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Survival analysis of sow longevity and lifetime reproductive performance – Review
75-80Views:319Sow longevity plays an important role in economically efficient piglet production. Improving sow longevity results increase in the productivity and profitability of a sow herd. Longevity is a complex trait with many factors that can contribute to a sow having a long and productive life. Not only the sow’s genetics, but also nutrition, environment and the management policies are important. In addition, the removal of non-productive sows along with the introduction of replacement gilts is an essential part of maintaining herd productivity at a constantly high level. The objective of this paper was to summarize the current knowledge about the sow longevity and lifetime performance values, as well as, discusses the survival analysis methods for sow longevity traits. This method can estimate the hazard rate indicating proportional risk of sows being culled at any given time, in addition, it is able to investigate the effects of different factors on longevity. Identifying factors that influence the longevity could assist many commercial pig producers in becoming more efficient.
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The ain impacts of the Lisbon Strategy on tobacco growing
80-87Views:81The Lisbon Strategy of the EU promises a more competitive Europe with more and better workplaces, in addition to sustainability.
Tobacco production is one of the most controversial industries of the agricultural sphere in the European Union. This crop is a „leader” of the world’s economic growth, a promoter of globalisation and has been an economic channel between America and Europe for more than 500 years. It is also a motor of technical development, due to its inducing effect on profitability and work efficiency. The tax competition of the states and the increase in consumption have become such a self-inducing system in which the increase of production created an increasing number of jobs, especially in tobacco growing, where the replacement of manual labour was much slower than the increase of the demand for raw material. The fact that smoking is becoming general should be handled as a social demand, though its health risks cannot be denied. However, the extreme objection to smoking cannot be accepted, especially not when it evokes social strains and concludes that people smoke because of tobacco production, al though the real situation is the opposite: People smoke in Europe, so the tobacco should be grown here, as is in our economic interest.
There is a contradiction between the strategic objectives and the roles of the industry which should be ceased urgently. Al thong aim is the creation of jobs, stopping tobacco growing could result in unexpected agro-social disadvantages. Rejection of the industry’s sustainability questions the realization of the keystones of the strategy. Competitiveness, sustainability and social cohesion should be implemented as a unit of the strategy also in tobacco growing. -
Effect of change of natural efficiency indicators for profitability of broiler chicken fattening
57-61Views:138I consider it important that the fattening of broiler producers in an economic sense to remain alive in the present difficult situation. This does not mean to me, that just does not generate a loss, but they do remain in their activities after income. Because if you do not have sufficient income in a given sector then the technology becomes obsolete over time and income deficit due to the possible improvements are still lagging behind, resulting in competitive disadvantages occur. The natural efficiency remains a priority, because fundamentally determine our competitiveness in the broiler production. In the present study, scenario analysis can prove the veracity of my claim, in point of the three most important natural efficiency indicators. The natural efficiency indicators of a company compared to the natural effectiveness of our country and the our competitions (Western-European countries).
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The Developmental Possibilities for Methods of Real Estate and Farm Property Evaluation in Agriculture
241-247Views:95Different methods for evaluating property have gained greater importance in agriculture since the change of regime. The open market evaluation could be the best method if the agricultural property had significant turnover, which could serve as a reliable comparison. However, there is no notable turnover, and selling is scarce. And, when there is some, the sales contracts are not available. On the other hand, the open market evaluation is almost the only one assessing method in Western Europe and in the United States. The matrix comparing market data in my methodological development helps to estimate the effects of the elements which determinate real estate value of farms.
Another method for evaluating farm property is the discounted future earnings. Enterprises are able to produce series of income continuously during their working periods, which can be considered as perpetuity. This is the base of the discounted future earning evaluation. Determination of income generating capacity is not an easy task. It is also difficult to choose the proper rate of capitalization. If this rate is higher than the usual level, the property will be underestimated. If it is lower, the property will be overrated. According to my calculations the profitability of certain farms of animal breeding may be evaluated under different operating conditions. Furthermore, the capitalisation interest rate may be determined in an objective way.
The problem of applying the depreciated replacement cost evaluation method is that there are big deviations among investment costs in tenders of contractors; moreover the estimations of special depreciation forms are rather subjective. One of the process’s greatest difficulties for reliability is that it is doubtful whether depreciated replacement cost could reach the real market value. The utilisation of this method may be spread further in the future by standardising average gross replacement cost of building as well as by measuring depreciation more objectively. -
Bioenergy production: are the objects realistic??
53-58Views:94Currently we do not have the possibility to define our energy reserves, since we do not know the magnitude of extant material resources. The known petroleum (crude) supply will be sufficient for about 100 years at the longest, and according to the latest estimates in 2008 we will reach and even exceed the maximum level of oil extraction, and after this it is going to decrease.
