Custos e rentabilidade da produção de juvenis de tilápia-do-nilo em tanques-rede utilizando-se diferentes densidades de estocagem

Neste trabalho foi realizada a análise econômica da produção de juvenis de tilápia-do-nilo em tanques-rede utilizando-se diferentes densidades de estocagem. O experimento foi desenvolvido em área aquícola, em delineamento de blocos casualizados, com quatro densidades de estocagem (100, 200, 300 e 400 peixes m-3), avaliadas com seis repetições, em dois períodos de criação: de março a abril de 2005 (52 dias - peso inicial de 43,08 ± 2,98 g e peso final de 262,14 ± 47,86 g) e de março a abril de 2006 (58 dias - peso inicial de 43,16 ± 5,34 g e peso final 314,24 ± 73,30 g). Foram avaliadas as seguintes variáveis econômicas: custo da ração mais custo do juvenil dividido pela biomassa, em R$ kg-1; porcentagem do custo da ração por quilo de peixe produzido sobre o preço de venda; porcentagem do custo do juvenil por quilo de peixe produzido sobre o preço de venda e; porcentagem dos custos da ração mais do juvenil por quilo de peixe produzido sobre o preço de venda. da menor densidade de estocagem (100) para a maior (400), ocorreu diminuição no ganho de peso diário e elevação do índice de conversão alimentar aparente, mas essa redução não comprometeu a taxa de sobrevivência. Entretanto, o ganho de biomassa aumentou com o adensamento de peixes. As maiores receitas líquidas foram obtidas nas densidades de estocagem de 100 e 200 peixes m-3. Os preços não remuneraram os custos operacionais (efetivo e total) em maiores densidades (300 e 400 peixes m-3). Os melhores resultados para a produção de juvenis de tilápia-do-nilo foram obtidos com densidades de até 200 peixes m-3.

Custos e rentabilidade da produção de juvenis de tilápia-do-nilo em tanques-rede utilizando-se diferentes densidades de estocagem

Neste trabalho foi realizada a análise econômica da produção de juvenis de tilápia-do-nilo em tanques-rede utilizando-se diferentes densidades de estocagem. O experimento foi desenvolvido em área aquícola, em delineamento de blocos casualizados, com quatro densidades de estocagem (100, 200, 300 e 400 peixes m-3), avaliadas com seis repetições, em dois períodos de criação: de março a abril de 2005 (52 dias - peso inicial de 43,08 ± 2,98 g e peso final de 262,14 ± 47,86 g) e de março a abril de 2006 (58 dias - peso inicial de 43,16 ± 5,34 g e peso final 314,24 ± 73,30 g). Foram avaliadas as seguintes variáveis econômicas: custo da ração mais custo do juvenil dividido pela biomassa, em R$ kg-1; porcentagem do custo da ração por quilo de peixe produzido sobre o preço de venda; porcentagem do custo do juvenil por quilo de peixe produzido sobre o preço de venda e; porcentagem dos custos da ração mais do juvenil por quilo de peixe produzido sobre o preço de venda. da menor densidade de estocagem (100) para a maior (400), ocorreu diminuição no ganho de peso diário e elevação do índice de conversão alimentar aparente, mas essa redução não comprometeu a taxa de sobrevivência. Entretanto, o ganho de biomassa aumentou com o adensamento de peixes. As maiores receitas líquidas foram obtidas nas densidades de estocagem de 100 e 200 peixes m-3. Os preços não remuneraram os custos operacionais (efetivo e total) em maiores densidades (300 e 400 peixes m-3). Os melhores resultados para a produção de juvenis de tilápia-do-nilo foram obtidos com densidades de até 200 peixes m-3.

Biotic and abiotic parameters at a subtropical fee-fishing farm

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Local food security and principle of organic farming (from farm to fork) in context of food culture in Indonesia: Minangkabau's case study

