scholarly journals Economic Analysis of a Low-cost Apple Harvest-assist Unit

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-247
Author(s):  
Zhao Zhang ◽  
Paul H. Heinemann
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Occupational Injuries ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Work Productivity ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Apple Orchard ◽  
Apple Production ◽  
Using Data

A low-cost apple (Malus domestica) harvest-assist unit was recently developed to assist employees with fresh apple harvesting. This study reports on the economic analysis of this apple harvest-assist unit. Annual costs of the harvest-assist unit were calculated, including ownership and operational cost. Annual cost savings by increasing apple harvest efficiency, decreasing occupational injuries, improving work productivity in training, pruning, and thinning, and eliminating expenditures on purchasing ladders were calculated. When the annual costs are smaller than annual savings, the unit benefits apple orchard owners positively. Economic analysis results using orchard yields ranging from 25 to 45 Mg·ha−1 demonstrated that when the apple orchard area was larger than 7.6 ha, the unit always benefited orchard owners positively; when the orchard area was smaller than 4.2 ha, the unit always benefited orchard owners negatively. For large orchards, more than one unit was required to satisfy the operational needs. Of the top four U.S. apple production states, Washington, New York, and Michigan, benefitted from purchasing four units, three units, and two units, respectively, per typical farm. However, an average-sized orchard in Pennsylvania, would not benefit, due to small orchard size and low yield. A net present value (NPV) analysis was determined using data from Washington State, which yielded a return on the 8-year investment in the machinery of $888.44.

scholarly journals Using hospitalization data for injury surveillance in agriculture, forestry and fishing: a crosswalk between ICD10CM external cause of injury coding and The Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Scott ◽  
Liane Hirabayashi ◽  
Judy Graham ◽  
Nicole Krupa ◽  
Paul Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Occupational Injury ◽  
Occupational Injuries ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Descriptive Epidemiology ◽  
Hospital Data ◽  
Valuable Data ◽  
Icd 10

Abstract Background While statistics related to occupational injuries exist at state and national levels, there are notable difficulties with using these to understand non-fatal injuries trends in agriculture, forestry, and commercial fishing. This paper describes the development and testing of a crosswalk between ICD-10-CM external cause of injury codes (E-codes) for agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AFF) and the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS). By using this crosswalk, researchers can efficiently process hospitalization data and quickly assemble relevant cases of AFF injuries useful for epidemiological tracking. Methods All 6810 ICD-10-CM E- codes were double-reviewed and tagged for AFF- relatedness. Those related to AFF were then coded into a crosswalk to OIICS. The crosswalk was tested on hospital data (inpatient, outpatient, and emergency department) from New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont using SAS9.3. Injury records were characterized by type of event, source of injury, and by general demographics using descriptive epidemiology. Results Of the 6810 E-codes available in the ICD-10-CM scheme, 263 different E-codes were ultimately classified as 1 = true case, 2 = traumatic/acute and suspected AFF, or 3 = AFF and suspected traumatic/acute. The crosswalk mapping identified 9969 patient records either confirmed to be or suspected to be an AFF injury out of a total of 38,412,241 records in the datasets, combined. Of these, 963 were true cases of agricultural injury. The remaining 9006 were suspected AFF cases, where the E-code was not specific enough to assign certainty to the record’s work-relatedness. For the true agricultural cases, the most frequent combinations presented were contact with agricultural/garden equipment (301), non-roadway incident involving off-road vehicle (222), and struck by cow or other bovine (150). For suspected agricultural cases, the majority (68.2%) represent animal-related injuries. Conclusions The crosswalk provides a reproducible, low-cost, rapid means to identify and code AFF injuries from hospital data. The use of this crosswalk is best suited to identifying true agricultural cases; however, capturing suspected cases of agriculture, forestry, and fishing injury also provides valuable data.

scholarly journals An Economic Analysis of the South-North Bali Connection Railway Plan in The Acceleration of Economic Equality Development in Bali, Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-211
Author(s):  
Dewa Ketut Sudarsana
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Reduction Rate ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Indirect Costs ◽  
Transportation Infrastructure ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Railway Line ◽  
Business Entities

