Decision making in organic farming is related to risk and uncertainty, and options must be evaluated in the decision-making process. This paper presents the methodology of an integrated deterministic simulation system (KARSIM 1.0) application for decision-making support on organic farms in northeastern Slovenia. An emphasis to modify the net present value (NPVt) criterion by incorporating the real options approach was made. Its application is shown in organic spelt (Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta McKey) production and processing using two real options approaches, the Black–Scholes and binomial models. The NPVt indicates that the decision to process spelt for animal fodder is financially unfeasible, while the real options approach differentiates the results by organic spelt grain and flour production for human nutrition. It may be concluded that the real options approach can be useful when assessing projects with uncertainty, sunk costs and irreversibility, and it can provide for examining agricultural investment decisions.

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a low-input rice (Oryza sativa L.) production system that differs from conventional systems in several ways: seedlings are transplanted earlier and are more widely spaced, organic fertilizer is often used in addition to mineral fertilizer, and soils are irrigated intermittently rather than flooded for long periods. The yield benefits of SRI compared to conventional systems can be substantial, and yet are regionally variable and have been the subject of considerable debate, due partly to a lack of mechanistic understanding. Here we show that soil properties may in part explain the variability in yield response to SRI. A meta-analysis of data from 72 field studies where SRI was compared with conventional systems indicates that yields increased significantly (P<0.0001) when SRI was implemented on highly weathered infertile soils rich in iron and aluminum oxides (Acrisols and Ferralsols), but there was no difference in yield between SRI and conventional systems in more fertile favorable soils for rice production (Gleysols, Luvisols and Fluvisols). The yield difference between SRI and conventional rice production therefore appears to be related in part to soil properties linked to weathering. This should help resolve the debate about the value of SRI and allow research to be targeted toward understanding the biological and chemical processes in soils under SRI management.

Legumes such as white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) provide a valuable nitrogen source in organic agriculture. With organic farming hectarage increasing and white lupin interest increasing in the southeastern USA due to newly released winter hardy cultivars, non-chemical weed control practices in lupin are needed. A two-year experiment was established at two locations in Alabama. Five weed control practices were evaluated: one pre-emergence (PRE)-applied herbicide (S-metolachlor), two mechanical (hand hoed) and two cultural (living mulch utilizing two black oat cultivars) weed control treatments. Fourteen weed species were encountered. S-metolachlor provided above 80% control of most weed species present in this experiment. The cultivation treatments and black oat companion crops also provided good weed control of many of the weeds encountered. Crop injury of all treatments was low on a 0 to 10 scale with 0 representing no injury: <2.0, <1.3 and <1.2 by S-metolachlor, the cultivation treatments and the black oat companion crops, respectively. Grain yield of cultivars ABL 1082, AU Alpha and AU Homer were 1540, 1130, 850 kg ha−1, respectively, when treated with the conventional treatment, S-metolachlor. Grain yield in the organic treatments was equivalent. The cultivation treatments and black oat companions were successful alternative weed control practices in white lupin production.

This paper evaluates the delivery of ecosystem services under different regimes of agricultural input subsidy in post-independent Malawi using (1) the protocol of the Millennium Ecosystem Service to characterize the services; and (2) the panarchy framework to describe the relationships among the political regimes, economic growth [gross domestic product (GDP)] and food security. Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems that support, directly or indirectly, human survival and quality of life. Panarchy is a nested set of adaptive cycles that provides a tool to explore the conductivity of ecological and social-cultural systems. The Malawian temporal political landscape has experienced several reorganizations since independence, in which the governments of Malawi have initiated socio-economic growth of the economy through implementation of different farmer input subsidy programs with variable success. The most recent agricultural subsidy program (2005–2009) appears to have shown an improvement in food security for the people of Malawi. However, this may be at the expense of an increased rate of decline in other ecosystem services, especially arable land resources and forestry. If agricultural subsidies continue to be implemented without a holistic understanding of all ecosystem services delivered to the whole country, then the system will be unsustainable. We recommend the ecosystem service approach and the panarchy framework as potentially useful tools for policy makers.

