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1
Merkel, Roger. "Smallholder Livestock Commercialization." Indonesian Bulletin of Animal and Veterinary Sciences 29, no. 1 (2019): 43. http://dx.doi.org/10.14334/wartazoa.v29i1.1952.
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The world’s population is expected to grow by over 30% by 2050, putting tremendous strain on agriculture to produce the estimated additional one billion tons of cereal grains and 200 million tons of meat to feed that population. Most of the population growth will occur in Africa and Asia where the majority of smallholder farms are located. Commercialization of smallholder farms can lead to increased productivity. Producer identified constraints to commercialization include infrastructure, poor knowledge of market prices, limited access to banking services and loan opportunities, and poor extension services, among others. To overcome these constraints will take actions by various sectors. Producer must become more market oriented and take advantage of current technologies to improve production. Government organizations should develop ways to build farmer capacity in market and production activities. Research institutes and universities must conduct research to drive innovation, help farmers to apply technologies, and develop means to enhance producer knowledge. Making loans and banking services available to farmers is a main role of the private sector. The private sector can also partner with producers on marketing and market access.
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Gillespie, Jeffrey, Alvin Schupp, and Gary Taylor. "Factors Affecting Production Efficiency in a New Alternative Enterprise: The Case of the Ratite Industry." Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 29, no. 2 (1997): 409–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1074070800007896.
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AbstractTechnical efficiency measures are calculated for ratite producers using data envelopment analysis. Regression analysis is then used to determine producer characteristics that are likely to lead to higher technical efficiencies. Results indicate that the most technically efficient ratite producers in Louisiana are not producing at the benchmark efficiency level advocated by the industry. Producer experience with other livestock, specialization, and labor are factors likely to lead to higher technical efficiency. These results are expected to hold for most new, alternative livestock enterprises.
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Miljkovic, Dragan, John M. Marsh, and Gary W. Brester. "Effects of Japanese Import Demand on U.S. Livestock Prices: Reply." Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 36, no. 1 (2004): 257–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1074070800022008.
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In responding to a comment article, we concur that quantifying U.S. livestock price response to changing Japanese meat import demand requires nonzero supply elasticities beyond one quarter. However, rigidities in market trade and empirical tests justify the inclusion of exchange rates in the short-run analysis. Producer welfare asymptotically approaches zero for increasing supply elasticities in the long run, but short-run transitions in producer surplus are meaningful to producers.
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Mason, W. K., K. Lamb, and B. Russell. "The Sustainable Grazing Systems Program: new solutions for livestock producers." Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 43, no. 8 (2003): 663. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ea02087.
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The Sustainable Grazing Systems (SGS) Program was established in 1996 to address the issues of declining pasture productivity and sustainability in the high rainfall zone (>600 mm/year) of southern Australia. The program goal was that 'by June 2001, at least 2000 producers in the high rainfall zone will have adopted changes to their grazing systems that can be shown to be at least 10% more profitable, and more sustainable, than those used prior to participating in SGS. A further 5000 producers will have trialed at least part of the recommended changes'. There were 4 interacting activities within SGS, collectively focused on delivering this goal. These were: (i)�a National Experiment to develop the principles and quantify the relationships; (ii) a regional producer network to determine and deliver on local producer priorities; (iii) training and skills development courses; and (iv) integration and management to ensure the goal was met in an efficient and effective manner. Producer input and ownership were considered essential and were built in at all levels of program activity and management. Independent surveys confirmed that SGS assisted large numbers of producers to make substantial change in farm practices. SGS met its goal by developing and delivering knowledge about more profitable and sustainable grazing systems to a network of almost 10 000 livestock producers across southern Australia. Critical elements of SGS included research, skills training and support for producer groups, on-farm trials and demonstrations, and farm-walks for producers to share information and experiences. A 'triple bottom line' approach was adopted to assess and report on the impacts of the program on the financial, social and environmental capital of the grazing industries in the high rainfall zone. In keeping with the triple bottom line approach, this special edition contains papers that report on biophysical, economic, environmental and social aspects of the program.
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Olynk, Nicole J., Glynn T. Tonsor, and Christopher A. Wolf. "Verifying Credence Attributes in Livestock Production." Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 42, no. 3 (2010): 439–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s107407080000362x.
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Livestock producers can respond to increasing consumer demand for certain production process attributes by providing verifiable information on the practices used. Consumer willingness to pay data were used to inform producer decision-making regarding selection of verification entities for four key production process attributes in the production of pork chops and milk. The potential for informing farm-level decision-making with information about consumer demand for product and production process attributes exists beyond the two products assessed as example cases in this analysis.
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Fields, Deacue, and Jeffrey Gillespie. "Beef Producer Preferences and Purchase Decisions for Livestock Price Insurance." Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 40, no. 3 (2008): 789–803. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1074070800002339.
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Personal interviews were conducted with beef cattle producers in Louisiana to determine their preferences and purchase decisions for livestock price insurance. Conjoint analysis was utilized to determine the importance of selected attributes of insurance policies for these producers. The characteristics of producers who prefer given attributes were also identified. Producers rated products given four economic situations to evaluate. A two-limit tobit model was used to estimate the part worth utility values for each attribute. Univariate probit models were estimated to evaluate the influence of producer characteristics on purchase decisions.
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Schulz, Lee, and Glynn Tonsor. "306 Economic perspectives on biosecurity decision-making." Journal of Animal Science 98, Supplement_4 (2020): 42–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaa278.077.
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Abstract African swine fever and many other livestock diseases present a host of challenges with a myriad of private and public good considerations. Chief among these challenges is identifying what drives livestock producer, self-protecting biosecurity efforts. Biosecurity adoption is an example of a private behavior that generates positive spillovers affecting the supply of a public good, that is, disease prevention. Encouraging producers to undertake specific biosecurity practices has proven useful in containing previous outbreaks of livestock disease in the United States, such as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. Motivating producers to change production and management practices when a disease is not currently present in the United States can be much more difficult because of the (perceived or actual) lower probability of risk. National surveys of livestock producers were conducted to gain insight into decisions regarding ongoing and prospective biosecurity investment. Findings suggest producer and operation characteristics and diverse views on expected frequency of disease outbreaks, anticipated disease duration, and possible financial impact on operations underlie current and likely future biosecurity adoption. Furthermore, results point to both policy (e.g., indemnity provisions and cost sharing strategies) and market signals (e.g. market access and/or premiums paid or discounts incurred) from upstream livestock buyers have potential to incentivize biosecurity efforts.
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Shwiff, S. A., J. C. Carlson, J. H. Glass, et al. "Producer survey of bird-livestock interactions in commercial dairies." Journal of Dairy Science 95, no. 11 (2012): 6820–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2011-5216.
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Ranjan, Ram, and Ruben N. Lubowski. "A model of producer incentives for livestock disease management." Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment 19, no. 5 (2005): 315–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00477-005-0237-5.
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Lambert, Dayton M., Christopher D. Clark, Laura J. Medwid, Shawn A. Hawkins, and Hannah A. McClellan. "Best pasture management practice adoption and sediment abatement." Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 52, no. 2 (2020): 204–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aae.2019.42.
