In this Research Reflection we review management practices in small family farms with less than 100 cows. Small farms represent the majority of farms in the EU and the world, and they are of great importance for the economy of a country. On cattle farms, the welfare of calves is of primary importance for the profitability of the herd, and poor management is one of the main factors influencing calf health and survival. Data on the risk factors for calf welfare issues in small-scale farms are limited. For this purpose, the literature data from six world countries were presented and compared, including Serbia and Slovenia where a survey related to the issue was carried out within the COST Action FA1308, DairyCare. Some practices within the following areas in calf management were considered: calving management, care for new-born calves, use of painful procedures, colostrum management, cow–calf separation, calf feeding, weaning, calf housing, and general monitoring. In each of the countries, the health and welfare of calves are threatened by some omissions in rearing practices and the major are related to the new-born calf management, the feeding and watering management, and the application of hygienic measures. Many farmers are well aware of the importance of proper calf rearing; others would need more incentive to improve calf management. Each country should pay attention to the education of farmers about the most common deficiencies in calf management.

Capital and credit constraints limit the small farm’s ability to adequately use resources for optimum performance. Farmers’ access to capital is constrained in multiple ways, including price factors, risk factors, and transaction factors, as well as access to and ease of rural agricultural financing. Using a primary survey data of small farms in Tennessee, we analyzed factors influencing credit constraint and its impact on farm performance. Farm operators’ gender, off-farm work, land acreage holdings, farm specialization, and the use of smart phone with Internet significantly influenced credit constraint. We found that the financial performance of credit constrained small farmers was significantly lower than that of unconstrained small farmers—an adverse impact of constrained capacity to credit could result in up to $51,000 lower in gross farm sales. Additionally, our reason-specific results within credit constraint suggested that around $32,000 to $39,000 lower performance in gross sales can be attributable to the constrained borrowing with deficit to obtain agricultural loans at required or desired level.

Smallholder farmers are an important and growing segment of the farm population in Indiana and in the USA. Past research regarding farmer decision-making has been inconsistent and has largely focused on the larger-scale, conventional farmer, leaving smallholders poorly understood. There is a need to better understand the management decisions of smallholder farmers within their regional context to promote efforts toward environmental, social and economic sustainability. Through in-depth qualitative inquiry, this study investigated the impact of regional factors that influence farmers’ decisions and the barriers and opportunities most relevant to farm viability and sustainability in the context of East Central Indiana (ECI). Semi-structured interviews with 15 key informants and 33 farmers informed our understanding of the factors most relevant to small-scale farming in the region. Several important themes emerged related to perceived barriers to sustainable farm management, including markets; structures and regulations; time and labor; environmental/ecological factors; and networking and access to educational support. The results of this study complement the findings of previous work that describe the complex framework farmers navigate when making decisions on the farm. Further, subtle regional factors emerged that significantly impact farmers’ decisions, emphasizing the importance of local context in crafting agricultural policies and outreach efforts. Implications and recommendations for ECI are discussed.

Agritourism is an alternative source of farm income. We examine farmers’ participation in agritourism activities to assess the impact of participation on farm household income and return to assets using a large farm-level survey. The results reveal that older, educated, and female operators are more likely to participate in agritourism. However, government subsidies and the population of the county are negatively correlated with agritourism. Of the types of farm operations examined, small-scale farms that involved agritourism generated the greatest household incomes and returns to assets. For operators of small farms, agritourism can boost the economic well-being of farm households.

The globalisation of agrifood systems is a mega-trend with potentially profound nutritional implications. This paper describes various facets of this globalisation process and reviews studies on nutritional effects with a particular focus on developing countries. Results show that global trade and technological change in agriculture have substantially improved food security in recent decades, although intensified production systems have also contributed to environmental problems in some regions. New agricultural technologies and policies need to place more emphasis on promoting dietary diversity and reducing environmental externalities. Globalising agrifood systems also involve changing supply-chain structures, with a rapid rise of modern retailing, new food safety and food quality standards, and higher levels of vertical integration. Studies show that emerging high-value supply chains can contribute to income growth in the small farm sector and improved access to food for rural and urban populations. However, there is also evidence that the retail revolution in developing countries, with its growing role of supermarkets and processed foods, can contribute to overweight and obesity among consumers. The multi-faceted linkages between changing agrifood systems and nutrition are a new field of interdisciplinary research, combining agricultural, nutritional, economics and social sciences perspectives. The number of studies on specific aspects is still limited, so the evidence is not yet conclusive. A review at this early stage can help to better understand important relationships and encourage follow-up work.

