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

Environmental impacts of alternative agricultural uses of poorly drained farm land in Ireland.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Pooja; Humphreys, James; Holden, Nicholas M

2018-05-07

Abolition of the milk quota in the European Union and favourable market conditions have stimulated the expansion of the dairy sector in Ireland, causing more milk to be produced from poorly drained land. This work evaluated the environmental impacts of alternative agricultural uses for poorly drained farm land in Ireland using life cycle assessment (LCA). The avoided burden of the displaced product was used to calculate the net environmental consequences in the context of regional or global markets. The impact categories evaluated were climate change, eutrophication and acidification, all expressed per hectare of land for the alternative land uses, which were pasture-based milk, suckler beef and lowland sheep production and coniferous forestry. Beef had the lowest net climate change impact with global marginal and average product substitution while sheep had the lowest net climate change impact with European displaced product. For net eutrophication and acidification, dairy had the lowest impacts with European and global average displaced product. With global marginal displaced product, forestry had the lowest net eutrophication impact and sheep had the lowest net acidification impact. From an Irish perspective, forestry would generate the lowest environmental impacts and would also increase soil carbon stock, but this was not the best land use option from global perspective. Overall it can be concluded that a pasture based dairy or sheep system would have the greatest net global impact reduction (i.e. greatest global benefit) as land use options for farms with poorly drained soils. Prioritizing climate change, suckler beef system would perhaps be more favourable. It is clear that the choice of the displaced regional or global co-product from the market has a great influence on the results and there is a need to consider more detailed consumption modelling to better understand the substitution process. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ANNUAL FARM LABOR REPORT - 1962.

Science.gov (United States)

LENHART, MARGOT WAKEMAN

THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE FARM PLACEMENT SERVICE WHICH INCLUDED ORGANIZATION, STAFF, OFFICES, ASSOCIATES AND ADVISORS, AND MEETINGS WAS PRESENTED. AT THE STATE LEVEL, THERE WAS A RISE IN OVERALL CROP PRODUCTION AND A DECREASE IN TOTAL CROPLAND HARVEST. AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, URBAN ENCROACHMENT CHANGED THE NATURE OF PRODUCTION IN SOME AREAS AND…

Wind farm design optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carreau, Michel; Morgenroth, Michael; Belashov, Oleg; Mdimagh, Asma; Hertz, Alain; Marcotte, Odile

2010-09-15

Innovative numerical computer tools have been developed to streamline the estimation, the design process and to optimize the Wind Farm Design with respect to the overall return on investment. The optimization engine can find the collector system layout automatically which provide a powerful tool to quickly study various alternative taking into account more precisely various constraints or factors that previously would have been too costly to analyze in details with precision. Our Wind Farm Tools have evolved through numerous projects and created value for our clients yielding Wind Farm projects with projected higher returns.

On-Farm, Almond Orchard Flooding as a Viable Aquifer Recharge Alternative

Science.gov (United States)

Ulrich, C.; Nico, P. S.; Wu, Y.; Newman, G. A.; Conrad, M. E.; Dahlke, H. E.

2017-12-01

In 2014, California legislators passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which requires groundwater sustainability agencies (areas) to identify/prioritize water basins, develop current and projected water use/needs, develop a groundwater management plan, develop fees, etc. One of the challenges for implementing SGMA is the lack of data that can support alternative groundwater recharge methods such as on-farm flooding. Prior to anthropogenic river control, river floodplains captured excess water during overbank flow in the rainy season in the CA central valley. Today levees and canals strategically route rainy season high flows to the delta/ocean when irrigation water is not needed. Utilizing farmland once again as infiltration basins for groundwater banking and aquifer recharge could be a viable answer to California's depleted central valley aquifers. Prior to 2017, U.C. Davis had partnered with the Almond Board of California (ABC) and local growers to study the efficacy of agricultural flooding and the effects on annual almond crops (. LBNL joined this team to help understand the conveyance of recharge water, using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), into the subsurface (i.e. localized fast paths, depth of infiltration, etc.) during flooding events. The fate of the recharge water is what is significant to understanding the viability of on-farm flooding as an aquifer recharge option. In this study two orchards (in Delhi and Modesto, CA), each approximately 2 acres, were flooded during the almond tree dormant period (January), to recharge 2 acre/ft of water into the local aquifers. ERT was used to characterize (soil structure) and monitor water infiltration over a single flooding event to investigate the fate of applied water. Data were collected every hour prior to flooding (baseline), during, and after all flood water had infiltrated (about 5 days total). Our time-lapse ERT results show a heterogeneous soil structure that leads to non

Time-series prediction of shellfish farm closure: A comparison of alternatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashfaqur Rahman

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Shellfish farms are closed for harvest when microbial pollutants are present. Such pollutants are typically present in rainfall runoff from various land uses in catchments. Experts currently use a number of observable parameters (river flow, rainfall, salinity as proxies to determine when to close farms. We have proposed using the short term historical rainfall data as a time-series prediction problem where we aim to predict the closure of shellfish farms based only on rainfall. Time-series event prediction consists of two steps: (i feature extraction, and (ii prediction. A number of data mining challenges exist for these scenarios: (i which feature extraction method best captures the rainfall pattern over successive days that leads to opening or closure of the farms?, (ii The farm closure events occur infrequently and this leads to a class imbalance problem; the question is what is the best way to deal with this problem? In this paper we have analysed and compared different combinations of balancing methods (under-sampling and over-sampling, feature extraction methods (cluster profile, curve fitting, Fourier Transform, Piecewise Aggregate Approximation, and Wavelet Transform and learning algorithms (neural network, support vector machine, k-nearest neighbour, decision tree, and Bayesian Network to predict closure events accurately considering the above data mining challenges. We have identified the best combination of techniques to accurately predict shellfish farm closure from rainfall, given the above data mining challenges.

Comparison of alternative offshore wind farms and HVDC systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruns, M. [Technische Univ. Dresden (Germany); Lilje, P.; Poeller, M. [DIgSILENT GmbH, Gomaringen (Germany); Basteck, A. [Voith Turbo Wind GmbH und Co. KG, Crailsheim (Germany)

2010-07-01

This paper investigates the stability of offshore wind farms connected to the main power system via HVDC systems. Wind farms consisting of different ratios of directly connected synchronous machines and doubly-fed induction machines are considered. In addition, both conventional LCC- and VSC-type HVDC systems are considered. Furthermore, different control strategies are considered. Furthermore, different control strategies are considered for the VSC-based system, including constant frequency control and frequency regulation. The stability analysis is done by means of time-domain simulation. The maximum and minimum ratio of the two wind turbine technologies is found for each of the different HVDC systems. (orig.)

COMPOSITION OF STAFF REVIEW ADVISORY BODIES - 2001

CERN Multimedia

Seamus Hegarty / HR; Tel. 74128

2001-01-01

For the present staff review, the advisory bodies set up to prepare recommendations are composed as follows : Senior Staff Advancement Committee (SSAC) David O. Williams/it (Convener) Cristoforo Benvenuti/est David Plane/ep Technical Engineers & Administrative Careers Committee (TEACC) Sverre Jarp/it (Chairman) Flemming Pedersen/ps Robin Lauckner/sl Christian Roche/ett Lars Leistam/est Dietrich Schinzel/ep Long-term contract Boards (LTCBs) LTCB 1 (Categories 2 & 5a) Tiziano Camporesi/ep [Convener] - Florence Ranjard/ep [Alternate] Jacques Gruber/ps - Peter Sievers/lhc [Alternate] Thomas Pettersson/est - Michel Mayoud/est [Alternate] Sue Foffano/as - Thierry Lagrange/spl [Alternate] Werner Zapf/hr (Secretary) LTCB 2 (Categories 3, 4, 5b & 5c) Véronique Paris/sl [Convener] - Fabien Perriollat/ps [Alternate] Mats Wilhelmsson/st - Véronique Fassnacht/tis [Alternate] Lucie Linssen/ep - Alfredo Placci/ep [Alternate] Patrick Geeraert/fi - John Cuthb...

Environmental analysis and monitoring for recreational farms in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Wen-Chuan; Lin, Chun-Nan; Wongchai, Anupong

2017-11-01

The rapid growth of recreational farms and leisure industry has fiercely faced competitive in a Taiwan’s market to achieve business development sustainability trends. Effective business development strategy has become a key of the business performance management to help develop and implement growth opportunities. Recreational farms have functional products, culture, and natural resources as essential elements for the business development of local cuisine. The purpose of this study is, based on the SWOT analysis, to understand the current situation of catering business in recreational farms in Taiwan and to analyze the trends in development to discover how to operate local food restaurant business in recreational farms successfully and create long-term value for a business from customers, markets, and related parties. This research collected a total of 300 questionnaires from recreational farm tourists and excellent recreational farm entrepreneurs, as well as on-site staffs in an outstanding recreational farm. The results of this study provided a reference and guidelines of trends in development for the entrepreneurs to create a modern niche market.

Adoption Level of IFAD Project Recommended Farming Practices ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

E M IGBOKWE

the respondents respectively identified low counterpart funding, untimely disbursement of funds and inadequate mobility of extension staff as the major constraints to the effective implementation of the programme. Generally, there was a high level of adoption of the recommended farming practices among the participating.

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...

COMPOSITION OF STAFF REVIEW ADVISORY BODIES - 2002

CERN Multimedia

Human Resources Division

2002-01-01

For the present staff review, the advisory bodies set up to prepare recommendations are composed as follows: Senior Staff Advancement Committee (SSAC) Cristoforo BENVENUTI/EST [Convener] David PLANE/EP Peter SCHMID/EP Technical Engineers & Administrative Careers Committee (TEACC) Robin LAUCKNER/SL [Chairman] Flemming PEDERSEN/PS Lucie LINSSEN/EP Dietrich SCHINZEL/EP Marcel MOTTIER/EST Louis WALCKIERS/LHC Long-term contract Boards (LTCBs) (Categories 2 & 5a) Tiziano CAMPORESI/EP [Convener] Florence RANJARD/EP [Alternate] Jacques GRUBER/PS [until 30.6.2002] Roger BAILEY/SL [from 1.7. 2002] Peter SIEVERS/LHC [Alternate] Doris FORKEL-WIRTH/TIS Pierre NININ/ST [Alternate] Sue FOFFANO/AS Maarten WILBERS/DSU [Alternate] Werner ZAPF/HR[Secretary] LTCB 2 Categories 3, 4, 5b & 5c) Véronique PARIS/SL [Convener] Fabien PERRIOLLAT/PS [Alternate] Mats WILHELMSSON/ST Charles NUTTALL/TIS [Alternate] Lucie LINSSEN/EP Alfredo PLACCI/EP [Alternate] Patrick GEERAER...

Summary of Data Farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gary Horne

2016-03-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-01-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kanwal Nazish

2016-06-01

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

Leisure, Means Of Spending Free Time At Agrotourist Farm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioan Petroman

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Leisure at agrotourist farm includes all recreational and entertainment activities, offered to its visitors willing of uniqueness and beyond, having as purpose the insurance of a good mood, pleasure and relaxation, along with printing some positive impressions and of a pleasant memory about the visited location. In case of agrotourist farm product, leisure has a very diverse content, depending on the profile of the rural area, of the farm, of the motivation, of the visitation season and of the customer segments. Animation from agrotourist farm should contribute to meeting the requirements of active recreation and meeting physical and mental demands of tourists and generate the necessary frame to pleasantly spend a pleasant and instructive leisure. Leisure services can be organized by the staff from agrotourist farm, by specialized personnel or third parties, in order to meet the functions of relaxation and physical comfort, entertainment and improvingits capabilities, satisfying the needs of consumers of such niche tourism.

7 CFR 1900.2 - National office staff and state directors.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false National office staff and state directors. 1900.2 Section 1900.2 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE, RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, AND FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF...

Effect of farming practices for greenhouse gas mitigation and subsequent alternative land use on environmental impacts of beef cattle production systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, T T H; Doreau, M; Eugène, M; Corson, M S; Garcia-Launay, F; Chesneau, G; van der Werf, H M G

2013-05-01

This study evaluated effects of farming practice scenarios aiming to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and subsequent alternative land use on environmental impacts of a beef cattle production system using the life cycle assessment approach. The baseline scenario includes a standard cow-calf herd with finishing heifers based on grazing, and a standard bull-fattening herd using a diet mainly based on maize silage, corresponding to current farm characteristics and management by beef farmers in France. Alternative scenarios were developed with changes in farming practices. Some scenarios modified grassland management (S1: decreasing mineral N fertiliser on permanent grassland; S2: decreasing grass losses during grazing) or herd management (S3: underfeeding of heifers in winter; S4: fattening female calves instead of being reared at a moderate growth rate; S5: increasing longevity of cows from 7 to 9 years; S6: advancing first calving age from 3 to 2 years). Other scenarios replaced protein sources (S7: partially replacing a protein supplement by lucerne hay for the cow-calf herd; S8: replacing soya bean meal with rapeseed meal for the fattening herd) or increased n-3 fatty acid content using extruded linseed (S9). The combination of compatible scenarios S1, S2, S5, S6 and S8 was also studied (S10). The impacts, such as climate change (CC, not including CO2 emissions/sequestration of land use and land-use change, LULUC), CC/LULUC (including CO2 emissions of LULUC), cumulative energy demand, eutrophication (EP), acidification and land occupation (LO) were expressed per kg of carcass mass and per ha of land occupied. Compared with the baseline, the most promising practice to reduce impacts per kg carcass mass was S10 (all reduced by 13% to 28%), followed by S6 (by 8% to 10%). For other scenarios, impact reduction did not exceed 5%, except for EP (up to 11%) and LO (up to 10%). Effects of changes in farming practices (the scenarios) on environmental impacts varied

Antibiotic use by farmers to control mastitis as influenced by health advice and dairy farming systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Poizat, A; Bonnet-Beaugrand, F; Rault, A; Fourichon, C; Bareille, N

2017-10-01

Mastitis is a bacterial disease common in dairy farms. Although knowledge about mastitis and its optimal technical management and treatment is now available, some dairy farmers still use antibiotics in inappropriate ways. Antibiotic use by farmers can be influenced by personal restraints and motivations, but it can be assumed that external drivers are also influential. The main purpose of this article is thus to analyse the choices of antibiotic and alternative medicine use for mastitis treatment and investigate the possible influence of two unexplored external drivers in dairy farms: (i) the health advice offered to farmers by farm advisors and veterinarians, (ii) the dairy farming system, as defined by combining the market valuation chosen for the milk, the level of intensification, and the perceived pressure related to investments. Research was based on 51 individual semi-structured interviews with farmers and their corresponding veterinarians and farm advisors. Based on verbatim, the use of antibiotics and alternative medicine by farmers for mastitis treatment, the vet-farmers interactions, and the dairy farming systems are described. The advisory relationships between farmers and farm advisors and between farmers and veterinarians influenced the implementation of selective dry cow therapy, but had very little effect on the use of alternative medicines by farmers, who were more willing to experiment alternative medicines than their advisors. The dairy farming system had very little influence on antibiotic use: some misuse of antibiotics was found whatever the farming system. Systematic dry cow therapy was also a widespread habit in all dairy farming systems except organic. The use of alternative medicine was common in all farming systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sustainable Agriculture in Print: Current Books. Special Reference Briefs: SRB 95-02.

Science.gov (United States)

National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD.

Prepared by the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC) staff and volunteers, this annotated bibliography provides a list of 85 recently published books pertaining to sustainable agriculture. AFSIC focuses on alternative farming systems (e.g., sustainable, low-input, regenerative, biodynamic, and organic) that maintain agricultural…

AX Tank Farm ancillary equipment study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

SKELLY, W.A.

1999-01-01

This report examines the feasibility of remediating ancillary equipment associated with the 241-AX Tank Farm at the Hanford Site. Ancillary equipment includes surface structures and equipment, process waste piping, ventilation components, wells, and pits, boxes, sumps, and tanks used to make waste transfers to/from the AX tanks and adjoining tank farms. Two remedial alternatives are considered: (1) excavation and removal of all ancillary equipment items, and (2) in-situ stabilization by grout filling, the 241-AX Tank Farm is being employed as a strawman in engineering studies evaluating clean and landfill closure options for Hanford single-shell tanks. This is one of several reports being prepared for use by the Hanford Tanks Initiative Project to explore potential closure options and to develop retrieval performance evaluation criteria for tank farms

AX Tank Farm tank removal study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

SKELLY, W.A.

1999-02-24

This report examines the feasibility of remediating ancillary equipment associated with the 241-AX Tank Farm at the Hanford Site. Ancillary equipment includes surface structures and equipment, process waste piping, ventilation components, wells, and pits, boxes, sumps, and tanks used to make waste transfers to/from the AX tanks and adjoining tank farms. Two remedial alternatives are considered: (1) excavation and removal of all ancillary equipment items, and (2) in-situ stabilization by grout filling, the 241-AX Tank Farm is being employed as a strawman in engineering studies evaluating clean and landfill closure options for Hanford single-shell tanks. This is one of several reports being prepared for use by the Hanford Tanks Initiative Project to explore potential closure options and to develop retrieval performance evaluation criteria for tank farms.

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.

Exploring contacts facilitating transmission of influenza A(H5N1) virus between poultry farms in West Java, Indonesia: A major role for backyard farms?

Science.gov (United States)

Wibawa, Hendra; Karo-Karo, Desniwaty; Pribadi, Eko Sugeng; Bouma, Annemarie; Bodewes, Rogier; Vernooij, Hans; Diyantoro; Sugama, Agus; Muljono, David H; Koch, Guus; Tjatur Rasa, Fadjar Sumping; Stegeman, Arjan

2018-08-01

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 has been reported in Asia, including Indonesia since 2003. Although several risk factors related to the HPAIV outbreaks in poultry in Indonesia have been identified, little is known of the contact structure of farms of different poultry production types (backyard chickens, broilers, layers, and ducks). This study aims to quantify the contact rates associated with the movement of people, and movements of live birds and products and equipment that affect the risk of HPAIV H5N1 transmission between poultry farms in Indonesia. On 124 poultry farms in 6 districts in West Java, logbooks were distributed to record the movements of farmers/staff and visitors and their poultry contacts. Most movements in backyard chicken, commercial native chicken, broiler and duck farms were visits to and from other poultry farms, whilst in layer farms visits to and from poultry companies, visits to egg collection houses and visit from other poultry farms were most frequent. Over 75% of persons visiting backyard chicken and duck farms had previously visited other poultry farms on the same day. Visitors of backyard chicken farms had the highest average contact rate, either direct contact with poultry on other farms before the visits (1.35 contact/day) or contact during their visits in the farms (10.03 contact/day). These results suggest that backyard chicken farms are most at risk for transmission of HPAIV compared to farms of the other poultry production types. Since visits of farm-to-farm were high, backyard farms could also a potential source for HPAIV transmission to commercial poultry farms. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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...

Wind Turbine Converter Control Interaction with Complex Wind Farm Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kocewiak, Lukasz Hubert; Hjerrild, Jesper; Bak, Claus Leth

2013-01-01

. The same wind turbine converter control strategy is evaluated in two different wind farms. It is emphasised that the grid-side converter controller should be characterised by sufficient harmonic/noise rejection and adjusted depending on wind farms to which it is connected. Various stability indices......This study presents wind turbine converter stability analysis of wind farms in frequency domain. The interaction between the wind turbine control system and the wind farm structure in wind farms is deeply investigated. Two wind farms (i.e. Horns Rev II and Karnice) are taken into consideration...... in this study. It is shown that wind farm components, such as long high-voltage alternating current cables and park transformers, can introduce significant low-frequency series resonances seen from the wind turbine terminals that can affect wind turbine control system operation and overall wind farm stability...

Evaluating expansion strategies for startup European Union dairy farm businesses.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, R; Shalloo, L; Pierce, K M; Horan, B

2013-06-01

A stochastic whole-farm simulation model was used to examine alternative strategies for new entrant dairy farmers to grow and develop dairy farm businesses in the context of European Union (EU) milk quota abolition in 2015. Six alternative strategies were compared: remain static, natural growth expansion, waiting until after EU milk quota abolition to expand, a full-scale expansion strategy without milk quotas and not incurring super levy penalties, a full-scale expansion strategy with milk quotas and incurring super levy penalties, and once-a-day milking until EU milk quota abolition, followed by full-scale expansion. Each discrete whole farm investment strategy was evaluated over a 15-yr period (2013-2027) using multiple financial stability and risk indicators, including overall discounted farm business profitability, net worth change, return on investment, and financial risk. The results of this study indicate that, although associated with increased risk, dairy farm expansion will ensure the future profitability of the farm business. Within the context of EU milk quotas until 2015, the most attractive expansion strategy is to increase cow numbers while avoiding super levy fines using once-a-day milking techniques, increasing to the full capacity of the dairy farm once milk quotas are removed. In contrast, the results also indicate that dairy farms that remain static will experience a significant reduction in farm profitability in the coming year due to production cost inflation. Cash flow deficits were observed during the initial year of expansion and, therefore, rapidly expanding dairy farm businesses require a significant cash reserve to alleviate business risk during the initial year of expansion. The results of this analysis also indicate that dairy farm businesses that expand using lower cost capital investments and avoid milk quota super levy fines significantly reduce the financial risks associated with expansion. Copyright © 2013 American Dairy Science

NRC perspective on alternative disposal methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pittiglio, C.L.; Tokar, M.

1987-01-01

In this paper is discussed an NRC staff strategy for the development of technical criteria and procedures for the licensing of various alternatives for disposal of low-level radioactive waste. Steps taken by the staff to identify viable alternative disposal methods and to comply with the requirements of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act (LLRWPAA) of 1985 are also discussed. The strategy proposed by the NRC staff is to focus efforts in FY 87 on alternative concepts that incorporate concrete materials with soil or rock cover (e.g., below ground vaults and earth-mounded concrete bunkers), which several State and State Compacts have identified as preferred disposal options. While the NRC staff believes that other options, such as above ground vaults and mined cavities, are workable and licensable, the staff also believes, for reasons addressed in the paper, that it is in the best interest of the industry and the public to encourage standardization and to focus limited resources on a manageable number of alternative options. Therefore, guidance on above ground vaults, which are susceptible to long-term materials degradation due to climatological effects, and mined cavities, which represent a significant departure from the current experience base for low-level radioactive waste disposal, will receive minimal attention. 6 references

Economic and environmental aspects on energy alternatives for a clean air -- wind farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calanter, P.; Serban, O. [Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies (Romania). Doctoral School; Dragomir, A. [SC CEPSTRA GRUP SRL, Bucharest (Romania)

2011-07-01

Fossil fuels combustion in the energy sector is a major contribution to the generation of greenhouse gases emission (GHG) -- mainly carbon dioxide. Emissions reduction represents an important means to protect the environment and to improve the health status of the population -- the major requirement in the context of a sustainble development strategy -- knowing the association of the greenhouse effect with climate change. Fossil fuels are limited and expensive resources. According to the Romanian National Agency for Mineral Resources (2009), under the current extraction level the national oil and gas resources are industrial exploitable for 15 years, while coal would be available for about 30 years. At present, the alternative of renewable energy -- solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, and biomass -- is becoming more and more attractive at the global scale. The use of renewable energy offers a clean alternative for energy production, which allows considerable reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change mitigation efforts, and also savings of fossil fuels limited resources. Wind energy represents an increasingly more attractive alternative in Romania. Regulations concern not only investment and operation of installations, but also energy recovery and environmental protection. Even though the use of the entire national wind energy potential could determine a significant GHG emissions reduction, the technology, infrastructure and environmental restrictions limits wind energy valorization. Wind farms development, sustained by landscape, wind speed distribution and investors financial promotion, competes with the prudence imposed by the potential environmental impact (biodiversity, microclimate, etc), and the lack of historical data and information structuring. Adequate organization and dissemination of relevant information might be valuable for investors and sustainable development strategies. To estimate the GHG emissions reduction in Romania

The Milking Profile of Dairy Cattle Farms in Central Macedonia (Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioannis Mitsopoulos

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to provide insights of the profile of the dairy farms of Central Macedonia (Greece, in terms of their milking practices. The analysis is based on data from a random sample of 123 dairy farms, obtained by means of a survey. The employment of the Categorical Principal Component Analysis on the 14 variables initially used to describe milking practices and of the Two-Step Cluster Analysis led to the grouping of the 123 farms to three clusters. Farms of the first cluster, named “Innovative”, use state-of-the-art equipment, automatic systems and innovative milking techniques (31.1% of the sample farms. “Peasant” farms (11.4% are mainly extensive, using mainly bucket plants. The third and most abundant group, the “Modernizing” farms (54.5% are use equipment of reasonable standards and some of them are on the process of renewing it. The results of a Multinomial Logit model verify that “Innovative” farms are large and achieve high yields, while the “Modernizing” ones are smaller, producing milk of lower quality and they are owned by relatively older dairy farmers. An interesting profile is depicted for “Peasant” farms, as they achieve satisfactory economic performance, combined with adequate milk quality. The analytical framework included the reduction of analysis variables to a smaller group of “dimensions”, using the Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CatPCA, based on which farms were clustered to alternative profiles, by employing a Two-Step Cluster (TSC Analysis. Differences in elements of milk quality and in the social profile of farms and farmers were examined among alternative profiles through the estimation of Multinomial Logit Models.

Micro-economic analysis of alternative policies for Dutch dairy farming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boots, M.

1999-01-01

The dairy sector is to a large extent influenced and restricted by environmental and agricultural policies. These policies are often very detailed in nature and oriented at the farm level. That is, policy measures and regulations, such as taxes and support payments often depend on local

Use of homeopathy in organic dairy farming in Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Orjales, Inmaculada; López-Alonso, Marta; Rodríguez-Bermúdez, Ruth; Rey-Crespo, Francisco; Villar, Ana; Miranda, Marta

2016-02-01

Organic farming principles promote the use of unconventional therapies as an alternative to chemical substances (which are limited by organic regulations), with homeopathy being the most extensive. Traditionally, Spain has had little faith in homeopathy but its use in organic farming is growing. Fifty-six Spanish organic dairy farmers were interviewed to obtain what we believe to be the first data on the use of homeopathy in organic dairy cattle in Spain. Only 32% of farms use some sort of alternative therapy (16.1% homeopathy, 10.7% phytotherapy and 5.3% using both therapies) and interestingly, a clear geographical pattern showing a higher use towards the East (similar to that in the human population) was observed. The main motivation to use homeopathy was the need to reduce chemical substances promoted by organic regulations, and the treatment of clinical mastitis being the principle reason. The number of total treatments was lower in farms using homeopathy compared with those applying allopathic therapies (0.13 and 0.54 treatments/cow/year respectively) and although the bulk SCC was significantly higher (p Homeopathy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tapping the potential of alternative medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

La Puma, J; Eiler, G

1998-04-01

Interest in alternative medicine is growing among healthcare consumers. Health plans and healthcare organizations may be able to improve clinical outcomes and benefit financially by providing patients with access to alternative services. Organizations that can assess their communities' particular needs, draw on interested professional staff to help develop alternative medicine programs and protocols, and study quality outcomes will stand a better chance of making such programs successful. Educating medical staff, designing a credible program, and forging strategic alliances with respected partners can help organizations create a sharply focused brand identity in the community.

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…

Modelling Farm Animal Welfare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chérie E. Part

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The use of models in the life sciences has greatly expanded in scope and advanced in technique in recent decades. However, the range, type and complexity of models used in farm animal welfare is comparatively poor, despite the great scope for use of modeling in this field of research. In this paper, we review the different modeling approaches used in farm animal welfare science to date, discussing the types of questions they have been used to answer, the merits and problems associated with the method, and possible future applications of each technique. We find that the most frequently published types of model used in farm animal welfare are conceptual and assessment models; two types of model that are frequently (though not exclusively based on expert opinion. Simulation, optimization, scenario, and systems modeling approaches are rarer in animal welfare, despite being commonly used in other related fields. Finally, common issues such as a lack of quantitative data to parameterize models, and model selection and validation are discussed throughout the review, with possible solutions and alternative approaches suggested.

Customer care a training manual for library staff

CERN Document Server

Gannon-Leary, Pat

2010-01-01

Customer Care provides a detailed course suitable for delivery to library staff at all levels. It can be used as a stand-alone reference work for customer care processes and procedures or, alternatively, it can be used by library staff to tailor a customer care course to suit the requirements and training needs of their own staff.Dual use - reference work and/or training manualPotential as a text bookApplicable to a wider context than LIS - could be used for a whole HEI institutional approach to customer care or in local authorities/public services

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

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Lars-Flemming; Henriksen, Niels Henrik

2017-01-01

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

Wind farm struggles in Flanders fields: A sociological perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pepermans, Yves; Loots, Ilse

2013-01-01

In this article we analyse how protests against wind farms reflect symbolic distances or alienations, typical to Flanders (Belgium), as consequences of wider societal trends. A thorough qualitative study of three wind farm projects in Flanders, including group discussions and interviews with crucial stakeholders, shows that the current siting process reinforces disagreements and leads to a stalemate between different framings of the wind farms. Using insights from our case studies and the literature, we argue for spatial planning which strives for a negotiation over acceptable solutions rather than acceptance of fixed proposals. - Highlights: • Flemish wind farm siting is characterized by social, spatial and political distances. • These symbolic distances make the legitimacy of new infrastructure less self-evident. • The current ‘decide-announce and defend’ siting procedure is a problem for acceptance. • We propose a siting procedure for wind farms which allows democratic debate over alternatives between stakeholders

Supplement analysis for the proposed upgrades to the tank farm ventilation, instrumentation, and electrical systems under Project W-314 in support of tank farm restoration and safe operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-05-01

The mission of the TWRS program is to store, treat, and immobilize highly radioactive tank waste in an environmentally sound, safe, and cost-effective manner. Within this program, Project W-314, Tank Farm Restoration and Safe Operations, has been established to provide upgrades in the areas of instrumentation and control, tank ventilation, waste transfer, and electrical distribution for existing tank farm facilities. Requirements for tank farm infrastructure upgrades to support safe storage were being developed under Project W-314 at the same time that the TWRS EIS alternative analysis was being performed. Project W-314 provides essential tank farm infrastructure upgrades to support continued safe storage of existing tank wastes until the wastes can be retrieved and disposed of through follow-on TWRS program efforts. Section4.0 provides a description of actions associated with Project W-314. The TWRS EIS analyzes the environmental consequences form the entire TWRS program, including actions similar to those described for Project W-314 as a part of continued tank farm operations. The TWRS EIS preferred alternative was developed to a conceptual level of detail to assess bounding impact areas. For this Supplement Analysis, in each of the potential impact areas for Project W-314, the proposed action was evaluated and compared to the TWRS EIS evaluation of the preferred alternative (Section 5.0). Qualitative and/or quantitative comparisons are then provided in this Supplement Analysis to support a determination on the need for additional National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis. Based on this Supplement Analysis, the potential impacts for Project W-314 would be small in comparison to and are bounded by the impacts assessed for the TWRS EIS preferred alternative, and therefore no additional NEPA analysis is required (Section 7.0)

Sustainable farming of the mealworm Tenebrio molitor for the production of food and feed.

Science.gov (United States)

Grau, Thorben; Vilcinskas, Andreas; Joop, Gerrit

2017-09-26

The farming of edible insects is an alternative strategy for the production of protein-rich food and feed with a low ecological footprint. The industrial production of insect-derived protein is more cost-effective and energy-efficient than livestock farming or aquaculture. The mealworm Tenebrio molitor is economically among the most important species used for the large-scale conversion of plant biomass into protein. Here, we review the mass rearing of this species and its conversion into food and feed, focusing on challenges such as the contamination of food/feed products with bacteria from the insect gut and the risk of rapidly spreading pathogens and parasites. We propose solutions to prevent the outbreak of infections among farmed insects without reliance on antibiotics. Transgenerational immune priming and probiotic bacteria may provide alternative strategies for sustainable insect farming.

Success factors in farm tourism : Qualitative study of farm tourism enterprises in Finland

OpenAIRE

Vähäuski, Juuli

2016-01-01

Agriculture in Finland and globally struggles and farmers have difficulties reaching profitability. Among other industries, tourism is found as an efficient alternative for diversification thanks to several factors. However, to forward the positive influences, tourism enterprise must succeed. This bachelor thesis is a qualitative research aiming to identify success factors in Finnish farm tourism. The research was conducted in spring semester 2016. It is commissioned by Lomalaidun Ry, a ...

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

Science.gov (United States)

Reisinger, Andy; Ledgard, Stewart

2013-06-01

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

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reisinger, Andy; Ledgard, Stewart

2013-01-01

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

Organic food and farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kledal, Paul Rye

The paper is based on research conducted for DARCOF II (Danish Research Centre for Organic Farming, www.darcof.dk). The aim of the research project is to analyze the future development of the Danish organic food sector through focusing on two agro-commodities: vegetables and pork. Emphasis...... is placed on identification of economic forces within the supply chains. The main conclusions of the paper – being the results from the organic vegetable chain – are that the rules and regulations, and the development of alternative transaction processes in organic food and farming have so far been founded...... conventional farmers – declining prices, concentration of production and shift in bargaining power to the retailers. Logically, this situation will lead eventually to increasing conflicts between organic values and their subordination to free market forces, i.e. conventionalization. In the same time retailers...

Composition of Staff Review Advisory Bodies - 2003

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

For the present staff review, the advisory bodies set up to prepare recommendations are composed as follows : Senior Staff Advancement Committee (SSAC) David Plane/EP [Convener] Enrico Chiaveri/AB Peter Schmid/EP Technical Engineers & Administrative Careers Committee (TEACC) Robin Lauckner/AB [Chairman]Marcel Mottier/EST Michael Letheren/EP Louis Walckiers/AT Lucie Linssen/EP Mats Wilhelmsson/ST Long-term contract Boards (LTCBs) LTCB 1 (Categories 2 & 5a) Tiziano Camporesi/EP [Convener]Florence Ranjard/EP [Alternate] Roger Bailey/ABPeter Sievers/AT " " Doris Forkel-Wirth/TISPierre Ninin/ST " " Rob Rayson/HRMaarten Wilbers/DSU " " Seamus Hegarty/HR [Secretary] LTCB 2 (Categories 3, 4, 5b & 5c) Véronique Paris/AB [Convener]Fabien Perriollat/AB [Alternate] Christian Lasseur/ESTRamon Folch/EST " " Lucie Linssen/EP Alfredo Placci/EP " " Mats Møller/ASLaszlo Abel/SPL " " Seamus Hegarty/HR [Secretary] Human Resources Division Tel. 74128

Modelling Farm Animal Welfare

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Lisa M.; Part, Chérie E.

