Agribusiness Commons^™

Household-Level Impacts Of Dairy Cow Ownership In Coastal Kenya, Charles F. Nicholson, Philip K. Thornton, Rahab W. Muinga

Agribusiness

This study uses heteroskedastic Tobit and Censored Least Absolute Deviations models to examine the impacts of dairy cow ownership on selected outcomes for a sample of 184 households in coastal Kenya. The outcomes examined include gross household cash income, gross non-agricultural income, consumption of dairy products, time allocated to cattlerelated tasks, number of labourers hired and total wage payments to hired labourers. The number of dairy cows owned has a large and statistically significant impact on household cash income; each cow owned increased income by at least 53% of the mean total income of households without dairy cows. Dairy cow …

Investment In Soap Production., Olatunji O.

Bullion

Soap production business is in the group of industrial ventures that could easily be operated on a small scale to boost the country's economic development. This paper focusses on the Product, market information, raw materials for making soap, Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) regulations for soap, production process, machinery and equipment requirement, proposed production programme. manpower requirement, space requirement and estimated total capital requirement. The study conclude that the project requires the services of both skilled and unskilled labour. For the capacity recommended, the following labour force is required: one Production Manager, six Production Assistants, twelve Factory Operators, two Marketing …

A Cross Comparison Between California And Its Domestic And International Competitors With Respect To Key Labor Issues, Sean P. Hurley

Agribusiness

California had a market value of agricultural products sold of $25.7 billion in the year 2002 ranking it as the top agricultural producing state in the country. Approximately 74% of this market value was attributed to crop sales. California producers spent nearly $20.5 billion on total farm expenses. The largest single expense for agricultural producers in the state was labor at $4.3 billion. Another $1.6 billion was spent on contract labor. Hired and contract labor expenses accounted for nearly 29% of total farm expense. Approximately 34,000 California farms hired over 535,000 laborers. Of these farms, 25% reported hiring migrant labor …

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 …

Consumer Knowledge And Acceptance Of Agricultural Biotechnology Vary, Jennifer S. James

Agribusiness

Results from consumer surveys reveal some basic conclusions about consumer attitudes toward agricultural biotechnology. First, consumers do not agree about whether biotech foods are good or bad. Second, a small group of people strongly opposes them. Third, the majority of consumers are uninformed about the technology and how food is produced. Relatively small but vocal anti-biotechnology activist groups are successful at influencing public opinion because of consumers’ lack of knowledge, creating a role for universities and government agencies to provide clear, objective and accessible information.

Levy-Funded Research Choices By Producers And Society, Jennifer S. James, Julian M. Alston, John W. Freebairn

Agribusiness

Commodity levies are used increasingly to fund producer collective goods such as research and promotion. In the present paper we examine theoretical relationships between producer and national benefits from levy-funded research, and consider the implications for the appropriate rates of matching government grants, applied with a view to achieving a closer match between producer and national interests. In many cases the producer and national optima coincide. First, regardless of the form of the supply shift, when product demand is perfectly elastic, or all the product is exported, domestic benefits and costs of levy-funded research all go to producers and they …

Us Dairy Product Trade: Modeling Approaches And The Impact Of New Product Formulations, Charles F. Nicholson, Phillip M. Bishop

Agribusiness

Several domestic and international developments increased interest among the US dairy industry in world markets during the 1990s. One development was the passage of the NAFTA and Uruguay Round (URA) trade agreements in the mid-decade, and their successors, the current “Doha Round” of international trade negotiations now underway. Another development during the 1990s was additional (positive) experience gained by the US dairy industry in export markets. Much of this experience came about because increases in world market prices for butter and powder in 1995-96 made US exports more competitive. The Dairy Export Incentive Program (DEIP) is also credited with improving …

Livestock, Land Use Change, And Environmental Outcomes In The Developing World, R. W. Blake, C. F. Nicholson

Agribusiness

No Abstract

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 5 2004, Several Authors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Dean, Gregory J. Weidemann

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Maine Food Trader, New England Environmental Finance Center, University Of Southern Maine

Local Food Systems

A free website for buying, selling, trading and donating local food. Keep food from going to waste and help make food production a good way to make a living in Maine.

Acceptance Of Golden Rice In The Philippine Rice Bowl, Mark Chong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Few science issues in recent years have elicited such polarized public reactions as modern biotechnology and its agricultural applications. Although a new study conducted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (Ithaca, NY, USA) indicates that Southeast Asian stakeholders generally hold positive views about agricultural biotechnology.

Interpreting Bids From A Vickrey Auction When There Are Public Good Attributes, Sean P. Hurley, James B. Kliebenstein

Agribusiness

This paper provides a model that allows for interpreting bids in a Vickrey auction when the good has public good attributes. It also examines information obtained from a Vickrey auction, which collected consumer’s willingness-to-pay for pork products that had embedded environmental attributes, and applies the new interpretation to the bids.

Dairy Cow Ownership And Child Nutritional Status In Kenya, Charles F. Nicholson, Lucy Mwangi, Steven J. Staal, Philip K. Thornton

Agribusiness

This study examines the hypothesis that dairy cow ownership improves child nutritional status. Using household data from coastal and highland Kenya, three econometric model formulations are estimated. Positive impacts on chronic malnutrition are observed for coastal Kenya. No negative effects on acute or chronic malnutrition are found for either region.

