Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Farmers' Willingness To Accept Payment For Agricultural Conservation In Utah, Asif Ahmed Khan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In view of Utah’s drought situation and the need for conservation of water use, this thesis tries to calculate the compensation required for farmers to switch from cultivating alfalfa-which requires a lot of water, to less water-consuming crops like wheat, hay and even pasture. It proposes a new technique for this calculation using big data, including satellite images from National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), agricultural statistics from National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), climate data from Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) climate group and land use data from the state of Utah. These data are integrated into a …

Understanding The Barriers To Carbon Farming On Private Lands, Harrison Naftel

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Climate change caused by manmade greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most important challenges facing society today. Through effective management for carbon sequestration private agricultural lands could become an important part of the solution to this problem. This paper explores the many different methods that farmers, ranchers, and landowners could use to implement sequestration on their land and examines the barriers to further participation in these projects by reviewing the challenges in the world’s current carbon offset markets and offering possible solutions.

Essays On The Economics Of Regional Development And Public Policy, Wai Yan Siu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

My dissertation integrating theory and practice into fostering sustainable, ecofriendly, and equitable public policy that promote the well-being of generations to come. My main research questions are: how can we transform the complex socioeconomic systems to build future resilience? In the first chapter, I identify and quantify the effect of the presence of tight oil and gas extraction on the agricultural productivity. This study informs evidence-based policymaking on pressing environmental issues. In the next chapter, I studied the effectiveness of existing policy of urban growth control from an evolutionary landscape and found that the decades-old regulation does not fulfill its …

The Value Of Farmland: Mapping Assessor Data To Understand Land Use Change, Lyndi Perry

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ideas developed by regional economists have potential applications within the urban planning field. One potential application is toward conserving farmland, and within this thesis this topic is examined for the study area of Utah County, Utah. Using assessor data, a land value map is created and further used to develop a regional economic model and spatial models that were analyzed for patterns of land use change.

Findings show that representing land value as continuous surface maps is a useful approach. The maps reveal that Utah County has densified as its population increased while farmland loss still occurred in agriculturally-important areas. …

The Power Law Distribution Of Agricultural Land Size, Lauren Chamberlain

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper demonstrates that the distribution of county level agricultural land size in the United States is best described by a power-law distribution, a distribution that displays extremely heavy tails. This indicates that the majority of farmland exists in the upper tail. Our analysis indicates that the top 5% of agricultural counties account for about 25% of agricultural land between 1997-2012. The power-law distribution of farm size has important implications for the design of more efficient regional and national agricultural policies as counties close to the mean account for little of the cumulative distribution of total agricultural land. This has …

China And The Northeast Region: Agricultural Machinery, Kelsey White

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Using Chinese government statistical data, relevant laws and policy regulations, and current market projections, this report aims to help new-to-market U.S. exporters understand the development of the agricultural machinery market in China and the Northeast region, identifying both challenges and opportunities.

With a vast land area and diverse topography, China is one of the world's top agricultural producers. Agriculture accounts for about 11% of China's GDP and more than 40% of China's employment. Over the past several years, China has been increasing its agricultural mechanization in an effort to move from traditional to modern farming. The central government has been …

A Proposal To Make Grain Storage Financially Feasible, David L. Garrett

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The United States has a National Oil Reserve but not a food reserve. Just as the oil reserve is designed to buffer unforeseen disruptions in the critical supply, the nation should also have a food reserve for the same purpose.

The United States and other developed nations have little or no food reserve beyond the typical demands between growing seasons. Marvelous production achievements in agriculture beginning in the early 1960s and known as the “Green Revolution” are now leveling off. Food production, suffering from such negative side effects as reduced water tables, is being outstripped by population growth (Bourne, 2009).

The Value Of Microcomputers In Agriculture, John P. Gibney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this paper was two-fold. To examine the hardware and software purchased, training taken, and benefit recieved by farmers recently purchasing micro computers and to demonstrate a systematic approach of evaluating software. Over five hundred farmers that use microcomputers were surveyed on farm size and type, personal and computer system characteristics, and perceived benefit from the computer. Farmers that use computers were found to be younger, have higher incomes and benefit more from their computer systems with time than averages for all farmers. The use of printers and/or modems appeared to be justified for all levels of income. …

Economic Impacts Of Water Conservation Measures In Agriculture And Energy Within The Upper Colorado River Basin, Douglas R. Franklin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The demand for water is increasing in the western United States. Coupled with growing emphasis on development of the western resources, the limited supply of water will create an expanding competitive market for water by agricultural, energy, industrial and municipal users.

The Upper Colorado River Basin is faced with a question of what water conservation measures in the agricultural and energy sectors can be instigated without reducing agricultural output. If the decision is made to adopt water conservation technology measures, this study addresses the impacts in the private and public investment sectors under alternative public policies, i.e., regulation or non-regulation …

The Impact Of The Prototype Oil Shale Development On Agricultural And Municipal Water Supplies In The Uintah Basin, Roger Orson Tew

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this paper the institutional factors affecting water distribution in the Upper Colorado River Basin in general and the Uintah Basin are presented. The historical development of the appropriation doctrine of water allocation is outlined and Utah water policy is examined. These institutional factors are analyzed in light of the prototype oil shale development in the Uintah Basin and potential impact on the area's agricultural sector. Oil shale water estimates are compared with Uintah Basin water availability and examined with regard to population projections and municipal water use. Lastly, Utah water policy and the appropriation doctrine are viewed as restraints …

Changes In Agricultural Production And Cash Farm Income In Cache County, Utah, 1909-1949, Lavon S. Fife

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the period 1909-1949 many changes took place in agricultural production and cash farm income in Cache County, Utah. Important factors which caused changes in agricultural production and cash farm income during this period were technological developments in farm power and machinery, plant and animal breeding, changes in consumer demands price changes, and climatic conditions. The influence of these factors on both production and income varied with the enterprise, the commodity, and the year studied.