Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jan Syrůček Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Cattle Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Luděk Bartoň Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Cattle Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: Jiří Burdych Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Nutrition and Feeding of Farm Animals, Institute of Animal Science, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Workplace-Name: VVS Verměřovice s.r.o., Verměřovice, Czech Republic Title: Break-even point analysis for milk production - Selected EU countries Abstract: Unstable conditions in the milk market in the Czech Republic (CR) and in the European Union (EU), mainly due to volatility of milk prices, are increasing pressure on dairy farmers to maximise production at the lowest possible production costs. Break-even point (BEP) analysis is a useful tool in dairy herd management for determining minimum requirements for profitability. BEP values for milk yield and milk price were calculated based on data obtained from 95 dairy farms in the CR. BEP values were estimated also for another eight EU countries based upon production and cost data from the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). With the milk price ranging from EUR 28 to EUR 38 per 100 L and while excluding subsidies, zero profitability would be achieved on Czech dairy farms with milk yields ranging from 6 706 L to 13 151 L per cow and from 7 450 L to 14 088 L per cow in Czech Fleckvieh (C) and Holstein (H) herds, respectively. In order to achieve 5% profitability, the milk yield would need to increase by 21%. Considerable variability exists among EU countries in estimated BEP values depending upon average milk yields, input prices, and milk prices in different countries. Keywords: cost, economy, milk yield, price, profitability Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 199-206 Volume: 68 Issue: 6 Year: 2022 DOI: 10.17221/40/2022-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/40/2022-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-202206-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:68:y:2022:i:6:id:40-2022-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Dagmar Škodová Parmová Author-Name: Jana Novotná Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Applied Economics and Economy, Faculty of Economics, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic Title: Implementation of quality improvements and innovations in agricultural enterprises Abstract: This article deals with the implementation of innovations and quality improvements into operations of mainly small and medium-sized enterprises and family farms in the Czech Republic. The aim is to improve the competitiveness of production in internal, European, and global markets, as well as in the context of optimising the settings and recommendations for new subsidies within the Common Agricultural Policy for the forthcoming programming period. The dependence of the use of various forms of innovation in relation to financial crises was investigated, as well as the general (proactive vs. reactive) attitude to innovation, and also mutual operation with Local Action Groups (LAGs) as another source of support. Due to the structure of the obtained data, a general linear model (GLM) was used for the evaluation. Using the methods of advanced statistical testing, the two most important aspects of the implementation of innovations in agriculture enterprises were identified from the obtained data. These two key aspects are: cooperation with the LAG and the use of consultants for processing project applications. Thus, other factors, the size of the farm, the existence of financial problems and the length of farming are not statistically significant. This contribution is intended to help public administration bodies that have a power to set the support conditions for the Rural Development Programme. Keywords: agribusiness, consultants, farming, Local Action Groups, new approaches Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 207-218 Volume: 68 Issue: 6 Year: 2022 DOI: 10.17221/410/2021-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/410/2021-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-202206-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:68:y:2022:i:6:id:410-2021-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Dejan Živkov Author-Workplace-Name: Novi Sad School of Business, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia Author-Name: Suzana Balaban Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Finances, Banking and Audit, Alfa University, Beograd, Serbia Author-Name: Marijana Joksimović Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Finances, Banking and Audit, Alfa University, Beograd, Serbia Title: Making a Markowitz portfolio with agricultural commodity futures Abstract: This paper constructs a minimum-variance portfolio of six agricultural futures. We make a full sample analysis as well as a pre-COVID and COVID examination. Using Markowitz portfolio optimisation, we find that soybean futures have the highest share (31%) in the full sample portfolio because it has the lowest variance. Both soybean oil and rice futures have the second highest weight in the full sample portfolio, in an amount of 24%, because soybean oil has the second lowest variance, whereas rice has, by far, the lowest average correlation with other agricultural futures. Soybean oil has the highest share of 35% in the pre-COVID period, whereas rice follows with 27%. On the other hand, in the COVID period, soybean has a very high share in an amount of 47% due to the lowest risk, while rice takes second place with 19%. Based on the results, investors should invest the most in soybean oil and rice in tranquil periods, while the choice should be soybean and rice in crisis periods. Rice is the choice in both sub-periods because rice has a very low correlation with other agricultural commodities, which happens due to the price stabilisation of rice that is often conducted by Asian countries. Keywords: COVID crisis, efficient frontier line, hedge effectiveness index, minimum-variance portfolio, pre-COVID and COVID subsamples, subsample analysis Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 219-229 Volume: 68 Issue: 6 Year: 2022 DOI: 10.17221/78/2022-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/78/2022-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-202206-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:68:y:2022:i:6:id:78-2022-AGRICECON Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Maciej Zastempowski Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Enterprise Management, Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Torun, Poland Author-Name: Szymon Cyfert Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Management, Poznan University of Economics and Business, Poznan, Poland Title: The role of strategic innovation activities in creating Spanish agriculture companies' innovativeness Abstract: The aim of this study is to identify strategic innovation activities that influence the product and process innovativeness of Spanish agriculture companies. From a theoretical perspective, according to the Oslo Manual, strategic innovation activities can be divided into five key groups. Based on a dataset including 874 firms covered by the 2014 edition of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS), we examine the role of different forms of strategic innovation activities used for the introduction of product and process innovations. Using the logit regression model and marginal effects, we found evidence of a relationship between the strategic activities and the product and process innovations in Spanish agriculture companies. The results indicate that only one type of strategic innovation activity, i.e. in-house research and development (R&D) is a common statistically significant factor explaining the product and process innovation. In the case of the other strategic innovation activities, some differences can be found. Thus, external R&D and other activities are significant for product innovation, but not for process innovation. In turn, the acquisition of machinery, equipment, software and buildings and training for innovative activities are significant for process innovation, but not for product innovation. Keywords: product innovation, process innovation, R& D activities Journal: Agricultural Economics Pages: 230-238 Volume: 68 Issue: 6 Year: 2022 DOI: 10.17221/66/2022-AGRICECON File-URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/66/2022-AGRICECON.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/age-202206-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:68:y:2022:i:6:id:66-2022-AGRICECON