At present the economic development in the province of Bali between South and North Bali is very significant. This condition is presumed to be the transportation infrastructure for the connecting road of South Bali - the existing aiIDRort is not optimal. The alternative transportation infrastructure studied is the plan to build a railway line across South-North Bali. Mengwitani-Singaraja link road is required to be capable to provide more optimal accessibility so that there is an even distribution of economic growth.he indicators used in the feasibility analysis of economic aspects are net present value (NPV), benefit cost ratio (BCR) and economic internal rate of ruturn (EIRR) The price component is used by the shadowprice method. Costs calculated according to the life cycle cost of the project development. Benefits calculated include direct benefits in the form of passenger ticket income and indirect costs in the form of cost savings for existing road users, a multiplier effect, an increase in tourist visits to northern Bali. Economic analysis indicates that the planned North-North Bali railway line is worth proceeding, this is shown by the NPV indicator of IDR 860 billion, BCR of 1.11 and EIRR of 13.11% greater than the 12% price reduction rate. Although it shows that there is feasibility of economic studies, a strategy is needed to produce financial feasibility so that it can be offered in cooperation between government and business entities (PPP) in order to accelerate its developmen

scholarly journals Techno-Economic Analysis of a Small-Scale Biomass-to-Energy BFB Gasification-Based System

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Porcu ◽  
Stefano Sollai ◽  
Davide Marotto ◽  
Mauro Mureddu ◽  
Francesca Ferrara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Agricultural Waste ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Commercial Application ◽  
Small Scale

In order to limit global warming to around 1.5–2.0 °C by the end of the 21st century, there is the need to drastically limit the emissions of CO2. This goal can be pursued by promoting the diffusion of advanced technologies for power generation from renewable energy sources. In this field, biomass can play a very important role since, differently from solar and wind, it can be considered a programmable source. This paper reports a techno-economic analysis on the possible commercial application of gasification technologies for small-scale (2 MWe) power generation from biomass. The analysis is based on the preliminary experimental performance of a 500 kWth pilot-scale air-blown bubbling fluidized-bed (BFB) gasification plant, recently installed at the Sotacarbo Research Centre (Italy) and commissioned in December 2017. The analysis confirms that air-blown BFB biomass gasification can be profitable for the applications with low-cost biomass, such as agricultural waste, with a net present value up to about 6 M€ as long as the biomass is provided for free; on the contrary, the technology is not competitive for high-quality biomass (wood chips, as those used for the preliminary experimental tests). In parallel, an analysis of the financial risk was carried out, in order to estimate the probability of a profitable investment if a variation of the key financial parameters occurs. In particular, the analysis shows a probability of 90% of a NPV at 15 years between 1.4 and 5.1 M€ and an IRR between 11.6% and 23.7%.

scholarly journals Biofuel Discount Rates and Stochastic Techno-Economic Analysis for a Prospective Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) Sustainable Aviation Fuel Supply Chain

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Omar Trejo-Pech ◽  
James A. Larson ◽  
Burton C. English ◽  
T. Edward Yu
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Cash Flow ◽  
Financial Distress ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Aviation Fuel ◽  
Aviation Industry ◽  
Discount Rates ◽  
Bio Oil

The international aviation industry has the goal to gradually reduce carbon emissions mainly by using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). However, currently SAF cannot be produced at competitive prices relative to petroleum-based jet fuel. Pennycress is a crop whose oilseed could be used as a relatively low-cost feedstock to produce SAF, potentially benefiting farmers and the environment. This stochastic techno-economic analysis (TEA) studies an enterprise buying pennycress oilseed from farmers, extracting the bio-oil and selling it to a biorefinery that converts bio-oil into SAF. Maximum buying prices (MBP)—prices that yield a zero net present value—the crushing enterprise could pay farmers for pennycress oilseed are estimated. To conduct the analysis, discount rates are estimated based on financial data of biofuel firms, thus providing a realistic benchmark to evaluate profitability and feedstock buying prices. Estimated risk-adjusted discount rates vary between 12 and 17%, above rates typically used in similar valuations. Estimated stochastic MBP range between 10.18 and 11.73 ¢ pound−1, which is below the price at which farmers are willing to plant pennycress, according to recent research. By considering the crushing facility’s inherent cash flow structure and risk, the distributions of stochastic modified internal rate of return suggest the crushing enterprise could be economically attractive at a 14% discount rate, our most likely estimate. However, between 11 and 17% times the cash flow model is simulated, the firm falls under financial distress. Overall, the findings suggest potential barriers for deployment of a SAF supply chain without governmental incentives or related policies.

scholarly journals An Interactive Economic Decision Support Tool for Risk and Return Analysis of Organic Apple Production

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 757-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hector German Rodriguez ◽  
Jennie Popp ◽  
Curt Rom ◽  
Heather Friedrich ◽  
Jason McAfee
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Support ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Decision Support Tool ◽  
Apple Orchard ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Economic Decision ◽  
Apple Production

