Download or read book A Comparative Analysis of Organic Dairy Farms in Maine and Vermont written by Timothy J. Dalton and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this bulletin is to provide an insight into the relative financial performance of organic dairy farming through the examination of three years of detailed farm financial records. Farm financial records were collected in person by trained enumeraƯtors from organic dairy operations in Maine and Vermont for the 20042006 production years. These farm records are complemented by surveys on farm and farmer characteristics along with farmers' motivational interests for organic dairy production and performance satisfaction. This report, therefore, provides a rich financial perspecƯtive on the evolution of organic dairy farming performance unlike single season surveys.
Download or read book Safety and Practice for Organic Food written by Debabrata Biswas and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2019-06-06 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Safety and Practice for Organic Food covers current food safety issues and trends. It provides detailed information on all organic and pasture practices including produce-only, farm-animal-only or integrated crop-livestock farming, as well as the impact of these practices on food safety and foodborne infections. The book explores food products that organic, integrated and traditional farming systems are contributing to consumers. As the demand for organic food products grows faster than ever, this book discusses current and improved practices for safer products. Moreover, the book explores progressive directions, such as the application of next-generation sequencing and genomics to aid in the understanding of the microbial ecology of the agro-environment and how farmer education can contribute to sustainable and safe food. Safety and Practice for Organic Food is a unique source of organic agricultural practices and food production for researchers, academics and professionals at agriculture-based universities and colleges who are involved in food science, animal sciences including poultry science, food safety, food microbiology, plant science and agricultural extension. This book is also an excellent source of information for regulators and federal government officials (USDA, FDA, EPA) and the food processing industry. - Discusses limitations in pre-harvest and post-harvest level practices with specific information on risk and bio-security of existing organic production systems - Explores policies and guidelines for organic food production and future directions for safer and more sustainable management - Presents microbial and other biological hazards at pre-harvest and post-harvest levels
Download or read book Organic Farming for Sustainable Development written by Jeyabalan Sangeetha and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2022-10-27 with total page 445 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new volume addresses the growing use of organic farming in recent past decades fueled by the concern with the many deleterious effects of conventional agricultural practices, which employ chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides for large scale production of food. It focuses on sustainable development in farming, primarily detailing the application of different natural resources as manure for organic farming. The authors discuss efficient and cost-effective uses of natural and available resources to produce healthy food while at the same time helping to conserve the environment. Section I of Organic Farming for Sustainable Development discusses in detail the application of microorganisms such as Trichoderma sp., Azospirillum sp., endophytic microorganisms, arbuscular mycorrhiza, Chaetomium sp., and bioactive secondary metabolites in organic farming practices. Section II explores the potential applications of organic amendments and sustainable practices for plant growth and soil health using garlic products, organic substrates, biochar, organic mulching, and tillage and weed management. In addition, Section III summarizes the impacts and prospects of organic crop production technology on health, food safety, and quality. The authors bring together important information that will be helpful in designing organic farming methods for soil sustainability and crop productivity as well as for nutritious food produced efficiently and cost productively. The book provides valuable insight to efficiently and cost-effectively use natural and available resources to increase the nutrient content of our food as well as to manage the organic wastes coming from other sectors, such as from cattle farms without polluting the surroundings.
Download or read book Studies in Vermont Dairy Farming written by Philip K. Hooker and published by . This book was released on 1926 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Examining Two Green Payment Options to Support Dairy Farm Viability in Northern New England written by Deborah Krug and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis explores the details and profitability of two distinct operational strategies utilized by dairy operations as alternatives to expanding milk production. It features farms that have either transitioned to organic production or installed a farm-scale anaerobic digester, motivated in part by the opportunity for market specialization or income diversification to increase the viability of their dairy farm businesses. The first analysis examines the demographics and production characteristics impacting the profitability of organic dairy farmers in Vermont and Maine. This provides policymakers, educators, lenders, and suppliers with a profile of this sector that accounts for 23% of dairy farms in Vermont and 20% of dairy farms in Maine, annually shipping, on average, 787,600 lbs. milk per farm. The study was conducted through a longitudinal survey of 83 organic farmers in Vermont and Maine from 2004 to 2012. A multiple linear regression analysis of the sample demonstrated six significant variables that affect farm profitability measured by return on assets (ROA). Having at least 80% Holstein herd composition, increasing the daily pounds of grain fed to cows during the winter months, a primary farm operator having grown-up on dairy farm, and the use of feed mixing machinery all positively impacted ROA. Farm profitability was negatively affected on farms with a high rate of annual cow morbidity and also tended to decrease over the course of the survey as organic prices leveled. While the model developed here has some explanatory power (R2 = 0.387), variability in farm profitability is affected by complex economic pressures. The second analysis reports the predicted and actual annual maintenance figures collected from anaerobic digester systems in Vermont. Within Vermont, 16 farms operate methane-generating ADS. All of these farms have received some form of public funds and/or a voluntary consumer premium. The analysis compares costs by creating a ratio of actual maintenance, repair, oil, and labor costs over these same predicted costs. This ratio is used to assess whether the suggested industry operating cost estimator tends to over or under predict annual maintenance costs. The ratio was evaluated with a one-way Student's t-test (p = 0.046) finding that maintenance costs tend to be under-predicted compared to the actual costs. One-way ANOVA was used to determine a statistically significant effect of herd size (F = 6.453, p = 0.052), showing that the maintenance ratio varies significantly between groups, This analysis indicates that predicting annual maintenance, repairs, and labor costs as a function of 3.5% of total kWh production is an acceptable method for digesters on farms with more than 500 cows, but under predicts maintenance costs for smaller farms. For smaller farms, the actual costs were on average 2.5 times higher.
