Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2003
Abstract
This report contains all papers presented at the OECD Expert meeting in Oslo October 7th - 9th 2002, in addition to the list of participants. The topic of the meeting was the development of landscape indicators. In brief, the Expert Meeting agreed that interested OECD Member countries should consider the following recommendations; • Invest in the scientific understanding and further development of an indicator framework for agricultural landscapes, representing the linkages between landscape structure, function and management, • Build upon the existing national and international experiences in policy monitoring, evaluation and predictive scenarios, • Encourage pro-active collaboration, information exchange and methodological integration, • Contribute to, and cooperate with, other international initiatives related to developing agricultural landscape indicators, • Establish an informal expert network to follow up recommendations of the meeting.
Abstract
At present there are nearly 20 000 milk producers in Norway, and approximately 10 per cent of them are members of the Norwegian Dairy Financial Recording (NDFR). The NDFR is an important basis for production and financial advice given by the dairies. There is a great interest among milk producers and advisors in comparing results from different farms to find out why some are doing well and some are doing not so well, and to learn from those doing well. Gross margin (GM) per litre of milk produced is the traditional indicator for efficiency. This data, as other data on milk production, indicate that there is a wide variation in gross margin per litre of milk between farms with seemingly similar conditions for producing milk. This is interpreted as a potential for improving the efficiency of many producers. However, for many reasons gross margin per litre of milk is not an ideal indicator. A new version of the NDFR contains more information, for instance information on fixed costs of roughages produced on the farm. It is hoped that the new version of the NDFR makes it a better tool for improving the profitability of milk production. In an ongoing project we try to use the NDFR to analyse who are doing well and why. We use a combination of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and statistical analysis. For each farm we produce an efficiency index, and then we apply statistical methods to find factors that can explain the index. So far we have only very preliminary results. Management factors are important, but the NDFR data-base have very little information on management factors. It is planned to collect such data for a sample of farmers and include that in the study at a later stage.
2002
Authors
Wenche Dramstad Wendy Fjellstad Geir-Harald Strand Henrik Forsberg Mathiesen Gunnar Engan Jogeir N. StoklandAbstract
No abstract has been registered
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2001
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Wenche E. Dramstad Gary L.A. Fry Wendy Fjellstad Birgitte Skar Wenche Helliksen May Liss Bøe Sollund Mari Sofie Tveit Anne Katrine Geelmuyden Erik FramstadAbstract
An accumulating body of research identifies the importance of landscape structure for a wide range of countryside interests. Landscape structure reflects the results of policies and practices, and is well-suited as a target for management actions. New landscape metrics represent a potential for indicator-based management, provided such metrics relate consistently to the landscape values of interest. In this paper we propose that aspects of landscape structure, specifically heterogeneity, may be related to landscape-based values such as biodiversity, cultural heritage and human appreciation. Birds and vascular plants correlated well with our index for the heterogeneity of land types, whereas insects did not. Occurrence of prehistoric graves was also associated with land type heterogeneity, though other types of cultural remains were not. Landscape experience seems to be associated with the heterogeneity of landscape space rather than heterogeneity of land types. Different aspects of heterogeneity, scale, and variation over time all contribute to explain how our measures of landscape-based values vary in their relationship to landscape heterogeneity. Successful integration between disciplines in landscape studies depends on having a common operational framework, a shared theoretical basis, and a harmonised approach to data collection.
2000
Abstract
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1999
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Nils Kristian Nersten Oskar Puschmann Johnny Hofsten Anne Elgersma Grete Stokstad Runhild GudemAbstract
The World Trade Organization (WTO) will initiate negotiations on the further liberalization of the global trade with agricultural commodities by the end of 1999. These negotiations are basedon Article 20 of the Uruguay Round’s Agreement on Agriculture, which states, inter alia, that the reform process is to be continued, with the long-term objective of substantial and progressive reductions in the support and protection of the agricultural sector. In this context, however, a number of issues are to be taken into consideration, including the so-called non-trade concerns. The Norwegian authorities have started preparations for the new round of WTO negotiations, and have placed substantial emphasis on the non-trade concerns. Norwegian agriculture is regarded as being a ”producer” of more than just food and fibres, for example, national food security, viable rural areas and environmental benefits. The term ”Multifunctional Agriculture” is being increasingly applied to describe these additional functions1. With regard to Norwegian agriculture, it will be of major importance for Norway that sufficient consideration is given to the non-trade and other concerns during the next round of the WTO negotiations. In the summer/fall of 1998, the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture initialized an evaluation program in order to survey and analyse a number of issues in relation to ”multifunctional agriculture”. The present report is one of the contributions in this context.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered