Digital Commons Network^™

How To Effectively Reach Farmers And Assist Them In Reaching Their Precision Management Goals, Courtney Nelson

Honors Theses

Precision and digital agriculture have been popular buzz words floating around the last several years. These broad terms cover a plethora of topics including GPS ear tags for livestock, soil moisture probes, and aerial imagery. With such a wide number of technological advances at their fingertips, it can be overwhelming for farmers to know where to start.

A study conducted by Purdue University in 2019 took a deeper look at data and software usage across 800 farms larger than 1000 acres (DeLay et al, 2020). Their research revealed that over half of farmers who don’t use farm data or software …

Fostering Community Supported Agriculture In Utah, Kelsey Hall, Roslynn Brain

All Current Publications

This curriculum contains seven modules that describe the fundamentals of CSA, CSA marketing and outreach, CSA management, CSA pricing, CSA crop planning, legal concerns for CSA operations, and additional resources.

Osborne, Ethan - Covid-19 Journal, Ethan Osborne

Personal Journals

EIU student Ethan Osborne recounts in detail the experience and frustration of living at home and working on his family farm in the early months of the pandemic, March-May 2020. He also details his observations of and feelings about the news coverage of the pandemic as well as the disregard (particularly by young people) for shelter in place mandates.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Services & Programs Webpages, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshots of various University of Maine Cooperative Extension webpages featuring announcements regarding various programs, services, and publications provide by the Cooperative Extension during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Farming & Livestock Webpages, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshots of various University of Maine Cooperative Extension webpages featuring guidance and resources regarding farming and livestock during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Payment For Ecosystem Services: Incentives To Support Environmental Quality & Farming In Vermont, Stephen Posner, Taylor Ricketts, Eric Roy

Reports and Policy Briefs

Environmental quality is an ongoing concern in the Lake Champlain Basin. Vermont farmers are in a unique position to manage land in a way that maintains and improves environmental quality. A payment for ecosystem services (PES) program for Vermont would both support the economic vi- ability of Vermont farms and incentivize farmers to improve water quality and soil health. How- ever, conceptual and practical implementation challenges remain.

Precision Agriculture Gis Technologies For Mississippi, 1st. Edition, Amelia A.A. Fox

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Publications and Scholarship

Precision agriculture is meant to improve on-farm efficiency in hopes of ultimately increasing profitability while also protecting the environment. However, this difficult process almost always includes the proper management and interpretation of data. Therefore, it is imperative that those individuals involved in making such decisions are educated on these processes. In a data-driven world, this textbook is a great resource for those wanting to learn how to utilize their data in hopes of making better informed on-farm decisions.

2018 Custom Rate Survey, Ryan Larsen, Garrett Nelson, Michael Pace, Lyle Holmgren

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides agricultural producers with current information regarding rates for custom farming operations in Utah.

Agrarian Politics And The American Tradition, Jeff Taylor

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Agrarianism is a political philosophy and way of life known and prac­ticed among peoples of diverse nationalities and religions. While having ancient, medieval, and early-modern roots, agrarian politics blossomed most dramatically in America, during both its colonial and republican periods. Notable spokesmen for American agrarianism include Thomas Jefferson, William Jennings Bryan, and Robert La Follette. It has been in steady decline for the past century as cosmopolitan and centralizing forc­es have displaced tradition and smallness of scale. Still, there have been natural voices lamenting losses in the face of"progress": Distributists and Southern Agrarians, the Counterculture and the Green Party, Wendell …

The Use Of Smart Devices For The Detection Of Aflatoxin In Ground Corn Feeds, Gil Nonato C. Santos, Mary Gillian Santos, Karen Doniza, James Salveo L. Olarve

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Aflatoxins are toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites produced predominantly by two fungal species: Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus (Gourama, H., & Bullerman, L., 1995). These fungal species are contaminants of food crops as well as animal feeds, and are responsible for aflatoxin contamination of these agricultural products. The toxicity and potency of aflatoxins make them the primary health hazard as well as responsible for losses associated with contaminations of processed foods and feeds (Gourama, H., & Bullerman, L., 1995). Determination of aflatoxins concentration in food crops and animal feeds is thus very important for Food Safety Regulatory Agencies (FRSA) to …

Hester, Lanny Ray, 1950-2015 (Fa 1120), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project FA 1120. Student folk studies project titled: "Traditional Farming Methods & Tools," which includes survey sheets with brief descriptions of traditional farming using horses or mules in Warren County, Kentucky. Sheets may include a description of the traditional tack or implement, photo, informant's name, and text classification.