The basic idea behind improving local food security consists of two paths; first, accessibility (price, stock) and second, availability (quantity and biodiversity); both are perquisites to the provision of nutrients and a continuous food supply with locally available resources. The objectives of this thesis are to investigate if indigenous knowledge still plays an important role in traditional farming in the Minangkabau`s culture, thus supporting local food security. If the indigenous knowledge still plays a role in food culture in the Minangkabau`s culture which is linked to the matrilineal role and leads to a sound nutrition. Further, it should be tested if marantau influences traditional farming and food culture in Minangkabau`s, and if the local government plays a role in changing of traditional farming systems and food culture. Furthermore this thesis wants to prove if education and gender are playing a role in changing traditional farming system and food culture, and if the mass media affects traditional farming systems and food culture for the Minangkabau. The study was completed at four locations in West Sumatera; Nagari Ulakan (NU) (coastal area), Nagari Aia Batumbuak (NAB) (hilly area), Nagari Padang Laweh Malalo (NPLM) (lake area), Nagari Pandai Sikek (NPS) (hilly area). The rainfall ranged from 1400- 4800 mm annually with fertile soils. Data was collected by using PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) to investigate indigenous knowledge (IK) and its interactions, which is also combining with in depth-interview, life history, a survey using semi-structured-questionnaire, pictures, mapping, and expert interview. The data was collected from June - September 2009 and June 2010. The materials are; map of area, list of names, questionnaires, voices recorder, note book, and digital camera. The sampling method was snowball sampling which resulted in the qualitative and quantitative data taken. For qualitative data, ethnography and life history was used. For quantitative, a statistical survey with a semi-structured questionnaire was used. 50 respondents per each site participated voluntarily. Data was analyzed by performing MAXQDA 10, and F4 audio analysis software (created and developed by Philip-University Marburg). The data is clustered based on causality. The results show that; the role of IK on TFS (traditional farming system) shown on NPLM which has higher food crop biodiversity in comparison to the other three places even though it has relatively similar temperature and rainfall. This high food crop biodiversity is due to the awareness of local people who realized that they lived in unfavourable climate and topography; therefore they are more prepared for any changes that may occur. Carbohydrate intake is 100 % through rice even though they are growing different staple crops. Whereas most of the people said in the interviews that not eating rice is like not really eating for them. In addition to that, mothers still play an important role in kitchen activities. But when the agriculture income is low, mothers have to decide whether to change the meals or to feel insecure about their food supply. Marantau yields positive impact through the remittances it provides to invest on the farm. On the other hand, it results in fewer workers for agriculture, and therefore a negative impact on the transfer of IK. The investigation showed that the local government has a PTS (Padi Tanam Sabatang) programme which still does not guarantee that the farmers are getting sufficient revenue from their land. The low agricultural income leads to situation of potential food insecurity. It is evident that education is equal among men and women, but in some cases women tend to leave school earlier because of arranged marriages or the distances of school from their homes. Men predominantly work in agriculture and fishing, while women work in the kitchen. In NAB, even though women work on farmland they earn less then men. Weaving (NPS) and kitchen activity is recognized as women’s work, which also supports the household income. Mass media is not yielding any changes in TFS and food culture in these days. The traditional farming system has changed because of intensive agricultural extension which has introduced new methods of agriculture for the last three decades (since the 1980’s). There is no evidence that they want to change any of their food habits because of the mass media despite the lapau activity which allows them to get more food choices, instead preparing traditional meal at home. The recommendations of this thesis are: 1) The empowerment of farmers. It is regarding the self sufficient supply of manure, cooperative seed, and sustainable farm management. Farmers should know – where are they in their state of knowledge – so they can use their local wisdom and still collaborate with new sources of knowledge. Farmers should learn the prognosis of supply and demand next prior to harvest. There is a need for farm management guidelines; that can be adopted from both their local wisdom and modern knowledge. 2) Increase of non-agricultural income Increasing the non-agricultural income is strongly recommended. The remittances can be invested on non-agricultural jobs. 3) The empowerment of the mother. The mother plays an important role in farm to fork activities; the mother can be an initiator and promoter of cultivating spices in the backyard. Improvement of nutritional knowledge through information and informal public education can be done through arisan ibu-ibu and lapau activity. The challenges to apply these recommendations are: 1) The gap between institutions and organizations of local governments. There is more than one institution involved in food security policy. 2) Training and facilities for field extension agriculture (FEA) is needed because the rapid change of interaction between local government and farmer’s dependent on this agency.

Current rural valuation practice : a survey of valuers and agribusiness managers on farm management and sustainable rural land use

Over the past 20 years the nature of rural valuation practice has required most rural valuers to undertake studies in both agriculture (farm management) and valuation, especially if carrying out valuation work for financial institutions. The additional farm financial and management information obtained by rural valuers exceeds that level of information required to value commercial, retail and industrial by the capitalisation of net rent/profit valuation method and is very similar to the level of information required for the valuation of commercial and retail property by the Discounted Cash Flow valuation method. On this basis the valuers specialising in rural valuation practice have the necessary skills and information to value rural properties by an income valuation method, which can focus on the long term environmental and economic sustainability of the property being valued. This paper will review the results of an extensive survey carried out by rural property valuers in Australia, in relation to the impact of farm management on rural property values and sustainable rural land use. A particular focus of the research relates to the increased awareness of the problems of rural land degradation in Australia and the subsequent impact such problems have on the productivity of rural land. These problems of sustainable land use have resulted in the need to develop an approach to rural valuation practice that allows the valuer to factor the past management practices on the subject rural property into the actual valuation figure. An analysis of the past farm management and the inclusion of this data into the valuation methodology provides a much more reliable indication of farm sustainable economic value than the existing direct comparison valuation methodology.