Download or read book Bulletin written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Analysis of Milk Production Costs in Vermont written by Neil H. Pelsue and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Study of Vermont Dairy Farming written by John Allen Hitchcock and published by . This book was released on 1925 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Organic Dairy Profitability in Vermont Measuring the Impacts of Management and Market Forces on Farm Financial Performance written by Jonathan Patrick Walsh and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The total number of operating dairy farms in the US has decreased by 74.1% over the past 25 years, dropping from 155,339 in 1992 to just 40,219 in 2017. As milk prices have fallen and become more volatile, profit margins have tightened, causing farmers to leave the business due to low profitability. Some Vermont farmers are currently looking for new economic strategies. One approach has been to transition from conventional to organic production in order to take advantage of better prices and new market opportunities. In order to make production decisions, farmers need accurate financial information on the costs and benefits of the various options available. Since 2004, UVM Extension has collected panel data on organic dairy farms in Vermont to help meet this growing need. As a part of UVM's long-term organic dairy profitability research, this study analyzed 10 years of financial panel data (2006-2017) from an unbalanced panel of approximately 40 organic dairy farms in Vermont. For article 1, a multivariate fixed effects regression model was used to identify key factors influencing farm profitability and estimate their effects on Return on Assets. Variables related to feeding management, farm management, farm characteristics, input costs, and year were shown to be significant. For article 2, industry wide milk price trends were compared with descriptive statistics on Vermont organic dairy profitability outcomes across a 3-year period (2015-2017) in order to test the hypothesis that recent price shifts have a had a noticeable effect on farm profitability. Despite limited data for 2017, results indicated a study-wide reduction in ROA in line with national market trends. In identifying management and market factors associated with profitability, this thesis provides valuable decision-making information for farmers interested in switching to organic. Results suggest that feeding management and milk quality improvements can improve profitability outcomes on Vermont farms. Vermont farmers will also benefit from the updated cost of production and financial performance data presented here. Evidence from this thesis also supports a need for new supply management policies and a more nuanced approach to organic dairy profitability research.
Download or read book Studies in Vermont Dairy Farming written by Anna Shepard Lutman and published by . This book was released on 1941 with total page 974 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Analysis of the Structure and Performance of Organic Dairy Farms in the Northeast U S A written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Due to the restructuring and trend toward consolidation that has been taking place in the dairy industry for the past several decades; the number of dairy farms in the U.S. has been steadily declining. Smaller dairy farms have been disappearing at a disproportionate rate. At the same time, demand for organic milk has been consistently rising. There is some evidence to suggest that organic dairy may be a viable economic alternative for dairy farmers, but there is little empirical evidence to verify such claims. This study analyzed the financial performance of U.S. organic dairy farms in comparison to conventional dairy farms in the Northeast, highlighted significant structural differences between profitable and unprofitable organic dairy farms, and examined the factors affecting dairy farm profitability in the Northeast. This study shows that organic dairy farms in the Northeast were profitable and that small organic dairy farms were more economically viable than small conventional dairy farms. It was found that farm size, organic milk price, production efficiency, extra income in addition to milk sales, operator's age and expectations regarding the future of the dairy enterprise, and production efficiency had a positive correlation with organic dairy farm profitability. Factors that had a negative influence on organic dairy farm profitability were variable costs per cow, the debt-to-asset ratio of the farm, the average age of the milking herd, family farm status, the hours per day the milking system was in operation, and the choice to dry off milk cows seasonally. The results suggest that transitioning to certified organic status is an economically viable alternative for small conventional dairy farms in the Northeast.
Download or read book Staff Paper written by and published by . This book was released on 2009-06 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Growth and Disappearance of Dairy Farms in Maine written by Raymond N. Krofta and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Organic Dairy written by Riva Suzanne Rondorf and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The dairy industry in the United States has experienced significant changes in the past two decades. In Vermont, this is shown by a marked decrease in the number of individual farms and the increase in average herd sizes. This situation poses a threat both to the environment around larger-scale farms and to the small, family farm economy of Vermont. The emergence of the organic dairy industry has provided what some are calling a "lifeline" to many Vermont dairy farmers. Organic dairy has expanded quickly in Vermont but there is little available data on this new industry. Thus, the three articles of this thesis investigate the origins of the organic dairy industry, the role of farmer-to-farmer relationships in organic dairy profitability, and the causal assumptions within a theoretical framework for investigating the impacts of farmer-to-farmer relationships. The first article reviews the history of the organic dairy industry in the United States. The earliest farmers, their early markets and consumers, and the challenges the organic dairy pioneers faced are, for the most part, unknown. The article identifies key producers in the Northeast and Midwest and the role those producers played in the growth of the industry. The article ends with a discussion of the conflicting idealistic and corporate elements in the industry today.
Download or read book A Farm Management Study of 91 Dairy Farms in the Vicinity of Milton Vermont 1942 written by S. W. Williams and published by . This book was released on 1945 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Analysis of 57 Maine Dairy Farms Using the ELFAC Record Keeping System for 1969 written by Fred J. Benson and published by . This book was released on 1970 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Organizing Maine Dairy Farms for Optimum Returns written by Homer Bastian Metzger and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