A descriptive analysis and a survey of literature were used in this assessment of the transformation of the structure of production agriculture. The changes in production agriculture have important implications for resource use, population distribution in rural communities, and the survival of small farms. The shifting structural change in production agriculture as a response to economic and technological adjustments is not a temporary phenomenon. The economic and natural base of agriculture will change toward greater capital intensity and concentration of ownership, and will raise public policy questions in relation to the survival of a large farm population.

Employment history affects subsequent choices. Based on their original job choice, operators are divided into farmers and workers. Equations are estimated to determine their probabilities of working off-the-farm. Education increases the probability that workers work off-the-farm, whereas vocational training increases farmers' probability. The probability of working off-the-farm decreases as unearned income increases, and its impact on workers is larger than on farmers. An employed spouse increases the probability that farmers work off-the-farm, but has the opposite impact for workers. Employment density increases the probability that workers will work off-the-farm.

The objective of this research is to determine the marginal value of attributes to consumers with respect to natural beef or beef produced with organic grains. A hedonic model is used to value attributes of 11 different primal cuts. Results suggest that producers under this particular natural/implant-free marketing alliance should market high-yielding animals rather than high-quality grading animals. Consumers of this beef value taste, as measured by dry aging, and leanness, as measured by USDA Select grade. The economic magnitudes of the variables under a producer's control were small relative to those that could be controlled by a processor.

The paper examines the joint adoption of conservation tillage, crop rotations, and soil testing by small and limited-resource farmers in the Southeast. The objectives are to determine the potential eligibility of small farmers for the Conservation Security Program, examine socioeconomic factors affecting adoption, and assess the interdependence between adopting different conservation practices. Results indicate that conservation management, ethnicity, and farm characteristics affect practice adoption. Of the producers surveyed in the study, 7% meet Conservation Security Program eligibility requirements, while the other 93% have less than a 20% likelihood of adopting the needed practices to qualify.

The shift toward post-productivist agricultural production in developed countries in recent decades has brought a growing focus on local sustainability and quality food production. This trend has been reflected in the development of a variety of alternative food networks and short food supply chain initiatives. In Czechia, the local and good-quality movement has been significantly represented by the boom in farmers’ markets during the past 2 years. The aim of this paper is to examine the actual potential of the Czech agricultural sector to supply the recently developed network of farmers’ markets. Even though these markets are generally considered to offer farmers better revenues than selling their products to big processors and retail companies, many Czech farmers’ market managers face a lack of potential vendors for their markets. Therefore, we ask if there are producers and self-processors of goods typically sold on farmers’ markets of the appropriate size and legal form in suitable locations in relation to the areas of the biggest demand. The quantitative approach applied was based on the national statistical data on the agricultural sector. It was used to develop a set of indicators which have been displayed in maps and further examined. The results show a high theoretical potential of the Czech agricultural sector to supply farmers’ markets because there are relatively many small farmers producing products sellable on farmers’ markets. In the Czech context, where the tradition of running independent businesses was interrupted by the country's communist past, the lack of experience with private entrepreneurship and marketing among farmers seems to be the main obstacle to broader involvement of farmers on farmers’ markets.

Piecewise Weibull proportional hazard models were used to investigate the effect of genetic and nongenetic factors on functional and true longevity traits of the Slovenian Brown cattle breed. Records of 37 908 Brown cows from 2401 Slovenian herds were used. As these herds were characterised by a relatively small average herd size starting from 6.7 in 1999 and increasing to 8.7 Brown cows per herd in 2008, milk yield classification was made within different herd size groups. The hazard rate was the lowest in the first part of each lactation and was increasing for later stages. Culling risk was lower for cows from herds increasing in size, for cows with higher milk production and for cows from a region with smaller herd sizes and tougher conditions for cattle breeding. The latter result is surprising and may be related to better attention to maintain the animals, despite their lower milk production. The introduction of the milk quota system and drought was found to have an important effect on culling policy between the last seasons of the years 2001 and 2003. Seasonal effects were not related to the milk quota year (from April to March), but to the effect of shortage in fodder during the winter time. The effect of age at first calving and the interaction between year and milk yield class were not found to be significant. Heritability for functional and for true longevity were similar at around 10% each. Inclusion of a correction for class of milk yield to approximate functional longevity increased the herd-year random effect variance by 53%, whereas the sire variance increased by only 14%. The correlation coefficient between ranks of breeding values for functional and true longevity was high (0.91), whereas genetic trends were not found to be significant. To assess their predictive ability, models were compared looking at the survival rate of 4212 second-crop daughters not included in the initial models. The average correlation between estimated breeding values and survival at different stages was 0.39 for true longevity and 0.43 for functional longevity. Results showed that ranking milk yield at population level is appropriate to correct for voluntary culling on low production in small herds.

