: First part of the paper assesses the physical-geographical locality factors of the agricultural production in the district of Nitra. Agricultural production in a typical high production region has been analysed (structure of the enterprises legal forms, focus of production, number of employees). The second part examines the types of the most important agricultural enterprises according to the selected economic indicators such as economic efficiency, labour productivity and relative employment. These indicators are the best ones to express the economic power of agricultural entities and farming efficiency.

Agricultural chemicals may have an adverse impact on environment and food safety. The demand prices of such chemicals reveal farmers' willingness to pay and their preferences. This article examines the determinants of the agricultural chemicals price in the export-oriented vegetable production area, Anqiu, Shandong Province, applying the Hedonic Price Model based on the spatial econometric technique to analyze the price. We find that the agricultural chemicals with a different shape and function have different equilibrium prices, and the chemical attributes of permeability, rainfastness, being a substitute of the highly poisonous chemical, having a zero residue, and the internal absorption can all influence the equilibrium prices remarkably. We also find that the prices of biological and non-pollution agricultural chemicals might not be higher than the ordinary agricultural chemicals with the same characteristics. These findings do not show a good sign to the new agricultural chemicals promotion and environmental protection, and should be brought to the government's attention.

Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. | An imperative of the South African government is to increase agricultural production in rural areas. In support of this, a project was initiated in the Mlondozi district of Mpumalanga Province under the National LandCare programme. The goal was to assess land management practices contributing to sustainable and profitable agricultural production. Medium-term liming experiments were sampled to a range of lime treatments in a Hutton and Oakleaf soil. Critical thresholds where a reduction in relative grain yield was found were at a pH (H2O), extractable acidity, Al and acid saturation of 5.49, 0.277 cmolc kg soil-1, 0.145 cmolc kg soil-1 and 13%, respectively. Critical soil fertility threshold levels were established at 50 mg K kg-1, 228-345 mg Ca kg-1, 78-105 mg Mg kg-1 and 1.68-2.83 mg Cu kg-1. Nutrient vector analysis showed a toxic build-up of Fe, followed by Al and to a lesser extent Mn, which depressed the uptake of Ca, Mg and B in the Hutton soil. In the Oakleaf soil, Al toxicity, followed by high concentrations of Mn and Fe, markedly reduced the uptake of Ca, Mg and K by maize. Net rates of acid production in the soil profile varied between 1.61 and 2.44 kmol H+ ha-1 year-1 for the Hutton soil and between 4.59 and 8.82 kmol H+ ha-1 year-1 in the Oakleaf soil due to liming. A decline of 0.046 pH unit year-1 for an initial pH(H2O) value of 5.33, and 0.140 pH unit year-1 for an intial pH(H2O) of 6.47, respectively, in the Hutton was recorded. For the Oakleaf these declines were 0.044 and 0.110 pH unit year-1, from pH(H2O) 4.54 and 5.15. Maintenance liming amounts at different pH values for the Hutton soil were equivalent to 0.2, 0.3 and 1.4 tonnes CaCO3 ha-1 annually, while 0, 0.8 and 0.8 tonne CaCO3 ha-1 annually were recorded for the Oakleaf soil. The study was extended to 80 random topsoil samples in the district. Relationships of soil BC over limited pH ranges showed that at soil BC (pH<4.5) the main buffering mechanism was extractable Al > organic C > clay. At soil BC (pH4.5-6.5) the buffering mechanism was extractable Al > clay > CBD-Al > organic C > CBD-Fe. The main buffering mechanism between pH 6.5-8.5 was clay > CBD-Fe, organic C > CBD-Al. Acid production for 30 crop production sites varied from a measured 0.21 to 10.31 (mean 3.70) kmol H+ ha-1 year-1 The rate of pH decline for the top 0-250 mm depth was between 0.051 and 0.918 (mean 0.237) pH units year-1. In the absence of remedial lime applications, pH (H2O) values in most of the area are projected to decrease to the critical value of 5.68 or lower within 4 years. Soil with a pH (H2O) value of >5.73, extractable Al and acidity of <0.18 and <0.25 cmolc kg-1 soil, respectively, clay content of ≤26%, and a ECEC value of ≤3.29 cmolc kg soil-1, are at greater risk of acidification as gradual acceleration in soil acidification takes place at the above-mentioned critical thresholds. | Plant Production and Soil Science | unrestricted

