Organic farm incomes in England and Wales 2006/07 (OF 0373)

In the report, we present results of research on the financial performance of organic farms in 2006/07 carried out for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The main aim of this work is to assess the financial performance of organic farms differentiated by farm type, in order to inform Defra policy-making with respect to economics of organic farming, and to provide a basis for assessments by farmers, advisers and other interested parties of the farm-level implications of conversion to and continued organic farming. This research builds on previous work on the economics of organic farming carried out at Aberystwyth University (Projects OF0190, covering 1995/96 to 1998/99 and OF0189, covering 1999/00 to 2004/05). In this report, financial data are shown for the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years, including between year comparisons and comparisons with similar conventional farms. For this report only, it has not been possible to produce identical samples for all farm types due to the change in data collection approach between 2005/06 and 2006/07. Identical sample comparisons have only been possible for lowland dairy and lowland and LFA cattle and sheep systems. The identical farm samples comprise farms that are present in both the 2005/06 and 2006/07 datasets. The total number of organic farms for 2006/07, also referred to as the full farm sample data, is shown alongside the identical datasets. In the other cases, data for the full samples in 2005/06 and 2006/07 are presented, but comparisons should be treated with caution due to changes in sample composition. Summarised and detailed financial input, output, income, returns to labour and capital, liabilities and assets and some physical performance measures are presented based on current Farm Business Survey (FBS) data collection and collation guidelines. The full samples of organic farms per robust farm type are sufficiently large to give some reasonable level of confidence in the data although it should be noted that the organic farm samples are not statistically representative of their type. However, the results can be seen as a reasonable indication of farm income levels for comparable organic and conventional farms. Smaller farm samples should be treated more cautiously as there is a possibility for outliers (especially larger farms) to have a significant influence on the average results. An additional element of this work is the inclusion of comparable conventional farm data (obtained from the main FBS sample) for the farm types shown. Each organic farm within this study was matched with an appropriate cluster of conventional farms based on the resource endowment indicators for individual organic farms. The indicators included farm type, FBS region, Less Favoured Area (LFA) status, utilisable agricultural area (UAA), milk quota held (where applicable) and farm business size. The cluster farm data were averaged for each farm type to derive the comparable conventional farm (CCF) data based on the organic farms from the identical and full farm samples. The identical samples of organic farms showed a much higher level of net farm incomes for lowland dairy and lowland cattle and sheep in 2006/07 than in 2005/06, with LFA cattle and sheep showing a small decrease over the period. Overall, organic net farm incomes exceeded conventional in all sectors, with most sectors showing an organic NFI twice that of the comparative conventional NFI. Increased organic prices and only small cost increases have led to substantial increases in organic NFI, especially in the livestock sectors

Endogenous Games and Mechanisms: Side Payments Among Players

We characterize the outcomes of games when players may make binding offers of strategy contingent side payments before the game is played. This does not always lead to efficient outcomes, despite complete information and costless contracting. The characterizations are illustrated in a series of examples, including voluntary contribution public good games, Cournot and Bertrand oligopoly, principal-agent problems, and commons games, among others.game theory, mechanism design, contracts, side payments, endogenous games, public goods

Augustana Seniors Fall 1884: William Mering Reck

William Mering Reck was a senior at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, in the fall of 1884. His name appears in the college catalog of 1884 – 1885, along with his birthplace, the year of his birth, and a few other facts. From this start, we researched the genealogy and family history of Reck. This paper contains a short biography of Reck, a report on his ancestors, a report on his descendants, and some open questions for further research

The complex adoption pathways of digital technology in Australian livestock supply chains systems

This paper reviews early experiences, expectations and obstacles concerning the adoption of digital technologies in Australian livestock systems. Using three case studies of publicly-available information on Australia’s red meat industry, we identify the process of digitally enhanced value creation according to four themes: (1) supply chain operability; (2) product quality; (3) animal welfare; and (4) innovation and learning. We find reasons for both optimism and pessimism concerning the adoption of digital agriculture. While digital technology is being offered by various stakeholders to support collaboration within supply chains, it is also being met with scepticism amongst some producers who are not actively engaging with a digital transformation. We identify that the ‘technology fallacy’, which proposes that organisations, people, learning and processes are as important to digital transformation as the technology itself; but while digital technologies enable change, it is the people who determine how quickly it can occur. We argue that – since quality appears to be the major basis on which Australian red meat producers will compete in global markets – the broad adoption of digital technology will prove increasingly essential to future growth and sustainability of this supply chain

Non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy, sudden death and implantable defibrillators: a review and meta-analysis

Objective: The recent Danish Study to Assess the Efficacy of ICDs in Patients with Non-ischemic Systolic Heart Failure on Mortality (DANISH) trial suggested that implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) do not reduce overall mortality in patients with non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy (NICM), despite reducing sudden cardiac death. We performed an updated meta-analysis to examine the impact of ICD therapy on mortality in NICM patients. Methods: A systematic search for studies that examined the effect of ICDs on outcomes in NICM was performed. Our analysis compared patients randomised to an ICD with those randomised to no ICD, and examined the endpoint of overall mortality. Results: Six primary prevention trials and two secondary prevention trials were identified that met the pre-specified search criteria. Using a fixed-effects model, analysis of primary prevention trials revealed a reduction in overall mortality with ICD therapy (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.91). Conclusions: Although our updated meta-analysis demonstrates a survival benefit of ICD therapy, the effect is substantively weakened by the inclusion of the DANISH trial—which is both the largest and most recent of the analysed trials—indicating that the residual pooled benefit of ICDs may reflect the risk of sudden death in older trials which included patients treated sub-optimally by contemporary standards. As such, these data must be interpreted cautiously. The results of the DANISH trial emphasise that there is no ‘one size fits all’ indication for primary prevention ICDs in NICM patients, and clinicians must consider age and comorbidity on an individual basis when determining whether a defibrillator is appropriate