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Too Good To Eat? Cosmetic Standards And Waste In Agricultural Supply Chain, Jiahui Xu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

There is a significant amount of food wasted at the farm level due to high cosmetic standards adopted by retailers. We examine the economic incentives for retailers to adopt such high cosmetic standards and their impact on food loss. We build a sequential game between a retailer and a farmer, where the retailer signs a contract with the farmer specifying both the wholesale price and cosmetic quality standard. By adopting high cosmetic standards, retailers can motivate farmers to exert a higher effort to improve the cosmetic quality, e.g., using better seeds and applying more pesticides. As for the drivers of …

Organic Dairy Profitability In Vermont: Measuring The Impacts Of Management And Market Forces On Farm Financial Performance, Jonathan Patrick Walsh

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The total number of operating dairy farms in the US has decreased by 74.1% over the past 25 years, dropping from 155,339 in 1992 to just 40,219 in 2017. As milk prices have fallen and become more volatile, profit margins have tightened, causing farmers to leave the business due to low profitability. Some Vermont farmers are currently looking for new economic strategies. One approach has been to transition from conventional to organic production in order to take advantage of better prices and new market opportunities. In order to make production decisions, farmers need accurate financial information on the costs and …

Assessment Of Granulovirus, Spinosad, And Mating Disruption For Controlling Cydia Pomonella L. [Lepidoptera: Tortricidae] In Organic Coastal California Apple Orchards, Raven Lukehart

Master's Theses

Codling moth, Cydia pomonella[Lepidoptera: Tortricidae], is a major entomological pest of apples, pears, and walnuts cross the world (Pajac et al. 2016). Female codling moths lay eggs on the apple exocarp and larvae burrow within the fruit causing economic losses to fruit growers.Organic apple orchards in San Luis Obispo, CA currently have three codling moth, Cydia pomonella,control options commercially available including granulovirus (CpVG), spinosad, and mating disruption. In field tests on apple (Malus), we compare percent fruit injury between treatments of granulovirus (2.43 oz/ha Cyd-X® organically approved, Certis USA, Columbia MD), spinosad (4.05 oz/ha Entrust® Naturalyte® …

A County Level Analysis Of 2014 Farm Bill Commodity Payments, Seth Cole Boone

Open Access Theses

United States commodity policy was subject to a large transition in how the federal government supports agricultural producers when the 2014 Farm Bill was passed in February of 2014. The new programs are the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. Methods used by the federal government to distribute farm income support have evolved from constant decoupled payments into programs that respond to agricultural market fluctuations, delivering payments that are inversely related to market performance.

The United States has a long history of government programs directly and indirectly supporting farmers and their income, dating back to …

Insomniac Of The Soil: A Collection Of Poetry And Essays, Sarah E. Golibart

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

“Insomniac of the Soil” is a homage to a landscape that has deeply informed Sarah Golibart's life and her artistic voice – the tidewater flatlands of Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay peninsula where her family lives and where Golibart has worked on farms since high school. Both her poems and essays are earthy, imagistic, and grounded – quite literally – in the soil as well as in a sensibility of ecological ethics and sustainability. “Insomniac of the Soil” is also a love song to the fervent and fallow cycles of the soil.

Farming: It's Not Just For Farmers Anymore, Jennifer Schmidt

Pomona Senior Theses

Agricultural education, originally the province of land grant institutions, has recently entered the liberal arts curriculum. This represents a profound shift from the origins of agricultural education, when it was intended primarily as vocational training for future farmers, and has important implications for the future of the American food system. The first chapter of this thesis addresses the history of agricultural education: what was it originally like, and why did it come to be heavily criticized in the late twentieth century? Formal agricultural education changed significantly in response to these criticisms, making it more environmentally sustainable and bringing it into …

A Guide To The Pomona College Organic Farm: An Introduction To The Farm’S History And Basic Gardening Skills And Techniques, Adam J. Long

Pomona Senior Theses

It was almost four years ago when I first visited the Pomona College Organic Farm and since then I have learned everything from the basics of gardening to the complex steps required to organize students for events and activities. As I learned more and saw so many students come and go, I saw a need for written documentation that would allow future generations of students to benefit from the skills that my peers and I have learned in our time at the Farm. The value of the Farm is grounded in having a vibrant physical space, and right now the …

A Linear Programming Analysis Of Several Determinants Of Profit On A Simulated Northern Utah Dairy Farm, Jay Dee Atwood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the study was to analyze several determinants of profit on a simulated northern Utah dairy farm. A linear programming model was developed to accomplish this. Optimal conditions on the farm were estimated and then other model applications were made to evaluate the importance of milk price, cropland ownership, and corn silage production and feeding. The significance of cow quality also was estimated.

Optimal conditions on the farm gave rates of return to capital between savings rates and loan rates obtainable at a financial institution. Marginal values derived for land did not support the current asking price of …

An Analysis Of Farm Land Use Changes Related To Inheritance Taxes, Estate Planning, And Sale For Retirement In Selected Utah Counties During 1971-1975, Randall Nolan Parker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Because of increasing rural land values, potential estate problems have been created for farm owners. This study was conducted to analyze land use changes when the farm owner dies. Land use changes and factors related to use change for estates subjected to probate court during 1971-1975, in the selected Utah counties, are described in this thesis.

County records were searched for information pertaining to farm estates probaged in six Utah counties. Individuals handling the affairs of the estates were contacted by mail. Questionnaires returned were used in the analysis and are the basis for the conclusions of this study.

General …

An Evaluation Of The Farm Machinery Market In Utah, Paul J. Stuart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the farm machinery distribution system in Utah using market structure analysis. Questionnaires to farm machinery firms as well as to farmers were used to gather data on market structure and conduct. The traditional market structure theory was used as an analytical framework. Examining the efficiency of factor markets revealed possible avenues for savings to farmers.

Transfer Of Farm Real Estate In Utah, 1961-1964, Howard Rasmus Thomas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Recorded "arms length" transfers of farm real estate were analyzed to determine factors affecting market value and assessment per acre, and assessment to market value ratios.

The data were aggregated by county and geographical groups. The geographical groups were made up of counties with similar population densities and similar climatic conditions.

Using multiple regression analysis and tabular analysis, size of parcel, quality of land, and distance to Salt Lake City were found to affect market value per acre; size of parcel and quality of land were found to affect assessment and assessment to market value ratios.

Economics Of Farm Flock Sheep Production In Northern Utah, Bruce E. Nielson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Throughout the history of mankind, sheep have played a very important and unique part in the economies of the world. They have been a source of meat, milk, skins and fiber. They have become adapted to nearly every kind of husbandry, from nomadic types to intensively managed flocks on small farms and have thrived under nearly all climatic conditions, ranging from sub-artic regions of Greenland to hot areas of the Mediterranean countries; from desert areas of Africa to wet lowland of England.