More water for everything? The problem of bogus water savings in northern Victoria, Australia

The Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) spent the latter decades of the 20th century fully integrating the surface and sub-surface drainage systems with the water distribution network in northern Victoria, thereby enabling complete recycling of outfalls, leaks and seepage from its channels. Yet in 2007, in repudiation of this recycling capacity, DSE announced a multibillion dollar modernisation project it claims will “create” 450 GL of “new water” by reducing “inefficiencies” in the channel distribution system. Examination of the northern Victorian irrigation supply system shows it was fully integrated with more than adequate recycling capacity before the project began. In a classic case of double counting, DSE was already delivering the illusory “new water” to regional irrigators and billing them for it. Thus the project cannot deliver real water savings and the Government must effectively reduce irrigation entitlement to increase entitlements for urban consumption and environmental flows. The financial and economic impact of bogus water savings on stakeholders is discussed in terms of the opportunity cost of appropriated irrigation entitlement and of the effect of overcapitalisation of the distribution system on annual capital charges and thus the viability of irrigation and the operating water authority.double counting, opportunity cost, real water savings, recycling, Political Economy, Public Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Economic Evaluation of Irrigated Dairy Forage Production.

An optimisation model was developed to compare the profitability of different forage species on irrigated dairy farms. The model is driven by the energy and protein requirements of the milking cow. The objective of the model is to maximise income, after herd and feed costs, by selecting the area of the farm sown to particular forage species. Different forage species may require different animal production systems to optimise their profitability. In order to achieve this, the model can alter the herd size and structure, level of production, concentrate feeding regime and forage conservation and feeding on a monthly basis.Dairy cows, Modelling, Forage., Farm Management,

Managing Nitrogen for Optimum Profit and Minimum Environmental Loss

With volatile crop and nitrogen prices, greater environmental concerns and awareness, and increasing efforts to minimize risk, farmers are searching for information to establish an effective and profitable N management game plan. However, the N management game plan is not simple. It becomes complex as various uncontrollable soil and weather factors are involved as well as the controllable factors of N rate, time and method of application, N source, nitrification inhibitors, etc. Best management practices (BMPs) for N are broadly defined as economically sound, voluntary practices that are capable of optimizing profitability, minimizing the loss of nitrate to surface and ground water, and reducing risk. In Minnesota, BMPs have been identified for various areas of the state depending on climate, soil, and geologic features. Management practices are placed into three categories

POTENTIAL HEALTHCARE SAVINGS FROM PLANT STEROL ENRICHED FOODS IN CANADA

Increased consumption of foods containing plant sterols has the potential to reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and thus reduce costs associated with treating that disease in a significant way. This paper reports the results of an investigation of the potential monetary benefits of allowing foods enriched with plant sterols to be marketed in Canada. The objective of this research was to estimate the annual savings that would accrue to Canada’s single-payer publicly funded health care system if plant sterols were approved for use. If foods containing plant sterols are consumed at a sufficient rate, a reduction in CHD should follow. This research employs a variation of traditional cost-of-illness analysis entailing four steps: (i) estimation of a “success rate” (proportion of persons who would consume plant sterols at the necessary rate); (ii) presumption of blood cholesterol reduction due to plant sterol consumption; (iii) assumption of reduction in CHD that follows from blood cholesterol reduction; (iv) calculation of cost savings associated with reduced incidence of CHD. Calculations were carried out for four scenarios: ideal, optimistic, pessimistic, and very pessimistic. It was estimated that between $38 million (very pessimistic scenario) and$2.45 billion (ideal scenario) could be saved annually by Canada’s health care system with plant sterol enriched food products being made available for sale.coronary heart disease, cost of illness analysis, health care costs, success rate, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, I18,

Memoirs of Odd Adventures

https://commons.und.edu/settler-literature/1017/thumbnail.jp

Nitrogen Management Influences on N Losses to Tile and Surface Water

Nitrogen (N) is a naturally occurring element that is essential to plant growth and crop production. Agriculture has been identified frequently as a major contributor of nitrate-nitrogen to surface water throughout the developed world. Omernik (1977) reported that total N concentrations were nearly nine times greater downstream from agricultural lands than downstream from forested areas with the highest concentrations being found in the Corn Belt States of the Upper Mississippi Basin. Nitrate-N is continually supplied to streams and rivers through mineralization of soil organic matter, particularly where tile drainage has exposed formerly wet soils to oxidation and through the application of fertilizer and animal manures to crop land

Fall vs Spring Application of Nitrogen

Fall application of nitrogen (N) has been a way-of-life for many Upper Midwest farmers for a number of years. The primary advantages of fall compared to spring application are: (1) spread out the work load for both the farmer and dealer, (2) reduce potential soil compaction by eliminating another field operation in the spring, and (3) slight price advantages for fall application. But with the eight-month period between application and the time of greatest N uptake by com, the potential loss of N from the soil system increases. These potential losses lead to poorer economic return and contamination of surface and groundwaters via leaching out of the crop rooting zone

Assessing the role of protists in removing E coli in slow sand filters

The organic layer that forms on top of the sand bed in slow sand filters, known as the schmutzdecke, is vital for bacterial removal. The schmutzdecke consists of abundant bacteria and protists, and is where suspended particles can be strained, organic matter compounds broken down, and microorganisms are entrapped. Some varieties of protists prey upon bacteria. Their role in bacterial removal is not well quantified. The goal of this study was to confirm the relationship between filter run time and protistan abundance, to determine the significance of protistan predation on E. coli, and whether protists can be seeded onto filters to improve SSF startup times. Results from a series of bench- and full-scale experiments confirmed a relationship between increased ripening time and increased biomass, protistan abundance, and E. coli removals. The seeding studies showed increased protistan populations in some filters, and a strong correlation between protistan abundance and CO2 respiration

Memoirs of Odd Adventures

https://commons.und.edu/settler-literature/1131/thumbnail.jp