Business activity of an enterprise is almost inconceivable without planning. Therefore today there are many discussions about the importance of activity planning of the enterprise and forecasting of the resources, necessary to reach the set tasks. For this reason the scientists and practicians offer to implement the budgeting system in the enterprises. This paper introduces the new budgeting model - Activity-Based Budgeting (ABB) model. It also contains the survey of advantages of this model and its applicability in theoretical aspect. The key objective of this paper is to present Activity-Based Budgeting (ABB) as an important means of planning and coordination of activity of the agricultural enterprise (or any other type of an enterprise). After performance of analysis of the main principles of Activity-Based Budgeting (ABB) model the reasoned conclusions can be drawn that application of this model in the agricultural enterprises could be the alternative means against the variable and changing economical and business conditions. It should be emphasized that contrarily to the traditional budgeting models; ABB can help to establish the connections between the incurred costs and the company processes. The paper contains ABB analysis based upon the scientific studies and the fragments of practical application of the model.

Eight-year (2000-2007) field studies on the effectiveness of controlled drainage in loam sandy soil were carried out in the Lowland of Middle Lithuania. The plot, which has existing subsurface water removal systems operated as conventional drainage was readjusted for the water table management. Two separate systems - 4.9 hectares free drainage (FD) and 5.4 hectares controlled drainage (CD) were arranged. A water level control structure with a riser column and hand operated rigid flap door was installed in the outlet of drainage collector in the manhole at the junction of two collectors. The water table level was allowed to rise to the maximum of 68 cm above the drains. Measurements to record the water table depth, drain outflow quantity and quality were performed. It was determined that in the CD system the annual drainage outflow lasted shorter by 40-62%, at the same time it was reduced by 25% and nitrate leaching - by 20-28% lower in comparison with the drainage operating in an ordinary regime. These indicators varied depending on weather conditions. The water table control in single-acting drainage systems is feasible and has a positive hydrological and environmental impact.

The article analyses the seasonal nitrogen variation in drainage water, when the plants in the field crop rotation are fertilized with slurry during different seasons. The investigations were carried out in 2001-2003 in Juodkiškis experimental site of the Lithuanian Water Management Institute. The investigations established that the largest amounts of nitrogen are leached out in spring and in winter. In the autumn fertilized variant 38.8% more of this element was leached out in winter and spring compared with the variant fertilized in spring. During autumn nitrogen leaching was also 21% higher from the variant fertilized in autumn. It was established that the fertilization rate and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) supply in soil have influence on the concentrations of this element. During the cold season nitrogen concentrations in drainage water, when plants had been fertilized with slurry in spring, were more affected by the supply of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in soil more compared with the rate of fertilization; and if fertilization had been performed in autumn - the concentrations were more affected by the fertilization rate. In warm season both the fertilization rate and the supply of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in soil had similar influence on the concentrations of nitrogen in the drainage water in both treatments. Meteorological conditions affect nitrogen leaching a lot. During the cold season a greater amount of nitrogen is leached out when the air temperature is higher and during the warm season - when more precipitation falls.

The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the use of artificial neural network (AN) modelling tool to predict the risk of phosphorus (P) loss from the fields to nearest water body. The attention is drawn to AN as an alternative approach to the P index calculation for prediction of the P losses. The specific tasks of this study were to determine risk classes of P loss by linking together source and transport factors that accelerate P losses and to evaluate AN model performance for predicting risk classes via nutrient transport. AN was trained with a Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, and Scaled Conjugate Gradient algorithm was used to estimate the possible risk of P losses from agricultural land. Two small agricultural watersheds in Auce and Bauska were chosen to determine field parameters, and expert's evaluation was used for description of the risk classes' of P loss. Finally these values were used as inputs for the neural network model. The model was trained and validated by assessing its predictive performance on a testing set of data excluded from the training set. The research results highlight the capabilities of AN to predict risk for a particular field and suggest that future research on application of other algorithms is required.

This article gives a review of modern networking technologies and standards used in the development of distributed control systems. Study of related scientific and professional literature has been performed, and basing on it a multi-level model of digital network structure in the field of small-scale autonomous combined power systems has been proposed. Necessity of integration of autonomous powering into SmartHouse systems and related distributed computing and networking issues are reflected as well. As there is a wide variety of industrial networking standards used, this review covers and groups more frequently used protocols and stacks from the view of OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) reference model and layers of industrial automation. The aim of this article is to give a reference-point in the development of distributed control systems in the field of small-scale autonomous power supply and integration of them in SmartHouse systems.