2013-01-01

Simple Summary In this review paper we discuss the different modeling techniques that have been used in animal welfare research to date. We look at what questions they have been used to answer, the advantages and pitfalls of the methods, and how future research can best use these approaches to answer some of the most important upcoming questions in farm animal welfare. Abstract The use of models in the life sciences has greatly expanded in scope and advanced in technique in recent decades. However, the range, type and complexity of models used in farm animal welfare is comparatively poor, despite the great scope for use of modeling in this field of research. In this paper, we review the different modeling approaches used in farm animal welfare science to date, discussing the types of questions they have been used to answer, the merits and problems associated with the method, and possible future applications of each technique. We find that the most frequently published types of model used in farm animal welfare are conceptual and assessment models; two types of model that are frequently (though not exclusively) based on expert opinion. Simulation, optimization, scenario, and systems modeling approaches are rarer in animal welfare, despite being commonly used in other related fields. Finally, common issues such as a lack of quantitative data to parameterize models, and model selection and validation are discussed throughout the review, with possible solutions and alternative approaches suggested. PMID:26487411

SUSTAINABLE FARMS: INTEGRATION OF AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manolo Muñoz-Espinosa

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The inappropriate use of agrochemicals and technologies in farming systems can cause an accelerated deterioration of agricultural and soil pollution. Thus, agriculture and livestock are becoming an environmental problem in the world, which implies the need to assess the efficiency of agricultural production systems related to sustainability. The traditional peasant system is apparently unsustainable, while farm with an integral production approach have better opportunities for development over time as they tend to sustainability. This type of farms incorporate productive alternatives that improve as a whole, the system and the livelihood of the peasants. The trends towards sustainability of farms are mainly due to a better land use. As well as, implementing systems adapted to each soil and production type to ensure profitability and persistence, achieving the highest possible agricultural productivity. The urgency to produce food for a growing population is almost a paradigm that reinforces the imperative for maximum yield per unit area, and creates a vision of the rural world aimed at increasing profit at the expense of the attributes and core values of livelihood in rural areas. It can be concluded that the integrated farming articulate various subsystems, which working together could allow higher sustainability of agricultural production practices, environmentally friendly, safeguarding the food sovereignty of the population and improving the quality of life of farmers

Revising the Depreciation and Investment Credit Lessons for Farm Management and Supervised Occupational Experience for Use in Missouri Programs of Vocational Agriculture. Final Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohrbach, Norman; And Others

This project developed four lessons that reflect the 1981 tax laws as they relate to the use of investment credit and depreciation in farm accounting systems. Project staff reviewed tax laws and related materials and identified four lessons in farm management and supervised occupational experience that needed revision. Materials were then…

A Longitudinal Study of Mastitis on an Experimental Farm with Two Herds, One Managed Organically, the other Conventionally

OpenAIRE

Thatcher, A; Petrovski, K; Holmes, C; Dowson, K; Kelly, T; McLeod, K

2008-01-01

Mastitis in two herds managed as a comparison between organic and conventional dairy farming systems was monitored for 4 years utilising regular bacterial culture of milk samples, individual and bulk somatic cell counts and observation by farm staff. The objective was to develop strategies for the control of mastitis in organic cows without the use of antibiotics. The herds showed differences in clinical mastitis incidence, subclinical mastitis prevalence and bulk milk somatic cell count. Des...

Interest in and willingness to use complementary, alternative and traditional medicine among academic and administrative university staff in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

van Staden, Anna Maria; Joubert, Georgina B A

2014-01-01

Healthcare systems worldwide are changing and the use of complementary, alternative and traditional medicine (CAM) form part of this transformation. South Africa has a large number of CAM practitioners, but they are not included in the official healthcare system. The aim of this study was to determine the perception and usage of CAM among the academic and administrative staff of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein, South Africa. A questionnaire was compiled and sent electronically to all the academic and administrative staff of the UFS who had a university email address, to be completed online. The response rate was 5.5%, with most of the respondents from the Faculty of Health Sciences. The respondents (n=165) were mainly women of 41-60 years of age with more than one tertiary qualification. Most of the respondents were in good health and considered CAM as moderately helpful and mostly safe. Most of the CAM recommendations were not from a medical physician. The respondents wanted alternatives to certain medications, such as antibiotics. They also had good previous experience with CAM and felt that conventional treatment was not always effective to treat their problems. They identified a need for CAM in the health system. The study has limitations due to the data collection method and the low response rate. The results showed that the respondents favored a more integrated healthcare system including different CAM therapies, and that conventional doctors should be better informed about these therapies and its uses.

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.

Improving farming practices reduces the carbon footprint of spring wheat production.

Science.gov (United States)

Gan, Yantai; Liang, Chang; Chai, Qiang; Lemke, Reynald L; Campbell, Con A; Zentner, Robert P

2014-11-18

Wheat is one of the world's most favoured food sources, reaching millions of people on a daily basis. However, its production has climatic consequences. Fuel, inorganic fertilizers and pesticides used in wheat production emit greenhouse gases that can contribute negatively to climate change. It is unknown whether adopting alternative farming practices will increase crop yield while reducing carbon emissions. Here we quantify the carbon footprint of alternative wheat production systems suited to semiarid environments. We find that integrating improved farming practices (that is, fertilizing crops based on soil tests, reducing summerfallow frequencies and rotating cereals with grain legumes) lowers wheat carbon footprint effectively, averaging -256 kg CO2 eq ha(-1) per year. For each kg of wheat grain produced, a net 0.027-0.377 kg CO2 eq is sequestered into the soil. With the suite of improved farming practices, wheat takes up more CO2 from the atmosphere than is actually emitted during its production.

Identifying needs to develop a PBL staff development program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prarthana Coffin

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Staff development is a crucial element for educational intervention. Recognizing the importance of staff development, this study aims to pin-point suitable methodologies in developing a Problem-Based Learning (PBL academic staff development program for a higher education institute where PBL has become an intervention alternative. The study aims to answer the following research questions 1 how can university academic staff be assisted to acquire pedagogical competences for an initiative of the implementation of PBL curriculum? 2 What kinds of support do university academic staff need in order to maintain PBL implementation? Through a combination of a literature review, interviews with 6 PBL experts which emphasize the importance of PBL facilitators, and document analysis of reflection notes from 18 trainees of a PBL workshop, this study will produce a guideline in developing a PBL Academic Staff Development Program for an institute wishes to implement and retain PBL as the education strategy.

Oecophylla smaragdina food conversion efficiency: prospects for ant farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Offenberg, Hans Joachim

2011-01-01

can be combined with the use of the ants in biological control programmes in tropical plantations where pest insects are converted into ant biomass. To assess the cost-benefits of ant farming based on artificial feeding, food consumption and food conversion efficiency (ECI) of Oecophylla smaragdina......Oecophylla ants are sold at high prices on several commercial markets as a human delicacy, as pet food or as traditional medicine. Currently markets are supplied by ants collected from the wild; however, an increasing interest in ant farming exists as all harvest is easily sold and as ant farming...... selling prices these efficiencies led to rates of return from 1.52 to 4.56, respectively, if: (i) protein is supplied from commercial products; or (ii) alternatively supplied from free sources such as insects and kitchen waste. These results suggest that Oecophylla ant farming may become highly profitable...

Management of investment processes on Finnish farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. MATTILA

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Structural change in agriculture means a continuous need for investing in farm production. It is essential for the sustainable operations and the economy of the farm that such investments are successful. In this research, different stages of the investment process of farms were studied as well as the use of information and the success perceived during the investment process. The study was carried out with mail surveys and telephone interviews on the Finnish Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN farms. The most challenging investments were in animal husbandry buildings and, as to these investments, the comparison of alternatives was the most challenging stage. For most investments, the planning phase was considered more challenging than the implementation. Before making the decision, farmers acquired information from many sources, of which the opinion of the main customer and the experiences of fellow farmers were the most valued. Some of the products considered were so new on the market that it was not easy to get adequate information and, furthermore, the information given by suppliers was not always accurate. Decision-making was supported by calculations, but qualitative factors had a dominating role. Large basic decisions were made relatively quickly, while details needed a longer time to process. In general, farm managers were satisfied with their investments. Improvements in work quality and quantity were especially mentioned and generally qualitative factors were the ones first in mind when evaluating the successfulness of the investment.;

Sphagnum farming in Germany – a review of progress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Gaudig

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In ombrotrophic, nutrient-poor peatlands, the cultivation of peatmoss (Sphagnum spp. is a promising paludiculture option. Since 2001 we have been studying peatmoss cultivation (‘Sphagnum farming’ in greenhouse and field experiments, paying special attention to propagation, propagule storage, establishment, productivity and regeneration. Our studies show that Sphagnum farming in Germany may provide a sustainable high-quality alternative to fossil white peat as a raw material for horticultural growing media. Sphagnum farming is, furthermore, a climate-friendly and sustainable land use option for abandoned cut-over bogs and degraded bog grassland.

Characterisation of wild rabbit commercial game farms in Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro González-Redondo

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research is to characterise the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus commercial game farms in Spain using variables related to structure, management and marketing. To this end, a structured survey was administered in 2009 to 21 privately-owned farms. This subsector was an average age of 13. The average size of the breeding stock of the farms was 431 does and 64 bucks. Eighty-five percent of the farms kept all or part of the breeding stock in cages and 38.1% used artificial insemination. All the farms carried out breeder self-replacement, 4.8% by buying wild rabbits from other farms, whereas 38.1% captured wild rabbits for this purpose. Nineteen percent of the wild rabbit game farms also produced other game species, mainly red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa, pheasant (Phasianus colchicus and quail (Coturnix coturnix. Fourteen percent of the farms supplied wild rabbits to be used as prey to be released in programmes for the conservation of endangered predators, and 38.1% supplied breeding rabbits to be used by other farms to replace culled animals. Eighty-six percent of the farms offered the service of transporting the animals from the farm to the hunting grounds to their clients, and 14.3% advised customers on how to successfully release and restock hunting grounds. Seventy-six percent of the farms marketed their products throughout Spain, and 38.1% exported wild rabbits to neighbouring countries, mainly Portugal and France. Forty-three percent of the farms advertised themselves in hunting magazines, 19.1% promoted themselves by attending livestock and game fairs, and 38.1% had their own websites. In conclusion, this alternative rabbit production system constitutes a well-established subsector in Spain, despite being only 2 decades old. It also seems that it has not yet reached its development maturity. It shows wide diversity in terms of farm size and structure, as well as marketing and promotional activities.

Farm service agency employee intentions to use weather and climate data in professional services

Science.gov (United States)

Rachel E. Schattman; Gabrielle Roesch-McNally; Sarah Wiener; Meredith T. Niles; David Y. Hollinger

2018-01-01

Agricultural service providers often work closely with producers, and are well positioned to include weather and climate change information in the services they provide. By doing so, they can help producers reduce risks due to climate variability and change. A national survey of United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) field staff (n...

Extruded pea (Pisum sativum as alternative to soybean protein for dairy cows feeding in organic Alpine farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flaviana Gottardo

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The study evaluated the use of extruded pea as an alternative to soybean in the protein feeding of dairy cattle raised in organic Alpine farms. The research was carried out in a commercial organic dairy farm located in the Province of Trento (Northern Italy and it considered two separate periods of cows’ lactation: early and late lactation. According to the traditional management practice of alpine dairy herds with the seasonal calving of the cows in early winter, the former period was carried out during the cold season when cows were housed indoors, while the latter period started after the transfer of the entire herd to an alpine pasture for the summer grazing. In both periods, 16 cows of Rendena breed were equally assigned to 2 experimental groups. The dietary forage (meadow hay in early lactation or pasture in late lactation was supplemented to one group of cows with a Control concentrate in which soybean expeller, sunflower expeller and wheat bran were the main protein feeds. Soybean proteins were replaced by extruded peas in the Soy-free concentrate given to the other group of cows. The daily amount of concentrate was adjusted to the individual milk yield on a weekly basis adopting ratios of 0.360 and 0.125 kg of DM per kg of milk in early and late lactation periods, respectively. Cows receiving Soy-free concentrate showed a higher milk yield than the Control cows in both lactation periods (18.7 vs 17.5 kg/d in early lactation and 9.3 vs 8.6 kg/d on pasture, respectively. Milk fat and protein were not affected by the diet at any stage of lactation, while a higher concentration of milk urea was observed in milk samples taken from Soy-free cows in both periods of the study. This result could have been promoted by the higher soluble fraction of extruded pea proteins in comparison to that of soybean expeller. Cows feeding behaviour was monitored only in the early lactation period and despite of the different amount of concentrate consumed by

OPTIMIZATION MODEL FOR VEHICLE ROUTING AND EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT IN FARM MACHINERY

OpenAIRE

Grano, Carolina; Abensur, Eder

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT: An equipment replacement decision takes into account economic engineering models based on discounted cash flow (DCF) such as the Annual Equivalent Cost (AEC). Despite a large number of researches on industrial assets replacement, there is a lack of studies applied to farm goods. This study aimed at assessing an alternative model for economic decision analysis on farm machinery replacement, with no restrictions on the number of replacements and assessed goods during a defined timelin...

On-farm broiler welfare assessment and associated training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Butterworth

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Around the world, people who care for animals as stock keepers, stockmen, farmers, producers are placed in a position where they can greatly influence the quality of life of the animals they manage. This is particularly true in broiler chickens, where large numbers of animals can be cared for by comparatively small numbers of people. There is an international progression to start to assess poultry welfare on farm by looking at the animals themselves using (Animal Based Measures ABMs rather than by looking exclusively at the resources provided (space, light heat, litter material - Resource Based Measures RBM's. In general, the areas being assessed are: Are the animals properly fed and supplied with water? Are the animals properly housed? Are the animals healthy? Can the animals express a range of behaviours and emotional states? Different types of organisations are starting to use ABM's - Government inspection bodies - for example state veterinary staff, Research institutes - wishing to use standardized assessment methods for research, Animal Welfare NGO's, Farm assurance companies and Legislators. The WelfareQualityNetwork® (WQN http://www.welfarequality.net/everyone has described ABM's which address twelve health and welfare criteria and has tested them on a large number of farms across Europe. Some examples from this assessment scheme are described.

Technologies in organic farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Jesper

2015-01-01

the nutrient gap by recycling sewage sludge, and in particular the criteria applied when these technologies are assessed, are analysed. This part of the analysis shows how organic consumers base their assessment of alternative strategies and technologies primarily on concerns about environmental risks...... to phase out their use of conventional manure before 2021. This, however, raises a number of questions about consumers’ acceptance of the alternative technologies that have been proposed to close the nutrient gap. Drawing on qualitative interviews with Danish organic consumers, this paper first discusses...... what, from a consumers perspective, characterizes the technologies consumers associate with organic production. This part of the analysis shows that by and large consumers regard organic technologies as the opposite of conventional farming. Second, consumers’ perceptions of solutions suggested to close...

Sustaining without Changing: The Metabolic Rift of Certified Organic Farming

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Julius Alexander McGee

2016-01-01

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

[Salmonella in pig farms. Limitations of counselling and alternatives to the exclusive control of slaughter pigs].

Science.gov (United States)

Rostalski, A

2015-01-01

The goal of reducing salmonella prevalence in slaughter pigs using a monitoring system is difficult to realize. Many of the category-III-farms have proper hygiene and clinical signs are often lacking, which makes the implementation of sustainable counselling concepts difficult. The improvement of biological performances and the changes in sow keeping and feeding concepts lays the focus on the breeding and farrowing units. Information on the salmonella status of the delivering pig farms is essential for establishing, for example, vaccination programs. A general inspection duty for all pig-producing units beginning with the breeding herds is reasonable. To achieve this, measurements for stress reduction, changes of the current detection systems and early information of farms with an acute salmonella problem are discussed.

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

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BURJA CAMELIA

2017-02-01

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

Grid Integration of Offshore Wind Farms via VSC-HVDC – Dynamic Stability Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Hongzhi

farms could seriously impact the operation and stability of their interconnected power system. To assist in maintaining the power system stability when large disturbances occur in the grid, modern offshore wind farms consisting of variable-speed wind turbines are required to provide ancillary services...... such as voltage and frequency control. The greater distance to shore makes commonly used high voltage AC (HVAC) connection unsuitable economically and technically for large offshore wind farms. Alternatively, voltage source converter (VSC)-based high voltage DC (HVDC) transmission becomes more attractive...... and practical to integrate large-scale offshore wind farms into the onshore power grid, owing to its high capacity, advanced controllability and stabilization potential for AC networks etc. In this dissertation, some of the key technical issues with grid integration of large-scale offshore wind farms via VSC...

How Do Staff Perceive Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports? Implications for Teams in Planning and Implementing Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Feuerborn, Laura L.; Tyre, Ashli D.

2016-01-01

Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) offers an alternative to reactive and exclusionary school discipline practices. However, the shift to SWPBS requires substantial change in the practices of staff, and many leadership teams struggle to rally staff support for implementation. With a more thorough understanding of staff perceptions, level…

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...

Farm work-related asthma among US primary farm operators.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yuepeng; Ma, Xianlei; Shi, Xiaoping

2017-04-01

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

An Integrated Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model for Evaluating Wind Farm Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mei-Sung Kang

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The demands for alternative energy resources have been increasing exponentially in the 21st century due to continuous industrial development, depletion of fossil fuels and emerging environmental consciousness. Renewable energy sources, including wind energy, hydropower energy, geothermal energy, solar energy, biomass energy and ocean power, have received increasing attention as alternative means of meeting global energy demands. After Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in March 2011, more and more countries are having doubt about the safety of nuclear plants. As a result, safe and renewable energy sources are attracting even more attention these days. Wind energy production, with its relatively safer and positive environmental characteristics, has evolved in the past few decades from a marginal activity into a multi-billion dollar industry. In this research, a comprehensive evaluation model is constructed to select a suitable location for developing a wind farm. The model incorporates interpretive structural modeling (ISM, benefits, opportunities, costs and risks (BOCR and fuzzy analytic network process (FANP. Experts in the field are invited to contribute their expertise in evaluating the importance of the factors and various aspects of the wind farm evaluation problem, and the most suitable wind farm can finally be generated from the model. A case study is carried out in Taiwan in evaluating the expected performance of several potential wind farms, and a recommendation is provided for selecting the most appropriate wind farm for construction.

Wind Farm Siting and Protected Areas in Catalonia: Planning Alternatives or Reproducing 'One-Dimensional Thinking'?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katharine N. Farrell

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Wind energy is an emblem of sustainability with the potential to promote a qualitative alternative to current energy systems and nuclear options for CO2 reduction. However, wind farm siting often conflicts with aspirations to conserve traditional landscapes and wildlife habitats. In this paper we adopt a Critical Theory perspective, informed by Herbert Marcuse`s work, to study the discourse concerning wind energy siting in Catalonia, Spain. We give particular attention to how tensions between potentially conflicting sustainability objectives are addressed and by whom. Based on a review of this siting discourse and the application of Marcuse’s theory, we find that the Catalan wind energy siting discourse is both influenced by and reproducing what Marcuse referred to as the ‘one-dimensional thinking’ of technology as ideology: erasing the possibility of critical dialectical thought by subsuming the question of “what should be” under the question of “what is”. This has implications both for how these conflicts are investigated and for the sustainability of decisions taken. We conclude that closer attention to the role of ‘one-dimensional thinking’ in wind energy siting discourses could improve not only the understanding of their logic but might also have the potential to help make them more democratic.

Alternative Education Completers: A Phenomenological Study

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Becky L.; Holt, Carleton R.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the elements of the alternative education experience significant to successful completion of the program. This phenomenological paradigm provided the framework for all aspects of the qualitative study. Students, parents, administrators, and staff members of two alternative programs in the southeast Kansas…

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.

Increasing Direct Care Staff Compliance to Individualized Physical Therapy Body Positioning Prescriptions: Prescriptive Checklists.

Science.gov (United States)

Lattimore, Jennifer; And Others

1984-01-01

The study confirmed previous research indicating that workshop training by itself is an ineffective method of increasing direct care staff compliance to treatment prescriptions, and that providing direct staff supervisors with a training and management tool (prescriptive checklists) may be an effective alternative for serving multihandicapped…

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2010-07-01

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

Beliefs and attitudes of paramedical college staff towards ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Beliefs and attitudes of paramedical college staff towards complementary and alternate medicine. ... As the use of healing practices outside of CM rise among patients, ignorance of CAM by future medical practitioners can cause a communication gap between people and the profession that serves them. It is encouraging ...

Training and Practices of Cannabis Dispensary Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Haug, Nancy A; Kieschnick, Dustin; Sottile, James E; Babson, Kimberly A; Vandrey, Ryan; Bonn-Miller, Marcel O

2016-01-01

Introduction: The proliferation of cannabis dispensaries within the United States has emerged from patient demand for the legalization of cannabis as an alternative treatment for a number of conditions and symptoms. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the practices of dispensary staff with respect to recommendation of cannabis strains/concentrations for specific patient ailments. To address this limitation, the present study assessed the training and practices of cannabis dispensary staff. Materials and Methods: Medical and nonmedical dispensary staff ( n =55) were recruited via e-mail and social media to complete an online survey assessing their demographic characteristics, dispensary features, patient characteristics, formal training, and cannabis recommendation practices. Results: Fifty-five percent of dispensary staff reported some formal training for their position, with 20% reporting medical/scientific training. A majority (94%) indicated that they provide specific cannabis advice to patients. In terms of strains, dispensary staff trended toward recommendations of Indica for anxiety, chronic pain, insomnia, nightmares, and Tourette's syndrome. They were more likely to recommend Indica and hybrid plants for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)/trauma and muscle spasms. In contrast, staff were less likely to recommend Indica for depression; hybrid strains were most often recommended for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In terms of cannabinoid concentrations, dispensary staff were most likely to recommend a 1:1 ratio of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC):cannabidiol (CBD) for patients suffering from anxiety, Crohn's disease, hepatitis C, and PTSD/trauma, while patients seeking appetite stimulation were most likely to be recommended THC. Staff recommended high CBD for arthritis and Alzheimer's disease and a high CBD or 1:1 ratio for ALS, epilepsy, and muscle spasms. Conclusions: Although many dispensary staff are making recommendations consistent with

Energy resource alternatives competition. Progress report for the period February 1, 1975--December 31, 1975. [Space heating and cooling, hot water, and electricity for homes, farms, and light industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matzke, D.J.; Osowski, D.M.; Radtke, M.L.

1976-01-01

This progress report describes the objectives and results of the intercollegiate Energy Resource Alternatives competition. The one-year program concluded in August 1975, with a final testing program of forty student-built alternative energy projects at the Sandia Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The goal of the competition was to design and build prototype hardware which could provide space heating and cooling, hot water, and electricity at a level appropriate to the needs of homes, farms, and light industry. The hardware projects were powered by such nonconventional energy sources as solar energy, wind, biologically produced gas, coal, and ocean waves. The competition rules emphasized design innovation, economic feasibility, practicality, and marketability. (auth)

Agro-ecological indicators (AEIs) for dairy and mixed farming systems classification: Identifying alternatives for the Cuban livestock sector

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Funes Monzote, F.R.; Monzote, M.; Lantinga, E.A.; Braak, ter C.J.F.; Sánchez, J.E.; Keulen, van H.

2009-01-01

Attainment of acceptable levels of land and labor productivity and low external input use is not a mutually exclusive proposition. This study examines characteristics of a range of current specialized dairy farming systems (DFS) and mixed (crop-livestock) farming systems (MFS) in Cuba to determine

Economic Sustainability of Organic Aloe Vera Farming in Greece under Risk and Uncertainty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelos Liontakis

2016-04-01

Full Text Available During the last decade, an encouraging environment for the restructuring and modernization of the agricultural sector has formed in Greece. The diversification into higher-value crops can be a promising option for small and average-sized farms, particularly during the current economic crisis. One of the most promising alternative crops that have been recently established in Greece is the organic Aloe vera crop. The main advantage of this crop is that it can utilize poor farmlands and, therefore, can facilitate rural development in marginal areas. This study explores the economic sustainability of the Aloe vera crop, considering the embedded risk and uncertainty. The results indicate that organic aloe farming is a promising alternative to “traditional” crops in Greece, particularly for family farms in rural areas. In contrast, this activity is not advisable to the most entrepreneurial type of farmers, unless their crop size allows economies of scales. Finally, the Stochastic Efficiency with Respect to a Function (SERF analysis associates farmers’ risk attitude with their willingness to be involved in organic Aloe vera farming. SERF analysis highlights the crucial role of farmers’ risk aversion and concludes that, above a certain level of risk aversion, farmers have no incentive to adopt this economic activity.

Economic valuation of the visual externalities of off-shore wind farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ladenburg, J.; Dubgaard, A.; Martensen, L.; Tranberg, J.

2005-07-01

The study is based on a mail survey including 700 households in a national sample, and 350 households in two sub samples in the Horns Rev and Nysted areas. In the choice experiment, four alternative off-shore wind farm distances from the coast were used namely: 8, 12, 18 and 50 km. Based on the respondents' choices between alternative locations of off-shore wind farms their willingness to pay (WTP) for increasing the distance was elicited using three different sub samples for each of the three locations. These sub samples were constructed using the full sample (B-model), a sample containing respondents who were certain in their choice (C-model) and finally a sample containing respondents, who according to a defined set of questions were considered consistent and rational in their choice (R-model). (au)

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.

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...

Options for Diversification in Tobacco Farming and Related Activities ...

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

5 janv. 2012 ... This project aims to provide the national working group with data on the socioeconomic status of the population engaged in tobacco farming and related activities such as bidi rolling and tendu leaf plucking; identify feasible alternative livelihoods; and design an intervention to facilitate a gradual shift to other ...

Mapping Suitable Sites for Setting up Wind Farms: A Case Study of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mapping Suitable Sites for Setting up Wind Farms: A Case Study of Nyanga District. ... Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management ... sources and continuous power shortages make wind energy a very attractive alternative to ...

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

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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

Assessment of Farming Systems for Sustainability of Farming Activities in the Mazandaran Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Moumenihelali

2016-03-01

criteria were identified as sustainability criteria for agricultural activities in the province along with Cooperative, Commercial and Peasant alternatives as the dominant farming system in the present study. Consequently, the identification of the most suitable farming system for sustainable agricultural activities in the province serves as the main objective of this research. Materials and Methods: The study adopted an applied survey approach to conduct the study in 2014 in Mazandaran. The statistical population comprised of all professionals and experts working in the field of sustainability aspects and farming systems with a deep understanding and sufficient information on the issue being selected through purposive and snowball sampling summing up to 15 subjects. A questionnaire was used to collect data. In order to determine the face and content validities, the professors’ and specialists’ comments were taken into account and to estimate the reliability, the inconsistency rate was used. To achieve the main objective, the analytic hierarchy process technique by considering 5 criteria and 33 sub-criteria on three farming types (cooperative, commercial and peasant were used. The Expert Choice software 2000 was applied for data analysis. It should be noted that the analytic hierarchy process is a multi-criteria decision-making approach being based on paired comparison which enables managers and policymakers to review various scenarios. Likewise, it is sought to consider the experts’ opinions from the most central units involved instead of focusing on the number of decision-makers. Results and Discussion: Based on the results and considering criteria prioritization reveal the fact that the ecological,policy, social dimensions compared with the economic and technical criteria remain more imperative. Therefore, the ecological, political and social dimensions are the most important aspects of agricultural activities sustainability in the province. Hence, it can be

Biogas Initiative from Swine Farm in Southern Thailand

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Damrongsak Det

2016-01-01

Full Text Available First biogas pipeline network has been well established in southern Thailand. About 1,273 households, accountable for about 87% of the total of 1,466 households in the district, get the benefits from biogas energy in many ways. Key success to this initiative is the collaboration between all parties, i.e., swine farm owners, households, and government officials. Swine farm owners are responsible for the design and construction of the biogas plants. Households pay some contributions regarding labor work and maintenance cost on biogas system and its pipeline network. Government officials are responsible for financial and technical supports to both parties. Indeed biogas energy offers an alternative source of heat energy for cooking fuel in this region.

A Wind Farm Electrical Systems Evaluation with EeFarm-II

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Pierik

2010-03-01

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

Therapeutic spaces of care farming: Transformative or ameliorating?

Science.gov (United States)

Kaley, Alexandra; Hatton, Chris; Milligan, Christine

2018-05-04

Since Wil Gesler's earliest articulation (Gesler, 1992; Gesler, 1996) key thinkers in the field of therapeutic landscapes have sought to emphasise the embodied, contextual and wholly relational nature of the relationship that exists between people and place. However, the extant research has tended to focus on the relational healing experience as this occurs 'in the moment' and with reference to a specific location or site of healing, with less attention being paid to what happens to people when they return to their ordinary or everyday places. In this paper, we reflect on findings from visual ethnographic work (including photography and film) that explored the therapeutic landscape experiences of people with intellectual disabilities engaged in care farming interventions for health and wellbeing. The study also recruited farm staff and family members or carers to take part, and comprised 20 participants in total. Having identified a gap in our understanding, consideration is given to wider impact that engaging in these sorts of activities had on the everyday lives of the participants in this study. We argue that this study has identified two types of therapeutic journey that broadly fit the experiences of study participants. The first type of journey denotes landscape experiences that are transformative. Here the therapeutic power of the care farm landscape resides in the ability of activities conducted on care farms to influence other aspects of participants' lives in ways that promote wellbeing. By contrast, there is another type of journey where the therapeutic power of the care farm resides in its ability to ameliorate challenging or harmful life situations, thus offering people a temporary site of respite or refuge. We conclude that these findings denote an important development for this sub-field of health geography, not only because they draw attention to the transformative power of the therapeutic encounter, but also the broader socio-spatial environments

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2013-01-01

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

Analysis of Goat Farming on Integrated Farming System in Banyumas

OpenAIRE

Hidayat, NN

2007-01-01

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

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

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2015-01-01

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

Life cycle assessment of manure management and nutrient recycling from a Chinese pig farm.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yiming; Stichnothe, Heinz; Schuchardt, Frank; Li, Guoxue; Huaitalla, Roxana Mendoza; Xu, Wen

2014-01-01

Driven by the growing numbers of intensified pig farms around cities in China, there are problems of nutrient surplus and shortage of arable land for utilising the manure. Hence, sustainable livestock systems with effective manure management are needed. The objective of this study is to compare the existing manure treatment of a typical pig farm in Beijing area (separate collection of faeces; 'Gan qing fen' system) with an alternative system and to identify the nutrients flow of the whole farm in order to quantify environmental burdens and to estimate the arable land required for sustainable nutrients recycling. Life cycle assessment is used for this purpose. Acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP) and global warming potential (GWP) are analysed in detail; the functional unit is the annual production of the pig farm. The results show that the cropland area demand for sustainable land application of the effluent can be reduced from 238 to 139 ha with the alternative system. It is possible to transfer 29% of total nitrogen, 87% of phosphorus, 34% of potassium and 75% of magnesium to the compost, and to reduce the total AP, EP and GWP of manure management on the farm by 64.1%, 96.7% and 22%, respectively, compared with the current system. Besides an effective manure management system, a full inventory of the regional nutrients flow is needed for sustainable development of livestock systems around big cities in China.

Ammonia emission model for whole farm evaluation of dairy production systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Rotz, C Alan; Montes, Felipe; Hafner, Sasha D; Heber, Albert J; Grant, Richard H

2014-07-01

Ammonia (NH) emissions vary considerably among farms as influenced by climate and management. Because emission measurement is difficult and expensive, process-based models provide an alternative for estimating whole farm emissions. A model that simulates the processes of NH formation, speciation, aqueous-gas partitioning, and mass transfer was developed and incorporated in a whole farm simulation model (the Integrated Farm System Model). Farm sources included manure on the floor of the housing facility, manure in storage (if used), field-applied manure, and deposits on pasture (if grazing is used). In a comprehensive evaluation of the model, simulated daily, seasonal, and annual emissions compared well with data measured over 2 yr for five free stall barns and two manure storages on dairy farms in the eastern United States. In a further comparison with published data, simulated and measured barn emissions were similar over differing barn designs, protein feeding levels, and seasons of the year. Simulated emissions from manure storage were also highly correlated with published emission data across locations, seasons, and different storage covers. For field applied manure, the range in simulated annual emissions normally bounded reported mean values for different manure dry matter contents and application methods. Emissions from pastures measured in northern Europe across seasons and fertilization levels were also represented well by the model. After this evaluation, simulations of a representative dairy farm in Pennsylvania illustrated the effects of animal housing and manure management on whole farm emissions and their interactions with greenhouse gas emissions, nitrate leaching, production costs, and farm profitability. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-06-01

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

Environmental and economic comparisons of manure application methods in farming systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Rotz, C A; Kleinman, P J A; Dell, C J; Veith, T L; Beegle, D B

2011-01-01

Alternative methods for applying livestock manure to no-till soils involve environmental and economic trade-offs. A process-level farm simulation model (Integrated Farm System Model) was used to evaluate methods for applying liquid dairy (Bos taurus L.) and swine (Sus scrofa L.) manure, including no application, broadcast spreading with and without incorporation by tillage, band application with soil aeration, and shallow disk injection. The model predicted ammonia emissions, nitrate leaching, and phosphorus (P) runoff losses similar to those measured over 4 yr of field trials. Each application method was simulated over 25 yr of weather on three Pennsylvania farms. On a swine and cow-calf beef operation under grass production, shallow disk injection increased profit by $340 yr(-1) while reducing ammonia nitrogen and soluble P losses by 48 and 70%, respectively. On a corn (Zea mays L.)-and-grass-based grazing dairy farm, shallow disk injection reduced ammonia loss by 21% and soluble P loss by 76% with little impact on farm profit. Incorporation by tillage and band application with aeration provided less environmental benefit with a net decrease in farm profit. On a large corn-and-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)-based dairy farm where manure nutrients were available in excess of crop needs, incorporation methods were not economically beneficial, but they provided environmental benefits with relatively low annual net costs ($13 to $18 cow). In all farming systems, shallow disk injection provided the greatest environmental benefit at the least cost or greatest profit for the producer. With these results, producers are better informed when selecting manure application equipment.

