Pontederia crassipes utilization for dual phytoremediation and adsorption in greywater treatment: a techno-economic and sustainable approach.

While phytoremediation has been widely employed for greywater treatment, this system suffers from the transfer of considerable amounts of surfactants to the aquatic environment through partially treated effluent and/or exhausted plant disposal. Hence, this study focuses on greywater phytoremediation followed by recycling the spent plant for preparing an adsorbent material used as post-treatment. P. crassipes was used to operate a phytoremediation unit under 23 °C, 60% relative humidity, plant density (5-30 g/L), dilution (0-50%), pH (4-10), and retention time (3-15 days). The optimum condition was 12.7 g/L density, 34.0% dilution, pH 8.4, and 13 days, giving chemical oxygen demand (COD), surfactant, and NH4-N removal efficiencies of 94.62%, 90.45%, and 88.09%, respectively. The exhausted plant was then thermally treated at 550 °C and 40 min to obtain biochar used as adsorbent to treat the phytoremediation effluent. The optimum adsorption process was biochar dosage of 1.51 g/L, pH of 2.1, and 137 min, providing a surfactant removal efficiency of 92.56%. The final discharge of this phytoremediation/adsorption combined process contained 8.30 mg/L COD, 0.23 mg/L surfactant, and 0.94 mg/L NH4+-N. Interestingly, this approach could be economically feasible with a payback period of 6.5 years, 14 USD net present value, and 8.6% internal rate of return.

The research succeeded in treating greywater by phytoremediation followed by recycling the exhausted P. crassipes plant to prepare an adsorbent material used in the post-treatment phase, giving an economically feasible scenario with 6.5-year payback period.

Conservation agriculture works as a catalyst for sustainable sodic soil reclamation and enhances crop productivity and input use efficiency: A scientific inquiry.

Soil sodicity is a growing concern for crop growth and development in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Conservation agriculture (CA) provides an effective solution towards reclamation of degraded sodic lands and enhance the crop productivity. A field experiment was carried out to assess the sodic soil reclamation potential of CA based management practices including zero tillage, legume (mungbean; Mb) rotation, residue (+R) mulch, and subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) for three years under rice-wheat (RW) system. The system scenarios (Sc) comprised of multiple indicators to measure their impact on soil properties as well as system productivity, profitability, water and nitrogen use efficiency. The results indicated that soil pHs under Sc5-Sc8 (CA-based SDI scenarios) was significantly (p < 0.05) lowered by 2.16, 2.16 and 1.33% compare with mean of Sc1 and Sc2 (CT-based system; 9.10, 8.29 and 8.14) at all three soil layers (0-5, 5-15 and 15-30 cm), respectively. Similarly, the exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) was lowered by 2.9, 11.2 and 14.9% under CA-based scenarios with residue management compared with CT-based system (mean of Sc1 and Sc2; 15.2, 17.2 and 28.6%) during the study. The concentration of extractable anions (COЗ2‾, HCOЗ‾, Cl‾) decreased notably whereas, soil organic carbon and soil solution cations (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+) concentration were increased under CA based management SDI plots. In addition, CA with SDI scenarios (mean of Sc5-Sc8) proved to be more productive and water-efficient than CA-based flood irrigation (FI; mean of Sc3 and Sc4). Moreover, CA-based FI and SDI scenarios saved 29.5 and 60.7% irrigation water, and improved the partial factor productivity of nitrogen (PFPN) by 6.8 and 24.4%, respectively compared to CT-R (conventional tillage without residue) based Sc1. Therefore, CA practices can potentially reduce sodicity and improve soil chemical properties for profitable crop cultivation.

Conservation Agriculture Impacts on Economic Profitability and Environmental Performance of Agroecosystems.

The rationale of this study originates from the primary sector's multiple roles in the global warming issue. Agriculture is reported among the main causes of anthropogenic global warming. At the same time, it is profoundly impacted by climate change and concurrently holds potential as a solution through the sequestration of soil organic carbon (SOC) facilitated by Conservation Agriculture (CA). However, the findings in the literature are controversial on the SOC sequestration capacity and the profitability of CA implementation. Considering the new and old objectives of the sector, this paper tackles the assessment of the actual capabilities of CA to be a viable strategy to pursue the social good of climate change mitigation and concurrently be profitable for farmers. The economic profitability and environmental performance of CA are assessed analysing data from a field experiment in Northern Italy (European temperate area) and identifying the best management practice by means of a data envelopment analysis.

Economic and financial viability of the production of Brazilian somalis sheep fed with different nutritional plans.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the economic and financial viability of finishing of two sexes of Brazilian Somalis sheep in feedlot receiving diets with 0 and 15% reduction in the total digestible nutrients and crude protein contents. A completely randomized design was adopted, in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, with treatments consisting of two sexes (non-castrated males (21.13 ± 5.00 kg) and females (17.99 ± 3.79 kg) and two diets (0 and 15% reduction in the levels of total digestible nutrients and crude protein). Four simulations of productive scenarios were carried out: non-castrated males receiving the diet with 0% reduction; non-castrated males receiving the diet with 15% reduction; females receiving the diet with 0% reduction and females receiving the diet with 0% reduction, for a period of 70 days in feedlot. The highest costs of the system were with feeding and other costs, mainly the acquisition of animals. For both sexes, the 0% reduction diet showed the highest total cost, total revenue, break-even point. Non-castrated males fed a non-reduced diet and females fed a 15% reduction diet had higher net income, rate of return, total productivity, net present value, internal rate of return, profitability index and profitability rate. Less favorable situations were not profitable for any scenario. However, the increase in sales price favorability makes the activity viable. The reduction of total digestible nutrients and crude protein affects the economic and financial viability of Brazilian Somalis sheep. For non-castrated males it is recommended the diet without reduction and for females the diet with 15% reduction of nutrients.

Wool production and quality traits of pure- and crossbred Merino-type sheep.

Very little information is available on the quality of wool produced by terminal crosses out of wool producing dam lines. This study was therefore undertaken to elucidate the wool quality traits of four crossbred lines relative to Merinos and Dohne Merinos, which served as dam lines. Each dam line was mated to rams of their own breed as well as to Dormer or Ile de France rams to create four crossbred lines, namely, Dohne x Dormer, Dohne x Ile de France, Merino x Dormer, and Merino x Ile de France, in addition to the purebred Dohne Merino and Merino lines. Four rams and four ewes from each of these lines were reared up to one year of age under optimal growth conditions and shorn at the end of that time. Fleeces were weighed and samples collected for analysis. Neither sex nor genotype influenced clean fleece weight or clean yield percentage, but fibre diameter differed between genotypes. Purebred Merino had the finest wool (18.26 µm) and the Merino x Dormer cross the coarsest (26.01 µm). However, all lines still produced wool that could be used in manufacturing clothing, while fleeces showed good uniformity. The two purebred lines had the highest comfort factor (> 98%). The crossbred lines produced a similar quantity of wool as the purebreds, although of poorer quality. All genotypes except Merino x Dormer appear to produce wool that could be processed into garments, although the crossbred wool would only be suitable for outerwear.

Hydrochar and synthetic natural gas co-production for a full circular economy implementation via hydrothermal carbonization and methanation: An economic approach.

Herein we study the economic performance of hydrochar and synthetic natural gas co-production from olive tree pruning. The process entails a combination of hydrothermal carbonization and methanation. In a previous work, we evidenced that standalone hydrochar production via HTC results unprofitable. Hence, we propose a step forward on the process design by implementing a methanation, adding value to the gas effluent in an attempt to boost the overall process techno-economic aspects. Three different plant capacities were analyzed (312.5, 625 and 1250 kg/hr). The baseline scenarios showed that, under the current circumstances, our circular economy strategy in unprofitable. An analysis of the revenues shows that hydrochar selling price have a high impact on NPV and subsidies for renewable coal production could help to boost the profitability of the process. On the contrary, the analysis for natural gas prices reveals that prices 8 times higher than the current ones in Spain must be achieved to reach profitability. This seems unlikely even under the presence of a strong subsidy scheme. The costs analysis suggests that a remarkable electricity cost reduction or electricity consumption of the HTC stage could be a potential strategy to reach profitability scenarios. Furthermore, significant reduction of green hydrogen production costs is deemed instrumental to improve the economic performance of the process. These results show the formidable techno-economic challenge that our society faces in the path towards circular economy societies.

