On-farm Storage Research Articles

Economics of Onion Storage Systems Under Tropical Conditions

ABSTRACT In Niger, a tropical country, profitability of onion storage is largely dependent on the storage method used and stock sale management adopted. This study examined onion storage operational efficiency, a measure of economic performance of marketing functions. Onion producers' storage preferences, costs and returns, and stock management practices as determinants of operational efficiency were analyzed. A stratified random sampling technique was adopted to select 82 farmers on the basis of three storage systems used: the granary, open-shed and mud-warehouse. Input-output data were collected by type of storage system from March to November 1999. Data collected included cost of construction and economic life of each system, market price of onion during harvest, quantity of onion stored, date of storage, and the date-place-price-quantity at each sale of stock. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results indicate similarities in onion storage preferences among farmers except for the unit space use greater for the granary than other two systems. There is no difference in stock management practices (number of sales/unit, duration between two consecutive sales, and quantity sold/sale) and Profit-kg−1 stored between the three types of storage. The granary system presented the least cost of construction and appeared most stable in terms of profit variability than did the other storage systems. The mud-warehouse presented the least rate of loss/day of storage and appeared most stable in terms of operational efficiency variability. The major determinants of operational efficiency were the type of storage system with the granary having a significant coefficient, the amount of storage space, the duration between two consecutive sales, the quantity sold per sale, and the duration of the storage. It is recommended that onion producers keep onion bulbs over longer period of time using the granary system and more on-farm storage space be made available.

Determination of Physical Properties of Pads for Maximizing Cooling in Evaporative Cooled Store

Evaporatively cooled storage structure, nowadays, is increasingly being used for on-farm storage of fruits and vegetables. Various design and concepts for constructing this structure are being applied. A structure using pad as cooling medium was designed and constructed for storage of fruits and vegetables. Physical properties of commonly used cooling pads, such as safeda, partal and root pads were studied and rate of water evaporation from their surfaces at different environmental conditions were evaluated for this structure in this investigation. The average bulk density of safeda, partal and root pads varied from 38-46 kg/m3 , 35-40 kg/m3 and 111-313 kg/m3 respectively; and decreased with the increase in their thickness. The average true densities of partai, safeda and root pads were found to be 1000, 750 and 590 kg/m3, respectively and among the three cooling pads, partal had maximum porosity and root pad the minimum. The surface evaporation of water from the cooling pads increased with increase in ambient temperature and decrease in the relative humidity irrespective of pad materials and thickness. The highest surface evaporation of 14.87g of water per minute was found to be from the partal cooling pad of 7 mm thickness.

Acute Anhydrous Ammonia Intoxication in Cattle

Intoxication with anhydrous ammonia (AA) is a common occupation-related health problem affecting farmers and fertilizer applicators, however, very few descriptions of animal exposure to this toxicant exist. Thieves entered a feedlot and damaged a liquid AA storage tank, resulting in the accidental leakage of gas from a valve. Overnight, 12 cattle were found dead, with a total mortality of 64 cattle out of 260 on the premises dying or euthanized in < 1 week. Signs of affected cattle included blindness, drooling, inappetence, respiratory distress, recumbency, and death. Two cattle were submitted live for diagnostic evaluation 3 days after initial exposure. Gross lesions included corneal ulcers, fibrinonecrotizing rhinitis, hemorrhages within the nasal sinuses, and anterioventral bronchopneumonia. Microscopic lesions consisted predominantly of degeneration and necrosis of superficial epithelium lining nasal passages, trachea, and pulmonary airways. This case illustrates the acute AA effects on cattle, which is likely to be an increasingly encountered problem because of on-farm storage of AA and its access by illicit drug manufacturers.

Influence of temperature on Salmonella survival in hog manure slurry and seasonal temperature profiles in farm manure storage reservoirs

Assess the influence of temperature on Salmonella survival in stored hog manure slurry from different production phases and characterize the seasonal temperature exposure experienced by manure during on-farm storage.

