Management of investment processes on Finnish farms

Structural change in agriculture means a continuous need for investing in farm production. It is essential for the sustainable operations and the economy of the farm that such investments are successful. In this research, different stages of the investment process of farms were studied as well as the use of information and the success perceived during the investment process. The study was carried out with mail surveys and telephone interviews on the Finnish Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) farms. The most challenging investments were in animal husbandry buildings and, as to these investments, the comparison of alternatives was the most challenging stage. For most investments, the planning phase was considered more challenging than the implementation. Before making the decision, farmers acquired information from many sources, of which the opinion of the main customer and the experiences of fellow farmers were the most valued. Some of the products considered were so new on the market that it was not easy to get adequate information and, furthermore, the information given by suppliers was not always accurate. Decision-making was supported by calculations, but qualitative factors had a dominating role. Large basic decisions were made relatively quickly, while details needed a longer time to process. In general, farm managers were satisfied with their investments. Improvements in work quality and quantity were especially mentioned and generally qualitative factors were the ones first in mind when evaluating the successfulness of the investment

Thermostabilities of grain ß-amylase and ß-glucanase in Finnish landrace barleys and their putative past adaptedness

vokEripainoksia saatavissa tekijöiltä. Yksikön huom.: KJ

Työn ja talouden hallinta laajentaneilla lypsykarjatiloilla

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, miten viljelijäperheen sekä palkatun työvoiman tekemänmaataloustyön määrä on tilan tuotannon laajennuksen yhteydessä muuttunut ja miten laajennus onvaikuttanut tilan toimintoihin ja kannattavuuteen. Lisäksi tarkasteltiin viljelijöiden jaksamista jastressikokemuksia sekä laajennusvaiheessa ja sen jälkeen tilalla ilmeneviä ongelmia.Tutkimusaineistona käytettiin vuoden 2002 kirjanpitotilojen taloudellisia tuloksia sekäkirjanpitotiloille samana vuonna tehtyä kyselyä. Kirjanpitotila-aineistossa oli 156 viljelijäkyselyynvastannutta lypsykarjatilaa, joiden tiedot olivat tarkastelussa mukana vuosina 1998-2002. Tutkimuksessaasetettujen peltoalan ja lehmämäärän kasvamiseen perustuvien kriteerien avulla aineistosta poimittiin 66tuotantoaan laajentanutta tilaa. Laajentaneiden ja ei-laajentaneiden tilojen välisiä eroja ja viljelijäperheenjaksamiseen vaikuttaneita tekijöitä tutkittiin käyttämällä ei-parametrisia menetelmiä. Laajentaneidentilojen ongelmia tarkasteltiin faktori- ja ryhmittelyanalyysilla.Laajentaneilla tiloilla kokonaistyömäärä oli ei-laajentaneita tiloja suurempi, samoin investointitöitäja muita maataloustöitä (sisältää mm. johtamistyön) tehtiin näillä tiloilla eniten. Palkatun työvoiman osuusoli laajentaneilla tiloilla tilastollisesti merkitsevästi ei-laajentaneita tiloja suurempi. Vieraan työn määrä olikuitenkin lisääntynyt kaikilla tiloilla. Laajentaneilla tiloilla kannattavuuskerroin oli vuosina 1998-1999 eilaajentaneitatiloja alhaisempi. Kahtena tarkastelujakson viimeisenä vuotena kannattavuuskerroin olilaajentaneilla tiloilla jo merkitsevästi suurempi kuin ei-laajentaneilla tiloilla.Laajentaessaan tuotantoa viljelijät uskoivat enemmän tulevaisuuteen kuin ei-laajentaneet viljelijäteivätkä kokeneet yhtä paljon stressiä mahdollisista toimintaympäristön muutoksista. Suhtautuminenelämiseen ja yrittämiseen oli laajentaneiden tilojen viljelijöillä myönteisempää kuin ei-laajentaneidentilojen viljelijöillä. Mitä suurempi oli tilan kokonaistyömäärä, sitä enemmän stressiä työmäärä aiheutti.Faktori- ja ryhmittelyanalyysien perusteella lypsykarjatiloista muodostui ryhmiä, joillalaajentamisvaiheen ongelmallisuus vaihteli. Ensimmäisen, suurimman (24 tilaa) ryhmän tiloilla toiminnotoli suunniteltu ja organisoitu toisia huolellisemmin tai laajennusta ei koettu ongelmalliseksi. Toisenryhmän tiloilla (18 kpl) ei päästy hyödyntämään laajentunutta tuotantokapasiteettia täysimääräisesti hetilaajennuksen jälkeen, ja ongelmina olivat tuotannon epätasapaino ja töiden hallinta. Kolmannessaryhmässä, johon kuului vajaa kolmannes tiloista, ongelmia aiheuttivat tilan johtaminen ja rahoituksenjärjestäminen. Tilan laajennukseen liittyvillä ongelmilla ei kuitenkaan havaittu olevan yhteyttä tähäntutkimukseen valittuihin tilakokoa, työnmenekkiä ja taloudellista tulosta kuvaaviin taustamuuttujiin

