Alternative Production Systems Research Articles

Self-Reporting of Risk Pathways and Parameter Values for Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Slaughter Cattle from Alternative Production Systems by Kenyan and Ugandan Veterinarians.

Countries in which foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic may face bans on the export of FMD-susceptible livestock and products because of the associated risk for transmission of FMD virus. Risk assessment is an essential tool for demonstrating the fitness of one’s goods for the international marketplace and for improving animal health. However, it is difficult to obtain the necessary data for such risk assessments in many countries where FMD is present. This study bridged the gaps of traditional participatory and expert elicitation approaches by partnering with veterinarians from the National Veterinary Services of Kenya (n = 13) and Uganda (n = 10) enrolled in an extended capacity-building program to systematically collect rich, local knowledge in a format appropriate for formal quantitative analysis. Participants mapped risk pathways and quantified variables that determine the risk of infection among cattle at slaughter originating from each of four beef production systems in each country. Findings highlighted that risk processes differ between management systems, that disease and sale are not always independent events, and that events on the risk pathway are influenced by the actions and motivations of value chain actors. The results provide necessary information for evaluating the risk of FMD among cattle pre-harvest in Kenya and Uganda and provide a framework for similar evaluation in other endemic settings.

Applying Spatial Analysis to Create Modern Rich Pictures for Grassland Health Analysis

Grasslands are complex and heterogeneous ecosystems, and their health can be defined by the cumulative ability of their components to evolve, adapt, and maintain their integrity in the presence of stress/disturbance and provide ecosystem services. Herein, a design approach is used to generate alternative and multifunctional pastoral livestock production systems that enhance grassland health. As a way of understanding the complexity of grasslands and initiating the design process using systems thinking, rich pictures emerge as a useful method. As rich pictures are subjective views, geographic information systems (GIS) could be applied to improve the veracity of their outcomes, as both techniques are forms of an analytical process. This paper reports the application of GIS to a case study of a high-country farm to generate and combine different thematic maps to create a modern rich picture. The rich picture is a combination of remote sensing data (altitude, slope, aspects, and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)), and on-the-ground data (plant species distribution and diversity and soil chemical, biological, and physical parameters). Layers were combined using a multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) based on the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to create a final rich picture. The results highlight dissimilarities in perceptions of what underpins ‘grassland health’ between researchers in different fields and with different perspectives. The use of GIS produced a modern rich picture that enhanced the understanding of grassland health and allowed for the identification of gaps, values, and possibilities for future research work.

Organic onion biofortification using microalgae and humic acid

Biofortification can be understood as a strategy to raise nutrients levels in vegetables edible structures, which can positively interfere in human diet. Biofertilizers are an interesting option in alternative production systems, as they can increase food nutritional quality and contribute to plant development, while aiding environment sustainability as natural products. The use of microalgae and humic acid as biofertilizers points to improvements in nutrients and biomolecules content in plants, however, their combined application is still unexplored. In that scenario, it was carried a study with onions about the influence of applications via root immersion in microalgae Scenedesmus subspicatus (Sc) and humic acid (HA) solutions, analyzing possible alterations of macro and micronutrients, total sugars, reducing sugar, free total amino acids, , total soluble solids, soluble proteins and antioxidant capacity in the bulbs. Treatments consisted of one minute seedlings roots immersion from two onion cultivars in solutions containing microalgae and humic acid, and then transplanted to organic system field. There were used three concentrations: control, 0.3 g L-1 Sc + 0.3 g L-1 HA (3SH) and 0.6 g L-1 Sc + 0.6 g L-1 HA (6SH). Results show that the treatments with microalgae with humic acid association were able to increase the content of N, carbohydrates and soluble proteins, also elevating antioxidant activity in onion bulbs.

