Neighboring Farms Research Articles

Evelina and the Fairies

Evelina and the Fairies Simona Baldelli (bio) Translated by Oonagh Stransky (bio) and Enrica Maria Ferrara (bio) Keywords Simona, Baldelli, Oonagh, Stransky, Enrica Maria, Ferrara, Italian writers, Candelara, magical realism, fairies Evelina looked for peace and quiet. To find it, she woke up before everybody else: before her father who had to get to the fields at an early hour, before her mother and grandmother who had chores to do, before her older siblings who went to school, and before the younger ones who slept late. Sometimes she even woke up before the rooster; she’d sit by the window in her room and look out at Candelara. On that particular morning all she could see through the whiteness were the bare branches of the walnut tree. There had been snow on the ground for some time, but so much had fallen the night before that she doubted whether there was any left in heaven to send their way. Evelina observed a new candlestick of ice hanging from the eaves. She watched a robin hop about, searching for something to peck. She pressed her face to the glass and looked off to the left, beyond the elm trees that lined the path leading to her house. The tip of the clock tower and the dark cross on the spire of Saint Stephen’s looked like two lost souls on a mountain of white wool. The snow had fallen heavily over all the houses, chicken coops, and much of the church and sacristy that were built of the same fair-colored stones as the wall that started a bit farther on and that ringed the village like a necklace. The farm where Evelina lived with her family lay just beyond that circle. At times, she felt sad that her home, the Badioli’s house, and a few other neighboring farms were not included in that stony embrace, but other times she was happy to be up high, at eye level with the clock tower: it always told the time, and it was the most beautiful thing in Candelara, together with the castle farther down in the village. That morning, though, all the houses in the village had disappeared in the whiteness. But then, about halfway down the road, she saw the snow moving. Evelina rubbed her eyes to get rid of the flecks of sleep that had formed during the night, but it didn’t help. The whiteness rose and fell. [End Page 345] She went to the basin, broke the layer of ice that covered the water, and plunged her face into it. The freezing cold ran through her body, taking her breath away. She straightened up, her ears ringing, certain of having heard a voice outside calling Evelina, Evelina. She opened the window quietly so as not to wake her sisters and stuck her head out. Beyond the Badioli’s farm the sky was turning pink and the whole countryside had turned the color of cotton candy. Now airy clouds puffed up from that place in the snow, like flour when you knead bread dough. There must be something underneath it, a fox maybe, scurrying from one chicken coop to another looking for hens. Suddenly a heap of rags came to the surface, looked this way and that, and then disappeared again. Evelina was certain she was mistaken: that heap must have been a hare or wild rabbit looking for its warren. Suddenly, a tire appeared. Other bits and pieces followed. This went on for a bit. A hand, a shoe, even the handlebar of a bicycle. When the scuffling snow came up to the gate that led down the path to her house, she saw that the heap was wearing a hat and was actually a person’s head wrapped in rags. She got the hiccups, little bursts in her stomach that turned into spasms in her chest and then gurgles in her throat. She pressed her hand over her mouth to keep them down, but they were so forceful it felt like they wanted to shoot out her back. Meanwhile, as the puffing snow grew closer, with it came the sound of voices, moaning and crying...

Evaluation of the economic impact of classical and African swine fever epidemics using OutCosT, a new spreadsheet-based tool.

