Important sources of risk in agriculture are yield and price fluctuations caused by unpredictable and uncontrollable events, inducing income volatility and adding considerable complexity to farmers' decisions. The literature suggests that these events could affect farmers' risk aversion in decision making and justify their preferences for risk minimizing and safety-first survival, rather than a profit maximization strategy. The aim of this study is to test this hypothesis by using a quadratic programming in linearized version and the sumex utility function, which is representable as sum of products of polynomials and exponential (or "polynex") functions to simulate risk aversion for specific traits of the E-V frontier (Nakamura, Mathematical Soc Sci 31:39-47, 1996). The linear approximation of the utility function is obtained with the MOTAD approach, consisting in the minimization of errors generated by total absolute deviations of gross income from the expected value (Hardaker et al. Rev Mark Agric Econ 59:9-22, 1991). This method allows different portfolio simulations to be run of selected cereal and oilseed crops as risky prospects, by varying the risk parametrically. The results obtained confirm the hypothesis that risk affects farmers' decisions and that crop diversification is a viable strategy as a hedge against risk.

The main aim of this paper is to highlight the evolution of urban and peri-urban networks in view of their use by dwellers and visitors. It considers the knowledge as a part of a hidden permanent education form, and as a prerequisite for full enjoyment of available culture, sport and health facilities. Although, the objectives of the inhabitants and tourists are very different, their basic structural needs and the underlying methodology have common characteristics. In this prospective, the central element is the ability to build networks that connect the nodes of interest, which are functional (services at various levels), cultural (historical and artistic emerging features), and leisure (dedicated sport facilities and locations). Furthermore, the paper investigates the paths and times of networks connections, providing particular attention to multipurpose trips consistence of either dwellers or tourists.

This study aimed to assess the environmental footprint of dairy farms rearing a dual-purpose breed, and to evaluate, through alternative scenario analyses, the fattening of calves and the cultivation of hemp as strategies for reducing the environmental impact of these farms. Eleven farms were evaluated for global warming (GWP), acidification (AC) and eutrophication (EUP) potential. The Life Cycle Assessment method with three scenarios, REAL, based on real data, BEEF, where calves were fattened in farm, and HEMP, where hemp was cultivated in farms, were considered. If referred to 1 m2 of utilizable agricultural land, the GWP, AC and EUP were 1.6 kgCO2eq, 21.7 gSO2eq and 7.1 gPO43−eq, respectively. If referring to 1 kg of fat and protein corrected milk, the emissions were 1.1–1.4 kgCO2eq, 14.8–19.0 gSO2eq, and 5.0–6.4 gPO43−eq, depending on the allocation method adopted. The emissions were associated positively with culling rate and negatively with production intensity. In BEEF and HEMP scenarios, the emissions were reduced by 8–11% and by 1–5%, respectively. Fattening the calves, evaluating the cultivation of alternative plants and improving the productive and reproductive efficiency of animals could be effective strategies for reducing the environmental footprint of the farm.

The scope of this research is to elaborate a strategy to minimize the logistic cost of the whey collection. The problem consists of the description of the whey collection basin and transport from CP (Cheese plant) to WPP (Whey processing plant). We started with an initial basic solution and proceeded with successive iterations to find the final optimal solution. Two numeric methods are proposed to solve iteratively the problem: the first one emulates the simplex method, the second one is an empirical solution to find the optimal route. Both are solved with an Excel and Google map software and do not require a dedicated LP program for calculus. The results demonstrate that both methods contribute to solve the transport problem and generate valuable information for the achievement of economic and environmental targets.

(commercialized) and hard. A 6 x 6 latin square with 6 groups of 3 cows was used.For the milking characteristics, the significant differences concerned mainly total and machine time which decreased with wide bore liners and with increasing stiffness of the barrel quantified by the measurement of its buckling pressure. The overall decrease which reached 16.3% for the total time may have practical consequences for the farmer. Under our experimental conditions, the bore of the barrel has a greater influence than its stiffness. Considering their characteristics, it seems that this conclusion applies also to the liners which are on the market.The machine and total milk yield remained unaffected by the treatments. The diameter of the teats and the thickness of the teat end (measured under compression with spring-loaded calipers) were lower after milking than before milking. It seems that these measurements are highly dependent on the milking equipment. Thus, after milking, the teat diameter was higher with the wide bore liners (P < 0.01). Besides, there were significant variations in the teat end thickness (P < 0.01) which tended to increase with increasing stiffness and bore of the liner. Further studies are needed to explain these effects which seem associated with fast milking conditions and might be due to an accumulation of fluid in the teat-end. cow — milking -teat -teacup liner