The Importance of Citizen Scientists in the Move Towards Sustainable Diets and a Sustainable Food System

To enhance sustainability, the food system requires significant shifts in the production, processing and supply of food. Ideally, a sustainable food system should operate, not only to protect the biosphere, but also to provide nutritious, high-quality food, and to support social values, an equitable economy, and human and animal health. It should also be governed responsibly within a supportive policy environment. Implementing these shifts is a task of immense scale; but citizen participation/engagement has the potential to help make sustainability a reality through distributed learning, dynamic sensing, and knowledge generation. Technological advancements in sensing and data processing have enabled new forms of citizen participation in research. When food system research is embedded within society it can help us to understand which changes towards sustainability work and which do not. Indeed, citizen engagement in food systems research has the potential to help bring citizens on side, supporting the growth of a food culture of resilience and of sustainable practises (including dietary change). This commentary provides examples of how existing research and alternative food production systems and agroecological practises may provide possible frameworks for citizen participation in food system studies. We highlight potential future food and citizen science approaches. Widening citizen participation and encouraging the involvement of other food system actors, including those in local, national and international governance, is essential to capture the full potential of citizen science in enabling transition to a sustainable food system. For the research community citizen science offers engagement and empowerment of wider communities with science; collecting and analysing data; and creating viable solutions to food system and diet issues.

Life cycle assessment of contemporary Canadian egg production systems during the transition from conventional cage to alternative housing systems: Update and analysis of trends and conditions

The supply-managed Canadian egg industry produces over 789 million dozen eggs per year, the majority of which are produced in conventional cages (∼60%). Recently, the industry committed to a complete transition to alternative (i.e. enriched cage, single- and multi-tier free run, free range, and organic) production systems by 2036. This transition may have significant sustainability implications. Here, we present updated (i.e. based on 2019 data) LCA models and results representing the cradle to farm gate environmental impacts of Canadian egg production systems based on a much expanded data set compared to previous models.Generally, input and emission levels decreased across all housing systems, with few exceptions, compared to previously reported levels. Acidifying and GHG emissions decreased across most housing systems due to increases in feed- and pullet-use efficiency, while eutrophying emissions increased across all housing systems modeled due to differences in manure management systems. Feed inputs represented the greatest contributor to most impact categories (∼18% - 84%), followed by pullet production and manure management (∼ 10% - 37% and ∼0.01% - 62%, respectively). Organic production systems had the lowest impacts in nine of the ten categories assessed, while free range systems generally performed the worst. Conventional cages generally had lower impacts than all non-organic systems. However, it can be expected that as farmers gain experience with alternative systems resource-use efficiency levels will increase and environmental impacts will decrease. Continued monitoring of environmental performance of Canadian egg production systems is therefore imperative to ensure net-positive outcomes during this housing system transition.

Organic and conventional sweetpotato production in the Southeastern of United States: a comparative analysis

BackgroundThere has been a piqued interest in alternative agricultural production systems that are environmentally friendly due to concerns on how sustainable it is to grow conventionally. However, in the producer’s point of view, economic returns are an important issue in decision-making in adaptation. The purpose of this study is to assess the economic risk of conventional and organic sweetpotato production in the Southeastern US. The primary and secondary data were used for the analysis. We identified risk variables in stochastic profit function and performed Monte Carlo simulation in analyzing profitability and economic risk of conventional and organic production systems.ResultsFindings from the meta-analysis suggest lower sweetpotato yields and higher selling prices, are to be expected in the organic sweetpotato production systems compared with the conventional. A higher probability of having positive net return from organically grown sweetpotato compared to conventional production systems was observed.ConclusionsIncrease in unit cost leads to a decrease in net profit in both conventional and organic production systems. Sweetpotato price has more effect on net return compared to its yield in conventional production systems. The higher selling price, lower yield and lower unit costs provide a higher net profit return for the organic sweetpotato production systems. Unit cost in conventional production was noted to be higher in general, inferring conventional sweetpotato production could potentially experience a higher variability in net farm income. Despite the high production cost, however, farmers are encouraged to go into sweetpotato production as it appears to be profitable. Further studies should be conducted on conventional treatments without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers as these systems perhaps, may display lower external input costs that might make them more profitable similar to organic systems.

