Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons^™

Exploring Income Supplementation For Farm Sustainability, Elizabeth P. Persson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sustainable farms are critical to United States’ food independence and they positively contribute to the global economy. Farms in the United States are not sustainable without profitable supplemental income. The purpose of this case study was to explore the historic profitability of farm income supplementation methods. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory served as the conceptual framework. A purposive sample of 25 farmers from 5 regions of the continental United States completed semistructured interviews and described their personal experiences. Archival supplemental income data came from the United States Department of Agriculture census. All the data were analyzed using coded keywords, phrases, …

Associations Of Housing, Management, Milking Activity, And Standing And Lying Behavior Of Dairy Cows Milked In Automatic Systems, Justine A. Deming, Renée Bergeron, Kenneth E. Leslie, Trevor J. Devries

Farm Animal Husbandry Collection

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to describe the housing, feeding management, and characteristics (parity and stage of lactation) of cows on commercial automatic milking system (AMS) dairies and their associations with the standing and lying behavior patterns and milking activity (frequency and yield) of lactating dairy cows. Thirteen AMS herds were enrolled in the study, with an average herd size of 71 ± 30 (mean ± SD; range: 34 to 131) lactating cows. All of the herds used freestall barns, each set up for free cow traffic to the AMS. On-farm measurements were taken to determine stocking density …

Evaluating Food Safety Systems Development And Implementation By Quantifying Haccp Training Durability, Marienne A. Anandappa

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

HACCP-based food safety programs have been widely acclaimed, accepted and implemented as an effective means of managing food safety risks. While HACCP training is a cornerstone of managing HACCP programs, there is little information about the effectiveness of HACCP training and the durability of HACCP knowledge. Findings reveal a link between involvement level in HACCP activities and the accuracy of HACCP knowledge over time. Opportunities for peer training in HACCP, irrespective of overall experience in the food industry provide favorable circumstances for maintaining accuracy of HACCP knowledge. The optimal window for engaging employees in HACCP is directly following the completion …

Modeling Of Biorefinery Supply Chain Economic Performance With Discrete Event Simulation, Joseph S. Amundson

Theses and Dissertations--Manufacturing Systems Engineering

As competition for fossil fuels accelerates, alternative sources of chemicals, fuels, and energy production become more appealing to researchers and the layman. Among the candidates to fill this growing niche is lignocellulosic biomass. Many researchers have examined supply chain design and optimization for biofuel and bioenergy production throughout the years. However, these models often fail to capture the variability and uncertainty inherent to the biomass supply chain. Multiple factors with high degrees of stochasticity can have major impacts on the performance of a biorefinery: weather, biomass quality, feedstock availability, and market demand for products are just a few. To begin …

Measurement Of The Effect Of Policy Changes On Volatility In Dairy Markets1, Eoin Kelly, Declan O'Connor, Michael Keane

Irish Business Journal

Volatility in dairy commodity markets has become a major concern for many in the dairy supply chain and is likely to remain so in the future. Changes to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) over the past decade have more closely aligned EU and World prices and their associated volatilities. The aim of this paper is to measure volatility at farm level in Ireland over time, identify possible reasons for the increased volatility and identify ways of reducing volatility. Statistical measures such as coefficient of variation (CV) and annualised standard deviation are used to provide measures of past volatility and its …

Benchmarking Cow Comfort On North American Freestall Dairies: Lameness, Leg Injuries, Lying Time, Facility Design, And Management For High-Producing Holstein Dairy Cows, Marina A.G. Von Keyserlingk, A. K. Barrientos, K. Ito, E. Galo, Daniel M. Weary

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

In this paper, we describe a novel approach to corporate involvement in on-farm assessment, driven by the desire to provide a service for dairy producers and to create a vehicle for engagement on issues of dairy cow welfare. This program provides producers with feedback on animal-based (including gait score, leg injuries, and lying time) and facility-based (including freestall design, bedding practices, feed bunk design and management, and stocking density) measures that can be used to better address their management goals. The aim of this paper is to describe variation in the prevalence of lameness and leg injuries, lying behavior, facility …

