scholarly journals Complex problem analysis of the Hungarian dairy farms

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 93-100
Author(s):  
Beáta Blaskó ◽  
Krisztián Kovács ◽  
László Szőllősi ◽  
István Szűcs

Hungarian dairy farms went through significant changes in past two decades. The most significant changes were caused by our accession to the European Union in 2004. In Hungary milk production remarkably declined after EU accession due to the decreasing level of support and decreasing milk prices. Size of our dairy herd has been practically reducing since the political transformation (1989); meanwhile the relative yields per cow have been continuously increasing. Relatively low prices, high production costs and tightening quality requirements ousted several producers – mainly small farms - from the market in past years. Feeding cost represents the highest rate in cost structure of production, but animal health expenditures and various losses are also significant. Applied technology of the Hungarian dairies lags behind theWestern-European competitors’; in addition they have handicaps in efficiency and product innovation. Moreover Hungarian milk and milk product consumption is about half of the Union average. In 2007 at the University of Debrecen the opportunities and the problems of this sector were discussed in the framework of a research and development project entitled “Project-generating based on sector-specific innovation”.At this workshop farmers, experts and advisers shared their ideas which were all gathered. The main objective of our paper is to provide useful information for the decision makers and the most important members of the sector. Using the practically successful ideas plus the ideas based on previous experience a new strategic concept was created. To reach the objective of this paper we collected, synthesized and analysed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the dairy farms and performed a SWOT analysis. On the basis of this SWOT analysis we set up a well organised problem hierarchy which would help to identify the main weaknesses of the sector. This analysis gives a great framework for the researches and it also gives a useful tool for the decision makers to improve the competitiveness of the Hungarian dairy sector.

2011 ◽  
pp. 43-47
Author(s):  
Beáta Blaskó

Hungarian dairy sector went through significant changes in past two decades. The most significant changes were caused by our accession to the European Union. In Hungary milk production remarkably declined after EU accession. The size of our dairy herd has been practically reducing since the political transformation, but increasing yields per cow could compensate it in some way and for some time. However, in recent years, increasing yield per cow came to a stop and in parallel, the number of cows declined further and faster. Low prices, high production costs and tightening quality requirements ousted several producers from the market in past years. Feeding cost represents the highest rate in cost structure of production, but animal health expenditures and various losses are also significant. There are undeniably competitive disadvantages in the level of organisation and labour productivity; however competitiveness already depends on cost effectiveness in the medium run. In Hungary concentration of the dairies is relatively strong in spite of the relative high number of corporations. The dairies compete with each other and with the export market for the raw material and the better exploitation of their capacities. Applied technology of the Hungarian dairies lags behind the Western-European competitors’; in addition they have handicaps in efficiency and product innovation. Presence of chain of stores being dominant in sale of milk products does also not favour in all respects to the position of the dairies. The aforementioned retail chains are namely consumer-centric, engage in price follower conduct and weaken the position of the dairies with their private label products. As a result of increasing import of milk and milk products Hungary became a net importer in recent years. Today, disposable income still essentially determines the consumption habits of price-sensitive consumers. Loyalty for Hungarian products is not typical, consumers are open for import products being preferred by retail chains. In addition Hungarian milk and milk product consumption is about half of the Union average and it is far behind the level being necessary for healthy eating. In Hungary lack of competitiveness and vertical integration relationships and backwardness are revealing among the dairy farmers and the dairies, while chain of stores are in unprecedented “monopolistic situation”; the whole sector can be characterised by defencelessness. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-52
Author(s):  
József Horváth ◽  
Zsanett Tóth ◽  
Edit Mikó

Abstract As milk prices move away from production costs, dairy farms are under increased pressure to find ways to protect profitability on the farm. Producers have some problems that they can improve. Improve the milk production, produce more milk to sell focused on quality (reduce the amount of high level of somatic cell count). The deterioration of animal health status (lameness, mastitis and different metabolic disorders) can have a serious impact on cow productivity, causing pain and discomfort, production losses and might result in a decision to cull the animal. Improving herd reproductive performance is an important aspect of profitable farm management. The aim of this work is to analyse milk production, reasons of culling and culling rate in different lactation on a dairy cattle farm.