Mansfield, Sherry R. And Bruce Greene (Fa 1112), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1112. Student folk studies project titled: “Just a Man—Captain William Hicks” which includes an interview of C. Jeff Hicks, the son of Confederate Captain William Hicks. The interview includes a description of the life of the son and his father while living in Barren County, Kentucky and Sumner County, Tennessee.

The Future Of Food In Blade Runner 2049, Diarmuid Cawley

Other resources

The science fiction genre has always been a hotbed for questions about the existence of life and what it means to be human. Food, like water and oxygen, is necessary to sustain life, but also is a key indicator of culture. One of the things that fascinates us about science fiction is how an imagined future culture might look. Blade Runner 2049, although not centred around food, interweaves food and agriculture into a dystopian narrative on evolution and a bio-engineered labour force, while asking us what it means to have memories and to be human.

Starks, Rick (Fa 1052), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1052. Paper titled “Early Farm Tools and Implements” in which Rick Starks visits the Penns Chapel community, a rural hamlet located near Bowling Green, to witness how residents use traditional farming equipment such as plows, wagons, and mills to create sustainable and cooperative environments.

Sutherland, David And Linda C. White (Fa 1044), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1044. Paper titled “From Mountain to Flatland: A Study of Two Homesteads” written by David Sutherland and Linda White. The authors attempt to compare two homesteads—one found in Pickett County, Tennessee, and the other in Simpson County, Kentucky—by exploring the family histories, topographical influences, and architectural styles of each location. The paper also includes photographs of informants, their farms, grave markers, aerial maps, and other personal ephemera.

Integrating Fisheries And Agricultural Programs For Food Security, Brendan Fisher, Robin Naidoo, John Guernier, Kiersten Johnson, Daniel Mullins, Dorcas Robinson, Edward H. Allison

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Background: Despite the connections between terrestrial and marine/freshwater livelihood strategies that we see in coastal regions across the world, the contribution of wild fisheries and fish farming is seldom considered in analyses of the global food system and is consequently underrepresented in major food security and nutrition policy initiatives. Understanding the degree to which farmers also consume fish, and how fishers also grow crops, would help to inform more resilient food security interventions. Results: By compiling a dataset for 123,730 households across 6781 sampling clusters in 12 highly food-insecure countries, we find that between 10 and 45% of the population …

Farm Work Injuries Among A Cohort Of Children In Kentucky, Usa, Steven R. Browning, Susan C. Westneat, Deborah B. Reed

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Children residing on farms with livestock may be at an increased risk for work-related injuries, compared to children who work on other commodity farms. This study characterizes children's work tasks on Kentucky farms and assesses whether children who work on beef cattle farms are at an increased risk for farm work injuries. The results of a cohort study of children aged 5-18 years (N=999 at baseline) working on family farms in Kentucky, followed for two consecutive years after an initial enumeration five years previously, found that 70% of the children were involved in animal-related chores. Across all age groups, children …

Martha And Her Help: A Different Kind Of Relationship, Victoria E. Krus

Martha McMillan Research Papers

In nineteenth century America, middle-class families often had domestic servants in their home. Domestic service looked different in various parts of the country and at different points in the century, but a common theme of racial tension and class struggle defined servant/employer relationships throughout the hundred year period. In Ohio, Martha McMillan recorded the events on her family’s farm in a series of journals from 1867 up until her death in 1913. Thousands of pages portray the day-to-day events of a farmer’s wife, her children, and her relationship with farm employees. In contrast to nineteenth-century employer/employed attitudes and practices, Martha …

Contemplative Practice In Sustainable Food & Farming, Sarah Berquist

Sustainability Education Resources

PowerPoint presentation at the Institute of Teaching Excellence and Faculty Development at UMass Amherst. Offers contemplative practices applied in the Sustainable Food and Farming program including yoga; breathwork; reflective writing and dialogue; stories and poetry; and exploring personal values.