Low cost maize stover biochar as an alternative to inorganic fertilizer for improvement of soil chemical properties, growth and yield of tomatoes on degraded soil of Northern Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Soil fertility decline due to nutrient mining coupled with low inorganic fertilizer usage is a major cause of low crop yields across sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, biochar potential to improve soil fertility has gained significant attention but there are limited studies on the use of biochar as an alternative to inorganic fertilizers. In this study, we determined the effect of maize stover biochar without inorganic fertilizers on soil chemical properties, growth and yield of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.). A field experiment was conducted in 2022 for two consecutive seasons in Northern Uganda. The experiment included five treatments; inorganic fertilizer (control), biochar applied at rates of 3.5, 6.9, 13.8 and 27.6 t ha-1. RESULTS: In this study, maize stover biochar improved all the soil chemical properties. Compared to the control, pH significantly increased by 27% in the 27.6 t ha-1 while total N increased by 35.6% in the 13.8 t ha-1. Although P was significantly low in the 3.5 t ha-1, 6.9 t ha-1 and 13.8 t ha-1, it increased by 3.9% in the 27.6 t ha-1. Exchangeable K was significantly increased by 42.7% and 56.7% in the 13.8 t ha-1 and 27.6 t ha-1 respectively. Exchangeable Ca and Mg were also higher in the biochar treatment than the control. Results also showed that plant height, shoot weight, and all yield parameters were significantly higher in the inorganic fertilizer treatment than in the 3.5, 6.9, and 13.8 t ha-1 treatments. Interestingly, maize stover biochar at 27. 6 t ha-1 increased fruit yield by 16.1% compared to the control suggesting it could be used as an alternative to inorganic fertilizer. CONCLUSIONS: Maize stover biochar applied at 27.6 t ha-1 improved soil chemical properties especially pH, N, P and K promoting growth and yield of tomatoes. Therefore, maize stover biochar could be recommended as an alternative to expensive inorganic fertilizers for tomato production in Northern Uganda.

Landscape context affects the sustainability of organic farming systems.

Organic agriculture promotes sustainability compared to conventional agriculture. However, the multifunctional sustainability benefits of organic farms might be mediated by landscape context. Assessing how landscape context affects sustainability may aid in targeting organic production to landscapes that promote high biodiversity, crop yields, and profitability. We addressed this using a meta-analysis spanning 60 crop types on six continents that assessed whether landscape context affected biodiversity, yield, and profitability of organic vs. conventional agroecosystems. We considered landscape metrics reflecting landscape composition (percent cropland), compositional heterogeneity (number and diversity of cover types), and configurational heterogeneity (spatial arrangement of cover types) across our study systems. Organic sites had greater biodiversity (34%) and profits (50%) than conventional sites, despite lower yields (18%). Biodiversity gains increased as average crop field size in the landscape increased, suggesting organic farms provide a "refuge" in intensive landscapes. In contrast, as crop field size increased, yield gaps between organic and conventional farms increased and profitability benefits of organic farming decreased. Profitability of organic systems, which we were only able to measure for studies conducted in the United States, varied across landscapes in conjunction with production costs and price premiums, suggesting socioeconomic factors mediated profitability. Our results show biodiversity benefits of organic farming respond differently to landscape context compared to yield and profitability benefits, suggesting these sustainability metrics are decoupled. More broadly, our results show that the ecological, but not the economic, sustainability benefits of organic agriculture are most pronounced in more intensive agricultural landscapes.

Changes in milk production and estimated income over feed cost of group-housed dairy cows when moved between pens.

