Production Practices Research Articles

Patterns of variation and relationships among fat, protein, and milk yield of individual dairy cattle in a Thai multibreed population.

This study systematically examines the patterns of milk yield (MY, kg), fat (FAT, %), and protein (PROT, %) in a diverse population of Thai multibreed dairy cattle, considering the tropical environment's impact on lactating cows. Using a dataset of 47,205 monthly test-day records from 4,440 first-lactation cows across 446 farms, we analyze variations and interrelationships through mathematical averaging and introduce the fat-to-protein ratio (FPR) to assess acidosis (FPR < 1.1) and ketosis (FPR > 1.5) risks during lactation. Pearson correlation analysis elucidated trait associations. The findings, aligned with established lactation norms, indicate peak production at 297 days in milk (DIM) for FAT (4.08%; SD = 0.96%), PROT (3.43%; SD = 0.47%), and 52 DIM for MY (18.09kg; SD = 4.91kg). Nadirs are observed at 72 DIM for FAT (3.27%; SD = 0.74%), 47 DIM for PROT (2.86%; SD = 0.36%), and 299 DIM for MY (9.05kg; SD = 2.95kg). FPR variations highlight acidosis (46.48%), normal (43.66%), and ketosis (9.86%), especially during early lactation (100 DIM). Significant negative correlations emerge between MY, FAT, and PROT (P < 0.05), while a positive correlation is identified between FAT and PROT (P < 0.01), with robust correlations during early lactation. This study contributes to understanding tailored nutritional strategies for dairy cows' holistic health and sustainability in tropical environments, guiding efficient production practices and mitigating health-related productivity impediments.

Unveiling the Nutritional Quality of Terrestrial Animal Source Foods by Species and Characteristics of Livestock Systems.

Background. It is well-established that a range of macronutrients, micronutrients and bioactive compounds found in animal-source foods play unique and important roles in human health as part of a healthy diet. Methods. This narrative review focuses on terrestrial animal source foods (TASFs). It particularly analyzes five groups: poultry eggs, milk, unprocessed meat, foods from hunting and wildlife farming, and insects. The objectives were as follows: (1) examine the nutrient composition of TASFs within and across livestock species, drawing on the country and regional food composition databases; (2) analyze the influence of intrinsic animal characteristics and production practices on TASF nutritional quality. Results. TASFs are rich in high-quality proteins and fats, as well as micronutrients such as vitamin B12, iron or zinc. This study found differences in the nutritional quality of TASFs by livestock species and animal products, as well as by characteristics of livestock production systems. Our findings suggest that there may be public health opportunities by diversifying TASF consumption across species and improving certain aspects of the production systems to provide products that are both more sustainable and of higher quality. Conclusions. Future research should adopt a more holistic approach to examining the food matrix and the dietary patterns that influence TASF digestibility. It is necessary to include meat from hunting and wildlife farming and insects in global food composition databases, as limited literature was found. In addition, scarce research focuses on low- and middle-income countries, highlighting the need for further exploration of TASF food composition analysis and how intrinsic animal characteristics and livestock production system characteristics impact their nutritional value.

Recent developments in second home research: has the COVID-19 pandemic spurred a re-thinking of second home mobilities?

ABSTRACT This paper explores whether the COVID-19 pandemic has initiated a “re-thinking” of second home mobilities globally. For a long time, second homes have mainly been seen as a leisure space and part of tourism consumption in rural areas in contrast to more productive, entrepreneurial and residential functions and practices. We claim that the pandemic has pinpointed second homes’ increasingly integrated role in everyday life practices, including being spaces for productive and regenerative ends, such as work, safety and health. Furthermore, the importance of second homes within a wider mobility framework is also highlighted, where second homes should be seen as not only a type of tourism mobility. In this paper, we carry out a literature review that aims to expand from the well-established tourism, rural studies and geography perspectives on second home mobilities and connect second homes to identify new research pathways which have been highlighted during the pandemic. By doing so we will pinpoint the growing avenues and future directions for second home research.

