Approaches for assessing some attributes of feed-base systems in mixed farming enterprises

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay W. Bell ◽  
Michael J. Robertson ◽  
Dean K. Revell ◽  
Julianne M. Lilley ◽  
Andrew D. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Base System ◽  
Feed System ◽  
Marginal Value ◽  
Mixed Farming ◽  
Feed Source ◽  
The Impact

Improving the feed-base to better balance livestock demands with the variation in feed supply can improve the sustainability and productivity of livestock enterprises. This paper outlines some approaches and tools that can be applied to the assessment of new feed options and/or potential changes to the feed-base in mixed farming systems. Demonstrations of strategic aspects of designing feed systems include: whole-farm feed planning using simple tools, such as the MLA Feed Demand Calculator, that enable iterative changes to the balance between feed supply and demand to be considered simultaneously; assessing production and environmental risks of different feed-base systems using simulation models (e.g. APSIM, GRAZPLAN); and using bio-economic models (e.g. MIDAS) to investigate the impact of a new feed source on whole-farm profitability and the optimal balance of other feed sources and livestock production system. Also included is an example of an approach to identifying opportunities and seasonal triggers for a tactical response for utilising an alternate feed source (e.g. grazing a grain crop). The importance of economics and risk as factors for assessing feed-base systems is demonstrated. In particular, the marginal value of extra feed supply is a critical element driving the whole-farm economics of the feed system. Some approaches consider seasonal averages, but the risk of year-to-year and within-year variations in the timing and amount of feed supply should also be assessed. Several tools of varying complexity exist to investigate attributes of the feed-base, but it is important that the correct approach is applied to the particular question in mind. A range of approaches could be applied concurrently to fully explore a range of aspects of the performance of a feed-base system.

scholarly journals The Use of Extraneous Information in the Development of a Policy Simulation Model

1973 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daryll E. Ray
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Policy Simulation ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Extraneous Information ◽  
Aggregated Model ◽  
The Impact

A number of highly aggregated policy simulation models have been developed for the U.S. agricultural sector. While these models are useful in providing broad-stroke sketches of the effects of alternative farm policies, they have been criticized for their lack of commodity detail. Individuals, organizations and congressmen from a cattle producing state, as an example, are more interested in the impact of a changed agricultural policy on cattle prices and incomes than its effect on the income of all farmers. The reason most often given for not disaggregating by commodity groups is the researcher's reluctance to quantify opportunities for substitution among commodities in production and consumption. However, there may be more agreement on the relative magnitudes of supply and demand elasticities for individual commodities than the price elasticities of supply and demand for all farm output. Hence, a disaggregated model may distort reality much less than a highly aggregated model and at the same time provide detail on indirect effects of proposed policies that is so often sought by policy makers.

scholarly journals The adaptive capacity of smallholder mixed-farming systems to the impact of climate change: The case of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nonhlanzeko N. Mthembu ◽  
Elliot M. Zwane
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
National Development ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Mixed Farming ◽  
Drought Relief ◽  
The Impact

Climate change poses a serious threat to efforts by developing countries to ensure food security and poverty reduction. The National Development goals of South Africa envisage the agricultural sector as a key driver for job creation and economic growth. This article seeks to investigate the adaptive capacity of the Ncunjane farming community in Msinga, KwaZuluNatal in response to drought spells of 2010 and 2014. This article draws on data collected using both qualitative and quantitative methods in 2011 and later in 2015 with the data analysed through the Statistical Package for Social Science to determine significant correlations between variables. Analysis of the vulnerability and adaptive capacity is performed using conceptual framework. This study found that both smallholder farmers who engaged in livestock and crop production have experienced high cattle mortalities and stagnant crop productivity, which in turn put pressure on already constrained disposable household income because of increased food costs and agricultural input costs, particularly supplementary animal feed. Cattle owners were more vulnerable to drought because of poor risk management and thus became highly dependent on government to provide drought relief. Application for government drought relief was found not to be effective in cases of large herds of cattle. Variability of rainfall and prolonged heat spells has a significant impact on the sustainability of smallholder mixed-farming systems, leaving agriculture as a highly questionable form of livelihood for rural farming communities such as Msinga. The article recommends strengthened institutional mechanisms so that stakeholders should play a more meaningful role within provincial and local agriculture in leveraging government support but places emphasis on the adoption of innovative strategies that can potentially yield significantly resilient smallholder mixed-farming systems in the wake of climate variability.