Producers in the semi-arid Dark Brown Chernozemic (Typic Boroll) soil zone of the Canadian Prairie are contemplating changes to land-use practices, moving away from conventional high-input production systems that specialize in one or two annual grain crops to more diversified and extended cropping systems that use reduced-input and organic management practices. This study examined the economic merits of nine cropping systems, consisting of a factorial combination of three input management methods and three levels of cropping diversity. It was conducted over the 1996–2007 period on a loam soil at Scott, Saskatchewan. The input treatments were: (1) high input (HIGH), which used conventional tillage and full recommended rates of fertilizers and pesticides ‘as required’; (2) reduced input (RED), which used conservation tillage and integrated weed and nutrient management practices in an effort to lower requirements for fuel, fertilizers and pesticides; and (3) organic input (ORG), which used tillage, non-chemical pest control, higher seeding rates, delayed seeding and legume crops to replenish soil nutrients. The crop diversity treatments included: (1) a fallow-based rotation with low crop diversity (LOW); (2) a diversified annual rotation of cereal, oilseed and pulse grains (DAG); and (3) a diversified rotation using annual grains and perennial forages (DAP). All crop rotations were 6 years in length. At the 2007 input costs and prices, average net returns and 12-year net present values were higher for organic than for non-organic treatments, with the ORG input/LOW crop diversity system being the most profitable (net returns=$234 ha−1 yr−1 and net present value=$1953 ha−1). Net returns averaged about 10% less for ORG/DAG compared to the most profitable system, and about 22% less for HIGH/DAG and RED/DAG (the best non-organic systems). The DAP treatments that included forage were not economically competitive with the other treatments, often producing economic losses. The relative profitability of the organic treatments was highly dependent on the existence of organic price premiums. When price premiums for organic crops were reduced to less than 70% of the 2007 levels, the organic treatments were less profitable than the comparable non-organic treatments. The organic treatments also experienced significantly lower (and often negative) net returns compared to the non-organic treatments during completion of the 3-year organic certification period. We estimated that it required 5–7 years after completion of certification for the organic treatments to break even with the comparable non-organic treatments. Thereafter the organic treatments produced consistently higher net earnings. Production costs averaged 16% lower with ORG management compared to the HIGH-input treatments, but we found little difference in total costs between the respective HIGH- and RED-input treatments. The organic treatments also displayed lower income variability than the non-organic treatments, with the ORG/LOW system being preferred by risk-averse producers, who do not subscribe to all-risk crop insurance, and with the ORG/LOW and ORG/DAG systems preferred by low and medium risk-averse producers when having the added financial protection from the Canada/Saskatchewan all-risk crop insurance program.

In recent years, consumer attitudes toward fat of animal origin have changed owing to findings that some milk fatty acids (FAs) are positive for human health, especially conjugated linolenic acid and n-3 FAs. Accordingly, the manipulation of the fat content and FA composition of cows’ milk via nutritional strategies has been an important target for the dairy industry in many countries. Twenty commercial Holstein–Friesian dairy herds of Asturias (northern Spain) with 1106 dairy cows were examined in order to evaluate milk FA profiles under different management systems. These herds were divided into three groups according to management: (1) indoor herds: cows feeding indoors, (2) mixed herds: indoor management system but with at least 6 h of grazing outdoors and (3) outdoor herds: cows allowed 6–18 h of grazing per day. Milk from the indoor herds exhibited the highest concentration of fat (3.57%; P⩽0.01), protein (3.14%; P⩽0.001), lactose (4.76%; P⩽0.01) and urea (29.4 mg dl−1; P⩽0.01). The milk of outdoor herds had a lower (P⩽0.05) content of short-chain FAs than that of the indoor and mixed herds (10.89 versus 11.52 and 11.35 g 100 g−1 FA). The milk of the indoor herds had higher concentrations of saturated fatty acids (SFA) (67.56 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.001) and palmitic and palmitoleic acids (30.16 and 1.82 g 100 g−1 FA, respectively), while that of the mixed and outdoors herds had higher concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) (34.58 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.001) and long-chain FAs, especially stearic (13.89 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.01), vaccenic (2.77 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.001), conjugated linoleic (0.92 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.001) and linolenic (0.42 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.001) acids. Results from this study suggest that the incorporation of forage and pasture in the diet of dairy cows can improve the FA profile of milk.