Efficacy of Indigenous Plant Materials and Modified Storage Structures to Insect Pests of Maize Seed During On-Farm Storage

Four different modified storage structures such as bamboo mat with mud plastering, jute bag with inner plastic lining, metal bins and kuniyu (control treatment) were evaluated for their suitability for maize seed storage for eleventh months in 2001 at Rising Patan (450 m asl) and Budhakot (911 m asl) of western Nepal. Forty adults maize weevils (Sitophilus zeamays Mostachusky) per storage structures were inoculated before treating them with individual plant materials and chemical pesticides. Plant materials and safe chemical pesticides such as timur (Xanthophylum sp.) 25 g/kg, bojho (Acorus calamusI L.) 50 g/kg, common salt 50 g/ kg, acetallic super 1 mg/kg and aluminum phosphide 0.5 tab/10 kg (chemical check) were applied in the individual treatments. The experiments were evaluated into factorial design. Quality assessment and insect pests infestation of maize seeds in storage structures have revealed, metal bin and jute bag with inner plastic lining were the best storage structures. Metal bin was found superior in terms of its ability to give 91% germination within six months of storage followed by jute bag (88 %) and bamboo mat (73.50%). Similarly, bojho has given very effective control to maize weevil, where the infestation was only 2.25% during the period of nine months of storage. In this regard, bojho can be recommended as effective plant material to control weevils at par with acetallic super, whereas, the common salt did not work at all. &#x0D; &#x0D; Key words: Bojho, germination, maize seed storage, maize weevil, storage structures &#x0D; &#x0D; J. Inst. Agric. Anim. Sci. 27:69-76 (2006)

On-farm storage studies on sorghum and chickpea in Eritrea.

On-farm storage studies were conducted in Teraemini, Ashera and Hamelmalo sub-zones in Eritrea during 2004/2005, with the objective of finding the damages caused by storage pests under farmers’ situations. The studies were conducted on chickpea and sorghum and the treatments used were sand, small grain (taff, Eragrostis tef), vegetable oil and chemical (Malathox 1%). Data were collected every month on the number of eggs, number of holes, grain damage, weight loss and germination of the grains. The major storage pests observed during the studies were bruchids (Callosobruchus chinensis L.) on chickpea. Sorghum was attacked in storage by Angoumois grain moth (Sitotroga cerealella), weevils (Sitophilus spp), confused flour beetles (Tribolium spp), saw toothed grain beetles and mites. The populations of these pests were very low in the first three months. However, after three months of storage the population of the pests in all grains and locations increased very fast and caused high damage. The highest grain damages were recorded in the untreated control (check), sand and taff treatments. The weight loss for sorghum and chickpea in the untreated control (check) were 9.17 and 27.51%, respectively. Ash, oil and chemical treatments significantly lowered grain damage and weight loss in all the studies and locations. Ash and edible oils-treated grains had low or no storage pest problems in all the study sites

Policy reform and farmers' wheat allocation in rural China: a case study*

Market-oriented policy reforms often have important effects on farm-level grain production and utilisation decisions in developing countries. China’s grain farmers are of particular interest because of China’s importance in world grain markets and because of China’s recent major agricultural policy advances and retrenchments. An empirical evaluation of market liberalisation among farmers located in two provinces in China on farm-level wheat consumption, market sales and on-farm storage during 1994 is presented. The results indicate that policymakers should account for such changes in farm household behaviour in designing and assessing the consequence of market liberalisation programs for agricultural sectors in developing countries.

