The Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) enables analysis and comparison of farms business data, and the dairy sector has been selected because of its great importance in the European Union (EU). This paper analyses the economic characteristics of Croatian dairy farms divided into three types (based on herd size), in the period from the year 2014 to 2018. While the number of smaller farms is declining, there is a slight increase in the largest farm type. The amount of milk produced per farm is also growing, but it is still significantly lower than the European average. According to the realized net value added per unit of labour, small and medium-sized dairy farms are below, while large ones are above the European average. The share of direct payments in net value added is higher for all farm types compared to the European average. Relatively low milk yield and selling price, with high operating costs results in lower net production margins and affects the lower competitiveness of smaller farms with lower yields. According to the results of the FADN analysis, the largest Croatian dairy farms Type 3 (with 50 or more cows in the herd) are fully competitive to European farms in terms of economic results. The problem of Croatian dairy farming is that there are only few competitive farms, so different agricultural and rural development measures should support the empowerment of smaller farms, as well as strengthen the competitiveness of the whole dairy sector.

The choice of the appropriate variety of fruit is one of the most important factors in establishing new orchards. It is necessary to choose the variety that will give the best results in meeting the investment goals. This paper offered an innovative decision support model for plum variety selection, based on expert decision making and fuzzy logic. The fuzzy MARCOS (Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to COmpromise Solution) method was used. The research was conducted with the aim of improving plum production in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). To achieve this, the knowledge of experts from the Republic of Serbia was used, because this country is currently the third in the world in plum production and have branded many plum varieties. The results obtained using this model showed that two plum varieties stand out - Cacanska rodna and Stanley. These results were also confirmed by the performed sensitivity analysis. The worst results were obtained by the Sumadijka variety. These results will help in the selection of plum varieties when establishing new orchards in BiH to achieve the best results in Bosnian plum production.

The practical application of grape quality zoning and selective harvesting in small vineyards (<1 ha) has not yet gained much importance worldwide. However, winegrowers with small vineyards are looking for ways to improve wine quality and maximise profit. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the most predictive vegetation index for grape quality zoning among three vegetation indices—NDVI, NDRE, and OSAVI—at three grapevine growth stages for the efficient use in small vineyards for the selective harvesting and production of different wine types from the same vineyard. Multispectral images were used to delineate two vigour zones at three different growth stages. The target vines were sampled, and the most predictive vegetation index was determined by overlapping the quality and vigour structures for each site and year. A differential economic analysis was performed, considering only the costs and revenues associated with grape quality zoning. The results show that OSAVI is the least predictive, while NDVI and NDRE are useful for grape quality zoning and selective harvesting. Multi-year monitoring is required to determine the ideal growth stage for image acquisition. The use of grape quality zoning and selective harvesting can be economically efficient for small wineries producing two different “super-premium” wines from the same vineyard.

The selection of the appropriate apple varieties is one of the most important decisions in orchards establishing. The paper gives the methodology for estimating the most suitable varieties of apples when establishing orchards according to modern market demands. This methodology is based on the DEX method for hierarchy-based multi-criteria decision making. The model developed in this paper was applied on four apple varieties, whereby an expert evaluation was used. The experts included in evaluation are from the Fruit Federation of Integral Fruit Production in Laktasi, where panel research was used. Fruit varieties that were observed are: Top Red, Idared, Gala and Golden Delicious because they are the most commonly planted in the orchards at the area of Northwest B&H. The basic advantage of this model is simple application. With visual characteristics of the DEXi program tool and graph radar it is easier to see the good and bad sides of the technological and economic features of the each analyzed apple varieties. The results of the model show that the Top Red variety is "best" suited for establishing a new orchard, while Idared is rated as "good". The other two varieties used in this model are rated as "medium". For the final selection of apple varieties, it is necessary to carry out an analysis on a single micro-location where all the characteristics of the area should be taken into account.

The research aims to determine the conditions in the beekeeping sector of Mediterranean area at the case study of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, to identify areas with special environmental profile, to evaluate the honey produced in these areas and to analyze the possibility of linking beekeeping with tourism and related industries and services. According to a set of targets, several activities were conducted: analysis of the types of honey, technological processes and deviations from good beekeeping practices, determining the amount of investment, yields and income in honey production, analysis of the sales price, grade of marketability and sales channels of honey. The results show opportunities in production improvements by certain types of beekeepers, ways of beekeepers organizations and business associations and all that towards greater utilization of beekeeping capacity, as well as the increase of the commercial value of bee products and its integration with other economic activities.

Considering growing interest and potential for biomass energy production as an alternative to imported oil and as a mode of reducing environment pollution, there is a demand for calculating the economic justification of using crop residues for increasing income. This article suggests a way of generating cost price for baled corn stover and baled wheat straw. The cost price of baled crop residues is the sum of the cost of removed nutrients and the cost of machine and labor work required for balling and operations of moving and settling the bales on the parcel. For the purposes of calculation, a 130 hp tractor with round baler for 250 kg bales and a 75 hp tractor with a front loader were used. Based on the results, it was concluded that the value of harvested residues based on nutrients (N, P2O5 and K2O) is 110.47 HRK/t for corn stover and 73.65 HRK/t for wheat straw. The results showed that for corn stover and wheat straw, the cost of pressing (baling) is 86.25 HRK/t, while the cost of moving and settling the bales on the parcel is 34.69 HRK/t.