Since shrimp farming started in Bangladesh in the 1970s, it has spread throughout the coastal region, increasing soil and water salinity levels. The water salinity in 2005 in the coastal districts of Khulna, Bagherat and Satkhira ranged from 0.3 to 20.7, 0.4 to 27.1 and 0.7 to 24.8 dS m−1, respectively, whereby it was highly saline for several months of the year. Water salinity above 2.5 dS m−1 is not suitable for irrigation, and may cause animal health problems. Irrigation with saline water may cause ion toxicity and osmotic stress, reducing plant growth and yield. Salinity has reduced the agro-biodiversity in the coastal regions of Bangladesh, and this paper investigates how these changes have impacted human food habits in the three coastal, rural villages Putia (Satkhira district), Srifaltala (Bagerhat district) and Hogolbunia (Khulna district). Fieldwork was conducted from July to December 2006 and Participatory Rural Appraisal methods including transect walks, key informant interviews, group discussions and personal interviews were carried out. In total, 121 respondents were interviewed and historical data from 1975 to 2006 were collected. For historical data, respondents aged above 50 years were sampled, but additional criteria such as socio-economic condition and farm location were applied to assure a sample representative for the population of the coastal areas. The sampled households had characteristics similar to the major part of Bangladeshi households (rural, agrarian based, regarding family size and food habits), and were thus representative of a broader cross-section of households in Bangladesh. As all sampled villages faced increasing salinity and spread of shrimp farming, they were representative of villages in the coastal areas. When salinity increased, the production of vegetables, seasonal fruits, animal species, eggs and milk declined. As the price of the mentioned animal commodities rose, cheaper commodities such as broilers, exotic and marine fish species and exotic oils were introduced. The decision on what to cultivate was also influenced by non-residents converting the farmers' land into shrimp ponds, increasing the salinity in the surroundings and killing the farmers' ducks. These agro-biodiversity changes caused reduced frequency of consumption of beef, goat, native chicken, egg, local freshwater fish, seasonal fruits, vegetables and milk, while broilers, exotic fish, exotic oils and marine fish species were increasingly consumed. Still, the total fish consumption declined. These changed food habits may lead to considerable negative health consequences for the rural, coastal populations.

Consumers appear increasingly interested in how to engage in consumptive practices that lead to a more sustainable food and agricultural system. In this paper, we examine two possible consumptive pathways for achieving sustainability: the purchase of organic foods and/or the purchase of local foods. While there is some debate regarding the integrity and sustainability of organic versus locally produced foods, there is limited information examining the similarities or differences among consumers variably interested in one or the other attribute. Using data from a statewide survey of Ohio, USA, respondents and members of a food cooperative and an environmental and social responsibility organization, a typology is proposed and comparisons are made among different types of local and organic food consumers regarding their attitudes about food, agriculture and the environment. While a large proportion of the survey respondents expressed little or only modest interest in either local or organic foods, distinct groups of respondents interested in primarily the local attribute, primarily the organic attribute, and both attributes are identified. The results reveal similarities and differences across types with the profiles of each type of consumer contributing to a more nuanced view of supporters of these foods that can assist in production decisions, as well as purchasing and marketing decisions among retailers.

Social factors, such as farming methods, have an impact on farm vulnerability to drought, but have received little research or policy attention. Some researchers and advocates have argued that sustainable agriculture systems are less vulnerable to climate risk than conventional systems because sustainable agriculture requires producers to have skills promoting adaptability. In this paper, we investigate producers’ perceptions on the use of sustainable agriculture in reducing drought risk, and what they believe would help them better adapt to drought. We surveyed and interviewed farmer members of two sustainable agriculture organizations in Nebraska, USA, during a multi-year drought period from 1999 to 2007. Producers reported implementing a range of practices, such as organic soil building techniques, reduced tillage, targeted crop selection and diversification of crop and livestock production systems, to reduce their drought vulnerability. Although some practices were implemented specifically to reduce drought risk, producers felt that the practices they implemented as part of their normal operation were largely responsible for reducing their risk. Respondents held mixed views on the effects of insurance and farm programs on their drought management decisions. Finally, producers indicated that their ability to adapt to drought is limited by a number of barriers, especially a lack of capital and the need to respond to markets and maximize production to maintain cash flows.