Declines of zoonotic agents in liquid livestock wastes stored in batches on-farm

To measure the decline rates of zoonotic agents introduced into liquid livestock wastes in on-farm storage tanks. Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O157, Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes and Cryptosporidium parvum, propagated in laboratory-controlled conditions, were inoculated into 35,000-l volumes of fresh livestock wastes (pig slurries, cattle slurries and dirty waters). D-values for bacteria were six to 44 days, and for C. parvum were 133 to 345 days. Campylobacter jejuni declined significantly more rapidly than the other bacterial pathogens, while E. coli O157 declined significantly more slowly. On average, bacterial declines were not affected by the season of waste deposition and storage or by the dry matter content of the wastes, but were more rapid in dirty waters than in pig slurries. The physiciochemical composition of wastes in each category varied significantly. Zoonotic agents can survive for several months during storage of liquid livestock wastes. Livestock wastes should be batch-stored and not subjected to continuous additions. This study indicates that batches of liquid livestock waste, if contaminated with bacterial pathogens, should be stored for 6 months to reduce contamination levels. Alternative strategies for reducing C. parvum levels in liquid livestock wastes should be explored.

Feasibility of On-Farm Commercial Grain Storage in the Smallholder Agriculture of Ethiopia

This study investigates the feasibility of on-farm temporal arbitrage for two major food crops in Ethiopia as a strategy to raise and stabilize the income of smallholder farmers under competitive liberalized agricultural market conditions. Descriptive techniques are used to identify the temporal behaviour of producer prices, with the objective of detecting any identifiable and regular seasonal patterns that could be used as a basis to plan on-farm temporal arbitrage. Next, the identified temporal behaviours are tested for stability. Once stable temporal price behaviours are confirmed, the feasibility of on-farm temporal arbitrage is investigated by comparing values of the monthly ‘gross real return to storage’ with threshold and tripled storage-cost scenarios at farm level. The results reveal that on-farm temporal arbitrage is economically feasible for the majority of months in a year in the case of the threshold cost scenario and for about six months in the case of the most pessimistic cost scenario. Based on this empirical evidence, on-farm temporal arbitrage should be promoted as a policy strategy to raise and stabilize the income of smallholder farmers. By doing so, the incentives of smallholder farmers could be improved to increase food-crop productivity and, eventually, their food-security status.

The Role of Contaminated Feed in the Epidemiology and Control ofSalmonella entericain Pork Production

Food animal producers have ethical obligations to reduce the risk of foodborne hazards in animals under their care. Contaminated feed is a recognized source of Salmonella infection of food animals and regulations to control Salmonella contamination of animal feed have existed in some countries for decades. The impact of reducing Salmonella contamination of animal feeds on the risk of human foodborne salmonellosis is difficult to assess, and is likely to vary among food animal industries. In the context of U.S. pork production, factors that may attenuate or negate the impact (on public health) of regulatory interventions to control Salmonella in commercial feed include widespread use of on-farm mixing of swine feed; incomplete decontamination of feed during processing; post-processing contamination of feed at feed mills or in transportation or on-farm storage; the multitude of nonfeed sources of Salmonella infection; an apparently high risk of post-farm infection in lairage; and post-harvest sources of contamination. A structured survey of the extent of Salmonella contamination of animal feed in the United States is necessary to enable more informed debate on the feasibility and likely efficacy of enforcing a Salmonella-negative standard for animal feeds to reduce the incidence of human salmonellosis.

