Supply Chain Practice, Supply Chain Performance Indicators and Competitive Advantage of Australian Beef Enterprises: A Conceptual Framework

This research focuses on an Australian agribusiness supply chain, the Australian Beef Supply Chain. The definition of the Australian Beef Supply Chain is the chain or sequence of all activities from the breeding property to the domestic or overseas consumers. The beef sector in Australia is undergoing rapid change because of globalisation, a highly competitive beef market (local and export), quicker production cycle and delivery times and consequently reduced inventories, a general speed-up of the rate of change in the business environment, the trend toward more outsourcing of activities, and the rapid development of IT. In this business environment, advanced supply chain systems have the potential to provide significant contributions to Australian beef industry performance. A conceptual framework of the research project has been proposed. There are three elements of conceptual framework. Firstly, supply chain practice of Australian beef industry consists of five sub-elements such as strategic supplier partnerships, customer relationships, information sharing, information quality and a lean system. Moreover, there is an antecedent of cooperative behaviour such as trust and commitment influencing supply chain practice and supply chain performance indicators. Secondly, supply chain performance indicators include four sub-elements such as flexibility, efficiency, food quality and responsiveness. Finally, the competitive advantage framework of the Australian beef enterprises consists of price, quality, export sales growth and time to market. As a further step of the research after developing the conceptual framework, the research project focuses the analysis on how the antecedents of the sub-elements of supply chain practice affect supply chain performance in Australian beef enterprises, how trust and commitment in trading partners affect supply chain performance, how attributes such as flexibility, efficiency, food quality and responsiveness influence the sub-elements of competitive advantage. The research project leads on to further work on how Australian beef enterprises measure their supply chain performance and what the major difficulties are arising when implementing supply chain management in the Australian beef industry and what kind of changes can be made to beef supply chains to enhance their performance.Agribusiness,

Book reviews

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Farm Management in Australia: The Way Forward

This paper summarises the outcomes of a National Workshop in Farm Management, 5-6 December 2002, organised by the University of Sydney, Faculty of Rural Management, Orange. At this Workshop leading farmers, industry leaders, corporate representatives, academics, researchers and extension officers explored the future of farm management (education, research and consultancy) in Australia. Major outcomes were that farm management practice is proceeding informally to undertake decisions supporting socially and ecologically friendly, sustainable commercial production agriculture. However the risks of lack of integration, a reductionist approach to only on-farm practice, stagnation of academic programs to respond to leading edge industry initiatives, as well as ill-defined boundaries for farm management research were identified. The analysis indicated that formal educational models, research and extension-consultancy frameworks of an holistic nature, and a multiple bottom line perspective, were appropriate avenues for the future development of farm management practice and research. Workshop participants perceived that a farm management strand emphasising business management rather than technology could be a better educational model. Also there was an emphasis in highlighting the importance of linked development and partnership amongst the different players. The Workshop created the conditions for development of networks among industry, education and consultative research.Farm Management,

Climatic, edaphic, and biotic controls over storage and turnover of carbon in soils

Soil carbon, a major component of the global carbon inventory, has significant potential for change with changing climate and human land use. We applied the Century ecosystem model to a series of forest and grassland sites distributed globally to examine large-scale controls over soil carbon. Key site-specific parameters influencing soil carbon dynamics are soil texture and foliar lignin content; accordingly, we perturbed these variables at each site to establish a range of carbon concentrations and turnover times. We examined the simulated soil carbon stores, turnover times, and C:N ratios for correlations with patterns of independent variables. Results showed that soil carbon is related linearly to soil texture, increasing as clay content increases, that soil carbon stores and turnover time are related to mean annual temperature by negative exponential functions, and that heterotrophic respiration originates from recent detritus (∼50%), microbial turnover (∼30%), and soil organic matter (∼20%) with modest variations between forest and grassland ecosystems. The effect of changing temperature on soil organic carbon (SOC) estimated by Century is dSOC/dT= 183e−0.034T. Global extrapolation of this relationship leads to an estimated sensitivity of soil C storage to a temperature of −11.1 Pg° C−1, excluding extreme arid and organic soils. In Century, net primary production (NPP) and soil carbon are closely coupled through the N cycle, so that as temperatures increase, accelerated N release first results in fertilization responses, increasing C inputs. The Century-predicted effect of temperature on carbon storage is modified by as much as 100% by the N cycle feedback. Century-estimated soil C sensitivity (−11.1 Pg° C−1) is similar to losses predicted with a simple data-based calculation (−14.1 Pg° C−1). Inclusion of the N cycle is important for even first-order predictions of terrestrial carbon balance. If the NPP-SOC feedback is disrupted by land use or other disturbances, then SOC sensitivity can greatly exceed that estimated in our simulations. Century results further suggest that if climate change results in drying of organic soils (peats), soil carbon loss rates can be high

