Traditional Production Systems Research Articles

Competence Requirements in Manufacturing Companies in the Context of Lean 4.0

Traditional production systems today are often based on Lean Production. With the advent of Industry 4.0, new digital and networked solutions are emerging that offer new opportunities and challenges combined with Lean Management principles and methods. The successful implementation of Lean Management requires that the employees in the production environment have internalized the associated philosophy, integrated the methods into their daily work, and implemented the necessary competencies into their processes. The different emerging technologies through Industry 4.0 lead to new changes for both the company and the employees. In order to master the challenges of this comprehensive industrial change and to remain competitive on the global market, timely training and further education of production employees are indispensable. The employees contribute significantly to the success of a company and the implementation of Lean 4.0. The prerequisite for sufficient qualification of employees is identifying relevant competencies. This scientific contribution aims to present a structured and comprehensive approach to develop a Lean 4.0 competence model for manufacturing companies that depicts the requirements for employee competencies due to Lean 4.0 elements and job profiles. The focus will be on assembly and manufacturing areas as well as the production-related areas maintenance and internal logistics.

Economía campesina y sustitución voluntaria de cultivos de uso ilícito, municipio de Briceño (Antioquia)

The armed conflict, the crisis of the agrarian model and the expansion of illicit crops in Colombia has produced a reconfiguration of the territory, reflected in the peasant economy and the transformation of productive practices in rural areas. Such is the case of the town of Pueblo Nuevo, municipality of Briceño (Antioquia), which suffered the expansion of the armed conflict scenarios that affected its peasant economy, displaced in the search for an activity that guaranteed a minimum of wealth, undergoing transformations violent in economic, social and cultural relations.   In this sense, the research sought to understand how the peasant economy has developed within the framework of the Havana Peace Agreement, specifically the process of substitution of crops for illicit use in Pueblo Nuevo and its relationship with the social construction of the territory in the period 2016-2019. This was approached from the peasant economy and deepened the main Latin American interpretative categories where their evolution, permanence and configuration of particular rural contexts are shown, which link illicit crops as an alternative to traditional productive processes. This context, the persistence of traditional production systems in the contemporary world is recognized as an alternative for the reconfiguration of rural territories, the search for peace, and the collective affirmation of peasants in Pueblo Nuevo as subjects with deep roots in their territory. and forms of production, as with memory processes as a consequence of experiencing the conflict.

The influence of collision avoidance strategies on human-robot collaborative systems

Collaborative robots improve the traditional production systems, both automatic and manual, by allowing the resources to share the workspace. However, the shared workspace is both the greatest advantage and limit of collaborative robots. Indeed, interference between the human operator and the cobot may result in an emergency stop, reducing the performance of the system. Hence, a collision avoidance strategy is required to avoid collision; however, this may affect the performance of the system. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate how the shared workspace affects the system performance, and the effects of the adoption of a collision avoidance strategy. To this regard, a collision avoidance strategy has been developed and it is presented in this work and an experimental validation proved the efficacy of the proposed strategy. Lastly, simulation tests were carried out to analyse the performance of the system for different sizes of the collaboration area with respect to the workspace. The results shows that, while the increase in the collaboration area reduces the performance of the system, collision avoidance strategies mitigate this effect.