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AbstractResearch on producer willingness to adopt individual best pasture management practices (BMPs) is extensive, but less attention has been paid to producers simultaneously adopting multiple, complementary BMPs. Applications linking primary survey data on BMP adoption to water quality biophysical models are also limited. A choice-experiment survey of livestock producers is analyzed to determine willingness to adopt pasture BMPs. Sediment abatement curves are derived by linking estimates of producer responsiveness to incentives to adopt rotational grazing with a biophysical simulation model. Current cost share rates of $24/acre should yield a 12% decrease in sediment loading from pastures.
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Lewis, Chelsea Bardot, and Christian J. Peters. "A capacity assessment of New England's large animal slaughter facilities as relative to meat production for the regional food system." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 27, no. 3 (2011): 192–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742170511000305.
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AbstractDemand for locally and regionally produced meat has stimulated increased interest in livestock production among New England farmers. The region's livestock producers lament lack of access to slaughter and processing infrastructure. However, there is very little research on New England's slaughter industry to document this perceived problem. For this reason, we tested the hypothesis that a shortage of slaughter and processing infrastructure constrains the production of livestock for meat in New England. The region's large animal slaughter facility owners and managers were surveyed to determine current slaughter and processing capacity and identify challenges facilities face in meeting increased producer demand. The estimates of current capacity were then compared to USDA data on livestock slaughter and large animal marketings. The region's existing abattoirs could slaughter 63–84% of all animals marketed, but could process only 29–43%. New England's infrastructure for slaughter operated at only 38% of total physical capacity in 2009, while on-site processing infrastructure operated at 66% of total physical capacity (78% if only on-site inspected capacity is considered). Moreover, surveys with facility operators showed that the primary constraints faced by existing slaughterhouses are a shortage of skilled labor and the seasonality of the livestock industry, with periods of very high demand for slaughter in the fall and very low demand in the spring and early summer. Additional infrastructure, particularly for processing, would be needed were regional livestock production to increase. However, simply increasing physical capacity will not address the issues of labor availability and demand seasonality expressed by slaughter facility owners.
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Sutherland, H., J. M. Scott, G. D. Gray, and R. R. Woolaston. "Creating the Cicerone Project: seeking closer engagement between livestock producers, research and extension." Animal Production Science 53, no. 8 (2013): 593. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/an11162.
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A unique project led by livestock producers, called the Cicerone Project, was undertaken on the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, following acknowledgement by those producers of a widening gap between them and research and extension information. The overall aim of the project was to co-learn, through a partnership between livestock producers, research, extension and other specialists, how to improve the profitability and sustainability of grazing enterprises in that region. It was hypothesised that closer engagement would help to guide relevant research efforts and also enhance the adoption of research findings. With the support of industry funding and the collaboration of key research, education and extension partners, the inaugural steering committee of the Cicerone Project commissioned a survey of over 300 land managers in the region to explore their research and adoption needs. The survey identified the most important issues and found a high level of commitment to the formation of this producer-led project. Negotiations between all collaborators led to the creation of a Business Plan prepared as the basis for an initial funding period of 5 years. Subsequent reviews of the project allowed for extensions with associated activities over an additional 4 years. In order to study the key farm management alternatives identified from the producer survey, the Cicerone Project Board decided to adopt an agricultural ecosystem approach which conducted studies using three whole-farmlet systems. The farmlet experiment compared three contiguous farmlets by measuring as many aspects of the farm systems as possible using an approach summarised in the motto adopted by the Cicerone Project of ‘compare–measure–learn–adopt’. A wide range of field days and seminars were held over the duration of the project to deliver the results to the producer members. This paper provides an introduction to a Special Issue containing 24 papers which report on the entirety of the project from planning, to execution, results, and reflections on the value obtained from the many research and extension activities, with particular emphasis on the farming systems trial conducted between 2000 and 2006.
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de Haan, C. "Determinants of success in livestock development projects in developing countries: a review of World Bank experience." BSAP Occasional Publication 16 (1993): 129–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0263967x00031141.
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AbstractThis paper reviews the major determinants of success in World-Bank-funded livestock development projects. First, it summarizes past project results. Secondly, it analyses the main determinants of success, i.e. the appropriateness of technologies used, the adequacy of producer incentives provided and the capacity of the responsible institutions for project planning and implementation. It illustrates the importance of these factors with experiences from Bank-funded livestock projects. Finally, the paper concludes with some thoughts on trends and requirements of future livestock development and recommendations for future research.
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Coventry, T., H. Sutherland, M. Waters, et al. "Reflections on the concept, conduct and findings of the producer-led Cicerone Project." Animal Production Science 53, no. 8 (2013): 856. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/an12292.
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The Cicerone Project began as a producer-led partnership that sought, over a period of 8 years, to enhance the profitability and sustainability of livestock enterprises by improving the connection between those producers, research and extension. Following a detailed survey, the research and extension needs of livestock producers were identified and several applied investigations were conducted to meet those needs and delivered through a range of extension activities. This final paper of the Cicerone Special Issue reflects on the entire Project from a wide array of perspectives, including livestock producers, researchers, extension specialists and staff employed by the Project, all of whom are authors of this paper. A notable early successful outcome of the Project was the improved precision of footrot diagnosis, which has been of value to the entire sheep industry, and that flowed from a field investigation of benign and virulent footrot combined with detailed genetic investigations, which led to an improved testing regime. This paper also reflects on the findings of an unreplicated agricultural ecosystem research trial, which measured the impact of pasture renovation, increased soil fertility and grazing management on the profitability and sustainability of three different 53-ha farmlets. Valuable findings from this whole-farmlet trial included the need for a high quality feed supply for increasing stocking rate and animal liveweights; the ability and utility of satellite imagery to detect changes in pasture growth, composition and recent grazing pressure; the value of short grazing and long rest periods for controlling Barber’s pole worms of sheep; the impact of increased stocking rates on whole-farm profitability and risk; methods of optimising decisions relating to pasture renovation, fertiliser applications and grazing management; and an integrated analysis of all key measured components of the farmlet management systems. Collectively, these findings were powerful as they were demonstrated at a scale credible to livestock producers using the ‘compare – measure – learn – adopt’ approach, which was the key philosophy adopted by the Cicerone Project. By comparing and measuring different whole-farm systems, and by ensuring that producers had ownership of the trial process, the Project successfully delivered objective findings that producers trusted and which increased our understanding of important drivers of complex grazing enterprises under variable climatic conditions. Some of these drivers included: the influence of soil phosphorus on botanical composition and subsequent livestock production, the role of pasture renovation and soil fertility on herbage supply, herbage quality and stocking rate, and the improved gastrointestinal nematode control delivered by intensive rotational grazing. The beneficiaries of the Project included the 180 farmer members who participated in some 61 field days and workshops; the research and extension collaborators including four postgraduates who completed their research investigations in conjunction with the Project; and some 500 undergraduate and 300 technical students who benefited from coming to understand the applied field comparisons of the three whole-farmlet systems. Having livestock producers play a significant leadership role led to valuable outcomes achieved with research collaborators; this should encourage the development of other learning partnerships which aim to explore complex farming system issues.
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Kaine, G., B. Doyle, H. Sutherland, and J. M. Scott. "Surveying the management practices and research needs of graziers in the New England region of New South Wales." Animal Production Science 53, no. 8 (2013): 602. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/an11170.