Farm-Specific Risk Analysis in Dairy Farming: A Case Study from Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hatice Kizilay

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The purposes of this study were to determine the socio-economic characteristics of dairy farmers in Antalya, in Turkey, calculate the gross income, variable costs and gross margin of dairy farms, determine the probability distributions of consequences for alternative decisions to enable dairy farmers as decision makers to make a good and well-informed choice, to determine cross effects of milk prices variations on the productive strategy of dairy farms. The data were gathered via face to face interviews in Korkuteli, Dosemealtı, Elmalı, Manavgat and Serik counties of Antalya province in Turkey. The survey study was conducted with 80 farmers, who were member of Dairy Cow Breaders Union, in the 2011 production period. In this study, on the basis of previous experience, dairy farmers assigned minimum, maximum and most likely values of milk price and yield over the next period of 5 years. Then, triangular and cumulative distributions were defined by using these values. Moreover, Monte Carlo Stochastic Simulation model was developed to obtain distribution of expected gross margin per cow. The model and triangular and cumulative distributions were built in Excel with @Risk add-in software. The relationship of mean risk aversion coefficient, calculated by using negative exponential function, with both average gross margin and gross margin standard deviation values determined for each farm was examined. The results show that the relation between average gross margin and mean risk aversion coefficient was negative and significant at 5% level. But, although the relation between gross margin standard deviation and mean risk aversion coefficient was found to be negative, it was not significant at 5% level.

Health impact of wind farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurpas, Donata; Mroczek, Bozena; Karakiewicz, Beata; Kassolik, Krzysztof; Andrzejewski, Waldemar

2013-01-01

Wind power is employed worldwide as an alternative source of energy. At the same time, however, the health effects of wind turbines have become a matter of discussion. The purpose of this study is a critical review of available reports providing arguments both for and against the construction of wind farms. The authors also attempt to propose recommendations in accordance with the Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) guidelines. In the case of exposure to wind farms, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is impossible. To obtain the highest-level recommendations, analysis of case-control studies or cohort studies with control groups should be performed. Preferably, it should include geostatistical analysis conducted with the use of variograms and the kriging technique. Combinations of key words were entered into the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge (SM) and the Internet search engine Google. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF STATE OF THE ART: The nuisance caused by wind turbines is stereotypically linked with the noise that they produce. Nevertheless, the visual aspect of wind farms, opinions about them, and sensitivity to sound seem to be of the greater importance. To date, the direct correlations between the vicinity of modern wind farms, the noise that wind turbines make, and possible consequences to health have not been described in peer reviewed articles. Health effects are more probably associated with some environmental factors leading to annoyance or frustration. All types of studies share the same conclusion: wind turbines can provoke annoyance. As with any project involving changes in the local environment, a certain level of irritation among the population can be expected. There are elected officials and government representatives who should decide what level of social annoyance is acceptable, and whether wind power advantages outweigh its potential drawbacks. The influence of wind turbines on human emotional and physical health is a relatively new field of research. Further

Exploring economically and environmentally viable northeastern US dairy farm strategies for coping with rising corn grain prices.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghebremichael, L T; Veith, T L; Cerosaletti, P E; Dewing, D E; Rotz, C A

2009-08-01

In 2008, corn grain prices rose $115/t of DM above the 2005 average. Such an increase creates tight marginal profits for small (profit losses by growing more corn silage and reducing corn grain purchases. This study applies the Integrated Farm Systems Model to 1 small and 1 medium-sized New York State dairy farm to predict 1) sediment and P loss impacts from expanding corn fields, 2) benefits of no-till or cover cropping on corn fields, and 3) alternatives to the economic challenge of the current farming system as the price ratio of milk to corn grain continues to decline. Based on the simulation results, expanding corn silage production by 3% of the cultivated farm area increased sediment and sediment-bound P losses by 41 and 18%, respectively. Implementing no-till controlled about 84% of the erosion and about 75% of the sediment-bound P that would have occurred from the conventionally tilled, expanded corn production scenario. Implementing a conventionally tilled cover crop with the conventionally tilled, expanded corn production scenario controlled both erosion and sediment-bound P, but to a lesser extent than no-till corn with no cover crop. However, annual farm net return using cover crops was slightly less than when using no-till. Increasing on-farm grass productivity while feeding cows a high-quality, high-forage diet and precise dietary P levels offered dual benefits: 1) improved farm profitability from reduced purchases of dietary protein and P supplements, and 2) decreased runoff P losses from reduced P-levels in applied manure. Moreover, alternatives such as growing additional small grains on marginal lands and increasing milk production levels demonstrated great potential in increasing farm profitability. Overall, it is crucial that conservation measures such as no-till and cover cropping be implemented on new or existing corn lands as these areas often pose the highest threat for P losses through runoff. Although alternatives that would likely provide

CleverFarm - A superSCADA system for wind farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2004-01-01

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

Bee interactions with wild flora around organic and conventional coffee farms in Kiambu district, central Kenya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary W. Gikungu

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Flower scarcity outside coffee flowering periods leads to a decline of pollinators’ abundance and diversity possibly through death or migration. The objective of this study was to assess whether other flowering plants within and around coffee farms act as alternative floral resources that may impact on abundance and diversity of pollinators of coffee flowers. Bee pollinators of coffee were assessed and identified for a period of 27 months. Their abundance and diversity were examined within and around organically and conventionally managed coffee farms in Kiambu District in Kenya. This study provides evidence that 42 plant species from 19 families were alternative floral resources for bees that pollinate coffee. Bee pollinators of coffee were observed to visit coffee flowers as well as other flowering plants close by. Significant relationship existed between plant species and bee species richness in the organic farming (R2=0.5918; P<0.0001 and in conventional farming (R2=0.6744; P<0.0001. Therefore in coffee monocultures, presence of other flowering plants should be encouraged to support bee pollinators when coffee is not flowering and to enhance abundance and diversity of bees visiting coffee flowers.

Sustainable, alternative farming practices as a means to simultaneously secure food production and reduce air pollution in East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Tai, A. P. K.; Fung, K. M.; Yong, T.; Liu, X.

2015-12-01

Proper agricultural land management is essential for securing food supply and minimizing damage to the environment. Among available farming practices, relay strip intercropping and fertilizer application are commonly used, but to study their wider environmental implications and possible feedbacks we require an Earth system modeling framework. In this study, the effectiveness of a maize-soybean relay strip intercropping system and fertilizer reduction is investigated using a multi-model method. The DNDC (DeNitrification-DeComposition) model is used to simulate agricultural activities and their impacts on the environment through nitrogen emissions and changes in soil chemical composition. Crop yield, soil nutrient content and nitrogen emissions to the atmosphere in major agricultural regions of China are predicted under various cultivation scenarios. The GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model is then used to estimate the effects on downwind particle and ozone air pollution. We show that relay strip intercropping and optimal fertilization not only improve crop productivity, but also retain soil nutrients, reduce ammonia emission and mitigate downwind air pollution. By cutting 25% fertilization inputs but cultivating maize and soybean together in a relay strip intercropping system used with field studies, total crop production was improved slightly by 4.4% compared to monoculture with conventional amount of fertilizers. NH3 volatilization decreases by 29%, equivalent to saving the pollution-induced health damage costs by about US$2.5 billion per year. The possible feedback effects from atmospheric nitrogen deposition onto the croplands are also investigated. We show that careful management and better quantitative understanding of alternative farming practices hold huge potential in simultaneously addressing different global change issues including the food crisis, air pollution and climate change, and calls for greater collaboration between scientists, farmers and

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maurizio Ramanzin

2010-01-01

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

Personal Staff - Joint Staff - The National Guard

Science.gov (United States)

the ARNG Deputy Director of the ARNG Chief of Staff of the ARNG Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Site Maintenance Battle Focused Training Strategy Battle Staff Training Resources News Publications March Today in Guard History Leadership CNGB VCNGB SEA DANG DARNG Joint Staff J-1 J-2 J-3 J-4 J-5 J-6 J

Estimating Phosphorus Loss at the Whole-Farm Scale with User-Friendly Models

Science.gov (United States)

Vadas, P.; Powell, M.; Brink, G.; Busch, D.; Good, L.

2014-12-01

Phosphorus (P) loss from agricultural fields and delivery to surface waters persists as a water quality impairment issue. For dairy farms, P can be lost from cropland, pastures, barnyards, and open-air cattle lots; and all these sources must be evaluated to determine which ones are a priority for P loss remediation. We used interview surveys to document land use, cattle herd characteristics, and manure management for four grazing-based dairy farms in Wisconsin, USA. We then used the APLE and Snap-Plus models to estimate annual P loss from all areas on these farms and determine their relative contribution to whole-farm P loss. At the whole-farm level, average annual P loss (kg ha-1) from grazing-based dairy farms was low (0.6 to 1.8 kg ha-1), generally because a significant portion of land was in permanently vegetated pastures or hay and had low erosion. However, there were areas on the farms that represented sources of significant P loss. For cropland, the greatest P loss was from areas with exposed soil, typically for corn production, and especially on steeper sloping land. The farm areas with the greatest P loss had concentrated animal housing, including barnyards, and over-wintering and young-stock lots. These areas can represent from about 5% to almost 30% of total farm P loss, depending on lot management and P loss from other land uses. Our project builds on research to show that producer surveys can provide reliable management information to assess whole-farm P loss. It also shows that we can use models like RUSLE2, Snap-Plus, and APLE to rapidly, reliably, and quantitatively estimate P loss in runoff from all areas on a dairy farm and identify areas in greatest need of alternative management to reduce P loss.

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

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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

Life Cycle Assessment for Evaluating On-farm Energy Production: The Case of Sunflower Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefano Bona

2006-12-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this work was to evaluate the production of sunflower oil as a source of bioenergy and its use on the farm. Representative farms of the Veneto Region were analyzed in order to evaluate the possibility of using different biofuels. The results showed that there are only a few feasible alternatives at farm level. The conversion of oil to biodiesel appeared unachievable because of the large number of hectares necessary for optimizing use of the transesterification equipment. A life cycle environmental analysis (LCA was applied to eight different farm types simulating the total replacement of diesel oil by pure vegetable oil (sunflower. The results were not uniform because, considering all the LCA impact categories, some of them turned to be worse than the original scenario (use of diesel oil but there was a substantial advantage for all the farm types in terms of reduction of substances with effects on climate change. Some farms, termed horticultural farm large, unspecialized farm large and unspecialized farm small, had a reduction of more than 99% in the substances with effects on climate change by changing from diesel oil to sunflower oil. The biofuel is not yet competitive as no free market exists for it, but it represents a practical way to avoid the shift of economic benefits from agriculture to industry, as happens with biodiesel production.

CleverFarm - A SuperSCADA system for wind farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2004-08-01

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

Pengembangan dan Implementasi Aplikasi Pengawasan Ternak Berbasis Android di Peternakan Bukit Aren Farm Majalengka

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faraj Faraj

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Bukit Aren Farm located in Majalengka, West Java is a company specialized in the broiler of the agriculture industry, farming broiler performed in different places and every breeding cattle carried monitored by the supervisory staff. Every day, staf record information manually about the animal in the cage that data will be used as a performance evaluation of animal production. The livestock management personnel encountered problems when running calculations of the evaluation product and efficiency livestock because the calculation process can be done if the existing data stored carefully and systematically, in particular the data recorded cattle in significant quantities, it would require much time for staff supervision to determine the level of production performance. Application developed using waterfall method. The waterfall model is composed of: requirements, design, implementation, verification, maintenance. To begin the design steps required observations or interviews to determine the needs of the system under design. Applications developed using CodeIgniter framework, angularjs and ionic based architecture. Results of the project is the application mobile livestock monitoring data storage that can serve the number of deaths, data on the number quarantine of chicken, and the amount of data that then feed use these data will generate a data value prices and feed consumption levels of livestock mortality information for the evaluation process in the livestock in line with the business processes of Bukit Aren Farm. The application has been tested by using black box method and the results of these tests indicate that all functions in the system has been well running on the Android operating system from version 4.1.

Modeling Commercial Freshwater Turtle Production on US Farms for Pet and Meat Markets.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivana Mali

Full Text Available Freshwater turtles are being exploited for meat, eggs, traditional medicine, and pet trade. As a response, turtle farming became a booming aquaculture industry in the past two decades, specifically in the southeastern states of the United States of America (US and across Southeast Asia. However, US turtle farms are currently producing turtles only for the pet trade while commercial trappers remain focused on catching the largest individuals from the wild. In our analyses we have created a biological and economic model that describes farming operations on a representative turtle farm in Louisiana. We first modeled current production of hatchling and yearling red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans (i.e., traditional farming for foreign and domestic pet markets, respectively. We tested the possibility of harvesting adult turtles from the breeding stock for sale to meat markets to enable alternative markets for the farmers, while decreasing the continued pressures on wild populations (i.e., non-traditional farming. Our economic model required current profit requirements of ~$13/turtle or ~$20.31/kg of meat from non-traditional farming in order to acquire the same profit as traditional farming, a value which currently exceeds market values of red-eared sliders. However, increasing competition with Asian turtle farms and decreasing hatchling prices may force the shift in the US toward producing turtles for meat markets. In addition, our model can be modified and applied to more desirable species on the meat market once more knowledge is acquired about species life histories and space requirements under farmed conditions.

Modeling Commercial Freshwater Turtle Production on US Farms for Pet and Meat Markets

Science.gov (United States)

Mali, Ivana; Wang, Hsiao-Hsuan; Grant, William E.; Feldman, Mark; Forstner, Michael R. J.

2015-01-01

Freshwater turtles are being exploited for meat, eggs, traditional medicine, and pet trade. As a response, turtle farming became a booming aquaculture industry in the past two decades, specifically in the southeastern states of the United States of America (US) and across Southeast Asia. However, US turtle farms are currently producing turtles only for the pet trade while commercial trappers remain focused on catching the largest individuals from the wild. In our analyses we have created a biological and economic model that describes farming operations on a representative turtle farm in Louisiana. We first modeled current production of hatchling and yearling red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans) (i.e., traditional farming) for foreign and domestic pet markets, respectively. We tested the possibility of harvesting adult turtles from the breeding stock for sale to meat markets to enable alternative markets for the farmers, while decreasing the continued pressures on wild populations (i.e., non-traditional farming). Our economic model required current profit requirements of ~$13/turtle or ~$20.31/kg of meat from non-traditional farming in order to acquire the same profit as traditional farming, a value which currently exceeds market values of red-eared sliders. However, increasing competition with Asian turtle farms and decreasing hatchling prices may force the shift in the US toward producing turtles for meat markets. In addition, our model can be modified and applied to more desirable species on the meat market once more knowledge is acquired about species life histories and space requirements under farmed conditions. PMID:26407157

Modeling Commercial Freshwater Turtle Production on US Farms for Pet and Meat Markets.

Science.gov (United States)

Mali, Ivana; Wang, Hsiao-Hsuan; Grant, William E; Feldman, Mark; Forstner, Michael R J

2015-01-01

Freshwater turtles are being exploited for meat, eggs, traditional medicine, and pet trade. As a response, turtle farming became a booming aquaculture industry in the past two decades, specifically in the southeastern states of the United States of America (US) and across Southeast Asia. However, US turtle farms are currently producing turtles only for the pet trade while commercial trappers remain focused on catching the largest individuals from the wild. In our analyses we have created a biological and economic model that describes farming operations on a representative turtle farm in Louisiana. We first modeled current production of hatchling and yearling red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans) (i.e., traditional farming) for foreign and domestic pet markets, respectively. We tested the possibility of harvesting adult turtles from the breeding stock for sale to meat markets to enable alternative markets for the farmers, while decreasing the continued pressures on wild populations (i.e., non-traditional farming). Our economic model required current profit requirements of ~$13/turtle or ~$20.31/kg of meat from non-traditional farming in order to acquire the same profit as traditional farming, a value which currently exceeds market values of red-eared sliders. However, increasing competition with Asian turtle farms and decreasing hatchling prices may force the shift in the US toward producing turtles for meat markets. In addition, our model can be modified and applied to more desirable species on the meat market once more knowledge is acquired about species life histories and space requirements under farmed conditions.

Farmers, the Practice of Farming and the Future of Agroforestry: An Application of Bourdieu's Concepts of Field and Habitus

Science.gov (United States)

Raedeke, Andrew H.; Green, John J.; Hodge, Sandra S.; Valdivia, Corinne

2003-01-01

Agroforestry, the practice of raising crops and trees together in ways that are mutually beneficial, provides farmers with an alternative to more conventional farming practices. In this paper, we apply Bourdieu's concepts of "field" and "habitus" in an attempt to better understand the practice of farming and the role that…

Training needs of farm women in dairy farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Durgga Rani V. And Subhadra M.R.

2009-12-01

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

Macdonald farm demonstration woodlot: Annual report, 1994-1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-12-31

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

SY Tank Farm ventilation isolation option risk assessment report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Powers, T.B.; Morales, S.D.

1994-03-01

The safety of the 241-SY Tank Farm ventilation system has been under extensive scrutiny due to safety concerns associated with tank 101-SY. Hydrogen and other gases are generated and trapped in the waste below the liquid surface. Periodically, these gases are released into the dome space and vented through the exhaust system. This attention to the ventilation system has resulted in the development of several alternative ventilation system designs. The ventilation system provides the primary means of mitigation of accidents associated with flammable gases. This report provides an assessment of various alternatives ventilation system designs.

Reliability centered maintenance pilot system implementation 241-AP-tank farm primary ventilation system final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MOORE TL

2001-01-01

When the Hanford Site Tank Farms' mission was safe storage of radioactive waste in underground storage tanks, maintenance activities focused on time-based preventive maintenance. Tank Farms' new mission to deliver waste to a vitrification plant where the waste will be processed into a form suitable for permanent storage requires a more efficient and proactive approach to maintenance. Systems must be maintained to ensure that they are operational and available to support waste feed delivery on schedule with a minimum of unplanned outages. This report describes the Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) pilot system that was implemented in the 241-AP Tank Farm Primary Ventilation System under PI-ORP-009 of the contract between the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of River Protection and CH2M HILL Hanford Group Inc. (CHG). The RCM analytical techniques focus on monitoring the condition of operating systems to predict equipment failures so that maintenance activities can be completed in time to prevent or mitigate unplanned equipment outages. This approach allows maintenance activities to be managed with minimal impact on plant operations. The pilot demonstration provided an opportunity for CHG staff-training in RCM principles and tailoring of the RCM approach to the Hanford Tank Farms' unique needs. This report details the implementation of RCM on a pilot system in Tank Farms

Measuring Implicit Rental Rates for Farm Capital

OpenAIRE

Hrubovcak, James

1986-01-01

Developing implicit rental rates for capital inputs is an Important step in understanding the Impact of tax law changes on agricultural investments This article develops a methodology for estimating implicit rental rates and presents annual estimates of rental rates for seven categories of farm equipment and structures from 1955 to 1979 This article also compares these rental rates With those estimated under a no-tax alternative The author developed a method for estimating marginal Federal In...

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

The International Effects of U.S. Farm Subsidies

OpenAIRE

Eric O'N. Fisher; Harry de Gorter

1992-01-01

Using dynamic programming, this paper examines effects of farm subsidies on U.S. exports of corn, cotton, rice, and wheat. The six policy simulations described here explore alternative proposals in the current round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The analysis leads to two conclusions. First, abolishing domestic subsidies lowers world prices of these crops. Second, imposing tighter supply controls may not actually decrease exports in the short run.

Addressing Sustainability of Clam Farming in the Venice Lagoon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donata Melaku Canu

2011-09-01

According to the System Approach Framework (SAF, based on previous studies and stakeholder interactions, we developed a model integrating ecological, social, and economic (ESE aspects. We chose the aspects necessary to represent the essential dynamics of major ecological, social, and economic clam farming system components to project the consequences of implementing alternative management policies and to address the ecological and social carrying capacity. Results of the simulations suggest that a properly managed farming system can sustain an acceptable income and support the local community, while reducing negative environmental impacts, social conflicts, and consumer health risks and improving system resilience. The results highlight the importance of an interdisciplinary, participatory, and adaptive approach in planning the management of this important renewable resource.

Alternative entrepreneurial options: a policy mitigation strategy ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study focused on alternative entrepreneurial options as a mitigation strategy against climate change among part-time farmers in Abia state Nigeria. Some farmers abandoned farming in the face of reoccurring adverse weather conditions to other livelihood sustaining activities. The objectives were to examine the ...

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

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, Vera J.

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

Redundancy in Nigerian Business Organizations: Alternatives (Pp ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

FIRST LADY

Redundancy in Nigerian Business Organizations: Alternatives (Pp. ... When business downturns ... The galloping pace of information technologies is a harbinger of profound ... Redundant staff in public departments can also be retained as.

Corrective Action Decision Document, Area 15 Environmental Protection Agency Farm Laboratory Building, Corrective Action Unit No. 95, Revision 0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-08-18

This report is the Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD) for the Nevada Test Site (NTS) Area 15 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Farm, Laboratory Building (Corrective Action Unit [CAU] No. 95), at the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada. The scope of this CADD is to identify and evaluate potential corrective action alternatives for the decommissioning and decontamination (D and D) of the Laboratory Building, which were selected based on the results of investigative activities. Based on this evaluation, a preferred corrective action alternative is recommended. Studies were conducted at the EPA Farm from 1963 to 1981 to determine the animal intake and retention of radionuclides. The main building, the Laboratory Building, has approximately 370 square meters (4,000 square feet) of operational space. Other CAUS at the EPA Farm facility that will be investigated and/or remediated through other environmental restoration subprojects are not included in this CADD, with the exception of housekeeping sites. Associated structures that do not require classification as CAUS are considered in the evaluation of corrective action alternatives for CAU 95.

Corrective Action Decision Document, Area 15 Environmental Protection Agency Farm Laboratory Building, Corrective Action Unit No. 95, Revision 0

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

This report is the Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD) for the Nevada Test Site (NTS) Area 15 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Farm, Laboratory Building (Corrective Action Unit [CAU] No. 95), at the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada. The scope of this CADD is to identify and evaluate potential corrective action alternatives for the decommissioning and decontamination (D and D) of the Laboratory Building, which were selected based on the results of investigative activities. Based on this evaluation, a preferred corrective action alternative is recommended. Studies were conducted at the EPA Farm from 1963 to 1981 to determine the animal intake and retention of radionuclides. The main building, the Laboratory Building, has approximately 370 square meters (4,000 square feet) of operational space. Other CAUS at the EPA Farm facility that will be investigated and/or remediated through other environmental restoration subprojects are not included in this CADD, with the exception of housekeeping sites. Associated structures that do not require classification as CAUS are considered in the evaluation of corrective action alternatives for CAU 95

Extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae in bulk tank milk from German dairy farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Odenthal, Sabrina; Akineden, Ömer; Usleber, Ewald

2016-12-05

Although the dairy farm environment is a known source of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria, surveillance data on ESBL in the milk production chain are still scarce. This study aimed at estimating the dimensions of the problem for public health and animal welfare by surveying ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in raw bulk tank milk in Germany. Samples from 866 dairy farms, comprising about 1% of the total number of dairy farms in Germany, were first screened for presence of cefotaxime-resistant bacteria by selective enrichment. Suspect colonies were identified phenotypically and further characterized by biochemical and molecular methods, including analysis of resistance genes and clonal diversity in ESBL-producing isolates. Bulk tank milk from 82 (9.5%) farms yielded Enterobacteriaceae with confirmed ESBL-production. The most frequent ESBL-producing species was Escherichia coli (75.6%), followed by Citrobacter spp. (9.6%), Enterobacter cloacae (6.1%), and Klebsiella oxytoca (3.7%), a few isolates belonged to other species within the genera Hafnia, Raoutella and Serratia. The majority of isolates (95.1%) harbored the β-lactamase blaCTX-M gene, which has gained increased importance among ESBL-producing strains worldwide; the CTX-M group 1 was found to be the dominating (88.4%) phylogenetic group. All ESBL-positive Escherichia coli isolates were clonally heterogeneous, as determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The results from this survey demonstrate that ESBL-producing bacteria are distributed widely in the dairy farm environment in Germany. Therefore, raw milk is a potential source of exposure for the consumer, which is of increasing importance considering the trend of farmer-to-consumer direct marketing. Furthermore, dairy farm staff have an increased likelihood of exposure to ESBL-producing bacteria. Finally, ESBL-producing bacteria may also be transferred via waste milk to calves, thus further spreading antibiotic resistance in the

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

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2015-01-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Husemann Christoph

2014-01-01

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

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

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Senthilkumar, K.

2008-01-01

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

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilbert DAGUNGA

2018-03-01

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

Farming transitions under socioeconomic and climatic constraints in the southern part of Sétif, Algeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amar Rouabhi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out on a sample of 224 farms in the southern region of Sétif-Algeria, aimed to identify the different typologies and the agricultural changes caused by the climatic constrains experienced in recent decades. Indeed, the combined effect of climatic and anthropogenic factors on agricultural practices transitions is too tangled. A series of multivariate and classification statistical tests have been implemented to demonstrate the main trends and adaptation tactics of farmers in such conditions. The farming characterization analysis showed that the medium scale farming was more economically efficient than small and large scale farming. Moreover, the study showed the effect of climate change on some farming transitions, where farming practices transited to bovine and poultry farming as well as for market gardening cultivation. Indeed, these changes were occurred at the expense of rainfed agriculture (cereals and ovine breeding. These transitions have impacted the economic performance of farms in some municipalities. However, greenhouse crops and tobacco cultivation were observed as being a Local Production Systems (LPS that could be a good alternative to mitigate the natural and socioeconomic constraints. The emergence of Local Production Systems in agricultural system may facilitate farmer adaptation that will provide a tool for agricultural development policies, through financial and technical assistance. Key words: Climate change, Farming, Local Production Systems, Sétif

Involving fathers in teaching youth about farm tractor seatbelt safety--a randomized control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jinnah, Hamida Amirali; Stoneman, Zolinda; Rains, Glen

2014-03-01

Farm youth continue to experience high rates of injury and deaths as a result of agricultural activities. Farm machinery, especially tractors, is the most common cause of casualties to youth. A Roll-Over Protection Structure (ROPS) along with a fastened seatbelt can prevent almost all injuries and fatalities from tractor overturns. Despite this knowledge, the use of seatbelts by farmers on ROPS tractors remains low. This study treats farm safety as a family issue and builds on the central role of parents as teachers and role models of farm safety for youth. This research study used a longitudinal, repeated-measures, randomized-control design in which youth 10-19 years of age were randomly assigned to either of two intervention groups (parent-led group and staff-led group) or the control group. Fathers in the parent-led group were less likely to operate ROPS tractors without a seatbelt compared with other groups. They were more likely to have communicated with youth about the importance of wearing seatbelts on ROPS tractors. Consequently, youth in the parent-led group were less likely to operate a ROPS tractor without a seatbelt than the control group at post-test. This randomized control trial supports the effectiveness of a home-based, father-led farm safety intervention as a promising strategy for reducing youth as well as father-unsafe behaviors (related to tractor seatbelts) on the farm. This intervention appealed to fathers' strong motivation to practice tractor safety for the sake of their youth. Involving fathers helped change both father as well as youth unsafe tractor-seatbelt behaviors. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Farm production performance in Russian regions: farm panel data analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bezlepkina, I.

2003-01-01

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

Verification of alternatives for sustainable onion production (Allium cepa L. in Cucaita, Boyaca

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viteri R. Silvio Edgar

2012-04-01

Full Text Available

In Cucaita, onion production represents the basis of the economy and is concentrated in the valley but as yield declines due to deterioration of the soil, cultivation is shifting to the slopes, where unsustainability is more prominent. The aim of this study was to verify the potential of three alternatives for sustainable farming, using a split plot design on two farms. The alternatives were: 1 bocashi chicken manure, super broth four, fertilizer (BCmSB4F, 2 bocashi cow manure, rhizosphere broth, super broth four, fertilizer (BCmRBSB4F, 3 green manure, rhizosphere broth, super broth four, fertilizer (Gm- RBSB4F and 4 regional control (RC. This study determined disease incidence, plant height, stem and bulb diameter, healthy and diseased bulb weight and yield. The results indicated that regardless of the alternative, the agro-ecological conditions of the farm are critical to plant health and consequently to crop production. In El Arenal, where disease incidence was lower, the highest values for healthy bulb weight, bulb diameter and yield were revealed. The alternatives only differed in disease incidence at 30 and 45 days after transplant, with the lowest percentages corresponding to the green manure alternative. For revenue, the three alternatives were favorable, especially the BCmRBSB4F alternative which exceeded the RC. The results show that the alternatives GmRBSB4F and BCmRBSB4F have the most potential and are the most viable for sustainable onion production in Cucaita, Boyaca.

Special Staff - Joint Staff - Leadership - The National Guard

Science.gov (United States)

the ARNG Deputy Director of the ARNG Chief of Staff of the ARNG Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Site Maintenance Battle Focused Training Strategy Battle Staff Training Resources News Publications March Today in Guard History Leadership CNGB VCNGB SEA DANG DARNG Joint Staff J-1 J-2 J-3 J-4 J-5 J-6 J

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

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Monitoring and Mitigation Alternatives for Protection of North Atlantic Right Whales during Offshore Wind Farm Installation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carlson, Thomas J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Halvorsen, Michele B. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Matzner, Shari [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Copping, Andrea E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Stavole, Jessica [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2012-09-01

Progress report on defining and determining monitoring and mitigation measures for protecting North Atlantic Right Whales from the effects of pile driving and other activities associated with installation of offshore wind farms.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, Vera J.; And Others

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

A Wind Farm Electrical Systems Evaluation with EeFarm-II

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2010-01-01

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

Decommissioning alternatives for the West Valley, New York, Fuel Reprocessing Plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munson, L F; Nemec, J F; Koochi, A K

1978-06-01

The methodology and numerical values of NUREG-0278 were applied to four decommissioning alternatives for the West Valley Fuel Reprocessing Plant. The cost and impacts of the following four alternatives for the process building, fuel receiving and storage, waste tank farm, and auxiliary facilities were assessed: (1) layaway, (2) protective storage, (3) preparation for alternate nuclear use, and (4) dismantlement. The estimated costs are 5.7, 11, 19, and 31 million dollars, respectively. (DLC)

Decommissioning alternatives for the West Valley, New York, Fuel Reprocessing Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munson, L.F.; Nemec, J.F.; Koochi, A.K.

1978-06-01

The methodology and numerical values of NUREG-0278 were applied to four decommissioning alternatives for the West Valley Fuel Reprocessing Plant. The cost and impacts of the following four alternatives for the process building, fuel receiving and storage, waste tank farm, and auxiliary facilities were assessed: (1) layaway, (2) protective storage, (3) preparation for alternate nuclear use, and (4) dismantlement. The estimated costs are 5.7, 11, 19, and 31 million dollars, respectively

The impact of farm size on sustainability of dutch dairy farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2014-01-01

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

Control strategies for wind farm power optimization: LES study

Science.gov (United States)

Ciri, Umberto; Rotea, Mario; Leonardi, Stefano

2017-11-01

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

Staff and patient perspectives on the purpose of psychotropic prescribing in prisons: care or control?

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan, Lamiece; Edge, Dawn; Senior, Jane; Shaw, Jenny

2013-01-01

The objective was to explore perspectives on reasons for psychotropic medication use in prisons. We recruited a purposive sample of healthcare staff and patients prescribed psychotropic medicines from four East of England prisons. Participants took part in qualitative, semistructured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed and analyzed thematically. While patients and healthcare staff viewed psychotropic medicines primarily as a treatment for reducing symptoms of mental illness, they were also used as a coping strategy and to reduce insomnia. Appropriate psychotropic prescribing was also thought to contribute towards the rehabilitation agenda and helped to maintain order in prisons. Staff voiced concerns regarding possible overreliance on psychotropic medicines. However, patients perceived insufficient access to alternative, nonpharmacological forms of treatment and support in prison. Psychotropic medicines are used for multiple purposes in prisons and are generally considered a useful resource. Nonetheless, further work may be needed to find the right balance between psychotropic medicines and alternative, nonpharmacological therapies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Urban Transportation Planning Short Course: Evaluation of Alternative Transportation Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Federal Highway Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

This urban transportation pamphlet delves into the roles of policy groups and technical staffs in evaluating alternative transportation plans, evaluation criteria, systems to evaluate, and evaluation procedures. The introduction admits the importance of subjective, but informed, judgment as an effective tool in weighing alternative transportation…

Development of a farm-firm modelling system for evaluation of herbaceous energy crops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

English, B.C.; Alexander, R.R.; Loewen, K.H.; Coady, S.A.; Cole, G.V.; Goodman, W.R.

1992-01-01

A complete analysis is performed to simulate biomass production incorporated into a realistic whole farm situation, including or replacing a typical crop mix. Representative farms are constructed to accommodate such simulation. Four management systems are simulated for each firm, with each simulation depicting a different crop mix and/or use of different farming technologies and production methods. The first simulation was a base farm plan in which the operator would maintain the historical crop mix for the area, participate in all price support programs, and not participate in either a conservative reserve or a biomass production program. In the second simulation, the operator would again maintain the historical crop mix, would not participate in a conservation reserve or biomass production program, and would be ineligible to participate in any price support system. The third simulation introduced the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and included participation in all price support programs. The fourth simulation introduced a biomass crop production enterprise (switchgrass) as an alternative to enrolling highly erodible cropland in the CRP and allowed participation in price support programs. Simulations were made for three farms, two in West Tennessee and on in South Georgia. Results indicate that erosion is likely to be reduced more by the diversion of cropland to permanent vegetative cover on farms similar to the more highly erodible West Tennessee farms than on the less erodible Tift County, Georgia farm. Equivalent reductions in erosion rates result from entering highly erodible cropland in the CRP and from production of switchgrass as a biomass energy crop. Both switchgrass and CRP farm plans result in decreased net returns from the base plan, although the biomass farm plans are, in general, more profitable than the CRP plans

Sphagnum farming in Germany – a review of progress

OpenAIRE

G. Gaudig; F. Fengler; M. Krebs; A. Prager; J. Schulz; S. Wichmann; H. Joosten

2014-01-01

In ombrotrophic, nutrient-poor peatlands, the cultivation of peatmoss (Sphagnum spp.) is a promising paludiculture option. Since 2001 we have been studying peatmoss cultivation (‘Sphagnum farming’) in greenhouse and field experiments, paying special attention to propagation, propagule storage, establishment, productivity and regeneration. Our studies show that Sphagnum farming in Germany may provide a sustainable high-quality alternative to fossil white peat as a raw material for horticultural...

Farm Management: rethinking directions?

OpenAIRE

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

2004-01-01

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

Is Farm Management Skill Persistent?