Review on Honey Value Chain in Ethiopia

The review has been conducted with the objectives of the core functions and major actors involved, distribution of benefits of actors along the honey value chain and Challenges and opportunities of honey value chain in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is home to some of the most diverse flora and fauna in Africa. The country produced about 45 thousand tons which accounted about 27% and 3% of African and World honey production respectively and makes the country the largest producers in Africa and the tenth in the world. More than one million households are estimated to keep bees using traditional, intermediate and modern hives. Apiculture is a promising off-farm enterprise, which directly and indirectly contributes to smallholder’s income in particular and nation’s economy in general. It has been reported that annually an average of 420 million Ethiopian Birr is obtained from the sale of honey. The subsector is also creating job opportunities in both rural and urban areas through organizing jobless urban and landless rural youth and women to involve in them in bee equipment production and beekeeping activities. The sector traditional production system is the main feature where 96% of the hives are reported to be traditional and 91% of the total honey produced comes from traditional hives. Ethiopia has adequate natural resources and a long tradition and culture of beekeeping. However, mainly because of lack of technological changes, institutional supports and access to market and value chain development, the country in general and the rural beekeeping households in particular have not been sufficiently benefited from the sub sector. The major constraints to exploit the untapped potential of beekeeping activity in the country are lack of knowledge and skill on beekeeping, lack of institutional linkage, lack of organized marketing channel, low access to improved beekeeping equipment and agrochemical bee poisoning. Efforts should be geared to develop efficient input delivery systems and knowledge-based honey production to improve production side and introduction of value adding management practices and market linkage from marketing side are the most important aspect of enhancing the livelihood and source of income for honey producers. Keywords : Honey; Value chain; Market channel; Challenges; Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/84-01 Publication date: January 31 st 2022

Silvopastoral Systems Enhance Soil Health in the Amazon Region

Silvopastoral systems (SPS), an integrated farming system in which tropical grasses are combined with trees and shrubs, have been implemented in the last years in the Amazon region in order to mitigate the impacts generated by the traditional cattle ranching system. However, despite the multiple SPS’s benefits to soil and ecosystem, there is a paucity of comprehensive studies revealing the potential soil health (SH) restoration through SPS. Here, by developing an overall SH index using local native vegetation (Amazon rainforest) as a reference, we aimed to assess SH changes induced by the land transition from the traditional livestock production system to the SPS in the Colombian Amazon region. A chronosequence conformed by three areas: (i) native vegetation, (ii) traditional pasture and (iii) silvopastoral system was established in two study sites located in the Colombian Amazon, specifically in Caquetá State, the second hotspot of deforestation in the Amazon Basin. The results indicated high soil compaction and loss of macrofauna diversity and richness due to pasture management, causing a loss of 9% of soil capacity to function. In contrast, by integrating 31 soil indicators, our SH assessment revealed that SPS was an effective strategy for the recovery of SH, impacting positively multiple soil functions related to nutrient dynamics, water retention and supply, and biological activity.

Production Methods for Regular Aggregates and Innovative Developments in Poland

The aim of this article is to present possibilities of producing aggregates with an increased content of regular particles in some well-known examples, as well as to present previously unused methods of aggregate production. Traditional aggregate production systems require the use of three or four grinding stages (depending on the particle size of the feed), but fine fractions contain approximately 10% irregular grains on average. The conducted research has shown that in innovative patented technological systems, it is possible to obtain regular aggregates with a share of irregular grains below 3%. The separated irregular aggregates can be crushed again or used for other purposes. The advantages of such inventions include less grinding stages, reduced dust, and lower energy consumption. Regular aggregates also have benefits compared to typical ones. The analyzed aggregate products from various mines showed that regular aggregates have better properties, for example, higher resistance to grinding and abrasion. This article also describes the advantages of using such aggregates for concrete or other applications.

Epistemological freedom: activating co-learning and co-production to decolonise knowledge production