The Influence of Farm Management on NSW Rural Property Income and Total Average Annual Returns

The importance of agriculture in many countries has tended to reduce as their economies move from a resource base to a manufacturing industry base. Although the level of agricultural production in first world countries has increased over the past two decades, this increase has generally been at a less significant rate compared to other sectors of the economies. Despite this increase in secondary and high technology industries, developed countries have continued to encourage and support their agricultural industries. This support has been through both tariffs and price support. Following pressure from developing economies, particularly through the World Trade Organisation (WTO), GATT Uruguay round and the Cairns Group developed countries are now in various stages of winding back or de-coupling agricultural support within their economies. A major concern of farmers in protected agricultural markets is the impact of a free market trade in agricultural commodities on farm incomes, profitability and land values. This paper will analyse both the capital and income performance of the NSW rural land market over the period 1990-1999. This analysis will be based on several rural land use classifications and will compare the total return from rural properties based on the farm income generated by both the average farmer and those farmers considered to be in the top 20% of the various land use areas. The analysis will provide a comprehensive overview of rural production in a free trade economy.

Farm it right : the sustainable farming simulation

Farm It Right is an innovative creative work that simulates sustainable farming techniques using ecological models prepared by academics at Bradford University (School of Life Sciences). This interactive work simulates the farming conditions and options of our ancestors and demonstrates the direct impact their actions had on their environment and on the ’future of their cultures’ (Schmidt 2008). Specifically, the simulation allows users to explore and experiment with the complex relationships between environmental factors and human decision making within the harsh conditions of an early (9th century) Nordic farm. The simulation interface displays both statistical and graphical feedback in response to the users selections regarding animal reproduction rates, shelter provisions, food supplies etc. as well as demonstrating resulting impacts to soil erosion, water supply, animal population sizes etc.---------- 'Farm It Right' is now used at Bradford University (School of Life Sciences) as a dynamic e-Learning resource for incorporating environmental archaeology with sustainable development education, improving the engagement with complex data and the appreciation of human impacts on the environment and the future of their cultures. 'Farm It Right' is also demonstrated as an exemplar case study for interaction design students at Queensland University of Technology.

Role of farm real estate in a globally diversified asset portfolio

Purpose - The paper examines the benefits of further diversifying a global portfolio of financial assets with New Zealand farm real estate (FRE). ---------- Design/methodology/approach - We compare efficient sets generated with and without farm real estate using portfolio theory. ---------- Findings - The results show that given the predominantly negative correlation between FRE and financial assets, the risk-return tradeoffs of portfolios of financial assets can be improved significantly. The diversification benefits measured in terms of risk reduction, return enhancement, and improvement in the Sharpe performance ratios are robust under a number of FRE risk-return scenarios as well as under high and low inflationary periods. Using 5- and 10-year rolling periods we also find that FRE is a consistent part of risk efficient portfolios. Consistent with the results reported in Lee and Stevenson (2006) for UK real estate the risk reduction benefits of diversifying with FRE are larger than the risk enhancement benefits. ---------- Practical implication - The results suggest that FRE takes on a consistent role of risk-reducer rather than a return-enhancer in a globally diversified portfolio. FRE appears to deserve more serious consideration by investment practitioners that it has been accorded in the past. Originality/value – The study examines the role of direct real estate in a globally diversified portfolio of financial assets.

Results from the farm

This paper reports on a large, long-term mobile wireless sensor network deployment. The trial was part of an animal study involving 45 animals. During the trial, 15 animals were equipped with wireless sensor nodes for a week. The paper discusses various issues with such a deployment including electronic design, software design, animal ethics clearance, logistics, and wearable computing equipment for animals. The paper also presents some preliminary analysis of the data obtained from the deployment, both from the perspective of network parameters and animal movement behavior.

Wireless adhoc sensor and actuator networks on the farm

Agriculture accounts for a significant portion of the GDP in most developed countries. However, managing farms, particularly largescale extensive farming systems, is hindered by lack of data and increasing shortage of labour. We have deployed a large heterogeneous sensor network on a working farm to explore sensor network applications that can address some of the issues identified above. Our network is solar powered and has been running for over 6 months. The current deployment consists of over 40 moisture sensors that provide soil moisture profiles at varying depths, weight sensors to compute the amount of food and water consumed by animals, electronic tag readers, up to 40 sensors that can be used to track animal movement (consisting of GPS, compass and accelerometers), and 20 sensor/actuators that can be used to apply different stimuli (audio, vibration and mild electric shock) to the animal. The static part of the network is designed for 24/7 operation and is linked to the Internet via a dedicated high-gain radio link, also solar powered. The initial goals of the deployment are to provide a testbed for sensor network research in programmability and data handling while also being a vital tool for scientists to study animal behavior. Our longer term aim is to create a management system that completely transforms the way farms are managed.