Machine learning based predictive model for methanol steam reforming with technical, environmental, and economic perspectives

To overcome limitations of conventional H2 production approaches such as steam methane reforming (SMR) in a membrane reactor (MR) such as large CO2 emission and deactivation of catalyst and membrane, a promising alternative H2 production system of methanol steam reforming (MSR) in serial reactors and membrane filters is reported here, affording its high product yield and a compact design. In this study, technical, environmental, and economic feasibility according to 12 techno-economic parameters and detailed effects of each parameter for this H2 production system are comprehensively investigated with a machine learning (ML) based predictive model in the following steps: (1) process simulation using Aspen Plus® with detailed thermodynamic phenomena and environmental performance; (2) numerical model using MATLAB® based on technical and environmental performance from the process simulation results; (3) ML-based predictive model having outputs of H2 production rate, CO2 emission, and unit H2 production cost feasibility trained by 12,000 data sets from a numerical model. It is well noted from this study that # of reactors and operating temperature for technical performance, # of reactors and S/C ratio for environmental performance, and operating temperature, # of reactors, reactant, and labor for economic performance are reported as most influential factors.

Enhanced expression of recombinant miraculin, a tasting modifying protein, in Nicotiana tabacum hairy roots using 18.2 heat shock protein promoter and terminator

Miraculin, a taste modifier, is a protein that was first isolated from miracle fruit (Richadella dulcifica). It can change a sour taste into a sweet taste when sour acids are consumed, although it does not elicit a sweet response. Miraculin may have the potential in industry as a substitute for sugars and as artificial sweeteners. Since the miracle plant has low fruit productivity, mass production of miraculin is limited. Transgenic hairy root culture is a potential alternative system for the mass production of miraculin. In this study, we investigated the expression of recombinant miraculin in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) hairy roots. To increase miraculin expression, the heat shock protein 18.2 promoter and terminator were used to drive the expression of miraculin gene in a potential host system. Synthetic miraculin gene was transformed into Nicotiana tobacum leaf explants via Agrobacterium rhizogenes. The transgenic hairy root clones that contained synthetic miraculin gene showed rapid growth and reached maximum growth after 35-day culture. When the expression of miraculin gene was regulated by heat shock protein 18.2 promoter and heat shock protein terminator, the expression of recombinant miraculin increased than the control regulated by CaMV 35S promoter and nopaline synthase terminator. The recombinant miraculin was 19.97 ng per µg of the total soluble protein and equivalently with approximately 2% of the total soluble protein. For the first time, a taste modifying miraculin was successfully expressed in tobacco hairy root. The results in this study have given a promising approach for the application of the transgenic hairy root system to produce recombinant miraculin.

Discriminant Canonical Tool for Differential Biometric Characterization of Multivariety Endangered Hen Breeds.

Simple SummaryBreed undefinition boosts the risk of irreversible breed loss due to its substitution by dominant breeds. Breed loss results detrimental for the fraction of the genetic pool which is linked to the value of livestock as perfectly adapted elements of domestic ecosystems among other desirable features. In turn, this ensures and maximizes population sustainability. The present study aimed to design a biometric characterization tool in autochthonous avian breeds and their varieties in Andalusia (south of Spain): Utrerana and Sureña breeds. For this, different quantitative and qualitative measurements were collected in 473 females and 135 roosters belonging to these breeds. Even though both genotypes belong to a common original trunk, discriminant canonical analysis (DCA) revealed clear differences between both breeds and within the varieties that they comprise. In particular, certain variables such as ocular ratio and phaneroptic characteristics, which may be intrinsically related to the capacity of the breeds to adapt to the environmental conditions in which they thrive, could allow breeders to develop breeding programs focused on the enhancement productive potential of individuals.This study aimed to develop a tool to perform the morphological characterization of Sureña and Utrerana breeds, two endangered autochthonous breeds ascribed to the Mediterranean trunk of Spanish autochthonous hens and their varieties (n = 608; 473 females and 135 males). Kruskal–Wallis H test reported sex dimorphism pieces of evidence (p < 0.05 at least). Multicollinearity analysis reported (variance inflation factor (VIF) >5 variables were discarded) white nails, ocular ratio, and back length (Wilks’ lambda values of 0.191, 0.357, and 0.429, respectively) to have the highest discriminant power in female morphological characterization. For males, ocular ratio and black/corneous and white beak colors (Wilks’ lambda values of 0.180, 0.210, and 0.349, respectively) displayed the greatest discriminant potential. The first two functions explained around 90% intergroup variability. A stepwise discriminant canonical analysis (DCA) was used to determine genotype clustering patterns. Interbreed and varieties proximity was evaluated through Mahalanobis distances. Despite the adaptability capacity to alternative production systems ascribed to both avian breeds, Sureña and Utrerana morphologically differ. Breed dimorphism may evidence differential adaptability mechanisms linked to their aptitude (dual purpose/egg production). The present tool may serve as a model for the first stages of breed protection to be applicable in other endangered avian breeds worldwide.