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to challenge and address the limitations of the traditional system of knowledge production that is embedded in disaster and climate change research studies, and research studies in general. It argues that knowledge production in research processes conforms to colonialist thinking or west-inspired approaches. Such a system often results in the omission of crucial information due to a lack of participation, inclusion and diversity in knowledge production.Design/methodology/approachThe paper proposes practices and recommendations to decolonise knowledge production in disaster and climate change research studies, and research studies in general. It provides a brief literature review on the concepts of decolonisation of knowledge and epistemological freedom, and its origins; assesses the need for knowledge decolonisation, emphasising on the integration of local knowledge from grassroots women-led initiatives in instances where disasters and crises are being investigated in vulnerable communities, especially in the Global South; and finally the paper proposes to decolonise knowledge production through activating co-learning and co-production. The practices have been developed from the work of relevant authors in the field and case studies.FindingsThrough a brief literature review on previous discourses on the topic of knowledge decolonisation and analysis of recent case studies on disaster and crisis management and community resilience, the paper finds that there exists a lack of pluralism and inclusion in epistemology which limits the pursuit to obtain the whole truth in the production of knowledge in research studies.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the discussion of decolonisation of knowledge in the field of disaster and climate change research studies, and research processes in general. It provides in-depth analyses of recent case studies of emerging community resilience and local practices that were crucial in the face of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

Taxonomy and Functional Diversity in the Fecal Microbiome of Beef Cattle Reared in Brazilian Traditional and Semi-Intensive Production Systems.

The importance of beef production for economy of Brazil and the growing demand for animal protein across the globe warrant an improvement in the beef production system. Although most attention has been on modulation of the rumen microbiome to improve ruminant production, the role of the lower gut microbiome in host health and nutrition remains relatively unexplored. This work aimed to investigate the taxonomy and functional variations in the fecal microbiome of Brazilian beef cattle reared in two different production systems using a metagenomic approach. Sixty male beef cattle from six farms representing semi-intensive (I, n = 2) and traditional (T, n = 4) Brazilian beef production systems were enrolled in the study. Shotgun sequencing was used to characterize taxonomic and functional composition and diversity of the microbiome in fecal samples collected from each animal. Fecal samples were analyzed for copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn) and stable isotopes of carbon (13C) and nitrogen (15N). The fecal microbiome was influenced by the beef production systems with greater functional and lower taxonomic diversity in beef cattle feces from I systems compared with that from T systems. The concentration of N, P, and Zn was higher in beef cattle feces from I systems compared with that from T systems and was associated with taxonomic and functional profile of fecal microbiome in I system, suggesting the role of fecal nutrients in shaping system-specific microbiome. Semi-intensive management practices led to a more complex but less connected fecal microbiome in beef cattle. The microbial community in beef cattle feces from I systems was characterized by greater abundance of beneficial bacteria (phylum Firmicutes and butyrate-producing bacteria family Lachnospiraceae and genera Anaerostipes, Blautia, Butyrivibrio, Eubacterium, Roseburia, and Ruminococcus). In addition, the fecal abundance of microbial genes related to immune system, nutrient metabolism, and energy production was greater in beef cattle raised under I systems compared with that under T systems. Findings of the current study suggest that semi-intensive management practices could facilitate the development of a healthier and more efficient fecal microbiome in beef cattle by driving an increase in the abundance of beneficial bacteria and functional genes.

Application of Threaded System, Rice Husk Ash Addition, Filtering, and Geomembrane to Increase Salt Production in Ambulu Village, Cirebon

Salt farmers in Indonesia generally carry out simple land processing to produce NaCl levels below 90% and productivity below 80 tons/ha. Several separate efforts have been made to increase the quantity and quality of salt in traditional salt production systems. This work examines the threaded system, additive addition, and geomembrane to increase salt production in Ambulu Village, Cirebon, West Java, Indonesia. The result showed that the quality of salt increases compared to the traditional process. The quality of the salt can be improved. The traditional method of observation contains 91% NaCl. Using a combination of Threaded applications and additives increases the NaCl content by up to 94%. Adding Geomembrane technology from the two previous technologies resulted in salt with a NaCl content of 96%. At the same time, the amount of salt production from Indonesia has also increased to 155 tons/ha, compared to the traditional method, which is 80-90 tons/ha.

