A decision support system for an organic farm

Environmental problems have received an increasing attention during the last few years. Several current problems related to climate, soil and water are consequences of past agricultural policies. Protection of the environment has become an important issue and nowadays farmers have greater responsibility to preserve the environment than ever. Organic agriculture might be one alternative to agricultural production because it does not damage the environment. However, it is important to consider the competitiveness in a global economy environment and to produce efficiently is a need. This is possible if an optimal production plan is found. An integrated decision support system for use in an organic farm has been developed. It incorporates a Linear Programming model that represents the organic farm system and optimizes the production. The model also finds the optimal schedule for the main operations throughout the year, according to the farm conditions and market demands. The decision support system assists in the planning of effective management programs and can also be used to evaluate the impacts that some changes would cause to the whole system.