Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2003
Forfattere
Ola FlatenSammendrag
Norwegian dairy farmers are facing changes in the economic environment. Prices of products and concentrates are falling, while area and headage payments are increasing. The availability of grasslands has become more abundant. Impact of changes in economic conditions on production systems and profitability are examined. Linear programming models of dairy farms, with grain and beef as alternative enterprises, are designed to analyse the adjustments. Optimal production systems are largely determined by a combination of economic factors associated with the various inputs, outputs and support schemes together with availability of farm resources. The typical Norwegian dairy farm has a small quota compared to other farm resources. Producing a fixed milk quota with moderate yielding cows is then most profitable (1999-conditions). Early cut silage offered ad libitum is most profitable. Changes in the milk price have no effects on production as long as the quota is effective. If all of the land is utilised and grassland is the only possible land use, increased area payments have no production effects. If some grassland is not in use, area payments increase land utilisation as cows are fed less concentrate. If grain is also grown, increased grassland area payments result in more land allocated to grass. Forage and milk production become less intensive. By increasing headage payments, milk yield falls, as it is optimal to have more cows to produce the fixed quota output. This contributes to keep more grassland in production and in a more intensive forage production. Lower concentrate prices lead to increased use of concentrates and higher milk yields.
Sammendrag
At present there are nearly 20 000 milk producers in Norway, and approximately 10 per cent of them are members of the Norwegian Dairy Financial Recording (NDFR). The NDFR is an important basis for production and financial advice given by the dairies. There is a great interest among milk producers and advisors in comparing results from different farms to find out why some are doing well and some are doing not so well, and to learn from those doing well. Gross margin (GM) per litre of milk produced is the traditional indicator for efficiency. This data, as other data on milk production, indicate that there is a wide variation in gross margin per litre of milk between farms with seemingly similar conditions for producing milk. This is interpreted as a potential for improving the efficiency of many producers. However, for many reasons gross margin per litre of milk is not an ideal indicator. A new version of the NDFR contains more information, for instance information on fixed costs of roughages produced on the farm. It is hoped that the new version of the NDFR makes it a better tool for improving the profitability of milk production. In an ongoing project we try to use the NDFR to analyse who are doing well and why. We use a combination of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and statistical analysis. For each farm we produce an efficiency index, and then we apply statistical methods to find factors that can explain the index. So far we have only very preliminary results. Management factors are important, but the NDFR data-base have very little information on management factors. It is planned to collect such data for a sample of farmers and include that in the study at a later stage.
Sammendrag
Farmers in northern Norway have experienced severe winter damage on grassland rather frequently, especially on flat areas and peat soils in regions with an unstable winter climate around zero degrees Celsius. Traditional drainage with drainpipes is normally not sufficient to prevent such damage in these areas. During the past two decades the use of open ditches and surface grading has become the main method of reclaiming and draining peat land. A new heuristic stochastic dynamic analysis method for problems like this, combining simulation and optimisation, is used to explore the profitability of surface grading of peat soils. This analysis indicates that the year in which a ley should be reseeded depends on stage in the growth curve when eventually the winter damage happens as well as on the severity of the damage. Given the present acreage subsidy payment, surface grading is normally profitable from a farmers point of view.
Forfattere
Grete StokstadSammendrag
Several factors influence the value of a lamb carcass throughout the slaughtering season, and therefore have implications for the optimal slaughtering time of lambs. The expected price of the carcass varies through the season due to: Variations in the weight of the lambs, and the growth through the season. The classification of the carcass, i.e., the price per kg changes as the lambs grow. The prices of the various quality changes throughout the season. The quality of the grazing fields limits the possible weight gain and influences the classification of lams. The grazing resources are in general limited, and will affect the possibility of fattening lambs in the fall. The objective with this study is to come up with a tool to help in determining when to slaughter which lambs in the fall when resources are limited. In order to make good decisions, the first step is to calculate the profitability of various slaughtering decisions. I use known characteristics of the lambs as weight, sex etc. to determine expected value of the carcass if slaughtered at various point in time in the future. In order to determine expected quality for the carcasses I have used a multinomial ordered probit regression model to determine the probability for obtaining a particular classification. A linear programming model is used to choose the best alternatives given limited grassing resources. The model can be used to determine optimal slaughtering decisions given a particular group of lambs and resources. By limiting the possible choices in the model, the model user may also investigate the losses associated with alternative slaughtering schemes. In this paper I describe the forecasting models for determining the value of the carcass, I describe the general linear programming model and show some results from running the model.
Sammendrag
The Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture (1999) has announced its goal of converting 10% of the total agricultural area to organic farming methods by the year 2009. Considerations of profitability and risk will be especially important, when the conversion of a farm is planned. Studies of risk and risk management in organic farming have been lacking in Norway. Only very few such studies have been carried out internationally, thus showing that there is a definite need for more risk and risk management research in organic farming. The project aims to increase knowledge about risks and risk management in organic farming systems. It is a co-operation between NILF, NORSK, and NVH. Both biological and economic aspects of risk will be taken into consideration. We wish to test and apply acknowledged statistical and risk analysis theories and methods on issues related to organic farming. The project will deal with the extent of risk in organic farming, strategies used by organic farmers to handle risk and whole-farm models to analyse optimal economic solutions under uncertainty in organic farming. The project will cover farms that are still in conversion and completely converted farms. Results from the project will directly benefit farmers and farm advisers. Politicians and public administrators will receive access to significant information for the design of future policies.
Forfattere
Christian Noell Mogens LundSammendrag
Nowadays agricultural firms are more often than in the past decades forced to adapt operations, plans, strategies etc. to changes and uncertainties in their legal and business environment. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as an approach to strategic controlling in agriculture is discussed as an answer to the growing management demands in Danish farms. A brief description of the BSC-concept, its development process as well as principle potentials and limitations is given. In a case example on a dairy farm the current Danish strategic planning framework and the BSC are compared. The need for a stricter orientation of strategic planning to external demands (customers, stakeholders) is emphasised. Necessary prerequisites for the implementation of the BSC-concept into practical farming are discussed. Finally five critical success factors to the BSC adoption by Danish farmers are identified.
Redaktører
Agnar HegrenesSammendrag
No abstract has been registered
Forfattere
J. Brian Hardaker Gudbrand LienSammendrag
No abstract has been registered
Sammendrag
Wintering ability in the field and resistance to different winter-stress factors under controlled environmental conditions were studied in a full-sib family of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Significant variation in tolerance to freezing and ice encasement, resistance to pink snow mould (Microdochium nivale) and also in winter survival and spring growth were found between the different genotypes. No strong correlations were found between the resistances to the different stress factors. These results indicate that resistance to different winter-stress factors is controlled by separate genes in perennial ryegrass. A low but significant positive correlation was found between spring growth of plants in the field after the first winter and both freezing tolerance and M. nivale resistance measured in controlled environments. Cold hardening seemed to influence freezing tolerance and M. nivale resistance differently in the different genotypes, since no distinct correlation in tolerance to freezing or resistance to M. nivale was found between unhardened and hardened plants. Tolerance or resistance to most of the winter stress factors measured was positively correlated with plant size.
Sammendrag
No abstract has been registered