Prediction of genetic gains for breeding objective traits and designing selection schemes for Washera and Gumuz indigenous sheep

In Ethiopia,there are 32.85 millions of sheep,more than 99 % of which are indigenous.However,the productivity of local sheep under traditional production system is low with high mortality of sheep.There are two ways of improving performance of sheep and goats,namely improving the enviroment of animals and/or improving there genetic potential.The aim of this study was to predict genetic gains of breedingobjective traits and select the best sheep selection scheme for Gumuz andWashera sheep. Body size(six month weight and yearling weight) and litter size were breeding objective traits identified by own flock animal ranking experiment and personal interview. Deterministic approach of ZPLAN computor program is used for modeling input parametres of Gumuz and Washera sheep and simulating breeding plans using gene flow method and selection index procedures. One-tier cooperative sheep breeding scheme were proposed whereby ram exchange between and within villages is the main means of genetic dissimination. Genetic gains predicted for six month weight of Gumuz and Washera sheep were 0.43 and 0.55 kg,respectively. Genetic gains predicted for yearling weight of Gumuz and Washera sheep were 0.55 and 0.60 kg,respectively. Genetic gains predicted for litter size of Gumuz and Washera sheep were 0.08 and 0.09 lambs,respectively. The lower rate of inbreeding, the higher monetary genetic gain for aggregate genotype,higher return to investmnet and higher profit/ewe/year were quality measures of breeding program considered to prefer scheme 4 for both Gumuz and Washera sheep.Hence,for both Gumuz and Washera sheep populations a sheep selection scheme designed with 15 % selection proportion and one year ram use for breeding was recommended. Special emphasis need to be given to yearling weight with higher predicted genetic response and higher percentage return to investment.

Changes on the Climatic Edge: Adaptation of and Challenges to Pastoralism in Montesinho (Northern Portugal)

Mountain areas are sensitive to changes in precipitation and temperature, which significantly impact traditional pastoralist communities, their economy, and their lifestyle. Alarming climate change scenarios justify the investigation of the ecological and socioeconomic vulnerabilities that characterize Portugal's mountain regions. This work explores how the traditional production systems of small ruminants—sheep and goats—could adapt in the Montesinho mountain range as it changes over the next 2 decades. Land use–land cover maps from 1995 and 2018 show how the pastoral landscape has changed and indicate trends for a future scenario. Documented landscape grazing patterns are used to determine sheep and goat landscape preferences under different climatic conditions. Finally, we identify the near-future constraints on traditional sheep and goat systems, contrasting landscape changes with sheep and goat preferences. Over coming decades, the balance between rangelands and cultivated lands will persist in the Montesinho mountain landscape, despite some trade-offs between both. Woodlands could emerge from scrublands colonizing rangelands, and permanent crops could significantly replace arable lands in agricultural areas. Therefore, it is likely that the agricultural areas preferred for sheep, and rangelands preferred for goats, may not be affected by the forecast landscape changes, but rather be favored by the expansion of permanent crops. However, pasture areas must expand, as they are key to pastoral landscape function in a warming climate scenario. Landscape decision makers and managers should implement a landscape-monitoring system to inform policies and strategies aimed at protecting and safeguarding mountain pastoralism and its vital ecosystem services.

Livestock across the world: diverse animal species with complex roles in human societies and ecosystem services.