Hungary has good givens to go upon the way of sustainable energy economy according to experts, however a coherent government policy that lasts for not just one period is essential, and a sound economic- and agricultural policy is needed as well. According to the FVM’s under-secretary in Hungary more than 1 million hectares can be disposable for energy crop production. This would mean that 20 percent of the fields would be taken away from food production and on these fields energy crops would be grown. But we also have to take into consideration that the increase in energy plant production could happen at the expense of food production. If we would like to ensure the food for Hungary’s population from national sources we have to make calculations in determining energy need. In my research I set out the objective to determine the level of that specific turnover and marginal cost which supports the profitability of grain cultivation. With these indicators it is possible to analyze the economy and competitiveness of growing energy crops in the region of the North Plain. The alternatives of using cereals and rational land use should be also considered. A developing bio-fuel program can be a solution for the deduction of excess grain that is typical in Hungary for several years in the cereals sector. The pressure on the national market caused by excess grain can be ceased or moderated, and therefore the storage problems would decrease as well. -
Simulation of optimizing decisions and risk analysis in investment plans
160-164Views:102Investments always contain risks, as data referring to the future are planned and uncertain. Therefore, besides feasibility analyses we need to perform risk analyses, as well. Through statistic simulation methods, our aim is to examine how uncertain and prospective data as risk factors affect investment-profitability indices. On the other hand, our aim is to find out the optimal innovation – financing decisions by using decision optimizing
methods. -
The production and financial achievement of the agricultural co-operatives in 2002-2007
21-28Views:112The aim of the study was the examination of the achievement of the Hungarian agricultural enterprises – special regard to the agricultural co-operatives – based on the aggregated database of Hungarian Tax and Financial Control Administration (APEH), from the database of the Research Institute of Agricultural Economics. From the methodological aspect plain statistical devices were used, indicators for corporate analyses were
calculated and analyzed for the time series. One important conclusion is that the socio-economic weight of the agricultural co-operatives was strongly decreased in the period after the EU accession. The other important statement is that over the general examination of economic actors on an aggregated level the comparative analysis of the single enterprises forms would be needed. In the case of the co-operatives the separated examination of the former type producer co-operatives and the new type co-operatives would be necessary -
Evaluation of IT-Investments
378-386Views:113An informatical innovation is essentially a private business in the life of a venture but the ability of evolution and adaptability of ventures is remarkable for the national economy too. This is why it is important to observe the economical effects of IT investments. The introduction of an information system – as in the cases of other investments – requires pre- and post-calculations for payback of fixed assest, thrift and profitability. The operation of an information system means not only one-off acquisition of instruments and intangible assets, but requires continuous development, version control and improvement of hardware in the sake of conservation. There is a high rate of depreciation of IT investments in Hungary, because such goods change too quickly, together with the economic environment. If the conservation of IT instrument value wanted one has to make new expansions continually. IT specialists have determined some indices, one of which is Total cost of Ownership, which is an important indicator for investment analysis. In practice, there are some other models and methods we can adopt in our analysis. In this paper, I collected several relevant and usable methods for pre analysis of IT projects. Management can adopt these models in his investment process to make sound decisions.
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Novel market conditions and marketing consequences in the hungarian guided hunting sector
47-52Views:93In Hungary the operating medium of game management and the guided hunting sector is undergoing such a radical change nowadays that on the one hand it considerably influences the profit-producing ability of the sector, and on the other hand it sets the actors of the industry new challenges and opportunities. If the Hungarian hunting industry, which has a traditional past, also wishes to preserve its position in this changed business medium, it is essential that the new situation be thoroughly assessed, and the value-oriented marketing attitude be adapted. The phenomena presented in this essay discuss the consequences and causes of the appearance of new service providers regarding the supply side, and the content changes of the consumer group and the modification of earlier consumption preferences and their causes on the demand side. The changing of the two media jointly generate the adaptation of the value-oriented service - marketing concepts, by using which the areas to be developed and deemed as the narrow cross-section of consumer decisions can be determined. After specifying the target group specific marketing properties of the aove-mentioned – prestige – service, such services of high utility content can already be established successfully that can be positioned as a proper alternative for the new consumer group of higher value expectation. On the other hand, the employment and profitability indexes related to this sector may considerably be improved.
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Special Investment Support Under the Agricultural Reorganisation Programme 1995-2000
64-73Views:89Since the political changes in Hungary, agricultural businesses have worked in a declining economic environment and hectic market situation, with a widening price gap between agricultural and industrial products and low profitability. A declining export comes then by no surprise. The sector has not been able to even benefit from export opportunities provided in the European Agreement. The area least benefiting from quotas is animal products (beef, mutton, lamb, slaughtered chicken, cheese, egg). The ministry of agriculture was lagging behind in responding to these problems, and it was as late as in 1995 when it launched a reorganisation programme for export stocks fund build-up (5).
