The competitiveness of the olive agrofood sector depends heavily on its ability to adapt to the current scenario of increasingly internationalized interchanges, segmentation of markets, differentiation of consumption behaviors, and changing public support for agriculture. Quality differentiation and certification through a Certified Quality System (CQS) ensure the quality of products and services beyond mandatory levels and generate a competitive advantage for certified firms. In the Andalusian olive-growing sector, the largest in the world, integrated production (IP) plays an important role. IP certifies a higher quality of the product and production process by guaranteeing the implementation of farming practices that are hypothetically more sustainable, environmentally friendly, profitable, fair for farmers, and healthy for consumers. This paper investigates the underlying factors that have conditioned the diffusion of IP and tries to confirm the differential and higher quality provided by this CQS. A survey of 400 farmers from the main olive-growing provinces of Andalusia was carried out in 2010/2011 on the basis of face-to-face interviews following a structured questionnaire. The results corroborate low levels of knowledge and adoption of most of the available CQSs in the sector. They also confirm the higher quality of IP olive products and processes since farmers adopting this CQS are implementing better farming practices from an agronomic, environmental and economic point of view. The better practices are especially those related to soil management, irrigation, phytosanitation and harvesting. Otherwise, olive farmers in general seem to be entrenched in a relatively closed information system where ‘contagion’ of information among themselves and from close sources is the main diffusion driver, with no significant influence from external sources such as public and private R&D institutions. Moreover, a lack of orientation of farmers toward satisfying customers’ requirements when innovating was detected. Strengthening the diffusion of IP would require bringing information closer to farmers in an accessible manner. The work of R&D institutions is essential in this context. Special emphasis should be placed on the medium- to long-term economic benefits and improved competitiveness associated with IP, these being the main concerns of farmers. Improved access to credit would also probably encourage its adoption. It is also necessary to convince farmers of the environmental and social benefits associated with IP. Reinforcing public policies promoting the professionalization of the sector and training in marketing are also necessary measures.

The following study assesses cold-season hoop house lettuce production in the context of local food systems’ relative environmental effects. For this purpose, we compare the carbon footprints of leaf lettuce production in two climatic zones, one close to the consumer market and one distant, via environmental impact modeling in SimaPro 7.3. A site-specific scenario is first detailed with organic leaf lettuce locally grown in an East Lansing, Michigan hoop house. This is compared to a hypothetical scenario, modeled using average industry data, with leaf lettuce conventionally grown in California then shipped to East Lansing. The system boundaries used in this analysis extend from manufacturing of farm production inputs to a hypothetical retail gate. We assumed that the consumer drove the same distance to the retailer in each case. The functional unit used is 1 kg of leaf lettuce. Results demonstrate that the distant system exhibits 4.3 times the CO2 ‘footprint’ per kg of lettuce. This nonlocal system also resulted in higher resource depletion, health impact and ecological damage potential as demonstrated via the SimaPro simulation. This study concludes that unheated, hoop house lettuce production, given the assumption on within-area travel, has a smaller carbon footprint than outdoor, distant production, and speaks to both the potential value of more localized food systems and the need for a more diverse set of scenario modeling to understand the boundaries of this value.

Weeds are a major challenge for organic farmers, yet we know little about the factors influencing organic farmers’ weed management decisions. We hypothesized that farmers and scientist ‘experts’ differ in fundamental areas of knowledge and perceptions regarding weeds and weed management. Moreover, these differences prevent effective communication, outreach programming and research prioritization. An expert mental model, constructed primarily from interviews with research scientists and extension professionals, revealed expert emphasis on knowledge of ecological weed management as crucial for successfully implementing such strategies. We interviewed 23 organic farmers in northern New England, yielding an aggregate farmer mental model to compare with the expert model. Farmers demonstrated knowledge of the major concepts discussed by experts, but differed in emphasis. Farmers placed less emphasis on ecological complexity than experts. One-third of farmers interviewed discussed the potential role of weeds as indicators of soil nutrient status, a concept of which experts were skeptical. Farmer beliefs about the weed seedbank highlighted potential misconceptions regarding seed persistence, with one-fourth of farmers focusing on the concept that seeds can live for an exceptionally long time in the soil, while experts focused on the concept of the seed half-life. Farmers emphasized the role of experience, both their own and that of other farmers, rather than knowledge derived from scientific research. Farmers considered yield and the cost of time and labor as equally at risk because of weeds, whereas experts predominantly discussed yield loss. During discussions of management, both farmers and experts most emphasized risks associated with cultivation and benefits associated with cover cropping. These results have prompted us, first, to develop new educational materials focused on weed seed longevity and management of the weed seedbank, and, second, to conduct regional focus groups with farmers who prioritize fertility management in their efforts to control weeds, especially manipulations of soil calcium and magnesium.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) producers are faced with uncertain yields and prices, and utilizing a production system that will reduce risk while maintaining yield may keep tomato producers economically sustainable into the future. A conservation tillage production system with high biomass cover crops may be an economically viable alternative for tomato producers in Alabama. The objective of this study was to compare the economics of alternative production systems using different cover crops, such as cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), and different subsoiler shanks for fresh-market tomato production relative to a commonly used plastic mulch system to determine the preferred treatment. Gross revenues and net returns from tomato production using a rye cover crop were higher than tomato production using plastic mulch in 2 of the 4 years. For the clover cover crop, gross revenues and net returns were higher in 1 out of the 4 years. Under tomato prices and weather conditions observed during 2005–2008, the preferred treatment for a risk neutral producer was planting tomatoes into a rye cover crop with a wide shank. For a strongly risk averse producer, all cover crop treatments were preferred to plastic mulch. The use of a cover crop in tomato production has the potential to be an equally profitable, less risky alternative to plastic mulch in Alabama.