Educating Dora: Teaching a conversational agent to talk

Many organisations are witnessing the introduction of automated systems to mediate between them and their clients, often designed as dialogic user interfaces which are conversational in nature. Despite calls for the design of AI-powered conversational agents to draw on Ethnomethodological Conversation Analysis (EMCA), how an EMCA-informed conversation design can improve interactions between humans and conversational agents is yet to be empirically examined. This paper reports on a collaboration between EMCA researchers and AI conversation designers at digital health company Ufonia to develop Dora, a pre-existing ‘automated clinical assistant’ that provides telephone consultations for patients of the UK’s National Health Service. Our analysis identified differences between the conversation design of the product and conversational practices found in equivalent activities involving human clinicians, relevant to implementing changes to improve user experience. We demonstrate that users are prompted to recalibrate their practices (such as for turn-taking) in situ as they engage with a system which does not match their prior experiences of this activity type. Such insights can be leveraged to adapt system design so that it more closely approximates users’ prior experiences of such engagements.

Transformation of the farm segment of the aquaculture value chain in southern Bangladesh

Aquaculture in Bangladesh has experienced rapid growth over the last three decades, yet technological changes in the farming segment remains underexplored. To address this gap, we surveyed 721 farmers across seven districts in southern Bangladesh from November 2020 to February 2021. The result showed moderate growth in aquaculture, with an 11 % increase in farmers and a 15 % rise in waterbodies over the past decade. Farmers cultivated diverse aquatic species, with carp dominating production at 56 % followed by crustaceans (16 %) and tilapia (14 %). Shrimp are more highly susceptible to disease than fish and prawn but, only 19 % of farmers adopted measures to enhance survival. The study noted a shift from shrimp to prawn and from crustaceans to fish due to disease, market demand, and environmental factors, resulting in intensification and greater use of floating feed over the last decade. A mere 0.55 % of farmers reported losses, spoilage, or wastage during harvest or between harvest and sale of aquatic products, with the volume being minimal at just 0.52 %. Farming generated 401,536 full-time equivalent (FTE) on-jobs in the seven surveyed districts, predominantly for family labor. Aquaculture demonstrates strong profitability, with an average benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 1.98, indicating nearly a twofold return on investment. This study highlights the evolving dynamics of aquaculture in southern Bangladesh, revealing modest growth, increased species diversification, and shifts in production practices, which underscore the sector's profitability and need for improved technological adoption on a global scale.

A Current View on Strawberry Production Practices and Trends in the Northeastern United States and Canada

Strawberries (Fragaria ×ananassa) are an important crop for diversified fruit and vegetable farms in the northeastern United States as well as in Ontario and Québec, Canada. The industry in this cold climate region differs greatly from that in the major strawberry-producing states of Florida and California because strawberries typically represent a smaller share of total farm revenue and are sold primarily through retail markets. In recent years, strawberry production and marketing methods in the northeastern United States and Canada have diversified to meet the unique challenges of the region, including regional demand, extended seasons, and management of an increasingly challenging pest and disease complex. In 2020, we distributed an online survey to 163 commercial producers to obtain a snapshot of marketing and production practices used on strawberry-producing farms in this region and to assess research and outreach needs to better serve the industry. We conducted in-depth case study interviews with a small number of producers after the survey. We found that traditional June-bearing strawberry production continues to represent &gt;50% of production, and that most fruit are grown conventionally. Day-neutral strawberry production was reported by an increased number of producers in New York as well as in Canada, and a higher percentage of day-neutral growers, compared to that of June-bearing producers, reported using protected culture. Botrytis (gray mold), weeds, and leaf spots were the top overall pest pressures indicated by growers. Survey respondents preferred written outreach materials and on-farm meetings to obtain information. Integrated pest management, organic production, and cultivar performance were the top priorities for subjects. The survey and interviews also provided information about the most common strategies for winter protection, frequency of pesticide applications, lifespan of plantings, and other current strawberry production practices in the region. Our survey results may be used by researchers and extension professionals to better serve this diversifying industry.

