Domestic drinking water in rural areas : are water tanks on farms a health hazard?

The aim of the research was to gain a better understanding of the relationship between drinking water quality, householders' knowledge and maintenance practices of private water supplies and drinking water-related public health risk on farms. Samples of drinking water were taken from 100 farming households. The Colilert-18 method was used for the detection of total coliforms and Escherichia coli (E. coli) as indicators of water quality. Each household completed a questionnaire about their knowledge and practices relating to a safe water supply. Coliforms were present in 52 water samples and E. coli was present in 38. Seven households reported minor illnesses in the previous three months and two households reported gastroenteritis. Some tank maintenance occurred in 86 households, but tank maintenance activities varied considerably. Four of the households had published guidelines on water quality. None of the participating households had their drinking water tested regularly. There was no obvious relationship between drinking water quality, householder knowledge, maintenance practices and drinking water-related health risk on farms.

Efficiency measurement of Australian dairy farms: national and regional performance

In this paper we use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate technical efficiency for a sample of 1742 Australian dairy farms. Bearing in mind data limitations we find that average technical efficiency is 59 per cent, but there are significant regional differences. These results reflect differences in State level milk marketing arrangements in place before dairy deregulation in July 2000 providing an ex post explanation for the changing composition of dairy farms in Australia. We also examine two important technical aspects of DEA implementation. First, how changes in model input specification alter the relative performance of farms. Second, we employ a simple bootstrap procedure to show how changes in sample size affects estimates of technical efficiency. These results have simple but important implications for the use of DEA as an industry-benchmarking tool.

Organic Farms and Local Food Retailers in Maine

http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/atlasofmaine2008/1011/thumbnail.jpg

Average Annual Wind Resource Potential in Maine

http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/atlasofmaine2006/1000/thumbnail.jpg

A VISIBILITY ANALYSIS OF THE CAPE WIND PROJECT

http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/atlasofmaine2008/1018/thumbnail.jpg

GULF OF MEXICO'S OFFSHORE OIL PLATFORM WIND POTENTIAL

http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/atlasofmaine2005/1015/thumbnail.jpg

WIND POWER SUITABILITY ANALYSIS FOR THE GULF OF MAINE

http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/atlasofmaine2005/1022/thumbnail.jpg

Organic Farms and Agricultural Chemicals in Maine

http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/atlasofmaine2008/1000/thumbnail.jpg

WIND POWER IN MAINE: BALANCING CONSERVATION AND ENERGY PRODUCTION

http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/atlasofmaine2009/1031/thumbnail.jpg

WIND TURBINE VISIBILITY ON THE COLBY CAMPUS

http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/atlasofmaine2009/1029/thumbnail.jpg

Scale efficiency in Australian dairy farms

Data Envelope Analysis, (DEA), a linear programming technique, provides a more consistent measure of efficiency than the commonly cited partial measures of farm efficiency. It yields a relative measure of efficiency and identifies inputs or outputs that are under utilized.

In this paper, DEA is used to assess the technical efficiency of a sample of dairy farms across all dairy regions in Australia. Regions vary in size and scale of operation and are examined to see the relationship between farm size and technical efficiency, and to see if there is justification in the move towards bigger dairy production units than currently exist, given their factor mix.

Environmental efficiency : meaning and measurement and application to Australian dairy farms

Technical efficiency has been widely studied in the literature, but in its pursuit, many of the inputs used can impact on the environment. Environmental effects can be modelled as undesirable output or, as has been the case in more recent studies, as conventional inputs. This paper examines the concept of environmental efficiency and how it can be used to evaluate the performance of Australian dairy farming, using nitrogen surplus, arising from excessive applications of fertilizer, as a detrimental input. Farming promotes the image of clean and green production and if this image is to be maintained, there is a need to ensure activities are environmentally friendly.