African swine fever (ASF) and classical swine fever (CSF) are two major transboundary animal diseases of swine with important socioeconomic consequences at farm, subnational and national level. The objective of this study was to evaluate the direct cost of outbreaks and their control at country/regional level in four countries: namely CSF in Colombia in 2015-2016, the retrospective cost of ASF in the Philippines in 2019 and in a province of Vietnam in 2020 and a hypothetical ASF scenario in one region in North Macedonia, using the newly developed Outbreak Costing Tool (OutCosT). The tool calculates the costs of 106 different items, broken down by up to four types of farms, and by who assumes the cost (whether veterinary services, farmers or other stakeholders). The total cost of CSF in Colombia was US$ 3.8 million, of which 88% represented the cost of the vaccination campaign. For ASF, there were wide differences between countries: US$ 8,26,911 in Lao Cai (Vietnam), US$ 33,19,666 in North Macedonia and over US$ 58 million in the Philippines. While in the Philippines and Vietnam, 96-98% of the cost occurred in the affected farms, the highest expenditure in North Macedonia scenario was the movement control of the neighbouring and at-risk farms (77%). These important differences between countries depend on the spread of the disease, but also on the production systems affected and the measures applied. Apart from the financial cost, these diseases have other negative impacts, especially in the livelihoods of smallholder farms. The OutCosT tool also allows users to evaluate qualitatively other important aspects related to the epidemics, such as the impact on human health, the environment, animal welfare, socioeconomic vulnerability, trading and political response. OutCosT, which is a FAO corporate tool (available online at: https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/faoweb/animal-health/OutCosT_PIG.xlsx), can be an important tool to support country authorities to rapidly respond to a swine disease outbreak by estimating the associated costs and for advocacy purposes to mobilize resources at national or international levels.

Cooperation and Compensation to Mitigate Fungicide Resistance

We evaluated grapegrowers’ awareness of fungicide resistance and willingness to adjust fungicide use practices to mitigate this problem in vineyards. We conducted a pilot study surveying a small group of grapegrowers in the United States to assess their knowledge about fungicide resistance and willingness to adjust fungicide use based on the effect that use had on their own farm and their neighboring farms’ profits. We found that though growers are generally willing to adjust their fungicide use practices if assisted with the mitigation of resistance, they were less willing to do so when that adjustment would negatively affect their profits. We also evaluated their willingness to adjust their fungicide use when lost profits were remediated with compensation. To understand the relationship between their willingness to change their practices with compensation and their baseline willingness to do so (without compensation), we conducted a logistic regression. Given the small sample inference, we used bootstrapped estimates and observed an increase on growers’ willingness to adjust their fungicide use when compensation was available. Our analysis underscores the importance of monetary compensation as an incentive to fight against fungicide resistance.

Supersizing salmon farms in the coastal zone: A global analysis of changes in farm technology and location from 2005 to 2020

Salmonid aquaculture, producing nearly 3 million tons per year, has expanded across temperate seascapes around the globe in recent decades. Cage technologies used to farm salmonids are thought to have changed in both size and location in coastal environments, yet remarkably little data exists to explain these major developments. Using satellite images from Google Earth, we mapped and measured sea-cages and their positions to quantify changes between historical and current use in major production regions. While cage numbers have remained similar across the major producing nations from 2005 to 2020, cage diameters have increased by 27–87%, which has resulted in large increases in farm sizes (total surface area enclosed by cages per site) of 61% in Chile, 84% in Scotland, 212% in the Faroe Islands and 221% in Norway. Cage type has changed from predominately square cages within steel platforms to plastic, circular arrays over the past 15 years, with notable exceptions such as Chile and the Pacific coast of North America. While farms in the top producing regions in 2020 were slightly further from the coast compared to 2005, salmon farming remains an activity that occurs close to the coast with farms on average sited just a few hundred metres from the nearest land. Distance to the nearest neighbouring farm increased for Norway, Chile and the Faroe Islands, but decreased for Scotland and the Atlantic coast of North America. Changes in farm technology used and their location have environmental and production consequences, with larger farms producing more waste at an individual site, bigger cages impacting the dissolved oxygen available to fish within them, and proximity of farms to their neighbours influencing the risk of disease incidence and spread. Characterising cage technologies in use across the major farming regions may allow for management practices to be critically analysed to improve fish welfare and production and reduce farm biosecurity threats and environmental impacts.

The adoption of homeopathy in small Brazilian dairy farms.

