Thesis (M.S.)--California Polytechnic State University, 2009. / Title from PDF title page; viewed on September 9, 2009. Major professor: Bruce L. Golden, Ph.D. "Presented to the faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo." "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree [of] Master of Science in Agriculture, specialization in Animal Science." "June 2009." Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-83). Also available on microfiche.

Thesis (M.Agr.Sc.) - University of Queensland, 1999. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universiteit Utrecht, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (158-171).

No description available.

No description available.

Microcomputer simulation was used to evaluate effects of all combinations of two levels of involuntary culling, heifer rearing, and sire selection against dystocia in heifers on timing and magnitude of net income in dairy cattle. Time to cumulative payoff of expenses and net income per day of herdlife were measured for herds and individual cows. Net income was accumulated monthly, and expressed per day of life and per day to 96 mo. Twenty herds of 80 cows were simulated for 20 yr under eight options in the herd study. More than 1000 cows with complete herdlives, from a single herd, were individually simulated for each of eight options in the cow study, with no voluntary culling of cows. For the herd study, milk yield per cow averaged 6838 kg ± 858 kg/yr, and net income per cow was $671 i $193/yr. Mean time to payoff was 60.0 mo, and mean net income to 96 mo, including salvage value, was $.36/d. Heifers calving at 26 mo had rearing expenses of $1030, time to payoff of 54.6 mo, and net income of $.432/d, compared with rearing expenses of $1200, time to payoff of 70.0 mo, and net income of $.285/d for heifers calving at 32 mo. Options with 12% involuntary culling paid off 2.3 mo earlier and had $.081 more net income per day than 24% involuntary culling. Differences in response variables due to sire dystocia and PD Dollars were minimal. Options with 26 mo age at first calving, 12% involuntary culling, and random mating had earliest time to payoff (54.0 mo) and highest net income ($.485/d). Options with 32 mo age at first calving, 24% involuntary culling, and random mating had latest payoff (74.3 mo) and lowest net income (S.246/d). Herds and years had large effects on time to payoff and net income due to differences in herd production and genetic trend of sires for production over time. Including salvage value for cows surviving 96 mo increased net income $.064/d for herds, and $.25/d for cows. Twenty-one percent of the value of increased milk yield was attributed to increased feed costs. For the cow study, cost of rearing heifers was $141 ± $127, mean time to payoff was 53.4 mo, and mean time to cumulative profit was of 56.5 mo. Cumulative profit represented positive cumulative net income for 12 consecutive mo, which included 69% of cows with time to payoff. Net income was $.19/d for all cows, $.46/d for cows with a first calving, $.60/d for cows surviving 96 mo, and $.85/d for cows surviving 96 mo including salvage value. Heifers calving at 26 mo paid off expenses at 47.1 mo, compared with 60.6 mo for heifers calving at 32 mo. Heifers calving at 26 mo cost $.07/d more to raise to first calving, but paid off by 70 d in milk into their second lactation, compared with payoff by 140 d in milk of the third lactation for cows calving at 32 mo. Regressions of time to payoff and net income per day at 96 mo on cow production were -.0077 d/kg and .00028 $/kg, respectively. The regression of time to payoff on PD Dollars was -.0035 d/PDS, and the regression of net income per day on PD Dollars was .00072 S/PDS for cows that calved. Differences did not exist in time to payoff between levels of involuntary culling and selection against dystocia. Heifer rearing was most important in this study due to large differences in time to payoff and net income as age at first calving changed. Sire selection against dystocia in heifers was least important due to the mating program used, with intermediate differences in payoff and net income between levels of involuntary culling. / Ph. D.

The main goal of this research was to explore the use of benchmarking in the dairy industry. This includes descriptions of the various sectors in North America where benchmarking has been used successfully on a continuous basis or in research. Benchmarking methods that are currently used in the Quebec dairy industry are examined. An improvement to such methods is proposed through the use of visualization, coupled with interactivity, and with a focus on adaptability and usage. The advantages of such an interactive tool are discussed in light of on-farm decision-making, and a further use of visual slider applications is described to help with parameters of known economic importance.