Direct marketing is a popular marketing practice among smaller producers in the United States. We conducted detailed case studies of three organic farming operations of different sizes and compared their marketing costs and profitability in alternative marketing channels. We classified marketing-related activities into three categories: packing and storage, transportation, and selling and administration. By measuring the costs for labor, purchased goods and services, and capital assets associated with these marketing activities, we determined that there are significant variations in marketing costs across marketing channels. For each of our three case-study farms, marketing costs per dollar of revenue were lowest in the wholesale channel and highest in the farmers' market channel. Significant labor costs for the selling activity and transportation expenses offset the higher prices and minimal packaging costs associated with farmers' markets. Profitability can also be significantly affected by marketing factors, such as packing and grading standards, and product that is used for sampling and consumer premiums. Our research demonstrates that the higher prices that producers earn from direct marketing rather than wholesaling are not pure profit; the price premiums are compensation for the costs they incur when direct marketing their produce. Direct marketing channels, such as farmers' markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs), can enable smaller farmers to build financially viable operations, by gaining access to markets, growing their farming operations and reducing their marketing risk. However, to achieve this success, farmers must manage their marketing costs as well as their production costs.

Research focused on consumer behavior and attitudes toward organic, small-scale and locally produced foods can help organic producers understand consumer values, and in turn develop production and marketing approaches that match these values. This research on New England area food shoppers included focus groups, individual interviews, and a mail survey, all of which helped us to identify relationships between organic food buying and consumers' views of the food system. Comments made in focus groups and individual interviews revealed a frequent blending of the concepts of local, small-scale and organic, and their associated benefits. Subsequent mail surveys identified similar tendencies, although respondents made some distinctions among the reasons why they bought food from the three farm categories. When there were differences, respondents tended to attribute greater importance to reasons to buy from local farms, as compared to organic or small farms. The six questions for which the differences across farm categories had the lowest P-values were related to the environment, rural economy, rural landscape, farmers, product freshness and product taste. However, freshness, taste, nutritional quality and safety were some of the most compelling reasons that were attributed to all three farm categories. The challenge for the small, local and organic producer will be to continue to hold the consumer's attention as the general perception of organic farming shifts to a more industrialized model.

This paper explores hidden problems amid the impressive expansion of farmers' markets in Oregon and throughout the United States. Although markets are growing in number, a surprisingly large number of them fail. A challenge for many markets is inadequate revenue to support market operations such as paying for the management personnel to perform functions necessary to grow and sustain markets. Smaller markets may enter a downward spiral in which they cannot attract additional customers because they do not have sufficient vendors but cannot attract additional vendors because they do not have sufficient customers. The analysis identifies five intertwined factors associated with markets that fail: small size, a high need for products, low administrative revenue, a volunteer or low paid manager and high manager turnover. The paper also examines the more general issue of why some markets struggle by exploring a correlation between new markets and inexperienced managers, and effort thresholds for volunteer managers. Recommendations to assist markets toward success include better planning, manager and board of director training and community financial support. The findings of this study have broad application.

Small farmers face more challenges in farming than ever before. Examples include competition and consolidation within the global marketplace and low and unpredictable product prices. Evaluation and development of alternative market outlets is one means of helping small farms to become more economically sustainable. From 2000 to 2020 the US population is expected to increase by between 50 and 80 million people. A concomitant increase in consumer demand for local, fresh, specialty and organic produce is also projected. Alternative market outlets that skillfully link local or regional small-scale production with evolving consumer demand are currently lacking. We hypothesize that there is considerable potential for helping small farmers sustain or improve their economic position and fulfill consumer needs by exploiting these connections in the marketplace. This investigation draws from the literature to ascertain whether horticultural auction markets may provide such a link for small farms. The paper characterizes horticultural auction markets using current and historical examples, discusses marketplace changes with special reference to consumer demand, and appraises the value of this market model with respect to the dual challenge of meeting both farmers' and consumers' needs. Current marketplace research and characteristics suggest measured optimism for horticultural auction markets to provide a small farm–consumer link.

