Quantifying Potential Long-term Changes in Erosion, Discharge, and Total Suspended Solids Resulting from Agricultural Land Use Change in South Dakota

South Dakota is a mosaic of grasslands, wetlands, and cropland. A continuing shift from grassland to cropland has occurred over the past decade and is expected for the next 50 years. Rate of future conversion may vary greatly in response to regulatory, economic, and social factors. Concern has risen over environmental consequences associated with land conversion, which include but are not limited to changes in rill and sheet erosion rates from cultivated soils, stream and river discharge, and water quality. Quantifying future changes for these three externalities is important to understand the possible long-term consequences of complex grassland conversion decisions such as soil loss, flooding or drought, and diminished water quality. Systems Thinking and System Dynamics (SD) methodology was used to model complex land use and soil-related factors over time. The SD model replicated historic annual erosion rates (metric-tons/ha), discharge [million cubic meters (MCM)], and average total suspended solids (TSS; mg/L) from 1947 to 2012 with relative accuracy and precision in four South Dakota watercatchments, which included the Big Sioux, James, Bad, and Belle Fourche rivers. The SD model was utilized to forecast future annual and cumulative erosion [million metric-tons (Mt)], discharge (MCM), and TSS (mg/L) change under different potential future grassland conversion rates and conservation and conventional tillage from 2012 to 2062. Forecasted environmental externalities increased for policy scenarios that promoted grassland conversion but decreased for scenarios that limited grassland conversion to cropland or promoted grassland restoration. Policy implementation is likely to have the same general impact toward the reduction or increase of erosion, discharge, and TSS as cumulative estimates were 70 ̶ 77%, \u3c 1 ̶ 10%, and 70 ̶ 76% greater for the worst-case scenario compared to the best-case scenario estimates, respectively. However, externality change was greater in western verses eastern water-catchments. Results may provide producers, policymakers, and other stakeholders more specific quantitative estimates to assess the future impact of grassland conversion decisions. Additionally, comparisons between these estimates provide support that addressing grassland conversion issues and cultivation practices are important in order to preserve and conserve soil and water resources

Improving Heifer Development Programs Using Precision Technology and DDGS

Study Description: Heifers were stratified into two groups based on initial body weight and each group was randomly assigned to one of two treatments: a control group (n=30) and a precision group (n=30). Treatment groups are separated into different pastures to graze dormant native range from November to April. Groups are rotated monthly to reduce individual pasture influence. Heifers in the control group are supplemented as a group and bunk fed 5lb/head/day with dried distiller grain pellets (DDGS). Heifers within the precision group will be supplemented individually using the SmartFeed system (C-Lock Inc. Rapid City, SD) and offered 5lb/head/day DDGS pellets. Individual daily weight and daily rate of gain will be measured within both groups using SmartScale technology. A time series trend analysis will be used to forecast animal BW at time of breeding, ensure individual heifer gain is satisfactory and adjust amount of supplement delivered to ensure animals are achieving target weight gains

Comparing the Impact of Continuous and Virtually Fenced Rotational Grazing on Animal Behavior and Distribution

Study Description: Six herds of yearling steers (n=127) will graze native summer pastures from May to August at the Cottonwood Field Station near Philip, South Dakota. Six pastures are divided into two groups: a continuous grazing (CG) treatment with a low, moderate, and high stocking density and a virtually fenced rotational (VFR) grazing system with the same stocking densities. VenceTM virtual fence collars were placed on all animals within the study and collected GPS data at 5-minute intervals. The CG collars are not actively managed. The VFR system is actively managed through the collars and rotated based on the amount of available forage and grazing utilization. Results from this study will analyze daily distance traveled, amount of time spent grazing, grazing distribution and impact on animal behavior between the two systems

Using Precision Technology to Measure Cattle Methane Emissions and Intake on Western South Dakota Rangelands

Study Description: Cattle DMI is an essential component of calculating cattle stocking rates, determining nutrient requirements, and evaluating feed efficiency. Cattle DMI and digestion of forages impact enteric greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; a major public and environmental concern. Increased GHG levels indicate energy loss during the rumen fermentation process. Obtaining data for rangeland cattle DMI and GHG emissions is needed to understand and enhance individual animal performance and reduce negative environmental impacts. We will develop enteric emissions and DMI relationships by conducting three feeding trials using the GreenFeed and SmartFeed Pro (C-Lock Inc. Rapid City, SD). The GreenFeed will measure real-time gas fluxes and the SmartFeed Pro will measure daily intake by calculating disappearance from the feeder. The three feeding trials will consist of dry beef cows (n = 12) receiving low, high, and intermediate quality forages treatments with a 15 day adjustment period and a 15 day period of collection. Using these data, regression, artificial neural network, and dynamic-mechanistic models will develop and assessed to identify a model that accurately and precisely predicts forage DMI for dry beef cows on pasture

Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on Agriculture and Food Supply Chains: System Dynamics Modeling for the Resilience of Smallholder Farmers

COVID-19 has caused severe agriculture and food supply chain disruptions; significantly affecting smallholder farmers who supply most of the world’s food; specifically their changes in vulnerability; resilience; and food loss and waste. Therefore; the objective of this study was to understand the complex causal and feedback relationships for this system by developing a dynamic hypothesis and causal loop diagrams utilizing the System Dynamics methodology. Results provide a roadmap for dialogue and a framework for case-specific model development and help to guide policy decisions for smallholder farmers’ survival during health crises

ASAS–NANP Symposium: Mathematical Modeling in Animal Nutrition: Opportunities and Challenges of Confned and Extensive Precision Livestock Production

Modern animal scientists, industry, and managers have never faced a more complex world. Precision livestock technologies have altered management in confned operations to meet production, environmental, and consumer goals. Applications of precision technologies have been limited in extensive systems such as rangelands due to lack of infrastructure, electrical power, communication, and durability. However, advancements in technology have helped to overcome many of these challenges. Investment in precision technologies is growing within the livestock sector, requiring the need to assess opportunities and challenges associated with implementation to enhance livestock production systems. In this review, precision livestock farming and digital livestock farming are explained in the context of a logical and iterative fve-step process to successfully integrate precision livestock measurement and management tools, emphasizing the need for precision system models (PSMs). This fve-step process acts as a guide to realize anticipated benefts from precision technologies and avoid unintended consequences. Consequently, the synthesis of precision livestock and modeling examples and key case studies help highlight past challenges and current opportunities within confned and extensive systems. Successfully developing PSM requires appropriate model(s) selection that aligns with desired management goals and precision technology capabilities. Therefore, it is imperative to consider the entire system to ensure that precision technology integration achieves desired goals while remaining economically and managerially sustainable. Achieving long-term success using precision technology requires the next generation of animal scientists to obtain additional skills to keep up with the rapid pace of technology innovation. Building workforce capacity and synergistic relationships between research, industry, and managers will be critical. As the process of precision technology adoption continues in more challenging and harsh, extensive systems, it is likely that confned operations will beneft from required advances in precision technology and PSMs, ultimately strengthening the benefts from precision technology to achieve short- and long-term goals

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass