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Management implications of net present value computation are investigated in comparison to computation of capital return rate, in the absence of periodic boundary conditions.

The initial state of experimental forest stands is measured in the field. Further development of the stands is investigated using a growth model.

The capital return rate strongly depends on cutting limit diameter, whereas net present value (NPV) is insensitive to it. The net present value also is indecisive whether or not frequent further thinnings should be implemented. In the absence of further harvesting, the net present value of growth declines rapidly, as does the capital return rate. With repeated diameter-limit cuttings, the net present value declines even if the capital return rate is retained. After a few decades, the NPV stabilizes even if the capital return rate declines. On stands previously thinned from below, greater NPV is gained without further thinnings, whereas capital return rate requires repeated diameter-limit cuttings.

It appears difficult to formulate management instructions on the basis of NPV computations because of the indecisiveness of the results.

Regardless of the degree of decisiveness, NPV-based management results in losses of capital return.

Net present value of further growth is computed in the absence of periodic boundary conditions, and the outcome is compared with the statistically expected value of capital return rate.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impacts of storage losses and market development on the maize-selling behaviours of rural households in China.

Based on the survey data of 543 households from nine major maize production provinces in China, the authors introduce storage losses to a household's maize-selling decision-making model and use fractional logit model and ordered probit model to empirically analyse the impact of maize storage losses and market development on household maize-selling decisions in China. To overcome potential endogeneity problems, the authors select the weather at drying (whether bad weather occurs during the drying process) and harvest loss as instrumental variables and re-estimate the model.

The results show that increased storage losses prompt farmers to increase the proportion of maize sold within three months after harvest and sell maize in advance. Meanwhile, the degree of market development has a significant impact on farmers' maize-selling decisions. Other factors, such as the maize output, non-agricultural employment and awareness of loss control, also affect farmers' maize-selling behaviours.

The government should promote advanced storage facilities, reduce household storage losses, decrease the phenomenon of centralised sales after harvest and help farmers freely choose the suitable time for sales. The government also needs to strengthen market information releases and publicity, reduce transaction costs and help farmers make reasonable sales decisions.

The authors introduce storage losses as a separate variable in a farmer's grain-selling decision model to empirically analyse the impact of storage losses on farmers' grain-selling behaviours. Moreover, the authors analyse the impact of market development on household grain-selling behaviours in China. These findings can help avoid oversupply in the market during the harvest season and alleviate the pressure on the market from the supply and demand imbalance. These results are also beneficial for farmers waiting for a higher price and increasing their income.

Ensuring continued compliance with food safety legislation and market requirements is critical to the fresh produce industry. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how a pre‐requisite programme (PRP) and key performance indicators (KPI) for food safety can be developed for the production of fresh produce, in both low input and high input supply chains.

The first stage of the research involved an examination of literature, which was conducted using desk research. The second stage includes a review of food safety management systems (FSMS) in fresh produce supply and the development of a PRP/KPI framework.

Farm assurance is well developed in the high input food supply chain for multiple retail customers. However, low input systems such as organic production, or conventional sources are often non‐assured, and supply wholesale retail and food service markets. Recent food safety incidents such as the E. coli outbreak in Germany have demonstrated that universally an effective FSMS is critical to ensure that produce is safe and wholesome and is not the cause of a food safety outbreak.

This study is of benefit to the produce industry and those in the food supply chain in the further development of quality assurance (QA) standards and business improvement models.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the aims and contents of the ISO Report ISO/TR 14873.

For more than a decade, libraries have started to “collect the web”. National libraries in particular select, collect and store publications and websites from their national domain, seeing this as a task similar to traditional legal deposit. The collection policies and collecting methods vary, so that it is difficult to compare the quantity and quality of the respective web archives.

In order to harmonize the evaluation of web archives, ISO TC 46 SC 8 has produced a Technical Report that standardizes the terminology and statistics and offers tested indicators for assessing the quality of web archiving.

This paper describes the shortly to be published ISO/TR 14873, a potentially vital guide to harmonize web archive collection internationally.

Food and water safety is a major international concern. Among the food groups implicated with greater frequency in recent years as having caused or been associated with enteric diseases in humans are raw fruits and vegetables. Outbreaks of diseases caused by infectious and toxigenic bacteria as well as parasites and viruses have been documented to occur as a result of consumption of contaminated produce. This paper seeks to review the scientific literature reporting evidence to support the potential for preharvest contamination of fruits and vegetables intended to be eaten raw.

Sources of preharvest contamination of produce include manure, manure compost, sewage sludge, irrigation water, runoff water from livestock operations, and wild and domestic animals. Literature was reviewed to assess the conditions affecting survival of pathogenic microorganisms originating from these sources in preharvest environments and potential for contamination of produce before or at the time of harvest.

Prevention of preharvest contamination is essential to minimizing the risk of illness caused by consuming raw produce because postharvest treatment with sanitizers cannot be relied upon to eliminate pathogens.

A better understanding of the behaviour of pathogens in preharvest environments will enhance the prospect of developing effective strategies and interventions that will assure the delivery of safe produce to the consumer.