A Tale Of Two Premiums—Examining Bids From A Multiple Round Vickrey Auction With Differing Information Sets, Sean P. Hurley, James B. Kliebenstein

Agribusiness

Two definitions of willingness-to-pay derived from a Vickrey auction with multi-product and multiple rounds with different information sets are examined. These definitions are examined in the context of valuing pork products with embedded environmental attributes and we show how information can have adverse effects on a base product of comparison.

Dairy Policy And Price Volatility, Charles F. Nicholson, Thomas Fiddaman

Agribusiness

The US dairy industry is shaped by a patchwork of regulations accumulated over a long history of intervention to achieve various, sometimes conflicting, policy goals. Price supports have long been a central feature of dairy markets, but were largely withdrawn beginning in 1988. Since that time, there has been a dramatic increase in the variability of farm milk and milk product prices. The origins and desirability of volatility has been the subject of much debate; unfortunately models in existence to date have shed little light on the question due to their adoption of essentially non-dynamic methods. This article introduces a …

Predicting Nutritional Requirements And Lactation Performance Of Dual-Purpose Cows Using A Dynamic Model, O. Reynoso-Campos, D. G. Fox, R. W. Blake, M. C. Barry, L. O. Tedeschi, C. F. Nicholson, H. M. Kaiser, P. A. Oltenacu

Agribusiness

A dynamic application of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) model was developed to predict annual cycles in animal nutrient requirements and performance of dual-purpose (milk and beef) cows. Interactions from mobilisation and repletion of body tissue reserves and feed biological values are accounted with a time step of one day, which considers physiological status of the animal, variation in dietary composition, and other environmental factors. This outcome was achieved by modifying the input and output structure of the CNCPS version 4.0 to compute body weight and changes in body reserves based on predicted milk production, intake of …

Agroecosystems Analysis From The Grass Roots: A Multidimensional Experiential Learning Course, Mary Wiedenhoeft, Steve Simmons, Ricardo Salvador, Gina Mcandrews, Charles A. Francis, James W. King, David Hole

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

An intensive, experiential travel course in Agroecosystems Analysis was conducted in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska (United States) during summers of 1998 and 1999. The intended student audience was advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. Pretravel readings and a week-long series of farm visits, which consisted of in-depth interviews with the farmers and their families, prepared student teams to analyze and evaluate the production, economic, environmental, and social sustainability of 10 farms. Students shared their analyses both orally and in written reports. Based on a multifaceted student evaluation process, we found that participants were highly motivated, strongly engaged with the course …

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 …

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 4 2003, Several Authors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Eu Ban On Battery Cages: History And Prospects, Michael C. Appleby

State of the Animals 2003

On June 15, 1999, the European Union (EU) passed a directive on the welfare of laying hens, requiring that battery cages (so called because they are arranged in batteries of rows and tiers) be phased out by 2012. Enriched laying cages (which may also be arranged in batteries but which provide increased area and height, when compared with conventional cages, and a perch, nest box, and litter area) will still be allowed. This chapter outlines how this directive came about, and the social, economic, and political issues involved. It considers prospects for the future, both within and outside the EU, …

The State Of Meat Production In Developing Countries: 2002, Neil Trent, Peter Ormel, Jose Luis Garcia De Siles, Gunter Heinz, Morgane James

State of the Animals 2003

Two organizations—one dedicated to the elimination of animal suffering and the other to encouraging sustainable agriculture and rural development— have joined forces to address animal welfare issues in the global livestock industry. The mission of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and its international arm, Humane Society International (HSI), is to create a humane and sustainable world for all animals, including people, through education, advocacy, and the promotion of respect and compassion. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has as a specific priority to increase food production and food security while conserving and managing …

Horse Welfare Since 1950, Katherine A. Houpt, Natalie Waran

State of the Animals 2003

There are approximately 6.9 million horses in the United States, more than in any other country in the world (American Horse Council 2000) (Table 1). That fact alone should inspire Americans to improve equine welfare, although it must be said that the state of domesticated horses is better now than it was fifty years ago.

At the turn of the millennium, the most pressing welfare issues of the domestic horse surround conditions found in slaughter and transport to slaughter; pari-mutuel racing; the pregnant mare urine (PMU) industry; the competitive and show industry; and in the development of husbandry-related stereotypes. (Urban …

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Tenderisation Of Shin Beef Using A Citrus Juice Marinade, Roisin Burke, Frank Monahan

Articles

The effectiveness of organic acids (acetic, citric, lactic) and a citrus juice marinade as tenderising agents in shin beef muscle was investigated. At 0.2 M, citric acid was more effective as a tenderising agent than acetic or lactic acid. Immersion of shin beef strips in citric acid (0–0.05 M) showed that a significant tenderising effect was obtained above a concentration of 0.013 M. When shin beef strips were immersed in the citrus juice marinade (31% orange juice, 31% lemon juice, 38% distilled water) mean pH decreased from 5.7 to 3.1 and mean sample weight increased by ∼65%. The mean Warner–Bratzler …

Letter From The Dean, Gregory J. Weidemann

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Maine Ag Trader, New England Environmental Finance Center, University Of Southern Maine

Local Food Systems

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