OpenAIRE

Li, Xin; Paulson, Nicholas

2014-01-01

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

Effects of a Staff Training Intervention on Seclusion Rates on an Adult Inpatient Psychiatric Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Julie; Paun, Olimpia; Fogg, Louis

2018-06-01

The current article presents the effects of a 90-minute staff training intervention aimed at reducing inpatient psychiatric seclusion rates through strengthened staff commitment to seclusion alternatives and improved de-escalation skills. The intervention occurred at an 18-bed adult inpatient psychiatric unit whose seclusion rates in 2015 were seven times the national average. Although the project's primary outcome compared patient seclusion rates before and after the intervention, anonymous staff surveys measured several secondary outcomes. Seclusion rates were reduced from a 6-month pre-intervention average of 2.95 seclusion hours per 1,000 patient hours to a 6-month post-intervention average of 0.29 seclusion hours per 1,000 patient hours, a 90.2% reduction. Completed staff surveys showed significant staff knowledge gains, non-significant changes in staff attitudes about seclusion, non-significant changes in staff de-escalation skill confidence, and use of the new resource sheet by only 17% of staff. The key study implication is that time-limited, focused staff training interventions can have a measurable impact on reducing inpatient seclusion rates. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56(6), 23-30.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

FARM PERFORMANCE AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Li

2018-04-01

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

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

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2003-01-01

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

Establishing a benchmarking for fish farming - profitability, productivity and energy efficiency of German, Danish and Turkish rainbow trout grow-out systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lasner, Tobias; Brinker, Alexander; Nielsen, Rasmus

2017-01-01

The promotion of Blue Growth in aquaculture requires an understanding of the economic drivers influencing the sector at farm level, but the collection of reliable and comparable data at this level is time-consuming and expensive. This study suggests an alternative strategy for qualitative sampling...... of freshwater trout farms in Germany, Denmark and Turkey, using a combination of existing data, group discussions and interviews with trout farmers, consultants and researchers. Nine 'typical' trout farming models are described, focusing on profitability, productivity and energy efficiency and allowing in......-depth comparative economic analyses of different production systems at farm level, across regions. Our results show that the majority of the farms investigated have been profitable. Turkish farms benefit from competitive advantages due to low wages, low capital investment and favourable climate conditions. Large...

ARIZONA FARM LABOR REPORT.

Science.gov (United States)

SALTER, RICHARD H.

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

A Simulation Software for the Analysis of Cropping Systems in Livestock Farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tommaso Maggiore

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Simulation models can support quantitative and integrated analyses of agricultural systems. In this paper we describe VA.TE., a computer program developed to support the preparation and evaluation of nitrogen fertilising plans for livestock farms in the Lombardy region (northern Italy. The program integrates the cropping systems simulation model CropSyst with several regional agricultural databases, and provides the users with a simple framework for applying the model and interpreting results. VA.TE. makes good use of available data, integrating into a single relational database existing information about soils, climate, farms, animal breeds, crops and crop managements, and providing estimates of missing input variables. A simulation engine manages the entire simulation process: choice of farms to be simulated, model parameterisation, creation of model inputs, simulation of scenarios and analysis of model outputs. The program permits to apply at farm scale a model originally designed for the lower scale of homogeneous land parcel. It manages alternative simulation scenarios for each farm, helping to identify solutions to combine low nitrate losses and satisfactory crop yields. Example simulation results for three farms located on different soils and having varying levels of nitrogen surplus show that the integrated system (model + database can manage various simulations automatically, and that strategies to improve N management can be refined by analysing the simulated amounts and temporal patterns of nitrogen leaching.We conclude by discussing the issues regarding the integration of existing regional databases with simulation models.

A Simulation Software for the Analysis of Cropping Systems in Livestock Farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luca Bechini

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Simulation models can support quantitative and integrated analyses of agricultural systems. In this paper we describe VA.TE., a computer program developed to support the preparation and evaluation of nitrogen fertilising plans for livestock farms in the Lombardy region (northern Italy. The program integrates the cropping systems simulation model CropSyst with several regional agricultural databases, and provides the users with a simple framework for applying the model and interpreting results. VA.TE. makes good use of available data, integrating into a single relational database existing information about soils, climate, farms, animal breeds, crops and crop managements, and providing estimates of missing input variables. A simulation engine manages the entire simulation process: choice of farms to be simulated, model parameterisation, creation of model inputs, simulation of scenarios and analysis of model outputs. The program permits to apply at farm scale a model originally designed for the lower scale of homogeneous land parcel. It manages alternative simulation scenarios for each farm, helping to identify solutions to combine low nitrate losses and satisfactory crop yields. Example simulation results for three farms located on different soils and having varying levels of nitrogen surplus show that the integrated system (model + database can manage various simulations automatically, and that strategies to improve N management can be refined by analysing the simulated amounts and temporal patterns of nitrogen leaching.We conclude by discussing the issues regarding the integration of existing regional databases with simulation models.

Directorate of Management - Special Staff - Joint Staff - Leadership - The

Science.gov (United States)

NGB Official March Today in Guard History Leadership CNGB VCNGB SEA DANG DARNG Joint Staff J-1 J-2 J-3 J-4 J-5 J-6 J-7 J-8 Personal Staff Inspector General Judge Advocate General Officer Management Public Affairs Executive Support Services Legislative Liaison Special Staff Directorate of Management

Production Flexibility in Extensive Beef Farming Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Astigarraga

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to assess the flexibility of production allowed by extensive production conditions faced with variations in the environment, i.e., market variations and climatic fluctuations, of Limousin beef systems. The study used a case-based methodology in which seven beef farms with less than 1 LU/ha were chosen. Data collection was based on three interviews using a semistructured questionnaire and on the analysis of productive and economic results over a 15-year period (1991-2005. The main evolution of these farms is related to a rise in work productivity associated with an increase in herd size. Herd increase was made possible by enlarging the area, the margin of intensification being limited in these regions. To take advantage of the enlarged land area, females were reared for fattening or for reproduction instead of selling them at weaning. The Limousin female provides a wide product mix because of its plasticity, as has been studied by several researchers. This mix flexibility is achieved by delaying product differentiation, a form of production flexibility that can reduce the risk of under-producing or over-producing varied product configurations. On the other hand, calves sold to the Italian market after weaning are generic products, associated with a flexible production process to overcome fluctuations in forage availability due to climatic variations. The introduction of maize silage for feeding acts as an alternative route, actual and potential, through the system to overcome unexpected forage shortage from natural grasslands as a result of droughts. The study shows that extensive farming systems have developed types of flexibility to match different factors of uncertainty from the environment. Finally, the issue of farm system performance is thus not so much a question of whether a farm is fit at a specific moment in time, but whether it transforms into a less or more sustainable orientation.

Joint Chiefs of Staff > About > The Joint Staff > Senior Enlisted Advisor

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Skip to main content (Press Enter). Toggle navigation Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Chiefs of Staff Facebook Twitter YouTube Flickr Blog Instagram Search JCS: Search Search Search JCS: Search Home Media News Photos Videos Publications About The Joint Staff Chairman Vice Chairman

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2012-05-01

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

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

OpenAIRE

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

2006-01-01

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

Alley Farming in Thailand

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Teerapol Silakul

2010-08-01

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

uFarm: a smart farm management system based on RFID

Science.gov (United States)

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

2007-12-01

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

Staff assignment practices in nursing homes: review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Anna; Straker, Jane K; Manning, Lydia

2009-01-01

Consistent assignment, whereby nursing home staff members, particularly certified nurse aides, are assigned to the same residents on most shifts, is increasingly viewed as a cornerstone of culture change in nursing homes. It has been advocated as a best-care model that increases residents' quality of life while contributing to a more stable frontline staff. Given these potential benefits, consistent assignment is now widely viewed as superior to rotating assignment, an alternative staffing model that aims to distribute care burden more fairly among staff and ensure that workers are familiar with most residents. Despite favorable anecdotal reports about the benefits of consistent assignment, the research literature reports mixed and sometimes contradictory findings for this staffing practice. This article reviews the research pertaining to staff assignment practices in nursing homes. Reviewed here are 13 reports on experimental trials (6 reports), evaluation research (4 reports), and nursing home surveys (3 reports). The review reveals broad diversity in staffing practices and raises questions that challenge popular assumptions about consistent assignment. The article closes with a discussion of the research, policy, and practice implications of the research findings.

Innovative public library services - staff-less or staff-intensive?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johannsen, Carl Gustav Viggo

2014-01-01

Purpose – Several recent library innovations seem to make professional and clerical staff superfluous such as automated loan and delivery equipment, staff-less libraries open in 80 hours a week, and virtual services, enabling users to search the library catalogue and make reservations of library...... materials from their home address. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether such developments will necessarily lead to a situation where public libraries become self-service institutions or to what extent self-service and innovative staff-intensive library services can develop and co......-exist. Furthermore, the paper will examine what challenges library leaders face and what they can do, and actually have done, to handle staff resistance and other related problems to the benefit of both the users, the local communities, and also, the staff, in particular, when introducing new and innovative services...

The optimal access system for future far-offshore wind farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Obdam, T.S.; Rademakers, L.W.M.M.; Savenije, L.B. [ECN Wind Energy, Petten (Netherlands)

2013-12-15

Operation and maintenance (O and M) of offshore wind turbines is one of the main cost drivers of offshore wind energy. One of the aspects critical for an efficient and cost-effective O and M strategy is the selection of the access system which is used to transfer technicians and, optionally, small spare parts. Currently, most offshore wind farms are located close to shore, and their size is relatively small. For these farms the typical access system consists of catamaran-like workboats, which are used to transfer both technicians and small spare parts. As wind farms move further offshore this O and M concept might no longer be cost-effective. Currently, different alternative O and M concepts are being considered for the future far-offshore sites. In this paper an extensive and holistic comparison of different O and M concepts including different access system solutions is presented. This analysis has been performed using the OMCECalculator, ECN's software for advanced O and M cost modelling. Different sites have been considered, which are typical for the future offshore wind farms that will be commissioned during the next five years. The results of the performed analyses indicate that when moving further offshore harbour-based O and M strategies are no longer economical, even when helicopters are added to the mix. Looking at farm-based O and M concepts a supply vessel with a compensated access gangway offers great potential. However, the calculations also indicate that its ability to transfer small spare parts, in addition to technicians, is crucial.

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

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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

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

OpenAIRE

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

2014-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-01-01

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

Farm tourism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2011-01-01

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

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seebauer, Matthias

2014-01-01

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

Survey on animal welfare in nine hundred and forty three Italian dairy farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelo Peli

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The final results of a survey on welfare of dairy cows in 7 Italian Regions are presented. The study has been performed on 943 farms in southern and central Italy to highlight critical and strong points concerning animal welfare in dairy systems, by using direct and indirect criteria. To assess animal welfare, a checklist based on 303 parameters has been used; indirect criteria have been organised in 5 general areas concerning Farm management, Farming and housing systems, Environment, Feeding, Health and hygiene; other resource-based criteria were considered in 5 specific areas for the different productive categories (lactating cows, dry cows, pregnant heifers, cows comeback, calves up to 8 weeks and calves between 8 weeks and 6 months; finally, an Indicators section focused on animal based criteria. Parameters have been valued as conforming or not conforming on the basis of the current lesgislation on animal welfare, and in the other cases by the use of a semi-quantitative scale such as poor, satisfactory, good or very good referring to scientific literature and reports by the Animal Health and Animal Welfare panel of the European Food Safety Authority. Among the 249 examined parameters (54 criteria have been valued as descriptive, 15 showed a failure prevalence inferior to 1%; for the remaining parameters, the overall non-compliance prevalence on the whole sample ranged from a maximum of 67% to a minimum of 2%, showing an inverse proportionality correlation with the herd size. One hundred and ten parameters were judged as poor (96 or not in compliance with the rules in force (14 in more than 10% of the examined herds. The most common non-compliance aspects detected in the different areas concern calves management, staff training and prophylaxis programmes; staff training levels were inversely related to failure prevalences in almost all areas. The combination of direct and indirect criteria has allowed to fully embrace recommendations on the

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

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2007-01-01

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

Organic Farming and Social-Ecological Resilience: the Alpine Valleys of Sölktäler, Austria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecka Milestad

2003-12-01

Full Text Available Farming in the Austrian Alps is small in scale and involves a high degree of manual labor. In the face of structural changes in agriculture, alpine farms are finding it increasingly difficult to remain economically viable. Organic farming presents a promising alternative for alpine farmers because it receives considerable financial support under the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of organic farms in Austria in general, and in alpine areas in particular. Using data from an empirical study carried out in the alpine area of Sölktäler, Austria, this paper examines the issues of how closely the regulations and principles of organic farming match farmers' perspectives on sustainable agriculture and whether or not organic farming is capable of building social-ecological resilience for local farms. Qualitative interviews and a series of workshops were used to learn about farmers' "desired system state" with regard to their region, disturbances to this system, and their perspectives on organic farming. The desired system in Sölktäler as formulated by the farmers depicts a vivid farming community that manages a diverse traditional agricultural landscape and performs a number of ecological services. The desired system and the principles of organic farming have several aspects in common, and many management practices and features of the social system support social-ecological resilience. The vulnerability of farms increases, however, when farmers must deal with structural changes in agriculture, the erosion of traditional ecological knowledge, and societal transformation. In conclusion, organic farming is a tool that can be used to build social-ecological resilience for Sölktäler farms, because it secures economic funding for the area and makes it possible to sustain environmentally benign practices. What remains is the question of whether the farming community is capable of

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

OpenAIRE

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

2011-01-01

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

Hydroacoustic registration of fish abundance of offshore wind farms. Horns Rev offshore wind farm. Annual report 2004.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hvidt, C.B.; Bruenner, L.; Reier Knudsen, F.

2005-05-15

Elsam Engineering AS has approved the implementation of a project concerning the registration of fish communities in Horns Rev Offshore Wind Farm with use of hydroacoustic methods. In a joint effort, Bio/consult as, Carl Bro as and SIMRAD AS have monitored the fish communities at Horns Rev Offshore Wind Farm using a new hydroacoustic methodology. The new hydroacoustic technique combines the use of scientific sonar acoustics with GPS to determine the density, diversity and location of fish. The objectives of this project were to test the possibility of using hydroacoustic techniques as alternative methods to traditional techniques to assess the fish assemblage inhabiting offshore wind farms and to investigate the possible effect from the wind farm and hard bottom substrates (turbine foundations) on fish abundance. The field study was carried out October 9-10, 2004 and consisted of four horizontal hydroacoustic survey transects each covering impact and reference areas. Transects were surveyed in order to achieve identical impact and reference transect pairs concerning environment, topography and time correspondence. The hydroacoustic equipment consisted of a SIMRAD EK60/EY60 echo sounder with a split-beam transducer (Simrad ES 120-4x10) mounted on a pan and tilt unit, a transceiver, a laptop extended with a GPS-receiver and additional large external hard discs. The raw data files from EK60 were converted to echogram files suitable for the post processing application, Sonar5-Pro. The Sonar5-Pro software makes it possible to filter out echo detections from the surface and the bottom, as well as perform cross filter detection. The validity of the results using the hydroacoustic method is high due to the cross filtering and single target tracking technique. From the hydroacoustic results, no or very little effect from the wind farm or from hard bottom substrates was found on the fish densities at Horns Rev Wind Farm at the time of the survey. The execution of the field

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragićević Vanja

2007-01-01

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

Optimal Real-Time Scheduling for Hybrid Energy Storage Systems and Wind Farms Based on Model Predictive Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meng Xiong

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Energy storage devices are expected to be more frequently implemented in wind farms in near future. In this paper, both pumped hydro and fly wheel storage systems are used to assist a wind farm to smooth the power fluctuations. Due to the significant difference in the response speeds of the two storages types, the wind farm coordination with two types of energy storage is a problem. This paper presents two methods for the coordination problem: a two-level hierarchical model predictive control (MPC method and a single-level MPC method. In the single-level MPC method, only one MPC controller coordinates the wind farm and the two storage systems to follow the grid scheduling. Alternatively, in the two-level MPC method, two MPC controllers are used to coordinate the wind farm and the two storage systems. The structure of two level MPC consists of outer level and inner level MPC. They run alternatively to perform real-time scheduling and then stop, thus obtaining long-term scheduling results and sending some results to the inner level as input. The single-level MPC method performs both long- and short-term scheduling tasks in each interval. The simulation results show that the methods proposed can improve the utilization of wind power and reduce wind power spillage. In addition, the single-level MPC and the two-level MPC are not interchangeable. The single-level MPC has the advantage of following the grid schedule while the two-level MPC can reduce the optimization time by 60%.

Increase in fault ride through capability of direct drive permanent magnet based wind farm using VSC-HVDC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maleki, Hesamaldin; Ramachandaramurthy, V K; Lak, Moein

2013-01-01

Burning of fossil fuels and green house gasses causes global warming. This has led to governments to explore the use of green energies instead of fossil fuels. The availability of wind has made wind technology a viable alternative for generating electrical power. Hence, many parts of the world, especially Europe are experiencing a growth in wind farms. However, by increasing the number of wind farms connected to the grid, power quality and voltage stability of grid becomes a matter of concern. In this paper, VSC-HVDC control strategy which enables the wind farm to ride-through faults and regulate voltage for fault types is proposed. The results show that the wind turbine output voltage fulfills the E.ON grid code requirements, when subjected to three phase to ground fault. Hence, continues operation of the wind farm is achieved.

Increase in fault ride through capability of direct drive permanent magnet based wind farm using VSC-HVDC

Science.gov (United States)

Maleki, Hesamaldin; Ramachandaramurthy, V. K.; Lak, Moein

2013-06-01

Burning of fossil fuels and green house gasses causes global warming. This has led to governments to explore the use of green energies instead of fossil fuels. The availability of wind has made wind technology a viable alternative for generating electrical power. Hence, many parts of the world, especially Europe are experiencing a growth in wind farms. However, by increasing the number of wind farms connected to the grid, power quality and voltage stability of grid becomes a matter of concern. In this paper, VSC-HVDC control strategy which enables the wind farm to ride-through faults and regulate voltage for fault types is proposed. The results show that the wind turbine output voltage fulfills the E.ON grid code requirements, when subjected to three phase to ground fault. Hence, continues operation of the wind farm is achieved.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Albracht, James, Ed.

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

Modelling the smart farm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael J. O'Grady

2017-09-01

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

Wake interaction and power production of variable height model wind farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vested, M H; Sørensen, J N; Hamilton, N; Cal, R B

2014-01-01

Understanding wake dynamics is an ongoing research topic in wind energy, since wakes have considerable effects on the power production when wind turbines are placed in a wind farm. Wind tunnel experiments have been conducted to study the wake to wake interaction in a model wind farm in tandem with measurements of the extracted power. The aim is to investigate how alternating mast height influences the interaction of the wakes and the power production. Via the use of stereo-particle image velocimetry, the flow field was obtained in the first and last rows of the wind turbine array as a basis of comparison. It was found that downstream of the exit row wind turbine, the power was increased by 25% in the case of a staggered height configuration. This is partly due to the fact that the taller turbines reach into a flow area with a softened velocity gradient. Another aspect is that the wake downstream of a tall wind turbine to some extent passes above the standard height wind turbine. Overall the experiments show that the velocity field downstream of the exit row changes considerably when the mast height is alternating

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, Vera J.; And Others

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Rebecca, Perry-Hill; Linda, Prokopy

2015-01-01

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

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, Philip; Salter, Andrew

2013-01-01

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

A stated preference investigation into the Chinese demand for farmed vs. wild bear bile.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam J Dutton

Full Text Available Farming of animals and plants has recently been considered not merely as a more efficient and plentiful supply of their products but also as a means of protecting wild populations from that trade. Amongst these nascent farming products might be listed bear bile. Bear bile has been exploited by traditional Chinese medicinalists for millennia. Since the 1980s consumers have had the options of: illegal wild gall bladders, bile extracted from caged live bears or the acid synthesised chemically. Despite these alternatives bears continue to be harvested from the wild. In this paper we use stated preference techniques using a random sample of the Chinese population to estimate demand functions for wild bear bile with and without competition from farmed bear bile. We find a willingness to pay considerably more for wild bear bile than farmed. Wild bear bile has low own price elasticity and cross price elasticity with farmed bear bile. The ability of farmed bear bile to reduce demand for wild bear bile is at best limited and, at prevailing prices, may be close to zero or have the opposite effect. The demand functions estimated suggest that the own price elasticity of wild bear bile is lower when competing with farmed bear bile than when it is the only option available. This means that the incumbent product may actually sell more items at a higher price when competing than when alone in the market. This finding may be of broader interest to behavioural economists as we argue that one explanation may be that as product choice increases price has less impact on decision making. For the wildlife farming debate this indicates that at some prices the introduction of farmed competition might increase the demand for the wild product.

A stated preference investigation into the Chinese demand for farmed vs. wild bear bile.

Science.gov (United States)

Dutton, Adam J; Hepburn, Cameron; Macdonald, David W

2011-01-01

Farming of animals and plants has recently been considered not merely as a more efficient and plentiful supply of their products but also as a means of protecting wild populations from that trade. Amongst these nascent farming products might be listed bear bile. Bear bile has been exploited by traditional Chinese medicinalists for millennia. Since the 1980s consumers have had the options of: illegal wild gall bladders, bile extracted from caged live bears or the acid synthesised chemically. Despite these alternatives bears continue to be harvested from the wild. In this paper we use stated preference techniques using a random sample of the Chinese population to estimate demand functions for wild bear bile with and without competition from farmed bear bile. We find a willingness to pay considerably more for wild bear bile than farmed. Wild bear bile has low own price elasticity and cross price elasticity with farmed bear bile. The ability of farmed bear bile to reduce demand for wild bear bile is at best limited and, at prevailing prices, may be close to zero or have the opposite effect. The demand functions estimated suggest that the own price elasticity of wild bear bile is lower when competing with farmed bear bile than when it is the only option available. This means that the incumbent product may actually sell more items at a higher price when competing than when alone in the market. This finding may be of broader interest to behavioural economists as we argue that one explanation may be that as product choice increases price has less impact on decision making. For the wildlife farming debate this indicates that at some prices the introduction of farmed competition might increase the demand for the wild product.

Application of x-ray techniques in precision farming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2000-01-01

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

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.)

Farm Household Survival Strategies and Diversification on Marginal Farms

Science.gov (United States)

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

2005-01-01

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

The modern portfolio theory applied to wind farm financing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chaves-Schwinteck, P. [DEWI GmbH, Oldenburg (Germany)

2011-02-15

An alternative to the application of the principles of the Modern Portfolio Theory as a strategy to the reduction of the risks around the energy production of wind farms was presented in the last sections. The potential of geographical diversification to reduce the risks related to the availability of wind as a primary resource was demonstrated by the results of the first case study. Furthermore, the results of the second case study have shown that, once a sufficient history of technical performance data is available, a reduction of the risks linked to the technical performance of the wind turbines can be achieved in a similar way. Nevertheless, the existence of 'non-diversifiable' risks still presents a challenge for the financing of wind farms. In this sense, it is important to point out that the financing performance of a portfolio of wind farms is extremely dependent on the individual performance of the single projects. In other words, a portfolio analysis is not a miracle. A 'bad' project remains a 'bad' project even when this project is bundled with a 'good' one. For this reason, other risk management strategies, as for example, a well performed technical due diligence should be always taken into consideration. (orig.)

[The teaching and application of alternative medicine in medical education programs].

Science.gov (United States)

Chiang, Han-Sun

2014-12-01

The history of alternative medicine is perhaps as long as the history of human medicine. The development of evidence-based medicine has not annihilated alternative medicine. On the contrary, more people turn to alternative medicine because this approach to treatment serves as an effective remedial or supportive treatment when used in conjunction with evidence-based medicine. In contemporary healthcare, alternative medicine is now an essential part of integrated medicine. In Taiwan, most professional medical practitioners have not received proper education about alternative medicine and therefore generally lack comprehensive knowledge on this subject. While alternative medicine may be effective when used with some patients, it may also impart a placebo effect, which helps restore the body and soul of the patients. Medical staff with advanced knowledge of alternative medicine may not only help patients but also improve the doctor-patient relationship. There is great diversity in alternative medicine, with some alternative therapies supported by evidence and covered by insurance. However, there also remain fraudulent medical practices that may be harmful to health. Medical staff must be properly educated so that they can provide patients and their family a proper understanding and attitude toward alternative medicine. Therefore, alternative medicine should be included in the standard medical education curriculum. Offering classes on alternative medicine in university for more than 10 years, the author shares his experiences regarding potential content, lecture subjects, group experience exercises, and in-class activities. This article is intended to provide a reference to professors in university medical education and offer a possible model for alternative medicine education in Taiwan.

Operational Work System Design and Staff Performance in the Nigerian Construction Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmanuel Ejikeme Isichei

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: The study investigated the impact of operational work system design on staff performance in selected construction firms in Nigeria. Research Design & Methods: The study used primary data gathered with the use of a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire format administered to 138 respondents. A hypothesis was postulated to test the significance of the research problem. Data analysis was carried out using correlation and multiple regression analysis which proved the significance of the alternative hypothesis as a result of testing the hypothesis. Findings: The findings show that there is a significant relationship between operational work system design and staff performance. The study concludes that operational job design can be advanced as a motivation tool, which is non-monetary in nature, to improve staff performance. Implications & Recommendations: A key drive to improve performance is the satisfaction of staff coupled with an outstanding operational job design which takes into consideration the total physical and mental well-being of staff and its interaction with other organisational factors. The study recommends, among others, that there should be active participation of staff in the design of work in the organisation. Contribution & Value Added: The study provides an empirical approach to enhancing performance in the construction industry and thereby developing an indigenous firm to compete favourably on a growing market.

Credit Risk and Financial Performance Assessment of Illinois Farmers: A Comparison of Approaches with Farm Accounting Data

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Tianwei; Ellinger, Paul N.

2006-01-01

Pro forma financial performance evaluation of agricultural producers is an important issue for lenders, internal management and policy makers. Lenders strive to improve their credit risk management. Internal management is interested in understanding the financial impacts of alternative strategic decisions. And policy makers often assess the magnitude and distributional effects of alternative policies on the future financial performance of farm business. Data limitations are a major impediment...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

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

COLLECTIVE FARMS IN THE WORKS OF A.N. CHELINTSEV AND N.P. MAKAROV (1951-1966

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

А М Никулин

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article presents a part of the intellectual legacy of the Chayanov’s school that is often con-sidered as consisting exclusively of the studies of peasant economy and its cooperative development. Such an interpretation overlooks the school’s contribution to the study of large-scale agrarian production within the establishing soviet system of collective farms. The authors provide another interpretation of the intellectual legacy of Chayanov and his colleagues, and focus on the works of A.N. Chelintsev (1874-1962 and N.P. Makarov (1888-1980, who survived the repressions of the 1930s and since the 1940s returned to the studies of economic organization of collective farms, which had become the main insti-tutional form of the soviet agrarian system. Chelintsev studied lagging collective farms, which were un-popular and even dangerous subject in the soviet agrarian science. Chelintsev’s recommendations were not followed in the collective farms’ economy of the 1950s. However, today they help to understand some system features of weak collective farms. Makarov summarized the results of his collective farms studies at the rise of the Kosygin’s reforms in the monograph published in 1966; it emphasized both the importance of collective farms in the soviet agriculture and alternative strategies of collective farms develop-ment by granting them more independence and involving in inter-farm cooperation. With such works, Chelintsev and Makarov ensured the highest methodological level of social-economic research typical for the 1920s’ soviet agrarian science, thus confirming that the Chayanov’s school introduced many original ideas in the study of peculiarities of the economic organization of both peasant households and large-scale collective farms, which determines the necessity of reevaluating the intellectual legacy of the organizational-production school to understand better the phenomenon of Russian collective farming in the XX century.

Dounreay: an alternative development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Low, K.

1990-01-01

With the Government decision to phase out the Fast Reactor at Dounreay there is a need to find alternative employment in the area. Traditionally Caithness is an area of farming, fishing and tourism which could be damaged if Dounreay were to be made a nuclear waste repository. The suggestion is that Dounreay should become a centre for research, development and subsequent manufacture of renewable energy sources and devices to harness renewable energy. The Scottish coastline has potential for wind and wave power developments and this could lead to a whole industry in the future. (UK)

Transforming ex-small scale mining land as farming areas for sustainable development and poverty alleviation

Science.gov (United States)

Nampa, I. W.; Markus, J. E. R.; Mudita, I. W.; Natonis, R. L.; Bunga, W.; Kaho, N. R.

2018-03-01

When the price of manganese ores in 2012, mining activities declined or even terminated. Ex-miners lose an important source of income, but they did not have any other alternative except going back to slash and burn cultivation, producing enough only for their own food. Their hope for a better live was gone and at the same time they faced stigmatisation as causing environmental degradation from the rest of the community. We carried out this case study to followex-miners in the Tubuhue village who organised themselves to do post-mining rehabilitation by turning the former mining site into an area of productive farming. In-depth interview, field observation and focus group discussion were conducted from 2015 to 2017. We found that during the period of mining boom, slash and burn cultivation decrease significantly but began to increase after no mining activities. Various social transformations took place along with this land use change, but the most important was the miners’ decision to do mining as an organised activity. A strong leader of this organization played a pivotal role in turning the former mining site into an area of productive sedentary farming. This was carried out by organizing the ex-miners into farmers groups and together, constructing drip and sprinkler irrigation networks to water their crops using rain water collected in the mining holes that they had turned into small check-dams. The leader expected that this farming could provide an alternative for ex-miners to obtain cash income to limit them going back doing swidden farming.

DC Collection Network Simulation for Offshore Wind Farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vogel, Stephan; Rasmussen, Tonny Wederberg; El-Khatib, Walid Ziad

2015-01-01

The possibility to connect offshore wind turbines with a collection network based on Direct Current (DC), instead of Alternating Current (AC), gained attention in the scientific and industrial environment. There are many promising properties of DC components that could be beneficial such as......: smaller dimensions, less weight, fewer conductors, no reactive power considerations, and less overall losses due to the absence of proximity and skin effects. This work describes a study about the simulation of a Medium Voltage DC (MVDC) grid in an offshore wind farm. Suitable converter concepts...

Where is Farm Management Going?

OpenAIRE

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

2003-01-01

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

Under what circumstances can wildlife farming benefit species conservation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Tensen

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Wild animals and their derivatives are traded worldwide. Consequent poaching has been a main threat to species conservation. As current interventions and law enforcement cannot circumvent the resulting extinction of species, an alternative approach must be considered. It has been suggested that commercial breeding can keep the pressure off wild populations, referred to as wildlife farming. During this review, it is argued that wildlife farming can benefit species conservation only if the following criteria are met: (i the legal products will form a substitute, and consumers show no preference for wild-caught animals; (ii a substantial part of the demand is met, and the demand does not increase due to the legalized market; (iii the legal products will be more cost-efficient, in order to combat the black market prices; (iv wildlife farming does not rely on wild populations for re-stocking; (v laundering of illegal products into the commercial trade is absent. For most species encountered in the wildlife trade, these criteria are unlikely to be met in reality and commercial breeding has the potential to have the opposite effect to what is desired for conservation. For some species, however, none of the criteria are violated, and wildlife farming can be considered a possible conservation tool as it may help to take the pressure off wild populations. For these species, future research should focus on the impact of legal products on the market dynamics, effective law enforcement that can prevent corruption, and wildlife forensics that enable the distinction between captive-bred and wild-caught species.

Is Fish Farming an Illusion for Lake Malawi Riparian Communities under Environmental Changes?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moses Majid Limuwa

2018-05-01

annual rainfall variation also negatively affected fish farming. The responses from Lake Malawi riparian communities indicate that they merely look upon fish farming as an alternative to capture fisheries than as an illusion. Nonetheless, the research provides a theoretical platform to explore the potential to develop sustainable fish farming food system adapted to such changes. Therefore, we have brought new evidence that progress of fish farming in Malawi is being made, but there is a long way to go before it can be considered successful and sustainable.

Development of Teachers’ Alternative Certification in the USA

OpenAIRE

Pazyura Natalia

2015-01-01

The article reveals the prerequisites of appearance of alternative ways to train teachers in the USA at the end of the XX century as main mechanisms to increase qualitative and quantitative characteristics of teaching staff. The author concentrates the attention on the advantages and disadvantages of non-traditional ways to acquire teaching profession. The peculiarities of the development in different states of the country, main characteristics of the training with the help of alternative pro...

Alternative IT Sourcing Strategies: Six Views

Science.gov (United States)

Mahon, Ed; McPherson, Michael R.; Vaughan, Joseph; Rowe, Theresa; Pickett, Michael P.; Bielec, John A.

2011-01-01

IT leaders today must not only provide but also decide: which tools and services should they continue to supply, which are better delivered by others, and perhaps most critically, which methods from among the bewildering array of alternative sourcing strategies will best serve their faculty, staff, and students. In 2009, the EDUCAUSE Center for…

Alternative crops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreasen, L.M.; Boon, A.D.

1992-01-01

Surplus cereal production in the EEC and decreasing product prices, mainly for cereals, has prompted considerable interest for new earnings in arable farming. The objective was to examine whether suggested new crops (fibre, oil, medicinal and alternative grains crops) could be considered as real alternatives. Whether a specific crop can compete economically with cereals and whether there is a market demand for the crop is analyzed. The described possibilities will result in ca. 50,000 hectares of new crops. It is expected that they would not immediately provide increased earnings, but in the long run expected price developments are more positive than for cereals. The area for new crops will not solve the current surplus cereal problem as the area used for new crops is only 3% of that used for cereals. Preconditions for many new crops is further research activities and development work as well as the establishment of processing units and organizational initiatives. Presumably, it is stated, there will then be a basis for a profitable production of new crops for some farmers. (AB) (47 refs.)

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1999-01-01

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

Growth of young Tabebuia aurea seedlings under irrigation with wastewater from fish farming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José R. de S. Pinto

2016-06-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the growth of young Tabebuia aurea seedlings irrigated with different concentrations of wastewater from fish farming. The experiment was conducted in a seedling nursery, from June to August 2013. The treatments consisted of five concentrations of wastewater from fish farming diluted in freshwater (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of wastewater. Plant height, stem diameter and plant height/stem diameter ratio were evaluated every 15 days to verify the effects of treatments on seedlings growth. At the end of the experiment, individual leaf area, leaf area, leaf dry matter, stem dry matter, root dry matter, total dry matter and Dickson quality index were also evaluated. The reuse of wastewater from fish farming diluted at concentrations of 25 and 50% in freshwater is a viable alternative in the production of Tabebuia aurea seedlings. However, higher concentrations hinder the production of seedlings of this species.

Fish farming of native species in Colombia: current situation and perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cruz-Casallas, P. E.; Medina-Robles, V. M.; Velasco-Santamaria, Y. M.

2011-01-01

. The Colombian pisciculture is based on red Tilapia Oreochromis sp. (Linnaeus), Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum) and cachama blanca Piaractus brachypomus (Cuvier), which currently represent around 96% of the total national production. The remaining 4% comes from other farmed species such as bocachico......In Colombia and the rest of the world, the decrease in capture fisheries production has turned the aquaculture into an alternative source of protein for the populations food security as well as an important productive activity, generating employment and income for the rural communities...... Prochilodus magdalenae (Steindachner), carp Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus) and yamu Brycon amazonicus (Spix & Agassiz). From the three main fish species, cachama blanca is the only native species, which has shown excellent performance in pond farming due to its rusticity, omnivorous habits, docility, meat quality...

No apparent transmission of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC398 in a survey of staff at a regional Danish hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Else Toft Würtz

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In recent years, livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA multi locus sequence type CC398 has spread widely in the livestock production in Europe. The rates of LA-MRSA in hospitals have been found to be largely determined by contact to and density of livestock in the area. Methods This is a cross sectional study of the prevalence of LA-MRSA among hospital staff in a Danish hospital situated in a livestock production region. We analysed nasal swabs, air and dust samples for the presence of MRSA using PCR and mass spectrometry. Results Of 1745 employees, 545 (31% contributed nasal swabs. MRSA was not detected in any participant, nor was it detected in air or dust at the hospital or in houses of employees living on farms. Four percent of the participants had contact to pigs either directly or through household members. LA-MRSA was detected in two of 26 samples from animal sheds, both of them from pig farms. The participation rate was relatively low, but participants were representative for the source population with regards to animal contact and job titles. Conclusions The study suggests a low point prevalence of LA-MRSA carriage in Danish hospital staff even in regions where livestock production is dense. Should more studies confirm our findings we see no need for additional hospital precautions towards LA-MRSA in Denmark at the moment. We think that our data might reduce potential stigmatization of hospital workers with contact to LA-MRSA positive farms at their work places and in their communities.

EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ); Scientific Opinion on Composting on-farm of dead poultry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hald, Tine

EFSA’s Scientific Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) was asked for a scientific opinion on two alternative methods for processing Category (Cat) 2 Animal By-Products (ABP). The material to be treated consists of poultry manure, straw and dead-on-farm poultry; this implies that the animals died...... due to a disease, which in most cases was not properly diagnosed. The proposed processes are composting methods to be used on-farm. The first method is a continuous open system where composting is done under roof in piles separated by wooden partition walls. The piles are processed without enforced...

Values in Organic Farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2011-01-01

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

Alternatives to antibiotics for maximizing growth performance and feed efficiency in poultry: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Gadde, U; Kim, W H; Oh, S T; Lillehoj, Hyun S

2017-06-01

With the increase in regulations regarding the use of antibiotic growth promoters and the rise in consumer demand for poultry products from 'Raised Without Antibiotics' or 'No Antibiotics Ever' flocks, the quest for alternative products or approaches has intensified in recent years. A great deal of research has focused on the development of antibiotic alternatives to maintain or improve poultry health and performance. This review describes the potential for the various alternatives available to increase animal productivity and help poultry perform to their genetic potential under existing commercial conditions. The classes of alternatives described include probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, organic acids, enzymes, phytogenics, antimicrobial peptides, hyperimmune egg antibodies, bacteriophages, clay, and metals. A brief description of the mechanism of action, efficacy, and advantages and disadvantages of their uses are also presented. Though the beneficial effects of many of the alternatives developed have been well demonstrated, the general consensus is that these products lack consistency and the results vary greatly from farm to farm. Furthermore, their mode of action needs to be better defined. Optimal combinations of various alternatives coupled with good management and husbandry practices will be the key to maximize performance and maintain animal productivity, while we move forward with the ultimate goal of reducing antibiotic use in the animal industry.

Staff Association

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2014-01-01

Remove of the staff association office   The Staff Association offices are going to be renovated during the coming four months, February to May 2014. The physical move from our current premises 64/R-002 to our temporary office in  510/R-010 will take place on Friday January 31st, so the Secretariat will be closed on that day. Hence, from Monday February 3rd until the end of May 2014 the Staff Association Secretariat will be located in 510/R-010 (entrance just across the CERN Printshop).    

Alternatives to the face-to-face consultation in general practice: focused ethnographic case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Atherton, Helen; Brant, Heather; Ziebland, Sue; Bikker, Annemieke; Campbell, John; Gibson, Andy; McKinstry, Brian; Porqueddu, Tania; Salisbury, Chris

2018-04-01

NHS policy encourages general practices to introduce alternatives to the face-to-face consultation, such as telephone, email, e-consultation systems, or internet video. Most have been slow to adopt these, citing concerns about workload. This project builds on previous research by focusing on the experiences of patients and practitioners who have used one or more of these alternatives. To understand how, under what conditions, for which patients, and in what ways, alternatives to face-to-face consultations present benefits and challenges to patients and practitioners in general practice. Focused ethnographic case studies took place in eight UK general practices between June 2015 and March 2016. Non-participant observation, informal conversations with staff, and semi-structured interviews with staff and patients were conducted. Practice documents and protocols were reviewed. Data were analysed through charting and the 'one sheet of paper' mind-map method to identify the line of argument in each thematic report. Case study practices had different rationales for offering alternatives to the face-to-face consultation. Beliefs varied about which patients and health issues were suitable. Co-workers were often unaware of each other's practice; for example, practice policies for use of e-consultations systems with patients were not known about or followed. Patients reported benefits including convenience and access. Staff and some patients regarded the face-to-face consultation as the ideal. Experience of implementing alternatives to the face-to-face consultation suggests that changes in patient access and staff workload may be both modest and gradual. Practices planning to implement them should consider carefully their reasons for doing so and involve the whole practice team. © British Journal of General Practice 2018.

Control voltage and power fluctuations when connecting wind farms

Science.gov (United States)

Berinde, Ioan; Bǎlan, Horia; Oros Pop, Teodora Susana

2015-12-01

Voltage, frequency, active power and reactive power are very important parameters in terms of power quality. These parameters are followed when connecting any power plant, the more the connection of wind farms. Connecting wind farms to the electricity system must not cause interference outside the limits set by regulations. Modern solutions for fast and automatic voltage control and power fluctuations using electronic control systems of reactive power flows. FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Transmision System) systems, established on the basis of power electronic circuits ensure control of electrical status quantities to achieve the necessary transfer of power to the power grid. FACTS devices can quickly control parameters and sizes of state power lines, such as impedance line voltages and phase angles of the voltages of the two ends of the line. Their use can lead to improvement in power system operation by increasing the transmission capacity of power lines, power flow control lines, improved static and transient stability reserve.

Control voltage and power fluctuations when connecting wind farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berinde, Ioan; Bălan, Horia; Oros, Teodora Susana

2015-01-01

Voltage, frequency, active power and reactive power are very important parameters in terms of power quality. These parameters are followed when connecting any power plant, the more the connection of wind farms. Connecting wind farms to the electricity system must not cause interference outside the limits set by regulations. Modern solutions for fast and automatic voltage control and power fluctuations using electronic control systems of reactive power flows. FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Transmision System) systems, established on the basis of power electronic circuits ensure control of electrical status quantities to achieve the necessary transfer of power to the power grid. FACTS devices can quickly control parameters and sizes of state power lines, such as impedance line voltages and phase angles of the voltages of the two ends of the line. Their use can lead to improvement in power system operation by increasing the transmission capacity of power lines, power flow control lines, improved static and transient stability reserve

Control voltage and power fluctuations when connecting wind farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berinde, Ioan, E-mail: ioan-berinde@yahoo.com; Bălan, Horia, E-mail: hbalan@mail.utcluj.ro; Oros, Teodora Susana, E-mail: teodoraoros-87@yahoo.com [Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Department of Power Engineering and Management (Romania)

2015-12-23

Voltage, frequency, active power and reactive power are very important parameters in terms of power quality. These parameters are followed when connecting any power plant, the more the connection of wind farms. Connecting wind farms to the electricity system must not cause interference outside the limits set by regulations. Modern solutions for fast and automatic voltage control and power fluctuations using electronic control systems of reactive power flows. FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Transmision System) systems, established on the basis of power electronic circuits ensure control of electrical status quantities to achieve the necessary transfer of power to the power grid. FACTS devices can quickly control parameters and sizes of state power lines, such as impedance line voltages and phase angles of the voltages of the two ends of the line. Their use can lead to improvement in power system operation by increasing the transmission capacity of power lines, power flow control lines, improved static and transient stability reserve.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, Vera J.; DeAre, Diana

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

Farm-economic analysis of reducing antimicrobial use whilst adopting improved management strategies on farrow-to-finish pig farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Rojo-Gimeno, Cristina; Postma, Merel; Dewulf, Jeroen; Hogeveen, Henk; Lauwers, Ludwig; Wauters, Erwin

2016-07-01

Due to increasing public health concerns that food animals could be reservoirs for antibiotic resistant organisms, calls for reduced current antibiotic use on farms are growing. Nevertheless, it is challenging for farmers to perform this reduction without negatively affecting technical and economic performance. As an alternative, improved management practices based on biosecurity and vaccinations have been proven useful to reduce antimicrobial use without lowering productivity, but issues with insufficient experimental design possibilities have hindered economic analysis. In the present study a quasi-experimental approach was used for assessing the economic impact of reduction of antimicrobial use coupled with improved management strategies, particularly biosecurity strategies. The research was performed on farrow-to-finish pig farms in Flanders (northern region of Belgium). First, to account for technological progress and to avoid selection bias, propensity score analysis was used to compare data on technical parameters. The treatment group (n=48) participated in an intervention study whose aim was to improve management practices to reduce the need for use of antimicrobials. Before and after the change in management, data were collected on the technical parameters, biosecurity status, antimicrobial use, and vaccinations. Treated farms were matched without replacement with control farms (n=69), obtained from the Farm Accountancy Data Network, to estimate the difference in differences (DID) of the technical parameters. Second, the technical parameters' DID, together with the estimated costs of the management intervention and the price volatility of the feed, meat of the finisher pigs, and piglets served as a basis for modelling the profit of 11 virtual farrow-to-finish pig farms representative of the Flemish sector. Costs incurred by new biosecurity measures (median +€3.96/sow/year), and new vaccinations (median €0.00/sow/year) did not exceed the cost reduction

A Critical Constructionist View of "At-Risk" Youth in Alternative Education

Science.gov (United States)

Touzard, Rachelle Silverstein

2010-01-01

Family therapists and school counselors are increasingly called upon to provide services for youth in alternative education (Carver, Lewis, & Tice, 2010). Alternative education systems are programs for youth who have been defined as at risk. This study explored the at-risk discourse and asked the questions (a) how do youth and staff define the…

Assessing farm animal welfare without visiting the farm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

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

Fault ride-through and grid support of permanent magnet synchronous generator-based wind farms with HVAC and VSC-HVDC transmission systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Hongzhi; Chen, Zhe

2012-01-01

This paper describes fault ride-through and grid support of offshore wind farms based on permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) wind turbines connected to the onshore AC network through two alternative transmission systems: high voltage AC (HVAC) or high voltage DC (HVDC) based on voltage...... source converters (VSC). The proposed configurations of the PMSG-based offshore wind farm and VSC-based HVDC are given as well as their control strategies under both steady state and fault state. The PMSG-based offshore wind farm is integrated into a test power transmission system via either HVAC or VSC...

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

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

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

Optimising the HLT Farm at the LHCb Experiment

CERN Document Server

Caicedo Carvajal, J M; Neufeld, N

2010-01-01

The LHCb experiment at CERN uses a server farm to filter the events consisting of up to 4400 cores, which receives events at a rate of 1MHz and filters them with a trigger application that has an output of around 2 kHz. Configuring and starting O(5000) instances of a very large trigger application, each consisting of hundreds of shared libraries is a formidable task and for the efficient operation of the experiment it is essential that this can be done very quickly and reliably. The architecture of the system and the mechanisms for distributing the software used by the trigger application affect the overall performance and the flexibility to make changes and run the applications with different trigger configurations. We analysed the performance of different alternatives for distributing the software in the farm and we evaluated them in the context of the real world tasks that are executed and also in terms of the overhead in the system, such as the network traffic and file system operations. We present the st...

Offshore Wind Farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2015-01-01

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

Staff Performance Analysis: A Method for Identifying Brigade Staff Tasks

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Ford, Laura

1997-01-01

... members of conventional mounted brigade staff. Initial analysis of performance requirements in existing documentation revealed that the performance specifications were not sufficiently detailed for brigade battle staffs...

COMPOSITION OF STAFF REVIEW ADVISORY BODIES - 2000 COMPOSITION OF THE JOINT TRAINING BOARD (JTB) - 2000/2001

CERN Multimedia

HR Division

2000-01-01

For the present staff review, the advisory bodies set up to prepare recommendations are composed as follows:Senior Staff Advancement Committee (SSAC)D. Treille / EP (Convener)C. Benvenuti / ESTD. O. Williams /ITTechnical Engineers & Administrative Careers Committee (TEACC) C. Hauviller / EPL. Leistam / ESTS. Jarp / IT [Chairman]F. Pedersen / PSR. Lauckner / SLC. Roche / ETTLong-term contract Boards (LTCBs) (Categories 2 &5a)Tiziano Camporesi / EP [Convener]Florence Ranjard / EP\t[Alternate]Jacques Gruber / PSPeter Sievers / LHCThomas Pettersson / ESTMichel Mayoud / ESTSue Foffano / ASThierry Lagrange / SPLWerner Zapf / HR (Secretary) LTCB 2(Categories 3, 4, 5b & 5c)Véronique Paris / SL [Convener]Fabien Pérriolat / PS\t [Alternate]Mats Wilhelmsson / STVéronique Fassnacht / TISLucie Linssen / EPMichel Mayoud / ESTPatrick Geeraert / FIJohn Cuthbert / HRSeamus Hegarty / HR (Secretary) Composition of the Joint Training Board (JT...

Fiscalini Farms Biomass Energy Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

William Stringfellow; Mary Kay Camarillo; Jeremy Hanlon; Michael Jue; Chelsea Spier

2011-09-30

In this final report describes and documents research that was conducted by the Ecological Engineering Research Program (EERP) at the University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA) under subcontract to Fiscalini Farms LP for work under the Assistance Agreement DE-EE0001895 'Measurement and Evaluation of a Dairy Anaerobic Digestion/Power Generation System' from the United States Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory. Fiscalini Farms is operating a 710 kW biomass-energy power plant that uses bio-methane, generated from plant biomass, cheese whey, and cattle manure via mesophilic anaerobic digestion, to produce electricity using an internal combustion engine. The primary objectives of the project were to document baseline conditions for the anaerobic digester and the combined heat and power (CHP) system used for the dairy-based biomass-energy production. The baseline condition of the plant was evaluated in the context of regulatory and economic constraints. In this final report, the operation of the plant between start-up in 2009 and operation in 2010 are documented and an interpretation of the technical data is provided. An economic analysis of the biomass energy system was previously completed (Appendix A) and the results from that study are discussed briefly in this report. Results from the start-up and first year of operation indicate that mesophilic anaerobic digestion of agricultural biomass, combined with an internal combustion engine, is a reliable source of alternative electrical production. A major advantage of biomass energy facilities located on dairy farms appears to be their inherent stability and ability to produce a consistent, 24 hour supply of electricity. However, technical analysis indicated that the Fiscalini Farms system was operating below capacity and that economic sustainability would be improved by increasing loading of feedstocks to the digester. Additional operational modifications, such as increased utilization of

Elections to Staff Council

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2011-01-01

Elections to fill all seats in the Staff Council are being organized this month. The voting takes place from the 31st of October to the 14th of November, at noon. As you may have noted when reading Echo, many issues concerning our employment conditions are on the agenda of the coming months and will keep the next Staff Council very busy. So, make your voice heard and take part in the elections for a new Staff Council. By doing so, you will be encouraging the men and women who will be representing you over the next two years and they will doubtless appreciate your gratitude. Every member of the Staff Association will have received an email containing a link to the webpage which will allow voting. If you are a member of the Staff Association and you did not receive such an email, please contact the Staff Association secretariat (staff.association@cern.ch). Do not forget to vote * * * * * * * Vote Make your voice heard and be many to elect the new Staff Council. More details on the election...

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

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Lyle Solverson; David C. Baumgartner

1974-01-01

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

Impact of biogas digesters on wood utilisation and self-reported back pain for women living on rural Kenyan smallholder dairy farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Dohoo, Carolyn; VanLeeuwen, John; Read Guernsey, Judith; Critchley, Kim; Gibson, Mark

2013-01-01

Women living on rural Kenyan dairy farms spend significant amounts of time collecting wood for cooking. Biogas digesters, which generate biogas for cooking from the anaerobic decomposition of livestock manure, are an alternative fuel source. The objective of this study was to quantify the quality of life and health benefits of installing biogas digesters on rural Kenyan dairy farms with respect to wood utilisation. Women from 62 farms (31 biogas farms and 31 referent farms) participated in interviews to determine reliance on wood and the impact of biogas digesters on this reliance. Self-reported back pain, time spent collecting wood and money spent on wood were significantly lower (p biogas group, compared to referent farms. Multivariable linear regression showed that wood consumption increased by 2 lbs/day for each additional family member living on a farm. For an average family of three people, the addition of one cow was associated with increased wood consumption by 1.0 lb/day on biogas farms but by 4.4 lbs/day on referent farms (significant interaction variable - likely due to additional hot water for cleaning milk collection equipment). Biogas digesters represent a potentially important technology that can reduce reliance on wood fuel and improve health for Kenyan dairy farmers.

Wind farm production estimates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2012-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-09-01

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

Dynamic modelling of VSC-HVDC for connection of offshore wind farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rios, Bardo; Garcia-Valle, Rodrigo

2011-01-01

A VSC-HVDC (Voltage Source Converter – High Voltage Direct Current) dynamic model with a set of control strategies is developed in DIgSILENT Power-Factory with the objective of analyzing the converter’s operating capability for grid support during grid faults. The investigation is carried out based...... on a 165 MW offshore wind farm with induction generators and a Low Voltage Ride-Through solution of the offshore wind turbines and Static Voltage Compensator units in the point of connection with a grid represented by a reduced four-generator power grid model. VSC-HVDC promises to be a reliable alternative...... solution for interconnection with off-shore wind farms as they become larger, with a higher installed power capacity, increased number of wind turbines, and geographically situated at larger distances from suitable connection points in the transmission grids....

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

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, K.; Emborg, J.

2018-01-01

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

Bio fuels and family farming in Uruguay: A feasible alliance?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carambula, M.; Chiappe, M.; Fernandez, E.; Figueredo, S.

2011-01-01

The global energy crisis caused by high levels of fossil fuels consumption and the signs of oil depletion explain the search for alternative energy to traditional sources. Progress towards bio-fuels policy is positioned in a central place in Uruguay s political agenda. This context converges with a scenario of expansion of agricultural activity, marked by a dynamism based on the domestic economic environment changes, and major transformations in the productive base. In this context, in order to assess the social impacts resulting from the expansion of crops for energy purposes, this research was carried out. It explores the social impact of bio fuels production in Uruguay taking as a reference the situation of family farm production. It assumes that the demand of land for energy crop production puts pressure on other production systems. Related to this, it is possible to establish a continuum between a view that holds that family farms are marginal to bio fuel production, and an inclusive view which encourages the incorporation of family farmers into national production chains. In this scenario, the paper attempts to provide elements to answer the question about whether this new line of national production generates opportunities or threats to family farming

Seclusion and restraint in psychiatry: patients' experiences and practical suggestions on how to improve practices and use alternatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Kontio, Raija; Joffe, Grigori; Putkonen, Hanna; Kuosmanen, Lauri; Hane, Kimmo; Holi, Matti; Välimäki, Maritta

2012-01-01

This study explored psychiatric inpatients' experiences of, and their suggestions for, improvement of seclusion/restraint, and alternatives to their use in Finland. The data were collected by focused interviews (n= 30) and were analyzed with inductive content analysis. Patients' perspectives received insufficient attention during seclusion/restraint processes. Improvements (e.g., humane treatment) and alternatives (e.g., empathetic patient-staff interaction) to seclusion/restraint, as suggested by the patients, focused on essential parts of nursing practice but have not been largely adopted. Patients' basic needs have to be met, and patient-staff interaction has to also continue during seclusion/restraint. Providing patients with meaningful activities, planning beforehand, documenting the patients' wishes, and making patient-staff agreements reduce the need for restrictions and offer alternatives for seclusion/restraint. Service users must be involved in all practical development. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Behavioral Emergency Response Team: Implementation Improves Patient Safety, Staff Safety, and Staff Collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Zicko, Cdr Jennifer M; Schroeder, Lcdr Rebecca A; Byers, Cdr William S; Taylor, Lt Adam M; Spence, Cdr Dennis L

2017-10-01

Staff members working on our nonmental health (non-MH) units (i.e., medical-surgical [MS] units) were not educated in recognizing or deescalating behavioral emergencies. Published evidence suggests a behavioral emergency response team (BERT) composed of MH experts who assist with deescalating behavioral emergencies may be beneficial in these situations. Therefore, we sought to implement a BERT on the inpatient non-MH units at our military treatment facility. The objectives of this evidence-based practice process improvement project were to determine how implementation of a BERT affects staff and patient safety and to examine nursing staffs' level of knowledge, confidence, and support in caring for psychiatric patients and patients exhibiting behavioral emergencies. A BERT was piloted on one MS unit for 5 months and expanded to two additional units for 3 months. Pre- and postimplementation staff surveys were conducted, and the number of staff assaults and injuries, restraint usage, and security intervention were compared. The BERT responded to 17 behavioral emergencies. The number of assaults decreased from 10 (pre) to 1 (post); security intervention decreased from 14 to 1; and restraint use decreased from 8 to 1. MS staffs' level of BERT knowledge and rating of support between MH staff and their staff significantly increased. Both MS and MH nurses rated the BERT as supportive and effective. A BERT can assist with deescalating behavioral emergencies, and improve staff collaboration and patient and staff safety. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-09-01

, farmers training, proper market access, difficulties of parent stock collection, inadequate biosecurity practices, and limited access to veterinary care. Thus, a proper training on quail farming, bio-security management, and government subsidy on feeds could make quail farming sustainable in Bangladesh. The study concludes that Japanese quail farming has enormous potentiality and could be an alternative to chicken farming particularly in providing gainful employment, supplementary income and as a valuable source of meat and egg, quail farming should be encouraged and promoted in Bangladesh.

Hard bottom substrate monitoring Horns Rev offshore wind farm. Annual status report 2003

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leonhard, S.B.; Pedersen, John

2004-05-15

Elsam and Eltra built the offshore demonstration wind farm at Horns Rev in the North Sea. Elsam is the owner and is responsible for the operation of the wind farm. Eltra is responsible for the connection of the wind farm to the national onshore grid. In the summer months of 2002, Elsam constructed the world's largest offshore wind farm off the Danish west coast. The wind farm is sited 14-20 km into the North Sea, west of Blaevands Huk. The first wind turbine was erected in May 2002 and the last wind turbine tower of a total of 80 was in place by August 2002. The construction work was completed with the last connecting cables sluiced down in September 2002. All the wind turbines were in production by December 2002. The expected impact of the wind farm will primarily be an alternation of habitats due to the introduction of hard bottom substrates as wind turbine towers and scour protections. A continuous development in the epifouling communities will be expected together with an introduction of new or alien species in the area. The indigenous benthic community in the area of Horns Rev can be characterised by infauna species belonging to the Goniadella-Spisula community. This community is typical of sandbanks in the North Sea area, although communities in such areas are very variable and site-specific. Character species used as indicators for environmental changes in the Horns Rev area are the bristle worms Goniadella bobretzkii, Ophelia borealis, Psione remota and Orbinia sertulata and the mussels Goodallia triangularis and Spisula solida. In connection with the implementation of the monitoring programme concerning the ecological impact of the introduction of hard substrate related to the Horns Rev Wind Farm, surveys on hard bottom substrate was conducted in March 2003 and in September 2003. This report describes the first year results of surveys on hard substrate after the completion of the offshore wind farm at Horns Rev. (au)

The role of women on Dutch farms

OpenAIRE

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

2015-01-01

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

Three-fold embeddedness of farm development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2016-01-01

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

Elections to Staff Council

CERN Multimedia

Saff Association

2013-01-01

2013 Elections to Staff Council   Vote! Make your voice heard and be many to elect the new Staff Council. More details on the elections can be found on the Staff Association web site (https://ap-vote.web.cern.ch/elections-2013).   Timetable elections Monday 28 October to Monday 11 November, 12:00 am voting Monday 18 and Monday 25 November, publication of the results in Echo Tuesday 19 November, Staff Association Assizes Tuesday 3 December, first meeting of the new Staff Council and election of the new Executive Committee The voting procedure is monitored by the Election Committee.

32 CFR 270.5 - Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Staff. 270.5 Section 270.5 National Defense... Staff. (a) The Commission will have a support staff, which will include staff members sufficient to expeditiously and efficiently process the applications for payments under this part. All members of the staff...

Flexible Exchange of Farming Device Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iftikhar, Nadeem; Pedersen, Torben Bach

2011-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Economic Research Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

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

Development of FAST.Farm: A New Multiphysics Engineering Tool for Wind-Farm Design and Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jonkman, Jason; Annoni, Jennifer; Hayman, Greg; Jonkman, Bonnie; Purkayastha, Avi

2017-01-09

This paper presents the development of FAST.Farm, a new multiphysics tool applicable to engineering problems in research and industry involving wind farm performance and cost optimization that is needed to address the current underperformance, failures, and expenses plaguing the wind industry. Achieving wind cost-of-energy targets - which requires improvements in wind farm performance and reliability, together with reduced uncertainty and expenditures - has been eluded by the complicated nature of the wind farm design problem, especially the sophisticated interaction between atmospheric phenomena and wake dynamics and array effects. FAST.Farm aims to balance the need for accurate modeling of the relevant physics for predicting power performance and loads while maintaining low computational cost to support a highly iterative and probabilistic design process and system-wide optimization. FAST.Farm makes use of FAST to model the aero-hydro-servo-elastics of distinct turbines in the wind farm, and it is based on some of the principles of the Dynamic Wake Meandering (DWM) model, but avoids many of the limitations of existing DWM implementations.

Staff/bed and staff/patient ratios in South African public sector mental ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objectives. To document staff/bed and staff/patient ratios in public. sector mental health services in South Africa. Design. Cross-sectional survey. Method. Aquestionnaire was distributed to provincial mental health co-ordinators requesting numbers of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff who provide mental health care at all ...

The effect of production type and antimicrobial usage on the occurrence of tetracycline resistant E. coli in danish slaughter pig farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Struve, Tina; Vigre, Håkan; Wingstrand, Anne

The Qualysafe project was initiated in 2007 to support and strengthen the sustainable production systems in Danish food production. One of the objectives of the epidemiological investigation was to find new methods to improve food safety in conventional as well as in alternative pig production...... systems. At nine different slaughterhouses 1500 ceacum samples were collected from slaughter pigs originating from 226 farms. One thousand samples were analyzed and one E. coli isolate per sample was susceptibility tested to Tetracycline. Data on management practice and health status at farm level...... the farm types, with the Organic having the lowest consumption (0.14 doses /annually produced slaughter pig) while Free Range had the highest consumption (0,85 doses/annually produced slaughter pig) and Conventional farms was in between (0.67 doses/annually produced slaughter pig). The effect...

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)

Elections to Staff Council

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2013-01-01

Elections to fill all seats in the Staff Council are being organized this month. The voting takes place from the 28 of October to the 11th of November, at noon. As you may have noted when reading Echo, many issues concerning our employment conditions are on the agenda of the coming months, and in particular the Five-yearly-Review 2015, subject of the questionnaire that you probably recently filled out. All this will keep the next Staff Council very busy indeed. So, make your voice heard and take part in the elections for a new Staff Council. By doing so, you will be encouraging the men and women who will be representing you over the next two years and they will doubtless appreciate your gratitude. Every member of the Staff Association will have received an email containing a link to the webpage which will allow voting. If you are a member of the Staff Association and you did not receive such an email, please contact the Staff Association secretariat (staff.association@cern.ch). Do not forget to v...

FARM-PRODUCED ENERGY OF AGRICULTURAL WASTE ORIGIN IMPROVES ITS PROFITABILITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karol Węglarzy

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The most important tasks of Polish agriculture in 2014-2020 perspective will include maintaining food quality and safety, and orientation toward the part of the production of renewable energy, especially using biomass. Processing of biomass in anaerobic methane fermentation of agricultural biogas solves the problem of waste storage, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially high concentrations of methane, coming from the fermentation of slowly stored biomass. The economic aspect explains the popularity of biogas works; it is related to diversification of agricultural production through the introduction of a qualitatively new production of green energy from biogas, which significantly affects the profitability of agricultural production and will be an alternative for some companies, or large farms as a source of additional income and energy security. Energy generated in small biogas plants can fully protect the energy needs of a small farm releasing it from external sources and generating savings. For installations larger surplus may provide an additional source of farms’ income.

Alternative protein sources in sea bass nutrition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. D’Agaro

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Intensive fish farming profitability is declining word-wide. This situation is mainly due to the extensive reliance on fish meal (FM as feed ingredient in finfish diets in order to meet the high dietary protein needs. FM quality and prices are variable and its global supply is decreasing and highly dependent on meteoric events (e.g. El niño. Several protein sources are potentially excellent alternatives to FM...

Evaluation of wind farm efficiency and wind turbine wakes at the Nysted offshore wind farm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barthelmie, Rebecca Jane; Jensen, L.E.

2010-01-01

Here, we quantify relationships between wind farm efficiency and wind speed, direction, turbulence and atmospheric stability using power output from the large offshore wind farm at Nysted in Denmark. Wake losses are, as expected, most strongly related to wind speed variations through the turbine...... thrust coefficient; with direction, atmospheric stability and turbulence as important second order effects. While the wind farm efficiency is highly dependent on the distribution of wind speeds and wind direction, it is shown that the impact of turbine spacing on wake losses and turbine efficiency can...... be quantified, albeit with relatively large uncertainty due to stochastic effects in the data. There is evidence of the ‘deep array effect’ in that wake losses in the centre of the wind farm are under-estimated by the wind farm model WAsP, although overall efficiency of the wind farm is well predicted due...

Empirical investigation of wind farm blockage effects in Horn Rev 1 offshore wind farm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mitraszewski, Karol; Hansen, Kurt Schaldemose; Nygaard, Nicolai

We present an empirical study of wind farm blockage effects based on Horns Rev 1 SCADA data. The mean inflow non-uniformities in wind speed are analyzed by calculating the mean power outputs of turbines located along the outer edges of the farm for different wind directions, wind speeds and stabi......We present an empirical study of wind farm blockage effects based on Horns Rev 1 SCADA data. The mean inflow non-uniformities in wind speed are analyzed by calculating the mean power outputs of turbines located along the outer edges of the farm for different wind directions, wind speeds...

Farming for Health: Aspects from Germany

OpenAIRE

Neuberger, Konrad; Stephan, Ingrid; Hermanowski, Robert; Flake, Albrecht; Post, Franz-Joseph; van Elsen, Thomas

2006-01-01

Until now, the term ‘Farming for Health’ is unknown in Germany but it would cover a wide spectrum of different kinds of social agriculture already existing in Germany, such as farms that integrate disabled people or drug therapy into their farming system, or farms that integrate children, pupils or older people. Relevant work in Germany is done in ‘Sheltered Workshops’, where supporting and healing powers of farming and gardening are used for disabled people with a diversity of work possibili...

A Wind Farm Controller for Load and Power Optimization in a Farm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Soleimanzadeh, Maryam; Brand, Arno; Wisniewski, Rafal

2011-01-01

This paper describes the design procedure of an optimal wind farm controller. The controller optimizes the structural load and power production simultaneously, on the basis of an analytical wind farm model. The farm model delivers maps of wind, loads and energy in the wind farm. Moreover, the model...... computes the wind speed at the turbines, turbine bending moments and aerodynamic power and torque. The optimal control problem is formulated based on the model for two different wind directions. The controller determines the reference signals for each individual wind turbine controller in two scenarios...... based on low and high wind speed. In low wind speed, the reference signals for rotor speed are adjusted, taking the trade-off between power maximization and load minimization into account. In high wind speed, the power and pitch angle reference signals are determined while structural loads are minimized....

CBE Faculty and Staff

Science.gov (United States)

About Us Research Staff Edward Arens Fred Bauman Gail Brager Darryl Dickerhoff Ali Ghahramani Partners Facilities Graduate Programs Visiting Scholar Program Careers CBE Faculty and Staff CBE is an performance of buildings. The core research group for CBE includes faculty and research staff members

Optimizing transmission from distant wind farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pattanariyankool, Sompop; Lave, Lester B.

2010-01-01

We explore the optimal size of the transmission line from distant wind farms, modeling the tradeoff between transmission cost and benefit from delivered wind power. We also examine the benefit of connecting a second wind farm, requiring additional transmission, in order to increase output smoothness. Since a wind farm has a low capacity factor, the transmission line would not be heavily loaded, on average; depending on the time profile of generation, for wind farms with capacity factor of 29-34%, profit is maximized for a line that is about 3/4 of the nameplate capacity of the wind farm. Although wind generation is inexpensive at a good site, transmitting wind power over 1600 km (about the distance from Wyoming to Los Angeles) doubles the delivered cost of power. As the price for power rises, the optimal capacity of transmission increases. Connecting wind farms lowers delivered cost when the wind farms are close, despite the high correlation of output over time. Imposing a penalty for failing to deliver minimum contracted supply leads to connecting more distant wind farms.

Options to improve family income, labor input and soil organic matter balances by soil management and maize–livestock interactions. Exploration of farm-specific options for a region in Southwest Mexico

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Flores Sanchez, D.; Groot, J.C.J.; Lantinga, E.A.; Kropff, M.J.; Rossing, W.A.H.