The author has conducted empirical studies on agricultural enterprises in Csongrád county to see what results the special investment support delivered under the reorganisation programme produced. The fundamental aim of the reorganisation programme for export stocks fund build-up was to boost exportable Hungarian animal product stocks in a bid for businesses to better benefit from the preferential quotas set by the European Agreement. The author examined how the special investment support scheme succeeded in its aims, whether livestock grew considerably in its wake, whether farmers were able to attain exportable quality and what development funds enterprises were able to raise. -
Survival Analysis of Hungarian Large White, Duroc and Pietrain Sows
31-36Views:273The aim of the present study was to perform lifetime performance analysis in three pig breeds; Hungarian Large White (n=295), Duroc (n=76) and Pietrain (n=91) on a commercial farm using analysis of survival sows. We took into consideration the age of sows at the time of their inclusion into breeding, their age at the time of culling, time spent in production, number of mating and parities, parity percentage, intervals between litters, number and mean of piglets born alive and born dead, number of raised piglet litters, number and mean of 21 days old piglets, the weight and mean of raised litter and raise percentage.
We carried out the analysis by SPSS 22.0. Single factor analysis of variants, Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox PH model were used. The determination of the significance of risk rates differences was done by Wald chi square test.
Our results showed that the average culling age were 1056 (±33.52) days for the Hungarian Large White, 735 (±73.56) days for Duroc and 818 (±71.98) days for the Pietrain.
The log rank test of the survival analysis indicated a significant difference between the three tested genotypes (χ2=16.981, P<0.001), which means that the survival percentage of the individual breeds varied significantly from one another. In comparison with the Hungarian Large White genotype the Duroc genotype has a 1.6 times higher (P<0.001) culling risk while that of the genotype Pietrain was 1.36 times higher (P<0.001).
Our results can be used to compare the breeds kept under the same conditions and to compare the life span of one genotype under different farming conditions. Factors that increase survival and improve the profitability of pig farming can be determined by this method.
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Determining the optimal age of breeding gilts and its impact on lifetime performance, Literature review
15-20Views:555Lifetime sow performance is a critical indicator for producers managing a commercial sow herd. It is comprised of sow longevity, lifetime piglets born alive, lifetime number of pigs weaned and lifetime non-productive sow days. Increased lifetime performance and longevity in sows reduces costs of replacement gilts and improves herd performance and profitability (Sasaki et al., 2008, 2011). One of the most critical factors driving the performance of sow herds is gilt management. Decisions regarding gilts have profound effects on sows’ lifetime performance. Age at first breeding of a gilt is a management decision that has been shown to affect performance and retention of the gilt in a herd.
The main aim of this review is to establish factors affecting age of first breeding of gilts and its impact on lifetime performance.
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Viability and Economies of Scale in EU Farms
332-338Views:75With this study, the author intends to draw up the main characteristics of the institutional background of the Farm Accountancy Data Network, operated by the European Union. Among the factors that contribute to the formation of the institutional background of the FADN database, special emphasis is laid on the Commission and member state level legal framework, in order to provide potential Hungarian users of the database with authentic and substantial information. Also, much attention is paid to definitional misunderstandings which cause, or might cause the farm business management type utilization of the database to be imperfect. As for this goal, some of the elements of the FADN information structure are investigated in a conventional Hungarian cost structure. In order to facilitate an easier understanding of the database, the different relations of economic size classes are also reviewed in this study. The author of this study is – in the first place – trying to analyze the meaning of Standard Gross Margin, the index used in the FADN structure to categorize farms, by localizing the position of the different cost constituents of SGM in a conventional Hungarian cost matrix. Last, but not least, the author is trying to draw all researcher’s attention on the possibilities, hidden in the FADN database by introducing some analyses from his own field of interest based on FADN information.
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Feeding questions of organic lamb fattening
155-160Views:104Organic farming has done in line with conventional farming in the Karcag Research Institute of DU CASE since 2001. Our organic farming activities were enhanced with sheep farming and
grassland management in 2005. We started our study of technology development of organic lamb fattening and the treatment of its economic effect this year. Our goal was to develop
the elements of the technology to reach a more efficient organic lamb fattening. We also studied what economic advantages the organic sheep farming could realize in the present economic environment. Our studies were carried out between 2005 and 2007. We established that the excellent ewe feeding (good quality of fodder and silage) can decrease the lamb feeding cost between the 2nd and 8th weeks of the lambs’ life. We established that the
yield of convention lambs are significantly higher than the yield of organic lambs. The cost of organic lamb fodder is significantly lower than the cost a convention lamb fodder, but the profit was higher in the case of convention lamb fattening. The organic lamb fattening technology (without extra price) is not competitive to the conventional lamb fattening technology. We think that the profitability of organic lamb fattening is significantly less than of the convention one. The organic lamb price should be 20-30% higher than the other price to be competitive. Unfortunatly there is only a little demand for organic lamb and there is no difference between the prices of organic and convention lambs, so organic sheep farmers have worse economic circumstances than conventional sheep farmers.