ÖGA Prize 2012
Award winner: Mag. DI Dr. Martin Schönhart
The submitted dissertation is entitled:Integrated Farm Land Use Modeling for Landscape Level Analysis“
The work analyzes measures to improve the sustainability of agricultural systems. An integrative model network was developed for the analysis of agri-environmental programs, consisting of a crop rotation model, a biophysical process model, and a farm optimization model. The model results indicate that the measures examined are effective but also improvable, and that the developed method is well suited to analyzing and evaluating the ecological and economic impacts of agri-environmental programs in a landscape context.
The reviewer Prof. Dr. Peter Weingarten (Head of the Institute for Rural Areas at the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute in Braunschweig), praised the work's interdisciplinary approach as a necessity for researching sustainable agricultural systems.
Award winner: DI DI Thomas Schön
The submitted master’s thesis is titled:“Risk Analysis in Seed Potato Production Using Monte Carlo Simulation”
In his laudatory speech, the reviewer O. Univ. Prof. Mag. Dr. Hofreither expressed his appreciation for the way the master's thesis analyzes and addresses a practical problem using scientific methods. The thesis goes far beyond the typical requirements of a master's thesis and is characterized by a clear structure and a coherent approach. Furthermore, the thesis offers useful information for practical application. The thesis provides a comprehensive introduction to the methodological approach of Monte Carlo simulation and describes the structure of a corresponding Excel add-in. The literature section describes important risks in organic and conventional seed potato production, which are subsequently quantified using distributions. Using the target parameter “contribution margin”, it is shown where the production risk is highest and which risk components are decisive for this.