To investigate the motivations of family farmers to adopt or not homeopathy as a therapeutic tool, semi-structured interviews were carried out in 20 dairy farms in Antonio Prado and Ipê, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Among the farmers that used homeopathy, its degree of adoption was determined by subjective factors like previous experience with its use in the family members, the production of organic milk, a desire to avoid poisons and the influence of neighbor farmers. The lack of information among the farmers on the efficacy of the homeopathic medicines was a contributing factor for the rejection of homeopathy for some, and seems to have led others to discontinue its use during the first months of trial. For the same reason many users restricted its use to the prevention of a few diseases, ignoring that the health status of the herds treated with homeopathy was comparable to the conventionally treated herds. To help in a successful transition from conventional to alternative veterinary medicine systems and to avoid homeopathy from being used only in the prevention of a few diseases, programs that aim at supporting the transition to homeopathy as a main therapeutic option must include specialized veterinary assistance and incorporate methodologies that lead to a higher confidence and commitment of farmers.

Pre-extension Demonstration of Stingless Beekeeping <i>(Meliponiculture)</i> Through Participatory Approaches

This study was conducted in Toke Kutaye and Wolmera districts of West Shoa zone in 2018 and 2019. The two districts were selected purposively based on the stingless bee (meliponiculture) abundance. The objective was to evaluate and demonstrate stingless beekeeping practice (domestication) with farmers participation. Three Farmers research and extension groups (FREG) with 10 beekeepers each (6 male and 4 female) were established at Toke Kutaye and Wolmera districts. Three stingless bee apiaries were selected at each FREG for stingless bee (Meliponiculture) domestication. Both practical and theoretical Training was given for 41 beekeepers, 6 Woreda experts, and 3 DAs. Out of the training participants, 19 were female. A total of 31 pot hives were constructed by local potteries following the appropriate design. 20 queen right stingless bee nests from Toke Kutaye and 9 from Wolmera agro-ecologies were collected and domesticated at each apiary site. One shade was constructed at each apiary and pot hives were constructed for all FREG members. FREG members participated in all works (colony hunting from the forest and transferring, shade construction, feeding, and other management). The transferred colony (31 pot hives) were domesticated/persisted at all FREG site. About 620 mL of pure honey per pot per period was harvested from Toke Kutaye site. FREG members and other neighboring farmers appreciate the technology particularly for honey quality, simple inspection, colony not absconded, etc. Therefore, the technology should be further promoted in stingless bee production potential areas.

Sugarcane nutrition for food and environmental security/ Nutrição da cana-de-açúcar para segurança alimentar e ambiental

Sugarcane is an important cash crop cultivated globally from temperate to tropical regions. Improving cane yield and recovery sustainably is an important research area for improving livelihoods of the cane farmers. Among different approaches sill judicious and integrated use of nutrients as per plant needs holds the special place. Further, applying need based N management through optical gadgets viz. Leaf color chart (LCC), SPAD, Green seeker, integrated nutrient management, fertigation, special focus on for improving the efficiency of different fertilizers through different state of art technologies. For having higher fertilizer use efficiency in sugarcane, some aspects of fertilization especially How much? What type of? When to add? Is it worth? Number of splits? Mode of action? must be considered both for seed or ratoon. Further, soil textural class and climatic conditions on one side while on changing climatic conditions also affected it a lot. Further, inherent fertility status of the soils is also an important factor which affects the fate of applied fertilizers. There is a need to create awareness in between the farmers for not to applying huge quantity of different fertilizers as per their neighboring farmers, rather farmer should be smart enough to adopt different technologies in a smart way for having better benefits and thus livelihoods as the purpose is to fed the canes but not the soil. In the present review an attempt being made to compare the comparative performance of sugarcane with respect to fertilization for finally guiding the sugarcane cultivars. Idea is to enlighten them regarding need based sustainable fertilization with an aim to improve the fertilizer use efficiencies for having improved yield and quality parameters instead of loading the soil with much of fertilizers which further have environmental concerns.

An Experimental Comparison of IoT-Based and Traditional Irrigation Scheduling on a Flood-Irrigated Subtropical Lemon Farm.