Several studies have shown advantages of feeding cows in groups according to their nutrient requirements. However, there are concerns about losing milk when cows change from a high- to a low-nutrient diet. Data from 1,960 cows from 3 herds were analyzed to assess the impact on milk yield and estimated income over feed cost (IOFC) when moving cows between pens and rations. Pen feed intake and individual body weight and milk yield were recorded daily for 21 d before and 21 d after every pen movement. The data included 2,142 pen movements, and for each movement, milk production was recorded for 21 d before and 21 d after the change. Within farm, group, and cow, milk yield during the 21 d preceding a pen movement was used to predict milk yield for the subsequent 21 d using linear regression. Individual dry matter intake was estimated based on cow performance and diet composition, and then individual IOFC was calculated. Differences between actual and predicted milk yield and IOFC during the 21 d following a movement were determined and contrasted against zero using t-tests. In all 3 farms, every pen movement involved a change from a more expensive ration with more energy and protein than the one fed after the movement. On average, in all cases but one, observed milk yield was lower than the forecasted milk yield had cows not been moved. However, IOFC, on average, was positive in all cases except for 2 pen movements on 2 farms. Reasons for the improved IOFC with lower milk yield were due to a nutrient cost advantage, whereas, when IOFC decreased, differences in nutrient supply and dietary cost were not able to offset differences in milk yield. Moving cows according to milk production level does not result in economic advantages when the unit cost of nutrients is greater in the original than in the receiving ration. However, when the cost and nutrient difference between the diets offset potential losses in milk, forming groups according to production is advantageous.

Effect of reproductive management programs that prioritized artificial insemination at detected estrus or timed artificial insemination on the economic performance of primiparous Holstein cows of different genetic merit for fertility.

The objective of this randomized controlled experiment was to evaluate the effect of reproductive management programs that prioritized artificial insemination (AI) at detected estrus (AIE) or timed AI (TAI) during the first lactation on the economic performance of dairy cows of different genomically enhanced predicted transmitting ability for fertility. Lactating primiparous Holstein cows from 6 commercial farms were stratified into high, medium, and low fertility groups based on a reproduction index value calculated from multiple genomically enhanced predicted transmitting abilities to predict the number of days to achieve pregnancy. Within herd and fertility group, cows were randomly assigned either to a program that prioritized AIE (P-AIE; n = 1,416) and used TAI for cows not AIE for all AI services or another that prioritized TAI and had an extended voluntary waiting period for first service and prioritized TAI for second and greater AI services (P-TAI; n = 1,338). Cash flow (CF) per cow accumulated for the experimental (first) and second calving interval (CIN) and cash flow per slot per 28 mo after calving in the experimental lactation were calculated. Market and rearing heifer cost values were used for estimating CF. For cows in the high fertility group, a positive effect of delayed pregnancy on milk income during the first lactation was observed (+$248 for P-TAI) but was insufficient to generate significant differences in CF between treatments mainly because of milk income compensation in the second lactation (+$125 for P-AIE) and minor reductions in reproductive cost and gains in calf value for the P-AIE treatment. In this regard, CF for 2 CIN was greater for the P-TAI treatment by $61 and $86 for market and rearing replacement heifer cost, respectively. Similarly, CF per slot was favorable to the P-TAI treatment but only by $13 and $47 for market and rearing replacement heifer cost, respectively. For cows in the low fertility group, CF was numerically in favor of the P-AIE treatment due to a pregnancy and herd exit dynamics that resulted in gains in milk income over feed cost during the first ($29) and second ($113) lactation. Differences in CF for the 2 CIN were $58 and $47 for market or rearing heifer value, respectively, and $77 and $19 for market and rearing heifer values, respectively for the slot analysis. Differences in CF between cows of different genetic merit for fertility were consistent across treatment and estimation method. Of note, cows in the low fertility group had greater CF than cows in the high fertility group in all comparisons, ranging from $198 per cow for 2 CIN to as much as $427 per slot. For the low fertility group, greater milk production contributed directly (milk income over feed cost) and indirectly (reduced culling) to increased CF. We concluded that genetic merit for fertility and CF are associated because cows of inferior genetic potential for fertility had greater CF than cows of superior genetic for fertility despite some increased costs and reduced revenues. Also, the magnitude of the CF differences observed for cows of different genetic merit for fertility managed with the P-AIE or P-TAI program may be valuable to commercial dairy farms but did not allow to conclusively support the choice of a type of reproductive management strategy for cows of different genetic merit for fertility.