It is anticipated that a 50% to 70% increase in food productivity will be needed to feed 9 billion people by 2050. Livestock provide for about 33% of human protein consumption and 17% of total calories (FAO, 2018). The demand for livestock products is estimated to more than double in the next 20 yr, as a result of urbanization, economic growth, and a change in consumption patterns in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The livestock sector represents nearly 1 billion smallholder livestock producers in developing countries and contributes 40% of agricultural Gross Domestic Product and from 2% to over 33% of household incomes. Smallholder livestock production is largely based on family farming and is key to poor rural people’s livelihoods, food security, and employment creation. Livestock provide food for household consumption, products for income generation, and quick cash when emergencies and external shocks occur (i.e., climatic conditions, diseases, and price volatility). Livestock are important assets that respond to the multiple needs of smallholders (e.g., manure, draught, and hauling power), while also having a cultural and spiritual value. Poultry and small ruminants are generally managed by and provide direct benefits to women (Gueye, 2003; FAO, 2020; IFAD, 2020). Humans and our domesticated animals have evolved in unison over the past 11,000 yr, with domestication frequently portrayed as a relationship delivering benefits to both partners, human and domesticate (Zeder, 2012). Domestication sites and traditional production systems have strong links with local agroecological characteristics (Hocquette et al., 2018). Endurance of traditional production systems has also been closely linked with the maintenance of the health of the local environment by Hocquette et al. (2018). Unsustainable and/or inappropriate management of livestock has contributed to environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, emerging infectious zoonotic disease, and increased emission of greenhouse gases (van Zanten et al., 2019). These impacts have increased in severity in line with increasing human population, purchasing power, and urbanization since the mid-20th century (Thornton, 2010). This paper provides a high-level overview of the huge array of contributions made by livestock to human society beyond the provision of food and fiber with a focus on terrestrial, vertebrate species. With a focus on LMICs, we stress the significant role of livestock in sustainable development, including: ecosystems services via nature-based livestock production systems; sociocultural and religious roles; and, contributions to human health and well-being beyond animal-source food.

Effects of Supply Determinants on Supply Performance of Slaughter Animal for Meat Export Abattoirs in Ethiopia

This study was attempted to look at effects of supply determinants on supply performance of slaughter animal for meat export abattoirs in Ethiopia. Explanatory type of research design was used to explore the relation between dependent and independent variables. The research was supported by primary and secondary data. The primary data obtained through structured questionnaire prepared for export abattoirs and slaughter animal suppliers, whereas the secondary data obtained from published and unpublished documents. Sixty (60) respondents from ten (10) meat export abattoirs which are at managerial positions and sixty (60) managers of slaughters animal suppliers and the total number of respondents were one hundred twenty (120). The study used brokers’ involvement in supply, transportation facility, price of slaughter animal, illegal live animal export, and quality of slaughter animal, sustainability of slaughter animal supply and traditional livestock production system as independent and supply performance as dependent variable. Correlation analysis was accustomed to analyze relation between independent and dependent variables whereas multiple regressions were applied to analyze and identifies impact level of every independent on dependent variable. The study found that sustainability of slaughter animal supply, traditional livestock production system; transportation facility and quality of slaughter animal have strong effect on supply performance in positive direction respectively. Brokers involvement in supply, price of slaughter animal and illegal live animal export also have strong effect on supply performance in the negative direction.

Use of the standardized precipitation and evapotranspiration index (SPEI) from 1961 to 2019 to characterize the drought trend in northern Senegal: Study of the spatiotemporal dynamics in the Ferlo watershed

The study and analysis of the dynamics of the earth's climate is one of the scientific themes that has developed mostly at the recent years. This mobilized several scientists to study, describe or characterize the climate through several methods. These methods derived from climate science have given convincing results of high scientific significance, and above all through the appreciable quality of the indicators provided. In this context, and in order to appreciate this drought trend, we are using in the framework of this study of the Standardized Index of Precipitation and Evapotranspiration (SPEI) during the period 1961-2019. Indeed, the frequency and recurrence of drought are harmful events for the traditional production system in the Sahel region. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify the multiscale distribution of droughts. The results obtained define different types of droughts as well as their prevalence. These generally indicate the prevalence of slightly wet and slightly dry traits and are followed by moderately dry and moderately wet indices over all the stations studied. However, it should be noted a periodic occurrence of more or less long droughts which resulted in the preponderance of meteorological and agricultural droughts with occurrences mainly located in the periods 1974-1989 at Linguère station (1974-1989 and 1993- 2009), in Louga, between 1962-1973 and 1974-1982 in Podor, and, at the end between 1961-1970, 1974-1985 and 1993-2000 in Matam. In addition, the drought sequences are manifested earlier at the level of the stations of Matam and Podor. On other hand, at Linguère and Podor stations, the extreme drought indices were higher for all time scales chosen (SPI_1months, SPI_3 months and SPI_12 months).

