Carbon footprint of conventional and organic beef production systems: An Italian case study

Assessing the differences in gross margins for a north-western Queensland beef-production system was undertaken using herd-budgeting software. The analysis reviewed the viability of producing beef for the domestic market from either a steer or bull production system. A hypothetical herd of 1200 breeders was created for the case study evaluation. An integrated beef production system from breeding to feedlot finishing was found to be less profitable for bull beef production than for steers at the current market prices. Although bull production was more profitable than steer production during the feedlot phase, the production of bulls in this phase failed to compensate for the earlier economic losses in the weaning phase of –AU$24.04 per adult equivalent for bulls. During the feedlot phase, bull production systems had lower break-even sale prices than did steer production systems. In reviewing two pricing scenarios for bulls, it was found that marketing bulls at the same price as steers was the most profitable production system. We conclude that the production of bull beef from a north-western Queensland production system can be profitable only if bulls can be sold without discount relative to steers.

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INFRASTRUCTURE AND LOGISTICS DIVIDE: REGIONAL COMPARISONS BETWEEN NORTH EASTERN & SOUTHERN ITALY

Technological and Economic Development of Economy ◽

10.3846/20294913.2015.1070768 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 243-269 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Fabio CARLUCCI ◽

Andrea CIRÀ ◽

Ennio FORTE ◽

Lucio SIVIERO

Keyword(s):

Production Systems ◽

Composite Index ◽

Composite Indicators ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Global Context ◽

Italian Case ◽

Models Of Development ◽

North Eastern ◽

Logistics Services

Only recently has the inequity among territories in terms of infrastructures and logistics services for freight transport become the subject of several studies regarding measurement and assessment of operational functionality and correspondence of supply for real mobility needs. The efficiency and competitiveness of territories are features that may be analysed through various parametric-type and non-parametric-type methodologies and with the construction of composite indicators. In reviewing recent literature, this article tackles the theme of measurement and assessment of the logistics and infrastructure divide with reference to the search for greater logistic efficiency and territorial competitiveness, in function of the specificities of local production systems and pursuable models of development in the global context. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to review the prevailing methods used to estimate regional efficiency and logistics competitiveness and to focus on an Italian case study. Focusing on the application of an original composite index to the Italian case study, the main insight of our analysis is that composite indicators could help policy-makers to evaluate the requirements of infrastructural interventions and logistics services, in close keeping with the characteristics of the local economic system.

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Carbon footprinting of lamb and beef production systems: insights from an empirical analysis of farms in Wales, UK

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s0021859609990165 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 147 (6) ◽

pp. 707-719 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

G. EDWARDS-JONES ◽

K. PLASSMANN ◽

I. M. HARRIS

Keyword(s):

Production Systems ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Live Weight ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Organic Soils ◽

Beef Production ◽

System Boundary ◽

Carbon Footprints ◽

Carbon Footprinting

SUMMARYCarbon footprinting is an increasingly important method of communicating the climate change impacts of food production to stakeholders. Few studies utilize empirical data collected from farms to calculate the carbon footprints of lamb and beef. Data from two farms in Wales, UK, were employed to undertake such an analysis for two system boundaries.Within a system boundary that considers the embodied greenhouse gases (GHGs) in inputs and on-farm emissions, producing 1 kg of lamb releases 1·3–4·4 kg CO2 eq/kg live weight (case study farm 1) and 1·5–4·7 kg CO2 eq/kg live weight (case study farm 2). The production of beef releases 1·5–5·3 and 1·4–4·4 kg CO2 eq/kg live weight.Within a wider system boundary that also includes GHG emissions from animals and farm soils, lamb released 8·1–31·7 and 20·3–143·5 kg CO2 eq/kg live weight on the two case study farms, and beef released 9·7–38·1 and 18·8–132·6 kg CO2 eq/kg live weight. The difference in emissions for this system boundary relates to nitrous oxides emitted from the organic soils on case study farm 2.These values overlap with nearly all other studies of GHG emissions from lamb and beef production. No direct comparisons between studies are possible due to substantial differences in the methodological approaches adopted.

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Investigations on historical monuments’ deterioration through chemical and isotopic analyses: an Italian case study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-021-15103-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maria Ricciardi ◽

Concetta Pironti ◽

Oriana Motta ◽

Rosa Fiorillo ◽

Federica Camin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Potassium Nitrate ◽

Sewage Water ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Italian Case ◽

Historical Monuments ◽

Isotopic Analyses ◽

Historic Centre ◽

The Church

AbstractIn this paper, we analysed the efflorescences present in the frescos of a monumental complex named S. Pietro a Corte situated in the historic centre of Salerno (Campania, Italy). The groundwater of the historic centre is fed by two important streams (the Rafastia and the Fusandola) that can be the sources of water penetration. The aims of this work are to (i) identify the stream that reaches the ancient frigidarium of S. Pietro a Corte and (ii) characterize the efflorescences on damaged frescos in terms of chemical nature and sources. In order to accomplish the first aim, the water of the Rafastia river (7 samples) and the water of the Fusandola river (7 samples) were analysed and compared with the water of a well of the Church (7 samples). The ionic chromatography measurements on the water samples allowed us to identify the Rafastia as the river that feeds the ancient frigidarium of S. Pietro a Corte. To investigate the nature and the origin of the efflorescences (our second aim), anionic chromatography analyses, X-ray diffraction measurements, and the isotopic determination of nitrogen were performed on the efflorescences (9 samples) and the salts recovered from the well (6 samples). Results of these analyses show that efflorescences are mainly made of potassium nitrate with a δ15N value of + 9.3 ± 0.2‰. Consequently, a plausible explanation for their formation could be the permeation of sewage water on the walls of the monumental complex.

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MODEL-BASED DESIGN OF AM COMPONENTS TO ENABLE DECENTRALIZED DIGITAL MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

Proceedings of the Design Society ◽

10.1017/pds.2021.474 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 2127-2136

Author(s):

Olivia Borgue ◽

John Stavridis ◽

Tomas Vannucci ◽

Panagiotis Stavropoulos ◽

Harry Bikas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Additive Manufacturing ◽

Manufacturing Systems ◽

Production Systems ◽

Data Generation ◽

Production Networks ◽

Model Based ◽

Manufacturing Technologies ◽

Am Processes ◽

Final Consumer

AbstractAdditive manufacturing (AM) is a versatile technology that could add flexibility in manufacturing processes, whether implemented alone or along other technologies. This technology enables on-demand production and decentralized production networks, as production facilities can be located around the world to manufacture products closer to the final consumer (decentralized manufacturing). However, the wide adoption of additive manufacturing technologies is hindered by the lack of experience on its implementation, the lack of repeatability among different manufacturers and a lack of integrated production systems. The later, hinders the traceability and quality assurance of printed components and limits the understanding and data generation of the AM processes and parameters. In this article, a design strategy is proposed to integrate the different phases of the development process into a model-based design platform for decentralized manufacturing. This platform is aimed at facilitating data traceability and product repeatability among different AM machines. The strategy is illustrated with a case study where a car steering knuckle is manufactured in three different facilities in Sweden and Italy.

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