Over recent years, the demand for supplies of freshwater is escalating with the increasing food demand of a fast-growing population. The agriculture sector of Pakistan contributes to 26% of its GDP and employs 43% of the entire labor force. However, the currently used traditional farming methods such as flood irrigation and rotating water allocation system (Warabandi) results in excess and untimely water usage, as well as low crop yield. Internet of things (IoT) solutions based on real-time farm sensor data and intelligent decision support systems have led to many smart farming solutions, thus improving water utilization. The objective of this study was to compare and optimize water usage in a 2-acre lemon farm test site in Gadap, Karachi, for a 9-month duration, by deploying an indigenously developed IoT device and an agriculture-based decision support system (DSS). The sensor data are wirelessly collected over the cloud and a mobile application, as well as a web-based information visualization, and a DSS system makes irrigation recommendations. The DSS system is based on weather data (temperature and humidity), real time in situ sensor data from the IoT device deployed in the farm, and crop data (Kc and crop type). These data are supplied to the Penman–Monteith and crop coefficient model to make recommendations for irrigation schedules in the test site. The results show impressive water savings (~50%) combined with increased yield (35%) when compared with water usage and crop yields in a neighboring 2-acre lemon farm where traditional irrigation scheduling was employed and where harsh conditions sometimes resulted in temperatures in excess of 50 °C.

Optimization of a wind farm by coupled actuator disk and mesoscale models to mitigate neighboring wind farm wake interference from repowering perspective

This study explores the effects of inter-farm wakes and proposes staggering schemes that are most suitable for optimization of existing wind farm arrays to mitigate the effects of compound wakes. The case study considers a total of 9 out of 33 most deteriorated wind turbine for a microscale numerical analysis using the steady-state actuator disk model coupled with the mesoscale boundary condition data. Furthermore, the convective atmospheric boundary layer has also been considered. For vertically staggered layouts, the effect of the inter-farm wakes appeared mild at 100 m, modest at 80 m, and high at 60 m; as the maximum velocity deficit observed under the influence of compound wakes is approximately 13.3%, 14.1%, and 15.2%, respectively. Onsite recorded power data has been used to validate the baseline predicted powers at 80 m hub height. Both vertical and horizontal staggering options have been assessed for partial repowering. By elevating the turbines to a 100 m hub height, the cumulative power generation from the 9 × turbines increased by approximately 13.5% while reducing the hub height to 60 m decreased the power output by approximately 11.5% of that of the baseline at 80 m hub height. Further increase in cumulative power of up to 23% compared to existing layout is achieved by applying a lateral repositioning of 3 × underperforming turbines now positioned at 100 m hub height. This paper hence presents an applied insight for partial repowering of onshore wind farms affected by inter-farm wakes.

Development of an Agent-Based Model for Weather Forecast Information Exchange in Rural Area of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Smallholder farmers in Ethiopia are vulnerable to climate change impacts due to their low adaptive capacity and dependence on rainfed agriculture. Thus, a successful weather forecast system may bring significant economic and social value to the community. The main objectives of this study were to identify the key information exchange agents, understand the information flow path, rank the relative importance of the different information dissemination pathways, and determine weather forecast adoption. We conducted a household survey in five villages of Rim Kebele in Bahir Dar area and found that farmers communicate with four main agents with regard to information exchange. We developed an agent-based model to learn the adoption rates of weather forecast information. Agriculture extension agents were found to be the most influential members of the community. Farmers’ communicating with neighboring village farmers showed higher adoption. Our results show at least twice that improvements in communication network attain higher adoption rates. Radio has also demonstrated positive uptake of information. We also found that forecast accuracy of 70% is sufficient to achieve high adoption rates. Our findings might help decision-makers recognize critical information flow pathways and their relative importance, and identify barriers to disseminating weather forecast information in the community.