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The inaugural committee of the Cicerone Project commissioned a survey of livestock producers in the New England region to determine the research problems and production practices which were of greatest importance to graziers. In addition, an assessment was made of the level of interest livestock producers had in participating in a proposed producer-led research and adoption project. The survey was mailed to livestock producers in five districts across the New England region during October and November 1997. The survey results concerning land and pasture management issues suggested that a majority of livestock producers in the New England region found the challenges of dry seasons, fertiliser use, pasture composition and pasture persistence to be major problems. A further issue identified was the problem of resistance to drenches used for internal parasite control in sheep. It was clear that producers depend largely on pastures as the primary feed source due to the high cost of supplementary feed. There was considerable interest in learning how to fill gaps in the feed supply, and the management of the feed supply through droughts. Thus, one desired focus of future studies was to explore management systems that might improve the productivity, resilience, stability and longevity of pastures in the New England region. In addition, a focus on grazing management and its effects on pastures and on internal parasite control was suggested by survey respondents. Of the 316 responses to the survey, 76% expressed interest in becoming involved in the Cicerone Project, confirming the desirability of forming a producer-led research and adoption network within the New England region. One hundred and eighty-one respondents expressed an interest in becoming partner members, 100 respondents indicated they were interested in having their farm included in a network, while 139 people were interested in attending regional workshops where further details about the nature of the Cicerone Project would be developed. The survey was clearly of interest to commercial-scale livestock producers as the average size of respondents’ sheep flocks and cattle herds was over 5000 and 500, respectively. The results of this survey provided empirical evidence to support the formation of the Cicerone Project, which was created in 1998 following the approval of a business plan by the primary funding agency, the Woolmark Co.
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Zhao, Zishun, Thomas I. Wahl, and Thomas L. Marsh. "Invasive Species Management: Foot-and-Mouth Disease in the U.S. Beef Industry." Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 35, no. 1 (2006): 98–115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s106828050001008x.
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A conceptual bioeconomic framework that integrates dynamic epidemiological-economic processes was designed to analyze the effects of invasive species introduction on decision making in a livestock sector (e.g., production and feeding). The framework integrates an epidemiological model, a dynamic livestock production model, domestic consumption, and international trade. The integrated approach captures producer and consumer responses and welfare outcomes of livestock disease outbreaks, as well as alternative invasive species management policies. Scenarios of foot-and-mouth disease are simulated to demonstrate the usefulness of the framework in facilitating invasive species policy design.
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Tourangeau, Wesley, Kate Sherren, Carlisle Kent, and Bertrum H. MacDonald. "Of Climate and Weather: Examining Canadian Farm and Livestock Organization Discourses from 2010 to 2015." Weather, Climate, and Society 11, no. 1 (2018): 95–111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/wcas-d-18-0028.1.
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Abstract Producer organizations representing Canada’s farm and livestock sectors are powerful change agents and advocates for their industries, particularly during challenging times such as climate- or weather-related hardships. Such organizations have a complex role: engaging with policy-makers, as well as their memberships and the public, to pursue the interests of their specific communities. This paper includes an examination of how farm producer organizations communicate about climate and weather to these various audiences, and the specific needs and recommendations they advance. Of particular interest are commodities related to pasture-based grazing, which is underrepresented in the climate adaptation literature. A collection of 95 publicly available documents is analyzed, representing a snapshot of climate- and weather-related public and policy engagement of Canadian and Albertan farm and livestock producer organizations from 2010 to 2015. Qualitative coding by scale, commodity, and audience revealed three significant patterns within this exploratory study. First, while national “umbrella” organizations speak climate to government, Alberta-based livestock/forage organizations speak to their members with a focus on weather. Second, while the two national umbrella organizations examined are politically divergent, they appear to be united on the topic of climate change. Third, common ground was also found between climate and weather discourses around on-farm management, specifically rotational grazing. These three patterns reveal a disjointed dialogue within the Canadian farm and livestock sectors on topics of climate adaptation and mitigation, as well as opportunities for future cooperation, and the need for further research on farm organization beliefs and their capacity to create/manage climate knowledge.
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Ilbery, Brian, and Damian Maye. "Alternative (Shorter) Food Supply Chains and Specialist Livestock Products in the Scottish–English Borders." Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 37, no. 5 (2005): 823–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/a3717.
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In this paper findings are presented from survey work conducted with producers of specialist livestock products in the Scottish–English borders. Using supply-chain diagrams, the paper highlights how specialist livestock businesses operate individual or customised supply chains. The heterogeneity of surveyed producer initiatives throws into question both the simple conceptual distinction drawn between the labels ‘conventional’ and ‘alternative’ and also what is meant by a ‘short’ food supply chain. The starting point of the specialist food chain is clearly not the point of production but rather a series of upstream supply links—as is found in conventional food chains. Likewise, ‘alternative’ producers are regularly obliged, or choose, to ‘dip in and out’ of different conventional nodes downstream of the business, such as abattoirs, processors, and wholesalers. In practice, delimitations between ‘alternative’ and ‘conventional’ food supply chains are often blurred and are better characterised as ‘hybrid spaces’.
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Slader, R. W., and A. M. S. Gregory. "Electronic live animal and carcass identification systems." Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) 1990 (March 1990): 102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0308229600018833.
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Unique and secure identification of livestock from birth through to the carcass in the abattoir will become a key feature in many areas of livestock production: disease eradication; quality assurance schemes; pedigree breeding; and producer feedback from abattoirs. There have been many attempts at adapting traditional methods of animal identification to provide a measure of automatic recognition. None has been as successful as the application of radio frequency transponders which transmit a unique code when triggered by a suitable reader.
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Holt, Hannah R., Jasbir Singh Bedi, Paviter Kaur, et al. "Epidemiology of brucellosis in cattle and dairy farmers of rural Ludhiana, Punjab." PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 15, no. 3 (2021): e0009102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009102.
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Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease imposing significant impacts on livestock production and public health worldwide. India is the world’s leading milk producer and Punjab is the state which produces the most cattle and buffalo milk per capita. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of bovine brucellosis to provide evidence for control of the disease in Punjab State, India. A cross-sectional study of dairy farms was conducted in humans and livestock in rural Ludhiana district using a multi-stage sampling strategy. The study suggests that brucellosis is endemic at high levels in cattle and buffalo in the study area with 15.1% of large ruminants testing seropositive and approximately a third of dairy farms having at least one animal test seropositive. In total, 9.7% of those in direct contact with livestock tested seropositive for Brucella spp. Persons that assisted with calving and/or abortion within the last year on a farm with seronegative livestock and people which did not assist with calving/abortion had 0.35 (95% CI: 0.17 to 7.1) and 0.21 (0.09 to 0.46) times the odds of testing seropositive compared to persons assisting with calving/abortion in a seropositive farm, respectively. The study demonstrated that persons in direct contact with cattle and buffalo in the study area have high risk of exposure to Brucella spp. Control of the disease in livestock is likely to result in benefits to both animal and public health sectors.
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Ashraf, Junaid, Zeeshan Ahmad, and Imran Chaudhry. "Livestock Valuation in a Dairy Business." Issues in Accounting Education 28, no. 4 (2013): 873–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.2308/iace-50549.
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ABSTRACT This case study deals with assessing the value of livestock in the financial statements of a dairy farming business. With a global market predicted to reach US$494 billion by 2015 (GIA 2012), dairy farming is the largest sector of world agriculture production. It is an important industry in many countries. For example, in the USA, dairy farming contributes more than $160 billion in economic output and provides more than 90,000 jobs (DFT 2012). The subject matter of the case study is a small dairy farming business in Pakistan, a country that is the fifth largest producer of milk in the world (FAO 2009). The case study describes a disagreement between the management and the auditors about the initial recognition and subsequent measurement of crossbred cattle in the financial statements of the business. The aim of this case study is to help students understand the issues involved in assessing the value of livestock in the light of the guidance provided by the International Accounting Standard on Agriculture (IAS 41). The case study can also be used to help students understand the differences between the requirements of U.S. GAAP and international accounting standards, as well as the possible reasons for these differences.
