the aim of this study was to evaluate aflatoxin contamination in feed and milk in dairy farm in kermanshah. alfalfa, corn silage and milk samples from 9 industrial and semi industrial dairy farms were collected during 2 months. blood samples were collected via tail venipuncture from 10 % of dairy cows in each farm for biochemical and hematological parameters. aflatoxin contamination in feeds an...

This article proposes a semi-parametric stochastic frontier model (SPSF) in which components of the technology and of technical efficiency are represented using semi-parametric methods and estimated in a Bayesian framework. The approach is illustrated in an application to US farm data. The analysis shows important scale economies for small and medium herds and constant return to scale for large...

Semi-natural features among farmland have a key role in maintaining wildlife rural landscapes. Practical conservation requires knowledge of which combinations are greatest value and whether this differs faunal groups. We used ‘landscape’ approach to investigate the relative importance birds insects (bees, flies, wasps) three wooded typical south-eastern Australia: scattered trees, roadsides str...

The expansion of sugarcane for biofuels is a highly contentious issue. The growth of sugarcane area has occurred simultaneously with a reduction of dairy production in São Paulo state, the primary production region for sugar and ethanol in Brazil. This paper analyses different dairy farm rationales to continue dairy production in the context of a dramatically expanding sugarcane economy. Combin...

Serious shrimp-disease outbreaks have reduced shrimp production and slowed industry growth since 1991. This paper tests factors such as farm sitting and design, and farm-management practices for relationships with disease occurrence. Logistic regression is used to analyze farm-level data from 3951 shrimp farms in 13 Asian countries. Disease occurrence is modeled as a 0-1 variable where 1 = dise...

although water deficiency has been seriously taken up as a subject in reducing crop production in arid and semi–arid areas, nevertheless little information has been published regarding its effects on seed quality. to evaluate the effects of irrigation regimes (full irrigation (control), irrigation until flowering stage, irrigation until doughing stage and irrigation until eight-leaf stage) on g...

OBJECTIVE Our objective was to pilot collaborations between two urban farms with two corner stores to increase access to fresh produce in low-income neighbourhoods. DESIGN We conducted a pre-post evaluation of two farm-store collaborations using quantitative distribution and sales data. Using semi-structured interviews, we qualitatively assessed feasibility of implementation and collaboration...

Objective: Our objective was to pilot collaborations between two urban farms with two corner stores to increase access to fresh produce in low-income neighbourhoods. Design: We conducted a pre–post evaluation of two farm–store collaborations using quantitative distribution and sales data. Using semi-structured interviews, we qualitatively assessed feasibility of implementation and collaboration...