2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 855-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego B. Nóbrega ◽  
Marcos V.S. Guiduce ◽  
Felipe F. Guimarães ◽  
Danilo F. Riboli ◽  
Maria L.R.S. Cunha ◽  
...  

The objectives of this study were to isolate Klebsiella pneumoniae from different sources in three dairy cattle herds, to use the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to measure genotypic similarities between isolates within a dairy herd, to verify the production of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) by the double-disk synergy test (DDST), and to use the PCR to detect the main ESBLs subgroups genes. Three dairy farms were selected based on previous mastitis outbreaks caused by K. pneumoniae. Milk samples were collected from lactating cows and from the bulk tank. Swabs were performed in different locations, including milking parlors, waiting room, soil, animal's hind limbs and rectum. K. pneumoniae was isolated from 27 cases of intramammary infections (IMI) and from 41 swabs. For farm A isolates from IMI and bulk tank were considered of the same PGFE subtype. One isolate from a bulk tank, three from IMI cases and four from environmental samples were positive in the DDST test. All eight DDST positive isolates harbored the bla shv gene, one harbored the bla tem gene, and three harbored the bla ctx-m gene, including the bulk tank isolate. Our study confirms that ESBL producing bacteria is present in different locations in dairy farms, and may be responsible for IMI. The detection of ESBLs on dairy herds could be a major concern for both public and animal health.


2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Ries ◽  
Katharina Charlotte Jensen ◽  
Kerstin-Elisabeth Müller ◽  
Christa Thöne-Reineke ◽  
Roswitha Merle

Veterinary Herd Health Management plays an important role in veterinary medicine on dairy farms and has also been mandatory at the European Union level since April 21, 2021. Despite the increasing importance of VHHM, little is known about the extent of utilization of VHHM by dairy farmers and their view on this type of collaboration. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to determine the status quo of the currently practiced VHHM in Germany. For this purpose, an online survey was conducted among dairy farmers in November and December 2020. From 216 analyzed questionnaires, about half (n = 106) of the surveyed dairy farmers used VHHM at different scopes. However, regardless of the group, the term “veterinary herd health management” generally was given most relative importance by the participants as a veterinary service for herd fertility improvement, rather than the actual definition of a holistic approach. In contrast to this, the actual motivation of the VHHM participants, to take part in such a program was primarily based on the desire to safeguard animal health by employing preventive measures, that is, to avoid the occurrence of diseases via improved management and to improve farm performance (and profitability). Dairy farmers who opted for VHHM tended to manage larger higher yielding herds than those who did not. Additionally, the farmers in latter farms were more likely to make joint animal health decisions with their veterinarians. Using a latent class analysis, two groups of farmers among farms that were not currently using VHHM were identified, one of which expressed great interest in using VHHM while the other did not. Since the new legal basis makes the topic even more relevant than before, dairy farmers, animals, and veterinarians might benefit from the study to exploit hidden opportunities for VHHM collaboration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 06026
Author(s):  
Oleksii Klok ◽  
Olha Loseva ◽  
Oleksandr Ponomarenko

The article studies theoretical and methodological bases of the strategic management of the development of administrative territories, considers the essence of strategic management and formulates the advantages of using it in management of administrative territory. Based on the analysis of the key provisions of the EU regional policy, the strategy of “smart specialization” is considered as the most common approach to territorial development. Using the experience of the countries of the European Union as a basis, a BPMN diagram, describing the conceptual bases for the formation of a competitive territory strategy, was built. Practical approaches to the formation of strategies for the development of administrative territories operating in Ukraine, regulatory acts, in particular, that had a direct impact on the formation of the existing model of strategic territorial management, were analyzed. The main requirements to the content of the strategic plan were considered and the list of key provisions and analytical methods (socio-economic analysis, comparative analysis, SWOT-analysis, PESTLE-analysis, sociological analysis) was formulated. Using the comparative legal analysis of the experience of the European Union as a basis, a number of features can be highlighted that must be taken into account in the process of forming the administrative territory development strategy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 6481
Author(s):  
Marianna Martinello ◽  
Chiara Manzinello ◽  
Nicoletta Dainese ◽  
Ilenia Giuliato ◽  
Albino Gallina ◽  
...  