2015-01-01

Farming systems in the Costa Chica region in Mexico face limitations linked to low yields and soil fertility degradation. Several alternative maize-based cropping systems have been proposed to improve current limitations. These field-level options need to be evaluated at farm level in order to

Research Staff | Wind | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Research Staff Research Staff Learn more about the expertise and technical skills of the wind power research team and staff at NREL. Name Position Email Phone Anstedt, Sheri Professional III-Writer/Editor /Web Content Sheri.Anstedt@nrel.gov 303-275-3255 Baker, Donald Research Technician V-Electrical

Immigrant Workers and Farm Performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Munch, Jakob R.; Seidelin, Claus Aastrup

2013-01-01

for Danish farms in 1980–2008 to analyze the micro-level relationship between these two developments. Farms employing immigrants tend to be both larger than and no less productive than other farms. Furthermore, an increased use of immigrants is associated with an improvement in job creation and revenue......In many developed countries, the agricultural sector has experienced a significant inflow of immigrants. At the same time, agriculture is still in a process of structural transformation, resulting in fewer but larger and presumably more efficient farms. We exploit matched employer-employee data...

Farm profitability and structural challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jørgen Dejgård; Kristensen, Inge Toft

2013-01-01

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

CleverFarm final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-09-15

Wind turbine technology has ventured in recent years from prototypes and first deployments towards large power plant scale projects. With this, also the ownership structure of wind farms changed: from single farmers to cooperatives, and to large multi-national developers specialised in building and running wind power projects. At the same time, the best sites for wind energy were already taken, leading to more remote sites and offshore sites being developed. Both these developments lead to an increased wish for remote monitoring of turbines. Ideally, the turbine would know on its own accord when it would need maintenance, and call the maintenance crew autonomously. The crew then would have all the information they need to have before they go out to the turbine and do the necessary tasks. Having knowledge of the type of fault that has happened would help the maintenance crew to deal with it efficiently. This also could mean to wait until the next scheduled maintenance is due. The potential savings for this alone are considerable, if you think of the plans for offshore wind farms tens of kilometres from the coast, where access would probably be by helicopter. The idea behind this project was to take the existing techniques developed for optimising and enhancing the performance of wind farms, integrate them into one system and implement the system at a number of wind farms. The techniques include remote measuring of the status and production of the wind farm, short-term prediction of the expected wind speeds at and power output from the wind farm, models for wake calculations, remote control of wind farm production and so on. (au)

Staff Association Cocktail

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2017-01-01

The Staff Association has been organising for many years a cocktail with delegates of the Member States participating in Finance Committees of March and September. This cocktail is held at the end of the day, after the Finance Committee meeting. This direct and regular communication helps establish an ongoing contact between the Staff Association and CERN Member States and, more recently, the Associate Member States. Ambassadors of the CERN Staff Association, who are Members of the Personnel, have the opportunity to meet their national delegation in an informal and friendly atmosphere. These exchanges, facilitated by the use of the national language, allow the personnel via the Staff Association to express its ideas and positions on current affairs and fundamental issues, and also to hear about those of the delegations in return.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abu Nasar Md. Aminoor Rahman

2016-09-01

, outbreak of endemic diseases, lack of proper knowledge, farmers training, proper market access, difficulties of parent stock collection, inadequate biosecurity practices, and limited access to veterinary care. Thus, a proper training on quail farming, bio-security management, and government subsidy on feeds could make quail farming sustainable in Bangladesh. Conclusions: The study concludes that Japanese quail farming has enormous potentiality and could be an alternative to chicken farming particularly in providing gainful employment, supplementary income and as a valuable source of meat and egg, quail farming should be encouraged and promoted in Bangladesh.

EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ); Scientific Opinion on Composting and incineration of dead-on-farm pigs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hald, Tine

of biological hazards throughout the farm environment. Major deficiencies were noted in relation to the risk containment. Moreover, a formal HACCP plan was not provided, and some deficiencies were also noted in the identification of interdependent processes. Provided that the deficiencies identified......A method for on-farm processing of Category (Cat) 2 Animal By-Products (ABP) alternative to the ones already approved in the current legislation was assessed. The materials to be treated are placentas and dead-on-farm pigs. The proposed process consists of three sequential steps, i.e. composting......, storage of mature compost and incineration of mature compost in authorized plants. The applicant identified the main biological, physical and chemical hazards that could be present in the material to be treated and in the compost substrate. Since the compost is only intended for incineration the applicant...

Testing of Alternative Abrasives for Water-Jet Cutting at C Tank Farm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krogstad, Eirik J.

2013-08-01

Legacy waste from defense-related activities at the Hanford Site has predominantly been stored in underground tanks, some of which have leaked; others may be at risk to do so. The U.S. Department of Energy’s goal is to empty the tanks and transform their contents into more stable waste forms. To do so requires breaking up, and creating a slurry from, solid wastes in the bottoms of the tanks. A technology developed for this purpose is the Mobile Arm Retrieval System. This system is being used at some of the older single shell tanks at C tank farm. As originally planned, access ports for the Mobile Arm Retrieval System were to be cut using a high- pressure water-jet cutter. However, water alone was found to be insufficient to allow effective cutting of the steel-reinforced tank lids, especially when cutting the steel reinforcing bar (“rebar”). The abrasive added in cutting the hole in Tank C-107 was garnet, a complex natural aluminosilicate. The hardness of garnet (Mohs hardness ranging from H 6.5 to 7.5) exceeds that of solids currently in the tanks, and was regarded to be a threat to Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant systems. Olivine, an iron-magnesium silicate that is nearly as hard as garnet (H 6.5 to 7), has been proposed as an alternative to garnet. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory proposed to test pyrite (FeS2), whose hardness is slightly less (H 6 to 6.5) for 1) cutting effectiveness, and 2) propensity to dissolve (or disintegrate by chemical reaction) in chemical conditions similar to those of tank waste solutions. Cutting experiments were conducted using an air abrader system and a National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Material (SRM 1767 Low Alloy Steel), which was used as a surrogate for rebar. The cutting efficacy of pyrite was compared with that of garnet and olivine in identical size fractions. Garnet was found to be most effective in removing steel from the target; olivine and pyrite were less

Development of FAST.Farm: A New Multiphysics Engineering Tool for Wind Farm Design and Analysis: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jonkman, Jason; Annoni, Jennifer; Hayman, Greg; Jonkman, Bonnie; Purkayastha, Avi

2017-01-01

This paper presents the development of FAST.Farm, a new multiphysics tool applicable to engineering problems in research and industry involving wind farm performance and cost optimization that is needed to address the current underperformance, failures, and expenses plaguing the wind industry. Achieving wind cost-of-energy targets - which requires improvements in wind farm performance and reliability, together with reduced uncertainty and expenditures - has been eluded by the complicated nature of the wind farm design problem, especially the sophisticated interaction between atmospheric phenomena and wake dynamics and array effects. FAST.Farm aims to balance the need for accurate modeling of the relevant physics for predicting power performance and loads while maintaining low computational cost to support a highly iterative and probabilistic design process and system-wide optimization. FAST.Farm makes use of FAST to model the aero-hydro-servo-elastics of distinct turbines in the wind farm, and it is based on some of the principles of the Dynamic Wake Meandering (DWM) model, but avoids many of the limitations of existing DWM implementations.

12 CFR 619.9145 - Farm Credit Bank.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-01-01

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

Farm level evaluation of biomass energy operated seed dryer at selected sites of Bangladesh

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, S.M.M.; Bhuiyan, M.G.K.; Rahman, M.A.; Baqui, M.A.; Bala, B.K.

2006-01-01

Drying is one of the major problem in post harvest and processing of farm produce specially paddy seed in Bangladesh resulting tremendous shortage of quality seed. Evaluation through demonstrations was undertaken for the resource poor farmers at the selected sites to have practical experience of the IRRI-BRRI seed dryer. Viability of the dried paddy was more than 90% after six months of storage. The farmers were satisfied on the performance of the dryer. 68-100% farmers were motivated to hire the dyer during Boro and Aus seasons. Thus, the farm level evaluation and adoption of seed dryer will give a better alternative, aware and motivate the farmers on producing quality seed through proper drying and will contribute increased production

The rain water management model on an appropriate hilly area to fulfil the needs of cocoa farm during dry season

Science.gov (United States)

Hasbi, M.; Darma, R.; Yamin, M.; Nurdin, M.; Rizal, M.

2018-05-01

Cocoa is an important commodity because 90% farmers involved, easily marketed, and potentially harvested along the year. However, cocoa productivity tended to decrease by an average of only 300 kg hectare-1 year-1 or away from the potential productivity of two tons. Water management was an alternative method to increase its productivity by harvesting rainwater on the hilly cocoa farm area and distributing the water based on the gravity law. The research objective was to describes how to manage rainwater at the hilly cocoa farm area, so that the water needs of cocoa farm were met during the dry season. The important implication of the management was the water availability that supports the cocoa cultivation during the year. This research used qualitative method with descriptive approach to explain the appropriate technical specification of infrastructure to support the rainwater management. This research generated several mathematical formulas to support rainwater management infrastructure. The implementation of an appropriate rainwater utilization management for cocoa farm will ensuring the availability of water during dry season, so the cocoa farm allowed to produce cacao fruit during the year.

Orchid bees as bio-indicators for organic coffee farms in Costa Rica: does farm size affect their abundance?

Science.gov (United States)

Hedström, Ingemar; Denzel, Andrew; Owens, Gareth

2006-09-01

The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs nonorganic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test). However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms.

Impact of the Christchurch earthquakes on hospital staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Tovaranonte, Pleayo; Cawood, Tom J

2013-06-01

On September 4, 2010 a major earthquake caused widespread damage, but no loss of life, to Christchurch city and surrounding areas. There were numerous aftershocks, including on February 22, 2011 which, in contrast, caused substantial loss of life and major damage to the city. The research aim was to assess how these two earthquakes affected the staff in the General Medicine Department at Christchurch Hospital. Problem To date there have been no published data assessing the impact of this type of natural disaster on hospital staff in Australasia. A questionnaire that examined seven domains (demographics, personal impact, psychological impact, emotional impact, impact on care for patients, work impact, and coping strategies) was handed out to General Medicine staff and students nine days after the September 2010 earthquake and 14 days after the February 2011 earthquake. Response rates were ≥ 99%. Sixty percent of responders were earthquakes, respectively. A fifth to a third of people had to find an alternative route of transport to get to work but only eight percent to 18% took time off work. Financial impact was more severe following the February earthquake, with 46% reporting damage of >NZ $1,000, compared with 15% following the September earthquake (P earthquake than the September earthquake (42% vs 69%, P earthquake but this rose to 53% after the February earthquake (12/53 vs 45/85, P earthquake but this dropped significantly to 15% following the February earthquake (27/53 vs 13/62, P earthquakes upon General Medicine hospital staff. The effect was widespread with minor financial impact during the first but much more during the second earthquake. Moderate psychological impact was experienced in both earthquakes. This data may be useful to help prepare plans for future natural disasters. .

Research Staff | Photovoltaic Research | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Research Staff Research Staff desc Greg Wilson Center Director Dr. Greg Wilson is the Director of @nrel.gov 303-384-6649 Bosco, Nicholas Staff Scientist Nick.Bosco@nrel.gov 303-384-6337 Braunecker, Wade IV-Physics Michael.Deceglie@nrel.gov 303-384-6104 Deline, Chris Staff Engineer Chris.Deline@nrel.gov

Hard bottom substrate monitoring Horns Rev offshore wind farm. Annual status report. 2004

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leonhard, S.B.; Pedersen, John

2005-05-15

Elsam and Eltra have built the offshore demonstration wind farm at Horns Rev in the North Sea. Elsam is the owner and is responsible for the operation of the wind farm. Eltra is responsible for the connection of the wind farm to the national onshore grid. In the summer months of 2002, Elsam constructed the world's largest offshore wind farm at the Danish west coast. The wind farm is located 14-20 km into the North Sea, west of Blaevands Huk. The first wind turbine foundation was in place in March 2002 and the last mono-pile was in place in August 2002 for a total of 80. The construction work was completed with the last connecting cables sluiced down in September 2002. All the wind turbines were in production in December 2002. The expected impact from the wind farm will primarily be an alternation of habitats due to the introduction of hard bottom substrates as wind mono-piles and scour protections. A continuous development in the epifouling communities will be expected together with an introduction of new or alien species in the area. The indigenous benthic community in the area of Horn Rev can be characterised by infauna species belonging to the Goniadella-Spisula community. This community is typical of sandbanks in the North Sea area, although communities in such areas are very variable and site specific. Character species used as indicators for environmental changes in the Horns Rev area are the bristle worms Goniadella bobretzkii, Ophelia borealis, Psione remota and Orbinia sertulata and the mussels Goodallia triangularis and Spisula solida. In connection with the implementation of the monitoring programme concerning the ecological impact of the introduction of hard substrate related to the Horns Rev Wind Farm, surveys on hard bottom substrates were initialised in March 2003 with monitoring conducted in September 2003 and March and September 2004. This report describes the results from surveys on hard substrates in 2004. (au)

Hard bottom substrate monitoring Horns Rev offshore wind farm. Annual status report. 2004

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leonhard, S B; Pedersen, John

2005-05-15

Elsam and Eltra have built the offshore demonstration wind farm at Horns Rev in the North Sea. Elsam is the owner and is responsible for the operation of the wind farm. Eltra is responsible for the connection of the wind farm to the national onshore grid. In the summer months of 2002, Elsam constructed the world's largest offshore wind farm at the Danish west coast. The wind farm is located 14-20 km into the North Sea, west of Blaevands Huk. The first wind turbine foundation was in place in March 2002 and the last mono-pile was in place in August 2002 for a total of 80. The construction work was completed with the last connecting cables sluiced down in September 2002. All the wind turbines were in production in December 2002. The expected impact from the wind farm will primarily be an alternation of habitats due to the introduction of hard bottom substrates as wind mono-piles and scour protections. A continuous development in the epifouling communities will be expected together with an introduction of new or alien species in the area. The indigenous benthic community in the area of Horn Rev can be characterised by infauna species belonging to the Goniadella-Spisula community. This community is typical of sandbanks in the North Sea area, although communities in such areas are very variable and site specific. Character species used as indicators for environmental changes in the Horns Rev area are the bristle worms Goniadella bobretzkii, Ophelia borealis, Psione remota and Orbinia sertulata and the mussels Goodallia triangularis and Spisula solida. In connection with the implementation of the monitoring programme concerning the ecological impact of the introduction of hard substrate related to the Horns Rev Wind Farm, surveys on hard bottom substrates were initialised in March 2003 with monitoring conducted in September 2003 and March and September 2004. This report describes the results from surveys on hard substrates in 2004. (au)

Controlled Traffic Farming

OpenAIRE

Controlled Traffic Farming Europe

2011-01-01

Metadata only record Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) is a farming method used to reduce soil compaction, decrease inputs, and improve soil structure when coupled with reduced-till or no-till practices. This practices utilizes permanent traffic/wheel zones to limit soil compaction to a specific area. This website provides practical information on CTF, case studies, workshops, and links to additional resources.

Farm animal proteomics - A review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bendixen, Emøke; Danielsen, Marianne; Hollung, Kristin

2011-01-01

In agricultural sciences as in all other areas of life science, the implementation of proteomics and other post-genomic tools is an important step towards more detailed understanding of the complex biological systems that control physiology and pathology of living beings. Farm animals are raised...... and cattle are relevant not only for farm animal sciences, but also for adding to our understanding of complex biological mechanisms of health and disease in humans. The aim of this review is to present an overview of the specific topics of interest within farm animal proteomics, and to highlight some...... of the areas where synergy between classic model organism proteomics and farm animal proteomics is rapidly emerging. Focus will be on introducing the special biological traits that play an important role in food production, and on how proteomics may help optimize farm animal production...

Protocol for disposition of tank farm equipment lists and tank farm drawings for year 2000 compliance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ADAMS, M.R.

1999-01-01

A program has been initiated to assess, renovate, document and certify tank farm field equipment for year 2000 compliance. The program is necessary to assure no adverse effects occur in tank farm operations as a result of equipment malfunction due to what is widely known as the ''millennium bug''. This document elaborates the protocols for reviewing field equipment lists and tank farm drawings for the purpose of identifying and resolving year 2000 compliance problems in tank farm equipment

An Exploration of Inter-District Sharing Alternatives for Belle Plaine and HLV. Final Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Scott A.

In an effort to address the costs incurred by declining enrollments while still maintaining quality education, 2 small Iowa school districts explored 84 sharing alternatives. The utility (fitness/usefullness) of each alternative was rated by the school board, school staff, and a community sample from each district via a specially constructed…

Amplified recruitment pressure of biofouling organisms in commercial salmon farms: potential causes and implications for farm management.

Science.gov (United States)

Bloecher, Nina; Floerl, Oliver; Sunde, Leif Magne

2015-01-01

The development of biofouling on finfish aquaculture farms presents challenges for the industry, but the factors underlying nuisance growths are still not well understood. Artificial settlement surfaces were used to examine two possible explanations for high rates of biofouling in Norwegian salmon farms: (1) increased propagule release during net cleaning operations, resulting in elevated recruitment rates; and (2) potential reservoir effects of farm surfaces. The presence of salmon farms was associated with consistently and substantially (up to 49-fold) elevated recruitment rates. Temporal patterns of recruitment were not driven by net cleaning. Resident populations of biofouling organisms were encountered on all submerged farm surfaces. Calculations indicate that a resident population of the hydroid Ectopleura larynx, a major biofouling species, could release between 0.3 × 10(9) and 4.7 × 10(9) larvae per farm annually. Such resident populations could form propagule reservoirs and be one explanation for the elevated recruitment pressure at salmon farms.

Manual for prototyping integrated and ecological arable farming systems (I/EAFS) in interaction with pilot farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vereijken, P.

1999-01-01

A manual for prototyping Integrated and Ecological Arable Farming Systems (I/EAFS) in interaction with pilot farms is presented. It concerns a comprehensive and consistent approach of 5 steps. Step 1 is establishing a hierarchy of objectives considering the shortcomings of current farming systems in

Energy consumption across European Union farms: Efficiency in terms of farming output and utilized agricultural area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinho, Vítor João Pereira Domingues

2016-01-01

Energy consumption is a global concern, namely due to the limited availability of energy sources and the consequences in terms of gas emissions, with its implications upon greenhouse gas emissions. In the agricultural sector this question bears an additional concern, considering that it is an economic activity which is sensitive to the dimension of the costs associated with production factors. In this way, the objective of the study presented here is to analyze, the efficiency of energy consumption, for the twelve former European Union countries, at farm level, in terms of farming output and utilized agricultural area, over the period 1989–2009 and for the years 2004–2012, with data available in the Farm Accountancy Data Network. On the other hand, the implications of energy consumption in farms' economic performance were analyzed, through econometric techniques (time series, panel data and generalized method of moments) and models based on the Kaldor developments. As a main conclusion, to stress the decrease in efficiency related with energy consumption by farms in the twelve former European Union countries. - Highlights: • It was analyzed the efficiency of energy consumption. • It was considered data for the twelve former European Union states at farm level. • They were evaluated the implications of energy consumption in farms performance. • The conclusions stress the decrease in efficiency of the farms energy consumption.

Structural and economic dynamics in diversified Italian farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina Salvioni

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Objective of this work is to investigate the structural change and economic dynamics of farms pursuing diversification and differentiation strategies in Italy. The analysis was performed on a panel of data built on the basis of information collected by the Italian FADN between 2003-2009. For the purpose of the analysis, we divided the population of commercial Italian farms into a five-fold farm typology based on size and the extent of diversification and differentiation strategies adopted by the farms. In detail, farms are defined as differentiated when they make use of a system of quality certification, while they are defined as diversified when they take up non farming activities (agritourism, social farms etc.. The findings show that conventional farms remain by far the largest category within the population of Italian commercial farms, while only 13% of the total commercial farms are classified as differentiated and/or diversified. Farms adopting product differentiation strategies are found to have an income growth path similar to that of conventional farms. Yet the category of diversified farms is the only one showing an upward trend with regard to income per worker in the observed years, while farms relying entirely on agricultural products appear to perform poorly in terms of labour productivity.

12 CFR 619.9140 - Farm Credit bank(s).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

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

On Farm Feeding;Replacing Bought in Pig Feed with Home-Grown Straights at Sheepdrove Organic Farm

OpenAIRE

Nelder, Rebecca

2009-01-01

Organic systems aim to operate in an ecological and economical way, importing cereals grown thousands of miles away, processed at a mill and then transported again to our farms is costly in oil and therefore money. It is neither ecologically nor economically sustainable. British farms are capable of producing a large amount of high quality cereal, the majority of which is usually sold. Transportation and processing of the grain uses oil and leaves farms vulnerable to market prices. If farm...

Does Contract Farming Improve Smallholder Farmers Income? The Case of Avocado Farming in Kenya

OpenAIRE

Mwambi, Mercy; Oduol, Judith; Mshenga, Patience M.; Mwanarusi, Saidi

2013-01-01

Contract farming is seen by its proponents as a tool for creating new market opportunities as well as for providing credit and training, leading to increased incomes of smallholder farmers. Critics, however, argue that contract farming encourages unequal bargaining relationships with agribusiness firms and is likely to pass risks to farmers, thus favouring large scale farmers at the expense of smallholders. Another school of thought contends that the effect of contract farming on the liveliho...

IMPACT OF THE EU FUNDS SUPPORTING FARM MODERNISATION ON THE CHANGES OF THE ASSETS IN POLISH FARMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wawrzyniec Czubak

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The paper focuses on the analysis of the changes in the production potential of Polish farms after implementing CAP mechanisms (2004-2011. Two criteria were used to share the farms: investment activity and economic size. Only those farms were selected, which continuously conducted the agricultural accounting FADN system in 2004--2011. Based on the analysis it was found that in the base period, farms making the most complex investments (supported by EU funds or financed on the basin of own financial resources, had greater production potential – in the matter of area and volume of assets. The investment activities contributed to the increase in disparities between groups of farms. Especially the non-investment farms were able to preserve the area of agricultural land, but the value of their assets was significantly reduced.

Offshore wind farm repowering optimization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hou, Peng; Enevoldsen, Peter; Hu, Weihao

2017-01-01

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

Wind Farms: Modeling and Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Soleimanzadeh, Maryam

2012-01-01

is minimized. The controller is practically feasible. Yet, the results on load reduction in this approach are not very significant. In the second strategy, the wind farm control problem has been divided into below rated and above rated wind speed conditions. In the above rated wind speed pitch angle and power....... Distributed controller design commences with formulating the problem, where a structured matrix approach has been put in to practice. Afterwards, an H2 control problem is implemented to obtain the controller dynamics for a wind farm such that the structural loads on wind turbines are minimized.......The primary purpose of this work is to develop control algorithms for wind farms to optimize the power production and augment the lifetime of wind turbines in wind farms. In this regard, a dynamical model for wind farms was required to be the basis of the controller design. In the first stage...

Coordinated control strategy for hybrid wind farms with DFIG-based and PMSG-based wind farms during network unbalance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yao, Jun; Liu, Ruikuo; Zhou, Te

2017-01-01

This paper investigates the coordinated control strategy for a hybrid wind farm with doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-based and direct-driven permanent-magnet synchronous generator (PMSG)-based wind farms during network unbalance. The negative-sequence current output capabilities of DFIG...... to the controllable operating regions, a targets selection scheme for each control unit is proposed to improve the stability of the hybrid wind farms containing both DFIG-based and PMSG-based wind farms during network unbalance, especially to avoid DFIG-based wind farm tripping from connected power grid under severe...... grid voltage unbalance conditions. Finally, the proposed coordinated control strategy is validated by the simulation results of a 30-MW-DFIG-based wind farm and a 30-MW-PMSG-based wind farm under different operation conditions and experimental results on a laboratory-scale experimental rig under severe...

Farming in an Agriburban Ecovillage Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lenore Newman

2014-12-01

Full Text Available A growing desire for local food systems has increased interest in peri-urban farming, leading to the rise of agriburban landscapes, in which a desire to farm or to be near farmland is a contributing factor to development patterns. Interviews and site visits to the Yarrow Ecovillage near Vancouver, Canada, outline an example of a development that allows new farmers access to land in a setting with few tensions between farming and non-farming residents in a zone on the edge of a protected agricultural region. Although there are limitations to replication of this model, we suggest that intentional settlements with an agricultural element on the rural/urban fringe could buffer traditional tensions between farm usage and residential usage, while allowing small-scale farmers a place to farm in areas with prohibitively high land values.

Hanford Tank Farms Vadose Zone, Addendum to the TX Tank Farm Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spatz, R.

2000-01-01

This addendum to the TX Tank Farm Report (GJO-97-13-TAR, GJO-HAN-11) published in September 1997 incorporates the results of high-rate and repeat logging activities along with shape factor analysis of the logging data. A high-rate logging system was developed and deployed in the TX Tank Farm to measure cesium-137 concentration levels in high gamma flux zones where the spectral gamma logging system was unable to collect usable data because of high dead times and detector saturation. This report presents additional data and revised visualizations of subsurface contaminant distribution in the TX Tank Farm at the DOE Hanford Site in the state of Washington

Co-located wind-wave farm synergies (Operation and Maintenance): A case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astariz, S.; Perez-Collazo, C.; Abanades, J.; Iglesias, G.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The shielding effect of WECs located around the wind farm is analysed. • The height wave reductions achieved by 15 different layouts are compared. • The increase in the accessibility to the wind turbines is quantified. • Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm is considered as baseline scenario. • High-resolution numerical modelling (SWAN) and real sea conditions are used. - Abstract: Operation and maintenance can jeopardise the financial viability of an offshore wind energy project due to the cost of downtime, repairs and, above all, the inevitable uncertainties. The variability of wave climate can impede or hinder emergency repairs when a failure occurs, and the resulting delays imply additional costs which ultimately reduce the competitiveness of offshore wind energy as an alternative to fossil fuels. Co-located wind turbines and Wave Energy Converters (WECs) are proposed in this paper as a novel solution: the reduction of the significant wave height brought about by the WECs along the periphery of the wind farm results in a milder wave climate within the farm. This reduction, also called shadow effect, enlarges weather windows for Operation and Maintenance (O and M). The objective of this paper is to investigate the increase in the accessibility time to the turbines and to optimise the layout for the co-located wind-wave farm in order to maximise this time. The investigation is carried out through a case study: Alpha Ventus, an operating offshore wind farm. To maximise the reduction of wave height in the turbine area no fewer than 15 layouts are tested using high-resolution numerical modelling, and a sensitivity analysis is conducted. The results show that, thanks to the wave energy extraction by the WECs, weather windows (access time) can increase very significantly – over 80%. This substantial effect, together with other benefits from the combination of wave and offshore wind power in a co-located farm (common electrical infrastructures

Participatory farm management adaptations to reduce environmental impact on commercial pilot dairy farms in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oenema, J.; Keulen, van H.; Schils, R.L.M.; Aarts, H.F.M.

2011-01-01

Regulations in the Netherlands with respect to nutrient use force dairy farmers to improve nutrient management at the whole-farm level. On experimental farm ‘De Marke’, a coherent set of simple measures at farm level has been implemented, which has resulted in a drastic reduction in input of

Sampling pig farms at the abattoir in a cross-sectional study − Evaluation of a sampling method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Birkegård, Anna Camilla; Hisham Beshara Halasa, Tariq; Toft, Nils

2017-01-01

slaughter pigs. It was not possible to visit farms within the designated timeframe. Therefore, it was decided to use convenience sampling at the abattoir. Our approach was carried out in three steps: 1) planning: using data from meat inspection to plan at which abattoirs and how many farms to sample; 2......A cross-sectional study design is relatively inexpensive, fast and easy to conduct when compared to other study designs. Careful planning is essential to obtaining a representative sample of the population, and the recommended approach is to use simple random sampling from an exhaustive list...... of units in the target population. This approach is rarely feasible in practice, and other sampling procedures must often be adopted. For example, when slaughter pigs are the target population, sampling the pigs on the slaughter line may be an alternative to on-site sampling at a list of farms. However...

Orchid bees as bio-indicators for organic coffee farms in Costa Rica: Does farm size affect their abundance?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingemar Hedström

2006-09-01

Full Text Available The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs non-organic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test. However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54 (3: 965-969. Epub 2006 Sept. 29.

The Staff Association and you

CERN Multimedia

Association du personnel

2013-01-01

The Staff Association, your representative with the Management and the Member States The article VII 1.01 of the Staff Rules and Regulations (SR&R) provides that “the relations between the Director-General and the personnel shall be established either on an individual basis or on a collective basis with the Staff Association as intermediary”. This essential role of the Staff representatives, of being the spokesperson of the entire staff of the Organization vis-à-vis the Director-General and the Members States, is achieved through regular participation in the various joint advisory committees defined in the SR&R. The most important are the Standing Concertation Committee and the TREF, tripartite forum where your representatives meet with the Member States delegates, in the presence of the Management, to explain the position of the staff on the various issues concerning employment conditions. The Finance Committee also gives the opportunity to the Staff Association to ...

ISSUES AND ALTERNATIVES IN THE 1995 FARM BILL DEBATE: IMPLICATIONS OF THE URUGUAY ROUND OF GATT NEGOTIATIONS

OpenAIRE

Batie, Sandra S.; Schweikhardt, David B.

1994-01-01

The recently completed round of negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade focused on domestic and international agricultural policies. If this agreement is approved by Congress, U.S. agricultural programs must comply with GATT provisions. The policy choices made during the 1995 farm bill debate about domestic programs, import policies, and export programs could all be affected by the approval of GATT.

Off-Farm Employment and Economic Crisis: Evidence from Cyprus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elias Giannakis

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Off-farm employment is an important strategy for complementing farm household income and maintaining rural livelihoods. A multilevel logistic regression model was applied to investigate the effect of farm-level and regional-level factors on off-farm employment in Cyprus during the recent economic crisis period. The performance of nonfarm sectors positively affects off-farm employment; a one-percent increase in the share of the secondary and tertiary sector employment increases the likelihood of off-farm work by 9.5 times. The importance of location was also identified. Farm households located in rural areas are 70% less likely to engage in off-farm work than households located in urban areas. The positive effect of educational attainment and the negative effect of farm training confirmed the importance of human capital characteristics on off-farm labour participation. Farm structural factors are also significant determinants of off-farm employment. A one-hectare increase in the farm size decreases the odds of off-farm labour participation by 50%. Operators of crop farming holdings are 4.2 times more likely to work off the farm than operators of livestock and mixed-farming holdings. The results reveal the importance of adopting a multilevel and integrated approach for the analysis of off-farm employment.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Israr Ullah

2018-06-01

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

Matching breeding goals with farming systems to enhance the sustainability of fish farming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Besson, Mathieu

2017-01-01

Fish farming is growing but is also facing challenges regarding economic viability and environmental sustainability. Selective breeding could enhance the sustainability of fish farming by changing animal performances. Thus, our aim was to develop sustainable breeding goals by using economic (EV)

Knowledge of Precision Farming Beneficiaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.V. Greena

2016-05-01

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

The Socioeconomic Basis of Farm Enterprise Diversification Decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Anosike, Nnamdi; Coughenour, C. Milton

1990-01-01

Examines research relating farm size inversely to specialization and directly to farm-enterprise diversification. Develops model of farm management decision making. Tests model using survey examining land tenure, off-farm work, education, and environmental factors. Concludes diversification linked to farm size, human capital, and environmental…

An Assessment of Direct on-Farm Energy Use for High Value Grain Crops Grown under Different Farming Practices in Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tek Maraseni

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Several studies have quantified the energy consumption associated with crop production in various countries. However, these studies have not compared the energy consumption from a broad range of farming practices currently in practice, such as zero tillage, conventional tillage and irrigated farming systems. This study examines direct on-farm energy use for high value grain crops grown under different farming practices in Australia. Grain farming processes are identified and “typical” farming operation data are collected from several sources, including published and unpublished literature, as well as expert interviews. The direct on-farm energy uses are assessed for 27 scenarios, including three high value grain crops―wheat, barley and sorghum―for three regions (Northern, Southern and Western Australia under three farming conditions with both dryland (both for conventional and zero-tillage and irrigated conditions. It is found that energy requirement for farming operations is directly related to the intensity and frequency of farming operations, which in turn is related to tillage practices, soil types, irrigation systems, local climate, and crop types. Among the three studied regions, Western Australia requires less direct on-farm energy for each crop, mainly due to the easily workable sandy soils and adoption of zero tillage systems. In irrigated crops, irrigation energy remains a major contributor to the total on-farm energy demand, accounting for up to 85% of total energy use.

Horns Rev offshore wind farm. Environmental impact assessment of sea bottom and marine biology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leonhard, S.B.

2000-03-15

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of a planned 150 MW offshore wind farm at Horns Rev has been carried out for the marine biology and sea bottom in the area, and includes vegetation and benthic fauna. The study forms part of a total EIA of the planned offshore wind farm. This EIA study has been drawn up in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Environment and Energy in the publication, 'Guidelines for preparation of EIAstudies for offshore wind farms. Horns Rev is situated off Blaevands Huk, which is Denmark's most westerly point. It is a shallow reef with water depths between 2 and 9 metres and is primarily composed of sand, gravel and pebbles. The area designated for the wind farm lies directly south of Horns Rev and is dominated by sand with a median particle size of 0.3 mm. Along the edges, towards areas of greater depth, the particle size increases. There are areas of fine sand in the deepest area, and in isolated pockets within the proposed wind farm site. The sediment is characterised by a very low (<1%) organic matter content. On the basis of the expected impact from the establishment of the wind farm, it is not deemed necessary to carry out special programmes during the construction phase for monitoring of the environmental-biological conditions. A monitoring and control programme is recommended during the production phase in order to follow the copper concentration in bivalves, or alternatively to initiate recovery or elimination of the copper-laden waste. A control programme is recommended during the production phase in order to follow the establishment and succession of the fouling community on the wind turbine foundations and scour-protecting revetments. (BA)

Horns Rev offshore wind farm. Environmental impact assessment of sea bottom and marine biology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leonhard, S B

2000-03-15

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of a planned 150 MW offshore wind farm at Horns Rev has been carried out for the marine biology and sea bottom in the area, and includes vegetation and benthic fauna. The study forms part of a total EIA of the planned offshore wind farm. This EIA study has been drawn up in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Environment and Energy in the publication, 'Guidelines for preparation of EIAstudies for offshore wind farms. Horns Rev is situated off Blaevands Huk, which is Denmark's most westerly point. It is a shallow reef with water depths between 2 and 9 metres and is primarily composed of sand, gravel and pebbles. The area designated for the wind farm lies directly south of Horns Rev and is dominated by sand with a median particle size of 0.3 mm. Along the edges, towards areas of greater depth, the particle size increases. There are areas of fine sand in the deepest area, and in isolated pockets within the proposed wind farm site. The sediment is characterised by a very low (<1%) organic matter content. On the basis of the expected impact from the establishment of the wind farm, it is not deemed necessary to carry out special programmes during the construction phase for monitoring of the environmental-biological conditions. A monitoring and control programme is recommended during the production phase in order to follow the copper concentration in bivalves, or alternatively to initiate recovery or elimination of the copper-laden waste. A control programme is recommended during the production phase in order to follow the establishment and succession of the fouling community on the wind turbine foundations and scour-protecting revetments. (BA)

Optimisation of staff protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faulkner, K.; Marshall, N.W.; Rawlings, D.J.