Association Between Stall Surface And Some Animal Welfare Measurements In Freestall Dairy Herds Using Recycled Manure Solids For Bedding, A. W. Husfeldt, M. I. Endres

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between stall surface and some animal welfare measurements in upper Midwest US dairy operations using recycled manure solids as bedding material. The study included 34 dairy operations with herd sizes ranging from 130 to 3,700 lactating cows. Forty-five percent of the herds had mattresses and 55% had deep-bedded stalls. Farms were visited once between July and October 2009. At the time of visit, at least 50% of the cows in each lactating pen were scored for locomotion, hygiene, and hock lesions. On-farm herd records were collected for the …

Effect Of Pen Size, Group Size, And Stocking Density On Activity In Freestall-Housed Dairy Cows, E. Telezhenko, Marina A.G. Von Keyserlingk, A. Talebi, Daniel M. Weary

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

The purpose was to determine the effects of the physical dimensions of the pen and group size and stocking density on cow activity. Cows (randomly assigned to 4 groups of 6 animals each) were tested in pens with 24 or 12 lying places and in groups with 12 or 6 cows. All groups were tested in each of the 4 treatments with treatment order allocated using a 4 × 4 Latin square. The distance moved and the number of movements were calculated using 5-min scan sampling of video recordings over a 48-h period. Time spent lying down, number of lying …

Can Consumer Demand Deliver Sustainable Food?: Recent Research In Sustainable Consumption Policy & Practice, Cindy Isenhour

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

From the growth of the Slow Food movement, the growth of patronage at farmers’ markets, and the expansion of ecolabeled foods – an unprecedented number of consumer-based movements have risen in response to concerns about the environmental and social effects of contemporary globalized food systems. Recent research suggests that these movements are often successful in their efforts to support more sustainable food systems. Meanwhile, other scholars point out that, despite common assumptions, the contemporary focus on consumer responsibility in policy and practice indicates much more than a process of reflexive modernization. The devolution of responsibility to consumers and the dominance …

Extended Grazing: A Detailed Analysis Of Irish Dairy Farms, D. Läpple, T. Hennessy, M. O'Donovan

Farm Animal Husbandry Collection

Profitability and factors affecting grazing season length were econometrically analyzed using a representative sample of Irish dairy farms. The objective of this study was to explore what potential exists on Irish dairy farms to extend the grazing season and to quantify the possible economic benefits that result from lengthening the grazing season. Regression results indicate that location factors affect the length of the grazing season, but even when physical factors are controlled, farmer characteristics, such as education, also affect the grazing season length. The results of a panel data analysis show that significant cost reductions can be achieved by extending …

Supply Chain Performance Of The Australian Beef Industry: Comparing The Industry Structure, Inter-Firm Relationships And Knowledge Systems Of Western Australia And Queensland, Mohammad Nasir Uddin,, Nazrul Islam, Mohammed Quaddus

Books & book chapters

The meat and livestock industry in Australia accounts for more than 45 per cent of Australia’s total value of agricultural production, within which beef is the largest industry in value terms (Nossal, Sheng and Zhao 2008). But the industry is experiencing a long-term decline in terms of trade, and has lagged behind other industries in rates of productivity improvement (MLA 2008). As it is critical for the economy that the beef industry maintains profitability and sustainability, it is believed that the performance, competitiveness and success of the industry depends on improving cost efficiency and productivity of the whole supply chain …

Effect Of The Prolactin-Release Inhibitor Quinagolide On Lactating Dairy Cows, P. Lacasse, V. Lollivier, R. Bruckmaier, Y. R. Boisclair, G. F. Wagner, M. Boutinaud

Farm Animal Husbandry Collection

In most mammals, prolactin (PRL) is essential for maintaining lactation, and yet the short-term suppression of PRL during established lactation by bromocriptine has produced inconsistent effects on milk yield in cows and goats. To assess the effect of the long-term inhibition of PRL release in lactating dairy cows, 5 Holstein cows in early lactation received daily intramuscular injections of 1 mg of the PRL-release inhibitor quinagolide for 9 wk. Four control cows received the vehicle (water) only. During the last week of the treatments, one udder half was milked once a day (1×) and the other twice a day …