No-till agriculture and the deception of sustainability in Brazil

ABSTRACT Agronomists and policy makers have proposed no-tillage practice and advocacy in the tropical savannah (Cerrado) of Brazil as a model for agriculture elsewhere. Building from intensive research with Embrapa and ethnographic research with two communities of transnational soy farmers, this paper explores the origins of no-tillage farming in the state of Paraná and the adoption and exploitation of no-tillage by large-scale farmers in the Cerrado of Brazil’s center-west. The spread of no-till was made possible by farmer innovation in Paraná, scientific research adapting the practice to the tropics, and and heavy application of chemical herbicides to control weeds without manual cultivation and intense soil fertility amendments in order to make the Cerrado productive for industrial agriculture. Small-scale Mennonites in the state of Goiás adopted it as an emergency measure to save their land base and compete with neighboring Brazilian farmers; large-scale family farmers from the U.S. adopted no-till to save on labor expense and reduce their liability in the face of labor laws. This indicates that while no-till in Brazil reduces soil erosion and is not a problem in itself, it emerges from a context of socio-technical fixes and its implementation supports farm profitability and agricultural expansion in the Cerrado.

Cost Effective Strategy to Disseminate IPM Technology: A Case of Banke and Surkhet District of Nepal

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a holistic approach in reducing damage caused by pests without harming the environment. A study on cost effectiveness strategy to disseminate IPM technology was conducted in the Banke and Surkhet districts of Nepal. For assessing the spread of information, farmers were asked a series of questions during the survey to determine knowledge of IPM and degree of IPM adoption. Using descriptive statistics and differences in means, analysis was done on relationships among access to information, IPM knowledge and adoption, and word-of-mouth diffusion of IPM techniques to neighboring farmers. For the evaluation of dissemination methods efficiency and to examine the cost for using the different dissemination methods of IPM technology followed by IPM IL project in Banke and Surkhet district, the cost measurements was focused only on the dissemination methods of IPM technology with a public cost such as mass media, agricultural officers, MPC, collection centre, FFS, CBFs, cooperatives, neighboring farmers, agro-vets and field days. When the number of farmers needing to receive training for one farmer to adopt IPM practices is known, and then that value can be multiplied by the cost per farmer trained which allows in providing the cost per farmer adopting the technology by transfer method. Capacity building in IPM technology development and dissemination in the study area was I/NGOs working in that area. Market Planning Committee of Banke and Surkhet district has played a vital role in disseminating IPM technology in cost effective and efficiently.
 Int. J. Soc. Sc. Manage. Vol. 8, Issue-1: 272-276

Promoting traditional foods for human and environmental health: lessons from agroecology and Indigenous communities in Ecuador

BackgroundThe displacement of traditional dietary practices is associated with negative nutritional consequences for rural Indigenous people, who already face the brunt of both nutritional inadequacies and excesses. Traditional food (TF) consumption and production practices can improve nutritional security by mitigating disruptive dietary transitions, providing nutrients and improving agricultural resilience. Meanwhile, traditional agricultural practices regenerate biodiversity to support healthy ecosystems. In Ecuador, Indigenous people have inserted TF agricultural and dietary practices as central elements of the country’s agroecological farming movement. This study assesses factors that may promote TF practices in rural populations and explores the role of agroecology in strengthening such factors.MethodsMixed methods include a cross-sectional comparative survey of dietary, food acquisition, production and socioeconomic characteristics of agroecological farmers (n = 61) and neighboring reference farmers (n = 30) in Ecuador’s Imbabura province. Instruments include 24-h dietary recall and a food frequency questionnaire of indicator traditional foods. We triangulate results using eight focus group discussions with farmers’ associations.ResultsCompared to their neighbors, agroecological farmers produce and consume more TFs, and particularly underutilized TFs. Farm production diversity, reliance on non-market foods and agroecology participation act on a pathway in which TF production diversity predicts higher TF consumption diversity and ultimately TF consumption frequency. Age, income, market distance and education are not consistently associated with TF practices. Focus group discussions corroborate survey results and also identify affective (e.g. emotional) and commercial relationships in agroecological spaces as likely drivers of stronger TF practices.ConclusionsTraditional food practices in the Ecuadorian highlands are not relics of old, poor and isolated populations but rather an established part of life for diverse rural people. However, many TFs are underutilized. Sustainable agriculture initiatives may improve TF practices by integrating TFs into production diversity increases and into consumption of own production. Agroecology may be particularly effective because it is a self-expanding global movement that not only promotes the agricultural practices that are associated with TF production, but also appears to intensify affective sentiments toward TFs and inserts TFs in commercial spaces. Understanding how to promote TFs is necessary in order to scale up their potential to strengthen nutritional health.

