the Mediterranean. Using lessons learned in Northern Europe, and small-scale experiments in the Mediterranean, we identify sensitive species and habitats that will likely be influenced by OWFs in both these hotspot areas and at a basin level. This information will be valuable to guide policy governing OWF development and will inform the industry as and when environmental impact assessments are required for the Mediterranean Sea.

12 CFR 614.4245 - Collateral evaluation policies.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... directors of each Farm Credit System institution that engages in lending or leasing secured by collateral... descriptive and detailed to provide ample support to the institution's related credit decisions; (2) Performed... Section 614.4245 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM LOAN POLICIES AND...

The potential of wind farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hauge Madsen, P.; Lundsager, P.

1992-09-01

Papers presented at the European wind energy conference on the potential of wind farms are presented. The aim of the conference was to bring into focus the problems, experiences and potential of the application of wind power in wind power farms as a contribution to the European and global energy supply. It was considered that the interchange of experience among representatives of science, utilities, industry, environment and energy planning, together with those who represent financial and insurance interests, would create a better understanding of all aspects of wind power for its future successful development. The subjects covered concern surveys of national planning and policies regarding wind energy utilization and national and global development of wind turbine arrays. The performance of some individual wind farms is described. Papers also deal with utility and project planning, wind prediction and certification, wind loads and fatigus, wakes, noise and control. (AB)

The potential of wind farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hauge Madsen, P.; Lundsager, P.

1992-09-01

Papers presented at the European wind energy conference on the potential of wind farms are presented. The aim of the conference was to bring into focus the problems, experiences and potential of the application of wind power in wind power farms as a contribution to the European and global energy supply. It was considered that the interchange of experience among representatives of science, utilities, industry, environment and energy planning, together with those who represent financial and insurance interests, would create a better understanding of all aspects of wind power for its future successful development. The subjects covered concern surveys of national planning and policies regarding wind energy utilization and national and global development of wind turbine arrays. The performance of some individual wind farms is described. Papers also deal with utility and project planning, wind prediction and certification, wind loads and fatigues, wakes, noise and control. (AB)

Environmental Implications of Eco-Labeling for Rice Farming Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Solhee Kim

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Concerns about climate change have forced countries to strengthen regulations, standards, and certifications related to greenhouse gas emissions. Various policies targeting farm products, such as carbon labeling and the Environmentally-Friendly Agricultural Product Certification (EFAPC for agricultural products, have been implemented in South Korea to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implications of the various certification systems for rice farming, including organic farming, non-pesticide farming, and low-pesticide farming. For this study, we constructed a life cycle inventory (LCI of rice farming systems including conventional, low-pesticide, non-pesticide, and organic farming systems in South Korea. Finally, we compared international farming systems in South Korea, the U.S., and the EU. The rice farming systems with eco-labeling certifications have reduced the environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of rice farming by country were highest in the U.S. (100.0, followed by the EU (53.7, and Korea’s conventional (48.6, low-pesticide (35.8, non-pesticide (28.9, and organic (16.7 farming practices. These results may be useful in proliferating and improving the methodology to evaluate eco-labeling and carbon labeling systems.

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

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2013-01-01

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

Coping styles in farmed fish: consequences for aquaculture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2017-01-01

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

Regional drivers of on-farm energy production in Bavaria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaffer, Axel; Düvelmeyer, Claudia

2016-01-01

Bavaria's energy policy seeks to increase the share of power supply from renewable sources related to on-farm energy production (agricultural biogas, wind- and solar energy) from currently 15% to more than 30% in 2021. It is therefore of particular interest for policy-makers to identify regional drivers of and barriers to this concept. The presented study addresses this issue and applies a spatial regression analysis to Bavaria’s 71 rural counties. The findings indicate significant impacts of technological regional transformation ability, agricultural structure (degree of professionalization and consolidation of organic farming) and neighborhood effects. This is in contrast to most geographical factors, which seem to be of minor relevance. - Highlights: •Energy transition is largely carried by farmers’ adoption of renewable energy (RE). •Adoption of RE generally follows an s-shaped diffusion curve. •Drivers are regions’ transformation ability and professionalization of agriculture. •Adoption of RE conflicts with organic farming.

Non-farm employment in rural Kenya : micro-mechanisms influencing food and nutrition of farming households

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mwadime, R.K.N.

1996-01-01

The study reported here describes the links between non-farm employment and child nutritional status in rural coastal Kenya using a model adapted from an operational model commonly used in nutrition planning. Four studies were conducted in 1994 and 1995 in a community in Kwale district. Three of

Cover crops effect on farm benefits and nitrate leaching: linking economic and environmental analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Gabriel, José Luis; Vanclooster, Marnik; Garrido, Alberto; Quemada, Miguel

2013-04-01

Introducing cover crops interspersed with intensively fertilized crops in rotation has the potential to reduce nitrate leaching. However, despite the evident environmental services provided and the range of agronomic benefits documented in the literature, farmers' adoption of the technique is still limited because growing CC could lead to extra costs for the farm in three different forms: direct, indirect, and opportunity costs. Environmental studies are complex, and evaluating the indicators that are representative of the environmental impact of an agricultural system is a complicated task that is conducted by specialized groups and methodologies. Multidisciplinary studies may help to develop reliable approaches that would contribute to choosing the best agricultural strategies based on linking economic and environmental benefits. This study evaluates barley (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. Vanessa), vetch (Vicia villosa L., cv. Vereda) and rapeseed (Brassica napus L., cv. Licapo) as cover crops between maize, leaving the residue in the ground or selling it for animal feeding, and compares the economic and environmental results with respect to a typical maize-fallow rotation. Nitrate leaching for different weather conditions was calculated using the mechanistic-deterministic WAVE model, using the Richards equation parameterised with a conceptual model for the soil hydraulic properties for describing the water flow in the vadose zone, combined with field observed data. The economic impact was evaluated through stochastic (Monte-Carlo) simulation models of farms' profits using probability distribution functions of maize yield and cover crop biomass developed fitted with data collected from various field trials (during more than 5 years) and probability distribution functions of maize and different cover crop forage prices fitted from statistical sources. Stochastic dominance relationships are obtained to rank the most profitable strategies from a farm financial perspective

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-03-06

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

Community work – the missing link of municipal social policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moors M.

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Municipal social policy has an important role in dealing with social problems of citizens. On micro level, municipalities spend a substantial amount of their budget solving such problems. However, increasing the amount of money spent on solving problems of each individual at micro level does not provide efficient fulfilment of the tasks defined for municipal social policy making. Thus new, complementary solutions should be looked into, as new ways of development of social work in municipalities should be designed with the aim to increase the level of citizen participation and joint responsibility, especially of socially vulnerable groups. Research results let the author conclude that social activity of socially vulnerable groups should be promoted by creating a series of prerequisites, among which citizen participation, need for organisational support, activities that would foster politician and municipality officials’ attitude towards citizen participation and their social capital increase, two-way relationship between citizens and officials, and the worker that would promote citizen participation, among which is social policy making, are considered to be very important. All of this can be successfully reached by developing community work in local municipalities. This is the missing link to combine macro and micro levels, or political determination and practical implementation of citizen participation.

Sustainability of Governing Structures in Bulgarian Farming Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hrabrin Bachev

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The issue of assessment of absolute and comparative sustainability of major governing structures in agrarian and farming industries is among the most topical issues for researchers, farmers, investors, administrators, politicians, interests groups, and the public worldwide. Despite this issue, practically there are no assessments on the sustainability level of the major types of Bulgarian farming enterprises in the conditions of European Union Common Agricultural Policy implementation. This study applies a holistic framework and assesses the absolute and comparative sustainability of major governing structures in Bulgarian farming industry—unregistered holdings, sole traders, cooperatives, and companies of various types. In this paper, the method of the study is outlined, the inclusion of a novel “governance aspect” of sustainability is justified, and the overall characteristics of the surveyed farming enterprises are presented. Then, the integral, governance, economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the farming structures of different juridical types is assessed. Next, the structure of farming enterprises with different sustainability levels is analyzed. Finally, the conclusion from this study and the directions for further research and amelioration of sustainability assessments are presented.

Potential market of wind farm in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pengfei Shi [Hydropower Planning General Inst., Beijing (China)

1996-12-31

Wind energy resources are abundant in China, in southeast coast area along with the rapid economic growth, electricity demand has been sharply increased, due to complex terrain detailed assessments are in urgent need. Advanced methodology and computer model should be developed. In this paper the existing wind farms, installed capacity, manufacturers share and projects in the near future are presented. For further development of wind farm in large scale, different ways of local manufacturing wind turbine generators (WTG) are going on. Current policy and barriers are analyzed. 4 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs.

Promoting Evidence to Policy Link on the Control of Infectious Diseases of Poverty in Nigeria: Outcome of A Multi-Stakeholders Policy Dialogue

Science.gov (United States)

Uneke, Chigozie Jesse; Ebeh Ezeoha, Abel; Uro-Chukwu, Henry; Ezeonu, Chinonyelum Thecla; Ogbu, Ogbonnaya; Onwe, Friday; Edoga, Chima

2015-01-01

Background: In Nigeria, malaria, schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis are among infectious diseases of poverty (IDP) with severe health burden and require effective policy strategies for their control. In this study, we investigated the value of policy brief and policy dialogue as excellent policymaking mechanisms that enable policymakers to adapt effective evidence informed policy for IDP control. Methods: A policy brief was developed on the control of malaria, schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis and subjected to deliberations in a one-day multi-stakeholder policy dialogue held in Ebonyi State Nigeria. A modified cross sectional intervention study design was used in this investigation. Structured pre-tested questionnaires were used to evaluate the policy brief document and policy dialogue process at the end of the policy dialogue. Results: Forty-seven policymakers participated in the dialogue. An analysis of the response on the policy brief regarding context, different features of the problem; policy options and key implementation considerations indicated the mean ratings (MNRs) mostly ranged from 6.40-6.85 on 7 point scale. The over-all assessment of the policy brief had MNR at 6.54. The analysis of the response on the policy dialogue regarding the level of priority of policy issue, opportunity to discuss different features of the problem and options for addressing the problem, and the MNRs mostly ranged from 6.50-6.82. The overall assessment of the policy dialogue had MNR at 6.72. Conclusion: Policy dialogues can allow research evidence to be considered together with views, experiences and tacit knowledge of policymakers and can enhance evidence-to-policy link. PMID:26290826

Linking advanced biofuels policies with stakeholder interests: A method building on Quality Function Deployment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schillo, R. Sandra; Isabelle, Diane A.; Shakiba, Abtin

2017-01-01

The field of renewable energy policy is inherently complex due to the long-term impacts of its policies, the broad range of potential stakeholders, the intricacy of scientific, engineering and technological developments, and the interplay of complex policy mixes that may result in unintended consequences. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) provides a systematic consideration of all relevant stakeholders, a rigorous analysis of the needs of stakeholders, and a prioritization of design features based on stakeholders needs. We build on QFD combined with Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to develop a novel method applied to the area of advanced biofuel policies. This Multi-Stakeholder Policy QFD (MSP QFD) provides a systematic approach to capture the voice of the stakeholders and align it with the broad range of potential advanced biofuels policies. To account for the policy environment, the MSP QFD utilizes a novel approach to stakeholder importance weights. This MSP QFD adds to the literature as it permits the analysis of the broad range of relevant national policies with regards to the development of advanced biofuels, as compared to more narrowly focused typical QFD applications. It also allows policy developers to gain additional insights into the perceived impacts of policies, as well as international comparisons. - Highlights: • Advanced biofuels are mostly still in research and early commercialization stages. • Government policies are expected to support biofuels stakeholders in market entry. • A Multi-Stakeholder Policy QFD (MSP QFD) links biofuels policies with stakeholders. • MSP QFD employs novel stakeholder weights method. • The case of advanced biofuels in Canada shows comparative importance of policies.