Methods and technologies for handling mortality losses

Poultry carcasses resulting from death by natural occurrences at high levels of production represents a tremendous amount of organic matter that requires environmentally and biologically safe disposal or utilization. Methods for disposal of poultry carcasses include burial, incineration, composting, and rendering. Burial pits used for carcass disposal pose concerns that include the decline in ground water quality where pits are located and residue remaining in pits after years of use. Burial is no longer permitted in some poultry producing areas of the United States except in the case of catastrophic loss. Incineration is a biologically safe method of disposal; however, it tends to be slow and expensive even when highly efficient incinerators are used. Burial and incineration impose environmental concerns that are becoming less acceptable. Research has been conducted during the past decade in support of composting for carcass disposal. When poultry carcass composting is properly conducted, disease-causing microorganisms do not survive the process and the composted material can be used as a soil amendment. Composting is environmentally sound, relatively inexpensive, and has gained widespread acceptance. Rendering carcasses into a protein by-product meal is an alternative in the United States, but is not permitted in the European Union. Poultry carcasses can be removed from the farm, but the spread of pathogenic microorganisms during routine pickup and transportation to a rendering facility may present a substantial threat. Refrigeration, principally freezing, has potential for short-term storage prior to rendering, but costs of operation and transportation need careful consideration. Lactic acid fermentation of poultry carcasses prior to transportation stabilizes carcass deterioration and minimizes pathogen threat. Fermentation allows for long-term on-farm storage of poultry carcasses, reduced transportation costs and results in a usable feed ingredient. When coupled with rendering, fermentation is an excellent alternative for storing and transporting pathogen-free poultry carcasses. All methods that allow for the environmentally safe and bio-secure disposal of poultry carcasses should be considered. No single method will completely solve the problem.

Agro-hydrological evaluation of on-farm rainwater storage systems for supplemental irrigation in Laikipia district, Kenya

Semi-arid agro-ecosystems are characterized by erratic rainfall and high evaporation rates leading to unreliable agricultural production. Total seasonal rainfall may be enough to sustain crop production, but its distribution and occurrence of intra-season dry spells (ISDS) and off-season dry spells (ODS) affect crop production. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) and management, especially on-farm storage ponds for supplemental irrigation offers an opportunity to mitigate the recurrent dry spells. Farm ponds are small runoff storage structures of capacities ranging from 30 to 100 m 3 used mainly for supplemental irrigation of kitchen gardens, and sometimes for domestic and livestock water supply. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the hydrological and economic performance of farm ponds with the view of assessing their contributions to water and food security in semi-arid agro-systems of Kenya. Agro-hydrological evaluation of on-farm runoff storage systems entailed field survey, monitoring of water losses, analysis of rainy seasons and dry spell occurrence, soil moisture and water balance, estimation of supplemental irrigation requirement (SIR) and farm-level cost-benefit analysis of cabbage production using low-head drip irrigation system. Significant water losses through seepage and evaporation, which accounted on average for 30–50% of the stored runoff, is one of the factors that affect the adoption and up-scaling of on-farm water storage systems. Frequency analysis of rainfall revealed that there is 80% probability of occurrence of dry spells exceeding 10 and 12 days during the long rains and short rains, respectively. The occurrence of off-season (after rainfall cessation) dry spells was more pronounced than intra-seasonal (within the rainy season) dry spells. The length of intra-seasonal (10–15 days) was less than off-season dry spells (20–30 days). The occurrence of off-season dry spells coincides with the critical crop growth stage, in particular flowering and yield formation stages. A 50 m 3 farm pond with a drip system irrigation system was found adequate to meet supplemental irrigation requirement for a kitchen garden of 300–600 m 2 planted with a 90 days growing period cabbages. The cost-benefit analysis showed that farm ponds are feasible solutions to persistent crop failures in semi-arid areas which dominant most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Optimal On-Farm Grain Storage by Risk-Averse Farmers

Most previous research on post-harvest grain storage by farmers has assumed riskneutral behavior and/or made restrictive assumptions about underlying price probability distributions. In this study, we solve the optimal on-farm storage problem for a risk-averse farmer under more general assumptions about underlying price distributions. The resulting model is applied to Michigan corn farmers and findings show, contrary to the all or nothing risk-neutral rule, risk-averse farmers will spread sales out over the storage season. As farmers become more risk averse, the optimal strategy is to sell more grain at harvest and spread sales over the storage season, even though this practice reduces expected return. This result is more consistent with observed farmer behavior than the all or nothing risk-neutral rule.

