Big Farms Research Articles

Chromium-yeast supplementation of chicken broilers in an industrial farming system

The experiment was performed on ISA broilers at big farm conditions. One day old chickens were randomly assigned to two poultry-houses with the capacity of 10 600 birds each. Chromium was provided in the form of chromium enriched yeast (1.0 g Cr/kg yeast) given in doses of 0.2 mg Cr/kg diet. No significant differences in growth rate and only a slight decrease of feed conversion ratio was found in broilers receiving chromium-yeast supplement. However, these birds had a lower mortality rate comparied with the rate observed in the controls. Moreover, dietary chromium led also to an improvement of carcass composition. Organic chromium supplementation increased the weight of pectoral muscles and meat of these broilers contained less amounts of fat and cholesterol. These effects were accompanied by an insignificant increase of chromium concentration in the pectoral muscles of birds fed chromium supplemented diets, from 40 to 52 μg/kg wet tissue.

Oléagineux et structures d’exploitations agricoles dans les PECO

The agriculture of the CEEC’s is characterized by a strong diversity in the size of the farms. Oilseed crops are grown mainly by the big farms (80% in Poland) which take their origin in State farms. New big farms are under establishement by leasing of land from small owners (in Romania). The Common Agricultural Policy in the new member CEEC’s will result in: little effect on restructuring of small farms, putting oilseeds aside from that sector, quick effect on the improvement of the productivity of oilseeds in the big farms and probably little influence on oilseed acreage expansion.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu, Japan

To the Editor: More than 15,000 chickens on an egg farm in Yamaguchi Prefecture (Chugoku area) have died since the end of 2003. A highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, which had not appeared in Japan for 79 years, was detected in the dead chickens. Of the 34,600 chickens on the farm, dozens to hundreds have died daily since December 28. Moreover, the deaths have increased during 2004. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries ascertained that the same H5N1 avian influenza virus had caused the bird flu epidemic that started in 1997 in East Asia, including Hong Kong, Vietnam, and South Korea. The H5N1 type is a virulent pathogen that can also infect humans as demonstrated by the >20 deaths in Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Thailand. After the influenza infection was confirmed, the ministry immediately ordered the hennery to recall all eggs that had been shipped. The hennery was then disinfected, and nonworkers were restricted from entering. Yamaguchi Prefecture also restricted transfer of the chickens and eggs within a 30-km radius of the infected hennery. The hennery was the first facility infected in Japan. Since mid-February, an additional three outbreaks have occurred (one in Ohita Prefecture in Kyushu Island and two in Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai Area). In a big poultry farm in Kyoto, 40,000 deaths of chickens, caused by H5N1, were confirmed. The H5N1 virus was also detected by polymerase chain reaction in crows found dead near the chickens in Kyoto. All four sites with infected chickens are in western Japan. Modern stock raising that involves breeding a large number of domestic animals and fowl in high density has become a risk factor for large-scale outbreaks. The globalization of the marketplace and easy mobility of people and goods have facilitated the spread of many pathogens. Avirulent pathogens that mutate easily may acquire stronger infectious and toxic properties as confirmed in the influenza pandemic of 1918 (1). Several possibilities exist for the appearance of avian influenza virus in Japan. First, migratory birds from epidemic disease areas might be the primary vectors of the virus. Yamaguchi Prefecture is located 200 km southeast of South Cholla Province, South Korea, where avian influenza is epidemic. The two areas are close enough for wild birds to cross the Korean Strait. Ito et al. reported that avirulent viruses found in wild waterfowl and bearing the consensus avirulence type sequence R-E-T-R have the potential to become pathogenic when present in chickens (2). Thus, migratory birds that are asymptomatic carriers may cross the Korean Strait harboring the H5N1-type virulent viruses generated in Korea. Alternatively, people, cars, and feed grains instead of migratory birds could carry the virulent viruses. To identify the source of infection, the genetic sequence of the virus will be compared with the sequences of viruses acquired in other epidemic areas. The avian influenza virus did not originally infect other animals, including humans. The virus in Japan had different DNA sequencing from the viruses responsible for human deaths in Hong Kong and Vietnam. However, mutations of the virus in pigs as a result of hybridization are possible, since both avian and human influenza viruses can infect pigs. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the H5N1-type virus was detected in pigs raised on farms that also raise chickens infected with the virus in Vietnam. Thus, a new virus that can infect other animals may emerge. In fact, a clouded leopard died of avian influenza in Thailand. The worst scenario would be that the new virus could be spread from person to person. An avian influenza vaccine is not available in Japan. Because a vaccine may not be developed quickly enough, this new influenza might become pandemic. Therefore, to prevent the virus from infecting humans, bird-to-bird transmission must be stopped.