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Allan, C. J., W. K. Mason, I. J. Reeve, and S. Hooper. "Evaluation of the impact of SGS on livestock producers and their practices." Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 43, no. 8 (2003): 1031. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ea02240.
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The Sustainable Grazing Systems (SGS) Program has assisted producers in the high rainfall zone (HRZ, annual rainfall >600 mm/year) of southern Australia, by developing and delivering more productive and sustainable grazing systems. It was evaluated by 2 external surveys — a benchmarking survey in 1994 before the start of SGS, and a follow-up survey of producers in 2001. The 2001 survey showed that SGS had assisted red meat and wool producers in southern Australia make significant and beneficial changes to their grazing systems. Substantial changes in grazing practices occurred between 1994 and 2001 in the HRZ. These changes included an increase in the number of producers who rotationally graze (25%), as well as those undertaking practices aimed at improved pasture management. Participants in SGS were more likely to have made changes to their grazing systems than non-participants. There were no overt differences between regions in producer demographics, or changes made to management practices. The survey confirmed SGS had achieved its goal. Sixty percent of producers in the target regions were aware of SGS (out of a total of 23 689 producers); 42% (9839) had some involvement with SGS and/or received the SGS magazine 'Prograzier'; while 26% (6141) actively participated in SGS through undertaking a PROGRAZE course, and/or by attending regional SGS activities. Of the estimated 9839 producers who participated in the program, up to 8000 made beneficial changes to enhance the productivity and sustainability of their grazing operations. Active participants (6141) attributed many of these benefits to their involvement in SGS.
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Patrick, George R., Paul N. Wilson, Peter J. Barry, William G. Boggess, and Douglas L. Young. "Risk Perceptions and Management Responses: Producer-Generated Hypotheses For Risk Modeling." Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 17, no. 2 (1985): 231–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0081305200025243.
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AbstractFarm level risk analyses have used price and yield variability almost exclusively to represent risk. Results from a survey of 149 agricultural producers in 12 states indicate that producers consider a broader range of sources of variability in their operations. Significant differences exist among categories with respect to the importance of the sources of variability in crop and livestock production. Producers also used a variety of management responses to variability. There were significant difference among categories in the importance given to particular responses and their use of them. These results have implications for research, extension, and policy programs.
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Stevenson, A. "Meat Quality." Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science 2002 (2002): 261. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1752756200009078.
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The relationship between livestock producer and meat plant operator has always been one of suspicion. Now, as a result of last year’s tragic Foot & Mouth outbreak, it is the belief of the Speaker that to use this period of recuperation and rebuilding to develop solid relationships and meaningful trust between both parties. We have a shared challenge if Britain is to remain with a strong meat and livestock sector and not simply rely on the requirements of the consumer to be increasingly met by product from imported sources.
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Sayfetdinov, Aleksandr, and Polina Sayfetdinova. "Nonparametric economic analysis of the level of technical efficiency of cattle meat production in the Krasnodar Krai in 2013-2018." E3S Web of Conferences 222 (2020): 06005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202022206005.
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Calculations of estimates of the technical efficiency of production activities of agricultural organizations of the Krasnodar Krai that produce live weight gains of cattle in 2018 were performed. For this purpose, a nonparametric method is used, which compares the actual and potentially possible maximum production volumes calculated using the linear programming method for each specific commodity producer in a representative sample of enterprises and forming a broken boundary production function. The size of the potential for growth in the production of meat cattle products based on the existing livestock in the region was determined and priority areas for its implementation was identified. It was established that the main factors hindering the development of meat cattle breeding in the Krasnodar Krai are low potential of biological productivity of the livestock breeds used, use of unbalanced feed rations that lead to a large overspend of certain types of feed, and low labor productivity.
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Tonsor, Glynn T., and Lee L. Schulz. "Will an incentive‐compatible indemnity policy please stand up? Livestock producer willingness to self‐protect." Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 67, no. 6 (2020): 2713–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/tbed.13626.
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Bartova, Lubica, and Peter Fandel. "Membership in agricultural producer organizations and farm technical efficiency in Slovakia." Equilibrium 15, no. 3 (2020): 489–509. http://dx.doi.org/10.24136/eq.2020.022.
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Research background: EU National Rural Development Programs (RDPs) support food chain organization, including the establishment of agricultural producer organizations (APOs) to assist the cooperation among small- and medium-sized farms and improve their performance.
 Purpose of the article: We assessed how membership in an APO affects technical efficiency in a sample of Slovak farms. We break down our results by the type of membership (non-members, long-term members, and members of newly established APOs, benefitting from the RDP support) and production specialization of farms (crops, livestock, unspecialized). We expected a positive effect of membership on farm performance, although with differences by production specialization.
 Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data of 645 farms in Slovakia in 2014, when the 2007–2013 RDP support was over. We applied a DEA-based two-stage metafrontier approach. During the first stage, we estimated group-specific efficiency and calculated adjusted (target) values of inputs, given the outputs. During the second stage, we estimated the meta-technical efficiency of farms relative to the metafrontier derived from pooled adjusted inputs and outputs of farm groups by their membership within production specialization. The meta-efficiency indicates farm efficiency associated with membership in a producer organization. We examined the differences between meta-efficiency by membership groups by the Kruskal-Wallis and post hoc Dunn’s tests.
 Findings & Value added: Members of APOs were mainly large farms. Membership in newly established APOs, benefitting from of the RDP support, contributed significantly to higher technical efficiency of livestock and crop farms. Their performance was, however, affected by managerial and scale inefficiencies. Well-performing farms with good farm management had joined APOs already before the year 2007. However, the long-term APO membership did not improve farm technical efficiency significantly. Public support of farm cooperation should be designed to improve the governance, sustainability of the APO activities, and performance of their members.
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Seçer, Arzu, and Mustafa Boğa. "Niğde İlinin Çamardı İlçesinde Küçükbaş Hayvan Yetiştiriciliğinde Pazarlama Yapısı, Yaşanan Sorunlar ve Çözüm Önerileri." Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology 4, no. 2 (2016): 79. http://dx.doi.org/10.24925/turjaf.v4i2.79-83.548.
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In Turkey, there are 31.1 million head sheep in 2014. Central Anatolia Region has 8.3% of this total number. Nigde is the most important sheep producer province in this region. In this study it is aimed to determine marketing structure of products obtained from sheep production activities, define problems of it and present solutions for these problems. The main material of the research was consisted of primary data obtained from 39 Akkaraman sheep producers in Çamardı district in Nigde. In the sheep farms, milk production yield was 1374.4 kg per year. As 73.5% of this yield was presented to market, rest of it was used for self-consumption. Milk was generally sold to local traders. In the operations, livestock also was sold. When 89.7% of livestock sold to kasaps 10.3% of it was sold to local traders. It can be said that producers who are the members of cooperatives were very low and 51.3% of the producers stated that cooperatives can be useful for the solutions of marketing problems of sheep products. Main expectations of producers from cooperatives were providing them market alternative, providing easiness for processing of products and leading to increasing numbers and kinds of buyers in the market.
