scholarly journals The Role of Socio-Economic Determinants of Horse Farms for Grassland Management, Vegetation Composition and Ecological Value

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10641
Author(s):  
Cecilia Frauke Hüppe ◽  
Anja Schmitz ◽  
Bettina Tonn ◽  
Johannes Isselstein
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Education ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Ecological Value ◽  
Economic Determinants ◽  
Economic Context ◽  
Farm Structure ◽  
Horse Farms ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Vegetation Characteristics

Socio-economic context is increasingly seen as a decisive factor for sustainable agricultural land use. The high prevalence of part-time farming and frequent lack of formal agricultural education within the equine sector are often seen as reasons why horse-grazed pastures do not fulfill their biodiversity potential. In spite of the substantial variability within horse farming, little is known about the relationship of socio-economic determinants with vegetation characteristics of horse-grazed grasslands. We surveyed 122 horse farms in Germany, classifying them into four socio-economic classes according to farm income type and farm managers’ agricultural education. We recorded farm structure parameters, grassland management practices and vegetation characteristics. Socio-economic class partly explained the great variability in farm structure that we observed. In contrast to our expectation, income type and agricultural education did not distinctly affect grassland management and were neither directly nor indirectly related to vegetation characteristics. Part-time farming and lack of agricultural education thus did not adversely affect the ecological value of horse-grazed grasslands. By contrast, both farm structure and paddock level management affected grassland vegetation and ecological value. Therefore, the socio-economic context of horse farms should be addressed in further research with strategies targeting the development of sustainable grassland management in horse keeping.

scholarly journals Structural Changes in Israeli Family Farms: Long-Run Trends in the Farm Size Distribution and the Role of Part-Time Farming

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 518
Author(s):  
Ayal Kimhi ◽  
Nitzan Tzur-Ilan
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Higher Moments ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Income Sources ◽  
Part Time ◽  
The Mean

Israeli agriculture has experienced rapid structural changes in recent decades, including the massive exit of farmers, a resulting increase in average farm size, a higher farm specialization and a higher reliance on non-farm income sources. The higher farm heterogeneity makes it necessary to examine changes in the entire farm size distribution rather than the common practice of analyzing changes in the average farm size alone. This article proposes a nonparametric analysis in which the change in the distribution of farm sizes between two periods is decomposed into several components, and the contributions of subgroups of farms to this change are analyzed. Using data on Israeli family farms, we analyze the changes in the farm size distribution in two separate time periods that are characterized by very different economic environments, focusing on the different contributions of full-time farms and part-time farms to the overall distributional changes. We found that between 1971 and 1981, a period characterized by stability and prosperity, the farm size distribution has shifted to the right with relatively minor changes in higher moments of the distribution. On the other hand, between 1981 and 1995, a largely unfavorable period to Israeli farmers, the change in the distribution was much more complex. While the overall change in the size distribution of farms was smaller in magnitude than in the earlier period, higher moments of the distribution were not less important than the increase in the mean and led to higher dispersion of farm sizes. Between 1971 and 1981, the contributions of full- and part-time farms to the change in the size distribution were quite similar. Between 1981 and 1995, however, full-time farms contributed mostly to the growth in the average farm size, while the average farm size among part-time farms actually decreased, and their contribution to the higher dispersion of farm sizes was quantitatively larger. This highlights the need to analyze the changes in the entire farm size distribution rather than focusing on the mean alone, and to allow for differences between types of farms.

scholarly journals http://ajfand.net/Volume21/No1/index.html#gsc.tab=0

2021 ◽  
Vol 21` (01) ◽  
pp. 17125-17139
Author(s):  
Danisile Mthombeni ◽  
◽  
MA Antwi ◽  
T Rubhara ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Significant Influence ◽  
Agricultural Education ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Multinomial Logit Model ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Access To Credit ◽  
Household Level

Agro-processing is becoming more popular and practiced by farmers to reduce post-harvest losses,add value to farm products and increase farm income. This paper presents the small-scale crop farmers’ level of participation in agro-processing in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Data were collected from 255 small-scale crop farmers selected by random sampling using a semi-structured questionnaire.Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 23 of 2015)was used to analyse data. Descriptive statistics (in form of percentages) were used to analyse the background characteristics of the farmers,whereas the multinomial logit model was further used to show the level of participationamongst the small-scale crop farmers. With respect to agro-processing, results indicated that 47.1% of the small-scale crop farmers participated partly,40.8% of them participated fully while 12.2% did not participate at all. Results of the multinomial analyses indicated that, educational level(p<0.05), size of the field(p<0.05),distance to the market (p<0.01),and access to credit (p<0.01)had positive significant influence on small-scale crop farmers’choice to participate fully in agro-processing. Gender,regarding male participation (p< 0.05),and age of farmer (p<0.01) had significant influence on farmers’ choice to fully participate in agro-processing. Furthermore, the results of the multinomial analyses showed that size of the field (p<0.01)owned by the farmer and access to credit(p< 0.05)had positive influence on the farmers’choice to participate partly in agro-processing whereas older farmers (p< 0.05),widows (p< 0.1) and farmers with more number of fields(p<0.01) were less likely to participate partly in agro-processing activities. These results have implications for the development of small-scale farmers venturing into agro-processing in the Gauteng province. Young females should be encouraged to join the agricultural sector as they are likely to participate in agro-processing activities which in turn results in improved income and food security at the household level. Furthermore, new agricultural education programmes should be encouraged in the area households as educated farmers are more likely to participate in the value addition activities of agro-processing.

