Evaluation Of On Farm Agricultural Management Alternatives

Excerpt from Evaluation of on-Farm Agricultural Management Alternatives This report presents the results of a study undertaken to identify and evaluate on-farm agricultural management practices that could be used to reduce subsurface drainage flows and/or to improve drainage water quality. The study was funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as part of the Federal-State Inter agency San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program. Publication of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations herein should not be construed as representing the concurrence of either the Bureau of Reclamation or any other Federal or State agency participating in the Drainage Program. Also, mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the agencies. The purpose of this report is to provide the Drainage Program agencies with information and alternatives for further consideration. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Introduction to agricultural management; Applying economic principles; Monitoring the business; Forward planning; Business organization and resource management; Investment analysis; Taxes and insurance.

This workbook was written for rural and farm residents considering alternative income enterprises. It takes readers through the steps to evaluate personal and family considerations, resources, market potential, production feasibility, profitability, cash flow, and all factors combined.

The first premise of this book is that farmers need access to options for improving their situation. In agricultural terms, these options might be manage ment alternatives or different crops to grow, that can stabilize or increase household income, that reduce soil degradation and dependence on off-farm inputs, or that exploit local market opportunities. Farmers need a facilitating environment, in which affordable credit is available if needed, in which policies are conducive to judicious management of natural resources, and in which costs and prices of production are stable. Another key ingredient of this facilitating environment is information: an understanding of which options are viable, how these operate at the farm level, and what their impact may be on the things that farmers perceive as being important. The second premise is that systems analysis and simulation have an impor tant role to play in fostering this understanding of options, traditional field experimentation being time-consuming and costly. This book summarizes the activities of the International Benchmark Sites Network for Agrotechnology Transfer (IBSNAT) project, an international initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). IBSNAT was an attempt to demonstrate the effectiveness of understanding options through systems analysis and simulation for the ultimate benefit of farm households in the tropics and subtropics. The idea for the book was first suggested at one of the last IBSNAT group meetings held at the University of Hawaii in 1993.