scholarly journals New parsimonious simulation methods and tools to assess future food and environmental security of farm populations

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1639) ◽  
pp. 20120280 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Antle ◽  
Jetse J. Stoorvogel ◽  
Roberto O. Valdivia
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Environmental Security ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Simulation Methods ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Out Of Sample ◽  
Methodological Advance

This article presents conceptual and empirical foundations for new parsimonious simulation models that are being used to assess future food and environmental security of farm populations. The conceptual framework integrates key features of the biophysical and economic processes on which the farming systems are based. The approach represents a methodological advance by coupling important behavioural processes, for example, self-selection in adaptive responses to technological and environmental change, with aggregate processes, such as changes in market supply and demand conditions or environmental conditions as climate. Suitable biophysical and economic data are a critical limiting factor in modelling these complex systems, particularly for the characterization of out-of-sample counterfactuals in ex ante analyses. Parsimonious, population-based simulation methods are described that exploit available observational, experimental, modelled and expert data. The analysis makes use of a new scenario design concept called representative agricultural pathways. A case study illustrates how these methods can be used to assess food and environmental security. The concluding section addresses generalizations of parametric forms and linkages of regional models to global models.

The impact of regulations on labor markets in the U.S.

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-40
Author(s):  
Souad Adnane
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Demand Model ◽  
Lead Teachers ◽  
Associate's Degree ◽  
Childcare Workers ◽  
Educational Requirements ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Women's Labor Force Participation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The U.S

The District of Columbia (DC) Office of the Superintendent of Education (OSSE) issued in December 2016 new educational requirements for childcare workers, according to which, all childcare center directors in the District must earn a bachelor’s degree by December 2022 and all lead teachers an associate’s degree by December 2020 (Institute for Justice, 2018). Moreover, DC has one of the lowest staff-child ratios in the country. How are regulations pertaining to childcare workers’ qualifications and staff-child ratio affecting the childcare market in DC? The present paper is an attempt to answer this question first by analyzing the effects of more stringent regulations on the cost and availability of childcare in the U.S based on existing studies. It also uses the basic supply and demand model to examine the possible impact of the new DC policy on the cost, quality and supply of childcare in the District and how it will affect working parents, especially mothers. Next, the paper discusses the impact of deregulation based on simulations and regressions conducted by studies covering the U.S., and implications for quality. It concludes that more stringent childcare regulations, regarding educational requirements and staff-child ratios, are associated with a reduced number of childcare centers and a higher cost, and eventually affects women’s labor force participation.

Private Agricultural R&D: Do the Poor Benefit?

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jock R. Anderson ◽  
Regina Birner ◽  
Latha Najarajan ◽  
Anwar Naseem ◽  
Carl E. Pray
Keyword(s):  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural Technologies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The World ◽  
Agricultural Research And Development ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Private agricultural research and development can foster the growth of agricultural productivity in the diverse farming systems of the developing world comparable to the public sector. We examine the extent to which technologies developed by private entities reach smallholder and resource-poor farmers, and the impact they have on poverty reduction. We critically review cases of successfully deployed improved agricultural technologies delivered by the private sector in both large and small developing countries for instructive lessons for policy makers around the world.

scholarly journals The Role of Selected Ecosystem Services in Different Farming Systems in Poland Regarding the Differentiation of Agricultural Land Structure