Stretching water – Queensland's water use efficiency cotton and grains adoption program

The Cotton and Grains Adoption Program of the Queensland Rural Water Use Efficiency Initiative is targeting five major irrigation regions in the state with the objective to develop better irrigation water use efficiency (WUE) through the adoption of best management practices in irrigation. The major beneficiaries of the program will be industries, irrigators and local communities. The benefits will flow via two avenues: increased production and profit resulting from improved WUE and improved environmental health as a consequence of greatly reduced runoff of irrigation tailwater into rivers and streams. This in turn will reduce the risk of nutrient and pesticide contamination of waterways. As a side effect, the work is likely to contribute to an improved public image of the cotton and grain industries. In each of the five regions, WUE officers have established grower groups to assist in providing local input into the specific objectives of extension and demonstration activities. The groups also assist in developing growers' perceptions of ownership of the work. Activities are based around four on-farm demonstration sites in each region where irrigation management techniques and hardware are showcased. A key theme of the program is monitoring water use. This is applied both to on-farm storage and distribution as well as to application methods and in-field management. This paper describes the project, its activities and successes.

Contributing Factors to Engulfments in On-Farm Grain Storage Bins

ABSTRACT Since 1978 Purdue University has maintained a national database of agriculture-related engulfment cases that have occurred in loose agricultural material in both commercial and on-farm facilities. The database presently contains 502 documented cases of fatal and non-fatal engulfments from the U.S. and Canada. A review of the more recent on-farm fatal and non-fatal engulfment cases, those occurring in 1980 through 2001, was conducted in order to characterize engulfments and identify contributing factors that would be relevant to future intervention strategy development including the implementation of design standards for on-farm structures. From 1980 through 2001, 197 cases were identified that occurred in on-farm grain bins, 156 of which were fatal and 41 were non-fatal. A rate of approximately seven fatal and two non-fatal cases per year were identified from 1980 through 2001. The magnitude of the engulfment problem is continuing, based on six and seven fatal cases reported in the years 2000 and 2001, respectively. Sixteen percent of fatal and six percent of non-fatal victims were children and adolescents under the age of 16. Fifty percent of the survivors were 60 years of age or older. Engulfments were generally reported more often in the top corn-producing states and involved corn in 76% of the fatal cases when product was known. Seventy-seven percent of the fatal victims were unloading the bin at the time of engulfment in cases where activity at the time of engulfment was known. Forty-one percent of the fatality cases involved corn that was out-of-condition where the condition of the grain was known. In survival cases where information about the presence of co-workers at the time of engulfment was known, it was found that a co-worker was present at the time of engulfment in 86% of the cases. In four cases, a survivor was rescued from a bin after being completely engulfed in grain. In all four cases, a co-worker was present at the time of engulfment and out-of-condition grain was involved. Findings are being used to design new injury prevention strategies, including educational materials and recommendations for engineering controls that focus on primary causative factors.

Comportamento de queda de fêmeas ingurgitadas do carrapato Boophilus microplus

A dinâmica de queda de fêmeas ingurgitadas do carrapato Boophilus microplus foi avaliada na Estação Experimental da Embrapa Gado de Leite, em Coronel Pacheco- MG, Brasil. O objetivo foi avaliar as vantagens da modificação do horário de ordenha dos bovinos, considerando a higienização do pasto, em relação ao carrapato. O experimento constou de uma fase de verão/outono e uma de inverno, para testar diferenças no ritmo de queda dos carrapatos entre as duas estações. Os resultados mostraram diferenças significativas entre as fases. No verão/outono, as fêmeas ingurgitadas apresentaram maior porcentagem de queda entre 7 e 10 horas (35,3%) e no inverno entre 6 e 9 horas (19,69%) e entre 14 e 17 horas (21,79%). A porcentagem de queda de fêmeas ingurgitadas no período foi de 35,15% para o sistema de ordenha de 5-8h e 13-16h e de 45,48% para o sistema de ordenha de 8-11h e 16-19h, durante os meses de verão/outono. Nos meses de inverno, o porcentual de queda foi de 40,51% e de 32,71% para os dois horários de ordenha respectivamente. Considerando o tempo que os animais permanecem estabulados para a suplementação no cocho durante o período entre as ordenhas na época seca do ano na região (maio a setembro), a porcentagem de queda de fêmeas ingurgitadas foi de 55,83% para o sistema de ordenha de 5 a 16h e de 52,36% para o sistema de ordenha de 8 a 19h.