Preventing Back Injury While Working In Agriculture, Rhonda Miller Ph.D., Anne Brown-Reither

Agriculture

This fact sheet describes sources of back pain for those working in agriculture, and suggests devices and equipment that can replace the need to do repetitive manual lifting that often causes back injuries.,

Farming In The Heat With Chronic Health Conditions, Rhonda Miller, Anne Brown-Reither

All Current Publications

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are very serious illnesses that can impact anyone, but people with certain chronic health conditions are particularly vulnerable. However, unlike many other illnesses, heat-related illnesses are almost completely preventable. By following simple common sense practices, you can protect yourself and fellow farm workers from experiencing heat-related health problems.

Farming With An Amputation, Rhonda Miller Ph.D., Anne Reither

Archived Agriculture Publications

No abstract provided.

Farming With An Amputation, Rhonda Miller Ph.D., Anne Reither

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Citrus Notes-Agricultural Advantages Of So. California, Charles C. Chapman

Charles C. Chapman Citrus Speeches

These are notes from a speech given by Mr. Chapman at a banquet at the Pomona Farmer's Club Institute. He details the environmental advantages that Southern California has in relation to the rest of the world.

Citrus Talks-Soils And Subsoils, Charles C. Chapman

Charles C. Chapman Citrus Speeches

Mr. Chapman discusses the cultivation and maintenence of healthy, productive soils for citrus fruit farming. Topics he touches on include soil testing, soil composition, cover crops, fertilizers, drainage, irrigation, aeration and mulching. He emphasizes that neglect of any of these aspects of a growers' soil will lead to unhealthy, diseased trees.

Citrus Talks-The Orange, Charles C. Chapman

Charles C. Chapman Citrus Speeches

This talk examines the citrus industry, delves into various types of citrus such as Valencia Lates, and several varieties of the navel orange. It also covers the nuances of fumigation and dealing with pests such as Fuller's Rose Beetle and the red spider. Production, costs, and marketing are also discussed.

Fearless: Anastasia Maisel, Anastasia M. Maisel

SURGE

Working to create a meaningful, respectful, and community-minded Day of Service in honor of Gettysburg College student Emily Silverstein ’11, and continually involved in different farming and food initiatives in the Gettysburg area to promote food justice and environmentally friendly farming practices, Anastasia Maisel ’14 fearlessly gives her time, energy, and passion to promoting social justice on and off campus. [excerpt]

Our Gendered Food Chain, Jasmine T. Colahan

SURGE

Over the past four decades, the number of women-operated farms has nearly doubled. Including both primary and secondary operators, one million women make up thirty percent of all U.S. farmers.

Headlines such as “Females Take the Reins,” “Meet the New face of Agriculture,” “Old McDonald Might Be a Lady” demonstrate this gender shift. And, it is true in my life too. As I worked on the Painted Turtle Farm this summer, the majority of my role models, co-workers, and mentors working in agriculture, whether rural or urban, were primarily women. [excerpt]

Trace Element Soil Contamination At Urban Community Gardens In Washington, Dc, Adam J. Long

Environmental Analysis Program Mellon Student Summer Research Reports

In recent years, urban gardening has become a popular form of environmental, food, and social justice. Urban community gardens such as those in Washington, DC can reduce the environmental footprint of food production, provide access to healthy produce in “food deserts,” and provide other social, educational, and even financial benefits. However, the rising popularity of urban gardening has put many people in close contact with urban soils, which are likely to contain various contaminants due to concentrated human activity over extended periods of time. This study investigates heavy metal soil contaminants found in community gardens located in Washington, DC. 45 …

The New England Food System In 2060: Envisioning Tomorrow's Policy Through Today's Assessments, Margaret Sova Mccabe, Joanne Burke

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Essay analyzes how the New England states' planning processes are envisioning revitalized local, state, and regional food systems. This Essay has five parts. First, it begins with examining compelling reasons for promoting more sustainable food systems based on national and global trends, and identifies strategies for promoting regional food systems approaches with a brief introduction to the major influences on the national and New England food system. Second, it describes the states' planning efforts and their enabling legislation or source of authority.

The Essay then introduces the New England Food Vision 2060 (the Vision) an emerging discussion of food …