Krachtvoerprijs bepaalt economische duurzaamheid biologisch bedrijf

Melkveehouders kunnen economische motieven hebben om over te stappen op de biologische bedrijfsvoering. Ook vanuit meer ideologische motieven kan worden overgestapt. Overstap naar een biologische bedrijfsvoering leidt echter niet tot een verbetering van de winstgevendheid van het bedrijf. Het biologische bedrijf scoort wel duidelijk beter op imago en milie

Caring Dairy: A Sustainable Dairy Farming Initiative in Europe

Interest in the concept of sustainability in dairy farming has grown as a result of the continuous pressure on farm incomes, occurrence of animal diseases with a major impact on the image of dairy farming, concerns about animal welfare, and environmental problems caused by agriculture. There are, however, still many gaps in the knowledge regarding sustainable dairy farming. Respecting the earth and the environment and "giving back to community" is a fully integrated part of the Mission Statement of ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's. Following this mission, they have initiated a sustainable dairy farming project, "Caring Dairy", for the European production based in the Netherlands. The aim of Caring Dairy is to secure dairy production in a more sustainable way and to develop guidelines for Sustainable Dairy Farming Practices (SDFP). The approach of Caring Dairy is based on Unilever's sustainable agriculture approach. At this moment 11 dairy farmers participate in Caring Dairy and a baseline measurement for all 11 indicators (soil fertility and health, soil loss, nutrients, pest management, biodiversity, energy, water, farm economics, social human capital, local economy and animal welfare) has been done from where improvement plans, both on a strategic and indicator specific level, have been developed tailored to the specific situation and priorities of the individual farmers. An iterative process of implementation of the improvement plans, measurement, analysis and re-adjusting the plans will lead ultimately to the guidelines for SDFP. Caring Dairy shows the innovation power of supply chains by the bottom-up development of good dairy farming practices in cooperation with all relevant supply chain partners, which goes beyond existing initiatives related to sustainability in the dairy sector.Sustainability, Dairy farming, Strategic management, Bottom-up approach, Chain partners, Livestock Production/Industries,

The lithic assemblage from Lapa da Galinha (Alcanena, Portuguese Estremadura) and the “Cave Megalithism” phenomenon in the 4th and 3rd millennium BCE

The present work proposes to present the analysis results of the flaked stone artefacts from Lapa da Galinha, a cave necropolis, located in the Estremadura Limestone Massif, that is a classic example of the funerary practices of the 4th and 3rd millennium BCE. The excavation dates back to 1908, and it was performed by members of the current National Museum of Archaeology, resulting in an extensive votive ensemble, associated with a minimum number of 70 burials. The evident collective nature of the burials, the votive ensemble and the rituals there identified emphasise its “Cave Megalithism” character, an expression that invokes only one of the many facets of the complex phenomenon that is Megalithism. Since the Megalithic funerary structures, such as natural caves, are utilized over a long period of time, it’s not easy- but not impossible- to reclaim in full, the events that took place. Focusing on the flaked stone artefacts, the main goal of this text is to contribute to the reconstruction of the belief system that characterizes the Neolithic and Chalcolithic communities from this region. Hence, the morpho-technological criteria, that followed previously established standards, and raw material analysis of the artefactual categories, even on a macroscopic level, were absolutely essential for us to suggest an extensive diachrony of the funerary use of the natural cave With that in mind, we reflected on the importance of the transformations that occur within the material culture exposed throughout the text and their chronological meaning, but also on the true potential of this artefactual category as a tool to build a solid perspective regarding the symbolism inherent to these funeral practices