Tobacco BY2 cells expressing recombinant cardosin B as an alternative for production of active milk clotting enzymes

Cynara cardunculus L. or cardoon is a plant that is used as a source of milk clotting enzymes during traditional cheese manufacturing. This clotting activity is due to aspartic proteases (APs) found in the cardoon flower, named cyprosins and cardosins. APs from cardoon flowers display a great degree of heterogeneity, resulting in variable milk clotting activities and directly influencing the final product. Producing these APs using alternative platforms such as bacteria or yeast has proven challenging, which is hampering their implementation on an industrial scale. We have developed tobacco BY2 cell lines as an alternative plant-based platform for the production of cardosin B. These cultures successfully produced active cardosin B and a purification pipeline was developed to obtain isolated cardosin B. The enzyme displayed proteolytic activity towards milk caseins and milk clotting activity under standard cheese manufacturing conditions. We also identified an unprocessed form of cardosin B and further investigated its activation process. The use of protease-specific inhibitors suggested a possible role for a cysteine protease in cardosin B processing. Mass spectrometry analysis identified three cysteine proteases containing a granulin-domain as candidates for cardosin B processing. These findings suggest an interaction between these two groups of proteases and contribute to an understanding of the mechanisms behind the regulation and processing of plant APs. This work also paves the way for the use of tobacco BY2 cells as an alternative production system for active cardosins and represents an important advancement towards the industrial production of cardoon APs.

Variations in the leaf metabolite profile between hydroponic and field grown Moringa oleifera Lam. genotypes

Medicinal and herbal plants are increasingly cultivated on commercial scale all around the world, to satisfy the large demand for natural remedies associated with plant bioactive compounds. Moringa oleifera Lam. is one of these attractive plant species, being cultivated across the world, with most of the production in Africa and Asia. However, it is increasingly reported that the composition and concentration of bioactive compounds in medicinal plants, are largely influenced by factors such as the growing environment, harvesting time, and climatic factors among others. The aim of this study was therefore to determine the differences in the leaf metabolite profile between hydroponic and field grown M. oleifera plants due to cultivation system, harvesting time and genotypes. 1H NMR was used for data acquisition, and MestReNova software was used for the pre-processing of the spectral data. Multivariate data analysis by means of PCA and OPLS-DA was conducted, followed by targeted metabolite analyses. The results show variations in the leaf metabolite profile as influenced by cultivation systems, harvesting time and genotypes. In both PKM-1 and Malawi hybrid genotypes, the concentration level of chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, vanillic acid, and wogonin compounds were higher in the hydroponic leaf material, whereas the concentration level of esculetin, niazirin and GABA were slightly higher in the field harvested leaf materials. With regards to harvesting time effect, the concentration level of all seven targeted compounds were higher in February (summer) harvest as compared to May (autumn) harvest. Among the genotypes, PKM-1 showed to have higher concentration of certain targeted compounds as compared to Malawi hybrid, but on the other hand certain compounds from the Malawi hybrid showed also higher concentrations. These results provide insight on the possible alternative production system that can be adopted to optimise and improve accumulation of bioactive compounds in M. oleifera leaf materials.

