This dissertation proposes a model oriented towards integrating farm households' production and consumption decisions into a unified theoretical and econometric framework. It is argued that some commodities such as household's labour and, in some circumstances, outputs produced by the farm are traded within the household-farm unit. The implication of this is that, in contrast with other forms of economic organization, farm households' utility and profit maximization decisions are not likely to be independent. Thus, the general objectives of the thesis are to develop a model appropriate to estimate farm households' supply and demand responses which explicitly considers the interdependence of utility and profit maximization decisions as well as to formally test the hypothesis of independence using Canadian farm census data. A model which considers two labour supply equations, i.e., on-farm and off-farm labour supply, and five net output supply equations including one aggregated output and four inputs (land and structures, hired labour, animal inputs, and farm capital) has been jointly estimated using Canadian farm data. The main hypotheses tested are independence of utility and profit maximizing decisions and homotheticity of households' preferences. This investigation suggests that utility and profit maximizing decisions are not independent and, moreover, that there are significant gains in explanatory power and efficiency by estimating the consumption (i.e., the labour supply equations) and the production equations jointly. Another finding of the study is that farm households' preferences are not homothetic. Estimates regarding the quantitative effects of changes in cost of living index, output price, wage rates, and other farm input prices on households' on-farm labour supply, off-farm labour supply, and net output supply are provided. Additionally, the effects of farm operators' educational level on their labour supply, output supply, and input demand decisions are also measured. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

This study is an attempt to determine the effects of proximity to a large urban center on selected changes in agriculture.

Orientador: Zacarias Xavier de Barros / Banca: Silva Regina Lucas de Souza / Banca: Kassandra Sussi Mustafé Oliveira / Banca: Adelson Francisco Maia Junior / Banca: Osmar Delmanto Junior / Resumo: O crescimento e profissionalização do agronegócio torna primordial a busca pelo conhecimento na gestão e adoção de práticas administrativas que facilitem e otimizem o trabalho no campo. A capacitação contínua do profissionalprecisa ser prática e teórica, para que se possa entender a gestão do agronegócio como um todo e, assim, melhorar a qualidade de seus negócios com maior produtividade e sustentabilidade. Por outro lado, as unidades de produção de base familiar têm se destacado como objeto de pesquisa pela estrutura social e desenvolvimento sustentável do meio rural brasileiro. Vivemos um momento de questionamentos quanto ao que agride ou não o meio ambiente e os seres viventes. A agricultura familiar é de importância ímpar neste novo olhar para o mundo e a sua preservação, e por consequência a preservação do seu saber, aliada a uma geração de valor pelo seu trabalho. O presente estudo analisou e diagnosticou a importância do planejamento e organização da estrutura de produção e comercialização, a viabilidade econômica de acordo com sua lógica sustentável de produção familiar. Foi realizado um estudo de caso com um grupo de dezesseis agricultores caracterizados como familiares liderados por mulheres. Após análise realizada concluiu-se que o trabalho individual não é economicamente viável, assim, viabilizou-se o trabalho conjunto por meio da constituição de uma cooperativa, cujo nome deu-se como "Grupo Mulher". Ao final do estudo foi criado um modelo de Plano de Negócio para... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The growth and professionalization of agribusiness makes it primordial the search for knowledge in the management and adoption of administrative practices that facilitate and optimize the work in field. The continuous training of the professional must be theoretical and practice, so that one can understand the management of the agribusiness as a whole and, improve the quality of this business with productivity and sustainability. On the other side, family based production units have been highlighted as an object of research by the social structure and sustainable development of the Brazilian rural environment. We live in a moment of answers as what affects the environment or the living beings. Family farming is of a unique importance in this new look of world and its preservation, and consequently the preservation of its knowledge, allied to a generation of value for its work. The present study analyzed and diagnosed the importance of planning and organization of production and marketing structure, economic viability according to its sustainable logic of family production. A case study was conducted with a group of sixteen farmers characterized as family members headed by women. After this analysis, it concluded that the individual work is not economically viable, then, the joint work was possible through the creation of a cooperative, whose name was given as 'GrupoMulher'. At the end of this study, a Business Plan for Family Agriculture model was created through a simple framework to facilitate the handling ... / Doutor

This paper studies the stone towers on Gotland which are known as kastal in Swedish. This paper aims to answer the question of why they were built and also who ordered their construction. In order to answer these questions, the aim of this paper is to contextualise the kastal by understanding their construction chronology. In order to accomplish this, both the activities and the political actions that have been linked to the kastal by other scholars and analysed. Those activities include trade, Medieval ideologies, the Baltic crusades and residential farms. A case study is also made through researching the kastal's function, form,age and the artefacts found within them. The research conducted here indicates that no clear originator can be determined , although it is clear that some social organisation was the driving force behind the building phase. This is seen for example at Bulverket, a wooden fort built in Lake Tingstäde in northern Gotland during the twelfth century, showing the Gotlanders were able to organise and coordinate building structures on a massive scale. Whether this organisation was formed around a single aristocratic individual or around a collective group, cannot be determined within this paper. It seems that no direct link can be said to place all the kastal within one unified phase or singular incident. However, the differnet activities analysed in this research could have had a significant impact in the construction of the towers.

With the rising global warming issue and an ever-increasing dependency oil problem, wind power seems to be an alternative source of energy which is clean, non-polluting, and cost effective. The European 20-20-20 goals as well as national targets for the next ten years require a substantial increase in installed renewable capacity in France. Maïa Eolis is a leading French wind project developer and independent renewable energy producer which helps France to meet its new renewable energy targets. Even if the general opinion on wind energy is rather positive, developing a wind power project is a complex process in France because there are many regulations and new environmental constraints due to the Grenelle 2 law. Many administrative and legislative barriers consequently slow down every step of the development process. This includes handling and coordinating the permitting and application process, realizing pre-feasibility studies, and identifying the best suited sites for wind turbines, taking into account obstacles, aesthetics, and other environmental issues, in order to capture as much wind as possible. Ensuring local support is another key element of the success of a project in order to integrate it in the best possible way in its environment.

The kinds of agricultural commodities grown in an area result largely from the physical, economic, and institutional setting of the area. Seldom does one factor alone determine the kind of production. The nature of the soil, the amount and the distribution of the precipitation, the topography of the area, and the length of the frost-free growing period are all important. Likewise, location with respect to markets and means of transportation is important, as are also the ownership of the land, the size of the farms, and the balance among the factors of production. The objectives of this study were to ascertain the organization, the rates of production, the receipts and expenses, and the profits involved in operating dairy farms in Duchesne county; and to determine some of the factors affecting profits.

Resources available for agricultural production were ascertained and trends in their use were studied for seven counties of southwestern Utah. Special consideration was given to cropland, irrigation water, and operating capital as resource restrictions for a linear programming model. Budget data were obtained for crop and livestock enterprises by interviewing farmers and ranchers in the area. Budgets for four representative farm types representing climatic and irrigation differences were made to study crop possibilities. Acreage minimums or maximums for selected crops were established as conservation measures. Budgets were prepared for farm livestock enterprises to use with crop budgets for each representative farm. Results provided profit maximizing enterprise combinations for each representative farm.

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