Collaboration within the UK Farm Industry

This paper addresses the effectiveness of the traditional models of cooperation, and analyses best practices in other commercial sectors in order to identify transferable elements. The Report of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food (2002) identified a need for farmers to cooperate and collaborate more effectively in their business activities in order to be more competitive. The Plunkett Foundation (1992) suggests that in order to play an important role in the maintenance of the rural economy the Farmer Controlled Business should adopt more imaginative approaches. Using an inductive grounded theory approach and guided interview techniques, experts in the field of business collaboration were selected using a purposive sample approach and interviewed using an iterative Delphi model. Interviewees were leading academics, government officials and managers of the most profitable and/or innovative EU based cooperatives. Having been asked to identify and evaluate the operational characteristics of traditional models of cooperation, respondents were encouraged to identify the ideal characteristics of any replacement business frameworks. A culture of "arm focus"and a lack of "global" understanding were identified as very important factors affecting cooperation. In addition to this, the intrinsic limitations of the traditional model of cooperation were recognized as an important limitation, as well as the personal characteristics and skills of the members were identified as relevant barriers. The paper concludes that addressing the problems of culture and attitude is a long-term process. Therefore the solution could come from models, where the members do not necessarily have the required vision or culture, but they are part of a bigger organization that has the needed consumer and food chain focus. The key factor is to gain recognition of the need to fundamentally address organizational structure.cooperatives, collaboration, supply food chain, organizational structure, farming, Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,

Efficient organization of the farm industry in the north central region of the United States in 1959 and 1980

For the organization of the farm industry to be efficient in terms of income maximization would require that farm output be produced at minimum factor cost, that aggregate farm output clear the market at prices covering the factor opportunity costs and that the product mix be geared to the consumers’ wants. Meeting these requirements would mean that the income of individual farm operators would be maximized and that the farm industry would make its maximum contribution to national income. Implicit in conducting the research reported here was the hypothesis that existing resource and production characteristics of the farm industry were not approximations to the economic efficiency conditions. Specifically, we hypothesized that the farming industry contained two major types of resource imbalances

Unvarnished Inhumanity: America’s Factory Farm Industry

As exposed through a variance of media outlets, the United States is often inept in its endorsement of farm animal welfare laws; while incidents depicting the cruel mistreatment of farm animals are plentiful, the federal government enforces only two laws that address the issue directly. The 28 Hour Law and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, however pure in intent, are severely limited in scope, and according to reports from the USDA, handling violations are frequent yet rarely result in longstanding consequences. Consequently, this research provides a comprehensive overview of the activity within the factory farm industry so that, in placing this within the context of John Kingdon\u27s Multiple Streams theory on public policy, I may determine whether the United States should anticipate a shift in legislation within this policy area. This approach allowed me to examine various components of policy -- such as the determination of a public problem, a viable legislative solution, and evidence of political cohesion -- and conclude that, due to adverse economic effects and resistance toward overbearing governmental regulations, the United States in unlikely to enact comprehensive legislation addressing farm animal welfare in the foreseeable future

Changes in the Western Australian dairy farm industry

Over the past decade, the number of dairy cows and the number of producers in the Western Australian dairy industry have steadily declined. The industry still relies heavily on market milk quotas for its profits, but recent export contracts have boosted profits from manufacturing milk production. Market milk quotas remain unevenly distributed across the dairy regions and amongst quotaholders, although the regional distribution of quotas is changing

Investment prospects in fish feed technology

The author endeavours to analyse the recent trend in the local production of fish by sector over a period of 5 years, 1980-1985 and the data available to the author on the Nigerian fish imports. The present and future deficit in fish production in Nigeria could only be met from the capture fishery and the fish farm industry but more likely from the latter. The production techniques involved in fish feed industry are illustrated in this paper with standard feed formulations to arrive at a suitable fish diet. Associated problems of fish feed industry and their possible solutions are highlighted. A case study of investment prospects in fish feed industry as well as the production of brine shrimps are suggested as possible areas of investments in the industry. The unit production cost of fish feed is about 700/ton, while in the case of artemia (brine shrimp), the estimated unit cost if about 400/to

POLICY FOR COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE

Agribusiness,

Snake prices and crocodile appetites: Aquatic wildlife supply and demand on Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

Commercial trade is a major driver of over-exploitation of wild species, but the pattern of demand and how it responds to changes in supply is poorly understood. Here we explore the markets for snakes from Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia to evaluate future exploitation scenarios, identify entry points for conservation and, more generally, to illustrate the value of multi-scale analysis of markets to traded wildlife conservation. In Cambodia, the largest driver of snake exploitation is the domestic trade in snakes as crocodile food. We estimate that farmed crocodiles consume between 2.7 and 12.2 million snakes per year. The market price for crocodiles has been in decline since 2003, which, combined with rising prices for their food, has led to a reduced frequency of feeding and closure of small farms. The large farms that generate a disproportionate amount of the demand for snakes continue to operate in anticipation of future market opportunities, and preferences for snakes could help maintain demand if market prices for crocodiles rise to pre 2003 levels. In the absence of a sustained demand from crocodile farms, it is also possible that alternative markets will develop, such as one for human snack food. The demand for snakes, however, also depends on the availability of substitute resources, principally fish. The substitutability and low price elasticity of demand offers a relatively sustainable form of consumerism. Given the nature of these market drivers, addressing consumer preferences and limiting the protection of snakes to their breeding season are likely to be the most effective tools for conservation. This study highlights the importance of understanding the structure of markets and the behaviour of consumer demand prior to implementing regulations on wildlife hunting and trade