Member states of the European Union are required to ensure the initiation of monitoring programs to verify honey bee exposure to pesticides, where and as appropriate. Based on 620 samples of dead honey bees—42 of pollen, 183 of honey and 32 of vegetables—we highlighted the presence, as analyzed by liquid and gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometric detection, of many active substances, mainly tau-fluvalinate, piperonyl butoxide, chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl, permethrin and imidacloprid. Among the active substances found in analyzed matrices linked to honey bee killing incidents, 38 belong to hazard classes I and II, as methiocarb, methomyl, chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and permethrin, thus representing a potential risk for human health. We have shown that, at different times between 2015 and 2020, during implementation of the Italian national guidelines for managing reports of bee colony mortality or depopulation associated with pesticide use, pesticide pollution events occurred that could raise concern for human health. Competent authorities could, as part of a One Health approach, exploit the information provided by existing reporting programs on honey bees and their products, in view of the close correlation to human health, animal health and ecosystem health.


2002 ◽  
Vol 2002 ◽  
pp. 18-18
Author(s):  
G. E. Pollott ◽  
J. D. Leaver

In recent years there has been an influx of Holstein genes into the UK dairy herd, largely achieved by a ‘grading up’ process using imported Holstein semen on Friesian cows. The research reported here investigates this process using performance records from UK dairy herds.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1954
Author(s):  
Aaron J Brown ◽  
Gillian Scoley ◽  
Niamh O’Connell ◽  
Jamie Robertson ◽  
Amanda Browne ◽  
...  

The first few months of life are of great importance to the longevity and lifetime performance of dairy cows. The nutrition, environment and healthcare management of heifer calves must be sufficient to minimise exposure to stress and disease and enable them to perform to their genetic potential. Lack of reporting of farm management practices in Northern Ireland (NI) makes it difficult to understand where issues impacting health, welfare and performance may occur in the rearing process. The objective of this study was to investigate housing design and management practices of calves on 66 dairy farms across NI over a 3-month period and also identify areas that may cause high risk of poor health and performance in dairy calves. An initial survey was used to detail housing and management practices, with two subsequent visits to each farm used to collect animal and housing-based measurements linked to hygiene management, animal health and performance. Large variations in key elements such as weaning criteria and method, calf grouping method used, nutritional feed plane, and routine hygiene management were identified. The specification of housing, in particular ventilation and stocking density, was highlighted as a potential limiting factor for calf health and performance. Lack of measurement of nutritional inputs, hygiene management practices and calf performance was observed. This poses a risk to farmers’ ability to ensure the effectiveness of key management strategies and recognise poor calf performance and health.


1979 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-105
Author(s):  
B. R. Eddleman ◽  
J. E. Moya-Rodriguez

Many decisions made by farm producers are based on expectations. The process of formulating and incorporating these expectations into decision making is difficult when high variability occurs in product prices, crop yields, production costs, or other factors affecting net income. Farm producers may be influenced by a number of goals in selecting combinations of crops to produce and marketing outlets for the crops. Two goals generally held to be important to farm decision makers are maximization of net income and net income stability. Given the price, yield, and cost of production variability characteristics of a farm enterprise and these two goals of farm decision makers, a fundamental problem is to determine what combination of alternative marketing actions can best satisfy the two objectives. A systematic examination of the relationship between the level of net income and net income variability for combinations of marketing alternatives would aid farmers in deciding on marketing actions to attain these goals.


2012 ◽  
Vol 145 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 63-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ivemeyer ◽  
G. Smolders ◽  
J. Brinkmann ◽  
E. Gratzer ◽  
B. Hansen ◽  
...  

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