An Economic Evaluation of Conservation Farming Practices for the Central West of NSW

Economic benefits that arise from conservation farming practices need to be assessed over several years to account for improvements in soil structure and nutrient levels. A gross margin model was used to assess benefits over the eight-year period 1999-2006 for 12 regions in the central west of NSW. The annual benefits from improved soil structure ranged from $2.46 to$12.82 per hectare (ha). A reduction in tractor power produced annual savings in the range of $0.60 to$4.05 per ha. The cost of soil compaction by livestock grazing on crop areas ranged from $3.41 to$14.90 per ha. The break-even time to pay back costs for the conversion of machinery for no-till seeding was two to three seasons.No-till, conservation, farming, tillage, cropping systems, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management,

Identification of substitute muscle groups for retail beef demand and supply equations

In modelling retail meat demand and supply equations it is difficult to identify close substitutes or competing products. However, close substitutes can be identified through a comparison of meat attributes, especially cooking method and sensory attributes. The Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading system can be used to identify primals (whole muscles) with similar attributes. The MSA system is based on carcase attributes, cooking methods and sensory properties and it allocates 3, 4 or 5 stars to beef primals. Prices for different star grades are affected by the quantity of meat allocated into each grade and this is determined by cooking method, which is dependent upon season. Estimating demand and supply by MSA grades and cooking methods requires fewer variables and therefore reduces multicollinearity and increases model efficiency.MSA, beef cuts, sensory attributes and cooking methods.,

Grower representation and its impact on the governance structure of the Australian Grains Industry

The Australian wheat industry has changed considerably in structure and governance during the past 15 years. The most important changes have been the deregulation of the domestic market and privitisation of the former Australian Wheat Board into AWB Limited. Through these changes growers have become shareholders in the various companies. Governance of the monopolistic relationship between AWB Limited and AWB International by the Federal Minister of Agriculture and the Grains Council of Australia through the Wheat Export Authority has proved ineffective. Hence a national organisation that represents shareholders is recommended to increase grower governance of the supply chain and marketing of wheat.grain, marketing, infrastructure, competition, governance, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Marketing,

Full potential solution of transonic quasi-3-D flow through a cascade using artificial compressability

The three-dimensional flow in a turbomachinery blade row was approximated by correcting for streamtube convergence and radius change in the throughflow direction. The method is a fully conservative solution of the full potential equation incorporating the finite volume technique on body fitted periodic mesh, with an artificial density imposed in the transonic region to insure stability and the capture of shock waves. Comparison of results for several supercritical blades shows good agreement with their hodograph solutions. Other calculations for these profiles as well as standard NACA blade sections indicate that this is a useful scheme analyzing both the design and off-design performance of turbomachinery blading

Motor brush wear measured with strain gages

Balanced bridge circuit, supplied with low-voltage direct current and connected to a readout device, measures remaining brush material, rate of brush wear, armature runout, and brush signature

On the domain of the assembly map in algebraic K-theory

We compare the domain of the assembly map in algebraic K-theory with respect to the family of finite subgroups with the domain of the assembly map with respect to the family of virtually cyclic subgroups and prove that the former is a direct summand of the later.Comment: Published by Algebraic and Geometric Topology at http://www.maths.warwick.ac.uk/agt/AGTVol3/agt-3-35.abs.htm

A hedonic model of lamb carcass attributes

Lamb carcass value is widely reported to be a function of lean meat yield, which is the relationship between muscle, fat and bone. Five retailers and five wholesalers assessed 47 lamb carcasses from diverse genotypes and scored seven attributes. A hedonic model reveals that conformation attributes were more highly valued (16 c/kg) relative to yield characteristics (4 c/kg). Meat colour and fat distribution were significant for retailers, but less important for wholesalers. Genotype was not a strong indicator of conformation. Eye muscle area and depth were correlated with Fat C; however, these were not significant. These results indicate that carcass conformation, meat colour and fat distribution should be incorporated into carcass grading models.Hedonic, lamb, conformation and meat value, attributes, Livestock Production/Industries,

Advanced space system analysis software. Technical, user, and programmer guide

The LASS computer program provides a tool for interactive preliminary and conceptual design of LSS. Eight program modules were developed, including four automated model geometry generators, an associated mass properties module, an appendage synthesizer module, an rf analysis module, and an orbital transfer analysis module. The existing rigid body controls analysis module was modified to permit analysis of effects of solar pressure on orbital performance. A description of each module, user instructions, and programmer information are included

Using the event calculus for tracking the normative state of contracts

In this work, we have been principally concerned with the representation of contracts so that their normative state may be tracked in an automated fashion over their deployment lifetime. The normative state of a contract, at a particular time, is the aggregation of instances of normative relations that hold between contract parties at that time, plus the current values of contract variables. The effects of contract events on the normative state of a contract are specified using an XML formalisation of the Event Calculus, called ecXML. We use an example mail service agreement from the domain of web services to ground the discussion of our work. We give a characterisation of the agreement according to the normative concepts of: obligation, power and permission, and show how the ecXML representation may be used to track the state of the agreement, according to a narrative of contract events. We also give a description of a state tracking architecture, and a contract deployment tool, both of which have been implemented in the course of our work.