The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development focussed attention on agricultural sustainability and biodiversity in developing countries. These goals are relevant for livestock production in Kenya, where development agencies encourage resource-poor smallholders to acquire large, exotic, high-yielding dairy cows, despite their poor performance, revealed in recent surveys in the highlands and at the coast. The performance of the cows is not in question. The debate relates to the diagnosis of the causes, their treatment and the prognosis for the production system. To improve our understanding of the dynamics of the system, models of nutrition and energy, modified for the tropics, were used to measure the thermal responses over 24 h of six pure or crossbred Friesians at a mean lactation of 54 (s.d. 21·6) days, in separate zero-grazing units. Four smallholdings were on the hot, humid coast and two in the cooler highlands. The output of the model runs was related to the subsequent lactation, calving interval and profitability of the cows. The model showed that the thermal load caused moderate stress for all cows during the day, which became severe in the sun in the highlands, but the drop in air temperature, from 27 °C to 13 °C, at night dissipated the gain in body heat. At the coast, where the night temperature remained above 24 °C and relative humidity above 0·85, there was no remission of heat stress for cows with a milk yield greater than 11 l/day. The lactation curve, in all cows, declined from an initial peak to a low profile of 5 l/day. Cows in both regions with initial yields above 20 l/day had the steepest decline and longest calving intervals (457 to 662 days). They had the largest lactation yields and lowest direct cost per litre, but their poor breeding record reduced cull sales and increased replacement cost, raising the total cost per litre. By contrast, the cow with the lowest daily and lactation yield had the highest direct cost, but lowest total cost per litre, because she produced 2 heifer calves at an interval of only 317 days. These case studies serve as a reminder that, where heat load depresses appetite or poor food cannot support lactation, the energy deficit and stress reduces cow fertility, fitness, and longevity, so that she fails to breed a heifer replacement during her shortened productive life. The model predicted that food intake, depressed by heat stress, would not support a milk yield above 14 l/day and 3000 l per annum at the coast, and 22 l/day and 5000 l per annum in the highlands. Therefore, although appearing profitable in the short term, the current policy of promoting cows with higher yields than the climate and production system can support, is unsustainable. This outcome has implications for smallholder dairy development policy in Kenya, and probably elsewhere in the tropics. Instead, one should reconsider smaller exotic breeds and crossbreds with improved indigenous dairy cows whose overall productivity from milk yield, fecundity, longevity, and disease tolerance 50 years ago was better than that of the modern Holstein-Friesian in a Kenya smallholding.

Recent studies have suggested that farmers' markets are increasingly important contributors to the economic development of rural and urban communities in the US. Yet, little is known about the specific ways and the extent to which farmers' markets contribute to developing their vendors' capacities as entrepreneurs or affect vendors' business success. In this study, we examine the capacities of farmers' market vendors in three states—New York, Iowa and California—and associated entrepreneurial outcomes. In particular, we explore how vendors' business activities and capacities are associated with different sizes of enterprises. A mail survey of up to 400 vendors, from 20 markets in each state, was conducted in 1999 to examine factors associated with business outcomes and vendor capacities. The importance of farmers' markets to small-, medium- and large-size enterprises and the particular contributions that have been most helpful to vendors were identified. Small-scale enterprises are still the most numerous at farmers' markets, making up almost 56% of all vendors. More than half of these enterprises are operated by part-time farmers or market gardeners. We found that the small enterprises had both less business and market experience, and sell at markets closer to home than do medium and large enterprises. Although these vendors with small enterprises have engaged in fewer entrepreneurial activities, made fewer business contacts and acquired fewer skills at farmers' markets, compared to medium and large enterprises they were more likely to consider farmers' markets to be their most important business development opportunity. Although, for these small enterprises, participating informers' markets may not yield financial gains as large as those gained by medium- and large-scale vendors, farmers' markets may be one of the few options for entrepreneurs to maintain and/or enhance their market niche in a community. Key information needs of small-, medium- and large-size enterprises are described, as well as suggestions for ways in which local educational institutions, Cooperative Extension, government agencies and nonprofit organizations can help support these enterprises and enhance community economic development in their regions.