Organizational design and environmental performance: The case of French dairy farms

Understanding the processes related to the adoption of best environmental practices is an important challenge to support the transition to more sustainable agriculture. Our paper aims to contribute to this issue by analyzing the relation between farm's organizational design and environmental performance. We used data of 47562 dairy farms from the 2010 French Agricultural Census and employed econometric analysis to study the correlation between farm's internal and external factors and environmental performance. The environmental performance is approached by a score based on the adoption of nine best management practices. The results show that while the internal, structural and managerial resources, through which farms can increase their absorptive capacity, play an important role, external factors, particularly the type of market environment in which farms operate, play a key role in environmental performance. The results also highlight the central role of farms' spatial environment and, more specifically, the strong correlation with the environmental performance of the neighboring dairy farms. Finally, policies to promote locally farmer's experience exchanges, to supporting diversification, high quality products and short circuits can bust the environmental performance of dairy sector.

Farmer field school : An approach beyond technology transfer

Farmer field school is an innovative extension approach, emerged in rice crop and gradually diversified to vegetables, cotton, livestock and other crops. FFS originated from Indonesia, is presently being conducted in many countries with local adaptations and institutionalization. FFS is a groupbased learning process that includes hands-on training methods, carried out through field observations, agro-ecosystem analysis at subgroup level, agro-ecosystem analysis at school level and special topics. Participants of farmer field schools are made to learn through direct real-life experiences to maximize retention of farm information. During the period 1994-2013, total 14,617 FFS were organized to train 58,422 agricultural extension officers and 4,39,508 farmers in the country. Evaluation studies reported that the FFS approach has empowered farmers in knowledge acquisition, analytical skills, critical thinking, problem-solving skills and reflecting an increase in yield, reduction in pesticide use and farm-level returns. Sustained diffusion from field school graduates to neighboring farmers still lacks convincing evidences. Effective FFS essentially require backstopping by experienced facilitators, appropriate fund release mechanism, proper logistics, regular monitoring and participation of farmers.

The peer effect of training on farmers' pesticides application: a spatial econometric approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships of technical training and the peer effects of technical training with farmers' pesticide use behaviors.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses survey data from 300 peanut growers in Zoucheng County, Shandong, China, in 2016 and employs spatial econometric models to examine the relationships of technical training and the peer effects of technical training with farmers' pesticide use behaviors.FindingsThis paper reveals that important peer effects can be channeled through technical training and that these peer effects are sufficiently significant to encourage neighboring farmers to reduce the amount of pesticide use, to transform the structure of pesticide use, and to increase the usage amount of low-toxicity, low-residue pesticide use per hectare. The estimated parameters for the peer effects from technical training are significantly larger than those from technical training alone, which suggests that the technical training of neighboring farmers plays a greater role than technical training for farmers individually.Originality/valueThe research finds that technical training within smaller, localized, groups can induce previously unobservable spillover effects, and this provides a scientific, theoretical and empirical justification for agricultural technology extension that can lead to a rapid, effective transformation of applying new agricultural technologies in an environmentally sensitive and economically sustainable manner.