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van Ufford, Paul Quarles, and Fred Zaal. "The Transfer of Trust: Ethnicities as Economic Institutions in the Livestock Trade in West and East Africa." Africa 74, no. 2 (2004): 121–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/afr.2004.74.2.121.
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AbstractThis article explores the role of ethnic identity in the framework of the livestock trade in West and East Africa. It argues that ethnic identity was used as an instrument to build trust relationships that were vital to the development of pre-colonial livestock trade networks. With the onset of colonial rule, alternative marketing channels developed, none of which proved to be capable of providing reliable and low transaction cost services to both livestock producer and consumer. Nevertheless, the ethnic trade monopolies were threatened by the advent of formal colonial marketing institutions and the progressive ‘opening up’ of the market. This situation remained basically unchanged during the post-colonial era and with recent livestock and meat trade liberalisations. The evidence from Benin and Kenya demonstrates, however, that ethnic identity continues to determine the organisation of the livestock trade, albeit in a different way. The transfer of trust remains crucial to minimise transaction costs in a market that is characterised by a mobile commodity, long distances, and delayed payment in the absence of adequate financial institutions. In addition, it is argued that the specificity of the market environment equally facilitates the use of ethnicity for commercial purposes such as the delimitation of market niches.
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Broadfoot, K. G. "SEED CERTIFICATION." NZGA: Research and Practice Series 5 (January 1, 1990): 32–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.33584/rps.5.1998.3333.
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The provision of good seed is an essential requirement for a healthy primary production industry. Without good seed, pastures and crops can be low producing, livestock production less than optimal and land not utilised to advantage. An effective Seed Industry needs: * Plant Breeders to produce suitable cultivars for the differing requirements in various parts of New Zealand. * An authority to supervise the multiplication of the seed produced by the breeder. * Skilled and efficient farmers to grow the seed. * Modern cleaning plants capable of removing impurities from the harvested seed. * An efficient seed trade to expedite the flow of seed from producer to consumer (NZ and overseas). * A means of ensuring that contaminated seed does not spread undesirable weeds through NZ. * Plant Quarantine regulations which can effectively prevent the entry of diseases, insects and undesirable species. * A prompt and accurate seed testing service. Seed certification is a means of achieving all these.
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ASMARE, BIMREW, and FENTAHUN MEHERET. "Smallholder farmers livestock production on the face of climate change in Bahir Dar, Zuria District, Northwestern Ethiopia." Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity 19, no. 6 (2018): 2329–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d190642.
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Asmare B, Meheret F. 2018. Smallholder farmers livestock production on the face of climate change in Bahir Dar, Zuria District, Northwestern Ethiopia. Biodiversitas 19: 2329-2334. The objective of the study was to assess the livestock production and marketing system in smallholder systems of the area Bahir Dar Zuria district. Three kebeles were selected from Bahir Dar Zuria district based on livestock production experience and accessibility to the road. A total of 90 respondent farmers were used to conduct the assessment, and 4 key informants in each Kebele were used to get additional information. Primary data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and supplemented with key informants and secondary data sources. Descriptive statistics such as frequency (%) and mean were employed to present the qualitative variables obtained from the survey. The average land holding in the area was 0.73 ha of total land with 0.53 ha cropland and 0.2 ha private grazing land. With regard to labor allocation for livestock, family labor was involved in 91.18% of respondents while in the rest hired labor herded, fed, and watered livestock. With regard to water sources, the major source of water for livestock in the households was river (89%) while the remaining respondents use dug well for their livestock. The frequency of watering livestock was twice a day (51%) in the dry season and once a day (44.3%) in the wet season. Most of respondents (53.65%) sell their live animals during religious festivities followed by selling during the season of critical feed shortage (24.45%). Although smallholder farmers are vulnerable groups to climate change the majority (42%) had no information about climate change problem in the study area. The perception of household heads indicated that the livestock holding in the last five years of the family increased in most of the respondents (51%), followed by decreased condition (33%) and remained constant for the rest of the respondents (16%). Overall, it is important to assist livestock producer in enabling them benefit most from livestock and their products.
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Çevik, Savaş, Ali Karabacak, and Mehmet Okan Taşar. "Hayvansal Ürün Üretimi ve Devlet Destekleri Arasındaki İlişki: Türkiye Üzerine Zaman Serisi İncelemesi." Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology 6, no. 11 (2018): 1586. http://dx.doi.org/10.24925/turjaf.v6i11.1586-1591.2053.
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The aim of the study is to examine the relation between the amount of production of livestock products and the government support given to producers of animal products in the case of milk and beef meat. For this purpose, the error correction models for milk and beef meat were estimated for Turkey based on the data over 1986-2016. When looking at the short-term Granger causality from the cointegration relation, there was no statistically significant causality relation between the variables in the milk production equation, while bidirectional Granger causality was found among all variables in the beef meat production equation. Considering long-term coefficients are examined, there is a negative relationship between milk production level and market price differentiation, and there is a positive relationship with producer supports. On the other hand, there is a positive relationship between beef production and market price differential, but a negative relationship with producer supports. Findings support the idea that policies such as monetary producer supports as well as custom regulations beyond monetary supports should be differentiated according to product types. Jel Codes: Q10, Q18, Q28, H20
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Chang, Anita Z., and Mark G. Trotter. "PSV-3 A systems design for sensor-based parturition and calf status detection in rangeland environments." Journal of Animal Science 98, Supplement_4 (2020): 215. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaa278.396.
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Abstract Livestock production in rangeland environments is often fraught with numerous challenges that can limit regular human-animal interaction. As such, cattle in these environments can remain unmonitored for days or months at a time. The integration of on-animal sensing systems in these environments could provide a means for producers to remotely monitor their animals without incurring the significant labour costs associated with manually checking on their livestock. These devices could be used to monitor critical times in a cow’s life, such as calving. Parturition represents a high-risk period in both a cow and calf’s life, where the risk of disease or death is greatly increased. Additional monitoring in this period is beneficial, such that any complications can be promptly detected and managed. On-animal sensing systems could be used to identify when or if calving has successfully occurred and to infer the status of the calf in the first few months of life. For a precise and well-integrated system to be developed, there needs to be a greater understanding of the data required at each stage. This study will provide a conceptual overview and systems design outlining how an on-animal sensor system could be used to detect calving and calf status and provide updates to the producer in the event of complications. This research is funded by Central Queensland University, Meat and Livestock Australia, and Telstra.
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Barrett, Christopher B., and Winnie K. Luseno. "Decomposing producer price risk: a policy analysis tool with an application to northern Kenyan livestock markets." Food Policy 29, no. 4 (2004): 393–405. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2004.07.008.
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Almadani, Mohamad Isam, Peter Weeks, and Claus Deblitz. "Introducing the World’s First Global Producer Price Indices for Beef Cattle and Sheep." Animals 11, no. 8 (2021): 2314. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11082314.