Effects of Irrigation and Fertigation on Seedless Watermelon Yield in Southern Indiana

Indiana cultivates approximately 7000 acres of watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) every year, with the majority of production concentrated in southern Indiana, thus making this region a key area for watermelon production in the United States. Diverse irrigation and fertilization practices are used for watermelon production in the region, yet their effects on production outcomes remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, this study investigated the impact of existing practices on watermelon yield to optimize irrigation and fertilization practices for improved production. The experiment was conducted at the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center, Vincennes, IN, USA, during the 2022 and 2023 watermelon seasons. The following four treatments were applied: high irrigation, low irrigation, no irrigation, and fertigation. The fertigation treatment received the same water application as the high irrigation treatment, but with frequent fertilizer application with irrigation; however, fertilizers were applied before planting in the high, low, and no irrigation treatments. Although soil moisture levels at the different depths varied notably among treatments, no significant differences in yield by weight were observed. The minimal impact of irrigation on watermelon yield suggested that sufficient water is stored in the soil to prevent yield-reducing stress during dry periods. However, the high irrigation and fertilization treatments produced more fruit than the low irrigation and no irrigation treatments. The dry periods during both years coincided with the watermelon fruit-setting stages, potentially contributing to the lower fruit set in the low irrigation and no irrigation treatments. Fertigation showed a higher early yield in 2022 than that of the other treatments. An analysis of soil and tissue nitrogen levels indicated that solely applying nitrogen before planting could lead to excessive soil nitrogen during vegetative growth. This excess nitrogen might delay flowering and harvest. This project offers insights into enhancing irrigation and fertilization practices for watermelon production in southern Indiana, provides recommendations, and discusses future research directions.

Sustainable floriculture: Adopting eco-friendly practices in flower production

Sustainable floriculture: Adopting eco-friendly practices in flower production

Developing Canva-Based Sitekol on Collage Topic for First-Grade Public Elementary School Students

The study aims to create a learning media product using Canva for elementary school students to alleviate the lack of learning materials, which has been negatively impacting student academic performance. The research also seeks to evaluate the practicality and effectiveness of the learning media product. This study uses research and development with ADDIE design. The results of the analysis revealed that some students do not meet the minimum standards and require learning tools to improve their skills in cutting and sticking when studying collage topics. This research developed Sitekol media on collage topics in the design stage using Canva and Wordwall applications. The validity test results showed that Sitekol media received a 90% score from media experts for color appearance, image combinations, fonts, media layout, videos, and practical use. Material experts rated it at 95.3% for material aspects, levels of thinking, and supporting learning content. Students also found Canva-based Sitekol learning media to be beneficial as a teaching tool due to its accessibility, portability, convenience, interactive features, and detailed learning media instructions. The statistical tests conducted resulted in significant findings with high average values. Students responded very positively to the practicality of the media, giving an average score of 4.9 out of 5, indicating 98% of the ideal score. It can be concluded that using Canva-based Sitecol learning on grade 1 collage material exhibits practicality and validity as a learning medium.

“Social Media Has Been Helpful in Learning About Myself and Finding My Community”: The Affordances and Constraints of ICT‐Based Queer History Content Creation

ABSTRACTThis paper reports on findings from 31 semi‐structured interviews with North American Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)‐based content creators who focus on LGBTQIA+ history. While the research broadly explored the information practices and digital preservation strategies of these content creators, this paper highlights how the participants navigated their respective ICT choices (ranging from personal blogs to Instagram accounts) and what affordances and constraints emerged from these choices. The paper highlights how such potentialities and pitfalls across varied social media and web‐based platforms informed the sociotechnical practices of queer historical knowledge production and how the participants leveraged the features of various ICTs to expand the visibility of queer‐affirming content and resources. The paper concludes by exploring these practices and their theoretical and practical implications for practitioners at the intersection of digital curation and archiving marginalized histories with an explicit emphasis on collaborative rather than extractive opportunities for collaboration between such content creators and cultural heritage institutions.