1997-01-01

It is important to minimize the radiation dose received by staff, but it is particularly important in interventional radiology. Staff doses may be reduced by minimizing the fluoroscopic screening time and number of images, compatible with the clinical objective of the procedure. Staff may also move to different positions in the room in an attempt to reduce doses. Finally, staff should wear appropriate protective clothing to reduce their occupational doses. This paper will concentrate on the optimization of personal shielding in interventional radiology. The effect of changing the lead equivalence of various protective devices on effective dose to staff has been studied by modeling the exposure of staff to realistic scattered radiation. Both overcouch x-ray tube/undercouch image intensified and overcouch image intensifier/undercouch x-ray tube geometries were simulated. It was deduced from this simulation that increasing the lead apron thickness from 0.35 mm lead to 0.5 mm lead had only a small reducing effect. By contrast, wearing a lead rubber thyroid shield or face mask is a superior means of reducing the effective dose to staff. Standing back from the couch when the x-ray tube is emitting radiation is another good method of reducing doses, being better than exchanging a 0.35 mm lead apron for a 0.5 mm apron. In summary, it is always preferable to shield more organs than to increase the thickness of the lead apron. (author)

Sampling pig farms at the abattoir in a cross-sectional study - Evaluation of a sampling method.

Science.gov (United States)

Birkegård, Anna Camilla; Halasa, Tariq; Toft, Nils

2017-09-15

A cross-sectional study design is relatively inexpensive, fast and easy to conduct when compared to other study designs. Careful planning is essential to obtaining a representative sample of the population, and the recommended approach is to use simple random sampling from an exhaustive list of units in the target population. This approach is rarely feasible in practice, and other sampling procedures must often be adopted. For example, when slaughter pigs are the target population, sampling the pigs on the slaughter line may be an alternative to on-site sampling at a list of farms. However, it is difficult to sample a large number of farms from an exact predefined list, due to the logistics and workflow of an abattoir. Therefore, it is necessary to have a systematic sampling procedure and to evaluate the obtained sample with respect to the study objective. We propose a method for 1) planning, 2) conducting, and 3) evaluating the representativeness and reproducibility of a cross-sectional study when simple random sampling is not possible. We used an example of a cross-sectional study with the aim of quantifying the association of antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial consumption in Danish slaughter pigs. It was not possible to visit farms within the designated timeframe. Therefore, it was decided to use convenience sampling at the abattoir. Our approach was carried out in three steps: 1) planning: using data from meat inspection to plan at which abattoirs and how many farms to sample; 2) conducting: sampling was carried out at five abattoirs; 3) evaluation: representativeness was evaluated by comparing sampled and non-sampled farms, and the reproducibility of the study was assessed through simulated sampling based on meat inspection data from the period where the actual data collection was carried out. In the cross-sectional study samples were taken from 681 Danish pig farms, during five weeks from February to March 2015. The evaluation showed that the sampling

Staff Group Trainer: Development of a Computer-Driven, Structured, Staff Training Environment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Koger, Milton

1998-01-01

.... The project produced two training support packages (TSP)--battalion and brigade--designed to train these staffs to more effectively and efficiently communicate within and between staff sections, command post, and the unit commander...

Antibiotics in Canadian poultry productions and anticipated alternatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moussa Sory Diarra

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The use of antibiotics in food-producing animals has significantly increased animal health by lowering mortality and the incidence of diseases. Antibiotics also have largely contributed to increase productivity of farms. However, antibiotic usage in general and relevance of non-therapeutic antibiotics in feed (growth promoters need to be reevaluated especially because bacterial pathogens of humans and animals have developed and shared a variety of antibiotic resistance mechanisms that can easily spread within microbial communities. In Canada, poultry production involves more than 2,600 regulated chicken producers. There are several antibiotics approved as feed additives available for poultry farmers. Feed recipes and mixtures greatly vary geographically and from one farm to another, making links between use of a specific antibiotic feed additive and production yields or selection of specific antibiotic-resistant bacteria difficult to establish. Many on-farm studies have revealed the widespread presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in broiler chickens. While sporadic reports linked the presence of antibiotic-resistant organisms to the use of feed supplemented with antibiotics, no recent studies could clearly demonstrate the benefit of antimicrobial growth promoters on performance and production yields. With modern biosecurity and hygienic practices, there is a genuine concern that intensive utilization of antibiotics or use of antimicrobial growth promoters in feed might no longer be useful. Public pressure and concerns about food and environmental safety (antibiotic residues, antibiotic-resistant pathogens have driven researchers to actively look for alternatives to antibiotics. Some of the alternatives include pre- and probiotics, organic acids and essential oils. We will describe here the properties of some bioactive molecules, like those found in cranberry, which have shown interesting polyvalent antibacterial and immuno

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

Decentralized Ground Staff Scheduling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, M. D.; Clausen, Jens

2002-01-01

scheduling is investigated. The airport terminal is divided into zones, where each zone consists of a set of stands geographically next to each other. Staff is assigned to work in only one zone and the staff scheduling is planned decentralized for each zone. The advantage of this approach is that the staff...... work in a smaller area of the terminal and thus spends less time walking between stands. When planning decentralized the allocation of stands to flights influences the staff scheduling since the workload in a zone depends on which flights are allocated to stands in the zone. Hence solving the problem...... depends on the actual stand allocation but also on the number of zones and the layout of these. A mathematical model of the problem is proposed, which integrates the stand allocation and the staff scheduling. A heuristic solution method is developed and applied on a real case from British Airways, London...

New staff contract policy

CERN Document Server

HR Department

2006-01-01

Following discussion at TREF and on the recommendation of the Finance Committee, Council approved a new staff contract policy, which became effective on 1 January 2006. Its application is covered by a new Administrative Circular No. 2 (Rev. 3) 'Recruitment, appointment and possible developments regarding the contractual position of staff members'. The revised circular replaces the previous Circulars No. 9 (Rev. 3) 'Staff contracts' and No. 2 (Rev. 2) 'Guidelines and procedures concerning recruitment and probation period for staff members'. The main features of the new contract policy are as follows: The new policy provides chances for long-term employment for all staff recruits staying for four years without distinguishing between those assigned to long-term or short-term activities when joining CERN. In addition, it presents a number of simplifications for the award of ICs. There are henceforth only 2 types of contract: Limited Duration (LD) contracts for all recruitment and Indefinite Contracts (IC) for...

75 FR 34421 - Notice of Funds Availability for Section 514 Farm Labor Housing Loans and Section 516 Farm Labor...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-17

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Rural Housing Service Notice of Funds Availability for Section 514 Farm Labor Housing Loans and Section 516 Farm Labor Housing Grants for Off-Farm Housing for Fiscal Year (FY... the timeframe to submit pre-applications for section 514 Farm Labor Housing (FLH) loans and section...

An indicator-based method for quantifying farm multifunctionality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2013-01-01

. The farm data that support the indicators is derived from an interview survey conducted in 2008. The aggregated function scores vary with farm size as well as farm type; smaller, hobby-based farms in general score highest in the residence function whereas bigger, full-time farms score highest...

Farm Population of the United States: 1974. Current Population Reports, Farm Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, Vera J.; And Others

Based on data derived primarily from the Current Population Survey of the Bureau of the Census, this statistical report presents demographic and labor force characteristics of the U.S. farm population and a comparison of selected characteristics of the farm and nonfarm population. Tabular data are presented as follows: (1) Population of the U.S.,…

Incidence of unintentional injuries in farming based on one year of weekly registration in Danish farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, K; Carstensen, Ole; Lauritsen, J M

2000-01-01

In Denmark, farming ranks as the industry with the highest incidence rate of fatal injuries. For nonfatal injuries, insufficient registration practices prevent valid comparisons between occupations. This study examines the occurrence of farm accidents and injuries, as well as work-specific factors......, via weekly registration in a representative sample of 393 farms in one county during 1 year....

Stability analysis of offshore wind farm and marine current farm

Science.gov (United States)

Shawon, Mohammad Hasanuzzaman

Renewable energy has been playing an important role to meet power demand and 'Green Energy' market is getting bigger platform all over the world in the last few years. Due to massive increase in the prices of fossil fuels along with global warming issues, energy harvesting from renewable energy sources has received considerable interest, nowadays, where extensive researches are going on to ensure optimum use of renewable sources. In order to meet the increasing demand of electricity and power, integration of renewable energy is getting highest priorities around the world. Wind is one of the most top growing renewable energy resources and wind power market penetration is expected to reach 3.35 percent by 2013 from its present market of about 240 GW. A wind energy system is the most environmental friendly, cost effective and safe among all renewable energy resources available. Another promising form of renewable energy is ocean energy which covers 70 % of the earth. Ocean energy can be tapped from waves, tides and thermal elements. Offshore Wind farm (OWF) has already become very popular for large scale wind power integration with the onshore grid. Recently, marine current farm (MCF) is also showing good potential to become mainstream energy sources and already successfully commissioned in United Kingdom. However, squirrel cage induction generator (SCIG) has the stability problem similar to synchronous generator especially during fault location to restore the electromagnetic torque. Series dynamic braking resistor (SDBR) has been known as a useful mean to stabilize fixed speed wind generator system. On the other hand, doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) has the capability of coupling the control of active and reactive power and to provide necessary reactive power demand during grid fault conditions. Series dynamic braking resistor (SDBR) can also be employed with DFIG to limit the rotor over current. An integration of wind and tidal energy represents a new

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

Science.gov (United States)

Kiefer, Lukas; Menzel, Friederike; Bahrs, Enno

2014-12-01

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

Kansas Farm and Ranch Management Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Albracht, James, Ed.

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

IMPACT OF FARM SIZE AND TYPE ON COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

OpenAIRE

Morgan, Jeffery D.; Langemeier, Michael R.

2003-01-01

This study examined sustained competitive advantage for a sample of Kansas farms. Whole-farm data for 224 farms with continuous data from 1982-2001 were used. Overall efficiency was computed for each farm and year. Sixty farms exhibited a sustained competitive advantage. Seventy-six farms exhibited a sustained competitive disadvantage. Farms with a competitive advantage were relatively larger, received more of their gross farm income from dairy and swine production, had significantly lower ex...

Reducing Stress of Farm Men and Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Keating, Norah C.

1987-01-01

Questioned 753 farm men and women to identify factors associated with stress in farm families. Results suggest that high mastery provides the best buffer against stress for both farm men and women. The task of family life educators is to help farm families augment their personal and social resources while managing high financial and work demands.…

Organic Farming, Gender, and the Labor Process

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Alan; Mogyorody, Veronika

2007-01-01

This paper seeks to explain variations in gender participation in farm production and decision-making through an analysis of organic farm types, sizes, and orientations. Based on both survey and case study data, the analysis shows that female farmers on vegetable farms and mixed livestock/cash crop farms are more likely to be involved in farm…

Biofilm responses to marine fish farm wastes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanz-Lazaro, Carlos, E-mail: carsanz@um.es [Departamento de Ecologia e Hidrologia, Facultad de Biologia, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia (Spain); Navarrete-Mier, Francisco; Marin, Arnaldo [Departamento de Ecologia e Hidrologia, Facultad de Biologia, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia (Spain)

2011-03-15

The changes in the biofilm community due to organic matter enrichment, eutrophication and metal contamination derived from fish farming were studied. The biofilm biomass, polysaccharide content, trophic niche and element accumulation were quantified along an environmental gradient of fish farm wastes in two seasons. Biofilm structure and trophic diversity was influenced by seasonality as well as by the fish farm waste load. Fish farming enhanced the accumulation of organic carbon, nutrients, selenium and metals by the biofilm community. The accumulation pattern of these elements was similar regardless of the structure and trophic niche of the community. This suggests that the biofilm communities can be considered a reliable tool for assessing dissolved aquaculture wastes. Due to the ubiquity of biofilms and its wide range of consumers, its role as a sink of dissolved wastes may have important implications for the transfer of aquaculture wastes to higher trophic levels in coastal systems. - Research highlights: > Biofilms can act as a trophic pathway of fish farm dissolved wastes. > Biofilms are reliable tools for monitoring fish farm dissolved wastes. > The influence of the fish farm dissolved wastes can be detected 120-350 m from farm. - Under the influence of fish farming biofilm accumulates organic carbon, nutrients, selenium and metals, regardless of the structure and trophic niche of the community.

The impact of staff training on staff outcomes in dementia care: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Spector, Aimee; Revolta, Catherine; Orrell, Martin

2016-11-01

Caring for people with dementia can be emotionally challenging and is often linked to low job satisfaction and burnout in care staff. Staff training within care settings is potentially valuable in improving well-being and quality of care. This review aimed to (i) establish the impact of training on staff outcomes; (ii) compare the impact of different training approaches; (iii) explore the influence of training intensity; and (iv) explore potential barriers to success. A database search of staff training interventions revealed 207 papers, 188 of which were excluded based on prespecified criteria. Nineteen studies were included and appraised using a quality rating tool. Overall, the studies were found to be of variable quality; however, 16 studies found a significant change following training in at least one staff domain, with knowledge improving most frequently. Approaches focusing on managing challenging behaviours appeared to be the most effective. Training staff can be an effective method of improving well-being, and programmes helping staff to manage challenging behaviour appear to be the most beneficial. There is no clear relationship between training intensity and outcome. Most studies point to the importance of addressing organisational factors as a barrier to change. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Havsnaes wind farm - The project financing of a Swedish wind farm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

In March 2008 the ground breaking project financing of the 95 MW Havsnaes wind farm was completed. Havsnaes represents one of the cornerstones in portfolio of Venus Vind, controlled by HgCapital, where sustainable Scandinavian strength is build through industrial scale wind farms with local presence. At the time, Havsnaes represented the largest energy project financing in the market, it is also the first true project financing of a major Swedish wind farm. The aim of this study is to highlight the process of project financing and additional lessons learnt from the Havsnaes transaction. Investment in renewable energy projects often includes international investors. We welcome the growing Swedish wind market, banks and other financial institutions, politicians and other relevant decision makers to take part of our findings. Sponsorship provided by the Swedish Energy Agency has enabled the completion of this study.

Afvloeiing uit en aanpassing in de landbouw 1968 [Mobility in farming, parttime farming 1968

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weerdenburg, L.

2007-01-01

Farm and personnel / successor / attitude to change in modern times / contacts with immigrants / status of farmers / attitude to the farmer's work / motivations to leave farming / work type preferences / expectations for the future / attitude to reconstruction / re-allocations / cooperation /

Vadose zone characterization project at the Hanford Tank Farms: U Tank Farm Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-05-01

The U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction Office (DOE-GJO) was tasked by the DOE Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) to perform a baseline characterization of the gamma-ray-emitting radionuclides that are distributed in the vadose zone sediments beneath and around the single-shell tanks (SSTs) at the Hanford Site. The intent of this characterization is to determine the nature and extent of the contamination, to identify contamination sources when possible, and to develop a baseline of the contamination distribution that will permit future data comparisons. This characterization work also allows an initial assessment of the impacts of the vadose zone contamination as required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This characterization project involves acquiring information regarding vadose zone contamination with borehole geophysical logging methods and documenting that information in a series of reports. This information is presently limited to detection of gamma-emitting radionuclides from both natural and man-made sources. Data from boreholes surrounding each tank are compiled into individual Tank Summary Data Reports. The data from each tank in a tank farm are then compiled and summarized in a Tank Farm Report. This document is the Tank Farm Report for the U Tank Farm. Logging operations used high-purity germanium detection systems to acquire laboratory-quality assays of the gamma-emitting radionuclides in the sediments around and below the tanks. These assays were acquired in 59 boreholes that surround the U Tank Farm tanks. Logging of all boreholes was completed in December 1995, and the last Tank Summary Data Report for the U Tank Farm was issued in September 1996.

The Farm as an Educative Tool in the Development of Place Attachments among Irish Farm Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Cassidy, Anne

2017-01-01

This paper focuses on the educative role of the farm in the development of relationships between young people and the homeplace they grew up on. The paper is based on qualitative interviews with a cohort of 30 Irish university students (15 men and 15 women) brought up on Irish family farms who would not become full-time farmers. The farm acts as…

The use of photovoltaic energy in pig husbandry farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maraziti, F.

2002-01-01

This paper investigates the possible use of solar energy in substitution of traditional fossil energy in a livestock farm. The energy consumption of a pigsty is determined, taking into account its thermal balance, the present energy expenses and the economical and environmental advantages derived from the adoption of the proposed alternative technology. At the moment the cost of technology is too high to promote it to a large extent and only with a 75% investment help, deriving from a national law called '10,000 solar roofs', one can lower the calculated cost of the electricity produced by solar modules compared to the one of fossil origin [it

Topologies of multiterminal HVDC-VSC transmission for large offshore wind farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gomis-Bellmunt, Oriol [Centre d' Innovacio Tecnologica en Convertidors Estatics i Accionaments (CITCEA-UPC), Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya UPC, Av. Diagonal, 647, Pl. 2. 08028 Barcelona (Spain); IREC Catalonia Institute for Energy Research, Barcelona (Spain); Liang, Jun; Ekanayake, Janaka; King, Rosemary; Jenkins, Nicholas [School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Queen' s Buildings, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, Wales (United Kingdom)

2011-02-15

Topologies of multiterminal HVDC-VSC transmission systems for large offshore wind farms are investigated. System requirements for multiterminal HVDC are described, particularly the maximum power loss allowed in the event of a fault. Alternative control schemes and HVDC circuit topologies are reviewed, including the need for HVDC circuit breakers. Various topologies are analyzed and compared according to a number of criteria: number and capacity of HVDC circuits, number of HVDC circuit breakers, maximum power loss, flexibility, redundancy, lines utilization, need for offshore switching platforms and fast communications. (author)

Do farm audits improve milk quality?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2014-01-01

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

Implications of staff 'churn' for nurse managers, staff, and patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Duffield, Christine; Roche, Michael; O'Brien-Pallas, Linda; Catling-Paull, Christine

2009-01-01

In this article, the term "churn" is used not only because of the degree of change to staffing, but also because some of the reasons for staff movement are not classified as voluntary turnover. The difficulties for the nurse managing a unit with the degree of "churn" should not be under-estimated. Changes to skill mix and the proportions of full-time, agency, and temporary staff present challenges in providing clinical leadership, scheduling staff, performance management, and supervision. Perhaps more importantly, it is likely that there is an impact on the continuity of care provided in the absence of continuity of staffing. A greater understanding of the human and financial costs and consequences, and a willingness to change established practices at the institutional and ward level, are needed.

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

Research Staff | Water Power | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Research Staff Research Staff Learn more about the expertise and technical skills of the water power research team and staff at NREL. Name Position Email Phone Anstedt, Sheri Professional III-Writer /Editor/Web Content Sheri.Anstedt@nrel.gov 303-275-3255 Baker, Donald Research Technician V-Electrical

Evaluating the impact of farm scale innovation at catchment scale

Science.gov (United States)

van Breda, Phelia; De Clercq, Willem; Vlok, Pieter; Querner, Erik

2014-05-01

responsibilities and inadequate procedures of implementing objectives. Planning for development in South Africa needs to take various factors into account. Economic and green economic growth is pursued, while social imbalances are addressed and the environment is protected against unreasonable exploitation. The term Sustainable Development is a neutral concept in the vision of many of the regulating authorities; however, the implementation of sustainability is difficult. This study considers an approach which aligns activities in a specified region to the vision and objectives of the applicable regulatory authorities, as an alternative to achieving objectives strictly through enforcing regulations. It was determined whether objectives of development planning were realistic in terms of water availability. It was established that the position of a farm in the landscape is a determining factor of the impact it has on the catchment area's water supply. For this purpose, hydrological modelling (SWAT and SIMGRO) was done for the Letaba catchment of the Limpopo Province, on two scales to also accommodate small-scale farming communities more accurately. Parallel to the modelling, the National Development Plan (NDP), the National Framework for Sustainable Development (NFSD), the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (ISRDS) and the principles of Water Allocation Reform (WAR) were regarded. For regional categorisation, the relevant municipal Integrated Development Plan (IDP), Spatial Development Framework (SDF), Local Economic Development (LED) plan and the applicable Catchment Management Strategy (CMS) were considered. The developed Integrated Evaluation Model combined all the visions and objectives of the mentioned strategic documents to specifically assess the contribution a small-scale farm makes. The evaluation results provided insight into the alignment of activities to the ideals of a region and can be useful when formulating actions to reach a common vision. Small

1999 BUSINESS ANALYSIS SUMMARY FOR CASH GRAIN FARMS

OpenAIRE

Nott, Sherrill B.

2000-01-01

The sources of the 51 cash grain farms analyzed in this report were Telfarm/MicroTel at Michigan State University, plus the AgriSolutions offices in East Lansing, Adrian, Mt. Pleasant, and Alpena. Farm types were assigned using the 1992 Census of Agriculture's Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) definitions. Basically, any farm with 50 percent or more of value of farm sales from one item becomes a farm of that type. Cash grain farms have 50 percent or more of value of combined sales from...

Urban Farm Business Plan Handbook

Science.gov (United States)

The Urban Farm Business Plan Handbook (this document) provides guidance for developing a business plan for the startup and operation of an urban farm. It focuses on food and non-food related cultivated agriculture.

Why join the Staff Association

CERN Multimedia

Association du personnel

2011-01-01

Becoming a member of the Staff Association (SA) is above all a personal choice, showing that the joining person’s commitment and adherence to values such as solidarity, social cohesion, etc.In September, the SA launches a membership campaign to convince a maximum number to join, to inform, arouse interest and support. Posters, emails and individual contacts are part of the campaign programme, just like this editorial. As far as individual contacts are concerned, we ask you to give time and lend an ear to the delegates of your department in the Staff Council, who will approach you, in order to make an open and constructive discussion possible. Do not hesitate to ask questions and let them know your thoughts about the SA, as (constructive) criticism enables us to progress. The Staff Association and its role of collective representation The Staff Association, via its delegates, represents collectively all staff of the Organization before the Director-General and Member States. To do this, staff rep...

About the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Science.gov (United States)

Skip to main content (Press Enter). Toggle navigation Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Chiefs of Staff Facebook Twitter YouTube Flickr Blog Instagram Search JCS: Search Search Search JCS: Search Home Media News Photos Videos Publications About The Joint Staff Chairman Vice Chairman

Biofilm responses to marine fish farm wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanz-Lazaro, Carlos; Navarrete-Mier, Francisco; Marin, Arnaldo

2011-01-01

The changes in the biofilm community due to organic matter enrichment, eutrophication and metal contamination derived from fish farming were studied. The biofilm biomass, polysaccharide content, trophic niche and element accumulation were quantified along an environmental gradient of fish farm wastes in two seasons. Biofilm structure and trophic diversity was influenced by seasonality as well as by the fish farm waste load. Fish farming enhanced the accumulation of organic carbon, nutrients, selenium and metals by the biofilm community. The accumulation pattern of these elements was similar regardless of the structure and trophic niche of the community. This suggests that the biofilm communities can be considered a reliable tool for assessing dissolved aquaculture wastes. Due to the ubiquity of biofilms and its wide range of consumers, its role as a sink of dissolved wastes may have important implications for the transfer of aquaculture wastes to higher trophic levels in coastal systems. - Research highlights: → Biofilms can act as a trophic pathway of fish farm dissolved wastes. → Biofilms are reliable tools for monitoring fish farm dissolved wastes. → The influence of the fish farm dissolved wastes can be detected 120-350 m from farm. - Under the influence of fish farming biofilm accumulates organic carbon, nutrients, selenium and metals, regardless of the structure and trophic niche of the community.

Analysis of costs and returns in rice farming by farm size in Ebonyi ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study was designed to analyze the costs and returns of rice farming by farm size in Ebonyi state of Nigeria. Data were collected through the cost-route approach with pre-tested structured questionnaire from 40 randomly selected small scale and 40 purposively selected large-scale rice farmers, Data were analyzed by ...

Reliability evaluation for offshore wind farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhao, Menghua; Blåbjerg, Frede; Chen, Zhe

2005-01-01

In this paper, a new reliability index - Loss Of Generation Ratio Probability (LOGRP) is proposed for evaluating the reliability of an electrical system for offshore wind farms, which emphasizes the design of wind farms rather than the adequacy for specific load demand. A practical method...... to calculate LOGRP of offshore wind farms is proposed and evaluated....

Attitude and acceptance of offshore wind farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ladenburg, Jacob; Möller, B.

2011-01-01

farms attributes on attitude towards offshore wind farms. The results point towards that the travel time and the attributes of the nearest offshore wind farm influence the attitude significantly. Travel time has mixed effects on the attitude, whilst offshore wind farms with many turbines generate more...... a novel contribution to this field. First of all, we give a thorough review of the studies that have analysed the relation between experience with wind turbines and attitude. In addition, we supplement the review by analysing the effect of travel distance to the nearest offshore wind farm and the wind...

GOAT MILK PRODUCTION UNDER ORGANIC FARMING STANDARS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerold Hartmut Rahmann

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Organic farming has emerged from its niche. This holds true for organic goat milk, yoghurt and cheese as well. Particularly in the EU many dairy goat farms have converted or want to convert towards organic farming to profit from the positive image and the good prices for milk (+100% in Western Europe and Alpine regions. High performance dairy goats demand excellent feedstuffs, a sound environment and top management. It was not clear how organic farming can fulfil these demands. The restrictive factors influencing the productivity of the animals in organic farming are as follows: limited concentrate feeding (

E3 Staff Database

Data.gov (United States)

US Agency for International Development — E3 Staff database is maintained by E3 PDMS (Professional Development & Management Services) office. The database is Mysql. It is manually updated by E3 staff as...

IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF EXISTING VADOSE ZONE CONTAMINATION AT THE HANFORD SITE SX TANK FARM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KHALEEL R

2007-01-01

The USDOE has initiated an impact assessment of existing vadose zone contamination at the Hanford Site SX tank farm in southeastern Washington State. The assessment followed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action process to address the impacts of past tank waste releases to the vadose zone at the single-shell tank farm. Numerical models were developed that consider the extent of contamination presently within the vadose zone and predict contaminant movement through the vadose zone to groundwater. The transport of representative mobile (technetium-99) and immobile (cesium-137) constituents was evaluated in modeling. The model considered the accelerated movement of moisture around and beneath single-shell tanks that is attributed to bare, gravel surfaces resulting from the construction of the underground storage tanks. Infiltration, possibly nearing 100 mm yr -1 , is further amplified in the tank farm because of the umbrella effect created by percolating moisture being diverted by the impermeable, sloping surface of the large, 24-m-diameter, buried tank domes. For both the base case (no-action alternative) simulation and a simulation that considered placement of an interim surface barrier to minimize infiltration, predicted, groundwater concentrations for technetium-99 at the SX tank farm boundary were exceedingly high, on the order of 10 6 pCi L -1 . The predicted concentrations are, however, somewhat conservative because of our use of two-dimensional modeling for a three-dimensional problem. A series of simulations were performed, using recharge rates of 50, 30, and 10 mm yr -1 , and compared to the basecase(100 mm yr -1 ) results. As expected, lowering meteoric recharge delayed peak arrival times and reduced peak concentrations at the tank farm boundary

Impact Assessment of Existing Vadose Zone Contamination at the Hanford Site SX Tank Farm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khaleel, Raziuddin; White, Mark D.; Oostrom, Martinus; Wood, Marcus I.; Mann, Frederick M.; Kristofzski, John G.

2007-01-01

The USDOE has initiated an impact assessment of existing vadose zone contamination at the Hanford Site SX tank farm in southeastern Washington State. The assessment followed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action process to address the impacts of past tank waste releases to the vadose zone at the single-shell tank farm. Numerical models were developed that consider the extent of contamination presently within the vadose zone and predict contaminant movement through the vadose zone to groundwater. The transport of representative mobile (technetium-99) and immobile (cesium-137) constituents was evaluated in modeling. The model considered the accelerated movement of moisture around and beneath single-shell tanks that is attributed to bare, gravel surfaces resulting from the construction of the underground storage tanks. Infiltration, possibly nearing 100 mm yr -1 , is further amplified in the tank farm because of the umbrella effect created by percolating moisture being diverted by the impermeable, sloping surface of the large, 24-m-diameter, buried tank domes. For both the base case (no-action alternative) simulation and a simulation that considered placement of an interim surface barrier to minimize infiltration, predicted groundwater concentrations for technetium-99 at the SX tank farm boundary were exceedingly high, on the order of 106 pCi L-1. The predicted concentrations are, however, somewhat conservative because of our use of two-dimensional modeling for a three-dimensional problem. A series of simulations were performed, using recharge rates of 50, 30, and 10 mm yr -1 , and compared to the base case (100 mm yr -1 ) results. As expected, lowering meteoric recharge delayed peak arrival times and reduced peak concentrations at the tank farm boundary.

22 CFR 902.3 - Board staff.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Board staff. 902.3 Section 902.3 Foreign Relations FOREIGN SERVICE GRIEVANCE BOARD ORGANIZATION § 902.3 Board staff. The chairperson shall select the Board's executive secretary and other staff provided for in the Act. The executive secretary and staff...

Costs and returns analysis of improved and alternative cassava ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The specific objectives of the study was an analysis of the costs and returns of improved and alternative technologies available in the study area by farmers and their level of adoption of the new technologies. Data were collected from a random sample of 250 farmers and 30 extension Staff in the three (3) agricultural zones ...

13 CFR 500.105 - Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Staff. 500.105 Section 500.105... LOAN PROGRAM Board Procedures § 500.105 Staff. (a) Executive Director. The Executive Director of the... direction with respect to the administration of the Board's actions, directs the activities of the staff...

13 CFR 400.105 - Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Staff. 400.105 Section 400.105... Board Procedures § 400.105 Staff. (a) Executive Director. The Executive Director of the Board advises... with respect to the administration of the Board's actions, directs the activities of the staff, and...

Hanford Tank Farms Vadose Zone, Addendum to the T Tank Farm Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spatz, Robert

2000-07-01

This addendum to the T Tank Farm Report (GJO-99-101-TARA, GJO-HAN-27) published in September 1999 incorporates the results of high-rate and repeat logging activities along with shape factor analysis of the logging incorporates the results of high-rate and repeat logging activities along with shape factor analysis of the logging data. A high-rate logging system was developed and deployed in the T Tank Farm to measure cesium-137 concentration levels in high gamma flux zones where the spectral gamma logging system was unable to collect usable data because of high dead times and detector saturation. This report presents additional data and revised visualizations of subsurface contaminant distribution in the T Tank Farm at the DOE Hanford Site in the state of Washington.

Vadose zone characterization project at the Hanford Tank Farms: BY Tank Farm report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kos, S.E.

1997-02-01

The US Department of Energy Grand Junction Office (GJO) was tasked by the DOE Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) to perform a baseline characterization of the contamination distributed in the vadoze zone sediment beneath and around the single-shell tanks (SSTs) at the Hanford Site. The intent of this characterization is to determine the nature and extent of the contamination, to identify contamination sources, and to develop a baseline of the contamination distribution that will permit future data comparisons. This characterization work also allows an initial assessment of the impacts of the vadose zone contamination as required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This characterization project involves acquiring information about the vadose zone contamination with borehole geophysical logging methods and documenting that information in a series of reports. Data from boreholes surrounding each tank are compiled into individual Tank Summary Data Reports. The data from each tank farm are then compiled and summarized in a Tank Farm Report. This document is the Tank Farm Report for the BY Tank Farm

Vadose zone characterization project at the Hanford Tank Farms: BY Tank Farm report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kos, S.E.

1997-02-01

The US Department of Energy Grand Junction Office (GJO) was tasked by the DOE Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) to perform a baseline characterization of the contamination distributed in the vadoze zone sediment beneath and around the single-shell tanks (SSTs) at the Hanford Site. The intent of this characterization is to determine the nature and extent of the contamination, to identify contamination sources, and to develop a baseline of the contamination distribution that will permit future data comparisons. This characterization work also allows an initial assessment of the impacts of the vadose zone contamination as required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This characterization project involves acquiring information about the vadose zone contamination with borehole geophysical logging methods and documenting that information in a series of reports. Data from boreholes surrounding each tank are compiled into individual Tank Summary Data Reports. The data from each tank farm are then compiled and summarized in a Tank Farm Report. This document is the Tank Farm Report for the BY Tank Farm.

76 FR 53880 - Funds Availability for Section 514 Farm Labor Housing Loans and Section 516 Farm Labor Housing...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-30

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Rural Housing Service Funds Availability for Section 514 Farm Labor Housing Loans and Section 516 Farm Labor Housing Grants for Off-Farm Housing for Fiscal Year 2011 AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice; correction. SUMMARY: This notice corrects the scoring...

Classification of Specialized Farms Applying Multivariate Statistical Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zuzana Hloušková

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Classification of specialized farms applying multivariate statistical methods The paper is aimed at application of advanced multivariate statistical methods when classifying cattle breeding farming enterprises by their economic size. Advantage of the model is its ability to use a few selected indicators compared to the complex methodology of current classification model that requires knowledge of detailed structure of the herd turnover and structure of cultivated crops. Output of the paper is intended to be applied within farm structure research focused on future development of Czech agriculture. As data source, the farming enterprises database for 2014 has been used, from the FADN CZ system. The predictive model proposed exploits knowledge of actual size classes of the farms tested. Outcomes of the linear discriminatory analysis multifactor classification method have supported the chance of filing farming enterprises in the group of Small farms (98 % filed correctly, and the Large and Very Large enterprises (100 % filed correctly. The Medium Size farms have been correctly filed at 58.11 % only. Partial shortages of the process presented have been found when discriminating Medium and Small farms.

17 CFR 8.05 - Enforcement staff.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Enforcement staff. 8.05... staff. (a) Each exchange shall establish an adequate enforcement staff which shall be authorized by the... staff shall consist of employees of the exchange and/or persons hired on a contract basis. It may not...

Iguana farming in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eilers, C.H.A.M.; Koops, W.J.; Udo, H.M.J.; Keulen, van H.; Noordhuizen, J.P.T.M.