To analyze capital budgeting practice in a group of small cotton ginning firms in Brazil. The study aims at describing how investment decision-making in the agribusiness context may be influenced by heuristics and by the business setting.

This research adopted an exploratory and qualitative approach in gauging the practice of capital budgeting in Brazilian cotton ginning firms and discussing actual managerial decision-making. Data collection involved interviews with managers of ten different firms and a further content analysis was performed.

Results reveal a practical managerial approach aimed at ensuring satisfactory net operating results in the short run. Sophistication in capital budgeting is not considered as essential, as institutional and strategic environment influences directly affect impose high risks. Investment decision-making is highly influenced by managerial experience.

Because of the chosen research approach, results may lack generalizability. However, in addressing a specific sector in a specific location, one can identify and craft strategies in response to managerial needs more effectively.

The paper clarifies how heuristics, managerial experience and the institutional context may influence investment decision-making in cotton ginning operations. It also suggests how actions aimed at evaluating risk and improving the screening of investment perspectives could contribute to improve investment decisions.

The paper provides an in-depth perspective in addressing the practice of capital budgeting in the context of a specific activity and describing key issues related to it.

The purpose of this paper is to optimize the environmental growth factors for maximum yield of biomass and protein content of Spirulina platensis var lonor.

Central composite design with four independent variables (namely, Temperature (°C), Light intensity (μmol m⁻² s⁻¹), incubation period (days) and inoculum concentration (per cent)) and two dependent variables (namely, Biomass yield (g/L) and Protein content (per cent)) were used for designing the experiment. The quadratic model was selected for analysis of data using analysis of variance and optimization was performed using response surface methodology (RSM). Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) medium was used for growing the organisms.

The predicted values of optimization showed that the maximum yield of dried biomass (1.13 g/L) and protein (57.45 per cent) were obtained at temperature of 33.6°C, light intensity of 67.50 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹, incubation period of 16 days and inoculum concentration of 20 per cent. The actual values of biomass (1.23 g/L) and protein (58.46 per cent) yield were almost similar to the predicted responses.

The data obtained with this optimization method help Spirulina researchers/producers to cultivate the S. platensis var lonor strain with maximum biomass and protein content using the CFTRI medium.

Earlier works on optimization of growth conditions for Spirulina biomass, revealed that maximum of two factors were employed at a time using factorial design. But unlike other studies here in this study, optimization of multi factors using at a time using RSM on better biomass and protein yield was employed.

This study assesses postreplanting oil palm farming risks, analyzes seed procurement parameters, investigates seed institutions' performance factors and develops a framework for improved sustainability.

Incorporating data from 219 smallholder farmers in designated replanting areas, our study comprehensively evaluates seed supply performance, examining the roles of stakeholders and identifying potential risks in seed management. We assess these risks using the Risk Priority Number (RPN) methodology and Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) techniques.

The results show that the timing and quantity of oil palm seed supply have a relatively small impact on postreplanting failure risk. To mitigate this risk, focus on monitoring seed purity using high-quality Tenera oil palm-type seeds and early detection technology. Encourage seed-producing cooperatives to become legal seed producers for an inclusive system and consider smallholders' variety preferences.

This study’s significance lies in its comprehensive assessment of the risks associated with oil palm replanting on smallholder plantations, detailed analysis of critical parameters in seed procurement, investigation into the performance of palm oil seed institutions across various dimensions and development of a strategic framework to strengthen inclusive seed institutions for sustainable oil palm farming. This strategy holds valuable potential for the development of oil palm in Indonesia, particularly in expediting the smallholders' replanting program.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2023-0811

Shops and shopkeepers are a British tradition. More than 150 years ago, we were a nation of shopkeepers, and the picture of shops and the shopping public seemed unchanging. There were, of course, the early departmental stores, the co‐operative societies, the multiple shops, the chain‐stores, but the position was much as it had always been and the greatest proportion of retail trade was still in the hands of the traditional type of shopkeeper. The two Wars changed many things, but it was not until after the last War that retail trade really began to change and looking at it objectively and at the food trade particularly, it has become a revolution.

Understanding farmer and consumer behavior is essential to the successful implementation of behavior change interventions. The purpose of this study is to summarize existing research, provide a comprehensive overview of nudge interventions, and identify important trends in behavioral agricultural economics. Research on nudge interventions can help policymakers encourage farmers and consumers to change their behavior in desired direction like switching to organic agriculture or eco-labeled products and promote innovation in sustainable agriculture.

The paper contains a bibliometric analysis of nudge research in general and agricultural economics as well as a literature review of the 53 empirical studies on nudge interventions between 2003 and 2023.

The frequency of nudge research in all research fields and in agricultural economics has increased over the years. This study summarizes nudge interventions that can be used by farmers and consumers on a variety of agricultural economic issues. Information, social norms, and social comparison as nudge interventions are most prominent in the publications, while green nudges have not been researched to a greater extent.

This study provides a comprehensive overview of nudge research in agricultural economics with potential for theoretical and policy implications. It highlights potential nudge interventions among farmers and consumers that can be applied in practices.