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While international beef and sheep meat price developments are usually measured with meat trade prices (provided by FAO), no comparable information exists on world average of national prices that producers receive for livestock. This paper aims to fill this gap by introducing a set of global producer price indices representing cattle, lambs, and sheep prices as received by producers: the agri benchmark of weaner cattle, finished cattle, lambs and lambs and sheep price indices. These Laspeyres, production-weighted indices measure changes in global farm gate prices as provided annually by the agri benchmark Beef and Sheep Network, with this paper covering prices between 2000 and 2019. The results showed that growing Asian imports, local economic developments in South America, the interconnection with the dairy sector in Europe, growth of beef consumption in China and exchange rates shifts are the key factors that drove developments of global beef producer prices over the past 20 years. Droughts in Oceania and the rapid rise in China’s sheep meat prices are highly reflected in the Global Lambs and Lambs and Sheep Meat Price indices. The indices indicate whether cattle and sheep producers globally are receiving more, or less, for the commodity and may increase or reduce production and investment accordingly. This will be of more use if there were similar producer price indices for competing enterprises, such as dairy and cropping, and for competing proteins, such as pigs, poultry, and fish.
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Ritten, John P., W. Marshall Frasier, Christopher T. Bastian, Steven I. Paisley, Michael A. Smith, and Siân Mooney. "A Multi-Period Analysis of Two Common Livestock Management Strategies Given Fluctuating Precipitation and Variable Prices." Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 42, no. 2 (2010): 177–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1074070800003394.
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Many areas of the US recently endured a severe drought and management strategies to cope with the lack of forage production varied. A multi-period mathematical model is presented that estimates the outcomes of two common producer responses to changes in precipitation, partial liquidation and purchasing hay, given fluctuating cattle prices over a long term planning horizon. Results were further summarized with regression analysis and selected elasticities were calculated to reflect the sensitivity of outcomes to variability in precipitation and livestock prices. Although little impact was seen from utilizing additional hay as a strategy during drought, producers who follow this strategy are in a position to market more animals immediately post drought in general, resulting in better long run financial outcomes. Elasticity estimates suggest that profitability is more sensitive to variability in prices but that optimal choices of management strategies are more sensitive to variability in precipitation.
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Inman, Kimberly, Clint Ary, Will Bird, Joey Mehlhorn, and Jason Roberts. "Effects of Advanced Producer Training and Technology on Cattle Mortality During Dystocia." Journal of Agricultural Studies 8, no. 4 (2020): 350. http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/jas.v8i4.17483.
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This study was conducted to investigate what variables may be more significant on farms in reducing both fetal and maternal mortality due to dystocia. Data on risk factors likely to impact cattle mortality were collected from a written herd questionnaire to determine farm management practices linked to cattle reproduction and the mortality related to dystocia. The questionnaire contained 16 questions grouped in the study. The survey contained qualitative and quantitative questions. The design utilized multiple data points with calving factors, age of dam, birth weight, sex of calf, breeds, heifers, cows, body condition, advanced beef producer training of recognition of impending labor, calf death, and dam death. Twenty-seven livestock producers from the state of Tennessee completed the questionnaire. The mean average herd size included 39 cows at reproductive age. The results showed labor detection technology and advanced training helped to reduce the herd mortality percentage. Cattle producers who place value on educating themselves and their workers can make their farms more efficient and profitable by making better on-farm decisions and implementing available technologies.
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Suarna, I. Wayan, Ni Nyoman Suryani, and I. Ketut Mangku Budiasa. "PHASEY BEAN (Macroptilium lathyroides (L.) Urb.) IS A POTENTIAL LOCAL LEGUM AS AN ANIMAL FEED." Pastura 8, no. 2 (2019): 92. http://dx.doi.org/10.24843/pastura.2019.v08.i02.p06.
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Provision of animal feed in accordance with quality standards and adequate quantities has become a strategic need to increase livestock productivity and accelerate the availability and fulfillment of foodstuffs from livestock. In this regard, a survey research has been designed to study some of the local fodder plants that have superior potential as animal feed. Fodder plants are classified as superior feed varieties if they have properties: easy to breed, high productivity as a producer of forage and / or seeds, has a fast regrowth, is resistant to defoliation, resistant to grazing, resistant to environmental stresses, and palatable for livestock. Based on the results of the survey, several species of local animal feed plants that have superior characteristics have been found. One of them is a phasey bean plant (Macroptilium lathyroides (L.) Urb.). Phasey bean as a superior animal feed plant (TPT) besides being suitable for the above characteristics also has grown naturally in an area in Bali so it needs to be tested for its feasibility to be distributed throughout Bali.
 Keywords: phasey bean, superior legumes, tropical forage
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Grandin, Temple. "Welfare Problems in Cattle, Pigs, and Sheep that Persist Even Though Scientific Research Clearly Shows How to Prevent Them." Animals 8, no. 7 (2018): 124. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani8070124.
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Poor production and handling practices continue to persist that are both detrimental to animal welfare and financially burdensome. These practices continue to persist for three reasons: (1) a segmented marketing chain where a producer is not held financially accountable for losses; (2) failure to measure and assess chronic painful problems such as lame livestock; and (3) repeating old mistakes, such as housing fattening cattle for long periods of time on bare concrete. Two examples of the first type of losses are bruises caused by poor handling and sick cattle at feedlots caused by failure to vaccinate and precondition weaned calves at the farm of origin. In some segmented marketing systems, there is no economic incentive to vaccinate. When the animals get sick, the responsibility gets passed to the next person. Buyers of meat products can reduce these “passed on” losses by source verification. The first step to reducing problems, such as lame livestock, is to measure the percentage of lame animals and work with the producers to reduce them. Also, transportation payments should be changed and contracts should be based on the condition of the animals at delivery.
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Roderick, S., M. Hovi, and N. Short. "Animal health and welfare issues on organic livestock farms in the UK: results of a producer survey." BSAP Occasional Publication 23 (January 1999): 109–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0263967x00033334.
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Díaz-Vázquez, Diego, Susan Caroline Alvarado-Cummings, Demetrio Meza-Rodríguez, Carolina Senés-Guerrero, José de Anda, and Misael Sebastián Gradilla-Hernández. "Evaluation of Biogas Potential from Livestock Manures and Multicriteria Site Selection for Centralized Anaerobic Digester Systems: The Case of Jalisco, México." Sustainability 12, no. 9 (2020): 3527. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12093527.
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The state of Jalisco is the largest livestock producer in Mexico, leading in the production of swine, eggs, and milk. This immense production generates enormous amounts of waste as a byproduct of the process itself. The poor management of livestock-derived waste can lead to multiple environmental problems like nutrient accumulation in soil, water eutrophication, and air pollution. The aim of this work is to establish a replicable geographic information system (GIS)-based methodology for selecting priority sites in which to implement anaerobic digestion units. These units will use multiple parameters that evaluate environmental risks and viability factors for the units themselves. A weighted overlay analysis was used to identify critical regions and, based on the results, clusters of individual livestock production units (LPUs) across the state were selected. Nitrogen and phosphorus recovery, as well as the energetic potential of the selected clusters, were calculated. Four clusters located mainly in the Los Altos region of Jalisco were selected as critical and analyzed. The results indicate that Jalisco has the potential to generate 5.5% of its total electricity demand if the entirety of its livestock waste is treated and utilized in centralized anaerobic digestion units. Additionally, 49.2 and 31.2 Gg of nitrogen and phosphorus respectively could be valorized, and there would be an estimated total reduction of 3012.6 Gg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq).
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Nicoloso, Carolina da Silveira, Vicente Celestino Pires Silveira, Roblein Cristal Coelho Filho, and Fernando Luiz Ferreira de Quadros. "Typology of family livestock production systems in the Pampa biome using the MESMIS method." Semina: Ciências Agrárias 40, no. 6Supl2 (2019): 3249. http://dx.doi.org/10.5433/1679-0359.2019v40n6supl2p3249.