Briefing for Circularity. Translating EU policies into operational guidelines for the building project

Abstract The current EU interest in Circular Economy offers novel opportunities to move towards more sustainable production and consumption practices. Literature confirms that building stakeholders are expressing a growing demand of common references and tools to support the integration of circular principles in building processes. The paper introduces a methodological approach meant as an information support tool to translate EU circularity policies into guidelines for building design and management. Indeed, the challenge is to translate circularity objectives and targets into specific requirements expressed from one stakeholder to another, up to the last operator involved in the supply chain. The requests along the different levels of the supply chain must be consistent with each other and with the initial circularity objectives expressed at the origin by the client. Hence, starting by outlining the complexity of the fragmented building supply-chain, the paper identifies the proper level of detail for expressing circularity requirements and, therefore, for communicating mutually consistent circularity objectives at the different levels of the supply chain. Supporting the integration of circularity requirements within Project Briefs (design phase) and Invitations to Tender (management phase), the proposed tool lays the foundations for the experimentation of circular building practices and for the systemic evaluation of compliance with EU circularity objectives.

Agricultural sustainability assessment in Fars province of Iran through the lens of the elimination multi-criteria decision-making method

The main objective of the present research was to assess agricultural sustainability through the lens of the Elimination Method. Iranian wheat farmers in Fars province comprised the population of the study. Smapling table of Krejcie and Morgan was applied to estimate the statistically plausible sample size. A stratified sampling approach was used for selecting sampling randomly. The research instrument included a structured questionnaire. A panel of experts approved the face and content validities. Average Variance Extracted (AVE), Composite Reliability (CR), and items correlations were used to confirm the convergent validity of the constructs. The average shared squared variance (ASV) and the maximum shared squared variance (MSV) criteria were applied to examine the divergent validity of constructs. Employing the Elimination Method to assess agricultural sustainability in four counties of Fars revealed that Marvdasht is the most sustainable area for the development of wheat cultivation. Because it was able to fulfill 16 indicators out of 23 indicators of agricultural sustainability. The high level of productivity and efficiency of the wheat crop in this region is one of the main reasons for the relatively high sustainability of wheat production practices. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that Darab was the second most suitable region for developing wheat production. Based on the Elimination Method, the region was able to fulfill six indicators out of 23 agricultural sustainability assessment indicators. According to the results of ranking alternatives using the Elimination Method, the two counties of Kazeroun and Eghlid could not acceptably fulfill indicators of agricultural sustainability. In other words, it seems that these two regions are not suitable for the development of wheat production in Fars province. In the end, it was recommended that the Elimination Method can be a useful approach for urgent decision-making and agricultural managers and decision-makers in Fars province should focus more intensively on the development of wheat production in Marvdasht.

Role Of Government Policies In Shaping Vegetable Marketing Practices: Evidence FromRajasthan

This study examines the impact of government policies on vegetable marketing practices in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Using primary data collected from surveys of 500 farmers, 100 wholesalers, and 50 retailers across five districts of Rajasthan, as well as secondary data fromgovernment reports and academic literature, the paper analyzes how various national and state-level agricultural policies have influenced the structure and functioning of vegetable value chains in the region. Key policies considered include the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act, contract farming laws, minimum support prices (MSP), and agricultural subsidies. The results show that the APMC Act has led to the development of a network of regulated wholesale markets which serve as the main marketing channel for vegetables, but its provisions restricting sales outside these markets have hindered direct linkages between producers and buyers. Recent reforms aimed at allowing private markets and removing barriers to interstate trade have had limited impact so far. Contract farming remains underdeveloped due to regulatory uncertainty and lack of trust between stakeholders. MSP haslittle relevance for most vegetable crops given their perishability and lack of public procurement. Input subsidies, while increasing yields, have exacerbated problems of overuse of chemicals and declining water tables. The paper argues for a more holistic, nutrition-sensitive approach to agricultural policy that goes beyond a narrow focus on boosting production and marketable surplus. Specific recommendations include investments in storage and cold-chain infrastructure, expansion of crop insurance coverage, promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations and shorter supply chains, and greater emphasis on sustainable production practices and nutrition education. Enhancing smallholder access to credit, information, and input-output markets remains critical

