Seasonality and Costs of Production on Irish dairy farms from 1994-2008

working paperPrevious research has highlighted the economic advantages of spring calving in countries such as Ireland that have a long spring/summer grazing season. However, the widespread adoption of such a production system leads to a highly seasonal milk supply and a range of problems that are associated with seasonality. The objective of this paper is to use historical data to quantify the economic benefits of a spring calving system. Data from over 400 dairy farms in Ireland over a period of 15 years is examined. Fixed, random and between effects panel models are estimated to test the significance of calving season on production costs. The results show the effect of calving season is significant at lowering production costs. These models returned results suggesting that high compact early Spring herds have significantly lower costs than over seasons. However the fixed effect model demonstrates little difference between production costs in different seasons suggesting individual effects such as the ability of the farmer may play a role in reduction of costs. Herds that are calved over a shorter period tend to have lower production costs

The Strategic Development of Irish Livestock Marts.

End of Project ReportA study of co-operative livestock marts revealed that cumulative marts turnover decreased by 26% from 1990 to 1999: Commission income as a percentage of turnover increased from 2% in 1990 to 3.2% in 1999. However operating expenses increased by 25% from 1990 to 1999. Operating expenses have since 1997, surpassed commision income, thus putting co-op marts in a collective loss making situation from their mart activities. However overall profit from co-op mart societies (including profit generated from all business activities) almost doubled between 1990 and 1999. While overall profitability of livestock marts societies has increased, twelve of thirty nine marts were in a loss making situation in 1999. Four of these marts have been in a permanent loss - making situation since 1990. All loss making societies in 1999 have little or no involvement in non-mart activities and almost all operate from just one site. In general, the large diversified societies are showing profitability. A number of strategic alternatives to deal with their situation were placed before mart executives. A diversification strategy is by far the most likely strategy to be adopted by marts for the future Most marts are unlikely to consider merging with other societies. Most marts have no plans to downsize and exit from the industry is not considered an option by any society. There is a recognition that there is an urgent need to rationalise the industry, but this strategy is likely to meet with a strong resistance from marts . A problem with rationalisation is that there are no incentives to make this strategy a reality. On the one hand, management would be reluctant to follow this approach, as it may be perceived to reflect badly on their own performance or may result in them being forced to seek alternative employment. On the other hand, the shareholders have little to gain and much to lose if the mart closes. Projections of past trends and impact of new policies would suggest continuing decline in turnover and profitability in the co-operative mart sector. Rationalisation is therefore absolutely essential. The industry cannot sustain the present number of marts. Diversification seems the most obvious option for the future of the industry. In general marts that have diversified are profitable and there is no reason why this trend cannot continue into the future

The Irish Hardy Nursery Stock Industry: Recent Trends and Competitive Position.

End of Project ReportTh Irish Hardy Nursery Stock (HNS) industry has grown considerably in recent times. For the industry to maintain this level of growth it must remain competitive, particularly relative to the UK and the Netherlands, Ireland's main trading partners for HNS. Consequently, the objectives of this research were to (i) establish the size and value of the Irish HNS industry in 1999/2000, and (ii) examine the relative competitiveness of the Irish HNS industry, using profitability and value as indicators of competitiveness. A census of the Irish HNS industry was carried out between September 2000 and June 2001 to establish the size and value of the industry. The results of the census showed that the net value of plants produced on Irish nurseries amounted to €30.6m in 1999, an increase of €6.8m from €23.4m at the last census in 1996. In the same period the total area devoted to HNS production also increased from 391 ha in 1997 to 465ha in 1999. Kildare remains the most important county in the industry in terms of value because of the large area devoted to outdoor containerised production and production under protection. In terms of competitiveness, unpaid labour (imputed) had a significant effect on profitability levels for the three countries. When an imputed charge for unpaid labour was included in the analysis, the UK and Ireland had relatively higher Net Nursery Income (NNI) than the Netherlands. However, when the imputed charge for unpaid labour was excluded from the analysis, Ireland and the Netherlands had relatively higher NNI values than the UK. Firm size and mechanisation levels, were examined as possible sources of inter-firm variations in costs of production and profits. Economies of scale appeared to be evident as nursery size increased from `small' to `medium' and dissipated as nursery size increased from `medium' to `large'. This indicated that the minimum economic size for HNS production appeared to be relatively low. Based on the observed relationship between labour productivity and mechanisation levels, it is possible to infer that future mechanisation of the Irish industry may provide a partial solution to labour availability problems. Although the Irish HNS industry showed a competitive cost advantage, the low added value content of the Irish product is not a reassuring sign for the industry. The research revealed that the competitive potential of the industry in the Netherlands, based on relative value-added properties, was ahead of the Irish and UK industries. However, the Netherlands has not fully succeeded in converting this potential into competitive performance in the Irish market for HNS. The Irish HNS industry remains the largest supplier of HNS to the domestic market, although HNS available from the Netherlands was seen as given better value. In order for the Irish industry to remain competitive in the future the competitive strategies which the industry adopts must be re-evaluated. Distinct market segments were observed in the Irish market, which offers potential for a focused competitive strategy, which may suit smaller specialist producers. The critical buying criteria identified and subsequent relative performance of the Irish industry should provide the information, which is required for a competitive strategy of differentiation

