An optimization model of the dual-purpose cattle production system in the humid lowlands of Venezuela

Abstract

We developed a deterministic, multi-period linear programming (LP) model of the dual-purpose (milk-beef)

Land speculation and interest rate subsidies as a cause of deforestation: The role of cattle ranching in Costa Rica

“…Based on the Neoclassical investment theory, we develop a stochastic investment model with partially irreversible (exponential) investment costs in which land prices are modelled as geometric Brownian motion. In contrast with existing dynamic cattle ranching and livestock models (see for example Standiford and Howitt, 1992;Nicholson et al, 1994;Costanza and Neuman, 1997;Bulte et al, 2000;Merry et al, 2002), we neither assume the farm size to be fixed nor the land price to be constant. The model is solved analytically and a numerical example of the model is given for cattle ranchers in the Atlantic Zone (AZ) of Costa Rica.…”

Time series livestock diet optimization: cost-effective broiler feed substitution using the commodity price spread approach

“…Therefore, in a fluctuating price situation, a multi-stage LP offers the advantage of determining the price spread-for instance, between corn and wheat or between distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and corn at which it is important to replace part or all of one feed ingredient with the other. Previous works utilizing multi-period LP models have tended to focus on issues such as the variation in feed supply, the quality of feedstuffs, and animal requirements to optimize diets to achieve productivity goals (Reynoso-Campos et al 2004;Nicholson et al 1994). However, the issue of commodity price spread and dietary dynamics over time, and its relationship with dietary feeds and substitution rates, has not been adequately evaluated.…”

Modeling farm households for estimating the efficiency of policy instruments on sustainable land use in Haiti

“…The LP model has been chosen because farm income is linear in output prices and quantities (Buongiorno and Gilless, 2003). The methodology has been used successfully for many years in operations research for both agricultural and forestry production and conservation (Merry et al, 2002;Bernet et al, 2000;Shiferaw and Holden, 2000;Delforce, 1994;Jolayemi and Olaomi, 1995;Nicholson et al, 1994;Howard, 1993;Bezuneh et al, 1988;Ahn et al, 1981), and in the empirical estimation of deforestation at the household and firm level (Kaimowitz and Angelsen, 1998). The LP model is an optimization model that identifies a production plan that maximizes peasant net annual income under various policy instruments.…”