Drought vulnerability assessment and its impact on crop production and livelihood of people: An empirical analysis of Barind Tract

North-Western section of Bangladesh is experiencing a protracted decrease in precipitation, irregular rainfall, and the depletion of ground water, which results in water scarcity and extreme dry weather that impedes the production of agricultural commodities and threatens the people's way of life. Analyzing the precipitation deficit and ground water deficit, along with vegetation cover, temperature condition, and the condition of the vegetation is a crucial component of drought vulnerability assessment. Rajshahi Zilla, a region of Bangladesh located in the middle of the Barind tract, is experiencing a severe water shortage. The irregular rainfall, decrease in rainfall, prolonged absence of rainfall and ground water depletion results in drought. This study aims to access the vulnerability of drought by analyzing precipitation rates, ground water depletion levels, temperature condition, vegetation condition and the vegetative droughts to find out the severe condition of droughts and the severe effects of this in the livelihoods of the farmers and their crop production practices. In this case the study focuses on determining NDVI, NDWI, NDMI, VCI, TCI, and VHI. The VHI results show a significant increase in extreme drought conditions from 2013 (4 %) to 2021 (7 %). By conducting a few questionnaire surveys and Focus Group Discussion the present situation of crop production and the livelihoods of people has been analyzed. Almost 18.3 % of farmers have made a permanent move away from agriculture, and 80 % of permanently relocated farmers report an improvement in their quality of life. Nearly 60 % of farmers believe that the construction of deep ditches has enhanced their crop yield. Once again, more than 20 % are in the same predicament as previously, with over 19 % reporting that deep irrigation has lowered agricultural yield. Comprehending the potential consequences of drought will enable planners and decision-makers to implement mitigation measures aimed at improving the communities' ability to manage drought risk. After analyzing data, it has been found that Rajshahi is facing a critical drought problem, which has led to water scarcity, severely affecting agricultural production and livelihoods.

Potato disease detection and control measure recommendation using CNN

Potato cultivation will continue to be a crucial agricultural endeavor, significantly enrich to global food supply. and economic prosperity. However, the ongoing vulnerability of potatoes to diseases, particularly named early Blight and late Blight, will persist as a substantial threat to crop yield and quality. Traditional disease identification methods, reliant on expert visual inspection, are expected to remain time-consuming, error-prone, and inadequate for timely intervention. This paper will outline to find Potato diseases and recommend effective control measures using convolutional Neural-Networks (CNN). The project will adopt an object-oriented methodology to ensure modularity and maintainability, leveraging TensorFlow for comprehensive dataset collection, data cleaning, and model training. TensorFlow Lite will be applied to optimize and quantify the developed model, enhancing the efficiency of the deployment process. The frontend will be crafted with React Native to facilitate user accessibility and seamless interaction. The resulting deep learning technique is anticipated to exhibit high accuracy in identifying early-blight and late-blight in potato plants, enabling users to receive prompt and reliable disease predictions and actionable control suggestions. This innovative approach aims to downgrade crop losses, improve productivity, and foster sustainable agricultural practices, thereby bolstering global food security in the future.