영국] 시련 속의 전진: 2019~2020년 영국사 연구동향

This paper analyzes research results in British history published during the period from 2019 to 2020. In this period, the number of publications has decreased, mainly due to the Covid-19 Pandemic and a generation change in the Korean academic circle. The Covid-19 hit the traditional system of the research production: “presentation at the conference - application to the academic journals - publication”. The retirement of senior researchers also takes an important part of this trend as their publications have outnumbered those of juniors for many years. However we can still find some positive features; writings of rising scholars who recently got their doctoral degrees relieve shortage of the publication of research; new video conference services revitalize academic activities and suggest how to keep academic production accessible to the public in the post-Covid era.<BR> This paper has found much vivid discussion in the areas of politics, social economy, culture and religion, empire and transnational history and gender. Many scholars have brought good results in these areas. However they need to find suggestive subjects in more diverse periods beyond ‘modern’ and ‘contemporary’ eras. They should also try to link their specialties to bigger issues of British and world history and view their subjects in the broader historiographical context.

Production System, Herd Size and Productivity of Local Goats in Liquiçá Municipality, Timor-Leste

Abstract The goat is a species of small ruminants that has great potential in the development of its production. The aim of this study is to obtain basic data on the rearing system used by the breeders, herd size and productivity of goats kept only in a traditional subsistence production system. Data collection period starts on September 20 to December 20, 2018 or is carried out for three months. This study used the survey method and in the process of determining the research site used the intentional sampling. In determining the sample size, Slovin was used, and to determine the respondents, it used the simple random sampling method. The observed variables are herd size, herd structure, gestation period, litter size, weaning age, first giving birth, reproduction ratio and production system. The results of the research showed that all farmers who had been as the respondents generally still used the traditional extensive system, did not pay attention to the problem of feed quality and frequency of feeding; only using local feed as animal feed. alternative supplementary, does not handle the problem of reproduction ratio well, the gestational age of the goats is still normal, the litter size is low, mostly only 1-2 heads per birth, the mortality rate is low at 1%, the age at first calving is 12 months and the weaning age young goats are generally 3months - 6 months. It is recommended to improve the maintenance system with good management to increase the productivity of local goats.

Socio-economic characterization of the traditional cacao agroforestry system (Theobroma cacao L.)

Cacao farmers face many challenges to increase yield while adjusting their farms to future environmental and socio-economic uncertainties. Improving the management practices of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) cultivation systems requires knowledge of their baseline and the determining factors affecting them. The main goal of this research was to characterize traditional cacao agroforestry systems of smallholder farmers in the Municipality of Tumaco, Nariño, Colombia. Using a semi-structured survey and a sample of 218 farmers, the socioeconomic characteristics of the cacao production system were analyzed. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) grouped and discriminated the cacao growers. The PCA formed five components representing 50.86% of the total variability, while the ACM grouped them into five factors explaining 29.82% of the variability. The cacao cultivation is a traditional activity of smallholder farmers with very low yields. The age of the farmers is over 50 years old, with despicable levels of education; there was no evidence of generational change. The study shows that the traditional cacao production system is not an attractive activity for young people or investors given its marginality and low economic projection. Timely strategies and subsequent early actions will be imperative to face the main environmental, socio-economic, and productive challenges, which will allow the cacao activity to be a source of well-being for cacao growers and the environment in the region.

