Despite the well-known importance of innovation to productivity growth in the agri-food sector, very few studies have attempted to measure farm-level innovation. This article contributes to the literature by developing an agricultural innovation index that goes beyond measuring innovation...

The economic case for the production of biomass crops can only be established through a comprehensive analysis of the potential costs and returns of these crops. Using data from Ireland, this paper provides a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) investment analysis for two of the most common biomass...

Under the Mac Sharry and Agenda 2000 reforms, direct payments comprised a significant portion of farmers’ income in the EU. Farmers had to engage in production to receive these payments but the payments were relatively risk-free and therefore risk may not have played an important role in the...

Numerous studies exist reporting estimates of the theoretical potential for growing energy crops in the Ireland; however a knowledge gap exists on the extent to which Irish farmers would actually choose to grow these crops. We investigated the influence of selected individual and farm...

This paper examines the competitiveness of Irish milk production compared to that of other EU and non-EU countries. The analysis was based on two main data sources – the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) for years 1996-2003 and the International Farm Comparisons Network (IFCN) for 2004....

This article considers the challenges that may lie ahead for dairy producers over the next ten years, such as trade policy reform, other market developments and changes in input costs. It examines the present competitive position of the dairy sector in a number of EU Member States. Milk price...

The primary objective of this paper is to evaluate alternative control strategies for a number of simulated outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in four agriculturally diverse Irish regions, examining for the first time, the potential role of emergency vaccination in the country. The recent...

In this paper a probit model is used to assess the factors that will influence the decision of Irish farmers to adopt GM technology should they be given a choice in the near future of selecting between GM and non-GM varieties of crops. The theory underlying the model emanates from the wide...