DairyWise, a whole-farm dairy model.

Science.gov (United States)

Schils, R L M; de Haan, M H A; Hemmer, J G A; van den Pol-van Dasselaar, A; de Boer, J A; Evers, A G; Holshof, G; van Middelkoop, J C; Zom, R L G

2007-11-01

A whole-farm dairy model was developed and evaluated. The DairyWise model is an empirical model that simulated technical, environmental, and financial processes on a dairy farm. The central component is the FeedSupply model that balanced the herd requirements, as generated by the DairyHerd model, and the supply of homegrown feeds, as generated by the crop models for grassland and corn silage. The output of the FeedSupply model was used as input for several technical, environmental, and economic submodels. The submodels simulated a range of farm aspects such as nitrogen and phosphorus cycling, nitrate leaching, ammonia emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, and a financial farm budget. The final output was a farm plan describing all material and nutrient flows and the consequences on the environment and economy. Evaluation of DairyWise was performed with 2 data sets consisting of 29 dairy farms. The evaluation showed that DairyWise was able to simulate gross margin, concentrate intake, nitrogen surplus, nitrate concentration in ground water, and crop yields. The variance accounted for ranged from 37 to 84%, and the mean differences between modeled and observed values varied between -5 to +3% per set of farms. We conclude that DairyWise is a powerful tool for integrated scenario development and evaluation for scientists, policy makers, extension workers, teachers and farmers.

Linking bovine tuberculosis on cattle farms to white-tailed deer and environmental variables using Bayesian hierarchical analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W David Walter

Full Text Available Bovine tuberculosis is a bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis in livestock and wildlife with hosts that include Eurasian badgers (Meles meles, brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula, and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus. Risk-assessment efforts in Michigan have been initiated on farms to minimize interactions of cattle with wildlife hosts but research on M. bovis on cattle farms has not investigated the spatial context of disease epidemiology. To incorporate spatially explicit data, initial likelihood of infection probabilities for cattle farms tested for M. bovis, prevalence of M. bovis in white-tailed deer, deer density, and environmental variables for each farm were modeled in a Bayesian hierarchical framework. We used geo-referenced locations of 762 cattle farms that have been tested for M. bovis, white-tailed deer prevalence, and several environmental variables that may lead to long-term survival and viability of M. bovis on farms and surrounding habitats (i.e., soil type, habitat type. Bayesian hierarchical analyses identified deer prevalence and proportion of sandy soil within our sampling grid as the most supported model. Analysis of cattle farms tested for M. bovis identified that for every 1% increase in sandy soil resulted in an increase in odds of infection by 4%. Our analysis revealed that the influence of prevalence of M. bovis in white-tailed deer was still a concern even after considerable efforts to prevent cattle interactions with white-tailed deer through on-farm mitigation and reduction in the deer population. Cattle farms test positive for M. bovis annually in our study area suggesting that the potential for an environmental source either on farms or in the surrounding landscape may contributing to new or re-infections with M. bovis. Our research provides an initial assessment of potential environmental factors that could be incorporated into additional modeling efforts as more knowledge of deer herd

Linking bovine tuberculosis on cattle farms to white-tailed deer and environmental variables using Bayesian hierarchical analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, W. David; Smith, Rick; Vanderklok, Mike; VerCauterren, Kurt C.

2014-01-01

Bovine tuberculosis is a bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis in livestock and wildlife with hosts that include Eurasian badgers (Meles meles), brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Risk-assessment efforts in Michigan have been initiated on farms to minimize interactions of cattle with wildlife hosts but research onM. bovis on cattle farms has not investigated the spatial context of disease epidemiology. To incorporate spatially explicit data, initial likelihood of infection probabilities for cattle farms tested for M. bovis, prevalence of M. bovis in white-tailed deer, deer density, and environmental variables for each farm were modeled in a Bayesian hierarchical framework. We used geo-referenced locations of 762 cattle farms that have been tested for M. bovis, white-tailed deer prevalence, and several environmental variables that may lead to long-term survival and viability of M. bovis on farms and surrounding habitats (i.e., soil type, habitat type). Bayesian hierarchical analyses identified deer prevalence and proportion of sandy soil within our sampling grid as the most supported model. Analysis of cattle farms tested for M. bovisidentified that for every 1% increase in sandy soil resulted in an increase in odds of infection by 4%. Our analysis revealed that the influence of prevalence of M. bovis in white-tailed deer was still a concern even after considerable efforts to prevent cattle interactions with white-tailed deer through on-farm mitigation and reduction in the deer population. Cattle farms test positive for M. bovis annually in our study area suggesting that the potential for an environmental source either on farms or in the surrounding landscape may contributing to new or re-infections with M. bovis. Our research provides an initial assessment of potential environmental factors that could be incorporated into additional modeling efforts as more knowledge of deer herd

Gross Revenue risk in Swiss dairy farming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benni, El N.; Finger, R.

2013-01-01

This study investigated how agricultural policy reforms, including market liberalization and market deregulation, have influenced gross revenue risk of Swiss dairy producers using farm-level panel data between 1990 and 2009. Based on detrended data, variance decomposition was applied to assess how

Why Danish pig farms have far more land and pigs than Dutch farms?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Willems, Jaap; van Grinsven, H.J.M.; Jacobsen, Brian H

2016-01-01

The Netherlands and Denmark are the two biggest pig meat exporters in Europe, both with a strong focus on the German market. The structure of pig farms is very different: an average Danish pig farm has 3500 pigs, 170 ha of agricultural land on which a major part of the feed cereals are grown...... holdings using external sources of feed supply, and Danish farmers on efficient production of feed cereals on large holdings. Due to a gradual lowering of manure and fertiliser application standards, Dutch farmers increasingly have to process manure and export manure, further increasing the total costs...... pig farmers are less sensitive to nutrient policies and feed prices than those in the Netherlands, but the high debt rate makes the sector vulnerable to low pig prices....

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.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rory Sullivan

2017-03-01

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

The Effects of Forage Policy on Feed Costs in Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae Bong Chang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Feeding operations are substantial on livestock farms, besides being potentially expensive. Feeding efficiency has been considered a major influence on profits in the livestock industry. Indeed, feed costs are shown to be the largest single item of production cost in Korea. To promote production and use of domestic forage, the Korean government has enforced the forage base expansion program that strengthens the competitiveness of the livestock industry by reducing the production cost. The forage base expansion program includes three main policies: subsidized forage production, support for processing and distribution, and expanding land for forage production. This paper investigates the influence of the government’s policies often conjectured to have pronounced effects on forage production. To evaluate the forage policies, this paper uses a path-analysis approach linking government spending on forage base expansion programs and feed costs. Results indicate that the Korean government’s spending on supporting domestic forage production results in a decrease in the ratio of forage expenses to total feed cost.

Efficiency assessment of wind farms in China using two-stage data envelopment analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Yunna; Hu, Yong; Xiao, Xinli; Mao, Chunyu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The efficiency of China’s wind farms is assessed by data envelopment analysis. • Tobit model is used to analyze the impact of uncontrollable factors on efficiency. • Sensitivity analysis is conducted to verify the stability of evaluation results. • Efficiency levels of Chinese wind farms are relatively high in general. • Age and wind curtailment rate negatively affect the productive efficiency. - Abstract: China has been the world’s leader in wind power capacity due to the promotion of favorable policies. Given the rare research on the efficiency of China’s wind farms, this study analyzes the productive efficiency of 42 large-scale wind farms in China using a two-stage analysis. In the first stage, efficiency scores of wind farms are determined with data envelopment analysis and the sensitivity analysis is conducted to verify the robustness of efficiency calculation results. In the second stage, the Tobit regression is employed to explore the relationship between the efficiency scores and the environment variables that are beyond the control of wind farms. According to the results, all wind farms studied operate at an acceptable level. However, 50% of them overinvest in the installed capacity and about 48% have the electricity-saving potential. The most important factors affecting the efficiency of wind farms are the installed capacity and the wind power density. In addition, the age of the wind farm and the wind curtailment rate have a negative effect on productive efficiency, whereas the ownership of the wind farm has no significant effect. Findings from this study may be helpful for stakeholders in the wind industry to select wind power projects, optimize operational strategies and make related policies.

Typologies and Spatialization of Agricultural Production Systems in Rondônia, Brazil: Linking Land Use, Socioeconomics and Territorial Configuration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cláudio Almeida

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The current Amazon landscape consists of heterogeneous mosaics formed by interactions between the original forest and productive activities. Recognizing and quantifying the characteristics of these landscapes is essential for understanding agricultural production chains, assessing the impact of policies, and in planning future actions. Our main objective was to construct the regionalization of agricultural production for Rondônia State (Brazilian Amazon at the municipal level. We adopted a decision tree approach, using land use maps derived from remote sensing data (PRODES and TerraClass combined with socioeconomic data. The decision trees allowed us to allocate municipalities to one of five agricultural production systems: (i coexistence of livestock production and intensive agriculture; (ii semi-intensive beef and milk production; (iii semi-intensive beef production; (iv intensive beef and milk production, and; (v intensive beef production. These production systems are, respectively, linked to mechanized agriculture (i, traditional cattle farming with low management, with (ii or without (iii a significant presence of dairy farming, and to more intensive livestock farming with (iv or without (v a significant presence of dairy farming. The municipalities and associated production systems were then characterized using a wide variety of quantitative metrics grouped into four dimensions: (i agricultural production; (ii economics; (iii territorial configuration, and; (iv social characteristics. We found that production systems linked to mechanized agriculture predominate in the south of the state, while intensive farming is mainly found in the center of the state. Semi-intensive livestock farming is mainly located close to the southwest frontier and in the north of the state, where human occupation of the territory is not fully consolidated. This distributional pattern reflects the origins of the agricultural production system of Rond

An assessment of the environmental effects of offshore wind farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-07-01

This report focuses on the development of an approach to the formal environmental assessment of large-scale offshore wind farms around the UK coast which will be required by EU Directives. The legislative background and policy framework are outlined, and key issues to be addressed in the environmental assessment are highlighted. Available information on the manufacture and transportation of wind farm equipment, turbine and cable installation, operation of an offshore wind farm, and wind farm decommissioning is reviewed and recommendations are given. The role of offshore wind power in meeting the UK's commitment to reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and its targets for generating 10% of the UK's electricity from renewable energy sources is discussed.

Strategies to reduce electricity consumption on dairy farms : an economic and environmental assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Upton, J.R.