“They Call Us Thieves and Steal Our Wage”: Toward a Reinterpretation of the Salvadoran Rural Mobilization, 1929–1931

“They Call Us Thieves and Steal Our Wage”: Toward a Reinterpretation of the Salvadoran Rural Mobilization, 1929–1931

Environmental impacts of coastal aquaculture in eastern Mediterranean bays: the case of Astakos Gulf, Greece.

Over the last decade Greece has become a leading country in the EU as concerns the cage farming of seabream and seabass. A strong debate has risen, however, about the environmental impacts of aquacultures in the coastal areas. The present paper deals with this problem and it is based on measurements of physico-chemical parameters in the water column, particulate matter and sediments in the area of Astakos Gulf, a coastal embayment in western Greece where three big fish farms are currently operating. Water samples were collected by using Hydro-Bios sampling bottles, whereas a prototype sediment trap was installed under a fish cage for the collection of particulate matter. Temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and salinity were measured in situ using portable equipment. Nutrients were determined by standard spectrophotometric methods. Trace metals were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Dissolved organic carbon was determined by a Shimadzu 5000A carbon analyzer, whereas organic carbon in sediments was determined titrimetrically. No clear eutrophication incidents have been identified, although the water column near the fish farms was enriched in nutrients and organic carbon. A sludge 'blanket' covers considerable parts of the seabed and is enriched in colloidal organic carbon and trace metals (Cd, Cu, Fe and Zn) that come from unused fish food. The biodegradation of this sludge leads to the development of anoxic conditions followed by the formation of undesirable gases, precipitation or remobilization of metals and the extinction of benthic fauna. The operation of fish farms at the coastal area of Astakos Gulf, and probably in similar Mediterranean gulfs, affects the marine environment, particularly in the vicinity of the cages. The most significant influence concerns the near-bottom water layer. The environmental impacts depend on the amount of food given to fishes, the mode of feeding, the fish density in cages, the annual production and the years of unit operation. The hydrology and the geomorphology of the area are also critical factors for its environmental quality. The success of the fish-farming sector in the Mediterranean is accompanied by environmental and, in some extents, by social and marketing problems. These problems, derived from the rapid development of fish farming, can be solved only through an integrated management, using methods such as environmental impact assessment, risk assessment, economic evaluation, vulnerability assessments, resource accounting, cost-benefit analysis and outcome-based monitoring.

Los cambios en la política agropecuaria y la propiedad social rural en la frontera norte

El capital privado nacional y extranjero no llegó al campo en los términos en que esperaba el Estado, por lo que los productores del sector social y privado no lograron insertarse en los proyectos especializados que se canalizan a la exportación, generando una descapitalización en los pequeños, medianos y grandes productores que se dedicaban a la producción para el mercado interno. En la frontera norte, la propiedad social sigue siendo importante y seguirá existiendo por mucho tiempo a pesar de los cambios en la política agropecuaria y sobre to-do con los cambios al artículo 27 Constitucional de enero de 1992 y a la promul-gación de la Ley Agraria en febrero de 1992. La organización de los productores, tanto del sector social como privado, está en crisis y la mayoría de los productores trabajan con sus propios recursos y de manera individual. Esto ha dificultado la integración de proyectos productivos. El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar los cambios en la propiedad social rural (ejidos, comunidades, colonias agrícolas y ganaderas) de la frontera norte con la nueva política agropecuaria.

