921 research outputs found
Organic Dairy Farming
The technical guide addresses the issues relevant to the organic dairy sector sector, acknowledging the questions that are frequently directed to the technical ‘Helpline’ of Organic Centre Wales. It is intended as a guide document for those with an interest in organic dairy production and points the way to those who wish to look in greater depth at the issues raised.
This guide is in three interrelated parts. The first part, written principally by Richard Weller of IGER, deals primarily with technical issues of grassland and dairy herd management, and provides practical information for dairy farmers on key factors influencing the performance of the system and also provides options for changing to alternative strategies. It draws heavily on studies at carried out at IGER’s organic dairy farm, Ty Gwyn, which have been conducted over a number of years and funded by a number of awards. Ty Gwyn is a Farming Connect Organic Development Farm and is frequently used to demonstrate good practice.
Part 2 is a review of the financial performance of dairy farming in Wales is provided by Andrew Jackson, of the Institute of Rural Sciences, University of Wales Aberystwyth. It is based mainly on two DEFRA funded studies:
• Data for organic farms extracted from the main Farm Business Survey in Wales
• A four year project focusing specifically on organic farms, drawing on all Farm Business Survey data collected for organic farms across England and Wales as well as independently collected data.
From these data, it is possible to derive whole farm income data, gross margin and cost of production data to give an overview of the economics of organic dairy farming in Wales for the latest recorded financial periods (2004/05).
The third and final part consists of 2 farmer case studies, which put many of the issues discussed in parts 1 and 2 in the context of individual farm businesses. We are grateful for the co-operation of the Fordham and Ridge families
Optimizing the yield of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich cluster surveys
We consider the optimum depth of a cluster survey selected using the
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. By using simple models for the evolution of the
cluster mass function and detailed modeling for a variety of observational
techniques, we show that the optimum survey yield is achieved when the average
size of the clusters selected is close to the size of the telescope beam. For a
total power measurement, we compute the optimum noise threshold per beam as a
function of the beam size and then discuss how our results can be used in more
general situations. As a by-product we gain some insight into what is the most
advantageous instrumental set-up. In the case of beam switching observations
one is not severely limited if one manages to set the noise threshold close to
the point which corresponds to the optimum yield. By defining a particular
reference configuration, we show how our results can be applied to
interferometer observations. Considering a variety of alternative scenarios, we
discuss how robust our conclusions are to modifications in the cluster model
and cosmological parameters. The precise optimum is particularly sensitive to
the amplitude of fluctuations and the profile of the gas in the cluster.Comment: 16 pages, 18 figure
Comparison of the physical and financial performance of organic dairy farming systems (OF0146)
This is the final report from Defra project OF0146
Two different systems of organic milk production were studied during the 1998-2002 period. The systems were established at the IGER Ty Gwyn organic dairy farm during the 1998/99 period. The systems were based either on achieving self-sufficiency in both home-grown forage and concentrate feeds or on the production of home-grown forage and the purchase of concentrate feeds. The data collected included recording the changes in the soil indices, level of crop production, crop quality, level of milk production, milk quality, animal health and herd reproductive performance of the two systems.
The main attached report starts with a detailed executive summary.
In the modelling work fifty-four different strategies for organic dairy production were evaluated. Performance data from three commercial organic dairy farms with different climatic conditions (Devon, Pembrokeshire and Shropshire) and cropping strategies (arable with all home-grown feed, home-grown forage only, home-grown forage + purchased concentrates) and also data from the two Ty Gwyn systems was inputted into three models (SAC Dairy Systems, SAC FeedByte, IRS OrgPlan) to evaluate the potential performance from different organic systems. The results produced a range of different options and rankings in relation to their potential financial performance and use of resources. The results from the data modelling predicted the best financial performance and utilisation of resources would be achieved by the establishment of an arable system on the Pembrokeshire farm. The lowest financial performance was predicted to be from the establishment of purchased concentrate systems on the Shropshire and Pembrokeshire farms, with the poorest utilisation of resource use indicators from both the establishment of a forage-only system on the Shropshire farm and purchased feed systems on both the Shropshire and Pembrokeshire farms. In relation to financial indicators the modelling work showed little difference between the two Ty Gwyn systems.