모방 유사도를 통해 살펴본 한·일 방제경의 성격 — 원삼국(야요이 후기~고훈 개시기)시대 자료를 중심으로

The purpose of this paper is to undertake a classification of the imitation bronze mirrors of the the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago of the Proto-Three Kingdoms period (Yayoi-Kofun period) according to the degree of difference between them and the original bronze mirrors, and to consider the distinctive nature of the different types of imitation bronze mirrors. However, the term ‘imitation bronze mirror’ does not fully en-compass the diversity of these mirrors; in addition, it contains the meaning of ‘not’ being an original bronze mirror or ‘not’ being a bronze mirror bestowed upon local communities, and is seen to suggest a specific production location. Regarding this aspect, a preliminary review of the character of the bronze mirrors and the degree of imitation that reflects the intention of the subject who used it is necessary in order to fully understand the meaning of such mirrors that were created through acts of imitation. First, the practices of production associated with cases of imitation confirmed in the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago during the period when imitation bronze mirrors were popular were identified, and based on similarities and dissimilarities of prac-tice, three types of imitation were established. Applying this to the actual artifacts, imitation bronze mirrors were broadly classified into three types (five in detail). Attempts were made to interpret the derived types by looking at their period of existence, as well as focusing on the period from the turn of the millennium to the late Proto-Three Kingdoms period when imitation bronze mirrors were most diverse in both regions. It was assumed that, when imitating the targeted original mirror, the value or character of the imitation mirror would be associated with the degree of similarity with the object of imitation. Since imitation bronze mirrors appeared for different purposes depending on the social background in the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago, differences could be observed in terms of the degree of finishing and technique depending on the region. Accordingly, the higher the degree of imitation of he imitation of targeted mirror, the more similar their uses or characteristics appear. Conversely, as the characteristics change, they come to have various meanings depending on the needs of the local society.

Evaluation of new sorghum varieties for grain production cultivated in mineral soil

Sorghum bicolor L. (Sorghum) has been recognized as the fifth largest cereal crop in the world, following maize, wheat, rice, and barley, with a mean annual production of more than 5.89 million tons over the past five years. Grain sorghum is one of the cultivated varieties of the sorghum genus. It is primarily used as human food and animal feed due to the beneficial effects of bioactive compounds in the grain. Sorghum is less popular and unrecognizable in Malaysia, as it was not included in the reports by the Agriculture Department regarding plantation areas. In Malaysia, sorghum is limited because this crop is considered new, and no studies were conducted on the adaptability of its varieties to Malaysian soil and local climatic conditions. Crop production practices such as variety selection, planting density and fertilization will affect yield production. Therefore, a study on grain sorghum varieties (Brachy Sorgho, Jumbo Super, India and Pacific Seed 99) was conducted to evaluate the growth and yield performance of sorghum. Jumbo Super had a significantly higher value for plant height, followed by Brachy Sorgho, India and Pacific Seed 99. India showed the highest value of leaf fresh and dry weight, but no significant difference compared with Brachy Sorgho. Brachy Sorgho recorded the highest value of stem fresh and dry weight, while the least was recorded for Pacific Seed 99. Brachy Sorgho and India showed significantly higher grain yields than Jumbo Super and Pacific Seed 99 in terms of panicle length, panicle weight without grain, grain weight without panicle per plant, number of grains per panicle, and 100-grain weight. The highest gross weight of grain sorghum is Brachy Sorgho (140.00 g/plant), which showed no significant difference compared to the India variety (131.13 g/plant). Meanwhile, Jumbo Super and Pacific Seed 99 varieties showed the lowest grain weight, 77.27 g/plant and 80.16 g/plant, respectively. Overall, all four varieties are adaptable in mineral soil and are considered potential alternative crops for grain production. Bachy Sorgho and India varieties showed the best performance on grain yield compared to Jumbo Super and Pacific Seed 99 varieties. Thus, Brachy Sorgho and India varieties can be recommended for future grain production in mineral soil.

Contribution of distinct components in divergent organic amendments to long-term accumulation of soil organic matter in agricultural soils: evidence from thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation-GC/MS.