2014-01-01

The aim of this thesis was to assess how, and to what extent, do managerial and technology changes affect electricity consumption, associated costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of dairy farms. Dairy farms in Ireland are expected to expand in the future, due to policy incentives and the

The relation between input-output transformation and gastrointestinal nematode infections on dairy farms.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Voort, M; Van Meensel, J; Lauwers, L; Van Huylenbroeck, G; Charlier, J

2016-02-01

Efficiency analysis is used for assessing links between technical efficiency (TE) of livestock farms and animal diseases. However, previous studies often do not make the link with the allocation of inputs and mainly present average effects that ignore the often huge differences among farms. In this paper, we studied the relationship between exposure to gastrointestinal (GI) nematode infections, the TE and the input allocation on dairy farms. Although the traditional cost allocative efficiency (CAE) indicator adequately measures how a given input allocation differs from the cost-minimising input allocation, they do not represent the unique input allocation of farms. Similar CAE scores may be obtained for farms with different input allocations. Therefore, we propose an adjusted allocative efficiency index (AAEI) to measure the unique input allocation of farms. Combining this AAEI with the TE score allows determining the unique input-output position of each farm. The method is illustrated by estimating efficiency scores using data envelopment analysis (DEA) on a sample of 152 dairy farms in Flanders for which both accountancy and parasitic monitoring data were available. Three groups of farms with a different input-output position can be distinguished based on cluster analysis: (1) technically inefficient farms, with a relatively low use of concentrates per 100 l milk and a high exposure to infection, (2) farms with an intermediate TE, relatively high use of concentrates per 100 l milk and a low exposure to infection, (3) farms with the highest TE, relatively low roughage use per 100 l milk and a relatively high exposure to infection. Correlation analysis indicates for each group how the level of exposure to GI nematodes is associated or not with improved economic performance. The results suggest that improving both the economic performance and exposure to infection seems only of interest for highly TE farms. The findings indicate that current farm recommendations

Towards Farm Animal Welfare and Sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Buller, Henry; Blokhuis, Harry; Jensen, Per; Keeling, Linda

2018-05-25

As farm animal welfare becomes an increasingly important component of contemporary global livestock production, animal welfare science and animal welfare policy-making need to find new ways of entering global debates over food security and sustainability. In this paper, we explore the means by which both animal welfare science and policy should articulate with these emerging global debates. Having first established the important gains in animal welfare policy and the maturity of animal welfare science, we identify and explore the potential impact of these current debates and argue that they have the potential for profound change in our understanding of, and our response to, the welfare of animals. We conclude the paper with a number of possible recommendations for how a scientifically informed, sustainable animal welfare policy might flourish.

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.

Risk Management Education for Kentucky Farm Women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer L. Hunter

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This article describes how an agricultural and farm risk management education program, known as Annie’s Project, was adapted from a midwestern focus to meet the diversity of Kentucky agriculture and shares the results of a longer-term evaluation of the Kentucky program. The Annie’s Project program is geared specifically to the needs of farm women. The program adaption process, which began in late 2006, is detailed from inception through pilot testing to the full launch of the program. Over a four year period, the Kentucky Annie’s Project program reached 425 farm women in 41 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. The evaluation draws on the results of a questionnaire mailed to program participants 18 months to 5 years after programming. Participants reported statistically significant gains in all topical areas representing agricultural risk management education, including production, human resources, marketing, legal, and financial. Key actions which occurred as a result of participating in the program included increasing confidence in management abilities, reviewing personal/farm insurances policies, developing a network of peers and professionals, and using financial statements.

The EU's agenda 2000 reformand the sustainability of organic farming in Tuscany: ecological-econmic modelling at field and farm level

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pacini, G.C.; Giesen, G.W.J.; Wossink, G.A.A.; Omodei-Zorini, L.; Huirne, R.B.M.

2004-01-01

Sustainability has become a central issue in the agricultural sector, both for researchers, producers and policy-makers. The two main objectives of this paper are: (1) to present an holistically designed ecological-economic model to evaluate farm and field-level environmental-economic tradeoffs with

Greening the Common Agricultural Policy. Impacts on farmland biodiversity on an EU scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Zeijts, H.; Overmars, K.; Van der Bilt, W.; Schulp, N.; Notenboom, J.; Westhoek, H. [Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency PBL, Den Haag (Netherlands); Helming, J.; Terluin, I. [LEI, Wageningen University and Research Centre WUR, Wageningen (Netherlands); Janssen, S. [Alterra Wageningen UR, Wageningen (Netherlands)

2011-08-15

'Greening' the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as proposed by the European Commission (EC), will slow down the decline in farmland biodiversity, most notably in intensive farming areas. Extensively farmed areas are better served by policies preserving their rich biodiversity. Regional variation in policies tailored to reflect local conditions could, therefore, result in a better outcome.

Durum Wheat Cover Analysis in the Scope of Policy and Market Price Changes: A Case Study in Southern Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Si Mokrane Siad

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Agricultural land systems are the result of human interactions with the natural environment, and subjective evidence of socio-economic and environmental interactions has been demonstrated. Nevertheless, it is still difficult to analyze empirically the link between agricultural market and policy, as well as the environmental response due to changes in crop management by local stakeholders. In this study, we propose a cross investigation and analysis to bring the link between vegetation cover, policy, market and farmer’s behavior to light. Our methodology is a combination of a rational positive and analogical approach between the quantifiable and non-quantifiable agents on a temporal basis. The method is applied to a dominant mono-crop agricultural watershed in Southern Italy that has been dedicated to durum wheat cultivation. In this region, we studied the relationship between the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP, durum wheat market price, vegetation cover and land allocation. As a first step, we conducted a separate analysis for each factor, exploiting Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS satellite observed Leaf Area Index (LAI to analyze the land vegetation space–time distribution over the period 2000–2014 and three Land Satellite (Landsat validated images as check-points for the agricultural pattern and CAP’s reforms. We used the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN and Eurostat data to investigate the on-farm accountancy and the durum wheat market price changes, respectively. Based on the study period, we developed a storyline of the major relevant CAP’s policy changes. In a second step, we conducted a comparative analysis where the CAP’s reforms were used as interpretational support, the land allocation and the on-farm accountability for CAP’s implementation, the price of durum wheat and the LAI for analytical comparison. We found interesting insights regarding the non-agronomic driving forces of LAI dynamics. The

Use and non-use values as motivational construct dimensions for farm animal welfare: impacts on the economic outcome for the farm.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansson, H; Lagerkvist, C J; Azar, G

2018-01-24

This study explored how farmers' motivation in terms of use values and/or non-use values to work with farm animal welfare are associated with the economic outcome for the farm. Use values in farm animal welfare refer to economic value derived from productivity and profitability considerations. Non-use values in farm animal welfare refer to economic value derived from good animal welfare, irrespective of the use the farmer derives from the animal, currently or in the future. The analysis was based on detailed information about the income statements of a sample of Swedish dairy farmers, obtained from the Swedish Farm Economic Survey, complemented with survey information about their perceived use and non-use values in farm animal welfare. The findings suggest that farm economic outcome is significantly associated with motivation in terms of use values, but not so much with motivation in terms of non-use values. This is interesting from a policy point of view, because it indicates that farmers with different approaches to farm animal welfare may experience different economic outcomes for their farms. Findings can, for instance, be used to strengthen farmers' engagement in various private quality assurance standards, which generally focus on values of non-use type, by pointing to that realisation of such values will not impair the economic outcome of the farms. Moreover, findings also suggest that farmers' economic incentives for engagement in such standards may need to be further strengthened in order to become more attractive, as findings point to that a focus on non-use values generally is not associated with more favourable economic outcomes.

The Determining Factors of Entrepreneurial Activity in Broiler Farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burhanuddin

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Indonesia still requires approximately 4 million entrepreneurs to become a developed country. This research aimed at identifying and analyzing the factors forming the broiler farm entrepreneurial activities that contribute on generating new entrepreneurs in Indonesia. Primary data were collected through questionnaire and analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM. Independent latent variables were innovations (IN, productions (DP, competitiveness (DS, risks (PR, labors (TK, and policies (KP, and then entrepreneurial activities (AK as dependent latent variable. The results showed that the model was built (MODEL1 as measurement model and MODEL2 as structural model had goodness fit and good reliability measurement variables (CR≥0.70, VE≥0.50. Innovation was reflected by the level of willingness to innovate (λ=0.63 and level of technology (λ=0.62. Production was reflected by production efficiency (λ=0.62 and cost control (λ=0.43. Competitiveness was reflected by the internet (λ=0.56, the cost of starting (λ=0.55, and new business formation (λ=0.58. Labor was reflected by the training and development (λ=0.57, and motivation (λ=0.42. Policies was reflected by access to land (λ=0.56, technical assistance (λ=0.60, research and technology (λ=0.66, and copyright protection (λ=0.64. The entrepreneurial activity of broiler farms were formed by innovation (γ=0.91, competitiveness (γ=0.94, and policies (γ=0.98. Broiler farms contributed positively to generate new entrepreneurs. Production and information technology development program, facilitation of the creation of new ventures program, business expansion program, and a program of strengthening intellectual property rights on broiler farms should be a priority of the Indonesian government programs in the future.

75 FR 62535 - Farm Credit Administration Board; Sunshine Act; Regular Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-12

.... B. New Business Policy Statement on Cooperative Operating Philosophy-- Serving the Members of the Farm Credit System Institutions. Board Resolution on Cooperative Operating Philosophy. Joint and...

Scoping Study. Linking RE Promotion Policies with International Carbon Trade (LINK)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castro, Paula; Hayashi, Daisuke; Kristiansen, Kjell Olav; Michaelowa, Axel; Stadelmann, Martin

2011-06-15

Implementing national policies may threaten the eligibility of renewable energy projects for Clean Development Mechanism/Joint Implementation (CDM/JI), thus reducing international development financing. Countries hence need to be very careful when crafting their national promotion policies. The objectives of the Renewable Energy Technology Deployment (IEA-RETD) project were to perform a scoping study on the interplay between national Renewable Energy (RE) promotion policies and international carbon trade. The study summarizes the ongoing discussion, describes the main barriers that may hinder -- or at least not sufficiently support -- the implementation of national RE promotion policies, and provides suggestions for removing these barriers.