Fuzzy TOPSIS and fuzzy COPRAS based multi-criteria decision making for hybrid wind farms

Wind energy installation numbers have witnessed a sharp increase in the recent past. Additionally, wind farms are seen as an effective and potent part of the interconnected power system. Significant variations in the wind speed pose a challenge for wind farm operators to provide accurate forecasts. In this manuscript, three hybrid wind farms, each comprising of wind turbines and battery energy storage systems, are located in the vicinity of each other and are assumed to deliver power to a utility grid. Fuzzy-based Multi-criteria decision-making techniques are applied to this cluster of three hybrid wind farms to determine the best strategy. Machine learning-based LSSVR method is utilized for wind speed forecasting and penalty cost estimation. Fuzzy TOPSIS and Fuzzy COPRAS evaluated and potential reversal of rankings is also explored. With a cumulative priority score of 0.4573 and 99.3 for dataset X1, both, fuzzy TOPSIS and fuzzy COPRAS respectively indicate that A3, that is, paying penalty for power borrowed from a neighboring wind farm is the best alternative for a hybrid wind farm. This study gives new insights into decision-making, specifically for hybrid wind farms.

Partial repowering analysis of a wind farm by turbine hub height variation to mitigate neighboring wind farm wake interference using mesoscale simulations

Repowering augments the power generation capacity of a wind farm in order to enhance the exploitation of the high mean wind speed regions. In this study, a partial repowering strategy has been discussed for an onshore commercial-scale wind farm with deteriorated performance under the influence of wakes originating from upstream wind farms. The mesoscale Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with Wind Farm Parameterization has been employed to evaluate the wind speed and power deficit observed by the individual wind turbine generators. Wakes induced by the upstream wind farms are observed to cause a reduction in wind speed and power output by up to 15% and 35%, respectively. The predicted power was also validated by the observed data for each turbine generator. The hub heights of selected wind turbines with the highest power deficit are varied to alleviate the influence of upstream wind farm wake interference. Power output and wind shear profiles have been evaluated at new hub heights of 61.5 m and 100 m, and results are compared with the existing hub height turbine generators at 80 m. Power output reduced by up to 12% at the lower hub height of 61.5 m as compared to the default case, while an increase of about 13.6% is observed for the 100 m hub height case. A mean increase of 7.5% is estimated in the total wind power generation from the wind farm under evaluation. This paper presents a theoretical and engineering platform for partial repowering of wind farms with depleted generation due to inter-farm wake interaction.

Death by Crosspollination: The Uncontrollable Natural Occurrence That Could Kill Organic Farming and the Legal Solutions to Save an Industry

American farmers are under attack by uncontrollable technology. Patented genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are unwantedly contaminating organic crops in a process recognized by many, including the United States Supreme Court and GMO patent holding companies such as Monsanto. The process is called crosspollination. Crosspollination is a natural event where pollen produced by one plant is carried by the wind or bees to another plant. Typically, crosspollination is beneficial because it helps nourish the plants. However, the process is nearly uncontrollable in nature. Crosspollination can lead to catastrophic ends for owners of small, organic farms in the era of patented GMOs. This paper offers proposed legislative changes aimed at alleviating the problems that organic farmers now face. Suggested legal changes include: 1. Federal legislation modeled after California and Maine’s agriculture codes, which create a requirement of intent for any patent infringement suit against organic farmers; and 2. State legislative action to codify the relationship between Monsanto and its growers as an agency relationship. The goal of the first legal change, instituting an intent requirement to patent infringement, is to ensure that organic farmers unintentionally and unwantedly contaminated by GMOs cannot be sued by Monsanto for patent infringement. Additionally, this will add some security to organic farmers to with neighbors that grow GMO crops. With this legal change organic farmers will know that even if they are contaminated, they do not have to fear Monsanto knocking at their door the next morning. The goal of the second legal solution, is to allow organic farmers a cause of action to recoup and damages they suffer from contamination. It’s well known that certified organic crops are worth much more at market than conventionally grown crops. Therefore, organic farmers that are contaminated have an instant loss of their certification and the market price their products would have brought if they were not contaminated. To combat this, the legal theory of agency would allow farmers to avoid harming their neighboring farmer, but go after the GMO company instead, for the trespass on their crops and for the money the organic farmer lost because of their loss of certification and crop prices.

Disharmonization in the Regulation of Transgenic Plants in Europe

Disharmonization in the Regulation of Transgenic Plants in Europe