A mechanism for the inhibition of DNA-PK-mediated DNA sensing by a virus

The innate immune system is critical in the response to infection by pathogens and it is activated by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) binding to pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). During viral infection, the direct recognition of the viral nucleic acids, such as the genomes of DNA viruses, is very important for activation of innate immunity. Recently, DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), a heterotrimeric complex consisting of the Ku70/Ku80 heterodimer and the catalytic subunit DNA-PKcs was identified as a cytoplasmic PRR for DNA that is important for the innate immune response to intracellular DNA and DNA virus infection. Here we show that vaccinia virus (VACV) has evolved to inhibit this function of DNA-PK by expression of a highly conserved protein called C16, which was known to contribute to virulence but by an unknown mechanism. Data presented show that C16 binds directly to the Ku heterodimer and thereby inhibits the innate immune response to DNA in fibroblasts, characterised by the decreased production of cytokines and chemokines. Mechanistically, C16 acts by blocking DNA-PK binding to DNA, which correlates with reduced DNA-PK-dependent DNA sensing. The C-terminal region of C16 is sufficient for binding Ku and this activity is conserved in the variola virus (VARV) orthologue of C16. In contrast, deletion of 5 amino acids in this domain is enough to knockout this function from the attenuated vaccine strain modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA). In vivo a VACV mutant lacking C16 induced higher levels of cytokines and chemokines early after infection compared to control viruses, confirming the role of this virulence factor in attenuating the innate immune response. Overall this study describes the inhibition of DNA-PK-dependent DNA sensing by a poxvirus protein, adding to the evidence that DNA-PK is a critical component of innate immunity to DNA viruses

Breaking Functional Connectivity into Components: A Novel Approach Using an Individual-Based Model, and First Outcomes

Landscape connectivity is a key factor determining the viability of populations in fragmented landscapes. Predicting ‘functional connectivity’, namely whether a patch or a landscape functions as connected from the perspective of a focal species, poses various challenges. First, empirical data on the movement behaviour of species is often scarce. Second, animal-landscape interactions are bound to yield complex patterns. Lastly, functional connectivity involves various components that are rarely assessed separately. We introduce the spatially explicit, individual-based model FunCon as means to distinguish between components of functional connectivity and to assess how each of them affects the sensitivity of species and communities to landscape structures. We then present the results of exploratory simulations over six landscapes of different fragmentation levels and across a range of hypothetical bird species that differ in their response to habitat edges. i) Our results demonstrate that estimations of functional connectivity depend not only on the response of species to edges (avoidance versus penetration into the matrix), the movement mode investigated (home range movements versus dispersal), and the way in which the matrix is being crossed (random walk versus gap crossing), but also on the choice of connectivity measure (in this case, the model output examined). ii) We further show a strong effect of the mortality scenario applied, indicating that movement decisions that do not fully match the mortality risks are likely to reduce connectivity and enhance sensitivity to fragmentation. iii) Despite these complexities, some consistent patterns emerged. For instance, the ranking order of landscapes in terms of functional connectivity was mostly consistent across the entire range of hypothetical species, indicating that simple landscape indices can potentially serve as valuable surrogates for functional connectivity. Yet such simplifications must be carefully evaluated in terms of the components of functional connectivity they actually predict

Lawson criterion for ignition exceeded in an inertial fusion experiment

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion

The Strategic Development of Irish Livestock Marts.

End of Project ReportA study of co-operative livestock marts revealed that cumulative marts turnover decreased by 26% from 1990 to 1999: Commission income as a percentage of turnover increased from 2% in 1990 to 3.2% in 1999. However operating expenses increased by 25% from 1990 to 1999. Operating expenses have since 1997, surpassed commision income, thus putting co-op marts in a collective loss making situation from their mart activities. However overall profit from co-op mart societies (including profit generated from all business activities) almost doubled between 1990 and 1999. While overall profitability of livestock marts societies has increased, twelve of thirty nine marts were in a loss making situation in 1999. Four of these marts have been in a permanent loss - making situation since 1990. All loss making societies in 1999 have little or no involvement in non-mart activities and almost all operate from just one site. In general, the large diversified societies are showing profitability. A number of strategic alternatives to deal with their situation were placed before mart executives. A diversification strategy is by far the most likely strategy to be adopted by marts for the future Most marts are unlikely to consider merging with other societies. Most marts have no plans to downsize and exit from the industry is not considered an option by any society. There is a recognition that there is an urgent need to rationalise the industry, but this strategy is likely to meet with a strong resistance from marts . A problem with rationalisation is that there are no incentives to make this strategy a reality. On the one hand, management would be reluctant to follow this approach, as it may be perceived to reflect badly on their own performance or may result in them being forced to seek alternative employment. On the other hand, the shareholders have little to gain and much to lose if the mart closes. Projections of past trends and impact of new policies would suggest continuing decline in turnover and profitability in the co-operative mart sector. Rationalisation is therefore absolutely essential. The industry cannot sustain the present number of marts. Diversification seems the most obvious option for the future of the industry. In general marts that have diversified are profitable and there is no reason why this trend cannot continue into the future

Seasonality and Costs of Production on Irish dairy farms from 2000-2007

This paper examines the relationship between calving date and production costs on Irish dairy farms from 2000-2007. Using data from the National Farm Survey, the median calving dates of 400 dairy farms are studied each year using econometric analysis to determine the relationship between calving date and production costs. Farms are divided into five categories according to their median calving date. These categories are imputed into a panel dataset as dummy variables. Unobservable individual effects are controlled for using a fixed effect model; examples of such effects are land quality and managerial ability, Results suggest that when scale and those unobserved effects are controlled for, there was no significant difference in total cost of production per litre according to median calving dat