The leaching paradox and return flow management options for sustainable irrigated agriculture

Leaching is necessary to maintain an acceptable salt balance in the root-zone of irrigated crops. This however contributes to point and non-point source water pollution externalities if not managed correctly. The use of a linear programming model, SALMOD (Salinity and Leaching Model for Optimal Irrigation Development) is demonstrated to determine the feasibility of leaching. artificial drainage, and on-farm storage/evaporation ponds to manage degraded return flows entering the water source and groundwater. Results show optimal cropping compositions and management practices to maximise farm returns subject to water quality conditions and return flow constraints. The economic effects of constraining return-flows and of water pricing policy on the volume of return flows are also determined. Results show valuable policy information regarding the interactions between artificial drainage subsidisation, return flow restrictions and on-farm storage.

Effects of Storage Conditions on the Total Aerobic and Yeast/Mold Bacterial Counts of Rough Rice During On‐farm Storage

ABSTRACT: Total aerobic plate counts (APC) and yeast/mold counts on farm‐stored rice (Oryza sativa L.) were evaluated as a function of sampling position within a bin, storage treatment (aeration technique), and storage duration. Rough rice (cv. Cypress) was stored for 15 wk and sampled at time 0 and at 4‐wk intervals thereafter. No significant differences were found for either APC or yeast/mold counts between sample locations within a bin. The APC were significantly lower in all bins after 15 wk (p &lt; 0.05) by 1.5 log cfu/g, corresponding to the temperature decrease of the rice in the storage bins. Yeast/mold data varied significantly over storage duration in a pattern similar to the moisture content data. Aeration treatment did not affect yeast/mold counts, but APC were significantly lower at 15 wk for rice from controlled aeration. Results indicate that storage efforts aimed at reducing grain temperature can reduce microbial loads.

Ten years after the arrival in Ghana of Larger Grain Borer: Farmers' responses and adoption of IPM strategies

Small-scale on-farm storage of maize in Africa is changing, in part due to shifts in the threat from insect pests. A questionnaire survey of 242 households in four closely situated districts in the Volta Region of Ghana, where Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) arrived ten years ago, was used to show how maize storage practices have changed over the last five years. The survey included asking farmers about changing use of contact insecticides in maize storage in order to guide research and future recommendations. We found high uptake of recommendations developed by a project for reducing Larger Grain Borer damage. Farmers are being pro-active in preventing extensive damage from this pest by replacing the wood of their storage structures, increasing inspection of maize in their stores, and increasing their use of grain protectants. There were differences in post-harvest practices according to district, ethnic group and gender. Grain protectants (traditional methods or commercially available products) were used by 45% of farmers. Cost was the most often cited constraint to the use of recommended commercial products. Farmers reported that their three most important sources of information on maize storage were the agricultural extension services, radio programmes and local networks of friends, family and fellow farmers.

Rice Storage Controlled at Temperature below ICE Point for Preserving High Quality

Rice with a moisture content of less than 17.8% did not freeze even at minus 80°C. In an on-farm storage experiment, 994 tons of rough rice was stored in two silos, and the rough rice was aerated for 91 hours in January 2000. The rough rice temperature fell down below ice point. At the end of storage, July 2000, the temperatures of rice grains in the center of the silos were kept still below ice point. A combination of rice storage at a temperature below ice point and utilization of ambient cold fresh air in winter therefore enables the quality of rice to be preserved at a high level without the requirement of a cooling unit or electricity.