Two studies were conducted: the first study evaluated the production potential of indigenous (Tswana) chickens under an extensive free-range management system in the Gaborone agricultural region of Botswanal; and the second study was a survey of 25 randomly selected, commercial small-scale broiler farms in the Southern region of Botswana. Data were obtained using a structured questionnaire, interviews and direct observations of the birds and their management in the two systems. Study 1 involved 85 farmers. Ten different common supplementary feeds fed to the free-range chickens together with soil samples from where the chickens roost were collected. The feeds were: sorghum grain (Sorghum bicolor), maize grain (Zea mays), jugo bean, also known as bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea), tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius), millet grain (Pennisetum glaucum), melon seeds (Colocynthis citrullus [Citrullus lanatus]), Tswana water melon fruit (whole), sorghum milo, maize bran and sorghum beer residue (moroko). Mean adult body weight of the birds (n=713) was 2.2 and 2.0 kg for cocks and hens respectively. Average egg weight (n=188) was 48 g with an annual production of 34 eggs laid in 2 to 3 clutches. Production varied little among flocks. Sexual maturity was attained at about 6 months for females. The crude protein content of the feeds (as-fed basis) given as supplements was: maize grain 9.8%, millet 6.5%, sorghum 11.1%, tepary bean 18.5% and jugo bean 15.8%. All the feeds had a low level of calcium, for example 0.22% for melon seeds. The farmers kept the chickens for home consumption and occasional sales. In study 2, all the farmers practiced intensive housing on deep litter. The number and size of the poultry houses ranged from one to eight, with floor area of less than 100m2 to 1000m2. Numbers of chickens in each batch ranged from less than 1000 to 10000 with about 4 batches in a year. The broiler strains were Ross hybrid, Indian River and Cobb with 56% of the farmers keeping Ross hybrid. Various heating methods were used for brooding with more than 40% using gas as a source of heat. Vaccinations for either gumboro and/or Newcastle were used by 76% of the farmers. Feed was provided ad libitum in all instances.

The objective of this study was to compare the growth performance of two Nguni ecotypes and its crosses (Nguni x Landim) raised under the same feedlot conditions at the Posto Fomento do Impaputo, in southern Mozambique. Live weight feedlot data, from entry to marketing, were collected every fortnight between 1999 and 2009 from 453 oxen of the Nguni and Landim male ecotypes, as well as the crosses. Year-season of birth had significant effects on live weight at entry in the feedlot and at marketing age. Overall means for average age at entry in the feedlot was 31.8 ± 4 months, with the Landim being younger than the Cross (p=0.07). The average live weight at entry in the feedlot was 390 ± 42.5 kg, with no differences between ecotypes (p>0.05). Males born in dry year-seasons were heavier than males born in wet years-seasons (p<0.0001 to p<0.05).The average age at marketing of the Nguni ecotypes was 34.4 ± 5.08 months, with the Landim being younger (p<0.05) than the Cross. The average live weight at marketing was 446 ± 42.2 kg. The average live weights at entry and at marketing were higher in dry years-seasons than in wet years-seasons. There were no differences between ecotypes for average daily gain (0.89 ± 0.79 kg) in this study. Growth rates for the feedlot in the Nguni cattle obtained in this study were substantially lower than that obtained for the Ngunis in South Africa albeit they entered the feedlot at a much older age. This study demonstrates that in Mozambique feedlot industry is still underdeveloped with main constraints on feed resources, especially concentrates.

In order to describe the ways of handling, processing and marketing of milk in urban and peri-urban production systems of the North western Ethiopian highlands, 256 and 54 dairy farms were selected for survey and monitoring data collection, respectively. Due to poor market access and high transaction costs and the perishable nature of raw milk, the amount of sold milk (products) and prices were significantly lower for peri-urban producers. Prices were also low during fasting periods and during the wet season; when milk production was reactively high. Traditional ways of milk processing at household level include practices which may contain risks for product quality affecting consumers’ health. Providing basic handling and health education for producers therefore is likely to result in improved milk (product) quality on the markets. Direct delivery to the nearby consumers was the largest primary milk outlet for producers of both systems, while retailers and milk cooperatives were the second most common outlets for the urban and the peri-urban system, respectively. Therefore, to enhance dairy production and marketing, milk co-operatives that could be able to market larger volumes and sufficiently reduce transaction costs should be supported by governmental and non-governmental organisations through providing technical and infrastructural support.

he survey was carried out in Horro district of Horro Guduru zone, west part of Ethiopia. The objectives of the survey were: to describe cattle production system, trait preferences, breeding practices, and constraints in utilization of the breed and to use the information generated as baseline data to design breeding strategy of the breed. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, group discussions and secondary data collections from different sources. Statistical Package for Social Science was employed to analyze data. Horro cattle are kept in a mixed crop-livestock production system and are the dominant livestock species in the area. Cattle have multi-functional roles in the production systems. Among reason of keeping cattle, draught power was ranked first followed by milk production. Farmers prefer composite traits from their male and female cattle. Draught power performance, body size, hump size, adaptability and coat color were among the higher ranked preferred traits for male cattle in that order. Preferred traits for female cattle include milk yield, fat yield, calving interval, adaptability and coat color.

Nigerian indigenous chicken (NIC) from three agro-ecological zones (Rain Forest, RF; Derived Savanna, DS; and Guinea Savanna, GS) were evaluated for age at first egg, egg production and egg weight, percent hen-day egg production and percent laying mortality. Data for this work were collected over a period of 72 weeks. A total of 579 eggs from DS and RF zones and 505 growers from DS, GS and RF were evaluated. Data were compiled by Dbase IV and analysed using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedure of Statistical Analysis System (SAS). Agro-ecological zones, age and sex were the fixed effects in the model. Means for each variable effect were compared using the Least-Square Analysis of Variance and Duncan option of SAS. For all the traits evaluated, there was no significant difference between the chickens from the three ecological zones. Hence, the Nigerian indigenous chickens from these zones cannot be said to belong to different genetic groups.