Energy conservation and cost benefits in the dairy processing industry

Abstract We analyse the flexibility of EU dairy processors to adjust production to fluctuating economic conditions. For a set of 2,186 firms, we derive production flexibility measures representing the effect of output variations on costs. The results reveal that flexibility is highest in Poland and Italy and lowest in Spain. Several firm-specific factors, such as size and age of the firm, are found to affect firm flexibility. Moreover, we detect a tradeoff between flexibility and technical efficiency for large firms indicating that a sole focus on firm efficiency can be insufficient. Finally, the results show that during economic crisis flexibility can help to sustain profitability.

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Energy Efficiency Opportunities in the U.S. Dairy Processing Industry

Energy Engineering ◽

10.1080/01998595.2014.10876999 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 111 (5) ◽

pp. 7-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eric Masanet ◽

Adrian Brush ◽

Ernst Worrell

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Processing Industry ◽

Dairy Processing ◽

The U.S

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The effect of intravenous infusion of glucose on ethanol stability of milk in Holstein dairy cows

Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science ◽

10.1017/s1752756200012916 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 2003 ◽

pp. 132-132

Author(s):

S. S. Sobhani ◽

R. Valizadeh ◽

A. A. Naserian

Keyword(s):

Dairy Cows ◽

Critical Factor ◽

Negative Energy ◽

Casein Micelles ◽

Processing Industry ◽

Milk Serum ◽

Dairy Processing ◽

Ethanol Stability ◽

Initial Classification

The alcohol test is used as the initial classification of milk in dairy farms. It’s used as a measure of the natural pH of milk, which is a critical factor for stabilizing casein micelles in milk serum phase during heating (Barros et al., 2000). In practical conditions the test could be also positive immediately after milking, and this type of milk is rejected by dairy processing industry. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of negative energy balance and low level of blood glucose on incidence of alcohol-positive milk in Holstein high milking cows (Sobhani et al., 2002).

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Is China's dairy processing industry oligopolistic and/or oligopsonistic?

China Agricultural Economic Review ◽

10.1108/caer-01-2014-0004 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 644-653 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Jiawu Dai ◽

Xiuqing Wang

Keyword(s):

Market Power ◽

Food Industry ◽

Dairy Farm ◽

Raw Milk ◽

Processing Industry ◽

New Approach ◽

Content Type ◽

Dairy Processing ◽

Primal Dual ◽

Oligopsony Power

Purpose – Complaints about lower agricultural farm-gate price and higher consumer price have emerged in China in recent years. The large gap between dairy farm-gate price and consumer price gives rise to worries that China's dairy industry is characterized by strong degree of oligopoly. The purpose of this paper is to take the dairy processing industry as an epitome of China's food industry, and use a new approach to investigate whether it is oligopolistic and/or oligopsonistic. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a new proposed Primal-Dual Solow Residual model, the authors first test the hypothesis that there are significant oligopoly and oligopsony powers in China's dairy sector, and the latter is stronger. The authors then turn to measure these two kinds of market power using regressions of the model. Findings – The estimation results show that firms in the sector have both strong oligopoly and oligopsony power, but the latter is stronger than the former. Meanwhile, with the continuous reinforcement of competition in China's dairy sector, market power in both the upstream and downstream has decreased slightly. Originality/value – This paper is the first to simultaneously test oligopoly and oligopsony power in China's dairy sector. The empirical results explicitly imply that more attention should be paid to the raw milk purchase market.

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DairyWater: striving for sustainability within the dairy processing industry in the Republic of Ireland

Journal of Dairy Research ◽

10.1017/s0022029918000614 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 85 (3) ◽

pp. 366-374 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

William Finnegan ◽

Eoghan Clifford ◽

Jamie Goggins ◽

Niall O'Leary ◽

Alan Dobson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Large Scale ◽

Energy Use ◽

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Batch Reactor ◽

Dairy Wastewater ◽

Processing Industry ◽

Republic Of Ireland ◽

Dairy Processing ◽

The Republic

This Review describes the objectives and methodology of the DairyWater project as it aims to aid the Irish dairy processing industry in achieving sustainability as it expands. With the abolition of European milk quotas in March 2015, the Republic of Ireland saw a surge in milk production. The DairyWater project was established in anticipation of this expansion of the Irish dairy sector in order to develop innovative solutions for the efficient management of water consumption, wastewater treatment and the resulting energy use within the country's dairy processing industry. Therefore, the project can be divided into three main thematic areas: dairy wastewater treatment technologies and microbial analysis, water re-use and rainwater harvesting and environmental assessment. In order to ensure the project remains as relevant as possible to the industry, a project advisory board containing key industry stakeholders has been established. To date, a number of large scale studies, using data obtained directly from the Irish dairy industry, have been performed. Additionally, pilot-scale wastewater treatment (intermittently aerated sequencing batch reactor) and tertiary treatment (flow-through pulsed ultraviolet system) technologies have been demonstrated within the project. Further details on selected aspects of the project are discussed in greater detail in the subsequent cluster of research communications.

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