The financial performance of Ty Gwyn was compared with ten commercial organic dairy farms, monitored during the 1998-2002 period. Of the ten commercial farms, four had been organic for a number of years, three were recently converted and three were in conversion. The net farm income of the Ty Gwyn SS system increased from 1998/99 to 1999/00 to a peak of £25,453 but then declined sharply following a fall in the price paid for organic milk to a loss of -£14,269 in 2001/02. In the Ty Gwyn PC system the net farm income increased to £24,122 in 2000/01 but then fell sharply to a loss of -£4,825 in 2001/02. The peak net farm incomes on the commercial farms were recorded in the 1999/00 period, with either a small loss (<-£50/ha) recorded on the well established farms or a small profit (<£50/ha) on the recently converted farms in 2001/02
An overview on the role and potential of forage production on lowland organic livestock farms
This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference of the Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR).
This paper outlines some of the factors influencing the level of forage production on organic lowland farms. Optimal forage production is achieved by maintaining soil fertility, providing a balance between N-fixing and N-demanding crops and producing sufficient quantities of quality feed to meet the requirements of the organic livestock enterprise. A key objective for organic systems is to increase the efficiency of forage production by improving the nutrient input/output balance of the wholefarm system. Improving forage quality reduces the requirement for external feed sources, leading to increased self-sufficiency in the wholefarm system. Legumes provide the main source of nitrogen for forage production with energy shortage and an erratic supply of protein the main limiting factors in the provision of balanced diets from home-grown crops
100% Organic Livestock Feeds – preparing for 2005
A project entitled “100% Organic Livestock Feeds – Preparing for 2005” looking at the implications for organic farmers of the removal of the current derogation to use a percentage of non-organic livestock feeds.
1) Researching the required volume of feed stuff, in particular protein crops, and potential for feed production within Wales.
2) Researching the suitability of alternative protein sources, and evaluating livestock systems regarding the potential for a reduction in energy and protein levels.
3) Proposing strategies for the development and stimulation of the industry
Constraining dark sector perturbations II: ISW and CMB lensing tomography
Any Dark Energy (DE) or Modified Gravity (MG) model that deviates from a
cosmological constant requires a consistent treatment of its perturbations,
which can be described in terms of an effective entropy perturbation and an
anisotropic stress. We have considered a recently proposed generic
parameterisation of DE/MG perturbations and compared it to data from the Planck
satellite and six galaxy catalogues, including temperature-galaxy (Tg), CMB
lensing-galaxy and galaxy-galaxy (gg) correlations. Combining these observables
of structure formation with tests of the background expansion allows us to
investigate the properties of DE/MG both at the background and the perturbative
level. Our constraints on DE/MG are mostly in agreement with the cosmological
constant paradigm, while we also find that the constraint on the equation of
state w (assumed to be constant) depends on the model assumed for the
perturbation evolution. We obtain (95% CL; CMB+gg+Tg)
in the entropy perturbation scenario; in the anisotropic stress case the result
is . Including the lensing correlations shifts the
results towards higher values of w. If we include a prior on the expansion
history from recent Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) measurements, we find
that the constraints tighten closely around , making it impossible to
measure any DE/MG perturbation evolution parameters. If, however, upcoming
observations from surveys like DES, Euclid or LSST show indications for a
deviation from a cosmological constant, our formalism will be a useful tool
towards model selection in the dark sector.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures; minor update for consistency with version
accepted by JCAP (13/01/2015
Nitric Oxide–Containing Nanoparticles as an Antimicrobial Agent and Enhancer of Wound Healing
Nitric oxide (NO) is known to be involved in wound healing and to have antimicrobial actions. Developing a means of delivering a diatomic, gaseous free radical has been a technical challenge. Using a combination of techniques, Martinez and colleagues have developed an ingenious method of storing NO, and they demonstrate its efficacy in treating infected wounds
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