Generating and storing power on the moon using in situ resources

The Moon Village and similar concepts are strongly reliant on in situ resource utilisation (ISRU). There is great interest in harvesting solar power using locally leveraged in situ resources as an essential facet of in situ infrastructure. Traditionally, silicon-based photovoltaic cells have been assumed, preferably manufactured in situ using a 3D printing rover, but there are major difficulties with such scenarios. Solar cells require pre-processing of regolith and solar cell manufacture. We present an alternative lunar resource leveraged-solar power production system on the Moon which can yield high conversion efficiencies – solar Fresnel lens-thermionic conversion. The thermionic vacuum tube is constructed from lunar-derived materials and NiFe asteroidal ores on the Moon. Given that the majority of energy required for ISRU is thermal, thermionic conversion exploits this energy source directly. Silicates such as anorthite can be treated with acid to yield alumina and silicic acid in solution from which pure silica can be precipitated. Pure silica when heated to high temperature yields fused silica glass which is transparent – fused silica glass may be employed to manufacture Fresnel lenses and/or mirrors. Both silica and alumina may be input to the Metalysis Fray Farthing Chen Cambridge electrolytic process to yield near pure Si and near pure Al, respectively.

Rooftop garden an organic farming to grow uncontaminated vegetable improved food quality and food security in Bhubaneswar City, India

The trend of growing vegetables on rooftop promotes agricultural aspects in Bhubaneswar city of India. Rooftop gardens become an important part of urban agriculture are recent recurrent and alternative establishments to grow vegetables. Rooftops create spaces to vegetable production and thereby create opportunities for agricultural incorporation into urban communities, However vegetable production activities on rooftops are limited due to multiple challenges that need to be addressed before widespread implementation takes place. Rooftop agriculture can improve various ecosystem services, enhance the biodiversity of urban areas and reduce food security. Food production from rooftop gardens will help support and sustain food for urban and provide a rare opportunity to grow food efficiencies in typically unused spaces of the building. As human populations become more urbanized and urban consumers become more interested in local food for their families, the use of alternative agricultural production systems, such as rooftop cultivation technologies will increase. Importance of cultivating vegetables on buildings is a key component of making cities more sustainable and habitable. Rooftops are not the total solution to providing food security but they should supplement other sources of food production in urban areas. In covid-19 rooftop gardens play an important role during scarcity of vegetables. It is an alternative method of urban cultivation and people obtain vegetables from doorstep in safe guard from Covid -19.Rooftop garden gives us pure organic vegetables and is pleasant.

Weed shift and community diversity in conservation and conventional agriculture systems in pigeonpea- castor systems under rainfed semi-arid tropics

Conservation agriculture (CA) is an alternative sustainable production system to conventional tillage system for resource conservation in rainfed agriculture. Weeds are the major constraints for adoption of CA in rainfed regions. A seven years study was done at ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad, India, to study the effects of different tillage practices and residue levels on weed shift, diversity and crop yields. It was observed that annual weed species were dominant in conventional tillage (CT) and reduced tillage (RT), whereas a shift towards perennials was observed in zero tillage (ZT). The CT recorded significantly lower weed density and weed biomass (12.89 m−2 and 35.60 g m−2) over RT (17.33 m−2 and 38.37 g m−2) and ZT (36.67 m−2 and 69.58 g m−2) after seven years, respectively. A shift in weed species, higher weed density and weed biomass in dicots (Tridax procumbens L and Euphorbia hirta L. and a marginal decrease in monocots (Bulbostylis barbata, Digitaria sanguinalis L) was observed in ZT. The marginal decrease in monocots was due to higher precipitation immediately after herbicide application which reduced the control of weeds due to leaching. The anchored residues 10 and 30 cm recorded lower monocots and total weed count over No residue. The study suggests that integrated weed management (combination of herbicide and removal of chance weeds) and in RT are efficient strategies to minimise the weed infestation in CA and these methods not only reduce the over reliance on herbicides but also improve the productivity of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.), castor (Ricinus communis) and the environmental performance of CA. ZT and RT recorded the highest Shannon index, Pieloús evenness index and species richness over CT which indicates a higher weed species diversity in ZT as compared to CT. This study helps to improve the understanding of crop–weed communities and in the development of cost effective environmentally sound weed management strategies.

Synthetic Biology towards Improved Flavonoid Pharmacokinetics.

