Radar diagrams are able to represent the overall performance of farms in the five components.
Evidence is available for improved growth and reproductive performance of farm animals fed zeolite-supplemented diets.
Given the existing literature on social farming, it seems important to deepen the knowledge on the performance of farms engaged in this multifunctional strategy.
This study aims at assessing if benefits, based on the economic performance of farms operating in an agro-food supply chain, are generated by a vertical coordination.
A functional analysis of the reasons for high adoption of water harvesting structures indicated that factors such as technical support, customized design, level of farmer participation, age, existing ownership of open wells, annual rainfall and household assets were the major determinants of performance of farm-level rainwater harvesting structures.
By contrast, in an experiment comparing the reproductive performance of farm and wild precocious male parr stages (an important reproductive strategy in Atlantic salmon, Jordan et al.
Some of the inferior reproductive performance of farm salmon arises from behavioural inadequacies, such as reduced or inappropriate spawning behaviours, fewer nests dug or covered and more retained gametes.
Therefore, there remains an outstanding question as to whether the compromised reproductive performance of farm Atlantic salmon recorded in experimental studies is the result of environmental or genetic factors, and why such profound variability in introgression is measured between populations.
In the light of our findings for equivalent reproductive performance of farm versus wild Atlantic salmon, including within the relevant contexts of sperm competition and cryptic female choice (Birkhead et al.
Our findings of functional equivalence in the performance of farm salmon sperm and eggs under a range of tests add to concerns about the ability of farm Atlantic salmon to introgress wild populations, especially if the compromised breeding behaviour of farm fish straight from captivity can be improved by a period of readjustment in the wild before spawning.
Considering the urgent need to help prevent the rise of childhood obesity through better nutrition, as well as the flagging economic performance of small farming businesses, the farm-to-school program is certainly a step forward in the right direction.