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Livestock farming plays a significant role in Rio Grande do Sul state. The current global dynamics of grain appreciation have triggered the advance of agricultural production, especially soybean, over the gaucho Pampa biome. These changes determine the path of production system sustainability; however, it remains unclear how sustainable these production systems are. A typology of 90 family livestock production systems in the Pampa biome was performed as a function of sustainability using the MESMIS method and cluster analysis. The production systems were grouped into three different groups: SPPF, least sustainable, with a higher percentage of crops in the systems, more soybean crops, lower share of income from livestock production, and less native field area. SPPF more sustainable, presented greater sustainability, with smaller crop areas in relation to the total area, more native field in the systems, a more standardized herd, greater crop diversification, and a higher level of formal education and producer participation. SPPF intermediary presented higher productivity then the least sustainable SPPF, self-sufficiency equal to that of the other groups, and similar results to SPPF least sustainable for the other attributes (p < 0.05).
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dos Reis, Júlio César, Mariana Y. T. Kamoi, Daniel Latorraca, et al. "Assessing the economic viability of integrated crop−livestock systems in Mato Grosso, Brazil." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 35, no. 6 (2019): 631–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742170519000280.
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AbstractPopulation growth and rising incomes have led to increasing global demand for meat products. Meeting this demand without converting remaining natural ecosystems or further degrading ecosystems is one of the largest global sustainability challenges. A critical step to overcoming this challenge is to increase the productivity of livestock grazing systems, which occupy the largest land area of any type of agriculture globally. Integrated crop−livestock systems (iCL), which re-couple crop and livestock production at the farm scale, have been considered a promising strategy to tackle this challenge by restoring degraded pasturelands and providing supplemental nutrition to livestock. However, few studies have analyzed the economic viability of such systems, especially in Brazil, an important player in global food systems. This paper presents an economic analysis of iCL in Mato Grosso, Brazil, the largest grain and beef producer in the country, which spans the ecologically diverse Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal biomes. We compare the economic performance of an integrated soybean/corn and beef cattle system to a continuous crop (soybean/corn) system and a continuous livestock (beef cattle) production system from 2005 to 2012. We use empirical case study data to characterize a ‘typical’ farm for each production system within the study region. We find that the integrated crop−livestock system has a higher annual net present value (NPV) per hectare (ha) than continuous cropping or livestock under a range of discount rates. However, under a scenario of substantially higher crop prices, the continuous cropping outperforms iCL. While iCL is not feasible in all regions of the Amazon and Cerrado, our results indicate that in places where the biophysical and market conditions are suitable for production, it could be a highly profitable way to intensify cattle production and potentially spare land for other uses, including conservation. Nevertheless, additional credit and technical support may be needed to overcome high upfront costs and informational barriers to increase iCL areas as a sustainable development strategy for agriculture in the Amazon and Cerrado regions.
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Rosa, C., L. Cavaglieri, J. Ribeiro, et al. "Mycobiota and naturally-occurring ochratoxin A in dairy cattle feed from Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil." World Mycotoxin Journal 1, no. 2 (2008): 195–201. http://dx.doi.org/10.3920/wmj2008.1009.
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The worldwide contamination of foods and feeds with toxigenic fungi and its mycotoxins is a significant problem of great agro-economic importance. The impact of mycotoxins includes toxic effects on humans and animals with increased health care, veterinary care costs and a reduced livestock production. The aims of the present work were: (1) to determine the mycobiota present in raw materials and finished cow's feed as well as to determine the ability of several Aspergillus and Penicillium isolated species to produce ochratoxin A, and (2) to evaluate the ochratoxin A production on these substrates. Samples (133) (corn, brewer's grain, barley rootlets, cotton flour, pelletised citric pulp and finished cow's feed) were collected. They were examined for total moulds, Aspergillus and Penicillium spp. occurrence and relative densities. The capacity to produce ochratoxin A by selected Aspergillus and Penicillium spp. was determined by HPLC. Total mould counts were generally higher than 1 x 104 cfu/g. Aspergillus and Penicillium species were isolated in the highest numbers. Aspergillus flavus, A. niger and A. ochraceus were the most prevalent species. A. niger (38.5%), A. carbonarius (71.4%), A. ochraceus (32.7%), and P. verrucosum (13.1%) were OTA producers at levels that ranged between 9 and 126 µg/kg. Finished cow's feed (25%), corn (31%), barley rootlet (21.6%) and brewer's grain (45%) samples were positive for OTA contamination. In this study, total counts were over the proposed limit to ensure hygienic quality. In general, samples showed the main toxicogenic genera, Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium, as prevalent. OTA producer strains were found and many samples yielded OTA levels higher than the permissible limits. OTA survey in raw materials and storage practices must be investigated to determine their occurrence and to establish the livestock toxicological risk in cow's feed.
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Lavoie, Avery Lynn, Katherine Dentzman, and Chloe Bradley Wardropper. "Using diffusion of innovations theory to understand agricultural producer perspectives on cover cropping in the inland Pacific Northwest, USA." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 36, no. 4 (2021): 384–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742170520000423.
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AbstractThere is increased interest in cover crops on farms; those planted during the fallow period or in place of a cash crop to improve soil and water quality. Despite extensive research suggesting that the practice can enhance on-farm resilience, cover crop use is not widespread, especially across the dryland wheat-growing region of the USA inland Pacific Northwest. Cover crops are being promoted across this region as a means to improve agronomic conditions and farmer livelihoods. Yet, there is limited producer-centered social science research to understand the regional and field-level challenges associated with the practice. To address this gap, we draw from the diffusion of innovations theory to examine the perceived relative advantage (the degree to which cover crops are compatible with the current agricultural system), and trialability of cover crops. Trialability encompasses the relative complexity and observability of the practice. Interviews (n = 28) were conducted with producers to better understand perceptions on relative advantage and how cover crop characteristics may contribute to barriers to adoption. Based on the results from interviews, focus groups (n = 48) were conducted to explore potential avenues for improving the integration of cover crops into existing cropping systems. Analysis of interviews with dryland crop and livestock producers suggested that perceptions of low relative advantage, including low compatibility with common regional management systems, perceived lack of profitability and increased cost of inputs act as deterrents to cover crop integration. Low trialability was associated with the complexity of experimentation, a lack of directly observable results and inflexible regional policies. These perceptions were compounded by a lack of region-specific agronomic and economic information on cover crops. Analysis of focus groups with crop and livestock producers and agricultural stakeholders suggested that there are several opportunities to improve potential adoption strategies and improve perceptions of relative advantage and trialability. Understanding the unique management goals of producers within the environmental, social and economic context in which they operate will better inform regional policies, outreach and future adoption strategies.
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Wells, Robert S. "70 Integrity Beef Alliance I. Program Overview." Journal of Animal Science 97, Supplement_1 (2019): 4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jas/skz053.007.