Flavonoids are a structurally diverse class of natural products that have been found to have a range of beneficial activities in humans. However, the clinical utilisation of these molecules has been limited due to their low solubility, chemical stability, bioavailability and extensive intestinal metabolism in vivo. Recently, the view has been formed that site-specific modification of flavonoids by methylation and/or glycosylation, processes that occur in plants endogenously, can be used to improve and adapt their biophysical and pharmacokinetic properties. The traditional source of flavonoids and their modified forms is from plants and is limited due to the low amounts present in biomass, intrinsic to the nature of secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Access to greater amounts of flavonoids, and understanding of the impact of modifications, requires a rethink in terms of production, more specifically towards the adoption of plant biosynthetic pathways into ex planta synthesis approaches. Advances in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, aided by protein engineering and machine learning methods, offer attractive and exciting avenues for ex planta flavonoid synthesis. This review seeks to explore the applications of synthetic biology towards the ex planta biosynthesis of flavonoids, and how the natural plant methylation and glycosylation pathways can be harnessed to produce modified flavonoids with more favourable biophysical and pharmacokinetic properties for clinical use. It is envisaged that the development of viable alternative production systems for the synthesis of flavonoids and their methylated and glycosylated forms will help facilitate their greater clinical application.

Determinants of small-scale farmers’ intention to adopt insect farming for animal feed in Colombia

While it is recognised that insect farming as an alternative feed production system can yield substantial benefits for rural communities, farmers will ultimately have to decide whether to adopt these systems or not. This study aims to understand the factors that influence the intention of farmers to adopt insect farming for animal feed in the context of a developing country. Building upon two well-established theories (theory of planned behaviour and technology acceptance model), a survey was administered with 100 small-scale farmers in the region of Santander, Colombia. Findings demonstrate that the majority of farmers are positively oriented towards the implementation of this alternative feed production strategy. Both psychological and technology-oriented aspects related to this innovative practice play a crucial role in decision-making of small-scale farmers. Thereby, adoption intention was mainly determined by their subjective norms and perceived ease of use, with education and importance of feed attributes as significant external variables.

74 Production Responses of an Alternative Beef Cow-calf System

Abstract A two-yr study was conducted to measure reproductive responses of an alternative cow-calf production system. Multiparous, crossbred cows (n = 160; average age = 5.7 ± 2.8 yrs-old) were utilized, per yr, in a generalized randomized bock design and unstructured treatment design. In yr one, cows were blocked by origin source and age, randomly assigned to one of two production systems, each with four replicates (n = 20 cows/rep). Once allotted to treatment and replicate, cows remained in assigned treatment for the duration of their productive life. Treatments were: 1) traditional extensive spring calving system utilizing perennial pasture and corn residue grazing (TRAD); 2) alternative fall-calving system utilizing confinement, summer-planted oats, and corn residue grazing (ALT). Breeding body condition score (BCS) was greater (P &amp;lt; 0.01) for TRAD compared to ALT (6.45 vs. 5.47 ± 0.159, respectively). There were no differences (P ≥ 0.24) in conception rates (93.86 vs. 94.14 ± 2.26 %), pregnancy loss (4.37 vs. 5.62 ± 1.86 %), calving rates (89.50 vs. 88.49 ± 3.06 %), and weaning rates (86.88 vs. 82.50 ± 3.08 %) for TRAD and ALT, respectively. There was no difference (P = 0.47) in calf body weight at birth (40 vs. 39 ± 1.0 kg) for TRAD and ALT, respectively. Weaning BCS was greater (P &amp;lt; 0.01) for TRAD compared to ALT (5.71 vs. 5.27 ± 0.048). Calves in the TRAD system had greater (P &amp;lt; 0.001) wean BW (237 vs. 185 ± 3.7 kg) compared to ALT calves. Cows from TRAD system had greater (P &amp;lt; 0.001) kg weaned per cow exposed to bulls (208 vs. 151 ± 6.3 kg) compared to ALT cows. Results indicate no difference in reproductive performance among systems. The extensive spring-calving system produced heavier calves at weaning, leading to more kg of calf weaned per cow exposed.