No description available.

Thesis (PhD(Agric) (Agricultural Economics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation is an analysis of dairy production in the Midlands district of KwaZulu-Natal. The analysis of agricultural production generally ignores undesirable outputs that are produced alongside desirable outputs. This research attempted to integrate a model of nitrate leaching from dairy production into a multiple input/output representation of the production technology, together with the analysis of technical efficiency. Estimation of both technical efficiency and environmental efficiency were done following the parametric econometric stochastic frontier (SFA) and the nonparametric mathematical programming data envelopment analysis (DEA) approaches. The study used unbalanced panel data from 37 individual highly specialized dairy farms for the period 2000 to 2007 and totals to 2130 observations. Production functions for the three outputs; milk, animals and farm produced feed, were fitted as a simultaneous system to model the farms’ production activities for the econometric SFA estimation of technical efficiency. A single equation reduced form was fitted as a frontier to allow for the estimation of the relative efficiencies of the individual farms. The results showed that with data this detailed it was possible to refine the model until it fits very tightly. Indeed, in the gross output model that includes cows, there was nothing left to call inefficiency and what was clearly a frontier becomes a mean response function. Technical efficiency was further calculated using the nonparametric DEA approach using the same dataset. The estimation of environmental efficiency was done using both SFA and DEA approaches. Undesirable emissions of nitrate were represented within the models by calculating nitrogen surplus (kg/ha) for each farm. This nitrogen surplus value was based on the intensity of the use of nitrogen containing inputs and the nitrogen content of marketable products specific information and from farm data which were used to calculate a farm nitrogen balance. The stochastic estimation of environmental efficiency used the same data that were used for the estimation of technical efficiency. However, for the DEA calculation of environmental efficiency, a balanced cross-section dataset for 34 farms participating in a pasture-utilization programme was used. This dataset was used because it had quantities of nitrogen fertilizer and other nitrogen containing inputs. Results indicate that there was minimal “over-usage” (over production) of milk thus reducing milk output alone will not lead to improved environmental efficiency. Farm size, herd size, and quantity of nitrogen fertilizer applied, present the best scope of reducing nitrogen surplus thus improving environmental efficiency of the dairy farms. Reducing imported feed by relying more on home grown feed can also help reduce nitrogen surplus. This is feasible because dairy farmers in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands can produce most of the feed on farm. In summary, to obtain environmental efficiency milk production would have to be reduced by 80 litres per hectare; farm size by 73.69 ha; herd size by 33 cows, nitrogen fertilizer application by 74.3 kilograms per hectare; and imported feed by 13.4 kilograms of dry matter per hectare. The adjustments that would be required if environmentally inefficient farms were to adopt best practice technology and move towards their environmental production frontiers indicate that the production of pollutants (nitrogen surplus) could be reduced at negligible cost to milk production. The positive correlation between technical and environmental efficiencies indicates that improving environmental efficiency could be associated with improvements in technical efficiency. Thus, policies aimed at improving both efficiencies could have substantial rewards. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie tesis word suiwelproduksie in die Middellande van KwaZulu-Natal van nader beskou. Met die ontleding van landbouproduksie, word ongewenste uitsette wat saam met gewenste uitsette geproduseer word, gewoonlik oor die hoof gesien. Hierdie navorsing poog om ’n model van nitraatvrylating uit suiwelproduksie in ’n veelvuldige inset/uitset verteenwoordiging van die produksietegnologie, te integreer by die analise van tegniese doeltreffendheid. In opvolging van die benaderings tot die parametriese ekonometriese stogastiese front (SFA) en die omvattingsanalise ten opsigte van die nie-parametriese matematiese programmeringsdata, is beramings van sowel tegniese as omgewings doeltreffendheid gedoen. In die studie is gebruik gemaak van paneeldata van 37 individuele hoogs gespesialiseerde melkplase vir die tydperk 2000 tot 2007, wat altesaam 2130 waarnemings beloop. Produksiewerksaamhede vir die drie uitsette; melkproduksie en diere- en plaasgeproduseerde voer, is as ’n gelyklopende stelsel ingepas om die plase se produksiewerksaamhede vir die ekonometriese SFA-beramings van tegniese doeltreffendheid weer te gee. ’n Enkele vorm om gelykmaking te verminder is daargestel as ’n front vir die beraming van die relatiewe doeltreffendhede van die individuele plase. Die resultate het bewys dat data van hierdie omvang dit moontlik maak om die model sodanig te verfyn dat dit net-net inpas. By die bruto uitset-model waarby koeie ingesluit is, was daar inderdaad niks wat op ondoeltreffendheid gedui het nie en wat eers ’n duidelike front was, het ’n betekenisvolle responsfunksie geword. Voorts is tegniese doeltreffendheid bereken deur aanwending van die nie-parametriese DEAbenadering, deur gebruik te maak van dieselfde datastel. Die beraming van omgewingsdoeltreffendheid is gedoen deur gebruikmaking van sowel SFA- as DEA-benaderings. Ongewenste nitraatvrylatings is in die modelle gevind deur die stikstofsurplus vir elke plaas te bereken (kg/ha) Die waarde van hierdie stikstofsurplus is gebaseer op die intensiteit van die gebruik van stikstofbevattende insette en bepaalde inligting oor die stikstof-inhoud van bemarkbare produkte, sowel as van plaas data, wat gebruik is om ’n stikstofbalans vir die plaas te bereken. Dieselfde data wat aangewend is vir die beraming van tegniese doeltreffendheid, is gebruik om die stogastiese beraming van omgewingsdoeltreffendheid te bepaal. Vir die DEA-berekening van omgewingsxii doeltreffendheid, is egter ’n gebalanseerde kruisseksie datastel gebruik vir 34 plase wat aan ’n weidingsbenuttings-program deelgeneem het. Die bepaalde datastel is gebruik omdat dit dosisse stikstofbemestingstof en ander stikstofbevattende insette bevat het. Resultate het op minimale “oorgebruik” (oorproduksie) van melk gedui en daarom sal die vermindering van slegs die melkuitset nie lei tot verbeterde omgewingsdoeltreffendheid nie. Plaasgrootte, kuddegrootte en die dosis stikstof wat toegedien is, verskaf die beste beeld van verminderde stikstofsurplus, wat dus tot verbeterde omgewingsdoeltreffendheid op melkplase lei. Die vermindering van ingevoerde voer deur meer op plaasgeproduseerde voer staat te maak, kan ook meewerk om stikstofsurplus te laat daal. Dit kan gedoen word omdat melkboere in die Middellande van KwaZulu-Natal die meeste van die voer op die plaas kan produseer. Ter samevatting kan gesê word dat om omgewingsdoeltreffendheid te bereik moet melkproduksie met 80 liter per hektaar verminder word, plaasgrootte met 73.69 ha, kuddegrootte met 33 koeie, stikstofbemestingtoediening met 74.3 kilogram per hektaar en ingevoerde voer met 13.4 kilogram droë materiaal per hektaar. Die aanpassings wat nodig sal wees indien omgewingsdoeltreffende plase beste praktyk-tegnologie sou aanvaar en sou aanbeweeg na hulle omgewingsproduksiefronte, dui daarop dat die produksie van besoedelende stowwe (stikstofsurplus) verminder kan word teen geringe koste aan melkproduksie. Die positiewe verband tussen tegniese en omgewingsdoeltreffendhede, dui daarop dat die verbetering van omgewingsdoeltreffendheid, in verband gebring kan word met verbeterings in tegniese doeltreffendheid. Beleid wat op verbetering van beide doeltreffendhede gemik is, kan daarom aanmerklike voordele inhou.