Virtues Of Sorghum: Utilization And Supply Chain Management, Lloyd W. Rooney

INTSORMIL Presentations

Discusses the consumer demands, value-added supply chain, strategy for value-added products, functionality of sorghums and millets, sorghum food use in Central America, plant breeding and improvement of grain quality, sorghum image, special sorghums as a particularly healthy food item, food utilization, improving sorghum quality, effect of molds, insects, and weathering on grain quality, and mycotoxins.

Foodshed Foundations: Law's Role In Shaping Our Food System's Future, Margaret Sova Mccabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

[. . .] This symposium Article analyzes how we can rethink the architecture of law based on a foodshed model to provide a greater role for local, state, and regional government in the American food system. In turn, greater roles for different levels of government may help America achieve greater efficiencies in domestic food safety, nutrition and related public health issues, sustainability, and international trade.

Americans need a greater voice in the food system. The foodshed model is a powerful vehicle that allows us to conceptualize change, allowing greater citizen participation and a more nuanced approach to food policy. The …

Cow Preference And Usage Of Free Stalls Compared With An Open Pack Area, J. A. Fregonesi, M. A. G. Von Keyserlingk, D. M. Weary

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

Free-stall housing systems are designed to provide a comfortable and hygienic lying area, but some aspects of stall design may restrict usage by cows. The aim of this study was to compare free-stall housing with a comparable lying area (open pack) without stall partitions. We predicted that cows would spend more time lying down and standing in the bedded area when provided access to an open pack than when in free stalls. We also predicted that cows would spend less time standing outside of the lying area and less time perching with the front 2 hooves in the lying area …

Prevalence And Risk Factors For Skin Lesions On Legs Of Dairy Cattle Housed In Freestalls In Norway, C. Kielland, L. E. Ruud, A. J. Zanella, O. Østerås

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

Appropriate indoor housing facilities for dairy cattle promote improved animal welfare. Skin alterations are an indicator of dysfunctional housing. The purpose was to determine the relationship between different housing design and skin lesions, hence providing farmers more insight into how to reduce the occurrence of lesions. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2,335 animals in 232 Norwegian freestall-housed dairy cattle from September 2006 to June 2007. A model was established to investigate risk factors related to the presence of lesions including hair loss, swelling, and wounds on the legs of dairy cattle. Separate models were developed to investigate risk factors …

Lying Behavior: Assessing Within- And Betweenherd Variation In Free-Stall-Housed Dairy Cows, K. Ito, D. M. Weary, M. A. G. Von Keyserlingk

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

One of the most important design criteria for dairy cow housing is access to a comfortable lying area. Behaviors such as the time cows spend lying down and how often they lie down can be used to evaluate the quality of stalls; however, assessing lying behavior on farms can be challenging. Indices such as the cow comfort index (CCI) and stall use index (SUI) have been widely used in on-farm assessments. The aims were to establish reliable sampling and recording methods for measuring lying behavior, to evaluate the adequacy of the CCI and SUI as estimates of lying behavior, and …

Preference And Usage Of Pasture Versus Free-Stall Housing By Lactating Dairy Cattle, A. L. Legrand, M. A. G. Von Keyserlingk, D. M. Weary

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

The aim of the current study was to assess if cows preferred pasture or indoor housing, and how diurnal and environmental factors affected this preference. Lactating dairy cows (n = 5 groups, each containing 5 cows) were sequentially housed either in a free-stall barn on pasture, or given the choice between the 2 environments. Each group was tested 3 times under each condition, for a total of 21 d, to assess the effects of varying climatic conditions (outdoor temperature ranged from 9.9 to 28.2°C and daily rainfall from 0 to 65 mm/d over the course of the experiment). When provided …

