Driven by consumer demands, European legislation has suggested the use of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) as the quality risk management programme for the whole dairy chain. Until now, an exception has been made for primary producers, but as regulations evolve, on-farm HACCP-like programmes should be ready to assure food safety as well as animal health and animal welfare. In our ...

This paper reports on a qualitative case study which explored farm management practices by women cotton growers who used computer-based information systems, most particularly the agricultural farm management software, CottonLOGIC, within the Australian cotton industry. The study found that, although gender differences and inequalities persist, the agency of women cotton growers ensures not only...

The organizational injury theory focusing on management issues could provide new viewpoints on causes and prevention of injuries in agriculture. The objective of this study was to test whether the quality of farm management is associated with farm injuries. A cohort of 134 farms was used to examine the relationship between farm injuries and selected management, farm, and farm operator character...

This paper presents a model of the farm management process. The model suggests that certain socioeconomic characteristics of farm managers will influence their decision-making process. Several characteristics are hypothesized and tested using multivariate techniques (multivariate analysis of variance, range tests, and multiple comparisons). The analysis indicates that the soil zone, value of ma...

The fast changing environment, including difficult market conditions and a high exposure to financial risks are major reasons for changing production policy. Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS) appear to be a powerful tool to deal with the new conditions. However, farmers still rely more on their intuition than on proper management tools, when it comes to running a farm business. Many fa...

Simulation frameworks for Decision Support Systems (DSSs) at the whole-farm level have not adequately supported process level management and integration of complex farming systems. Development of the Great Plains Framework for Agricultural Resource Management (GPFARM) DSS for whole-farm management required a simulation package that could handle this complex system. Object-oriented (OO) techniqu...

Farm management focused on maximizing biomass production results in biological simplification and ultimately a degraded production potential for the future. Despite the large and growing body of evidence pointing to the need to restore biodiversity to farm systems, incorporation of biodiversity and ecosystem services into local agricultural land use decision-making remains limited. The lack of ...