Effects of grazing platform stocking rate on productivity and profitability of pasture-based dairying in a fragmented farm scenario.

The area adjacent to the milking parlor, accessible for grazing by lactating dairy cows (i.e., the grazing platform [GP]), can be limited on fragmented pasture-based dairy farms. Such farms, with a moderate overall farm stocking rate, typically have a much higher stocking rate of dairy cows on the GP. This study quantified the effects of farm fragmentation on milk and herbage production and profitability in a whole-farm systems-scale study over 3 yr (2017-2019). Four systems, each with an overall farm stocking rate of 2.5 cows/ha but with different grazing platform stocking rates (GPSR), were examined. The proportions of the overall farm area within the GP were 100%, 83%, 71%, and 63% in each of the 4 systems, respectively. Hence, the 4 systems had a GPSR of 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 cows/ha. The GP was used for grazing and silage (ensiled herbage) production, and the non-GP portion of each GPSR system was used solely for silage production. Concentrate supplementation per cow was the same across all GPSR systems; approximately 10% of the annual feed budget. All systems were compact spring-calving with 24 cows per system. We discovered a lower proportion of grazed herbage in the diet with higher GPSR. All silage produced on the non-GP areas was required to support higher GPSR on each of the systems. Annual herbage production and milk production per cow were not different between GPSR systems, resulting in similar milk production per hectare of the overall system area. The economic implications of different GPSR on fragmented farms were modeled in 2 scenarios: (1) quantifying the cost associated with different levels of farm area fragmentation; (2) investigating the optimum GPSR on fragmented pasture-based dairy farms, depending on variable criteria. A greater level of farm fragmentation lowered the profitability of pasture-based dairy production. Costs of production increased with higher GPSR and longer distances between GP and non-GP areas. At a fixed GP area, it was most profitable to increase GPSR up to 4 cows/ha on the GP when milk price was high, land rental price was low, and shorter distance existed between GP and non-GP areas.

How heat stress conditions affect milk yield, composition, and price in Italian Holstein herds.

An edited data set of 700 bulk and 46,338 test-day records collected between 2019 and 2021 in 42 Holstein-dominated farms in the Veneto Region (North of Italy) was available for the present study. Information on protein, fat and lactose content, somatic cell count, and somatic cell score was available in bulk milk as well as individual test-day records, whereas urea concentration (mg/dL), differential somatic cell count (%), and milk yield (kg/d) were available for test-day records only. Milk features were merged with meteorological data retrieved from 8 weather stations located maximum 10 km from the farms. The daily and weekly temperature-humidity index (THI; wTHI) and maximum daily (MTHI) and weekly temperature-humidity index were associated with each record to evaluate the effect of heat stress conditions on milk-related traits through linear mixed models. Least squares means were estimated to evaluate the effect of THI and, separately, of MTHI on milk characteristics correcting for conventional systematic factors. Overall, heat stress conditions lowered the quality of both bulk milk and test-day records, with fat and protein content being greatly reduced, and somatic cell score and differential somatic cell count augmented. Milk yield was not affected by either THI or MTHI in this data set, but the effect of elevated THI and MTHI was in general stronger on test-day records than on bulk milk. Farm-level economic losses of reduced milk quality rather than reduced yield as consequence of elevated THI or MTHI was estimated to be between $23.57 and $43.98 per farmer per day, which is of comparable magnitude to losses resulting from reduced production. Furthermore, MTHI was found to be a more accurate indicator of heat stress experienced by a cow, explaining more variability of traits compared with THI. The negative effect of heat stress conditions on quality traits commences at lower THI/MTHI values compared with milk yield. Thus, a progressive farmers' income loss due to climatic changes is already a reality and it is mainly due to deterioration of milk quality rather than quantity in the studied area.