Preference For Pasture Versus Freestall Housing By Dairy Cattle When Stall Availability Indoors Is Reduced, A. C. Falk, D. M. Weary, C. Winckler, M. A. G. Von Keyserlingk

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

Providing cattle with access to pasture has been shown to yield benefits, including access to more space, fewer agonistic interactions, better air quality, and the ability to perform a greater range of normal behaviors. Preference for pasture appears to depend on several parameters, including weather conditions and availability of shade. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the preference for pasture versus inside a freestall barn with variable stocking densities at the stalls. We also investigated the effect of temperature-humidity index (THI) and precipitation on this preference. Overall, cows spent on average 13.7 ± 2.6 h/d (mean ± …

The Stall-Design Paradox: Neck Rails Increase Lameness But Improve Udder And Stall Hygiene, F. Bernardi, J. A. Fregonesi, C. Winckler, D. M. Veira, M. A. G. Von Keyserlingk, D. M. Weary

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

Housing conditions for dairy cows are thought to af-fect lameness, but almost no experimental work has addressed this link. The aim was to assess the effect of one feature of free-stall design, the position of the neck rail, testing the prediction that cows will be more likely to become lame if using pens with the neck rail positioned such that it prevents standing fully inside the stall. Cows (n = 32) were housed in 8 pens. Treat-ments were tested using a crossover design; treatments were allocated alternately to pens at the beginning of the experiment and switched halfway through the …

Assessing Lameness In Cows Kept In Tie-Stalls, K. A. Leach, S. Dippel, J. Huber, S. March, C. Winckler, H. R. Whay

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

Identifying lame cows and quantifying the prevalence of lameness are important elements of cattle welfare assessment that are generally achieved by methods involving observations of each animal walking. There is no published method for assessing lameness in cows confined in tie-stalls. The objective of this study (carried out within the European Commission’s Welfare Quality® project) was to develop a suitable method and validate it for lameness detection against a published locomotion score. A series of indicators of lameness visible in tied cows was formalized into a stall assessment protocol. This was validated against a traditional locomotion score and tested for …

Effect Of Restricted Access Time To Pasture On Dairy Cow Milk Production, Grazing Behavior, And Dry Matter Intake, E. Kennedy, M. Mcevoy, J. P. Murphy, M. O'Donovan

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of restricting pasture access time on milk production and composition, body weight and body condition score change, dry matter intake, and grazing behavior of autumn calving dairy cows in midlactation. Fifty-two (19 primiparous and 33 multiparous) Holstein-Friesian dairy cows (mean calving date, August 17 ± 91.2 d) were randomly assigned to a 4-treatment (n = 13) randomized block design grazing study. The 4 grazing treatments were: (i) full-time access to pasture (22H; control), (ii) 9-h access to pasture (9H), (iii) two 4.5-h periods of access to pasture after both milkings …

Influence Of Free-Stall Base On Tarsal Joint Lesions And Hygiene In Dairy Cows, W. K. Fulwider, T. Grandin, D. J. Garrick, T. E. Engle, W. D. Lamm, N. L. Dalsted, B. E. Rollin

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

The objective was to quantify the incidence of tarsal lesions and level of hygiene by stall bed type. Cows were scored on 100 dairies from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, and New York in the fall and winter. Thirty-eight dairies used rubber-filled mattresses (RFM), 27 had sand beds, 29 had waterbeds, and 6 used compost packs (CPk). Stocking density, stall dimensions, bedding amount, bedding frequency, and type of bedding were recorded. One pen of early-lactation multiparous cows on each dairy was scored based on injury of the tarsal joints at the lateral and medial surfaces and tuber calcis at the dorsal, …

Influence Of Neck-Rail Placement On Free-Stall Preference, Use, And Cleanliness, Cassandra B. Tucker, Daniel M. Weary, David Fraser

