No abstract

No abstract

The milk market in the European Union (EU) is adjusting rapidly to the removal of dairy quotas. The most important changes include increased milk yield per cow, increased total milk production, decreased number of cows, and the decreased milk consumption. The main aim of the paper is to examine the milk production changes in the EU. We investigated the dynamics of changes in farm milk production during the period from 1998–2017 in the EU. Moreover, we investigated the impact of the removal of quotas on the production of milk on farms in the EU countries for the period from 2015–2017. Milk production in the EU increased from 151 million tons in 1998 to 165 million tons in 2017 (a 10% increase). A multi-variate regression model was to test which explanatory variables have an impact on milk production in the EU. The most important factors were a gross domestic product, final household consumption expenditure (current prices, million euro), and population (number).

The paper’s main purpose was to identify and present the current situation and changes in energy consumption in agriculture in the European Union (EU) countries. The specific objectives were the determination of the degree of concentration of energy consumption in agriculture in the EU countries, showing the directions of their changes, types of energy used, and changes in this respect, establishing the correlation between energy consumption and changes in the economic and agricultural situation in the EU countries. All member states of the European Union were deliberately selected for research on 31 December 2018 (28 countries). The research period covered the years 2005–2018. The sources of materials were the literature on the subject, and data from Eurostat. Descriptive, tabular, and graphical methods were used to analyze and present materials, dynamics indicators with a stable base, Gini concentration coefficient, concentration analysis using the Lorenz curve, coefficient of variation, Kendall’s tau correlation coefficient, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. A high concentration of energy consumption in agriculture was found in several EU countries, the largest in countries with the largest agricultural sector, i.e., France and Poland. There were practically no changes in the concentration level. Only in the case of renewable energy, a gradual decrease in concentration was visible. More and more countries developed technologies that allow the use of this type of energy. However, the EU countries differed in terms of the structure of the energy sources used. The majority of the basis was liquid fuels, while stable and gaseous fuels were abandoned in favor of electricity and renewable sources—according to which, in the EU countries, the research hypothesis was confirmed: a gradual diversification of energy sources used in agriculture, with a systematic increase in the importance of renewable energy sources. The second research hypothesis was also confirmed, according to which the increase in the consumption of renewable energy in agriculture is closely related to the economy’s parameters. The use of renewable energy is necessary and results from concern for the natural environment. Therefore, economic factors may have a smaller impact.

No abstract

Giant miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus Greef and Deuter) and Amur silver grass (Miscanthus sacchariflorus Maxim./Hack) are rhizomatous grasses with a C4 photosynthetic pathway that are widely cultivated as energy crops. For those species to be successfully used in bioenergy generation, their yields have to be maintained at a high level in the long term. The biomass yield (fresh and dry matter [DM] yield) and energy efficiency (energy inputs, energy output, energy gain, and energy efficiency ratio) of giant miscanthus and Amur silver grass were compared in a field experiment conducted in 2007–2017 in North‐Eastern Poland. Both species were characterized by high above‐ground biomass yields, and the productive performance of M. × giganteus was higher in comparison with M. sacchariflorus (15.5 vs. 9.3 Mg DM ha−1 year−1 averaged for 1–11 years of growth). In the first year of the experiment, the energy inputs associated with the production of M. × giganteus and M. sacchariflorus were determined at 70.5 and 71.5 GJ/ha, respectively, and rhizomes accounted for around 78%–79% of total energy inputs. In the remaining years of cultivation, the total energy inputs associated with the production of both perennial rhizomatous grasses reached 13.6–15.7 (M. × giganteus) and 16.9–17.5 GJ ha−1 year−1 (M. sacchariflorus). Beginning from the second year of cultivation, mineral fertilizers were the predominant energy inputs in the production of M. × giganteus (78%–86%) and M. sacchariflorus (80%–82%). In years 2–11, the energy gain of M. × giganteus reached 50 (year 2) and 264–350 GJ ha−1 year−1 (years 3–11), and its energy efficiency ratio was determined at 4.7 (year 2) and 18.6–23.3 (years 3–11). The energy gain and the energy efficiency ratio of M. sacchariflorus biomass in the corresponding periods were determined at 87–234 GJ ha−1 year−1 and 6.1–14.3, respectively. Both grasses are significant and environmentally compatible sources of bioenergy, and they can be regarded as potential energy crops for Central‐Eastern Europe.

The aim of the research was to identify the factors influencing consumption of organic food. In our research an attempt was made to find a method for identifying organic food and assessing the features ascribed to it by consumers. These features were then analyzed in terms of their technical and market attributes. The paper presents results of research conducted in 2005, 2010 and 2013 on the organic food market with special emphasis placed on pricing, distribution systems and consumers in the northeastern Poland. Respondents' answers indicate their increasing interest, knowledge and commitment to the environment. They also indicate that the most important technological attribute of organic food is its way of production, which ensures that the food is healthy, contains no chemical additives and has good, natural taste. Market attributes include the food's high nutritious value and naturalness, the producer's logo and price. Consumers buying organic food believe that the production and processing of food does not destroy the natural environment. Emphasizing the health and taste attributes of organic food is not enough, however, and it has to coincide with the consumer's behavior and proenvironmental bias, which become explicit in his choice of food.

The introduction of electromobility contributes to an increase in energy efficiency and lower air pollution. European countries have not been among the world’s leading countries in this statistic. In addition, there have been different paces in the implementation of electromobility in individual countries. The main purpose of this paper is to determine the directions of change and the degrees of concentration in electromobility in European Union (EU) countries, especially after the economic closure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific objectives are to indicate the degree of concentration of electromobility in the EU and changes in this area, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic; to determine the dynamics of changes in the number of electric cars in individual EU countries, showing the variability in this aspect, while also taking into account the crisis caused by COVID-19; to establish the association between the number of electric cars and the parameters of the economy. All EU countries were selected for study by the use of the purposeful selection procedure, as of December 31, 2020. The analyzed period covered the years 2011–2020. It was found that in the longer term, the development of electromobility in the EU, measured by the number of electric cars, is closely related to the economic situation in this area. The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the economic situation in all EU countries, but has not slowed down the pace of introducing electromobility, and may have even accelerated it. In all EU countries, in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the dynamics of introducing electric cars into use increased. The growth rate in the entire EU in 2020 was 86%, while in 2019 it was 48%. The reason was a change in social behavior related to mobility under conditions of risk of infection. COVID-19 has become a positive catalyst for change. The prospects for the development of this type of transport are very good because activities related to the development of the electromobility sector perfectly match the needs related to the reduction of pollution to the environment.