Wind farms on undegraded peatlands are unlikely to reduce future carbon emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Jo; Nayak, Dali Rani; Smith, Pete

2014-01-01

Onshore wind energy is a key component of the renewable energies used by governments to reduce carbon emissions from electricity production, but will carbon emissions be reduced when wind farms are located on carbon-rich peatands? Wind farms are often located in uplands because most are of low agricultural value, are distant from residential areas, and are windy. Many UK uplands are peatlands, with layers of accumulated peat that represent a large stock of soil carbon. When peatlands are drained for construction there is a higher risk of net carbon loss than for mineral soils. Previous work suggests that wind farms sited on peatlands can reduce net carbon emissions if strictly managed for maximum retention of carbon. Here we show that, whereas in 2010, most sites had potential to provide net carbon savings, by 2040 most sites will not reduce carbon emissions even with careful management. This is due to projected changes in the proportion of fossil fuels used to generate electricity. The results suggest future policy should avoid constructing wind farms on undegraded peatlands unless drainage of peat is minimal and the volume excavated in foundations can be significantly reduced compared to energy output. - Highlights: • Future wind farms located on undegraded peats will not reduce carbon emissions. • This is due to projected changes in fossil fuels used to generate electricity. • Future policy should avoid constructing wind farms on undegraded peats

Olivebranches and idiot's guides: Frameworks for community engagement in Australian wind farm development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howard, Tanya

2015-01-01

In Australia, renewable energy is under pressure in the context of a highly politicised debate about how to act on climate change. The recent repeal of an established carbon tax has seen the defunding of significant renewable energy initiatives and a controversial review of the national Renewable Energy Target is threatening key drivers for investment in renewable energy. The current regulatory focus on community ‘acceptance’ does not facilitate the active community support necessary to challenge this increasingly hostile policy context. This research considers current experiences of community engagement in wind farm governance in one Australian jurisdiction. Through documentary analysis and two qualitative case studies, it examines legal and non-legal requirements for community governance mechanisms and considers how these influence wind farm development in rural areas. Findings include a problematic reliance on procedural compliance in assessing wind farm consultation, domination by vested interests, and reduced expertise in community engagement at the time it is needed most. Recommendations include integration of best practice guidelines in current regulation; harmonisation of policy settings to ensure equity across energy sectors; and an evidence-based commitment to benefit sharing as a strategy for increasing community support of rural wind farm development. - Highlights: • Changes to renewable energy policy in Australia threaten wind farm development. • Active community support is required to ensure ongoing viability of the industry. • Benefit sharing models are shown to increase community support for wind farms. • Legal frameworks reinforce a minimum compliance paradigm and entrench vested interests. • Best practice guidelines improve implementation of community engagement procedures

Agricultural trade and farm employment in China during 1994-2009

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhu, Jing; Zhang, Shu; Yu, Wusheng

2013-01-01

Purpose – This paper therefore aims at systematically estimating the agricultural trade induced farm employment effects in China. Design/methodology/approach – Using detailed agricultural trade and production data during 1994-2009, the authors estimate the “labor contents” of agricultural trade f...... employment effects do not lend support to the popular notion that increased agricultural trade would help increase farm employment and have important implications for evaluating current and future trade policy in China and elsewhere.......Purpose – This paper therefore aims at systematically estimating the agricultural trade induced farm employment effects in China. Design/methodology/approach – Using detailed agricultural trade and production data during 1994-2009, the authors estimate the “labor contents” of agricultural trade...... flows and use these estimates to compute the farm employment effects. Findings – The authors find that China's agricultural trade has indeed generally developed along its widely believed comparative advantages and disadvantages; however, the farm employment “creation” effect due to labor...

Local versus Global Environmental Performance of Dairying and Their Link to Economic Performance: A Case Study of Swiss Mountain Farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nina Repar

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Complying with the carrying capacity of local and global ecosystems is a prerequisite to ensure environmental sustainability. Based on the example of Swiss mountain dairy farms, the goal of our research was firstly to investigate the relationship between farm global and local environmental performance. Secondly, we aimed to analyse the relationship between farm environmental and economic performance. The analysis relied on a sample of 56 Swiss alpine dairy farms. For each farm, the cradle-to-farm-gate life cycle assessment was calculated, and the quantified environmental impacts were decomposed into their on- and off-farm parts. We measured global environmental performance as the digestible energy produced by the farm per unit of global environmental impact generated from cradle-to-farm-gate. We assessed local environmental performance by dividing farm-usable agricultural area by on-farm environmental impact generation. Farm economic performance was measured by work income per family work unit, return on equity and output/input ratio. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed no significant relationship, trade-offs or synergies between global and local environmental performance indicators. Interestingly, trade-offs were observed far more frequently than synergies. Furthermore, we found synergies between global environmental and economic performance and mostly no significant relationship between local environmental and economic performance. The observed trade-offs between global and local environmental performance mean that, for several environmental issues, any improvement in global environmental performance will result in deterioration of local environmental performance and vice versa. This finding calls for systematic consideration of both dimensions when carrying out farm environmental performance assessments.

Factors affecting farmers' adoption of integrated rice-fish farming systems in the Mekong delta, Vietnam

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosma, R.H.; Nhan, D.K.; Udo, H.M.J.; Kaymak, U.

2012-01-01

This study investigated the determinants of the adoption of improved rice–fish farming systems in the Mekong delta to support policy making, agricultural land-use planning and extension of integrated rice–fish farming. Recently these systems have been referred to as adaptations to climate change,

Multiregional input-output model for China's farm land and water use.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Shan; Shen, Geoffrey Qiping

2015-01-06

Land and water are the two main drivers of agricultural production. Pressure on farm land and water resources is increasing in China due to rising food demand. Domestic trade affects China's regional farm land and water use by distributing resources associated with the production of goods and services. This study constructs a multiregional input-output model to simultaneously analyze China's farm land and water uses embodied in consumption and interregional trade. Results show a great similarity for both China's farm land and water endowments. Shandong, Henan, Guangdong, and Yunnan are the most important drivers of farm land and water consumption in China, even though they have relatively few land and water resource endowments. Significant net transfers of embodied farm land and water flows are identified from the central and western areas to the eastern area via interregional trade. Heilongjiang is the largest farm land and water supplier, in contrast to Shanghai as the largest receiver. The results help policy makers to comprehensively understand embodied farm land and water flows in a complex economy network. Improving resource utilization efficiency and reshaping the embodied resource trade nexus should be addressed by considering the transfer of regional responsibilities.

Climate change and agricultural risk management: the role of the family-farm characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Quaranta, G.; Salvia, R.

2009-04-01

incidence and distribution of natural events, constitutes the theoretical background of the emphasis posed on social agents. Innovative interpretative frameworks, derived from this paradigm, are necessary in order to reshape both management approaches and policy elaboration. Local authorities and local actors should increase awareness and have suitable and new tools to improve the management and to mitigate the risks impacts on agro-natural resources where the role of the social agents is explicitly acknowledged. Mitigation and adaptation strategies should be shaped mainly taking in account the end-users characteristics. The framework presented and discussed in this paper internalizes the social agents perspective recognizing that perception of the risks in the agricultural sector may affect the farmers compliance decision and the level of management practices undertaken. Therefore the intensity of management practices both structural and non-structural has captured in two participatory stages: a model of perception in the first stage and a model of adoption (compliance) and the level of adoption of management practices. In the first stage the factors that condition the farmer perception of the risk linked to water availability are examined. The factors considered are household-specific elements that influence diffusion of information, social capital, farm assets, labour force characteristics. The second stage is finalized to examine the factors that determine the rate of adoption. The methodology has been used in a pilot area of Southern Italy and it has demonstrated to be very effective in depicting farm behaviours definitely showing a great attitude to be utilized for policies ex-ante evaluation and rural policies formulation.

Rural Non-Farm Sector and Labor Market in Rural Vietnam: Trends and Determinants

OpenAIRE

Nguyen , Trung Hung

2016-01-01

This dissertation aims to investigate the Trends and Determinants of the Rural Non-Farm Sector and Labor Market in Rural Vietnam since the global economic crisis occurred in 2007 with the focus on the household's diversification; the involvement of rural individuals in Rural Non-Farm Employment; Rural Labor Market development; and assessment of a specific labor market policy.

Farm-Level Effects of Soil Conservation and Commodity Policy Alternatives: Model and Data Documentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutton, John D.

This report documents a profit-maximizing linear programming (LP) model of a farm typical of a major corn-soybean producing area in the Southern Michigan-Northern Indiana Drift Plain. Following an introduction, a complete description of the farm is provided. The next section presents the LP model, which is structured to help analyze after-tax…

Development of renewable energies apart from biomass on farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brule, K.; Pindard, A.; Jaujay, J.; Femenias, A.

2009-01-01

This paper proposes an overview and a prospective glance at the development of renewable energies in farms, apart those which are based on the production or use of biomass. Some indicators are defined (energy production and consumption). Stake holders are identified. Some retrospective major and emerging trends are discussed. The major trends are: growth and diversification of renewable energy production, calling to renewable energy production in farms. The emerging trends are: a recent increase of renewable energy production in farms apart from biomass, locally stressed land market, economic profitability of photovoltaic installations due to purchase tariffs. Some prospective issues are discussed: technical support, financial support, development of other energy sources, and tax policy on fossil energy used in agriculture. Three development hypotheses are discussed

An Empirical Study on the Moderate Scale of Food-production-based Family Farm in Guangxi

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yaogui WU

2016-01-01

The moderate scale family farm is the future agricultural business entity in China,and the scale of family farm is a key factor affecting its development.With Guigang City in Guangxi as a point for the study,from the perspective of maximizing income of rural households,this paper uses production function model to calculate the moderate scale of food-production-based family farm at 5.7 ha,and makes policy recommendations.

Natural cycles and agricultural inputs: a farm gate Ecological Footprint analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Passeri, Nicolo; Blasi, Emanuele; Borucke, Michael; Galli, Alessandro; Franco, Silvio

2014-05-01

Land suitability for different crops depends on soil, water and climate conditions, as well as farmers' cultivation choices. Moreover, the use of agricultural inputs affects the natural cycles of crops and impacts their production. By assessing the ecological performance of farms as influenced by crop types, cultivation choices and land suitability one can therefore evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural practices and governance's options. Ecological Footprint accounts can be used to measure such ecological performance. These accounts track human demand for natural resources and ecological services and compare this demand with nature ability to regenerate these resource and services. This regenerative capacity is called biocapacity. Both demand (Footprint) and supply (biocapacity) are expressed in global hectares. Farming different from most other human activities, not only uses natural resources, but also enhances or erodes ecological supply. It therefore affects all factors that determine both Footprint and biocapacity. Climate, farmers' skills and choices (fertilizers, pesticides, machines) determine crop productivity, and to what extent crops preserve or compromise soils. The aim of this work is to evaluate how farmer's choices affect resources overexploitation. The study analysed how the use of inputs influences natural cycles within farm boundaries. This result from a pilot case study will show how particular farming practices affect both the farm's biocapacity and Ecological Footprint. Such analysis is relevant for informing involved stakeholders, namely the farmers on more sustainable agricultural practices and the policy makers on more suitable agricultural policies.

Stability Augmentation of Wind Farm using Variable Speed Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator

Science.gov (United States)

Rosyadi, Marwan; Muyeen, S. M.; Takahashi, Rion; Tamura, Junji

This paper presents a new control strategy of variable speed permanent magnet wind generator for stability augmentation of wind farm including fixed speed wind turbine with Induction Generator (IG). A new control scheme is developed for two levels back-to-back converters of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG), by which both active and reactive powers delivered to the grid can be controlled easily. To avoid the converter damage, the DC link protection controller is also proposed in order to protect the dc link circuit during fault condition. To evaluate the control capability of the proposed controllers, simulations are performed on two model systems composed of wind farms connected to an infinite bus. From transient and steady state analyses by using PSCAD/EMTDC, it is concluded that the proposed control scheme is very effective to improve the stability of wind farm for severe network disturbance and randomly fluctuating wind speed.