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Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli laskea peltokasvituotannon energiasuhteet ja nettoenergia sekä kotieläintuotannon energiasuhteet Suomessa. Energiasuhde tarkoittaa suhdetta output/input ja nettoenergia erotusta output input. Energiasuhteiden ja nettoenergian laskenta perustui kasvi- ja eläinlajikohtaisiin energia-analyyseihin. Kasvintuotannon energiasuhteet ja nettoenergia laskettiin sadolle annettavan lannoitetypen funktiona, koska maatalouskemikaalien osuuden todettiin olevan 54 73% sadon tuottamiseen tarvittavasta energiapanoksesta. Typen osuus oli siitä kaikkein suurin. Ruokohelven energiasuhde 18,6 oli korkein, ja kokonaisuutena ruokohelpi oli ylivoimainen verrattuna muihin analysoituihin kasveihin, jotka olivat ohra, kevätvehnä, rypsi, säilörehunurmi, peruna ja sokerijuurikas. Ruokohelpi ja sokerijuurikas saavuttivat korkeimmat nettoenergiasadot, 111 115 GJ ha-1. Korkeimmat energiasuhteet saavutettiin yleensä viljelijöiden käyttämiä typpilannoitusmääriä alemmilla lannoitusmäärillä. Sianlihantuotannon energiasuhde oli 0,14 1,28 riippuen siitä, mitä analyysiin otettiin mukaan ja mitä rajattiin ulos. Maidontuotannossa energiasuhde oli 0,15 1,85. Korkeimmat energiasuhteet ovat kuitenkin epärealistisia Suomessa, koska ne edellyttäisivät, että eläimillä ei olisi lainkaan karjasuojaa. Tästä syystä niihin voidaankin päästä hyvin alkeellisessa tuotannossa. Kun energiasuhde laskettiin rehun energiasisällön mukaan, sianlihantuotannon energiasuhde oli 0,14 0,22 ja maidontuotannon 0,15. Eläin voi siis muuntaa 14 22% tuotantoon käytetystä energiasta käyttökelpoisiksi tuotteiksi. Sianlihantuotannossa kuluu runsaasti energiaa ilmanvaihtoon ja maidontuotannossa lypsämiseen ja maidon jäähdyttämiseen. Maidontuotannossa puolestaan sähkön kulutus on suuri. | The objective of this study was to assess energy ratios and net energy in plant production and energy ratios in animal production in Finland. Energy ratios and net energy were determined on the basis of plant- and animal-specific energy analyses. In plant production, energy ratios and net energy were assessed as a function of nitrogen fertilization, because indirect energy input in the form of agrochemicals was 54 73% from the total energy input and nitrogen was responsible for the major part of this. The highest energy ratio was 18.6 for reed canary grass. As a whole reed canary grass was superior to the other crops, which were barley, spring wheat, spring turnip rape, ley for silage, potato and sugar beet. Reed canary grass and sugar beet gained the highest net energy yields of 111 115 GJ ha-1. The optimum energy ratio was gained in general with less nitrogen fertilization intensity than farmers use. The energy ratios in pork production varied between 0.14 1.28 depending on what was included or excluded in the analysis and for milk production between 0.15 1.85. Ratios of 1.28 in pork production and 1.85 in milk production are unrealistic as they do not give any shelter to the animals, although they can be approached in very low-input production systems. If the ratio is calculated with feed energy content then the ratio is low, 0.14 0.22 for pork and 0.15 for milk. This shows that animals can convert 14 22 percent of the input energy to usable products. In pork production, the largest portion of the energy input was the ventilation of the building. In milk production milking and cooling consumes a lot of energy and for this reason the electricity consumption is high. | v | ok | Suomalaisen maataloustuotannon energiasuhteet

Nowadays agricultural production is more and more based on the production contracts. There are many types of them that can be conducted by a farmer and processing plants, brokers, etc. Signing the contract a farmer reduces the production risk and stabilizes his revenue. Because the legal system varies from state to state there are some regularities and models that can be followed. Unfortunately the differences do not allow to define one common pattern of contact.

The genetic variability of Valachian sheep population in Slovakia was tested using 16 microsateilite markers in a single multiplex PCR. Fourty-seven animals from three different regions of Slovakia were genotyped. All loci were highly polymorphic, showing between 7 (MAF65, SPS113) and 15 atleles (TCRGC4), PICs between 0.666 (SPS113), and 0.894 (TCRGC4). Estimates of expected heterozygosity (He) ranged between 0.581 for SPS113 to 0.871 for TCRGC4. The average He over all loci was 0.779, and the average observed heterozygosity (Ho) over all loci was lower, i.e. 0.719. There was not observed any difference in genetic variability among sub-populations from different regions. Estimates of He over all loci were 0.753, 0.744, and 0.798; whereas Ho values were 0.700, 0.677, and 0.778 in sub-population from Spiš, Kysuce, and Liptov.

Civic agriculture is characterized in the literature as complementary and embedded social and economic strategies that provide economic benefits to farmers at the same time that they ostensibly provide socio-environmental benefits to the community. This paper presents some ways in which women farmers practice civic agriculture. The data come from in-depth interviews with women practicing agriculture in Pennsylvania. Some of the strategies women farmers use to make a living from the farm have little to do with food or agricultural products, but all are a product of the process of providing a living for farmers while meeting a social need in the community. Most of the women in our study also connect their business practices to their gender identity in rural and agricultural communities, and redefine successful farming in opposition to traditional views of economic rationality.

PR | IFPRI3; ISI | PHND