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

Three experiments examined how the presence of a neck rail at different heights and locations influenced dairy cattle behavior and stall cleanliness. Experiment 1 compared 4 levels of neck-rail height (102, 114, and 127 cm and no neck rail; presented at 160 or 180 cm from the curb) in a preference test. Cows (n = 10) showed no consistent preference based on neck-rail height, regardless of the horizontal position of the neck rail. When cows were restricted to each treatment in turn, however, time spent standing fully (with all 4 hooves) in the stall was least in the stall with …

Free-Stall Dimensions: Effects On Preference And Stall Usage, Cassandra B. Tucker, Daniel M. Weary, David Fraser

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

In 2 experiments, free-stall dimensions were examined to determine how they affected stall preference, usage, cleanliness, and milk production in Holstein dairy cattle. In experiment 1, stall width (112 or 132 cm) and stall length (229 and 274 cm from curb to wall) were compared in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of stall treatments using 15 individually housed, non-lactating animals. Cows showed no clear preference for stall size as measured by lying time. When animals had no choice between stalls, average lying time was higher in the wide stalls than in the narrow stalls (10.8 vs. 9.6 ± 0.3 …

Effects Of Three Types Of Free-Stall Surfaces On Preferences And Stall Usage By Dairy Cows, Cassandra B. Tucker, Daniel M. Weary, David Fraser

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

One important criterion in choosing appropriate housing systems for dairy cattle is that the freestall provides a comfortable surface for the cow. This paper describes two experiments testing the effects of commonly used lying surfaces on stall preference and stall usage by Holstein cows. In both experiments, 12 cows were housed individually in separate pens. Each pen contained three free stalls with a different surface: deep-bedded sawdust, deep-bedded sand, and a geotextile mattress covered with 2 to 3 cm of sawdust. The animals were restricted to each surface in turn, in a random order for either 2 (Experiment 1) or …

Tail Docking Dairy Cattle: Effects On Cow Cleanliness And Udder Health, Cassandra B. Tucker, David Fraser, Daniel M. Weary

Farm Animal Husbandry Collection

To determine whether tail docking would influence cow cleanliness and udder health in a free-stall system, we monitored milking cows after half the animals in a herd were docked. A sample of 223 docked and 190 undocked cows (reducing to 169 and 105 over the study as cows were dried off) were monitored for 8 wk. Cow cleanliness was scored in two areas: along the spine, and the rump adjacent to the tail at 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 wk after docking. Cleanliness was evaluated by counting squares that were soiled (0 to 14 on a 5- × 17.5-cm …

General Agreement On Tariffs And Trade (Gaff) And The World Trade Organisation (Wto): The Major Provisions And The Implication For Nigeria, O. A. Ogunlana

CBN Occasional Papers

This paper shall review the major provisions of the GATT with respect to the Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods only and the likely implications for Nigeria. The review of the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the Agreement on Trade - Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights shall be covered in another exercise. The rest of the paper is, therefore, organised into five parts. Part I discusses the GATT’s basic principles and the major agreements of the latest multilateral trade negotiations otherwise known as the Uruguay Round. The World Trade Organization, its major functions, structure and the decision-making …

Beefing Up Our Prospects, Trevor Boughton, Brad Mccormick

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In the global fish pond the Western Australian beef industry is a minnow. Production is only 5.5 per cent of Australia's total and around 2 per cent that of the United States. Our output has remained static for the last decade while competition throughout the world has expanded. Moving forward to share the benefits of growing world markets or being left behind is the long-term choice facing the industry, according to TREVOR BOUGHTON and BRAD McCORMICK.

A Tale Of Two Ladies : Pink Lady And Sundowner, John Cripps, Eleanor Melvin-Carter

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

It is five years since the first Western Australianbred Pink Lady and Sundowner apples were sold on the local market. In that time, these crisp, sweet flavoursome apples have become top-selling, premium fruit.

The story is no different overseas. Trial shipments to London, Taiwan and Singapore have indicated a big demand for the unique Pink Lady apple - far more than Western Australia can presently supply.

One million fruiting Pink Lady apple trees are needed to meet anticipated export sales. Today, there are only 100,000 trees in the ground, of which about half are bearing fruit.

New high quality apple …