Potentials and constraints of the farmer‐to‐farmer programme for environmental protection in Nicaragua

AbstractThe natural environment in Nicaragua has been damaged by rural development policies geared for the export of cash crops, by uneven land distribution and the near absence of concerns about the environmental effects of the prevailing model of development. The demands made by market forces for the export of primary materials have been reasons for land degradation in the big farms, and the need to survive a poverty stricken existence has forced the peasantry to damage the marginal and fragile land they worked. Successive governments did not address these underlying causes of environmental degradation, and even the opportunities afforded by the environment programme that resulted from the 1979 Sandinista revolution, did not result in significant environmental improvements. The paper briefly considers the constraints faced by the Sandinista administration and how the farmer‐to‐farmer programme (Campesino‐a‐Campesino) was brought about as a result of the impacts of the Sandinista era. The substantive part of the paper considers PCAC's significance as an agroecological programme and its advantages and limitations for improving peasants' livelihoods via dissemination of land‐protective measures. The viability of the programme is assessed by field work carried out examining in detail the case of three communities, and the paper concludes that the gains made in environmental protection and conservation are in jeopardy without structural policy changes. The paper proposes that for the programme to improve its potential, adequate political will, power and organization are necessary to facilitate greater access to secure land tenure among the peasantry. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Capacity Building in Agricultural Biotechnology in Turkey

Turkey, situated at the junction of two continents, benefits both from its rich Asian legacy and its proximity to neighboring European countries. Although the level of socioeconomic development places the country clearly in the group of developing countries, Turkey has been a candidate country for admission to the European Union (EU) since 1999. As a result, the conditions for capacity building in agricultural biotechnology include elements from both the industrialized and developing countries. Because of its favorable climate and time‐tested farming traditions dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, the country possesses one of the richest floras in the world. This review attempts to illuminate the role and importance of local actors in introducing modern biotechnology to the Turkish agricultural system. Agricultural biotechnology, specifically plant biotechnology, has a high priority in the Turkish government's program. Public‐funded research and education in this field is given due priority, but research by the private sector is relatively poorly funded. The ongoing field trials with genetically modified seeds are conducted mostly by multinational companies whose aim it is to commercialize the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as soon as legislation concerning biotechnology is implemented. The attitude of the big farm owners to genetically modified crops is positive because they expect economic advantages from these crops. On the other hand, public awareness about genetically modified food is quite low, and neither the consumer organizations nor the media represent a particular power in this area. Thus, the power centers in agricultural biotechnology are the government and the multinational biotech companies. The local industry, the consumers, and the media have relatively less input. Moreover, communication between groups is fairly poor, and this contributes to a growing gap between the strong and the weak actors. Turkey has already decided to implement the EU regulation in contained use and the deliberate release of GMOs, which has been shaped in the European sociopolitical environment where the consumers and their organizations represent a powerful force, and where the power constellation between the actors is quite different. Nevertheless, it can be argued, that this route might still be the right choice for Turkey during the phase of introducing this high‐tech method of production to its agriculture.