Although maintaining/improving soil organic matter (SOM) quantity through utilizing organic amendments (OAs) is a productive practice, information on OA components contributing to long-term SOM accumulation in agricultural soils remains meager. Hence, we examined soil samples from a long-term experiment with different fertilizer managements, including no fertilizer (NF), chemical fertilizer (CF) only (CF), bark compost plus CF (BC + CF), coffee residue compost plus CF (CRC + CF), cattle manure compost plus CF (CMC + CF), and cattle manure compost (CMC) or sewage sludge compost (SSC) alone at a higher application rate. SOM in those samples was physically fractionated into free particulate form (fSOM), free form occluded in aggregates (oSOM), weakly bound form (wSOM), and strongly bound form (sSOM). Analysis of structural components in OAs and SOM fractions using thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (THM-GC/MS) revealed OA components that have contributed to long-term SOM accumulation in each treatment. The SSC was characterized by higher proportions of short-chain fatty acids (FAs; 50%) and other aliphatic compounds (22%). Correlation analysis suggested that these characteristics may be effective for greater C accumulation in the bulk soil and wSOM fraction. The proportion of lignin-derived phenols, e.g., 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde (Vh) and 1,2-dimethoxy-4-(1,2,3-trimethoxypropyl)benzene, was high in CMC (43%), presumably vital for promoting C accumulations in the oSOM, wSOM, and sSOM fractions in the CMC treatment. The short-chain FAs in CRC and aromatic components in BC are likely important for contributing fSOM accumulation.

Optimizing crop seeding rates on organic grain farms using on farm precision experimentation

Organic agriculture is often regarded as less damaging to the environment than conventional agriculture, though at the expense of lower yields. Field-specific precision agriculture may benefit organic production practices given the inherent need of organic farmers to understand spatiotemporal variation on large-scale fields. Here the primary research question is whether on-farm precision experimentation (OFPE) can be used as an adaptive management methodology to efficiently maximize farmer net returns using variable cover crop and cash crop seeding rates. Inputs of cash crop seed and previous-year green manure cover crop seed were experimentally varied on five different farms across the Northern Great Plains from 2019 to 2022. Experiments provided data to model the crop yield response, and subsequently net return, in response to input (seeding) rates plus a suite of other spatially explicit data from satellite sources. New, field-specific spatially explicit optimum input rates were generated to maximize net return including temporal variation in economic variables. Inputs were spatially optimized and using simulations it was found that the optimization strategies consistently out-performed other strategies by reducing inputs and increasing yields, particularly for non-tillering crops. By adopting site specific management, the average increase in net return for all fields was $50 ha−1. These results showed that precision agriculture technologies and remote sensing can be utilized to provide organic farmers powerful adaptive management tools with a focus on within-field spatial variability in response to primary input drivers of economic return. Continued OFPE for seeding rate optimization will allow quantification of temporal variability and subsequent probabilistic recommendations.

Integrating life cycle assessment and multi criteria decision making analysis towards sustainable cocoa production system in Indonesia: An environmental, economic, and social impact perspective

Sustainable Cocoa production practices should be investigated comprehensively to address sustainability requirements and mitigate Cocoa production issues in Indonesia. This study aims to identify the sustainable Cocoa production system considering the environmental, economic, and social impacts. Life cycle framework and multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) were integrated to obtain the study's objectives by comparing Cocoa monocropping system (CM) and Cocoa intercropping systems (IC). The result indicated that in the environmental sustainability aspect, the monocropping system (CM) showed higher performance as indicated by the lower environmental impact in all indicators; for example, CM emitted a lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) that has a lower margin of 34.5–55.9 % compared to the intercropping system (IC-I and IC-II). In the economic aspect, both on the short-term and long-term analysis, the Cocoa intercropping system (IC-II) generated higher value-added and economic feasibility, with a higher profit margin of 150–205 % compared to CM and IC-1. Along with the increase of economic benefits in IC II, this system also significantly provides social benefits, as presented by the higher social index margin of 4.9–23.7 % compared to other systems. Furthermore, by applying decision-making analysis, the result determines the highest index on the Cocoa intercropping system II (IC-II). These findings highlight that applying the intercropping system II is recommended to overcome the cocoa issue at the farmer and decision-maker levels. Additionally, the proposed method that combined LCA-MCDM can be applied to another agricultural commodity to achieve sustainable agriculture production.