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Abstract Noble Research Institute initiated a cow/calf best management practices (BMP) and marketing program in 2000. Over time, the Integrity Beef Alliance program has matured into a producer-run stand-alone Alliance that has received much favorable attention in the industry. The objectives of the program are: 1.) implement BMP’s, 2.) increase selling weights of calves, 3.) increase calf quality and uniformity, 4.) improve marketing efficiencies, 5.) utilize producer records for improvement, and 6.) educate producers to use of BMP’s. This program has developed stringent protocols that must be adhered to throughout the calf production phase. Protocols and requirements center on cow and bull genetics, herd health, preconditioning criteria, and record keeping. Producers who complete all required documentation and pay an annual membership fee are allowed to sell their calves through a value added calf sale, receive a letter of certification to provide to potential direct market buyers, or market through Superior Livestock Video utilizing the Integrity Beef Alliance logo. Through the utilization of financial and production records, members are able to benchmark themselves against other similar operations in the program and against their own performance over time to determine areas of needed improvement and areas of efficiency. Compared with the 2008 NAHMS data, producers have averaged a 28.6 kg increased weaning weight. Many producers have indicated a higher increase in weaning weight compared to their previous protocols. The program has grown from 11 producers in 2005 to 51 members in 2018.
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Tanaka, D. L., J. F. Karn, and E. J. Scholljegerdes. "Integrated crop/livestock systems research: Practical research considerations." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 23, no. 1 (2008): 80–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742170507002165.
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AbstractThere are many reasons for the paucity of integrated crop/livestock research and associated publications. Integrated/crop livestock experiments that involve adequate treatments and replications, as perceived by both crop and animal scientists, require large numbers of hectares, many animals, considerable labor to conduct the research, substantial financial resources, and a commitment by Federal and State Research Agencies to fund such long-term research projects. To be truly integrated, crop/livestock research must be multidisciplinary, involving scientists of diverse training and experience with expertise to address various aspects of the research problem, and scientists must function as a cohesive unit or team. The prevailing attitude that all experimental data must be statistically analyzed to be of any value is also a detriment to integrated research. Statistical analyses of these projects may be quite challenging and require new or unusual approaches. Related to the prevailing need for statistical analysis is also the need for scientists to publish senior authored publications for career advancement. Conducting integrated research may not facilitate scientists' publishing the number and quality of publications required for them to meet these criteria. A further obstacle to integrated research alluded to above, involves the many experimental design compromises that must be made by cooperating scientists. Crop and soil scientists for example, use many treatments and replications with small plots, while animal scientists, by necessity, have experiments that involve relatively large numbers of hectares and animal numbers with relatively few treatments and replications. It is therefore extremely difficult to initiate such projects given these inherent differences in crop versus livestock research protocol, as well as to design effective experiments that will provide publishable data. Making compromises on the many factors relevant to integrated crop/livestock research while designing experiments that will provide solutions to pertinent producer problems as well as useful data that can be statistically analyzed and published is, therefore, extremely difficult.
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Sanderson, Matt A., David Archer, John Hendrickson, et al. "Diversification and ecosystem services for conservation agriculture: Outcomes from pastures and integrated crop–livestock systems." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 28, no. 2 (2013): 129–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742170512000312.
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AbstractConservation agricultural systems rely on three principles to enhance ecosystem services: (1) minimizing soil disturbance, (2) maximizing soil surface cover and (3) stimulating biological activity. In this paper, we explore the concept of diversity and its role in maximizing ecosystem services from managed grasslands and integrated agricultural systems (i.e., integrated crop–livestock–forage systems) at the field and farm level. We also examine trade-offs that may be involved in realizing greater ecosystem services. Previous research on livestock production systems, particularly in pastureland, has shown improvements in herbage productivity and reduced weed invasion with increased forage diversity but little response in terms of animal production. Managing forage diversity in pastureland requires new tools to guide the selection and placement of plant mixtures across a farm according to site suitability and the goals of the producer. Integrated agricultural systems embrace the concept of dynamic cropping systems, which incorporates a long-term strategy of annual crop sequencing that optimizes crop and soil use options to attain production, economic and resource conservation goals by using sound ecological management principles. Integrating dynamic cropping systems with livestock production increases the complexity of management, but also creates synergies among system components that may improve resilience and sustainability while fulfilling multiple ecosystem functions. Diversified conservation agricultural systems can sustain crop and livestock production and provide additional ecosystem services such as soil C storage, efficient nutrient cycling and conservation of biodiversity.
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Smith, C., J. W. James, and E. W. Brascamp. "On the derivation of economic weights in livestock improvement." Animal Science 43, no. 3 (1986): 545–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0003356100002750.
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ABSTRACTThe use of profit equations for deriving economic weights (the value per unit improvement in a trait) in the genetic improvement of livestock has led to anomalies both in theory and in practice. These anomalies can be removed by imposing two conditions. One is that any extra profit from genetic change that can be matched by rescaling the size of the production enterprise should not be counted since it can be achieved without any genetic change. Only savings in cost per unit of product value should be included. The second condition is that changes that correct previous inefficiency in the production enterprise should not be counted. Thus, it is assumed that resources are efficiently used, and changes in output will require proportional changes in input. This means that fixed costs, like variable costs, should be expressed per unit of output, rather than as a fixed total enterprise cost. Improvement effort spent on traits that redress current inefficiencies in a production enterprise is of local and temporary value and is at the opportunity cost of improvement of other traits that save costs per unit of product value and are of permanent and general value. Application of these two conditions is shown to give economic weights that are identical on different bases; scaled output value, input or profit; fixed output value, input or profit; and zero profit. They were also equivalent to economic weights derived as the cost per unit product value from an economic efficiency index. The dilemma of different economic weights for different perspectives in production (unit of product, animal, producer, investor, and consumer) is also resolved.
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Dorward, Caitlin, Sean Michael Smukler, and Kent Mullinix. "A novel methodology to assess land-based food self-reliance in the Southwest British Columbia bioregion." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 32, no. 2 (2016): 112–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742170516000053.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThere is a growing awareness that climate change, economic instability, resource limitations and population growth are impacting the capacity of the contemporary global food system to meet human nutrition needs. Although there is widespread recognition that food systems must evolve in the face of these issues, a polarized debate has emerged around the merit of global-versus-local approaches to this evolution. Local food system advocates argue that increasing food self-reliance will concomitantly benefit human health, the environment and local economies, while critics argue that only a globalized system will produce enough calories to efficiently and economically feed the world. This debate is strong in British Columbia (BC), Canada, where residents and food security experts have called for increased food self-reliance while the provincial government largely supports export-oriented agriculture. As elsewhere, however, in BC this debate takes place in absence of an understanding of capacity for food self-reliance. The few studies that have previously evaluated self-reliance in this region have been limited in their approach in a number of ways. In this study we use a novel methodology to assess current (2011) status of land-based food self-reliance for a diet satisfying nutritional recommendations and food preferences that accounts for seasonality of crop production and the source of livestock feed, and applied it to the Southwest BC bioregion (SWBC) as a case study. We found that agricultural land use in SWBC is dominated by hay, pasture and corn silage, followed by fruits and vegetables. Fruit and vegetable production comprise 87% of total food crop production in SWBC by weight, and a substantial amount is produced in quantities beyond SWBC need per crop type, representing an export focused commodity with limited contribution to food self-reliance. Results illustrate that SWBC is a major producer of livestock products, but these industries rely on feed grain imports. The production of feed grain could therefore be considered a major constraint on self-reliance; SWBC's total dietary self-reliance is 12% if discounting livestock feed imports or 40% if including them. Results demonstrate that a diet including foods that cannot be grown in the region or consumed fresh out of season, limits potential food self-reliance. Our methods reveal the value of factoring dietary recommendations and food consumption patterns into food self-reliance assessments and the necessity of accounting for the source of livestock feed to fully understand the self-reliance status of a region.