12 CFR 609.930 - Policies and procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

.... Before engaging in E-commerce, you must weigh its business risks against its benefits. You must also....930 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Standards for Boards and Management § 609.930 Policies and procedures. The FCA supports E-commerce and wants to...

Brazilian Soybean Yields and Yield Gaps Vary with Farm Size

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffries, G. R.; Cohn, A.; Griffin, T. S.; Bragança, A.

2017-12-01

Understanding the farm size-specific characteristics of crop yields and yield gaps may help to improve yields by enabling better targeting of technical assistance and agricultural development programs. Linking remote sensing-based yield estimates with property boundaries provides a novel view of the relationship between farm size and yield structure (yield magnitude, gaps, and stability over time). A growing literature documents variations in yield gaps, but largely ignores the role of farm size as a factor shaping yield structure. Research on the inverse farm size-productivity relationship (IR) theory - that small farms are more productive than large ones all else equal - has documented that yield magnitude may vary by farm size, but has not considered other yield structure characteristics. We examined farm size - yield structure relationships for soybeans in Brazil for years 2001-2015. Using out-of-sample soybean yield predictions from a statistical model, we documented 1) gaps between the 95th percentile of attained yields and mean yields within counties and individual fields, and 2) yield stability defined as the standard deviation of time-detrended yields at given locations. We found a direct relationship between soy yields and farm size at the national level, while the strength and the sign of the relationship varied by region. Soybean yield gaps were found to be inversely related to farm size metrics, even when yields were only compared to farms of similar size. The relationship between farm size and yield stability was nonlinear, with mid-sized farms having the most stable yields. The work suggests that farm size is an important factor in understanding yield structure and that opportunities for improving soy yields in Brazil are greatest among smaller farms.

Fertilizer Reduction Policies in Developed Countries: Suitability and Implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LI Fang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study reviewed and analyzed the specific practices, implementation effects and applicable conditions of fertilizer reduction policies in the EU, US and Japan, explored the common laws and general conditions in the formulation of environmental orientation, and pro vided feasible policy recommendations for the formulation of fertilizer reduction policies in China. This study showed that fertilizer reduction policies in each country had their own advantages and disadvantages, and the applicable conditions were different. The EU's command and control policy was applicable to the situation of less farm households and the same agricultural planting type or farm type. The economic in centive policy in the US was applicable to the situation of more farm households, relatively perfect agricultural market system and sensitive price formation mechanism, while the public participation policy in Japan was applicable to regions with more relevant agricultural groups and strong economy. China should learn from each of these policies and make a comprehensive choice in the formulation of fertilizer reduc tion policies. Therefore, China should proceed from improving the agricultural price mechanism and the pollution-free agricultural products certification system as well as encouraging and supporting the development of large scale production units, and then promote the adoption of environmentally friendly technology through the guidance of market mechanism, ensure the effective implementation of environmental stan dards through farmers' integration and improve farmers' environmental awareness through propaganda guidance, so as to ensure the effective implementation of different types(command and control policy, economic incentive policy and public participation policyof fertilizer reduc tion policies.

76 FR 42470 - Loan Policies and Operations; Loan Purchases From FDIC; Effective Date

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-19

... FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION 12 CFR Part 614 RIN 3052-AC62 Loan Policies and Operations; Loan Purchases From FDIC; Effective Date AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. ACTION: Notice of effective date... rule under part 614 on May 25, 2011 (76 FR 30246) amending our regulations on loan policies and...

Linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services for public policy

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Christina P; Jiang, Bo; Kinzig, Ann P; Lee, Kai N; Ouyang, Zhiyun

2015-01-01

Governments worldwide are recognising ecosystem services as an approach to address sustainability challenges. Decision-makers need credible and legitimate measurements of ecosystem services to evaluate decisions for trade-offs to make wise choices. Managers lack these measurements because of a data gap linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services. The dominant method to address the data gap is benefit transfer using ecological data from one location to estimate ecosystem services at other locations with similar land cover. However, benefit transfer is only valid once the data gap is adequately resolved. Disciplinary frames separating ecology from economics and policy have resulted in confusion on concepts and methods preventing progress on the data gap. In this study, we present a 10-step approach to unify concepts, methods and data from the disparate disciplines to offer guidance on overcoming the data gap. We suggest: (1) estimate ecosystem characteristics using biophysical models, (2) identify final ecosystem services using endpoints and (3) connect them using ecological production functions to quantify biophysical trade-offs. The guidance is strategic for public policy because analysts need to be: (1) realistic when setting priorities, (2) attentive to timelines to acquire relevant data, given resources and (3) responsive to the needs of decision-makers. PMID:25394857

Assessing the impacts of the changes in farming systems on food security and environmental sustainability of a Chinese rural region under different policy scenarios: an agent-based model.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Chengcheng; Liu, Liming; Qi, Xiaoxing; Fu, Yonghu; Ye, Jinwei

2017-07-01

Since China has undergone a series of economic reforms and implemented opening up policies, its farming systems have significantly changed and have dramatically influenced the society, economy, and environment of China. To assess the comprehensive impacts of these changes on food security and environmental sustainability, and establish effective and environment-friendly subsidy policies, this research constructed an agent-based model (ABM). Daligang Town, which is located in the two-season rice region of Southern China, was selected as the case study site. Four different policy scenarios, i.e., "sharply increasing" (SI), "no-increase" (NI), "adjusted-method" (AM), and "trend" (TD) scenarios were investigated from 2015 to 2029. The validation result shows that the relative prediction errors between the simulated and actual values annually ranged from -20 to 20%, indicating the reliability of the proposed model. The scenario analysis revealed that the four scenarios generated different variations in cropping systems, rice yield, and fertilizer and pesticide inputs when the purchase price of rice and the non-agricultural income were assumed to increase annually by 0.1 RMB per kg and 10% per person, respectively. Among the four different policy scenarios in Daligang, the TD scenario was considered the best, because it had a relatively high rice yield, fairly minimal use of fertilizers and pesticides, and a lower level of subsidy. Despite its limitations, ABM could be considered a useful tool in analyzing, exploring, and discussing the comprehensive effects of the changes in farming system on food security and environmental sustainability.

The family farm in a globalizing world: the role of crop science in alleviating poverty

OpenAIRE

Lipton, Michael

2005-01-01

"The topic of family farms has been gaining prominence in the academic, policy, and donor communities in recent years. Small farms dominate the agricultural landscape in the developing world, providing the largest source of employment and income to the rural poor, yet smallholders remain highly susceptible to poverty and hunger. With the advance of globalization and greater integration of agricultural markets, the need for increases in agricultural productivity for family farms is particularl...

RURAL COMMUNITIES AND POLICY PARTICIPATION: THE CASE ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mugumbate

African Journal of Social Work, 5(2), December 2015. 87 ... important to engage the citizen in crafting and implementing public policies. The study ..... spheres to the communal farms. Policies ... embrace the use of technology and the media in.

Environmental potentials of policy instruments to mitigate nutrient emissions in Chinese livestock production.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Chaohui; Liu, Yi; Bluemling, Bettina; Mol, Arthur P J; Chen, Jining

2015-01-01

To minimize negative environmental impact of livestock production, policy-makers face a challenge to design and implement more effective policy instruments for livestock farmers at different scales. This research builds an assessment framework on the basis of an agent-based model, named ANEM, to explore nutrient mitigation potentials of five policy instruments, using pig production in Zhongjiang county, southwest China, as the empirical filling. The effects of different policy scenarios are simulated and compared using four indicators and differentiating between small, medium and large scale pig farms. Technology standards, biogas subsidies and information provisioning prove to be the most effective policies, while pollution fees and manure markets fail to environmentally improve manure management in pig livestock farming. Medium-scale farms are the more relevant scale category for a more environmentally sound development of Chinese livestock production. A number of policy recommendations are formulated as conclusion, as well as some limitations and prospects of the simulations are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A modelling approach for the assessment of the effects of Common Agricultural Policy measures on farmland biodiversity in the EU27.

Science.gov (United States)

Overmars, Koen P; Helming, John; van Zeijts, Henk; Jansson, Torbjörn; Terluin, Ida

2013-09-15

In this paper we describe a methodology to model the impacts of policy measures within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on farm production, income and prices, and on farmland biodiversity. Two stylised scenarios are used to illustrate how the method works. The effects of CAP measures, such as subsidies and regulations, are calculated and translated into changes in land use and land-use intensity. These factors are then used to model biodiversity with a species-based indicator on a 1 km scale in the EU27. The Common Agricultural Policy Regionalised Impact Modelling System (CAPRI) is used to conduct the economic analysis and Dyna-CLUE (Conversion of Land Use and its Effects) is used to model land use changes. An indicator that expresses the relative species richness was used as the indicator for biodiversity in agricultural areas. The methodology is illustrated with a baseline scenario and two scenarios that include a specific policy. The strength of the methodology is that impacts of economic policy instruments can be linked to changes in agricultural production, prices and incomes, on the one hand, and to biodiversity effects, on the other - with land use and land-use intensity as the connecting drivers. The method provides an overall assessment, but for detailed impact assessment at landscape, farm or field level, additional analysis would be required. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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.

Prospects of Organic Farming in Bhutan: A SWOT Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonam Tashi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A study was conducted to investigate the prospects of organic agriculture (OA in Bhutan from the experts’ perspective, particularly the SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat aspect. Thirty-five Bhutanese experts were interviewed. The strengths of OA were (i good alignment of the principles of OA with Bhutan’s development philosophy, (ii strong policy and political support, (iii pristine environment, (iv OA practices similar to traditional farming, and (v compatibility of OA with the local farming knowledge. The major weaknesses were (i a lack of awareness of the benefits of OA, (ii lack of incentives, (iii shortage of farm labor, (iv small and irregular supply of organic product, (v lack of clarity in policy, (vi limited plant protection materials, and (vii a lack of coordination between agencies. Opportunities were (i a huge regional and global organic market, (ii promoting healthy lifestyle, (iii sustainable use of resources, (iv lowering dependence on food and input imports, (v development of local organic manure suppliers, (vi creating seed sovereignty, (vii conserving local crops, (viii building soil fertility, (ix introducing premium price for organic products, and (x addressing unemployment. Threats included (i increasing incidences of pests and diseases, (ii decline in sources of organic manure, and (iii limited sources of organic manures and fertilizers.

Farm household risk balancing: implications for policy from an EU perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wauters, E.; Mey, de Yann; Winsen, van F.; Passel, van S.; Vancauteren, Mark; Lauwers, L.