Assessment of economic viability and production costs for the innovative microfiltered digestate.

This paper assesses the economic viability of the production process of an innovative form of digestate known as "microfiltered digestate", suitable for use as a fertilizer in driplines for permanent crops. A Break-Even Analysis was performed to determine the Break-Even Point which identifies the minimum quantity of products necessary to cover production costs at a certain selling price. Our results show that the production of microfiltered digestate provides positive economic viability for anaerobic digestion managers, providing them with an attractive market outlet and, at the same time, a new form of income. The experimental study was stated in Sicily, but it is replicable in any territorial context with anaerobic digestion plants. The results are in line with the principles of circular economy and are very current with reference to the use of organic fertilizers instead of chemical ones.

The Asymmetric Impact of COVID-19: A Novel Approach to Quantifying Financial Distress across Industries.

This paper assesses corporate financial distress in terms of liquidity and risk of insolvency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We develop a novel multivariate approach to obtain monthly data on industry turnover, exploiting real time data to capture the atypical character of industry-specific disturbances. By combining the estimated set of industry revenue shocks with pre-pandemic financial statements, we quantify the impact of the pandemic on the risk of insolvency in the EU non-financial corporate sector. Our definition of risk of insolvency takes into account not only the equity position of firms, but also risks relating to overindebtedness. The analysis controls for firms that were financially vulnerable already before the pandemic, thus being prone to become at risk of insolvency also in absence of the COVID-19 turmoil. We find that, for the EU as a whole, 25% of firms exhausted their liquidity buffers by the end of 2021 (a practical cut-off date of the analysis, not an assumed end of the pandemic). Furthermore, 10% of firms which were viable before the pandemic, appear to have shifted into risk of insolvency as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. The magnification of financial vulnerability in the hardest-hit industries mainly occurs among firms with no legacy issues, i.e. firms with positive profitability pre-pandemic. A similar finding is reported for some of the hardest-hit countries, such as Italy and Spain. In other countries, such as Germany or Greece, the magnification of financial vulnerability mainly occurs among firms with negative profitability pre-pandemic.

Economics of field size and shape for autonomous crop machines.

Field size and shape constrain spatial and temporal management of agriculture with implications for farm profitability, field biodiversity and environmental performance. Large, conventional equipment struggles to farm small, irregularly shaped fields efficiently. The study hypothesized that autonomous crop machines would make it possible to farm small, non-rectangular fields profitably, thereby preserving field biodiversity and other environmental benefits. Using the experience of the Hands Free Hectare (HFH) demonstration project, this study developed algorithms to estimate field times (h/ha) and field efficiency (%) subject to field size and shape in grain-oil-seed farms of the United Kingdom using four different equipment sets. Results show that field size and shape had a substantial impact on technical and economic performance of all equipment sets, but autonomous machines were able to farm small 1 ha rectangular and non-rectangular fields profitably. Small fields with equipment of all sizes and types required more time, but for HFH equipment sets field size and shape had least impact. Solutions of HFH linear programming model show that autonomous machines decreased wheat production cost by €15/ton to €29/ton and €24/ton to €46/ton for small rectangular and non-rectangular fields respectively, but larger 112 kW and 221 kW equipment with human operators was not profitable for small fields. Sensitivity testing shows that the farms using autonomous machines adapted easily and profitably to scenarios with increasing wage rates and reduced labour availability, whilst farms with conventional equipment struggled. Technical and economic feasibility in small fields imply that autonomous machines could facilitate biodiversity and improve environmental performance. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11119-023-10016-w.

Motor Vehicle Registration Taxes (MVRT) across EU countries: MNEs' profitability and the role of market concentration.