82. The productivity imperative—research and its contribution to the competitiveness of rural industries

To remain globally competitive, rural industries must respond and adjust to several dimensions of change, aspects of which have been intensifying in recent times. These dimensions may be broadly categorised as follows – globalisation of markets and associated intensifying competition, terms of trade, environmental sustainability, food safety, supply chain transformation and advancing technologies. These pressures are not new and rural industries have been responding to them since commodity trading began. For example, during the period 1980 to 2000 the following changes occurred in the Australian dairy industry – the number of farming enterprises halved from 25,000 to 12,000; milk output per cow rose from 3500 L to 5000 L p.a.; total milk output rose from 6 bn L to 11 bn L p.a. During this same period terms of trade declined by 1.2% p.a.; to offset this total factor farm productivity rose by 1.6% p.a. There are 3 core factors contributing to improved economic productivity – these are scale economies (i.e. bigger farms, more cows per proprietor), bought-in economies (e.g. bigger cow sheds, tractors, etc) and improving the output yield from farm resources such as pastures and cows. It is in this latter grouping that science contributes. For example, the genetic merit of the national herd rose significantly in the above 20-year period, although the fertility of the herd actually declined in the same period. The challenge to rural industries to remain competitive is intensifying – there are a number of causes – a major one is deregulation of markets and intensifying competition and speed of change. Others are environmental sustainability and food safety – both of which place considerable demand on supply chain transformation. Continuing declining terms of trade means farm enterprises will have to continue to improve productivity – science will have to provide the underlying technologies that will deliver performance improvements. For example, there is ample opportunity for the reproductive and the genetic sciences to jointly deliver faster better directed genetic gain. To remain relevant and competitive, both the farming and the science industries have to adjust rapidly to the changing science paradigm, which includes principally the rapid evolution of the molecular sciences and issues of critical mass and integration, but also evolving policy and economic paradigms in governments and commerce. The capacity of science to aid the transformation of industry will be sorely tested in the period ahead. Aspects of the above will be illustrated and discussed.

Chapter VIII: THE COSMOPOLITAN PERIOD: SINCE 1898

C<scp>hapter</scp> VIII: THE COSMOPOLITAN PERIOD: SINCE 1898

Сельские предприниматели в местном сообществе

The author addresses to the study of the embeddedness of the new economic subjects in the villages, their place in the social structure and the relation problem with the local people, authorities, big collective farms and other business partners and competitors. The author tries to analyze to what extent the rural area with its traditions and stereotypes, relatively poor population and weaker market structure was favorable to the appearance of new effective owners; what rigidities this infrastructure put on their development and to what extent it influenced the specifics of the modern rural entrepreneurship. The empirical base for the survey was the data of the sociological questionnaire of the rural entrepreneurs of the Novosibirsk region, which was held by the employees of the department for social problems of the Institute of Economics RAS in 2000-2001.

Precision Farming Approaches for Small Scale Farms

Precision farming implies a management strategy to increase productivity and economic returns with reduced environmental impacts based on information technology applying to variability description of the field, variable-rate operation and decision-make system. There are three technology levels and three scenarios in the development of precision farming. Precision farming practice is available for small farm agriculture as well as big farm agriculture and it plays a core role of rural development programs with industry-fusion strategies.

Agricultural development and land concentration in a central European country: a case study of Hungary

Land has been newly re-allotted in those Central European former socialist countries, the agriculture of which was previously dominated by production co-operatives and state farms. Land privatization was undoubtedly an urgent need but the manner of its fulfillment was essentially politically motivated, based more on the ideology of different peasant parties than on economic considerations. Generally, millions of people received small parcels, often in several pieces, and many of the heirs of the former owners had never worked in agriculture and did not even live in rural areas. Scattered land ownership was not suitable for modern farming, since it could not be well equipped, mechanised and cultivated. The average size of these farms lags far behind that of the EU countries where farms must also be highly subsidised in order to survive. The real situation is, however, not so bad. Land tenure is much more concentrated than ownership. Some of the big farms have survived either as renamed and restructured co-operatives or as different companies organized from the former co-operatives and state farms in most Central European Countries (CECs). In Hungary they cultivate 45 per cent of the land and keep a large part of the livestock. In the small-farm sector, a significant concentration has also occurred recently. According to our representative survey in 11 counties of Hungary in 1998, 60–70 per cent of the land of individual farms is cultivated by farms larger than 50 ha. They produce, together with the large corporate farms, the bulk of the marketed products. Farms under 10 ha are mostly part-time farms or holdings of retired and unemployed people. These farms have more of a social than an economic significance.