De ontwikkeling van een meetinstrument:de pelletkachel in Boerakker

Dit rapport beschrijft de ontwikkeling van een enquête. De enquête moet de interesse naar het gebruik van pelletkachels meten. De interesse wordt gemeten in de kleine dorpen in Noord-Nederland. Daarnaast is een informatieve flyer ontworpen die bij de enquête bijgevoegd wordt om de respondenten informatie te geven over de pelletkachel. Het doel van het onderzoek: De ontwikkeling van een bruikbare enquête om de interesse inpelletkachels te meten. Probleemstelling: Onduidelijkheid over het draagvlak voor de pelletkachels in kleine dorpen in Noord-Nederland. Er is in een eerdere fase van het onderzoek een interview gehouden met initiatiefgroepen uit Boerakker. De output van het interview, waarin veel informatie is vergaard, is gebruikt voor de input van de enquête. De aanbevelingen die worden gedaan zijn als volgt te formuleren: Voordat de enquête uitgezet wordt, moeten de respondenten op de hoogte worden gebracht door middel van een mailing. Hierbij krijgen de enquêteerden informatie over de datum wanneer ze de enquête kunnen verwachten. Daarnaast wordt er op geattendeerd dat er bij het afnemen van de enquête eerst de inhoudelijke vragen worden gesteld om vervolgd te worden door de persoonsgegevens. Hierdoor wordt de nadruk gelegd op de inhoud, wat relevant is voor het vervolg van het onderzoek voor het Kenniscentrum Gebiedsontwikkeling NoorderRuimte. Studentenonderzoek in het kader van het thema Duurzaam bouwen

Melkveehouderij in Australië

Eens per twee jaar organiseert de International Farm Management Association (IFMA) een congres. Dit jaar presenteerde Perth (West-Australië) zich aan ongeveer 250 deelnemers uit 29 landen. De melkveehouderij in West Australië produceert slechts 4 % van de totale melkproductie in Australië. Op dit moment zijn ongeveer 325 melkveehouders actief in het gebied wat ongeveer zo groot is als West Europa. Voor het beheersen van de kostprijs kan nog veel worden geleerd van de Australische collega's

An LP-Model to Analyse Economic and Ecological Sustainability in Dutch Dairy Farming

Since the enactment of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, owners and operators of farms and ranches have opportunities to evaluate new estate planning strategies for the transfer of farm businesses to subsequent generations. However, with provisions of the Act to be phased in over several years, consideration must be given to having a "staged" estate plan. Under provisions of the current law, estate tax is repealed in the year 2010, but if Congress does not act, the legislation sunsets and returns to prior law January 1, 2011. This fact provides planning challenges for owners and operators of farms and ranches as the phase-in of provisions, the repeal in 2010, and the return to prior law relative to estate planning and business inter-generational transfer of property. This paper investigates the planning process and options available as they relate to a family-owned property in North Carolina, USA. Plans made must take into consideration the dynamics of a changing legislative environment, special-use valuation of land, opportunity cost of alternative uses for land, and off-farm heirs.Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,

Duurzaamheid meetbaar!

In vele rapporten en artikelen wordt uitvoerig over de duurzaamheid van de melkveehouderij gediscussieerd. Wat duurzaamheid concreet inhoudt is echter vaak niet duidelijk. Het Praktijkonderzoek heeft voor vier verschillende deelgebieden van duurzaamheid (economie, intern sociaal, extern sociaal en ecologie) indicatoren vastgesteld. Door het meten van deze indicatoren wordt een goed beeld verkregen van de duurzaamheid op melkveebedrijven. Bovendien kan inzicht worden verkregen in scenario's die op meerdere deelgebieden van duurzaamheid, dus ook economisch, winst kunnen opleveren

Alterations in Cerebrospinal Fluid in Patients with Bipolar Syndromes

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe and lifelong condition. Primary endogenic polygenetic forms are common. Secondary organic forms have received increasing interest recently due to the detection of immunological encephalopathies that mimic various psychiatric syndromes, including bipolar disorder. However, only limited data about routine findings of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analyses in bipolar disorder are available. Therefore, we investigated the frequency of alterations in the CSF in patients with BD and the association with autoantibodies, cerebral magnetic resonance imaging, and electroencephalography findings.CSF samples of patients with BD collected from January 1998 until December 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. Patients with preexisting causes for alterations in the CSF (e.g., patients with obvious past or current neurological disorders) were excluded. In total, 63 patients with BD fulfilled the inclusion criteria for the study. In 1.6% of the patients with BD, an increased white blood cell count was found in the CSF. Increased albumin quotients were found in 12.9% of the patients, oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in 1.6%, and increased immunoglobulin (Ig) G indices in 3.2% (OCBs were not measured in case of increased IgG indices). No significant differences in CSF findings were found between patients with manic and depressive episodes. The main findings of this open uncontrolled study are that alterations in the CSF may be found in a small but potentially relevant subgroup of patients with BD. These findings are discussed in light of the new concepts of mild encephalitis and immunological encephalopathy. The detection of patients with possibly secondary organic bipolar syndromes could open up new causal treatment options with immunomodulatory medication