ESTIMATING THE ECONOMIC GAINS FROM LARGER TOMATO TRANSPLANT CELL SIZES

This paper examines the costs and economic benefits of utilizing larger seedling transplant in commercial vegetable production. Larger transplants have been shown to mature earlier and yield more premium graded fruit. Offsetting these benefits is the increased cost of producing larger transplants, primarily from reducing the capacity of a transplant house.Crop Production/Industries,

MANURE VALUE AND LIVEWEIGHT SWINE DECISIONS

Produced as a joint product, economic theory suggests that manure value could influence livestock management decisions such as herd size and optimal market weights. This study examines the concept of manure and its connection with optimal replacement age or market weight. A model of a swine finishing operation representative of North Carolina conditions is developed. Over the range of conditions considered, manure value is negative and does not affect market weights. The marginal per head change in manure value is small relative to the marginal per head change in net returns from pork production. Further, economies of scale with respect to irrigation cause manure value to increase with herd size.Manure value, Market weight, Response surface, Swine, Livestock Production/Industries,

Harvest Cost and Value of Citrus Operations with Alternative Technology: Real Options Approach

The prospect of immigration policy reform has renewed growers’ concerns of serious labor shortages and cost increases. These concerns are more serious for specialty crop agriculture, not only because it is highly labor intensive, but also it requires labor in a very short period, particularly at harvest time. Two representative approaches of the investment valuation have been applied to the case of harvesting mechanization for the model citrus grower in Florida. Specifically, we applied the NPV approach and the real options approach (ROA) to processed-market Hamlin orange operations in Southwest Florida.Real options, NPV, mechanization, immigration policy, harvest cost, citrus operations, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, Labor and Human Capital, Risk and Uncertainty, Q14 – Agricultural Finance, J43 – Agricultural Labor Markets,

Optimal Harvest Time of Florida Valencia Oranges to Maximize Grower Returns

Research goals are to estimate the optimal harvest time of Florida Valencia oranges for Florida growers and calculate the economic consequences of harvesting inside or outside the optimal window. Determining the optimal fruit harvest time will help the industry anticipate how mechanical harvesting may affect deviations from this optimum.Crop Production/Industries,

Labor Cost and Value of Citrus Operations with Alternative Technology: Enterprise DCF Approach

The prospect of immigration policy reform has renewed growers’ concerns of serious labor shortages and cost increases given that a large portion of the workforce is unauthorized for U.S. employment. This concern of labor shortages and cost increases is more serious for specialty crop agriculture which is highly labor intensive. Specialty crop growers may address the problem in various ways, but likely options include adoption of mechanical harvesting. In the current paper we study the citrus industry case and estimate the value for two operational modes (hand and mechanical harvesting) using the enterprise discounted cash flow (DCF) approach. Further we implement a simulation to forecast how the value for each operational mode would change with a change in cost scenario.Value, Enterprise DCF approach, Labor cost, Citrus operations, Mechanization, Agricultural Finance, Labor and Human Capital, Q14, J43,

The "Phantom Costs" of Florida's Citrus Industry

Regulatory compliance, the "phantom costs of production," is an increasingly "fact-of-life" for U.S. agriculture. A survey was developed and implemented to enumerate regulatory compliance costs for Florida's 748,500 acres citrus industry. Complying with 61 production related regulations, 643,757 hours were expended at a total annual cost of over $24.3 million.Crop Production/Industries,

THE COSTS AND BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH ERADICATING CITRUS CANKER IN FLORIDA

A cost-benefit analysis of the on-going eradication of citrus canker in Florida is conducted. Costs include the losses incurred from eradicated groves. Benefits include elimination of the adverse effects of canker on citrus production and marketing.Crop Production/Industries,

Economic Analysis of Strategies to Combat HLB in Florida Citrus

citrus greening, huanglongbing, asian citrus psyllid, Crop Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Perceptions, attitudes and training needs of primary healthcare professionals in identifying and managing frailty: a qualitative study

PURPOSE: Although frailty can be delayed or prevented by appropriate interventions, these are often not available in countries lacking formal education and infrastructure in geriatrics. The aim of this study was to: (a) explore ideas, perceptions and attitudes of primary health care (PHC) professionals towards frailty in a country where geriatrics is not recognised as a specialty; (b) explore PHC professionals' training needs in frailty; and (c) define components of a frailty educational programme in PHC. METHODS: Qualitative design, using two focus groups with PHC professionals conducted in Thessaloniki, Greece. Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed with thematic analysis. RESULTS: In total 31 PHC professionals (mean age: 46 years; gender distribution: 27 females, 4 males) participated in the study (physicians n = 17; nurses n = 12; health visitors n = 2). Four main themes were identified: (1) Perceptions and understanding of frailty; (2) Facilitators and barriers to frailty identification and management; (3) Motivation to participate in a frailty training programme; (4) Education and training. The main barriers for the identification and management of frailty were associated with the healthcare system, including duration of appointments, a focus on prescribing, and problems with staffing of allied health professionals, but also a lack of education. Training opportunities were scarce and entirely based on personal incentive. Professionals were receptive to training either face-to-face or online. A focus on learning practical skills was key. CONCLUSION: Education and training of professionals and interdisciplinary collaboration are essential and much needed for the delivery of person-centred care for people with frailty living in the community