2001-01-01

Present and former iguana farmers and neighbours were interviewed to find conditions important for iguana farming. Social aspects that facilitated it included few people working off-farm, as iguana farming was time-consuming; co-operative farming, which increases access to technical knowledge;

Empirical Study on the Feasibility of UniSZA’s Staff Cash Waqf and its Possible Impact on Human Development in Terengganu

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yusuff Jelili Amuda

2016-12-01

Full Text Available There is a need for human development especially for the less privileged Muslims in the state due to financial constraints, unemployment, insufficient and inadequate financial support. The study discussed and analyzed the structured interviews conducted on factors influencing UniSZA’s staff cash waqf and its possible impact on the socio-economic development of Terengganu. The total number of 150 respondents participated in the first instrumental validation section where 150 questionnaires were distributed and collected. 150 questionnaires were distributed between February and June 2015 to the UniSZA’s staff such as lecturer, senior, and junior staff in the university. The instrument was divided into four sections. Firstly, the respondent’s profile, (15 items. Secondly, factors influencing UniSZA’s staff cash waqf contribution (15 items. Thirdly, promoting economic and human development (15 items. Fourthly, the importance to the society’s development (15 items. The content validity of the questionnaire would be evaluated by the researchers to improve the questionnaire. The participants were selected from lecturers, administrative staff, and students to discover the breadth and extent of the needs for UniZSA’s staff cash waqf contribution to the state. Waqf provides human relief, dignity, financial support, and social needs to reduce poverty in the society. The research is based on the hypothesis that UniSZA’s staff cash waqf can have a positive social and economic impact in Terengganu. The objective of this study is to examine the viability of a UniSZA staff cash waqf and how cash waqf can be utilized to develop Terengganu economically and socially for the interest of the needy Muslims in Terengganu. The study applies the quantitative and qualitative methods throughout the discussion and analysis. Human development includes the creation of employment, micro-finance, transaction, farming, soft loans, and other lawful lucrative

Income Analysis in South American Domestic Camelid Farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Ansaloni

2013-09-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses the production costs and income of eight groups of farms: five private farms and three belonging to the Andean rural community. These farms are located in Peru and Bolivia and breed alpacas and llama for both meat and fibre. The research is based on case studies. Each case study includes several farms, grouped according to similar characteristics: available resources; breeding techniques and geographical location. A farm economic data analysis was undertaken by determining economic budget income. Statistics and data from 2003 were analysed to determine farm resources and farm production costs, per animal head and net farm income per labour unit and livestock head. This paper is relevant as regards economic data for production systems which are more often analysed for sociological and cultural aspects and less often for economic data and identification of real productive economic data which are not generally market driven.

Aggregations of bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix (L.) at Mediterranean coastal fish farms: seasonal presence, daily patterns and influence of farming activity

OpenAIRE

Arechavala-Lopez, Pablo; Izquierdo-Gomez, David; Uglem, Ingebrigt; Sanchez-Jerez, Pablo

2014-01-01

Bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix (Linnaeus, 1766), is commonly observed close to Mediterranean open-sea fish farms. It usually preys on wild fish that are attracted to farms, but also on farmed fish by biting holes in sea cages net walls. In the current telemetry study, we found that the tagged bluefish stayed close to fish farms during spring and early summer. However, most of the tagged fish disappeared from the farms during autumn, when the sea water temperature dropped. When aggregating at f...

Automated in situ monitoring of migratory birds at Germany's first offshore wind farm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coppack, Timothy; Kulemeyer, Christoph; Schulz, Axel; Steuri, Thomas; Liechti, Felix

2011-07-01

Full text: Offshore wind farms may negatively affect migrating birds, especially at night, by increased photo tactic attraction and risk of collision. Under favourable weather conditions (clear skies, tail wind) the majority of migrants probably fly well above the reach of wind turbine blades. Under unfavourable conditions (sea fog, precipitation, head wind), however, nocturnal migrants could get attracted by brightly lit wind farms, and the risk of collision would hence increase. To assess these potential effects, migration rates and collision probabilities need to be empirically quantified at existing wind farms. This is not an easy task, given the setting and dimension of an offshore wind farm and the sheer quantity and diversity of small-bodied birds potentially passing by. Nocturnal passerine migrants are impossible to count accurately over extended periods with observational methods, and even classic radar technology fails to pro-vide hard-wired information. Complementing the 'Standards for Environmental Impact Assessment' issued by Germany.s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), we have developed and installed a novel radar system (BirdScan) on the research platform FINO 1, situated around 50 km offshore next to the wind farm 'alpha ventus' in the German North Sea. BirdScan operates on the basis of defined detection volumes (fixed radar beam), allowing a precise quantification of passerine and non-passerine radar echoes. Our study design includes alternating measurements within and outside the wind farm in order to assess avoidance and/or photo tactic aggregation behaviour of migrants under various weather situations. At the same time, we are investigating the photo tactic attraction of birds at a smaller spatial scale using motion-controlled infrared cameras directly mounted on the nacelle and shaft of a wind turbine. Through this approach, disoriented birds (and even bats) can be automatically ground-proofed and set in

Environmental impacts of coastal fish farming; Carbon and Nitrogen budgets for trout farming in Kaldbacksfjord, Faroe Islands

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordi, Gunnvor A; Glud, Ronnie N.; Gaard, Eilif

2011-01-01

Flow of organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen through a sea cage trout farm was calculated on the basis of detailed studies of the farming operation, water circulation, OC and nutrient transport and recycling processes in sediment. A third of the OC and nitrogen provided by fish food was incorporated......% of nitrogen derived from fish food settled on the seabed, where it was either mineralized or accumulated in the sediment. Based on transect measurements of diagenetic activity, the farm footprint was found to cover an area similar to 10 times the farm area. OC mineralization in the sediment increased linearly...

TOPFARM wind farm optimization tool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

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

Farm management systems and the Future Internet era

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaloxylos, A.; Eigenmann, R.; Teye, F.; Wolfert, J.

2012-01-01

Smart/precision farming systems are expected to play an important role in improving farming activities. During the past years, sophisticated farm management systems have emerged to replace outdated complex and monolithic farm systems and software tools. The latest trend is to enable these management

A Critical Perspective on Relations between Staff Nurses and their Nurse Manager: Advancing Nurse Empowerment Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Udod, Sonia; Racine, Louise

2014-12-01

This study considers empowerment in nurse-manager relations by examining how conflict is handled on both sides and how the critical social perspective has influenced these relations. The authors use inductive analysis of empirical data to explain how (1) nursing work is organized, structured, and circumscribed by centrally determined policies and practices that downplay nurses' professional judgement about patient care; (2) power is held over nurses in their relationship with their manager; and (3) nurses' response to power is to engage in strategies of resistance. The authors illustrate how power influences relations between staff nurses and managers and provide a critical analysis of the strategies of resistance that result in personal, relational, and critical empowerment among staff nurses. Through resistance, staff nurses engage in alternative discourses to counteract the prevailing neoliberal organizational and managerial discourses of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Copyright© by Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University.

The Fermilab Farms in 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-05-01

The farms in 1996 began a period of transition. The old farms continue to be used but do not provide sufficient CPU power, memory, or network bandwidth for all of the tasks which are required. Therefore we have purchased and installed a substantial increment of new farms and are working on adding another increment during 1997. The purpose of all this activity is to provide computing for the fixed target run and for the other large computing users who cannot be accommodated on the other systems that are available at Fermilab

20 CFR 900.5 - Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Staff. 900.5 Section 900.5 Employees' Benefits JOINT BOARD FOR THE ENROLLMENT OF ACTUARIES STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION § 900.5 Staff. (a) The... the Act and performs such other functions as the Board may delegate to him. (b) Members of the staffs...

14 CFR 1310.6 - Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Staff. 1310.6 Section 1310.6 Aeronautics... GUARANTEED LOAN § 1310.6 Staff. (a) Executive Director. The Executive Director advises and assists the Board... administration of the Board's actions, directs the activities of the staff, and performs such other duties as the...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-01-01

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

School Process and Teacher Job Satisfaction at Alternative Schools: A Multilevel Study Using SASS 2007-08 Data

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Jiangang; Izumi, Masashi; Gao, Xingyuan

2015-01-01

This study examined the associations between public alternative schools' teacher job satisfaction and school processes. Based on a multilevel analysis of the national School and Staffing Survey 2007-08 data, we found that among the seven school processes, public alternative schools' administrative support, staff collegiality, career and working…

The effectiveness of staff training focused on increasing emotional intelligence and improving interaction between support staff and clients.

Science.gov (United States)

Zijlmans, L J M; Embregts, P J C M; Gerits, L; Bosman, A M T; Derksen, J J L

2015-07-01

Recent research addressed the relationship between staff behaviour and challenging behaviour of individuals with an intellectual disability (ID). Consequently, research on interventions aimed at staff is warranted. The present study focused on the effectiveness of a staff training aimed at emotional intelligence and interactions between staff and clients. The effects of the training on emotional intelligence, coping style and emotions of support staff were investigated. Participants were 214 support staff working within residential settings for individuals with ID and challenging behaviour. The experimental group consisted of 76 staff members, 138 staff members participated in two different control groups. A pre-test, post-test, follow-up control group design was used. Effectiveness was assessed using questionnaires addressing emotional intelligence, coping and emotions. Emotional intelligence of the experimental group changed significantly more than that of the two control groups. The experimental group showed an increase in task-oriented coping, whereas one control group did not. The results with regard to emotions were mixed. Follow-up data revealed that effects within the experimental group were still present four months after the training ended. A staff training aimed at emotional intelligence and staff-client interactions is effective in improving emotional intelligence and coping styles of support staff. However, the need for more research aiming at the relationship between staff characteristics, organisational factors and their mediating role in the effectiveness of staff training is emphasised. © 2014 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

On wake modeling, wind-farm gradients, and AEP predictions at the Anholt wind farm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Peña

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We investigate wake effects at the Anholt offshore wind farm in Denmark, which is a farm experiencing strong horizontal wind-speed gradients because of its size and proximity to land. Mesoscale model simulations are used to study the horizontal wind-speed gradients over the wind farm. From analysis of the mesoscale simulations and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA, we show that for westerly flow in particular, there is a clear horizontal wind-speed gradient over the wind farm. We also use the mesoscale simulations to derive the undisturbed inflow conditions that are coupled with three commonly used wake models: two engineering approaches (the Park and G. C. Larsen models and a linearized Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes approach (Fuga. The effect of the horizontal wind-speed gradient on annual energy production estimates is not found to be critical compared to estimates from both the average undisturbed wind climate of all turbines' positions and the undisturbed wind climate of a position in the middle of the wind farm. However, annual energy production estimates can largely differ when using wind climates at positions that are strongly influenced by the horizontal wind-speed gradient. When looking at westerly flow wake cases, where the impact of the horizontal wind-speed gradient on the power of the undisturbed turbines is largest, the wake models agree with the SCADA fairly well; when looking at a southerly flow case, where the wake losses are highest, the wake models tend to underestimate the wake loss. With the mesoscale-wake model setup, we are also able to estimate the capacity factor of the wind farm rather well when compared to that derived from the SCADA. Finally, we estimate the uncertainty of the wake models by bootstrapping the SCADA. The models tend to underestimate the wake losses (the median relative model error is 8.75 % and the engineering wake models are as uncertain as Fuga. These results are specific for

Manure management practices on biogas and non-biogas pig farms in developing countries - using livestock farms in Vietnam as an example

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cu, T. T. T.; Cuong, P. H.; Hang, L. T.

2012-01-01

This survey was carried out to study animal manure management on livestock farms with biogas technology (biogas farms) and without (non-biogas farms) in the areas surrounding the Vietnamese cities Hanoi and Hue. The objective of the study was to assess the contribution of biogas production...... to a better environment as well as to recognize the problems with livestock manure management on small-scale farms. On all the farms included in the study more than one manure management technology was used, i.e. composting, separation of manure, biogas production and discharge of liquid manure to recipients...... such as public sewers or ponds. On biogas farms, most of the manure collected was used for bio-digestion. The farmers used the fermented manure (digestate) as a source of nutrients for crops, but on more than 50% of the interviewed biogas farms digestate was discharged to the environment. On non-biogas farms...

The Fermilab computing farms in 2000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Troy Dawson

2001-01-01

The year 2000 was a year of evolutionary change for the Fermilab computer farms. Additional compute capacity was acquired by the addition of PCs for the CDF, D0 and CMS farms. This was done in preparation for Run 2 production and for CMS Monte Carlo production. Additional I/O capacity was added for all the farms. This continues the trend to standardize the I/O systems on the SGI O2x00 architecture. Strong authentication was installed on the CDF and D0 farms. The farms continue to provide large CPU resources for experiments and those users whose calculations benefit from large CPU/low IO resources. The user community will change in 2001 now that the 1999 fixed-target experiments have almost finished processing and Run 2, SDSS, miniBooNE, MINOS, BTeV, and other future experiments and projects will be the major users in the future

Solutions to raptor-wind farm interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madders, M.; Walker, D.G. [CRE Energy Ltd., Scottish Power, Glasgow (United Kingdom)

2000-07-01

Wind energy developments in the uplands have the potential to adversely impact upon a number of raptor species by lowering survival and reproductive rates. In many cases, wind farms are proposed in areas where raptors are already under pressure from existing land uses, notably sheep grazing and forestry. This paper summarises the approach used to assess the impact of a 30MW wind farm on a pair of golden eagles in the Kintyre peninsula, Scotland. We outline the method being used to manage habitats for the benefit of the eagles and their prey. By adopting management practices that are both wide-scale and long-term, we aim to reduce the impact to the wind farm to levels considered acceptable by the conservation agencies, and improve breeding productivity of the eagles using the wind farm. The implications of this innovative approach for future raptor--wind farm interactions are discussed. (Author)

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.

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2012-01-01

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

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.

Assessment of Energy Efficiency Project Financing Alternatives for Brookhaven National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hunt, W. D.; Hail, John C.; Sullivan, Gregory P.

2000-02-14

This document provides findings and recommendations that resulted from an assessment of the Brookhaven National Laboratory by a team from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to assess the site's potential for various alternative financing options as a means to implement energy-efficiency improvements. The assessment looked for life-cycle cost-effective energy-efficiency improvement opportunities, and through a series of staff interviews, evaluated the various methods by which these opportunities may be financed, while considering availability of funds, staff, and available financing options. This report summarizes the findings of the visit and the resulting recommendations.

Testing and preformance measurement of straight vegetable oils as an alternative fuel for diesel engines

Science.gov (United States)

Lakshminarayanan, Arunachalam

Rising fuel prices, growing energy demand, concerns over domestic energy security and global warming from greenhouse gas emissions have triggered the global interest in bio-energy and bio-fuel crop development. Backlash from these concerns can result in supply shocks of traditional fossil fuels and create immense economic pressure. It is thus widely argued that bio-fuels would particularly benefit developing countries by off-setting their dependencies on imported petroleum. Domestically, the transportation sector accounts for almost 40% of liquid fuel consumption, while on-farm application like tractors and combines for agricultural purposes uses close to an additional 18%. It is estimated that 40% of the farm budget can be attributed to the fuel costs. With the cost of diesel continuously rising, farmers are now looking at using Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) as an alternative fuel by producing their own fuel crops. This study evaluates conventional diesel compared to the use of SVO like Camelina, Canola and Juncea grown on local farms in Colorado for their performance and emissions on a John Deere 4045 Tier-II engine. Additionally, physical properties like density and viscosity, metal/mineral content, and cold flow properties like CFPP and CP of these oils were measured using ASTM standards and compared to diesel. It was found that SVOs did not show significant differences compared to diesel fuel with regards to engine emissions, but did show an increase in thermal efficiency. Therefore, this study supports the continued development of SVO production as a viable alternative to diesel fuels, particularly for on-farm applications. The need for providing and developing a sustainable, economic and environmental friendly fuel alternative has taken an aggressive push which will require a strong multidisciplinary education in the field of bio-energy. Commercial bio-energy development has the potential to not only alleviate the energy concerns, but also to give renewed

Fish farm management practices in Nigeria | Omitoyin | African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Fish farming can contribute significantly to national food security; alleviate malnutrition and poverty. However, its potential is yet to be fully tapped. Higher productivity in fish farming can be achieved through proper farm management. No matter how well constructed a fish farm is, without adequate management the farmer ...

Research Staff | Buildings | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Research Staff Research Staff Photo of Roderick Jackson Roderick Jackson Laboratory Program Manager -related research at NREL. He works closely with senior laboratory management to set the strategic agenda for NREL's buildings portfolio, including all research, development, and market implementation

Optimal Equipment Investments for Northern Plains Grain Farms

OpenAIRE

Terrance Jalbert; Mercedes Jalbert; James E. Briley

2010-01-01

This case presents a teaching tool which requires students to identify an optimal equipment plan for a northern plains small grain farm. Students are presented with information from a farm owner regarding farm size, available labor, farming techniques used and other relevant issues. Students are required to analyze this information to identify the equipment necessary to operate the farm. Students must balance equipment costs and labor issues. They must develop a plan that remains within a pre...

Doing gender (in) equality in Swedish family farming

OpenAIRE

Andersson, Elias

2014-01-01

Economic and social conditions on Swedish farms have altered in recent decades, restructuring the sector, but the family farm is still the primary production unit. Sweden is often described as a role model in gender equality, but a gender-unequal situation in farming has been identified, posing a political challenge. This thesis critically assessed how gender inequalities are reproduced within Swedish family farming by analysing how the 'doing' of family farming, in terms of labour and ma...

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

Training of technical staff and technical staff managers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moody, G.F.

1991-01-01

The purpose of Technical Staff and Technical Staff Managers training is to provide job skills enhancement to individuals selected to fill key technical positions within a nuclear utility. This training is unique in that unlike other training programs accredited by the National Academy for Nuclear Training, it does not lead to specific task qualification. The problems encountered when determining the student population and curriculum are a direct result of this major difference. Major problems encountered are determining who should attend the training, what amount of training is necessary and sufficient, and how to obtain the best feedback in order to effect substantive program improvements. These topics will be explored and possible solutions discussed

Gender, Diversification and Family Farming in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bock, B.B.

2008-01-01

As a result of the crisis in agriculture in Europe, many farm families try to find extra sources of income that allow them to continue farming. Women play an important role, especially in starting up new on-farm businesses, but also in finding off-farm paid work. We conducted semi-structured

Intelligent control on wind farm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wei, Mu; Chen, Zhe

2010-01-01

with the wind farm makes the grid more vulnerable. The communication technologies have been considered as a solution to solve the problems according to the IEC 61400-25 series protocols. This paper presents the significance of communication technologies in wind farm system by the simulations on some practical......Since the renewable energy is popularly applied in power industry, especially the smart grid is fast developing all over the world during these years, the reliable connection between a wind farm and the main grid has been focused on. Due to the difficult control on the wind energy, the connection...... scenarios. By delivering the signals among WTs (wind turbines) and control centers, they both are able to recognize another side’s operation situation and to adjust its own state to realize the optimization. A scenario is designed in this paper, in which a fault occurs in wind farm; then the protection...

[The model program of psycho-social treatment and staff training].

Science.gov (United States)

Ikebuchi, Emi

2012-01-01

The model program of psycho-social treatment and staff training were reported in this issue. The mission of model program is supporting recovery of persons with mental illness and their family as well as empowering their hope and sense of values. The personal support specialists belonging to multi-disciplinary team have responsibility to support life-long process of recovery across hospitalization, out-patients clinic, day treatment, and outreach service. The shared value of multi-disciplinary team (the community life supporting team) is recovery so that the team renders self directive life, various alternatives of their lives, and peer group with models of recovery to persons with mental illness. There should be several technologies which are used in the team such as engagement, psycho-education, cognitive-behavior therapy, care-management, cooperating with other resources. The responsibility, assessment and evaluation techniques, guarantee of opportunities for training, and auditing system of the team and process of treatment are important factors to educate team staff. Raising effective multi-disciplinary team requires existence of a mentor or good model near the team.

The Staff Association and its history

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2015-01-01

The Staff Association will celebrate its 60th birthday in the spring of 2015. We are collecting all information about the sixty years of the Staff Association. In particular, we are looking at publications of the Staff Association, which started with the “Staff Association Journal”, in 1955, which later became “Le Proton déchainé”, then, more simply, “Proton” in 1982 (the figure on the left shows the different mutations of our magazine). In our collection we are missing a few issues, in particular № 1 (dated mid-1955).     Dear reader, if have any old issues of this magazine, or of Graviton (figure on the right), another magazine edited by the Staff Association, or any other material or information that might help us document the history of the Staff Association, we would very much like to have a copy of the material or your contribution (written or oral). Please contact the Staff Association Sec...

On-farm euthanasia practices and attitudes of commercial meat rabbit producers.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Jessica; Percival, Aaron; Tapscott, Brian; Turner, Patricia V

2017-09-16

Appropriate and timely on-farm euthanasia is the responsibility of the producer, working together with their herd veterinarian. Unfortunately, validated methods for euthanasia of commercial meat rabbits are lacking and there are few educational materials available for producer training. Because euthanasia must be performed in a timely fashion to minimise suffering, it is critical to ensure that methods used are aesthetic, humane and effective. We surveyed Canadian meat rabbit producers for current on-farm euthanasia practices as well as attitudes towards the methods they employed and thoughts on novel euthanasia techniques. Surveys were distributed with a response rate of 26 per cent (n=26). Blunt force trauma was the most common euthanasia method used (54 per cent), followed by assisted manual cervical dislocation (31 per cent). Half of producers admitted to not having a euthanasia method in place for all age groups of rabbits, instead electing to let sick and injured rabbits die on their own. While some producers reported feeling highly skilled and satisfied with their current euthanasia method, 58 per cent reported concerns with their current method and 42 per cent desired alternative methods to be developed. Responses to additional questions on training and awareness of euthanasia resources indicated that veterinarians are not part of on-farm euthanasia planning for meat rabbits. © British Veterinary Association (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

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.

Incidence of Poverty and the Role of Non-Farm Activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fatima, A.

2015-01-01

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

An Analysis of Profitability Factors for Selected Farming Types in the Minnesota Vocational Agriculture Farm Management Education Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleene, Marvin

1980-01-01

A study was conducted to determine the impact profitability factors have on farm labor earnings for farms enrolled in the Minnesota Vocational Agriculture Farm Management Education Program. The most important predictors of labor earnings were size of business, gross return per cropped acre, and index return per $100 of feed fed. (LRA)

Nursing staff-led behavioural group intervention in psychiatric in-patient care: Patient and staff experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Salberg, Johanna; Folke, Fredrik; Ekselius, Lisa; Öster, Caisa

2018-02-15

A promising intervention in mental health in-patient care is behavioural activation (BA). Interventions based on BA can be used by mental health nurses and other staff members. The aim of this study was to evaluate patients' and staff members' experiences of a nursing staff-led behavioural group intervention in mental health in-patient care. The intervention was implemented at three adult acute general mental health in-patient wards in a public hospital setting in Sweden. A self-administrated questionnaire, completed by 84 patients and 34 nurses and nurse assistants, was administered, and nonparametric data analysed using descriptive statistics. Our findings revealed that both patients and nursing staff ranked nursing care and care environment as important aspects in the recovery process. Patients and staff members reported overall positive experiences of the group sessions. Patients with higher frequencies of attendance and patients satisfied with overall care had a more positive attitude towards the intervention. A more positive experience of being a group leader was reported by staff members who had been leading groups more than ten times. The most common impeding factor during implementation, reported by staff members, was a negative attitude to change. Conducive factors were having support from a psychologist and the perception that patients were showing interest. These positive experiences reported by patients and nursing staff, combined with previous research in this field, are taking us one step further in evaluating group sessions based on BA as a meaningful nursing intervention in mental health in-patient care. © 2018 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Research on large-scale wind farm modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Longfei; Zhang, Baoqun; Gong, Cheng; Jiao, Ran; Shi, Rui; Chi, Zhongjun; Ding, Yifeng

2017-01-01

Due to intermittent and adulatory properties of wind energy, when large-scale wind farm connected to the grid, it will have much impact on the power system, which is different from traditional power plants. Therefore it is necessary to establish an effective wind farm model to simulate and analyze the influence wind farms have on the grid as well as the transient characteristics of the wind turbines when the grid is at fault. However we must first establish an effective WTGs model. As the doubly-fed VSCF wind turbine has become the mainstream wind turbine model currently, this article first investigates the research progress of doubly-fed VSCF wind turbine, and then describes the detailed building process of the model. After that investigating the common wind farm modeling methods and pointing out the problems encountered. As WAMS is widely used in the power system, which makes online parameter identification of the wind farm model based on off-output characteristics of wind farm be possible, with a focus on interpretation of the new idea of identification-based modeling of large wind farms, which can be realized by two concrete methods.

The importance of the western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte in Bavaria – local relevance and economic impact on single farms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Köhler, Katrin

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, holding a quarantine status in the European Union, was first discovered in 2007 in southern Bavaria. In the course of Diabrotica Research Program of Germany and the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, an economic accompanying research is conducted at single farm level in Bavaria. This aims to evaluate different adaptation measures concerning the eradication and containment strategies economically. The focus of the analysis is mainly the crop rotation and the reduction of the proportion of maize at farm level. InVeKoS-data are analyzed, in order to assess the economic relevance of the pest in Bavaria in a better way. These enable detailed information on the development of maize production and cropping intensity. Subsequently research regions are defined with a high maize density, expecting enhanced damage from the beetle. In these selected areas single farms are selected. For considerations on single farm level, farms with different farm types are chosen by which adaptation measures are evaluated and realistic impact assessment could be made. For the evaluation of the economic impacts a whole-farm simulation has been used to include indirect effects of different adoption strategies. Additional, semi-structured interviews were conducted at selected farms in order to prove the results of the case study, obtain more information about the consequences on farm level and to evaluate the proposed cultivation alternatives for maize. A benefit-cost analysis and the comparative analysis of possible damage caused by the beetle and cost adjustments complete the study.

Vandose Zone Characterization Project at the Hanford Tank Farms: SX Tank Farm Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brodeur, J.R.; Koizumi, C.J.; Bertsch, J.F.

1996-09-01

The SX Tank Farm is located in the southwest portion of the 200 West Area of the Hanford Site. This tank farm consists of 15 single-shell tanks (SSTs), each with an individual capacity of 1 million gallons (gal). These tanks currently store high-level nuclear waste that was primarily generated from what was called the oxidation-reduction or open-quotes REDOXclose quotes process at the S-Plant facility. Ten of the 15 tanks are listed in Hanlon as open-quotes assumed leakersclose quotes and are known to have leaked various amounts of high-level radioactive liquid to the vadose zone sediment. The current liquid content of each tank varies, but the liquid from known leaking tanks has been removed to the extent possible. In 1994, the U.S. Department of Energy Richland Office (DOE-RL) requested the DOE Grand Junction Projects Office (GJPO), Grand Junction, Colorado, to perform a baseline characterization of contamination in the vadose zone at all the SST farms with spectral gamma-ray logging of boreholes surrounding the tanks. The SX Tank Farm geophysical logging was completed, and the results of this baseline characterization are presented in this report

An overview of farming system typology methodologies and its use in the study of pasture-based farming system: a review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madry, W.; Mena, Y.; Roszkowska, B.; Gozdowski, D.; Hryniewski, R.; Castel, J. M.

2013-06-01

The main objective of the paper is to do a critic study of the use of typology methodologies within pasture-based farming systems (PBFS), especially those situated in less favoured areas, showing in each case the more relevant variables or indicators determining the farming system classification. Another objective is to do an overview of the most used farming system typology methodologies in general. First some considerations about the concept of farming system and approaches to its study have been done. Next, the farming system typology methodologies have been showed in general to different farming systems, but addressed preferably to PBFS. The different tools integrated in these methodologies have been considered: sampling methods, sources of data, variables or indicators obtained from available data and techniques of analysis (statistical or not). Methods for farming system classification have been presented (expert methods, analytical methods or a combination of both types). Among the statistical methods, the multivariate analysis has been overall treated, including the principal component analysis and the cluster analysis. Finally, the use of farming system typology methodologies on different pasture-based farming systems has been presented. The most important aspects considered are following: the main objective of the typology, the main animal species, the employed methods of classification and the main variables involved in this classification. (Author) 56 refs.

AX Tank Farm tank removal study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

SKELLY, W.A.

1998-01-01

This report considers the feasibility of exposing, demolishing, and removing underground storage tanks from the 241-AX Tank Farm at the Hanford Site. For the study, it was assumed that the tanks would each contain 360 ft 3 of residual waste (corresponding to the one percent residual Inventory target cited in the Tri-Party Agreement) at the time of demolition. The 241-AX Tank Farm is being employed as a ''strawman'' in engineering studies evaluating clean and landfill closure options for Hanford single-shell tank farms. The report is one of several reports being prepared for use by the Hanford Tanks Initiative Project to explore potential closure options and to develop retrieval performance evaluation criteria for tank farms

Quantifying antimicrobial resistance at veal calf farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosman, A.B.; Wagenaar, J.A.; Stegeman, A.; Vernooij, H.; Mevius, D.J.

2012-01-01

This study was performed to determine a sampling strategy to quantify the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance on veal calf farms, based on the variation in antimicrobial resistance within and between calves on five farms. Faecal samples from 50 healthy calves (10 calves/farm) were collected. From

Risk-based audit selection of dairy farms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

2014-01-01

Dairy farms are audited in the Netherlands on numerous process standards. Each farm is audited once every 2 years. Increasing demands for cost-effectiveness in farm audits can be met by introducing risk-based principles. This implies targeting subpopulations with a higher risk of poor process

Measuring hospital medical staff organizational structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Shortell, S M; Getzen, T E

1979-01-01

Based on organization theory and the work of Roemer and Friedman, seven dimensions of hospital medical staff organization structure are proposed and examined. The data are based on a 1973 nationwide survey of hospital medical staffs conducted by the American Hospital Association. Factor analysis yielded six relatively independent dimensions supporting a multidimensional view of medical staff organization structure. The six dimensions include 1) Resource Capability, 2) Generalist Physician Contractual Orientation, 3) Communication/Control, 4) Local Staff Orientation, 5) Participation in Decision Making, and 6) Hospital-Based Physician Contractual Orientation. It is suggested that these dimensions can be used to develop an empirical typology of hospital medical staff organization structure and to investigate the relationship between medical staff organization and public policy issues related to cost containment and quality assurance. PMID:511580

LHCb: The LHCb off-Site HLT Farm Demonstration

CERN Multimedia

Liu, Guoming

2012-01-01

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

Cost-efficient foundation structures for large offshore wind farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Birch, C.; Gormsen, C.; Lyngesen, S.; Rasmussen, J. L.; Juhl, H.

1997-01-01

This paper presents the results of the development of a cost-efficient foundation for large (1.5 MW) offshore wind farms at water depth of 5 to 11 m. Previously, medium sized wind turbines (500 kW) in Denmark have been installed offshore at water depths of approximately 5 m on concrete gravity foundations. The installation of larger turbines at greater depth does, however, hold great promise in terms of wind environment and environmental considerations. The costs of a traditional gravity foundation at these increased water depths is expected to be prohibitive, and the aim of the project has been to reduce the foundations costs in general. This paper describes the theoretical basis for the geotechnical and structural design of three alternative concepts and presents an optimised layout of each based on a research and development project. The basis has been a wind farm consisting of 100 turbines. The R and D project has been undertaken by the consulting engineers Nellemann, Nielsen and Rauschenberger A/S (Gravity foundation), LICengineering A/S (Mono pile) and Ramboell (Tripod) in co-operation with the Danish utility engineering companies Elkraft and Elsamprojekt A/S. The project was partly financed by the participants and by the Danish Energy Agency through their 1996 Energy Research Programme (EFP-96). (au) 18 refs

The profitability of automatic milking on Dutch dairy farms.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2007-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-01-15

Quantitative risk assessments of pollution and data related to the effectiveness of mitigating best management practices (BMPs) are important aspects of nonpoint source pollution control efforts, particularly those driven by specific water quality objectives and by measurable improvement goals, such as the total maximum daily load (TMDL) requirements. Targeting critical source areas (CSAs) that generate disproportionately high pollutant loads within a watershed is a crucial step in successfully controlling nonpoint source pollution. The importance of watershed simulation models in assisting with the quantitative assessments of CSAs of pollution (relative to their magnitudes and extents) and of the effectiveness of associated BMPs has been well recognized. However, due to the distinct disconnect between the hydrological scale in which these models conduct their evaluation and the farm scale at which feasible BMPs are actually selected and implemented, and due to the difficulty and uncertainty involved in transferring watershed model data to farm fields, there are limited practical applications of these tools in the current nonpoint source pollution control efforts by conservation specialists for delineating CSAs and planning targeting measures. There are also limited approaches developed that can assess impacts of CSA-targeted BMPs on farm productivity and profitability together with the assessment of water quality improvements expected from applying these measures. This study developed a modeling framework that integrates farm economics and environmental aspects (such as identification and mitigation of CSAs) through joint use of watershed- and farm-scale models in a closed feedback loop. The integration of models in a closed feedback loop provides a way for environmental changes to be evaluated with regard to the impact on the practical aspects of farm management and economics, adjusted or reformulated as necessary, and revaluated with respect to effectiveness of

Biogas and bioethanol production in organic farming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oleskowicz-Popiel, P

2010-08-15

The consumer demand for environmentally friendly, chemical free and healthy products, as well as concern regarding industrial agriculture's effect on the environment has led to a significant growth of organic farming. On the other hand, organic farmers are becoming interested in direct on-farm energy production which would lead them to independency from fossil fuels and decrease the greenhouse gas emissions from the farm. In the presented work, the idea of biogas and bioenergy production at the organic farm is investigated. This thesis is devoted to evaluate such a possibility, starting from the characterization of raw materials, through optimizing new processes and solutions and finally evaluating the whole on-farm biorefinery concept with the help of a simulation software. (LN)

Biogas and bioethanol production in organic farming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oleskowicz-Popiel, P.

2010-08-15

The consumer demand for environmentally friendly, chemical free and healthy products, as well as concern regarding industrial agriculture's effect on the environment has led to a significant growth of organic farming. On the other hand, organic farmers are becoming interested in direct on-farm energy production which would lead them to independency from fossil fuels and decrease the greenhouse gas emissions from the farm. In the presented work, the idea of biogas and bioenergy production at the organic farm is investigated. This thesis is devoted to evaluate such a possibility, starting from the characterization of raw materials, through optimizing new processes and solutions and finally evaluating the whole on-farm biorefinery concept with the help of a simulation software. (LN)

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.