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6673
Author(s):  
Lidia Luty ◽  
Kamila Musiał ◽  
Monika Zioło
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Formation ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Organic System ◽  
Supporting Soil ◽  
Management Method ◽  
The Impact

The functioning of various agroecosystems is nowadays shaped by different farming systems, which may impair their functions, as well as being beneficial to them. The benefits include ecosystem services, defined as economic and noneconomic values gained by humans from ecosystems, through supporting soil formation and nutrient circulation, and the impact of agriculture on climate and biodiversity. Their mutual flow and various disturbances depend on the agroecosystem’s management method, which is associated with the type of management of agricultural land (AL) in individual farms. This paper raises a problem of transformation in the structure of three main farming systems in Poland, in 2004–2018, in relation to the implementation of 16 selected ecosystem services and their scale. Special attention was given to organic farming, as the most environmentally friendly and sustainable. The analysis demonstrates the increase in ALs in that type of production during the analyzed period of time. Disparities of transformation associated with the type of agricultural system were noticeable at the regional level, which were presented in 16 Polish voivodeships. The results of the analysis confirm that the organic system, which is an important carrier of various ecosystem services, gained a stable position. Moreover, areas with integrated farming still do not exceed 0.5% of total agricultural lands in such voivodeships. The analysis of factors influencing the deterioration or disappearance of selected environmental services characterizing agricultural systems indicates the need to depart from an intensive conventional management system.

scholarly journals Is there an imbalance in the supply and demand for universal accessibility knowledge? Twenty years of UAIS papers viewed through the lens of WCAG

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frode Eika Sandnes
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
North America ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Research Focus ◽  
Universal Accessibility ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Research Profile ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

AbstractPurpose: Some universal accessibility practitioners have voiced that they experience a mismatch in the research focus and the need for knowledge within specialized problem domains. This study thus set out to identify the balance of research into the main areas of accessibility, the impact of this research, and how the research profile varies over time and across geographical regions. Method: All UAIS papers indexed in Scopus were analysed using bibliometric methods. The WCAG taxonomy of accessibility was used for the analysis, namely perceivable, operable, and understandable. Results: The results confirm the expectation that research into visual impairment has received more attention than papers addressing operable and understandable. Although papers focussing on understandable made up the smallest group, papers in this group attracted more citations. Funded research attracted fewer citations than research without funding. The breakdown of research efforts appears consistent over time and across different geographical regions. Researchers in Europe and North America have been active throughout the last two decades, while Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Middle East became active in during the last five years. There is also seemingly a growing trend of out-of-scope papers. Conclusions: Based on the findings, several recommendations are proposed to the UAIS editorial board.

scholarly journals Overcapacity Risk of China’s Coal Power Industry: A Comprehensive Assessment and Driving Factors

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1426
Author(s):  
Delu Wang ◽  
Xun Xue ◽  
Yadong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Correlation Effect ◽  
Power Industry ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Correlation Based Feature Selection ◽  
Coal Power ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

The comprehensive and accurate monitoring of coal power overcapacity is the key link and an important foundation for the prevention and control of overcapacity. The previous research fails to fully consider the impact of the industry correlation effect; making it difficult to reflect the state of overcapacity accurately. In this paper; we comprehensively consider the fundamentals; supply; demand; economic and environmental performance of the coal power industry and its upstream; downstream; competitive; and complementary industries to construct an index system for assessing coal power overcapacity risk. Besides; a new evaluation model based on a correlation-based feature selection-association rules-data envelopment analysis (CFS-ARs-DEA) integrated algorithm is proposed by using a data-driven model. The results show that from 2008 to 2017; the risk of coal power overcapacity in China presented a cyclical feature of “decline-rise-decline”, and the risk level has remained high in recent years. In addition to the impact of supply and demand; the environmental benefits and fundamentals of related industries also have a significant impact on coal power overcapacity. Therefore; it is necessary to monitor and govern coal power overcapacity from the overall perspective of the industrial network, and coordinate the advancement of environmental protection and overcapacity control.

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