2015-01-01

Purpose
– Building on the risk balancing theory and on recent discussions the appropriateness of using farm income maximization as behavioural assumption, this paper extends the risk balancing framework by accounting for business-household interactions. The purpose of this paper is to

Opinions of veterinarians on antimicrobial use in farm animals in Flanders and the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Postma, M; Speksnijder, D C; Jaarsma, A D C; Verheij, T J M; Wagenaar, J A; Dewulf, J

2016-07-16

Veterinarians play an important role in the reduction of antimicrobial use in farm animals. This study aims to quantify opinions of veterinarians from the Netherlands and Flanders regarding antimicrobial use and resistance issues in farm animals. An online survey was sent out to 678 and 1100 farm animal veterinarians in Flanders and the Netherlands, of which 174 and 437 were returned respectively. Suboptimal climate conditions were regarded as the most important cause for high antimicrobial use in farm animals. Flemish veterinarians also regarded insufficient biosecurity measures and farmers' mentality as important determinants, while the Dutch respondents ranked insufficient immunity of young animals and economic considerations of farmers as major causes. The majority of Dutch respondents (63.8 per cent) supported the existing national policy, which aimed to halve veterinary antimicrobial use, while the Flemish (32.9 per cent) were less supportive of such a policy. Improvements in housing and climate conditions, biosecurity measures and strict control of specific infectious diseases were seen as important and promising measures to reduce antimicrobial use. To reduce antimicrobial use in farm animals, some shared approaches might be applicable in both countries. However, cultural, political and societal differences between Flanders and the Netherlands require differentiated approaches to reduce veterinary antimicrobial use. British Veterinary Association.

Multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessment of farming systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Passel, Steven, E-mail: Steven.vanpassel@uhasselt.be [Hasselt University, Faculty of Business Economics, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Agoralaan, Building D, 3590, Diepenbeek (Belgium); University of Antwerp, Department Bioscience Engineering, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp (Belgium); Meul, Marijke [University College Ghent, Department of Biosciences and Landscape Architecture, Campus Schoonmeersen, Building C, Schoonmeersstraat 52, 9000, Gent (Belgium)

2012-01-15

Sustainability assessment is needed to build sustainable farming systems. A broad range of sustainability concepts, methodologies and applications already exists. They differ in level, focus, orientation, measurement, scale, presentation and intended end-users. In this paper we illustrate that a smart combination of existing methods with different levels of application can make sustainability assessment more profound, and that it can broaden the insights of different end-user groups. An overview of sustainability assessment tools on different levels and for different end-users shows the complementarities and the opportunities of using different methods. In a case-study, a combination of the sustainable value approach (SVA) and MOTIFS is used to perform a sustainability evaluation of farming systems in Flanders. SVA is used to evaluate sustainability at sector level, and is especially useful to support policy makers, while MOTIFS is used to support and guide farmers towards sustainability at farm level. The combined use of the two methods with complementary goals can widen the insights of both farmers and policy makers, without losing the particularities of the different approaches. To stimulate and support further research and applications, we propose guidelines for multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessments. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We give an overview of sustainability assessment tools for agricultural systems. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer SVA and MOTIFS are used to evaluate the sustainability of dairy farming in Flanders. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Combination of methods with different levels broadens the insights of different end-user groups. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We propose guidelines for multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessments.

Multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessment of farming systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Passel, Steven; Meul, Marijke

2012-01-01

Sustainability assessment is needed to build sustainable farming systems. A broad range of sustainability concepts, methodologies and applications already exists. They differ in level, focus, orientation, measurement, scale, presentation and intended end-users. In this paper we illustrate that a smart combination of existing methods with different levels of application can make sustainability assessment more profound, and that it can broaden the insights of different end-user groups. An overview of sustainability assessment tools on different levels and for different end-users shows the complementarities and the opportunities of using different methods. In a case-study, a combination of the sustainable value approach (SVA) and MOTIFS is used to perform a sustainability evaluation of farming systems in Flanders. SVA is used to evaluate sustainability at sector level, and is especially useful to support policy makers, while MOTIFS is used to support and guide farmers towards sustainability at farm level. The combined use of the two methods with complementary goals can widen the insights of both farmers and policy makers, without losing the particularities of the different approaches. To stimulate and support further research and applications, we propose guidelines for multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessments. - Highlights: ► We give an overview of sustainability assessment tools for agricultural systems. ► SVA and MOTIFS are used to evaluate the sustainability of dairy farming in Flanders. ► Combination of methods with different levels broadens the insights of different end-user groups. ► We propose guidelines for multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessments.

Energy productivity and efficiency of wheat farming in Bangladesh

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, Sanzidur; Hasan, M. Kamrul

2014-01-01

Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in Bangladesh and production is highly sensitive to variations in the environment. We estimate productivity and energy efficiency of wheat farming in Bangladesh by applying a stochastic production frontier approach while accounting for the environmental constraints affecting production. Wheat farming is energy efficient with a net energy balance of 20,596 MJ per ha and energy ratio of 2.34. Environmental constraints such as a combination of unsuitable land, weed and pest attack, bad weather, planting delay and infertile soils significantly reduce wheat production and its energy efficiency. Environmental constraints account for a mean energy efficiency of 3 percentage points. Mean technical efficiency is 88% thereby indicating that elimination of inefficiencies can increase wheat energy output by 12%. Farmers' education, access to agricultural information and training in wheat production significantly improves efficiency, whereas events such as a delay in planting and first fertilization significantly reduce it. Policy recommendations include development of varieties that are resistant to environmental constraints and suitable for marginal areas; improvement of wheat farming practices; and investments in education and training of farmers as well as dissemination of information. - Highlights: • Bangladesh wheat farming is energy efficient at 20,596 MJha −1 ; energy ratio 2.34. • Environmental factors significantly influence productivity and energy efficiency. • Environmental factors must be taken into account when estimating wheat productivity. • Government policies must focus on ways of alleviating environmental factors. • Farmers' education, training and information sources increase technical efficiency

public policies, family farming, food security, food sovereignty, Argentina.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela Martinez Dougnac

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This article analyses on an historic perspective the developement of family farming in the humid pampas attending to the changes on it since the growth of the agrarian capitalism. Although we recognize the historic meaning of the family farmer in the region, the "chacarero" of the pampas, we stress with some statistics and regional singularities the success of the decomposition process of this kind of productive unities, mainly duirng the last decades, in which the survivance of the family farmers became more difficult.

Effects of Dutch mineral policies on land prices.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boots, M.G.; Oude Lansink, A.G.J.M.; Peerlings, J.H.M.

1998-01-01

Land prices were analyzed by shadow prices of individual
farms and an exogenous supply of land,
taking account of mineral surplus taxes and farm
characteristics. Mineral policies have a substantial
effect on land prices in the Netherlands and result
in more extensive dairy

The cost of policy simplification in conservation incentive programs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Armsworth, Paul R.; Acs, Szvetlana; Dallimer, Martin

2012-01-01

of biodiversity. Common policy simplifications result in a 49100% loss in biodiversity benefits depending on the conservation target chosen. Failure to differentiate prices for conservation improvements in space is particularly problematic. Additional implementation costs that accompany more complicated policies......Incentive payments to private landowners provide a common strategy to conserve biodiversity and enhance the supply of goods and services from ecosystems. To deliver cost-effective improvements in biodiversity, payment schemes must trade-off inefficiencies that result from over-simplified policies...... with the administrative burden of implementing more complex incentive designs. We examine the effectiveness of different payment schemes using field parameterized, ecological economic models of extensive grazing farms. We focus on profit maximising farm management plans and use bird species as a policy-relevant indicator...

Tillage practices and identity formation in High Plains farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strand, Katherine; Arnould, Eric; Press, Melea

2014-01-01

farming, recognition and denunciation of other farmers’ practices, and recognition and justification of their own contribute to identity formation. This research contributes to the ongoing discussion of how identity is formed through day-to-day activities in the material world. The plow creates divisions...... landscape. Specifically, they compare conservation tillage wedded to ‘modern’ ideologies of scientific farming with conventional tillage newly linked to beliefs about both organic and traditional farming, and examine how farmers use these different forms of tillage to create their identities. Roadside...... in the High Plains community between organic farmers who continue to rely on this implement in their material engagement with the land and the chemical farmers who distance their practices from the plow as they distinguish themselves as stewards of the soil....

Integrating farming and #páramo# conservation: A case study from Colombia

OpenAIRE

Robineau, Ophélie; Chatelet, Martin; Soulard, Christophe-Toussaint; Michel-Dounias, Isabelle; Posner, Joshua

2010-01-01

The Colombian environmental policy voted in 1993, which was to strengthen the protection of natural resources - particularly biodiversity and water - is totally unfavorable to farming in the strategic páramo ecosystem. However, many rural development practitioners and researchers believe that an integrated management of the páramo is possible, and that farming activities can be part of the solution along this agriculture-conservation frontier. This issue has become particularly acute on the R...

Linking Climate Risk, Policy Networks and Adaptation Planning in Public Lands

Science.gov (United States)

Lubell, M.; Schwartz, M.; Peters, C.

2014-12-01

Federal public land management agencies in the United States have engaged a variety of planning efforts to address climate adaptation. A major goal of these efforts is to build policy networks that enable land managers to access information and expertise needed for responding to local climate risks. This paper investigates whether the perceived and modeled climate risk faced by different land managers is leading to larger networks or more participating in climate adaptation. In theory, the benefits of climate planning networks are larger when land managers are facing more potential changes. The basic hypothesis is tested with a survey of public land managers from hundreds of local and regional public lands management units in the Southwestern United States, as well as other stakeholders involved with climate adaptation planning. All survey respondents report their perceptions of climate risk along a variety of dimensions, as well as their participation in climate adaptation planning and information sharing networks. For a subset of respondents, we have spatially explicity GIS data about their location, which will be linked with downscaled climate model data. With the focus on climate change, the analysis is a subset of the overall idea of linking social and ecological systems.

Societal acceptance of wind farms: Analysis of four common themes across Australian case studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, N.; Ashworth, P.; Devine-Wright, P.

2013-01-01

Australia's renewable energy target (RET) seeks to provide 20 per cent of Australia's electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2020. As wind power is relatively advanced, it was anticipated that wind power will contribute a major component of the early target. However, high levels of societal resistance to wind farms, combined with new regulatory policies, indicate the RET may not be dominated by wind power. This research involved an examination of seven case studies around wind farm deployment. Qualitative interviews were the primary data for the case studies and analysed using methods informed by grounded theory. Despite the diversity of stakeholder views, the qualitative analysis identified strong community support for wind farms but four common themes emerged that influence this societal acceptance of wind farms in Australia: trust, distributional justice, procedural justice and place attachment. Without addressing these factors through integration into policy development and engagement approaches, wind energy is unlikely to provide the early and majority of new renewable energy. Similar international experiences are incorporated in the discussion of the Australian wind industry's societal acceptance. - Highlights: ► Seven case studies of wind farms in Australia are described. ► Acceptance affects whether wind significantly contributes to the Aust. RE target. ► Four themes were identified regarding societal acceptance of Australian wind farms. ► Four themes are trust, distributional and procedural justice, and place attachment. ► International similarities to the Australian experience are provided

Impact of single versus multiple policy options on the economic feasibility of biogas energy production: Swine and dairy operations in Nova Scotia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, Bettina B.; Yiridoe, Emmanuel K.; Gordon, Robert