Paul and Stephen, Unlikely Friends

Paul and Stephen, Unlikely Friends Rosalind C. Wiggins* This discussion ofNew England Quakers and race relations in the early nineteenth century is based on the writings of two Friends, Captain Paul Cuffe and Stephen Gould. In the process of writing and publishing the commentary forthe transcription ofCaptain Paul Cuffe 's Logs andLetters, 1803-1807, I found Stephen Gould's diaries a major resource for understanding the wider community of early nineteenth century New England Quakers. I. The Times Until the time ofthe Revolution, Quakers stood in a position ofeconomic and political power in the colony ofRhode Island. Newport, the chieftown and international port on the south end of Aquidneck Island, had been prosperous and thriving. It was also the dynamo behind the American slave trade that fueledthe burgeoning economy ofthe newly formedUnited States ofAmerica and had economic impact on the towns alongNarragansett Bay. However, because ofFriends' adherence to the Peace Testimony, and their stand as conscientious objectors, they had been eyed by many with suspicion . During the period ofthe British occupation ofNewport some Friends hadmovedto the mainland, Canada, orevenbackto England. Others stayed, trying to adhere to their principles of acknowledging "that of God in everyone," even the British forces holed up in their town. By the end ofthe Revolution and during the ensuing depression, Quakers withdrew from theirprevious public involvement in government and social issues. They were fearful because their young people were turning away from Quakerism in alarming numbers. One such was Nathanael Greene, who had left his East Greenwich Monthly Meeting after joining the military .1 Friends were aware that they had become suspect because of their relative prosperity and their stance as non-combatants during the War. Although they hadprospered financially, they believed theirbusinesses had been hampered by their beliefs in the need to avoid enterprises that had to do with slavery, the slave trade, and armaments. Yet, reviews of Newport's earliest economic success suggest that it largely depended on industries connected to the slave trade, because ofthe town's easy access by water to the Caribbean islands and the plantation * Rosalind C. Wiggins earned an MA in Black Studies in Education following a twenty-five-year career as a portrait and ecclesiastical sculptor. After teaching at Washtenaw Community College in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and at Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, she retired to work as the curator of the New England Yearly Meeting Archives. Since then she has published works about Friends andAfricanAmericans in eighteenth- andnineteenth-centuryNew England. Paul and Stephen, Unlikely Friends South. Its notably airy, cool summers also made it a fine resort for many urban Southerners who sought relieffrom their fetid, fever-ridden cities. It also provided excellent skippers, fine ship-builders, ample financial investment from men and firms [women could not own property legally]. Many owned large sugar plantations in the West Indies, vast cotton, indigo and tobacco acreage inthe South. Someownedsubstantialholdings onAquidneck Island and southward along Narragansett Bay. Stronger rum which withstood the long voyages to Africa was distilled in Rhode Island. Many imported Africans were sold in the West Indies before they could reach this northern port; there was no large market for slaves in the state so there were few visible evidences such as slave coffles, a slavejail or particular market. Slaves supplied to the big farms in South County were often brought there directly. However, there was a strong community offree blacks in the town, a few ofwhom were still enslaved when Stephen Gould arrived. There had been an outright ban on slave ownership in 1776 by the Quaker community.2 Gradual Emancipation had been enacted in the state in 1784, for which Quakers and Congregationalists were largely responsible. In fact, this law confounded problems for free blacks, making theirposition ambiguous and open to manipulation and deceit. Despite the touted freedom ofthe northern states, the 1793 Federal Fugitive Slave Law put all free blacks injeopardy. II. Friendship On August 8th of 1817 Captain Paul Cuffe wrote a letter from his sickbed at his home in Westport, Massachusetts to Stephen Gould. Being a shipbuilder and international merchant trader, he sent it by one ofhis coastwise vessels tohis friend's shop nearLong WharfinNewport: "I am inalow State ofhealth...

