Handbook of Operations Research in Agriculture and the Agri-Food Industry (International Series in Operations Research & Management Science (224))

The scope of this book is Operations Research methods in Agriculture and a thorough discussion of derived applications in the Agri-food industry. The book summarizes current research and practice in this area and illustrates the development of useful approaches to deal with actual problems arising in the agriculture sector and the agri-food industry. This book is intended to collect in one volume high quality chapters on __Methods and Applications in Agriculture and Agri-food industry__ considering both theoretical issues and application results. Methods applied to problems in agriculture and the agri-food industry include, but are not restricted to, the following themes: * Dynamic programming * Multi-criteria decision methods * Markov decision processes * Linear programming * Stochastic programming * Parameter estimation and knowledge acquisition * Learning from data * Simulation * Descriptive and normative decision tree techniques, including: agent modelling and simulation, and state of the art surveys Each chapter includes some standard and traditional methodology but also some recent research advances. All the applications presented in the chapters have been inspired and motivated by the demands from the agriculture and food production areas. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv Optimal Planning of Pig Transfers Along a Pig Supply Chain (Esteve Nadal-Roig, Lluis M. Plà-Aragonés)....Pages 1-18 Planning the Planting, Harvest, and Distribution of Fresh Horticultural Products (Nicholas Mason, Héctor Flores, J. René Villalobos, Omar Ahumada)....Pages 19-54 Production and Logistics Planning in Seed Corn (Rogerio A. R. Junqueira, Reinaldo Morabito)....Pages 55-77 Harvest Planning in Apple Orchards Using an Optimization Model (Marcela C. González-Araya, Wladimir E. Soto-Silva, Luis G. Acosta Espejo)....Pages 79-105 Optimization of the Supply Chain Management of Sugarcane in Cuba (Esteban López-Milán, Lluis M. Plà-Aragonés)....Pages 107-127 A Hierarchical Planning Scheme Based on Precision Agriculture (Víctor M. Albornoz, Néstor M. Cid-García, Rodrigo Ortega, Yasmín A. Ríos-Solís)....Pages 129-162 Optimal Transport Planning for the Supply to a Fruit Logistic Centre (Esteve Nadal-Roig, Lluís M. Plà-Aragonés)....Pages 163-177 Simulating Vulnerability in Victoria’s Fruit and Vegetable Supply Chain (Leorey Marquez, Andrew Higgins, Silvia Estrada-Flores)....Pages 179-200 Simulation Optimization: Applications in Fish Farming—Theory vs. Practices (Ilan Halachmi)....Pages 201-220 Swarm Intelligence in Optimal Management of Aquaculture Farms (A. Cobo, I. Llorente, L. Luna)....Pages 221-239 Multi-objective Optimization for Improved Agricultural Water and Nitrogen Management in Selected Regions of Africa (M. Pastori, A. Udías, F. Bouraoui, A. Aloe, G. Bidoglio)....Pages 241-258 Modelling of Catastrophic Farm Risks Using Sparse Data (V. A. Ogurtsov, M. A. P. M. van Asseldonk, R. B. M. Huirne)....Pages 259-275 Forecasting Grape Maturation Under Heat Stress Using MatPred (Leorey Marquez, Geoff Robinson, Simon Dunstall)....Pages 277-306 Technical Efficiency of Sow Farms: A Parametric and Non-parametric Approach (Xavier Ezcurra, Lluís M. Plà-Aragonés)....Pages 307-326 Multicriteria Analysis of Olive Farms Sustainability: An Application of TOPSIS Models (Laura Riesgo, Jordi Gallego-Ayala)....Pages 327-353 On the Feasibility of Establishing a Northern-Western Australian Beef Abattoir as a Facility Location Problem (Rodolfo García-Flores, Andrew Higgins)....Pages 355-379 Optimal Delivery of Pigs to the Abattoir (Lluís M. Plà-Aragonés, Sara V. Rodríguez-Sánchez)....Pages 381-395 Diet Problems (E. Joannopoulos, F. Dubeau, J.-P. Dussault, C. Pomar)....Pages 397-417 Markov Decision Processes to Model Livestock Systems (Lars Relund Nielsen, Anders Ringgaard Kristensen)....Pages 419-454 ERRATUM: A Hierarchical Planning Scheme Based on Precision Agriculture (Víctor M. Albornoz, Néstor M. Cid-García, Rodrigo Ortega, Yasmín A. Ríos-Solís)....Pages E1-E2 Back Matter ....Pages 455-464 The scope of this book is Operations Research methods in Agriculture and a thorough discussion of derived applications in the Agri-food industry.℗l The book summarizes current research and practice in this area and illustrates the development of useful approaches to deal with actual problems arising in the agriculture sector and the agri-food industry. This book is intended to collect in one volume high quality chapters on Methods and Applications in Agriculture and Agri-food industry considering both theoretical issues and application results.℗l Methods applied to problems in agriculture and the agri-food industry include, but are not restricted to, the following themes: Dynamic programming Multi-criteria decision methods Markov decision processes Linear programming Stochastic programming Parameter estimation and knowledge acquisition Learning from data Simulation Descriptive and normative decision tree techniques, including: agent modelling and simulation, and state of the art surveys Each chapter includes some standard and traditional methodology but also some recent research advances. All the applications presented in the chapters have been inspired and motivated by the demands from the agriculture and food production areas