SMALL FARMS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: IS SMALL MORE SUSTAINABLE?

A new, post-industrial, paradigm for agriculture is emerging under the concept of sustainable agriculture. The sustainability paradigm has emerged to solve problems created by the industrial model, primarily environmental pollution and resource base degradation. The role of farm size in this transformation to a more sustainable agriculture is the issue addressed. Using a descriptive approach, and relying on a survey of the literature including emerging paradigms and observations, we conclude that, from a sustainability perspective, the smallest effective size will be the most competitive size for farms, as for other knowledge-based enterprises of the future.Agriculture, Farm size, Paradigms, Sustainability, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management,

TRADING POULTRY LITTER AT THE WATERSHED LEVEL : A GOAL FOCUSING APPLICATION

We explore the transfer of poultry litter among watersheds incorporating both economic characteristics (litter demand and supply) and environmental characteristics (vulnerability to phosphorus runoff, a major pollutant). A combination of techniques was employed: the Lemunyon-Gilbert P-Index model to determine watershed environmental vulnerability, GIS for land use coverages, and a goal focusing model (incorporating Saaty's eigen-value approach for penalty weight estimation) to identify optimal litter shipments among watersheds. Both primary and secondary data were used. The results should be useful to producers and policy makers in the study area and in other areas where poultry production is linked to water quality, and contribute to a more sustainable poultry sector.Livestock Production/Industries,

MODELING STATE AGRICULTURE: AN APPLICATION AND SOME IMPLICATIONS

A disaggregated econometric model of the agricultural sector at the state level is constructed. Using time series data on West Virginia agriculture and three-stage least squares in estimation, the model is employed to examine how various components of the state's agricultural sector adjust to changes in certain price and nonprice variables. Results reveal characteristics of the state's agricultural economy that are both unique and useful - characteristics that are usually masked in aggregate models but that have profound implications for modeling producer decision making and policy formulation.Industrial Organization,

FACTORS AFFECTING THE ADOPTION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

The extent to which individual factors influence the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices is estimated using a logit model and data from a 1990 survey of West Virginia producers. The results are, as expected, different than those for conventional agricultural technologies. For example, the effects of human capital characteristics are significant, while those for structural and institutional characteristics are not. However, the likelihood of adoption of sustainable agricultural practices is affected most by the environmental characteristic of whether or not the producer is aware that ground water contamination exists on his farm. This creates an important "awareness effect" upon which policies to promote sustainable agriculture adoption can be formulated. It also implies the existence of a derived demand for sustainable agriculture.Farm Management,

THE INVESTMENT POTENTIAL OF WARM-SEASON GRASSES FOR HILL-LAND BEEF PRODUCERS

The investment potential of warm-season grasses is compared with that of cool-season grasses, with special emphasis on hill-land beef production. In addition to evaluating relative costs and returns for various grazing systems, a sensitivity analysis is conducted. The results are then illustrated for a representative hill-land farm in West Virginia, and both an optimal and a set of quasi-optimal solutions are generated within the linear programming framework. In general, warm-season grasses are found to be a superior investment alternative for hill-land beef producers.Livestock Production/Industries,

Tolerability, safety, and efficacy of adjunctive brivaracetam for focal seizures in older patients: A pooled analysis from three phase III studies

Introduction: This analysis was conducted to assess the tolerability, safety, and efficacy of brivaracetam (BRV) for adjunctive treatment of focal (partial-onset) seizures in patients aged ≥65 years. Methods: Safety/tolerability and efficacy data for patients aged ≥65 years were pooled from three randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, fixed-dose Phase III studies (NCT00490035, NCT00464269, and NCT01261325). Data were pooled by treatment group: placebo or the proposed therapeutic dose range of 50–200 mg/day: BRV 50, 100, 200 mg/day. Results: Thirty-two patients aged ≥65 years were randomized to placebo or BRV 50–200 mg/day. Of these, 30 patients (93.8%) completed their respective study. In the safety population (n = 32), 87.5% placebo- vs 73.3% BRV-treated patients reported treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) during the treatment period; most commonly, headache (25.0% vs 12.5%), paresthesia (0% vs 12.5%), and somnolence (50.0% vs 12.5%) for placebo- vs BRV-treated patients, respectively. During the treatment period, drug-related TEAEs were reported by 62.5% of placebo- vs 53.3% of BRV-treated patients, and serious TEAEs (SAEs) were reported by 0% of placebo- and 4.2% of BRV-treated patients; there were no drug-related SAEs and no deaths. Three SAEs (placebo 1/8; BRV 2/24) and two deaths (placebo 1/8; BRV 1/24) occurred in the post-treatment period. In the efficacy population (n = 31), median percent reduction from baseline in focal seizure frequency/28 days was 14.0% for placebo vs 25.5%, 49.6%, and 74.9% for BRV 50, 100, and 200 mg/day, respectively. The ≥50% responder rate was 14.3% for placebo vs 25.0%, 50.0%, and 66.7% for BRV 50, 100, and 200 mg/day, respectively. Conclusions: Safety/tolerability and efficacy findings in this small subgroup of older patients treated with adjunctive BRV are consistent with those observed in the much larger overall pooled population. BRV may be a suitable adjunctive treatment for older patients with uncontrolled focal seizures. Further larger studies in this population are warranted

Differences among Watershed Sub-Populations in Willingness to Pay for Water Quality Improvements: The Impact of TMDL Development

The Opequon watershed is located in northern Virginia (VA) and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia (WV). In both states, Opequon Creek is classified as impaired based on violations of bacteria, benthic and biologic standards. Both VA and WV are using Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plans to improve water quality within Opequon Creek. However, these TMDL plans are at different stages with VA being completed and WV still in progress. As part of the TMDL process in VA, this research is based on a contingent valuation survey which was developed to measure the expected monetary benefits of TMDL implementation throughout the Opequon watershed. On the basis of log-likelihood tests of grouped tobit models to explain willingness-to-pay (WTP) for watershed clean-up, VA, WV, and VA riparian landowner respondents were found to consist of different populations. Riparian landowners had the highest median annual WTP at $64, VA respondents the next highest ($49), and WV the lowest ($32). These medians were found to be statistically different from each other. When valuing out-of-state clean-up, however, VA and WV respondents were found to be similar populations with a one-time median WTP of$28. Results show that the TMDL process did impact VA respondent WTP for in-state clean-up.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PASTURE-RAISED BEEF SYSTEMS IN APPALACHIA

Cow-calf operations are important enterprises for family farmers in Appalachia and provide significant opportunity for supplemental income. This analysis constitutes a thorough economic assessment of pasture-raised beef production, an alternative to traditional production that could benefit the region's producers in terms of profitability and mitigated risk. Stochastic budgeting was utilized for profitability and risk comparison between traditional and pasture-raised operations and accounted for seasonal variability in prices, pasture availability and animal performance. Pasture-raised systems, in relation to traditional ones, were shown to consistently yield higher returns over variable costs and were shown less likely to yield losses over total costs in typical production seasons. Economic risk for pasture-raised producers stems largely from production factors but, overall, is seemingly less pronounced than the market risk faced by traditional producers selling live cattle.Farm Management,

TRADING POULTRY LITTER AT THE WATERSHED LEVEL: A GOAL FOCUSING APPLICATION

We explore the transfer of poultry litter among watersheds incorporating both economic and environmental characteristics, and using a goal focusing approach. The results should be useful to producers and policy makers in the study area and in other areas where poultry production is linked to water quality, and contribute to a more sustainable poultry sector.Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,