ABOUT THE PERFOMANCE MULTI-PRODUCT MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

The multi-product type of modern machine-building production significantly complicates the definition and use of its indicators. Some of them have clear meaning for traditional types of production. However, it is not well defined for multi-product production. This fully applies to the wellknown concept of “productivity” in mechanical engineering. Productivity metrics have traditionally been used as measures of production efficiency. However, they are not formally defined for multiproduct manufacturing. The presented article shows that these systems are collections of separate, but interacting subsystems. They are determined by a multitude of realized technological connections. It can be used several different productivity estimates when analyzing each subsystem. Only the results of the operation of alternative production systems, similar in input and output variables, can be compared in productivity. The productivity of the system grows with an increase in the share of its productive work time in the total time fund of its equipment, which is characterized by the value of the coefficient of extensive equipment use

Comparative Economics of Conventional, Organic, and Alternative Agricultural Production Systems

Agricultural production systems are a composite of philosophy, adoptability, and careful analysis of risks and rewards. The two dominant typologies include conventional and organics, while biotechnology (GM) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) represent situational modifiers. We conducted a systematic review to weigh the economic merits—as well as intangibles through an economic lens—of each standalone system and system plus modifier, where applicable. Overall, 17,485 articles were found between ScienceDirect and Google Scholar, with 213 initially screened based on putative relevance. Of those, 82 were selected for an in-depth analysis, with 63 ultimately used. Economically, organic generally outperformed conventional systems. This is largely due to their lower production costs and higher market price. However, organic farms face lower yields, especially in the fruit, vegetable, and animal husbandry sectors. With that said, organic farming can provide significant local environmental benefits. Integrated pest management (IPM) is a potentiator of either core system. As a risk reduction and decision-making framework, it is labor intensive. However, this can be offset by input reductions without yield penalty compared to a conventional baseline. Biotechnology is a rapidly emerging production system, notably in developing countries. The use of GM crops results in lower production cost and higher yields. As a conventional modifier, its major advantage is scale-neutrality. Thus, smaller and lower income farmers may achieve higher gross margin. The main source of environmental benefits is reduced pesticide use, which implies a decreased need for fuel and labor. Barring external influences such as subsidies and participation in prescriptive labeling programs, farmers should focus on an a la carte approach (as opposed to discrete system adoption) to optimize their respective enterprises.

Effect of Production System (Intensive and Free-Range), Slaughter Age and Gender on Nutrient and Fatty Acid Composition of Meat in Partridges (Alectoris chukar)

This study was conducted to determine the effect of production system, slaughter age, and gender on the nutrient composition, fatty acids profile, and index values of breast and thigh meat in Alectoris chukar partridges. Partridges were slaughtered at 14, 16, and 18 weeks of age and skinless breast and thigh meat of male and female were used in the study (a total of 96 samples in 2 replicates). The production system affected only the crude fat level of the thigh meat in terms of nutrient composition and it was found higher in the intensive system compared to the free-range system. Age and gender did not significantly affect the composition of breast and thigh meat. In terms of fatty acid profile, erucic acid (C22:1n9) level in breast meat was higher in intensive system, while it was higher in thigh meat in free-range. While the percentage of docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n3) increased with age in breast meat, it decreased in thigh meat with age. While eicosenoic acid (C20:1) percentage was higher in breast meat of male birds compared to females, only stearic acid (C18:0) was found to be higher in thigh meat. Saturated fatty acids (SFA), linolenic acid (n3), thrombogenic index (TI) and atherogenic index (AI) values were higher in thigh meat produced in free-range system, while polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), total unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), linoleic acid (n6) and hypocholesterolaemic / hypercholesterolaemic ratio (h/H) were significantly higher in intensive system. While SFA and TI levels in thigh meat decreased with age, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), UFA and oleic acid (n9) percentages increased. MUFA / SFA in thigh meat of females was higher than males, other indexes were found insignificant. The results shows that partridges had desirable fatty acid composition. Especially, the increase in MUFA and UFA values with age in thigh meat compared to breast indicates that thigh meat is enriched in terms of unsaturated fatty acids. However, the higher SFA and AI values obtained in the free-range system could be considered a negative outcome for alternative production systems that prioritize bird welfare and consumer demands.