Elevated CO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Enhances Productivity and the C/N Ratio of Grasses in the Colorado Shortgrass Steppe

Atmospheric CO2 concentrations have been increasing since the industrial revolution, and are projected to double within this century over today\u27s concentration of 360 µmol mol-1 . This study used six open-top chambers in the Colorado, USA shortgrass steppe to investigate how increasing CO2 will affect productivity and C and N status of indigenous perennial grasses and forbs. From March until October, chambers were placed on two plots in each of the three blocks. In each block, one chamber was assigned an ambient CO2 treatment (~360 µmol mol-1), the other an elevated CO2 treatment (~720 µmol mol-1). Each block also had an unchambered control plot. Growth under elevated CO2 increased above-ground phytomass an average 31% in 1997 and 47% in 1998, with no differences in relative growth responses of C3 and C4 grasses and forbs. Growth in chambers was greater than non-chambered control plots, presumably due to warmer temperatures in chambers and a longer growing season. Shoot N concentrations were reduced 21% and C/N ratios increased 23% in elevated compared to ambient chambers. Variation in aboveground phytomass due to year, CO2 and chamber effects correlated well to % shoot N and C/N ratios, although for both traits different regression lines were required for green plant material (harvested in July) and senescent plant material (harvested in October). Results suggest increased growth and reduced N concentrations in this mixed C3/C4 grassland in an elevated CO2 environment

Children, family and the state : revisiting public and private realms

The state is often viewed as part of the impersonal public sphere in opposition to the private family as a locus of warmth and intimacy. In recent years this modernist dichotomy has been challenged by theoretical and institutional trends which have altered the relationship between state and family. This paper explores changes to both elements of the dichotomy that challenge this relationship: a more fragmented family structure and more individualised and networked support for children. It will also examine two new elements that further disrupt any clear mapping between state/family and public/private dichotomies: the third party role of the child in family/state affairs and children's application of virtual technology that locates the private within new cultural and social spaces. The paper concludes by examining the rise of the 'individual child' hitherto hidden within the family/state dichotomy and the implications this has for intergenerational relations at personal and institutional levels

Primary production of the central grassland region of the United States

Includes bibliographical references (pages 44-45).Aboveground net primary production of grasslands is strongly influenced by the amount and distribution of annual precipitation. Analysis of data collected at 9500 sites throughout the central United States confirmed the overwhelming importance of water availability as a control of production. The regional spatial pattern of production reflected the east-west gradient in annual precipitation. Lowest values of aboveground net primary production were observed in the west and highest values in the east. This spatial pattern was shifted eastward during unfavorable years and westward during favorable years. Variability in production among years was maximum in northern New Mexico and southwestern Kansas and decreased towards the north and south. The regional pattern of production was largely accounted for by annual precipitation. Production at the site level was explained by annual precipitation, soil water-holding capacity, and an interaction term. Our results support the inverse texture hypothesis. When precipitation is 370 mm/yr

Ecological Impact Of Historical Land‐Use Patterns In The Great Plains: A Methodological Assessment

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117101/1/eap20051561915.pd

Applied Remote Sensing Program (ARSP)

There are no author-identified significant results in this report