2007-01-01

The economic feasibility of on-farm biogas energy production was investigated for swine and dairy operations under Nova Scotia, Canada farming conditions, using net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and payback period (PP) economic decision criteria. In addition, the effects of selected environmental and 'green' energy policy schemes on co-generation of on-farm biogas energy production and other co-benefits from anaerobic digestion of livestock manure were investigated. Cost-efficiencies arising from economies of scale for on-farm anaerobic biogas production were found for swine farms, and less so for dairy production systems. Without incentive schemes, on-farm biogas energy production was not economically feasible across the farm size ranges studied, except for 600- and 800-sow operations. Among single policy schemes investigated, green energy credit policy schemes generated the highest financial returns, compared to cost-share and low-interest loan schemes. Combinations of multiple policies that included cost-share and green energy credit incentive schemes generated the most improvement in financial feasibility of on-farm biogas energy production, for both swine and dairy operations

Sustainable Organic Farming For Environmental Health A Social Development Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ijun Rijwan Susanto

2015-05-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT In this study the researcher attempted 1 to understand the basic features of organic farming in The Paguyuban Pasundans Cianjur 2 to describe and understand how the stakeholders were are able to internalize the challenges of organic farming on their lived experiences in the community 3 to describe and understand how the stakeholders were are able to internalize and applied the values of benefits of organic farming in support of environmental health on their lived experiences in the community 4 The purpose was to describe and understand how the stakeholders who are able to articulate their ideas regarding the model of sustainable organic farming 5 The Policy Recommendation for Organic Farming. The researcher employed triangulation thorough finding that provides breadth and depth to an investigation offering researchers a more accurate picture of the phenomenon. In the implementation of triangulation researchers conducted several interviews to get saturation. After completion of the interview results are written compiled and shown to the participants to check every statement by every participant. In addition researchers also checked the relevant documents and direct observation in the field The participants of this study were the stakeholders namely 1 The leader of Paguyuban Pasundans Organic Farmer Cianjur PPOFC 2 Members of Paguyuban Pasundans Organic FarmersCianjur 3 Leader of NGO 4 Government officials of agriculture 5 Business of organic food 6 and Consumer of organic food. Generally the findings of the study revealed the following 1 PPOFC began to see the reality as the impact of modern agriculture showed in fertility problems due to contaminated soil by residues of agricultural chemicals such as chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides. So he wants to restore the soil fertility through environmentally friendly of farming practices 2 the challenges of organic farming on their lived experiences in the community farmers did not

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

Linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services for public policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Christina P; Jiang, Bo; Kinzig, Ann P; Lee, Kai N; Ouyang, Zhiyun

2015-01-01

Governments worldwide are recognising ecosystem services as an approach to address sustainability challenges. Decision-makers need credible and legitimate measurements of ecosystem services to evaluate decisions for trade-offs to make wise choices. Managers lack these measurements because of a data gap linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services. The dominant method to address the data gap is benefit transfer using ecological data from one location to estimate ecosystem services at other locations with similar land cover. However, benefit transfer is only valid once the data gap is adequately resolved. Disciplinary frames separating ecology from economics and policy have resulted in confusion on concepts and methods preventing progress on the data gap. In this study, we present a 10-step approach to unify concepts, methods and data from the disparate disciplines to offer guidance on overcoming the data gap. We suggest: (1) estimate ecosystem characteristics using biophysical models, (2) identify final ecosystem services using endpoints and (3) connect them using ecological production functions to quantify biophysical trade-offs. The guidance is strategic for public policy because analysts need to be: (1) realistic when setting priorities, (2) attentive to timelines to acquire relevant data, given resources and (3) responsive to the needs of decision-makers. © 2014 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and CNRS.

Short-Term Output Variations in Wind Farms--Implications for Ancillary Services in the United States: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cadogan, J. [U.S. Department of Energy (US); Milligan, M. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (US); Wan, Y. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (US); Kirby, B. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)

2001-09-21

With the advent of competition in the electric power marketplace, this paper reviews changes that affect wind and other renewable energy technologies, and discusses the role of federal and state policies in the recent wind installations in the United States. In particular, it reviews the implications of ancillary service requirements on a wind farm and presents initial operating results of monitoring one Midwest wind farm. Under federal energy policy, each generator must purchase, or otherwise provide for, ancillary services, such as dispatch, regulation, operation reserve, voltage regulation, and scheduling required to move power to load. As a renewable technology that depends on the forces of nature, short-term output variations are inherently greater for a wind farm than for a gas-fired combined cycle or a supercritical coal-fired unit.

Bio-economic farm modelling to analyse agricultural land productivity in Rwanda

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bidogeza, J.C.

2011-01-01

Keywords: Rwanda; farm household typology; sustainable technology adoption; multivariate analysis;
land degradation; food security; bioeconomic model; crop simulation models; organic fertiliser; inorganic fertiliser; policy incentives

In Rwanda, land degradation contributes to the

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.

The Economics of Wind Power in China and Policy Implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zifa Liu

2015-02-01

Full Text Available In 2009, the implementation of feed-in tariff (FIT and attractive public subsidies for onshore wind farms aroused great investment enthusiasm and spurred remarkable development of wind power in China. Meanwhile, rapid learning-by-doing has significantly cut down the cost of wind turbines and the capital cost of wind farms as well. Therefore, it is the right time to examine the appropriateness of the existing FIT policy for wind power in China. In this paper, we employ the analytical framework for levelized cost of electricity (LCOE to model the generation cost of wind power. Results show that the existing FIT policy is attractive to investors, but serious curtailment and turbine quality issues could make wind power unprofitable. Meanwhile, rapid substantial decreases in the cost of wind power have made it competitive to coal power in 2013, implying that it is possible and necessary to reform the FIT policy for new wind farms. In the future, energy policies for onshore wind power in China could be concentrated on reducing the integration cost, so as to reduce the overall system cost.

Balance, Diversity and Ethics in Public Policy Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Paul B.

Public policy for agriculture and natural resources must change as farming and the use of resources change, but policy also changes to reflect new understandings. The new understandings that will shape future agricultural policy may not come from food producers or agricultural scientists, and may not assume that expanding production is the primary…

Co-operative agreements and the EU Water Framework Directive in conjunction with the Common Agricultural Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Heinz, I.

2008-05-01

This paper discusses the significance of voluntary arrangements for the water and agricultural policies in the European Union. The current implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) require new approaches in water management. As many case studies have shown, co-operative agreements (CAs) between water companies, farmers and authorities can help to reduce environmental pressures on water bodies. The main reasons for that are: i) water companies are ready to advise and financially support farmers in changing production methods; ii) changes of farming practices are tailored to the site-specific requirements; iii) farmers and water companies are interested in minimising the costs and environmental pressures as they benefit, for example, from modernization of farming methods, and reductions in cost of water treatment, and iv) voluntarily agreed commitments to change farming practices are often stricter than statutory rules. Moreover, precautionary rather than remedial measures are preferred. Tackling diffuse pollution is one of the main concerns of the WFD. CAs can enhance the cost-effectiveness of actions within the programmes of measures so that good water status is achieved by 2015. In CAs all relevant stakeholders, located in catchment areas of agricultural usage, can be involved. Thus, they can help to foster integrated water resources management. In particular, disproportionate costs of changing farming practices can be identified. With regard to the recent CAP reform, financial support for farmers will be linked to compliance with environmental standards and further commitments. This concerns both direct payments and agri-environmental programmes. The experience gained in CAs can provide information on best agricultural practices. Informed farmers are more ready to meet environmental requirements. Because CAs implement the most cost-effective changes in farming practice, it can be assumed

IMPACT OF CORRUPTION ON FARM PRODUCTION AND PROFIT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asif Reza Anik

2013-02-01

Full Text Available By analyzing experiences of 210 rice farmers belonging to six villages of six different districts in Bangladesh this article estimates the impact of corruption on farm production and profit. Unlike existing literature corruption here is defined in broader term. Both explicit and implicit cost items are included while calculating the cost of corruption. Through estimating the marginal physical product of fertilizer, a relative impact of corruption on farm production is estimated. Then by hypothesizing different scenarios with different levels of corruption, changes in a farmer's benefit cost ratio is estimated. It has been observed that with reducing cost of corruption farmers observe higher benefit cost ratio and vice versa. Cost of corruption is found to be relatively higher in restricted input market situation and relatively lower when the market is more competitive. Thus our results are suggestive for competitive market policy to reduce corruption which will ultimately result in more farm production and profit.

Bioenergy decision-making of farms in Northern Finland. Combining the bottom-up and top-down perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snaekin, Juha-Pekka; Muilu, Toivo; Pesola, Tuomo

2010-01-01

Finnish farmers' role as energy producers is small compared to their role as energy resource owners. Since climate and energy policy in Finland continues favoring large-scale energy visions, additional investment support for agriculture will stay modest. To utilize fully the energy potential in farms, we analyze the farmers' decision-making environment. First, we present an overview of the Finnish energy policy and economy and their effect on farms (the top-down perspective). Then we analyze the drivers behind the bioenergy decisions of farms in general and in the Oulu region, located in Northern Finland (the bottom-up perspective). There is weak policy coherence between national and regional energy efforts. Strong pressure is placed on farmers to improve their business and marketing knowledge, innovation and financial abilities, education level, and networking skills. In the Oulu region, bioenergy forerunners can be divided in three different groups - investors, entrepreneurs and hobbyists - that have different levels of commitment to their energy businesses. This further stresses the importance of getting quality business services from numerous service providers. (author)

Integration and control of wind farms in the Danish electricity system. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bak-Jensen, B. (ed.); Suwannarat, A.; Chen, Z. (Aalborg Univ.. Dept. of Energy Technology, Aalborg (Denmark)) (and others)

2009-07-01

The objective of this project have been to establish and develop a generic model for power balancing studies of the Danish power system as is expected to look like in 2025, with a lot of new wind farms integrated. That is, the objective has been to describe the wind-farms interaction with other power generating units, and the wind farms ability to act as a power plant with regard to the power control and the wind farms ability to maintain the power system stability. Therefore, a dynamic model has been set up, which can reflect the active power balancing in case of wind power fluctuations in the system with a huge wind farm penetration. The set up of the Danish network grid includes the interconnections to Norway, Sweden and Germany and takes into account the power production from the central power plants, the decentralized combined heat and power plants, the power production from the wind turbines on-land as well as off-shore and the load. Also the new Great Belt link is simulated; to see how the usage of this link could optimize the power balance situation. The power production from the different units is controlled by an automatic generation controller, where the different units are controlled by use of a so called participation factor, which determines how the power producing units participate in balancing the power. The participations factors should reflect the market behavior and the unit commitment for the power plants. Therefore, the participation factors are made time dependent, to be able to reflect this market behavior in the future use of the model. Further, the possibility to use balance, delta and gradient control in the wind farms is included together with the possibility to include planned power production from the thermal units. In this report different scenarios have been set up, to show the different possibilities with the model. The primary focus has been to see what could happen if a storm is coming up, and the wind turbines suddenly disconnects

Variation in nitrogen use efficiencies on Dutch dairy farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Daatselaar, Co Hg; Reijs, Joan R.; Oenema, Jouke; Doornewaard, Gerben J.; Aarts, Frans

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: On dairy farms, the input of nutrients including nitrogen is higher than the output in products such as milk and meat. This causes losses of nitrogen to the environment. One of the indicators for the losses of nitrogen is the nitrogen use efficiency. In the Dutch Minerals Policy

The Food and Agricultural Policy Simulator

OpenAIRE

Salathe, Larry E.; Price, J. Michael; Gadson, Kenneth E.

1982-01-01

This article describes the structure and dynamic properties of the Food and Agricultural Policy Simulator (FAPSIM), an annual econometric model of the US agricultural sector F APSIM estimates a simultaneous price-quantity equilibrium solution for a set of individual commodity models developed for beef, pork, dairy, chickens, eggs, turkeys, corn, oats, barley, gram sorghum, wheat, soybeans, and cotton F APSIM also endogenously determines farm production expenses, cash receipts, net farm Income...

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.

On-farm conservation of Zaer lentil genetic resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Benbrahim

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Zaer lentil has been on-farm conserved thanks to farmers’ knowledges and practices add to its genetic diversity. Its notoriety is related to its specific adaptation and organoleptic traits. The main objective of this study is to identify farmers’ practices that have allowed a dynamic adaptation potential and an add value on quality product. It was based on (1 farmers’ survey on seed management system, (2 Zaer lentil genetic diversity analysis using agro-morphological traits and (3 technological and nutritional analysis. The results show that the on-farm conservation of Zaer lentil is linked to its specific adaptation related to seed production and seed exchange system, to its genetic diversity (21.7% farm conservation.

Farm Diversification, Tenancy and CAP Reform: Results from a Survey of Tenant Farmers in England

Science.gov (United States)

Maye, Damian; Ilbery, Brian; Watts, David

2009-01-01

Little work has considered explicitly the role of farm tenancy in influencing the uptake (or not) of diversification activities. The need to examine this link has been heightened because of the 2003 CAP reforms and the decision to tie Single Farm Payment (SFP) entitlement to the land rather than what is produced on that land. The main objective of…

Development of an integrated model for the Campaspe catchment: a tool to help improve understanding of the interaction between society, policy, farming decision, ecology, hydrology and climate

Science.gov (United States)

Iwanaga, Takuya; Zare, Fateme; Croke, Barry; Fu, Baihua; Merritt, Wendy; Partington, Daniel; Ticehurst, Jenifer; Jakeman, Anthony

2018-06-01

Management of water resources requires understanding of the hydrology and hydrogeology, as well as the policy and human drivers and their impacts. This understanding requires relevant inputs from a wide range of disciplines, which will vary depending on the specific case study. One approach to gain understanding of the impact of climate and society on water resources is through the use of an integrated modelling process that engages stakeholders and experts in specifics of problem framing, co-design of the underpinning conceptual model, and discussion of the ensuing results. In this study, we have developed such an integrated modelling process for the Campaspe basin in northern Victoria, Australia. The numerical model built has a number of components: - Node/link based surface water hydrology module based on the IHACRES rainfall-streamflow model - Distributed groundwater model for the lower catchment (MODFLOW) - Farm decision optimisation module (to determine irrigation requirements) - Policy module (setting conditions on availability of water based on existing rules) - Ecology module (determining the impacts of available streamflow on platypus, fish and river red gum trees) The integrated model is component based and has been developed in Python, with the MODFLOW and surface water hydrology model run in external programs, controlled by the master program (in Python). The integrated model has been calibrated using historical data, with the intention of exploring the impact of various scenarios (future climate scenarios, different policy options, water management options) on the water resources. The scenarios were selected based on workshops with, and a social survey of, stakeholders in the basin regarding what would be socially acceptable and physically plausible options for changes in management. An example of such a change is the introduction of a managed aquifer recharge system to capture dam overflows, and store at least a portion of this in the aquifer

Sustainable Development Compromise[d] in the Planning of Metro Vancouver’s Agricultural Lands—the Jackson Farm Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meg Holden

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This research provides analysis of the case of the Jackson Farm development application, embedded within the particular dynamics of the municipal, regional, and provincial sustainability land use policy culture of the Metro Vancouver region, in Canada. Within a culture of appreciation of the increasing need for sustainability in land use policy, including the protection of agricultural lands at the provincial level through the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR, to urban intensification and protection of the green zone at the regional scale, lies a political conflict that comes into focus in individual land use decisions, within municipalities struggling for autonomy. This case is neither driven strictly by “the politics of the highest bidder” nor by policy failure; the case of the Jackson Farm is instead a case of the challenges of implementing inter-governmental coordination and collaborative governance in a context of both significant sustainability policy and urban growth. The process can be seen to follow an ecological modernization agenda, seeking “win–win” alternatives rather than recognizing that typical compromises, over time, may tip the direction of development away from sustainability policy goals. Understanding the twists, turns, and eventual compromise reached in the case of the Jackson Farm brings to light the implications of the shift in the regional planning culture which may necessitate a less flexible, more structured prioritization of competing goals within plans and policies in order to meet sustainability goals. We highlight this, and present an alternative implementation process within the existing policy regime with potential to aid the specific goal of agricultural land protection.

An overall estimation of losses caused by diseases in the Brazilian fish farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Tavares-Dias, Marcos; Martins, Maurício Laterça

2017-12-01

Parasitic and infectious diseases are common in finfish, but are difficult to accurately estimate the economic impacts on the production in a country with large dimensions like Brazil. The aim of this study was to estimate the costs caused by economic losses of finfish due to mortality by diseases in Brazil. A model for estimating the costs related to parasitic and bacterial diseases in farmed fish and an estimative of these economic impacts are presented. We used official data of production and mortality of finfish for rough estimation of economic losses. The losses herein presented are related to direct and indirect economic costs for freshwater farmed fish, which were estimated in US$ 84 million per year. Finally, it was possible to establish by the first time an estimative of overall losses in finfish production in Brazil using data available from production. Therefore, this current estimative must help researchers and policy makers to approximate the economic costs of diseases for fish farming industry, as well as for developing of public policies on the control measures of diseases and priority research lines.

Employers' Perspective on Childcare Services for Hired Farm Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Barbara C; Salzwedel, Marsha A; Chyou, Po-Huang; Liebman, Amy K

2017-01-01

The goal of this project was to protect children while parents work in agriculture by improving off-farm services for children of migrant and seasonal farm workers. Large agricultural enterprises have policies forbidding children in the worksite. At the same time, their employees, who are trying to generate income, seek as many work hours as possible but often lack viable options for childcare services. As employers strive to increase their labor pool, and workers seek off-farm childcare, there is mutual interest in improving access to childcare services in agricultural regions dependent on large numbers of full-time and seasonal workers. This report describes the employers' perspectives on childcare needs of hired farm workers' families and their barriers and motivators to facilitating off-farm childcare services. Using descriptive survey research methodology, data were collected from a convenience sample of 102 agribusiness owners and Human Resource directors attending an agricultural conference regarding labor laws or personnel management. Results revealed significant differences for those companies employing more than 25 workers compared to their counterparts. Primary motivators for offering childcare as an employment benefit were improved employee morale, enhanced company reputation, and a more stable workforce. A major barrier was that half of large-scale enterprises lack guidance on how to provide childcare options for their workers. Survey results are being used to facilitate collaboration among employers, farm workers, and childcare providers to offer a safe, nurturing environment for children while their parents work in agriculture.

Rural Development Policy in Brazil: the dilemma between productive inclusion and social

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ademir Antonio Cazella

2016-10-01

Full Text Available DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7984.2016v15nesp1p49 In the past two decades an evident dichotomy has been established between policies of a productive nature and those aimed at social assistance for family farms in Brazil. The purpose of this article is to analyze this duality in the main public policies for family farming, and presents a quantitative overview of the results. From a methodological perspective the analysis was based on the number of farmers who benefit from the agrarian reform policies, rural credit, institutional food markets, rural social security and income transfer. The main results of this study indicate that the economic support for the productive activities of Brazilian family farming have been concentrated among the intermediary and well-established farms that are inserted in markets. In parallel, most family farmers are relegated to social assistance programs and not integrated to the working agendas of the main professional organizations in agriculture.

Public policies influencing innovation in the agrochemical, biotechnology and seed industries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bijman, J.; Tait, J.

2002-01-01

The development and marketing of new products by the agrochemical, biotechnology and seed industries is strongly regulated by government policies. Relevant policies include those on science, technology and innovation, the environment and public health, and farm support. This survey of policies

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ladenburg, Jacob; Dubgaard, Alex

2007-01-01

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

Three-Fold Embedding: Farm Development in Relation to Its Socio-Material Context

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Ron Methorst

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Understanding heterogeneity in farm development strategies is important in order to design effective policies and support programs to increase the sustainability of agriculture in relation to its socio-material context. Using a unique case study of 102 dairy farmers in The Netherlands, all operating in a highly similar socio-material context, this paper studies the differences in the relation of farms with the socio-material context. To this end, the concept of three-fold embedding is developed and tested using the ideal-typical characteristics of three patterns of farm development that were identified in the case study: (1 maximising total milk production; (2 optimising milk production using mainly on-farm resources; and (3 diversified on-farm production. Three-fold embedding was conceptualised in relation to the following dimensions: (1 value chain relations; (2 socio-cultural relations; and (3 natural resource relations, while using a scale ranging from a Close to a Stretched set of relations. The concept of three-fold embedding proves to be useful to identify in a non-normative and non-binary manner meaningful differences between patterns of farm development. These differences relate to differences in opportunity identification and strategic decision-making. The concept supports a relational perspective in studying farm strategy development using a sociology of entrepreneurship approach.

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

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

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

Integrated impact assessment of climate and socio-economic change on dairy farms in a watershed in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Paas, Wim; Kanellopoulos, Argyris; Ven, van de Gerrie; Reidsma, Pytrik

2016-01-01

Climate and socio-economic change will affect the land use and the economic viability of Dutch dairy farms. Explorations of future scenarios, which include different drivers and impacts, are needed to perform ex-ante policy assessment. This study uses a bio-economic farm model to assess impacts

Conventional, Partially Converted and Environmentally Friendly Farming in South Korea: Profitability and Factors Affecting Farmers’ Choice

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Saem Lee

2016-07-01

Full Text Available While organic farming is well established in Europe a nd USA, it is still catching up in Asian countries. The government of South Korea has implemented environmentally friendly farming that encompasses organic farming. Despite the promotion of environmentally friendly farming, it still has a low share in South Korea and partially converted farming has emerged in some districts of South Korea. However, the partially converted farming has not yet been investigated by the government. Thus, our study implemented a financial analysis to compare the annual costs and net returns of conventional, partially converted and environmentally friendly farming in Gangwon Province. The result showed that environmentally friendly farming was more profitable with respect to farm net returns. To find out the factors affecting the adoption of environmentally friendly farming, multinomial logistic regression was implemented. The findings revealed that education and subsidy positively and significantly influenced the probability of farmers’ choice on partially converted and environmentally friendly farming. Farm size had a negative and significant relationship with only environmentally friendly farming. This study will contribute to future policy establishment for sustainable agriculture as recommended by improving the quality of fertilizers, suggesting the additional investigation associated with partially converted farmers.

Interactive design of farm conversion : linking agricultural research and farmer learning for sustainable small scale horticulture production in Colombia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lee, R.A.

2002-01-01

Key words: interactive conversion design / vegetable production / small farms / sustainable farming / Colombia / learning processes / facilitation / agricultural research methods