scholarly journals Off-farm role in stabilizing disposable farm income: A Lithuanian case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (No. 7) ◽  
pp. 325-334
Author(s):  
Vida Dabkienė
Keyword(s):  
Reference Level ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Income Volatility ◽  
Income Source ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Family Farmers ◽  
Farm Accountancy Data Network ◽  
Part Time ◽  
On Farm

The paper aims to investigate family farm income volatility by decomposing disposable farm income (DFI) into the on-farm income, income from production support and off-farm income (OFI) over time. The research is focused on the OFI, assessing its role in achieving DFI above reference level based on the average net earnings. Three main indicators consistent with Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) were indicated. The research results revealed the significance of OFI. In 2017, 76% of the family farms were engaged in off-farm activities indicating, on one hand that such approaches as part-time farming or lifestyle farming are becoming more attractive to Lithuanian family farmers. On the other hand, research disclosed that farms mostly engaged in off-farm activities yield the lowest on-farm income levels. Moreover, the OFI tends to produce a stabilizing effect on quite a number of farmers as the majority of family farms cannot rely upon the on-farm income as their only income source. Thus, the agricultural and rural development policy makers, aimed at supporting viable farm income and strengthening farm resilience, have to answer the part-time farmers’ needs.

The Economic Context of Labor Allocation

1991 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELIZABETH BERGEN
Keyword(s):  
Panel Study ◽  
Domestic Labor ◽  
Income Dynamics ◽  
Gender Stratification ◽  
Economic Determinants ◽  
Labor Allocation ◽  
Economic Context ◽  
Family Economy ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
The Family

This study investigates the process by which married women and men allocate their labor between employment and housework. The two forms of labor are conceptualized as economically productive and subject to economic determinants at three levels: the macroeconomic structure, the family economy, and individual human capital characteristics. Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics indicate that both women's market and domestic labor are highly sensitive to the family economy, whereas men's market labor is subject to the macroeconomic structure and men's domestic labor is little affected by its economic context. Implications of these patterns for the process of gender stratification are described.

Widespread adoption of non-conventional agriculture: Profitability and impacts

1989 ◽  
Vol 4 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 128-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra S. Batie ◽  
Daniel B. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Alternative Agriculture ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Government Subsidies ◽  
Low Input ◽  
Widespread Adoption ◽  
Farm Structure ◽  
On Farm

AbstractConventional agriculture is increasingly criticized as being too concentrated in ownership; too reliant on technology, petroleum-based inputs, and credit; too specialized and ecologically unsound; and too dependent on government subsidies. Alternative agriculture is offered by many as an alternative, and we discuss the possible impacts of its widespread adoption on farm income, yields, regions, labor, trade, environmental quality, and farm structure. The profitability of alternative agriculture is also examined - in so doing, a distinction is made between the adoption of low-input practices and a more holistic alternative agricultural system.

scholarly journals Marginal Farms – A Micro Development Opportunity

1972 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. C. Schneeberger ◽  
J. G. West
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Acceptable Level ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Rural Residents ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Development Opportunity ◽  
Farm Operators ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Level Of Living

Practically all major speeches on the agenda of farm policy issues have listed the problems of non-commercial farmers as a major item. Operators of non-commercial, or marginal, farms are a very heterogeneous group. They include: (1) operators of medium sized, undercapitalized farms, (2) farm operators who work part-time off-farm to supplement farm income, (3) operators of small, inefficient farms who, because of age, education or handicap, have limited prospects of becoming fully self-supporting either in farming or non-farm occupations, and (4) rural residents who own farms which provide some income; the owner works full-time off-farm.Farmers in this group generally gross less than $10,000 from agricultural production. This is normally considered inadequate for providing an acceptable level of living.

scholarly journals Effect of Grazing System on Grassland Plant Species Richness and Vegetation Characteristics: Comparing Horse and Cattle Grazing

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Schmitz ◽  
Johannes Isselstein
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Grazing Cattle ◽  
Grazing System ◽  
Vegetation Characteristics ◽  
Forage Value ◽  
Grazer Species

Horses are of increasing relevance in agriculturally managed grasslands across Europe. There is concern to what extent grazing with horses is a sustainable grassland management practice. The effect of longer-term horse grazing on the vegetation characteristics of grasslands has received little attention, especially in comparison to grazing cattle. Our study analyses the relative importance of grazing system (grazer species and regime) and grassland management for vegetation characteristics in grasslands as indicator for sustainable management. We monitored grassland vegetation in western central Germany and compared paddocks grazed by horses under two different regimes, continuous (HC) vs. rotational (HR), to paddocks grazed by cattle (C) under similar trophic site conditions. We observed more plant species and more High Nature Value indicator species on HC compared to C. The vegetation of C was more grazing tolerant and had higher forage value than HC. Regardless of the grazing regime, the competitive component was lower, the stress-tolerant component higher and the floristic contrast between patch-types stronger on HC and HR paddocks compared to C. Species richness was strongly influenced by the extent of the floristic contrast. Our results emphasize the potential of horse grazing for biodiversity in agriculturally managed grasslands.

scholarly journals Impact of Federal Fiscal-Monetary Policy on Farm Structure

1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luther Tweeten
Keyword(s):  
Price Level ◽  
Aggregate Demand ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Capital Labor Ratio ◽  
Farm Structure ◽  
Investment Capital ◽  
Part Time ◽  
On Farm ◽  
The Impact

This paper examines the impact of federal fiscal-monetary (FM) policy on farm structure. FM policy is multifaceted but is confined here mainly to policies influencing aggregate demand. Inflation is defined as an increase in the general price level. Farm structure refers to farm size and numbers, tenure, legal organization, investment, capital-labor ratio, productivity, and status (part-time or full-time farming).

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