Combined application of ammonium nitrate and goat manure: Effects on soil nutrients availability, Okra performance and sustainable food security

Many see organic agriculture as the most sustainable form of farming and as the paradigm for global food production in the future. One of the solutions to food insecurity and malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa is to promote local crops, encourage the use of locally source materials as amendment, improve their traditional system of production, and so diversify subsistence crop. The major reasons are the lack of knowledge and skill in land preparation and agronomic practices, weather uncertainties, pest outbreak and above all the use of fertilizer. Hence, this research will be carried out to investigate the effects of integrated application of Urea fertilizer and Goat Manure on soil Nutrient Availability and Okra performance. Field trials were conducted with four treatments replicated three times in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The treatments were Control (no Urea, no goat manure), 8t/ha-1 goat manure + 200kg/ha-1 urea fertilizer; 8t/ha-1 goat manure + 175kg/ha-1 urea fertilizer and 8t/ha-1 goat manure + 150kg/ha-1 urea fertilizer. Treatments were applied three weeks after planting by ring method with Urea and goat manure mixed. Soil physical and chemical properties, growth and yield parameters were evaluated. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Duncan Multiple Range. 8t/ha-1 goat manure + 200kg/ha-1 urea fertilizer gave the highest plant height, leaf area as well as number of leaves than other treatment. However, the fruits weight, days of 50% flowering, number of fruit, fruits diameter and fruits length were significantly increased at 8t/ha-1 goat manure + 200kg/ha-1 urea fertilizer.

Economic Effect of Hybrid Catfish (Channel Catfish ♀ × Blue Catfish ♂) Growth Variability on Traditional and Intensive Production Systems

AbstractUsing hybrid catfish (Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus ♀ × Blue Catfish I. furcatus ♂) is one path toward intensification that can lower production costs and increase net returns. However, hybrid catfish have experienced growth variability resulting in undersized and oversized fish. Analyzing the economic effect of this issue is critical, as fish processors often require a specific size range of fish from the producers. Comparative economic analyses were performed using enterprise budgets and sensitivity analyses on hybrid catfish production data obtained from single‐batch (SB), multiple‐batch (MB), and split‐pond (SP) systems. Results indicated that the SP system had the highest net returns (US$8,164/ha) resulting from greater availability of premium‐sized fish (0.45–1.81 kg; sales price = $2.46/kg), followed by SB and MB systems, respectively. Lower prices received for undersized (&lt;0.45 kg; sales price = $2.34/kg) and oversized (&gt;1.81 kg; sales price = $2.08/kg) fish resulted in revenue losses of $287, $594, and $611 per hectare in SB, MB, and SP systems, respectively. An inverse relationship between the dockage rate and net returns was observed. Economic analyses also showed that the net returns were greater when large‐sized fingerlings (~20 cm) were stocked relative to medium‐sized fingerlings (≤18 cm) in the SP and SB systems, while the opposite was true for the MB system. Stocking of graded hybrids in SB, MB, and SP production could provide higher net returns from these systems.

Effect of Intensification Practices, Lambing Period and Environmental Parameters on Animal Health, and Milk Yield and Quality in Dairy Sheep Production Systems on Crete

Due to increasing demand, many traditional, grazing-based Mediterranean sheep production systems have introduced intensified feeding regimes, increased investments in infrastructure and drug use to increase milk yields. However, compared to bovine milk production systems, there is limited knowledge about the impact of these intensification practices on animal welfare and health and on the quality of dairy products. The aim of this study was therefore to quantify the effects of management practices and environmental conditions background on udder health, parasitism and milk quantity and quality in Cretan traditional production systems. Milk yields were higher in semi-intensive production systems while concentrations of several nutritionally desirable compounds such as omega-3 fatty acids were found to be higher in milk from extensive systems. Antibiotic and anthelmintic use was relatively low in both extensive and semi-intensive production systems. There was no substantial difference in parasitic burden, somatic cell counts, and microbiological parameters assessed in milk. Recording of flock health parameters showed that animal health and welfare was high in both extensive and semi-intensively managed flocks, and that overall, the health status of extensively managed ewes was slightly better. In contrast, environmental conditions (temperature and rainfall) had a substantial effect on parasitism and milk quality.