A multi-criteria model for a qualitative assessment of the production and marketing of local food products (LFP) from mountain areas has been developed by applying the DEX method. The development of the model was carried out and finally applied to ten local food products. The results were given in the form of a qualitative final assessment of both the production and marketing phases. By applying a plus–minus-1 analysis, the influence of various attributes on the final assessment of the LFP was examined. The main bottlenecks in the production and marketing processes were found. A sensitivity test was used to explain the influence of production and marketing on the final assessment. The results give clear directions as to which of the main attributes must be changed/improved or further developed to enable the successful promotion of local food products, which would give rise to an improved economy in mountain areas.

The objective of this research is to develop an economic analysis of different crop mix biofuels programs for meeting ethanol and sustainability demands. Primary data are from South Dakota State University field experiments on farms located in east-central South Dakota. The data include 4 years of field data, three crop systems (mixed grass, switchgrass and corn), two residue treatments (no removal, removal of biomass), and three landscape positions (back slope, crest and foot slope). A representative farm model and five scenarios are developed to conduct a full budget analysis over a 12-year period. Public benefits are evaluated, using the benefit transfer method to value ecosystem services, by allocating a dollar value to three environmental variables; carbon sequestration, reduction of sedimentation and pheasant production. Stochastic simulation results are compared for each of the five scenarios, one with only annualized net private returns, and one including the value of environmental benefits. Results indicate that: (1) the conventional continuous corn scenario has the highest net returns over the 12-year budget, (2) carbon sequestration represents 80% of the environmental benefits, and (3) the added economic value of ecosystem services does not provide enough incentives for farmers to convert from corn production to grass production.

The Fertile Crescent encompasses a mega-center of diversity of crops and livestock of global importance. The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) coordinated a 5-year regional project funded by the Global Environment Facility to promote in situ conservation of dryland agrobiodiversity in Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Syria. The project focused on conserving landraces and wild relatives of Allium, Vicia, Trifolium, Medicago and Lathyrus spp. and barley, wheat, lentil and dryland fruit trees (olive, prune, pear, pistachio, almond, cherry and apricot). ICARDA and national programs assessed the status and importance of local agrobiodiversity by surveying 570 farm households in the project target areas including the characterization of their livelihood strategies, agrobiodiversity use and household income sources. A wealth index was created considering human, natural, financial, physical and social assets and was used to classify households into four wealth quartiles. The results indicated that agriculture and agrobiodiversity continue to be important for supporting the livelihoods of poor communities in dry and mountainous regions. The poorest households obtained their income from diverse sources including crop production, off-farm labor and government employment. However, households in the highest wealth grouping are mainly dependent on income from selling livestock products and live animals. They also practiced crop production, worked off-farm and took advantage of government employment. Off-farm income was important for livelihoods in all areas, representing 43–68% of household incomes. For all groups, fruit trees were generally more important than field crops for income generation, mainly in mountainous areas. The finding of this study showed that all farmers’ groups contribute greatly to on-farm conservation of landraces, with a bigger role for poor farmers in conserving the landraces of fruit trees. Diversification of income and farming systems to include livestock, field crops and fruit trees along with off-farm activities are contributing to the conservation of agrobiodiversity in these marginal environments. Several opportunities for income increase and diversification through add-value activities and alternative sources of income are demonstrated to the custodians of dryland agrobiodiversity. Their benefits can contribute to the sustainability of agrobiodiversity conservation, provided that marketing of local products can be enhanced.

During the winter feeding period in organic dairy production systems in the alpine and pre-alpine regions of Austria and its neighboring countries, maize silage is an energy-rich forage that is regularly included in grass-silage-based diets to improve the energy supply of the cows. Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) is also a high-energy fodder grass popular as forage for dairy cows, but it is rarely cultivated in Austrian organic agriculture. The two crops differ in their cultivation demands and characteristics. Italian ryegrass establishes rapidly and may reduce the risk of soil erosion. Italian ryegrass would be a beneficial addition to crop rotation, which is an essential tool in successful organic farming. In a 15-week feeding trial, Italian ryegrass silage and maize silage were fed to 22 lactating Holstein dairy cows. Organically produced Italian ryegrass silage and maize silage were included at a rate of 40% [of dry matter (DM)] in grass-silage-based mixed basal diets. The mixed basal diets were supplemented with modest amounts of additional concentrates (2.7–3.0 kg DM day−1). Owing to the higher energy content of maize silage as compared to Italian ryegrass silage, the maize diet provided more energy [6.3 MJ net energy for lactation (NEL) kg−1 DM] than the ryegrass diet (6.15 MJ NEL kg−1 DM). The protein supply of the maize diet and the ryegrass diet was intended to be equal, but in fact the protein content of the maize diet was significantly lower (122 g crude protein kg−1 DM) than that of the ryegrass diet (141 g kg−1 DM). When the maize diet was fed, feed intake, milk yield and milk protein content were significantly higher as compared to the ryegrass diet. Also, intake of crude protein was significantly lower when feeding the maize diet, and in combination with the higher milk protein yield, this enabled an efficiency of gross nitrogen (N) utilization as high as 0.304. This level of N efficiency can be considered as above average and was significantly and considerably higher than the level of 0.259 observed when the ryegrass diet was fed. Therefore, maize silage upholds its reputation as an ideal energy-rich component in grass-silage-based dairy cow diets.