Modelling phosphorus efficiency within diverse dairy farming systems − pollutant and non-renewable resource?

March, Margaret; Toma, Luiza; Stott, Alistair W.; Roberts, David J.

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.05.022

Cited by 20 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Previous studies that have employed the DEA approach for the estimation of environmental efficiency and abatement costs include: Cecchini et al (2018) who employed the Slacks-Based Measure-Data Envelopment Analysis (SBM-DEA) with undesirable output to estimate the environmental efficiency and marginal abatement costs of CO 2 from 10 dairy farms in Umbria region of Italy. March et al (2016) analysed the environmental efficiency of diverse milk production systems making use data from experimental dairy farms. Toma et al (2013) compared the environmental efficiency of two divergent strains of Holstein-Friesian cows across two contrasting dairy management systems.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Efficiency and Pollution Costs of Nitrogen Surplus in Dairy Farms: A Parametric Hyperbolic Technology Distance Function Approach

Adenuga

Davis

Hutchinson

et al. 2019

Environ Resource Econ

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Negative externalities such as nitrogen (N) surplus that accompany dairy production activities are not usually accounted for in the market place since they are not costed. Using a parametric hyperbolic environmental technology distance function approach, we estimate the environmental efficiency and farm-specific abatement costs (shadow price) of nitrogen surplus in dairy farms on the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland). The methodology, unlike previous approaches (output/input distance functions), allows for asymmetric treatments of production outputs (desirable and undesirable outputs). We also analyse the farm level nitrogen pollution costs ratio and its determinants. The results of our analyses showed that the average environmental technical efficiency estimates for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are 0.89 and 0.92 and the mean abatement costs per kg of N surplus is €4.02 and €6.2 respectively. We found a reasonable degree of variation in the spectrum of abatement costs across the dairy farms with a relative increase observed over the years.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Efficiency and Pollution Costs of Nitrogen Surplus in Dairy Farms: A Parametric Hyperbolic Technology Distance Function Approach

Adenuga

Davis

Hutchinson

et al. 2019

Environ Resource Econ

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“…To fulfill the increasing demand for fertilizers, mining operations increased phosphate rock extraction five-fold between the 1960s and 2011 [5], and the global production of phosphate fertilizers has increased at a rate of 4% per annum [6]. As this is a non-renewable natural resource, with reserves that will be depleted within the next 50 years [7], improving plants to promote efficiency and responsiveness to phosphorus use is important. In addition, improved phosphorus efficiency and responsiveness are of interest for the sustainability of production systems, especially in tropical regions with low fertility soils, high acidity, and a high phosphorus adsorption capacity [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic effects on the efficiency and responsiveness to phosphorus use in popcorn as estimated by diallel analysis

Gerhardt

Amaral

Pena³

et al. 2019

PLoS ONE

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Agricultural expansion and the need for sustainable cultivation are challenges faced by researchers involved in the generation of new cultivars that can adapt to abiotic stress. Knowledge of the genetic effects of characteristics related to efficiency and responsiveness to phosphorus use must be considered when implementing methods to obtain better genotypes. The aim of this study was to characterize and select popcorn hybrids based on their efficiency and responsiveness to phosphorus use, and estimate their combining abilities and genetic effects via diallel analysis to implement improvement programs for sustainable agriculture. Eight contrasting inbred lines were used to obtain simple hybrids for diallel analysis. Twenty-eight diallelic hybrids plus the popcorn parental lines were evaluated at two different sites under two contrasting environments for soil phosphorus availability (6 × 6 lattice design). Grain yield, popping expansion, and volume of expanded popcorn per hectare were measured. A combined analysis of variance and a test of means were performed. The classification and utilization of the phosphorus use efficiency index, according to the grain yield performance of the hybrids under contrasting environments, was considered. Through model 2 of the Griffing’s diallel analysis method, the general and specific combining abilities were estimated, along with their environmental interactions. The best strategy to obtain genotypes that are efficient and responsive to phosphorus involves exploring popcorn hybrids using genitors that result in the accumulation of additive genes that promote popping expansion. Hybrids P7 × L80, P7 × L59, P7 × L76, and P6 × L80 presented promising results and may be evaluated as cultivation options in phosphorus-deficient soils.

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“…The need to innovate farming systems is in response to various external pressures, including a declining stock of environmental resources and climate change. Biodynamic farming seems to be able to embrace the ethics, practices, and economic benefits of organic production and to improve its environmental benefits, since it succeeds in working towards closed loops (March et al, 2016). The biodynamic agricultural method can be considered a holistic approach to sustainability (Kovacevic and Lazic, 2012;Ponzio et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the sustainability of wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) production: Application of a multi-criteria method to different farming systems in the province of Udine

Troiano

Novelli

Geatti

et al. 2019

Ecological Indicators

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Evaluating the economic, social and environmental impacts of different cultivation systems is an essential issue for the introduction of management practices that aim at both achieving more sustainable forms of land use and improving social well-being. A number of studies compared and assessed organic and conventional farms in relation to their multifunctional effects. However, to our knowledge there is no literature which took into account at the same time the multifunctional role of a greater number of different farming methods. In this paper an attempt is made to employ the multi-criteria method in order to conduct quantitative assessment of the degree of multi-functionality on three different farming methods, namely, conventional, organic and biodynamic. A species of leaf vegetable was considered, that is, wild rocket. The three farms taken into examination are all located in the province of Udine, Italy, with a maximum distance of about 20 km one from another. In all the three farms, greenhouses equipped with the same type of roofing were employed. The research was carried on for two consecutive years, that is, 2012 and 2013; spring, summer and autumn productions were considered. In this way we minimized the influence of some parameters (climatic conditions, luminosity, growing period), but the specific techniques adopted in the three farms were not optimized. The producers continued to utilize the methods usually employed in their farms, in order to obtain results showing the productive situation of the territory. The obtained information was used as input data for the multi-attribute model. Attributes and utility functions were organized under three major groups: economic, social and environmental parameters. Findings may be regarded simply as the results of a pilot study, as they were obtained on a small sample of farms, but suggest that the degree of multi-functionality is the most explicit in the case of the biodynamic farm, that has a better property and social structure.

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Modelling phosphorus efficiency within diverse dairy farming systems − pollutant and non-renewable resource?

Cited by 20 publications

References 39 publications

Environmental Efficiency and Pollution Costs of Nitrogen Surplus in Dairy Farms: A Parametric Hyperbolic Technology Distance Function Approach

Environmental Efficiency and Pollution Costs of Nitrogen Surplus in Dairy Farms: A Parametric Hyperbolic Technology Distance Function Approach

Genetic effects on the efficiency and responsiveness to phosphorus use in popcorn as estimated by diallel analysis

Assessment of the sustainability of wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) production: Application of a multi-criteria method to different farming systems in the province of Udine

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