This paper discusses the effects of one-off Motor Vehicle Registration Taxes (MVRT) and market concentration level on the profitability of multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in the European Union motor vehicle industry. Our simple theoretical framework shows that firm profits depend on the demand function and therefore on taxes applied to prices. We overcome empirically the challenges of making informative theoretical predictions on the pass-through rate under imperfect competition. We find that MVRT,-both as ad valorem taxes and as specific taxes,-have a significant negative effect on MNEs' profitability. Our findings show a statistically significant positive effect of market concentration on profitability. Finally, our results suggest that the degree of competitiveness in the motor vehicle market moderates the effect of MVRT on firm profitability only in EU countries where the MVRT is an ad valorem tax, with the negative effect of the ad valorem MVRT becoming higher as the motor vehicle market becomes less competitive.

Do Profit Margins of Pharmaceuticals Influence Reimbursement Decisions? A Discrete Choice Experiment Among Dutch Healthcare Decision Makers.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate whether the profit margins of pharmaceuticals would influence the outcome of reimbursement decisions within the Dutch policy context. METHODS: We conducted a discrete choice experiment among 58 Dutch decision makers. In 20 choice sets, we asked respondents to indicate which of 2 pharmaceutical treatment options they would select for reimbursement. Options were described using 5 attributes (disease severity, incremental costs per quality-adjusted life-year, health gain, budget impact, and profit margin) with 3 levels each. Additionally, cognitive debriefing questions were presented, and for validation debriefing, interviews were conducted. Choice data were analyzed using mixed logit models, also to calculate marginal effects and choice probabilities. RESULTS: Results indicated that the specified levels of profit margins significantly influenced choices made. Decision makers were less likely to reimburse a product with a higher profit margin. The relative importance of profit margins was lower than that of the included traditional health technology assessment criteria, but not negligible. When asked directly, 61% of respondents indicated that profit margin should play a role in reimbursement decision making, although concerns about feasibility and the connection to price negotiations were voiced. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that if available to decision makers the profit margin of pharmaceutical products would influence reimbursement decisions within the Dutch policy context. Higher profit margins would reduce the likelihood of reimbursement. Whether adding profit margin as an additional, explicit criterion to the health technology assessment decision framework would be feasible and desirable is open to further exploration.

Do Health Technology Assessment organisations consider manufacturers' costs in relation to drug price? A study of reimbursement reports.

INTRODUCTION: Drug reimbursement decisions are often made based on a price set by the manufacturer. In some cases, this price leads to public and scientific debates about whether its level can be justified in relation to its costs, including those related to research and development (R&D) and manufacturing. Such considerations could enter the decision process in collectively financed health care systems. This paper investigates whether manufacturers' costs in relation to drug prices, or profit margins, are explicitly mentioned and considered by health technology assessment (HTA) organisations. METHOD: An analysis of reimbursement reports for cancer drugs was performed. All relevant Dutch HTA-reports, published between 2017 and 2019, were selected and matched with HTA-reports from three other jurisdictions (England, Canada, Australia). Information was extracted. Additionally, reimbursement reports for three cases of expensive non-oncolytic orphan drugs prominent in pricing debates in the Netherlands were investigated in depth to examine consideration of profit margins. RESULTS: A total of 66 HTA-reports concerning 15 cancer drugs were included. None of these reports contained information on manufacturer's costs or profit margins. Some reports contained general considerations of the HTA organisation which related prices to manufacturers' costs: six contained a statement on the lack of price setting transparency, one mentioned recouping R&D costs as a potential argument to justify a high price. For the case studies, 21 HTA-reports were selected. One contained a cost-based price justification provided by the manufacturer. None of the other reports contained information on manufacturer's costs or profit margins. Six reports contained a discussion about lack of transparency. Reports from two jurisdictions contained invitations to justify high prices by demonstrating high costs. CONCLUSION: Despite the attention given to manufacturers' costs in relation to price in public debates and in the literature, this issue does not seem to get explicit systematic consideration in the reimbursement reports of expensive drugs.

Effectiveness and profitability of preventive veterinary interventions in controlling infectious diseases of ruminant livestock in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.

