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Evaluation Of Socioeconomic Characteristics Of Farmers Who Choose To Adopt A New Type Of Cropand Factors That Influence The Decision To Adopt Switchgrass For Energy Production, Pamela C. Ellis

Masters Theses

Evaluating farmers’ perceptions and obtaining feedback about the adoption of a new crop is necessary for improving the efficiency of research, technology exchange, and information flow to policymakers. New technology has created new uses for non- traditional crops (such as switchgrass) as a sustainable source of energy. With new technology utilizing non-traditional crop uses, it is important to discern and understand the determinants of farmers’ behavior and attitudes toward new crop adoption rather than new technology adoption. Farmers must analyze financial and social costs and benefits of new crops, farming practices, and economic activities. Better understanding of the factors farmers …

Consumer Perceptions Of Branded Beef Products, Leslie Erin Williams

Masters Theses

This study examined consumer perceptions of branded beef products. Research was conducted to determine what motivates consumers to purchase branded beef products. In addition, this study focused on consumer perceptions of quality, risk, added value, credibility and loyalty toward both branded beef products in general and branded beef products when compared to non-branded beef products.

A self-developed question guide was used as a guide for the focus group and the in-depth interviews. This study entailed one focus group with nine participants and nine one-on-one in-depth interviews.

The majority of participants in this study held a positive impression of branded beef …

Bmp Adoption In Two East Tennessee Watersheds, Michael Barrowclough

Masters Theses

Voluntary adoption of Best Management Practices (BMPs) has been the foundation among many environmental conservation programs geared towards non-point source pollution. While farmers view BMPs as being both appropriate and problematic, there remain many constraints to BMP adoption on the farm. The objective of this research was to determine the criteria beef and dairy producers used in their decision making process on whether or not to adopt a given BMP or set of BMPs in the Pond Creek and Oostanaula Creek watersheds located in East Tennessee. Results are presented of exploratory sociological research designed to better understand how farmers select …

Third Thursday 11-2006, Institute Of Agriculture

Third Thursday

No abstract provided.

Third Thursday 10-2006, Institute Of Agriculture

Third Thursday

No abstract provided.

Third Thursday 9-2006, Institute Of Agriculture

Third Thursday

No abstract provided.

Third Thursday 8-2006, Institute Of Agriculture

Third Thursday

No abstract provided.

Tennessee's Kenaf Market Potential As A Feedstock In The Production Of Paper, Gerry Solano Avila

Masters Theses

The goal of this study was to assess the production feasibility and market potential of using kenaf as a feedstock for paper production in Tennessee. This thesis 1) evaluates the potential for growing this crop in Tennessee by comparing the cost and return and the break-even price for kenaf with soybean, corn, cotton and wheat, 2) identifies potential suitable production areas in the state of Tennessee, 3) analyzes the marketing opportunities that could have developed for kenaf at a price that growers would be willing to produce it, 4) identifies potential kenaf marketing structure and marketing channels, and 5) identifies …

The Viability Of The Economy Of Oromia: A Point Of Departure, Harwood David Schaffer

Masters Theses

The Oromo, an oppressed, colonized, ethno-national group within Ethiopia, are engaged in a struggle to achieve full political and economic participation within a national entity. Given an undernourishment rate approaching 50 percent and an agriculture which provides a means of livelihood for 80 percent of the labor force, any future leadership will have to address the interrelated issues of agriculture and economy. An examination of production numbers indicates that an independent Oromia would not be at an agricultural disadvantage when compared with remaining as a participating entity within the present boundaries of Ethiopia.

Policies directed toward overcoming undernutrition cannot be …

An Examination Of Relationships Between Direct Government Payments In Agriculture And Farm Vulnerability In Iowa And Tennessee, Brad Christopher Robbins

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine farms’ dependence on federal United States agricultural subsidies in Iowa and Tennessee. As subsidies and their distribution are continually debated, this research considers the effects on farm enterprises if subsidies had not been distributed in 1996, 2000, and 2003. This is achieved by first developing a classification system for farm enterprises in the two states. The classification system that is used segregates farms into modal groups based on land ownership arrangement and solvency class. Quartiles are used to differentiate land ownership arrangement (i.e. the percentage of operated land owned.) Four solvency classes …

Measuring Effects Of Housing Densities On Property Values Using Locally Weighted Regression, Alexander Webber Young

Masters Theses

The objective of this study is to determine spatial differences in the marginal values of housing density and their implications for housing development projects. In order to achieve this objective, the values households place on neighborhood density were measured using locally weighted regression in a hedonic housing-price framework. The neighborhood housing density coefficient in the global model confirms the positive and significant value of lower neighborhood density. The spatial distribution of the housing density marginal effects from the local model shows the variation of site-specific values of neighborhood housing density. The marginal effects of lower neighborhood density gradually increase closer …

Third Thursday 7-2006, Institute Of Agriculture

Third Thursday

No abstract provided.

Third Thursday 6-2006, Institute Of Agriculture

Third Thursday

No abstract provided.

Third Thursday 5-2006, Institute Of Agriculture

Third Thursday

No abstract provided.

Dietary Inequality Among The Elderly In The United States: Decomposing Inequality In The Healthy Eating Index, Yuling Lin

Masters Theses

This study uses the concentration index methodology to investigate the inequality in nutritional intake among American elderly. The concentration index provides a summary measure of socioeconomic inequality of the variables in question. Its decomposition enables comparisons across individuals with different characteristics such as gender, age, households income levels, and government program participation. Data are drawn from the 1994-96 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals collected by the U.S Department of Agriculture. Analysis is carried out for the Health Eating Index and one of its components, namely intake of fruits. Results suggest that high education level, receiving the food stamps, …

Perceived Importance Of Precision Farming Technologies In Improving The Efficiency Of Phosphorus, Potassium, And Nitrogen In Southeastern Cotton Production, John Colby Torbett

Masters Theses

Understanding the factors that influence cotton farmers; perceptions about the importance of precision farming (PF) technologies in improving the efficiency of phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and nitrogen (N) fertilization is important because PF technologies have the potential to reduce costs, increase profit, and reduce negative environmental impacts. In the Southeastern United States, crops are generally produced in fields that have a high degree of variability in the availability of soil nutrients. The fertility level and amount removed by a crop at the end of the growing cycle are usually not uniform over an entire field. Because of high variability of …

Identifying And Analyzing Potential Watershed-Based Water Quality Trading Programs, David Carlos Roberts

Masters Theses

Over thirty years since the passage of the Clean Water Act, much of the nation’s rivers and streams fail to meet water quality standards. Pollution from nonpoint sources is increasingly responsible for these failures. Existing regulatory approaches may not be capable of meaningfully reducing water quality impairments due to their inability to control emissions from nonpoint sources. Water quality trading may provide a cost-effective solution to many of the persistent water quality impairments caused by nutrients and other oxygen demanding pollutants. However, trading will require the presences of market participants-both buyers and sellers of pollution reduction credits-in order to be …

The Agri-Tourism Industry And It's Needs For Assistance In Tennessee, Eugenia Dawson Boyd

Masters Theses

Agri-tourism provides means to enhance farm incomes, sustain farming operations, and add economic activity to rural areas. While agribusiness operations with agri-tourism activities have existed for many years, no formal accounting of these types of operations has been conducted prior to this project. The primary objective of this research was to develop an analysis of the Tennessee agri-tourism industry. The focus of this study was to develop an overview of a typical agri-tourism operation, evaluating marketing plans, operator experience, and assistance that might be required to ensure the continued success of these agri-tourism businesses. A secondary objective was to provide …

Regional Analysis Of Trade Flows And Marketing Practice Trends In The United States Nursery Industry, Bryan Frank Combs

Masters Theses

The rapidly growing nursery and greenhouse industry comprises an important part of the agricultural sector of the United States with sales growing at nearly 8.0 percent annually from 1966 to 2004. Aggregate information about the U.S nursery industry is readily available, however little information is available on trade flows and marketing practices of the industry.

The goal of this study was to identify structural adjustments in the nursery industry as indicated by regional trade-flow trends, production practices, and marketing practices in the nursery and greenhouse industry from 1988 to 2003. This was accomplished through a comparison of responses to two …

Third Thursday 4-2006, Institute Of Agriculture

Third Thursday

No abstract provided.

Third Thursday 3-2006, Institute Of Agriculture

Third Thursday

No abstract provided.

Third Thursday 2-2006, Institute Of Agriculture

Third Thursday

No abstract provided.

Volume 4, Number 1 (2006), Ut Institute Of Agriculture

Tennessee Land, Life and Science Magazine

Issue Highlights:

• A focus on agriculture and natural resources programs at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Volume 4, Number 2 (2006), Ut Institute Of Agriculture

Tennessee Land, Life and Science Magazine

Issue Highlights:

• From Grow to Go for a New Bioeconomy

Third Thursday 1-2006, Institute Of Agriculture

Third Thursday

No abstract provided.