Investointiin kuuluu monta vaativaa vaihetta

Investointi on konkreettinen keino vaikuttaa yrityksen tulevaisuuteen. Maatilayrittäjä voi saada kehityshankkeelleen yhteiskunnan tukea, mutta yrittäjän on kuitenkin itse viime kädessä otettava riskit ja kannettava niistä vastuu. MTT:ssä meneillään oleva tutkimus tarkastelee investointiprosessia käytännössä ja etsii kehityskohteita investoinnin onnistumisen parantamiseksi.vo

Modeling Signal Transduction Leading to Synaptic Plasticity: Evaluation and Comparison of Five Models

An essential phenomenon of the functional brain is synaptic plasticity which is associated with changes in the strength of synapses between neurons. These changes are affected by both extracellular and intracellular mechanisms. For example, intracellular phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cycles have been shown to possess a special role in synaptic plasticity. We, here, provide the first computational comparison of models for synaptic plasticity by evaluating five models describing postsynaptic signal transduction networks. Our simulation results show that some of the models change their behavior completely due to varying total concentrations of protein kinase and phosphatase. Furthermore, the responses of the models vary when models are compared to each other. Based on our study, we conclude that there is a need for a general setup to objectively compare the models and an urgent demand for the minimum criteria that a computational model for synaptic plasticity needs to meet.Peer reviewe

Genome-wide Association Study and Genomic Prediction for Fusarium graminearum Resistance Traits in Nordic Oat (Avena sativa L.)

Fusarium head blight (FHB) and the accumulation of deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin induced by Fusarium graminearum and other Fusarium fungi cause serious problems for oat production in the Nordic region (Scandinavia, Fennoscandia). Besides toxin accumulation, FHB causes reduction in grain yield and in germination capacity. Here, genomic approaches for accelerating breeding efforts against FHB and DON accumulation were studied. Resistance-related traits included DON content, F.graminearum DNA (relative to oat DNA) content (qFUSG) measured with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Fusarium-infected kernels (FIKs) and germination capacity (GC). Plant germplasm used in the study consisted of mostly breeding lines, and additionally, a few cultivars and exotic accessions. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) and genomic prediction, enabling genomic selection (GS) on the resistance-related and collected agronomic traits, were performed. Considerable genetic correlations between resistance-related traits were observed: DON content had a positive correlation (0.60) with qFUSG and a negative correlation (-0.63) with germination capacity. With the material in hand, we were not able to find any significant associations between markers and resistance-related traits. On the other hand, in genomic prediction, some resistance-related traits showed favorable accuracy in fivefold cross-validation (GC = 0.57). Genomic prediction is a promising method and genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) generated for germination capacity are applicable in oat breeding programs.Peer reviewe

Genome-wide Association Study and Genomic Prediction for Fusarium graminearum Resistance Traits in Nordic Oat (Avena sativa L.)

Fusarium head blight (FHB) and the accumulation of deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin induced by Fusarium graminearum and other Fusarium fungi cause serious problems for oat production in the Nordic region (Scandinavia, Fennoscandia). Besides toxin accumulation, FHB causes reduction in grain yield and in germination capacity. Here, genomic approaches for accelerating breeding efforts against FHB and DON accumulation were studied. Resistance-related traits included DON content, F. graminearum DNA (relative to oat DNA) content (qFUSG) measured with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Fusarium-infected kernels (FIKs) and germination capacity (GC). Plant germplasm used in the study consisted of mostly breeding lines, and additionally, a few cultivars and exotic accessions. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) and genomic prediction, enabling genomic selection (GS) on the resistance-related and collected agronomic traits, were performed. Considerable genetic correlations between resistance-related traits were observed: DON content had a positive correlation (0.60) with qFUSG and a negative correlation (−0.63) with germination capacity. With the material in hand, we were not able to find any significant associations between markers and resistance-related traits. On the other hand, in genomic prediction, some resistance-related traits showed favorable accuracy in fivefold cross-validation (GC = 0.57). Genomic prediction is a promising method and genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) generated for germination capacity are applicable in oat breeding programs

Genome-wide Association Study and Genomic Prediction for Fusarium graminearum Resistance Traits in Nordic Oat (Avena sativa L.)

Fusarium head blight (FHB) and the accumulation of deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin induced by Fusarium graminearum and other Fusarium fungi cause serious problems for oat production in the Nordic region (Scandinavia, Fennoscandia). Besides toxin accumulation, FHB causes reduction in grain yield and in germination capacity. Here, genomic approaches for accelerating breeding efforts against FHB and DON accumulation were studied. Resistance-related traits included DON content, F. graminearum DNA (relative to oat DNA) content (qFUSG) measured with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Fusarium-infected kernels (FIKs) and germination capacity (GC). Plant germplasm used in the study consisted of mostly breeding lines, and additionally, a few cultivars and exotic accessions. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) and genomic prediction, enabling genomic selection (GS) on the resistance-related and collected agronomic traits, were performed. Considerable genetic correlations between resistance-related traits were observed: DON content had a positive correlation (0.60) with qFUSG and a negative correlation (−0.63) with germination capacity. With the material in hand, we were not able to find any significant associations between markers and resistance-related traits. On the other hand, in genomic prediction, some resistance-related traits showed favorable accuracy in fivefold cross-validation (GC = 0.57). Genomic prediction is a promising method and genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) generated for germination capacity are applicable in oat breeding programs

Sensitivity analysis of biophysically-detailed tripartite synapse model

publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Analysis of network models with neuron-astrocyte interactions

publishedVersionPeer reviewe