Agriculture in general, and livestock production in particular, serve as a livelihood source for many people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In many settings, lack of control of infectious diseases hampers livestock productivity, undermining the livelihood of rural populations. This scoping review sought to identify veterinary interventions previously evaluated as well as their relative effectiveness in controlling infectious livestock diseases. To be included, papers had to be written in English, German or French, and had to describe the effectiveness and/or profitability of preventive veterinary intervention(s) against anthrax, blackleg, bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, foot-and-mouth disease, goat pox, lumpy skin disease, pasteurellosis, peste des petits ruminants, and/or sheep pox in any SSA country. Of the 2748 publications initially screened, 84 met our inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Most of the studies (n = 73, 87%) evaluated the effectiveness and/or profitability of vaccination, applied exclusively, applied jointly with, or compared to strategies like deworming, antimicrobial treatment, surveillance, feed supplementation, culling and dipping in reducing morbidity and/or mortality to livestock diseases. The effectiveness and/or profitability of antimicrobial treatment (n = 5), test and slaughter (n = 5), and use of lay animal health workers (n = 1) applied exclusively, were evaluated in the other studies. Vaccination was largely found to be both effective and with positive return on investment. Ineffective vaccination was mainly due to loss of vaccine potency under unfavorable field conditions like adverse weather events, cold chain failure, and mismatch of circulating pathogen strain and the vaccines in use.In summary, vaccination is the most effective and profitable means of controlling infectious livestock diseases in SSA. However, to achieve effective control of these diseases, its implementation must integrate pathogen surveillance, and optimal vaccine delivery tools, to overcome the reported field challenges.

Estimation and analysis of cow-level cumulative lifetime break-even on financial resiliency.

A dairy farm's ability to generate positive profit is dependent on the cow's response to management decisions made in conjunction with input cost management. Therefore, farm managers consider a multifaceted set of choices, managing their herd not as a homogeneous group of animals, but justifying the influence of individual cows on the farm's financial performance. We combined cow-level performance records from Minnesota DHIA and farm-level financials from the University of Minnesota Center for Farm Financial Management database FINBIN (https://finbin.umn.edu/) from 2012 to 2018 to evaluate farm- and cow-level profitability. The objective of this study was to evaluate individual cow performance matched with farm-level input expenses allocated to the cow level to measure a dairy farm's ability to be profitable over time, considering input and milk price fluctuations. Conventional Minnesota dairy farms were divided into 2 groups-financially resilient and non-resilient-based on their adjusted net farm income ratio over time. Yearly farm-level expenses and revenues were allocated to cows based on performance measures provided in monthly DHIA test data, and a cumulative lifetime break-even was calculated for all cows with consecutive farm data from 2012 to 2018. Herd-level and cow-level characteristics were analyzed to test for statistical difference between resilient and non-resilient farms as well as cows who achieved their break-even versus those that did not for resilient and non-resilient farms. Results showed that resilient farms had statistically different and lower expenses than non-resilient farms, with lower heifer raising expenses ($1,839.32 vs. $1,886.20), lifetime feed expenses ($4,197.07 vs. $4,975.39), and lifetime non-feed expenses ($2,761.63 vs. $4,502.67). Resilient farms had 38.3% of cows reach break-even, whereas non-resilient farms had 25.2% of cows break even. On average, cows who achieved their break-even remained in the herd for approximately 1 yr longer for both resilient farms (1,011 d for cows who break even and 627 d for those that do not) and non-resilient farms (1,033 d for cows who break even and 683 d for those that do not). Cows on resilient farms who achieved their lifetime break-even had an average lifetime profit of $1,613.48, which was $3,095.10 higher than the lifetime profit of -$1,481.62 of cows who never reach their break-even. Cows who reached their break-even on non-resilient farms had a lifetime profit of $1,270.51, which was $3,854.11 higher than the lifetime profit of -$2,583.60 for those who did not break even. Therefore, financially resilient dairy farms were utilizing a low-input, low-output model that proved to be successful and resulted in maintained profitability across volatile and fluctuating commodity prices.