Little GM segregation from US farmers

In a recent survey from Reuters, only 20% of US farmers questioned said that they plan to segregate GM from non-GM crops during the 2001 season. The remaining 80% of the 400 farmers surveyed said that they would not be investing in testing kits, equipment or storage facilities to isolate their biotech crops. The survey comes at a time when America's biggest farm importers, Japan and Europe, are increasingly pressuring US grain exporters to test crop shipments for GM contamination. [Reuters, 11 January, 2001.] TS

Even ants suffer superpests in big farms

Even ants suffer superpests in big farms

Animal and quality of life in traditional society in the Caribbean islands

The present topic is an analysis of the traditional society of Guadeloupe, French West Indies. The author deals with the birth of that society and its current trends; he recounts the circumstances under which the domestic animal was to be a real contribution to the daily life of the farmer. The horse is the symbol of conquest, nobility, power, and swiftness which positive qualities were also believed to be found in the overseer and master. Important as the horse’s role may have been, it was played along with other animals, in particular the cattle, the donkey, the mule, the goat, the sheep and several poultry species. As a whole, that kind of farming practice was labour-saving, made transport easier for the farmer, provided more food and filled a gap in finances; moreover, domestic animals were used to take part in entertainment. On the larger sugar cane farms, where cattle became strategically less important as a consequence of motor transport, the big farmers moved to the production of milk and meat. The growing local demand in food came to be supplied by this change. As for the average citizen who had recently had access to land ownership, he kept on dealing with that kind of domestic animal farming as a sustainable means of work. Cattle became integrated into his daily life. They were used in all the major events of his family life. Consequently, their market value increased, leading to a type of capitalisation. As a result of the farming of the Creole cattle, pig, goat and sheep, tradition was maintained alive, and the farmer’s life level was improved. Recently, some farmers developed official pastoral tourist events based on the skills and gifts of those animals. This recent attempt implies that there is an urgent need to set up a new research programme, in order to better identify, define and improve that heritage.

Investigations of the polyparisitism in pigs into Sohatu Big Farm

Investigations of the polyparisitism in pigs into Sohatu Big Farm

Farmers and Agricultural Policy in Greece since the Accession to the European Union

This paper seeks to interpret the demands and forms of organization of the big farmer union protests through an analysis of agricultural policy. Here, it is assumed that the current crisis in relations between farmers and the government is not fortuitous, but it is rather related to the way in which agricultural policy has been implemented since Greece joined the European Union. Therefore, this study focuses on two issues. The first refers to the relationship between farmers and the state following the construction of an all‐powerful system of state corporatism, via the ‘pro‐agricultural’ policy adopted from 1981 until 1989. This system went through a crisis between 1993 and 1996, when application of the ‘pro‐agricultural’ policy became increasingly difficult. The second part of this paper, attempts to approach the ideological content of the ‘pro‐agricultural’ policy, an issue closely linked with the populist phenomenon which dominated Greece after 1981 and began to lose ground in 1993.

Needle Structures and Epiphytic Microflora of Scots Pine (Pinus Sylvestris L.) under Heavy Ammonia Deposition from Fur Farming

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) needles from forest sites differing in distance from big fur farms emitting large amounts of ammonia and ammonium (=NHy) were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Specific features indicating an ammonium-nitrogen overload, such as an abundance of needle surface organisms and modifications in cellular and wax structures, were classified. Throughout the study area (up to 1000 m from the farms), mesophyll cells had thin cytoplasm and folding plasmalemma indicating frost damage. Phloem damage attributable to a possible nutrient imbalance was also observed. Chloroplast membranes were undulating and the occurrence of leaf surface organisms (e.g. aerophilic algae) was more abundant at the closest sites. The changes were related both to the direct effects of dry NHy deposition on the needles, and to the effects operating via soil acidification. The needle epicuticular waxes proved to be structurally rather inert against the influence of ammonium compounds, since no significant changes due to NHy were observed.