Introduction There are different ways to assemble data in order to get a picture of animal health: registrations made by the farmer, veterinary treatments, lamb growth, milk production, meat inspections, carcass weights and conformations. Most data though don't distinguish between organic and conventional production. Up to this time, the best way to get a picture of animal health in organic pro...

in this study, the neutral monosaccharide composition of the extracellular polysaccharide (eps), extracted from thermal bacillus, was determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography. our analysis indicated that the eps consisted of rhamnose, mannose, galactose, glucose, fructose, arabinose and xylose. in addition to the neutral sugars in the eps,...

Introduction Based on the interest among organic farmers in Iowa for an unbiased analysis of the many natural soil amendment/fertilizer and compost products on the market for certified organic vegetable and herb crop production, several experiments have been conducted (Delate 1999). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, statistics on organic production in the U.S. lag far behind thos...

We analyze the organic and non-organic production choices of two firms by considering customers’ trust in organic food products. In the context of customers’ possible willingness to pay a premium price and their mistrust in organic food products, two firms first make choices on offering organic and non-organic food products. If offering organic products, a firm can further invest in the credenc...

Manure not only supplies many nutrients for crop production, but it is also a valuable source for increasing soil organic matter content and improving soil structure. To increase organic manure content as well as improve the wheat production adding plant residues and livestock to soil is necessary. The experiment was conducted in Shavoor Research Station to determine seed yield and soil physica...

Based on China’s organic paddy rice farmers’ data collected from field surveys in Wuchang City, this paper utilises a data envelopment analysis method to estimate the technical efficiency scores of organic paddy rice farmers converting from conventional to organic production. Local organic rice-processing firms provide support to farmers to convert to organic production and, thereby, expand the...

Changes in soil microbiotic properties such as microbial biomass and community structure in response to alternative management systems are driven by microbial substrate quality and substrate utilization. We evaluated irrigated crop and forage production in two separate four-year experiments for differences in microbial substrate quality, microbial biomass and community structure, and microbial ...

Organic farming has increased to a $4.2 billion industry in the U.S. and continues to expand approximately 20% annually. In Iowa alone, organic acreage for all crops has increased from 13,000 in 1995 to 120,000 in 1998. Organic corn production in 1997 was reported at 9,920 acres. International demand for organic products, particularly from the Japanese and European markets, is also on the rise....

Based on production guidelines, organic livestock farming has set itself the goal of establishing environmentally friendly production, sustaining animals in good health, realising high animal welfare standards, and producing products of high quality. By striving for these goals, organic livestock farming meets the demands of an increasing number of consumers who are critical of conventional pro...