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Many universities face tough decisions on how to allocate limited resources to serve a demanding clientele. Industry officials frequently perceive university researchers and extension specialists as losing touch with reality and working on irrelevant problems. In many situations, this perception is a result of the lack of communication among the parties involved. Research and Extension Commodity Overviews conducted by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State Univ. have proved to be an excellent way of improving communications between university personnel and the industries they support. This paper outlines the overview process and shows how this approach benefited the state's nursery industry and the university.
Abstract
The net present value (NPV) criterion was selected for comparing the monthly net cash flows over a 3-year period resulting from replacing matted row (MR) with annual hill (AH) strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) production. In the base analysis, AH culture was found to be a profitable alternative to the MR system. The time pattern of the yield response to AH culture (annual cropping) vs. MR (harvesting limited to years 2 and 3 only) is the major economic advantage of the AH system. Discounting at the end of yearly planning periods instead of on a monthly basis overstated the NPV of the AH system.