Enur 11"d1JuoJYourSltipnimc(l.b) rEnur Salt Price/or Yourhoduet (S/lb) r--- Don, know __price? -_-__ __ _,_, Emtr Yourhoductio>1 Con{Sill>) � E11ur Tromporratiott Cos,s (Slltlilt} � help ____________J E11ui-Row1duip Dista,,u (miles) rEmer Drfrer's Lodgbig and.lleals During Trip (SJ rE11ur Parking, Toll Expenditures, a11d Other £.,pmditura (S) i-----: ____F_i nd_R_e_tu m_s -('d-_o n_a ,..:.. s ) ___ ...Jlr== � BAC I Fig. 3. Estimation of Sale Returns. ESTIMATIO.r OF . 1AXThKM RO ·_;n TRIP DISTA ·cE Please enter your values instead ofthe dd'aulu. EmuSak Price/oryourproduct {Sill>) �- j- Get an �imated price -- ..:J Enur Total IJ"ei1l11 of Your S/1ip11u,111 {l.b) r= E11ur Drfrer's Lod1i111 and .\/eal Durint Trip ($} � E11ur Parku11 and Toll &pe11di1ura (S) io--- Emer Other Expenditures (SJ io----. Fig. 4. Estimation of Maximum Roundtrip Distance. - 6 X served by smaller aquaculture producers running family farms (USDA 1998, FAO 2000). Such producers may want to see software that is cheap and easy to use and that can help with their dayto-day operations -analysis of profits from a single order, decisions on a minimum sale price or selection of a method of shipment. In West Virginia, aquaculture is an important part of the state's economy. Plentiful water resources allow raising both coldwater and warmwater aquaculture species such as trout, Arctic char, bluegill, catfish and bass. There is a stable demand for local aquaculture food products . Close proximity to large cities as well as the state's reputation as an outdoor recreation destination attracts many anglers from neighboring states. However, most West Virginia aquaculture producers are relatively small, producing 4 to 45 t of fish per year. Among many decisions 3 6 MARCH 2007 made by West Virginia fish farmers are the choices of price and shipment volume for a specific order and specific market. Most farmers rely on their experience in making such decisions and are quite successful. However, to assist farmers in more rigorous analyses of transportation costs, acceptable prices and sale returns in distant market outlets, researchers at West Virginia University and Canaan Valley Institute have developed a decision support tool called the Fish Transportation and Profitability Calculator, or FishTran. Although most of the default values pertain to local (West Virginia) conditions, the tool itself is designed to be flexible and easily adaptable to other areas. FishTran is an example of a simple model-driven DSS. Depending on the primary interest of a user, four options are available that provide estimations of 1) sale returns, 2) maximum roundtrip shipment distance for which it is worthwhile to transport fish, 3) fish transportation cost/minimum transportation charge and, 4) mm1mum acceptable sale price to cover production and transportation costs. No special training is required to use the program. For each option, the user is asked to provide basic information about the shipment -distance, price, volume, and/or costs. This information is used in mathematical formulas to compare sales revenues and production and transportation costs and to calculate maximum distance, minimum price and transportation fee and amount of return. The software is free, and it can be accessed and run from the internet site http://www.cafcs.wvu.edu/resm/faculty/borisova/FishTransAsst.htm using any available web browser, such as Internet Explorer, Netscape or Opera. To start estimations, the user selects one of four options from the program menu: l)Maximum Roundtrip Distance, 2) Minimum Transportation Fee, 3) Sales Return or, 4) Minimum Market Price. The option is selected by clicking on the respective button with the mouse pointer. This action opens a new program window with a set of simple questions about fish production and shipment. The user needs to enter
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