Integrated grain storage - technology transfer for organic farming

The attached document is the final report of the Defra Project OF0176. Demand for organic grain continues to grow and currently in the UK much has to be imported to satisfy the market. Expansion of UK production, together with continued imports, will see an increase in the need for effective grain storage using organic methods to preserve the quality of this valuable commodity. The objectives of this project were to conduct a desk study review to: 1) Highlight the main grain storage problems experienced by organic growers in the UK. 2) Bring together in a more convenient form technical information already available that will enable growers to tackle these problems more successfully. 3) Identify areas of current storage technology requiring a minimum of modification to ensure a smooth transfer from the conventional to the organic sector. 4) Identify areas where appropriate organic alternatives to conventional storage procedures do not exist that will require further research and development to find replacements. The following have been identified as areas requiring further research and development that are likely to provide important opportunities for improving the storage of organic grain: • Store structure cleaning, including the effectiveness of vacuum cleaning and steam treatments, and the feasibility of using diatomaceous earths to control invertebrate pests. • Energy efficient drying and cooling systems, and consider the use of renewable energy sources including solar and wind power or the processing of waste products and energy crops. • More effective invertebrate pest monitoring through improvements in sampling strategies, together with enhanced trap design and the incorporation of lures. • Disinfestation using grain cleaners and hot air driers. • Biological control for store structure treatments. This will require work to assess the effectiveness of naturally occurring biological control agents to treat residual infestations hidden in empty grain store structures. Strategies will need to be developed to encourage the development and conservation of beneficial invertebrates in stores, including the possible use of natural semiochemicals to manipulate their behaviour. • Biological control for surface infestations of grain. As well as looking at the practicality of using top-dressing or bait trap application techniques to control grain surface infestations in cooled bins, there is a need to develop effective methods for the removal of beneficial invertebrates from the grain immediately before it is marketed. A more detailed Executive Summary can be found at the top of the main report

Diagnostic Applications for Micro-Synchrophasor Measurements

This report articulates and justifies the preliminary selection of diagnostic applications for data from micro-synchrophasors (µPMUs) in electric power distribution systems that will be further studied and developed within the scope of the three-year ARPA-e award titled Micro-synchrophasors for Distribution Systems

An architecture for organisational decision support

The Decision Support (DS) topic of the Network Enabled Capability for Through Life Systems Engineering (NECTISE) project aims to provide organisational through-life decision support for the products and services that BAE Systems deliver. The topic consists of five streams that cover resource capability management, decision management, collaboration, change prediction and integration. A proposed architecture is presented for an Integrated Decision Support Environment (IDSE) that combines the streams to provide a structured approach to addressing a number of issues that have been identified by BAE Systems business units as being relevant to DS: uncertainty and risk, shared situational awareness, types of decision making, decision tempo, triggering of decisions, and support for autonomous decision making. The proposed architecture will identify how either individuals or groups of decision makers (including autonomous agents) would be utilised on the basis of their capability within the requirements of the scenario to collaboratively solve the decision problem. Features of the scenario such as time criticality, required experience level, the need for justification, and conflict management, will be addressed within the architecture to ensure that the most appropriate decision management support (system/naturalistic/hybrid) is provided. In addition to being reliant on a number of human factors issues, the decision making process is also reliant on a number of information issues: overload, consistency, completeness, uncertainty and evolution, which will be discussed within the context of the architecture

Feeding for health and welfare

Content: Feeding of livestock in organic production systems was discussed in four different groups: beef production, dairy production, pig production and poultry production. A. Beef production The general consensus was that most of these problems require solutions on management and systems level, rather than further nutritional research. Research and development needs are described. B. Dairy production The discussion on health and welfare related problems in dairy feeding focused on many issues. Some management solutions are given. Research and development needs are demonstrated. C. Pig production Research and development needs are demonstrated. D. Poultry production Potential solutions to these problems were suggested. Research and development needs are displayed

Sustainable Design of Energy Systems - The Case of Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is one of the renewable energy resources with a vast potential. It is extended spatially in many areas, isolated from urban areas and direct uses, whereas its utilisation when it is not for electricity production is many times hampered due to lack of a proper development framework. In this work we present a design framework for sustainable geothermal systems incorporating modules covering the various aspects of exploration, utilisation, end-use and management. The overall framework consists of the following sub modules: a. geophysical model of the assessment of the geothermal reservoir capacity b. model for the management of the geothermal wells, pumping and re-injection c. model for the distribution network d. model for the various end-uses, e. environmental model for sustainable operation The overall framework incorporates the basic axes of sustainable development, i.e. resources, economy, environment, energy, technology, society. The theoretical framework is applied to an existing geothermal reservoir which at the current is being underutilized, from an energy, environmental and economic perspective. The search for an optimum design includes the formulation of different scenarios and the multi-criteria decision analysis of them.

Managing Knowledge, Creating Networks andTriggering Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture

Conventional agricultural extension approaches have ceased to be of much effect in transforming agricultural productivity and meeting the goals of sustainable natural resource management. Multi agency approach using multimedia, multi language and multi channel is imperative. Ministry of Agriculture has realized the need for transition but the models for the purpose remain to be developed. In this paper, I discuss the major knowledge gaps, stress the importance of peer learning and building upon farmers. own innovations and suggest new initiatives for transforming extension strategies. I have also argued that focus only on primary production in agricultural will not be viable in the long run. Value addition is necessary and extension for the purpose requires lot of action research. Village Knowledge Management Systems (VKMS) need to be developed for which a proposal has already been submitted to the Department of Science and Technology. An outline of the same is given in the paper to trigger further discussion. Farmers suicides in many states should have warranted a review of extension strategies much earlier. The proposed model aims to develop and monitor early warning signals of the socio ecological stress and recommend real time solutions.

Decisions about entry modes for telecom companies into digital music business: An empirical case study

The digital music market offers an opportunity for telecom companies to furnish value-added services. However, little effort has been made to study empirically how to make a decision about entry modes for telecom companies into digital music business. This study therefore investigates various strategies that telecom companies may implement to enter the digital music industry. The results of a series of expert surveys reveal that the preference ranking of entry modes is acquisition, joint venture, and contractual agreement, respectively. Moreover, the leading key factors in selecting entry modes are complementary capabilities, hostility of environment, relational risk between firms as partners, commitment of resources, and availability of expertise. Furthermore, an importance-performance analysis was conducted to understand the different aspects that are of different performances and importance in each entry mode. The implications of the findings are also discussed. --Telecom companies,Digital music business,Entry modes,Value added