Numerous apple (Malus ×domestica) research experiments have shown that organic apples can be both profitable and sustainable, especially in the Pacific northwestern United States. However, there is limited published research on the profitability of organic apple orchards in the southern U.S. region. Surveys of southern U.S. stakeholders have indicated that great opportunities exist for markets of both fresh and processed fruit, but significant challenges still exist. These challenges include a lack of information available on the economic impacts of different organic production practices and the potential returns available from organic production. In response to these challenges, we developed a user-friendly interactive economic decision support tool using spreadsheet software to simulate organic apple production in Arkansas and across the southern United States. The purpose of this interactive economic decision support tool is 2-fold: 1) to assist producers in the evaluation of costs, returns, and risks associated with their organic apple orchard and 2) to assess changes to cost, return, and risk as expected costs, prices, and/or yields change. The production budget components of the interactive economic decision support tool estimate variable and fixed costs, gross revenues, and net returns for 18 years of production. In addition, this interactive economic decision support tool provides economic analyses regarding: 1) the operation’s breakeven (price and yield) points, 2) sensitivity analyses or “what if” scenarios related to changes in costs and returns, and 3) risk assessment by calculating the probability of obtaining a positive net present value (NPV) over the life of the organic apple orchard. This manuscript describes the development of this interactive economic decision support tool and provides an example of how it works.

scholarly journals Does School District Consolidation Cut Costs?

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Duncombe ◽  
John Yinger
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Adjustment Costs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Capital Projects ◽  
School District Consolidation ◽  
District Consolidation ◽  
Capital Spending ◽  
Using Data

Consolidation has dramatically reduced the number of school districts in the United States. Using data from rural school districts in New York, this article provides the first direct estimation of consolidation's cost impacts. We find economies of size in operating spending: all else equal, doubling enrollment cuts operating costs per pupil by 61.7 percent for a 300-pupil district and by 49.6 percent for a 1,500-pupil district. Consolidation also involves large adjustment costs, however. These adjustment costs, which are particularly large for capital spending, lower net cost savings to 31.5 percent and 14.4 percent for a 300-pupil and a 1,500-pupil district, respectively. Overall, consolidation makes fiscal sense, particularly for very small districts, but states should avoid subsidizing unwarranted capital projects.

Immigration and the tech industry: As a labour shortage remedy, for innovation, or for cost savings?

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Matloff
Keyword(s):  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Brain Drain ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Foreign Workers ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
It Service ◽  
Labour Shortage ◽  
Labour Costs ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The U.S

The two main reasons cited by the U.S. tech industry for hiring foreign workers--remedying labour shortages and hiring "the best and the brightest"--are investigated, using data on wages, patents, and R&D work, as well as previous research and industry statements. The analysis shows that the claims of shortage and outstanding talent are not supported by the data, even after excluding the Indian IT service firms. Instead, it is shown that the primary goals of employers in hiring  foreign workers are to reduce labour costs and to obtain "indentured" employees. Current immigration policy is causing an ‘Internal Brain Drain’ in STEM.

Mathematical Economics by Kelvin Lancaster. Macmillan, New York, 1968.

1969 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Kuenne
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Mathematical Economics ◽  
Theorem Proof

The burgeoning of abstract economic analysis since about 1950 makes the need for well-conceived consolidations and codifications at the textbook level peculiarly important. The task is a challenging one, demanding the attainment of a compromise between the "mathematics for economists" catalogues of techniques and the highly specialized and formalized "theorem-proof" sequences of the high-theory journals. It requires that skilful blend of the rigorous and the heuristic, the multidimensional and the diagrammatic, the logical and the intuitive, found in the teacher-born. Lancaster has succeeded admirably in finding the optimal mixture.

scholarly journals Economic Analysis of the Use of VCS2000 for Pork Carcass Meat Yield Grading in Korea

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1297
Author(s):  
Juntae Kim ◽  
Hyo-Dong Han ◽  
Wang Yeol Lee ◽  
Collins Wakholi ◽  
Jayoung Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Feed Consumption ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Meat Yield ◽  
The Cost

Currently, the pork industry is incorporating in-line automation with the aim of increasing the slaughtered pork carcass throughput while monitoring quality and safety. In Korea, 21 parameters (such as back-fat thickness and carcass weight) are used for quality grading of pork carcasses. Recently, the VCS2000 system—an automatic meat yield grading machine system—was introduced to enhance grading efficiency and therefore increase pork carcass production. The VCS2000 system is able to predict pork carcass yield based on image analysis. This study also conducted an economic analysis of the system using a cost—benefit analysis. The subsection items of the cost-benefit analysis considered were net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and benefit/cost ratio (BC ratio), and each method was verified through sensitivity analysis. For our analysis, the benefits were grouped into three categories: the benefits of reducing labor costs, the benefits of improving meat yield production, and the benefits of reducing pig feed consumption through optimization. The cost-benefit analysis of the system resulted in an NPV of approximately 615.6 million Korean won, an IRR of 13.52%, and a B/C ratio of 1.65.

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE NEW YORK STATE LOTTERY

1976 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 482-489
Author(s):  
DAVID H. VROOMAN
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
New York State ◽  
York State ◽  
State Lottery
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