Effects of Market and Regulatory Changes on Livestock Manure Management in Southern Alberta

Abstract

"A spatial model of intensive livestock production for a region in southern Alberta was used to evaluate the impact of economic factors and regulation on regional returns and optimal manure management. Under current conditions, profit maximizing application of manure met nitrogen requirements but phosphorus application was about three times the crop requirements. Higher commercial nitrogen prices did not significantly alter the optimal manure application, but reduced regional returns. With a phosphorus limit regulation, it was less costly to compost about half of the beef cattle manure to remove it from the region than to truck manure long distances to meet the regulation. A $0.91/t reduction in the costs of composting, or a subsidy to reduce costs, was required to meet the phosphorus regulation. The net costs of the subsidy were slightly less than that ofphosphorus regulation. Future research needs to explore the economic market and limitations of composting for manure management before any composting policy is initiated." Copyright 2006 Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.

Integrated economic and environmental analysis of agricultural straw reuse in edible fungi industry

“…“Base” scenario refers to the optimized results calculated by a model mathematical programming, which represents the optimal production situations under present constraints. Moreover, Optimization results are considered the baseline for succeeding simulation scenarios ( Smith, Card & Young, 2006 ). The prices and quantities of output and input which described the production function in the plant are reported in Table 1 .…”

“…The pilot plant is allowed to add new production facilities to extend the input scale or reduce workload to reduce the input scale. The potentially technical parameters are assumed to be unchanged in this scenario ( Smith, Card & Young, 2006 ).…”

Organisation des filières animales et environnement. Vingt ans après la directive nitrates

“…Les coûts de transport sont estimés de 1,50 à 4,50 € par kg d'azote pour le porc et de 0,40 à 1 € pour la volaille en fonction de la distance parcourue (Djaout et al 2009). Smith et al (2006) ont évalué ce coût à 2,13 $CAN par tonne de lisier pour les exploitations porcines et laitières et à 4,28 $CAN/t pour les exploitations avicoles. En conséquence, la contrainte d'épandage introduite par la directive «Nitrates» dans les zones à excédent d'azote implique des coûts croissants avec la densité animale, car les éleveurs devront payer un droit d'épandage plus élevé ou épandre de plus en plus loin au fur et à mesure que la production locale s'accroît.…”

Agri-Environmental Regulations, Policies, and Programs

“…One of the most important areas of agri-environmental regulation involves farm nutrients, the details of which are now discussed. Smith et al (2006) examine nutrient regulations in a livestock-intensive region of southern Alberta. One of the key results from their spatial analysis is that manure composting is more cost-effective than trucking the manure away from the region in order to comply with maximum phosphate standards.…”