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Examining Gendered Aspects Of Land Tenure Security And Smallholder Food Security During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Uganda, Michelle B. Saunders

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Smallholder agriculture is an integral part of the global food system – indeed, over 80% of the world’s farms operate on less than two hectares of land. In Uganda, these smallholder farmers grow the majority (~85%) of food produced, and thus are critical to domestic food security. However, due to external threats such as economic hardship and climate change, smallholders are also vulnerable to food insecurity themselves. As we work towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger, it is crucial that we pay particular attention to this vital population. This thesis explores two key explanatory factors that …

Groundwater Governance And Agricultural Sustainability: Examining Farmer Interactions With California’S Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, Zachary Matthew Goldstein

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Climate change has exacerbated groundwater depletion globally, and policymakers have struggled to effectively manage groundwater resources. California enacted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014 to restore groundwater to sustainable levels.

The first paper of this thesis examines the drivers associated with uptake of groundwater conservation practices in agriculture. While a rich body of research has explored farmers’ conservation practice adoption, understanding of groundwater conservation practices is more limited. This study explores how information sources influence the actual and intended adoption of groundwater management practices in California. Using survey data from farmers (n = 553) in three largely agricultural …

Towards A Food-Secure Future In An Era Of Uncertainty: Cultivating Resilience In Vulnerable Smallholder Food Systems, Maya Moore

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Smallholder food systems in sub-Saharan Africa and other tropical regions are at the crux of the “triple threat” of the Anthropocene: climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity. At the same time, they are considered pivotal to the global food system transformation needed to address these challenges. However, while there have been many proposed pathways to achieve desired outcomes, smallholders are often constrained in their ability to adapt and transform. Therefore, in this three-article dissertation, I use mixed methods to study traditional food security coping strategies and apply socio-psychological behavioral intention theories to understand the cognitive factors behind farmers’ decisions …

Building Relationships And Resilience: Local Food Systems In Vermont And New England During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Beyond, Claire Whitehouse

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This thesis brings together two studies of local food systems in Vermont and New England. The first study focuses on the experience of Vermont local food businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic by combining two surveys conducted in the first half of 2021: one of foodservice operations that procure food locally and one of Vermont farms that sell directly to consumers. We analyzed descriptive statistics, open responses, and conducted Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests to assess which factors were related with business’ financial status before and since the pandemic. Pre-pandemic financial status was related with business type, whether the business went on …

Seeding Coexistence: Understanding The Potential For Seed System Pluralism Through A Mixed-Methods Research Study Of Vermont Growers, Carina Isbell

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Visions for the future of the global agri-food system are often polarizing. Facing such issues as climate change, social and political unrest, and decreasing biodiversity, communities are increasingly facing critical decisions relating to how food systems can transform to better meet the needs of society and the environment. Seeds – an often-overlooked input that, throughout history, have encapsulated agri-food system paradigms as well as hope for how they might be changed – sit at the nexus of many of these decisions. In the last half-century, increasing privatization and industrialization across the agricultural sector have profoundly transformed seed systems globally. In …

“No Fences In Beekeeping”: Social And Spatial Relationships In Beekeeping In Vermont, Annalisa C. Fiore Ms.

UVM College of Arts and Sciences College Honors Theses

Throughout the US, beekeeping is growing in popularity. With this growing popularity has come a greater awareness of challenges to honeybee health. However, a geographical analysis of the relationships between beekeepers and landowners, which are essential for a robust food system, is missing. Further, there is little discussion about how bees have historically been viewed as both wild and domestic creatures. Over the course of interviews with eight beekeepers and landowners, I created simplified property maps that highlight the relationships between bees, beekeepers, and landowners. My findings suggest that, because bees challenge the wild-domestic binary, bees, beekeepers, and landowners create …

Shaping Soil: Examining Relationships Between Agriculture And Climate Change, Lindsay Barbieri

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

As the ripple-effects of a changing climate shape our planet, understanding relationships between agriculture and climate change is critical. With agricultural practices shaping soils on over a third of the earth’s land surface, the soils and lands where food is produced are integral grounds for examining these relationships. While not all humans practice agriculture in similar or damaging ways, nevertheless, dominant agricultural practices are displacing beings and ecosystems and perturbing global nutrient cycles across the planet. These entwined imbalances of dominance and nutrients result in flows of excess nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon that are responsible for nearly three-fourths of the …

Follow Your Food: An Investigation Of Podcasting To Communicate The Complexity Of Food Choice And How It Impacts Us, Our Communities And The Earth, Melissa K. Pasanen

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

This professional project explores the popular and relatively new media communications vehicle of podcasting to engage and inform the general public about the complexity of the food system. It has involved background research on the dynamics of podcasting from production to marketing and distribution, including surveys of academic literature and existing podcasts in the subject area, as well as informational interviews with several podcast producers. It has also included development and sample production of a potential podcast series, starting with a weeklong podcast training and concluding with a fully produced pilot episode, plus additional scripts using material from 11 audio …

Evaluating Lupin's Agricultural Potential As A Cover Crop In Vermont, Sean M. Pease

UVM College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Thesis Collection

Vermont's intense seasonality and short, highly variable growing season can make it difficult for farmers to implement cover crops in crop rotations. Cover cropping is an important practice for improving soil quality, increasing the soil’s capacity to hold nutrients, and reducing run-off of fertilizers into rivers, streams, and lakes. Legumes with their nitrogen-fixing capacity and taproot structure are important as farmers look to reduce synthetic fertilizer inputs, soil compaction and increased environmental and fertilizer costs. The narrow leaf blue lupin (Lupinius augustifolius), evaluated in this field trial, is an annual variety grown extensively for green manure and cover cropping practices. …

Room To Grow: Agritourism Opportunities In Vermont Agriculture And Food System Plan: 2020 (Part One), Carolyn Hricko, Katie Robertson, Nick Rose, Meredith T. Niles

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

This analysis demonstrates that there is signficant unrealized potential to advance agritourism within the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Plan: 2020 (Part One)1 strategic plan and that applying an agritourism lens allows for the identification of a wide range of additional opportunities that can support Vermont farmers and agritourism goals. While agritourism is recognized in the report with a dedicated issue brief, this subsector of Vermont agriculture is otherwise largely overlooked in the other opportunities identified in Vermont’s strategic plan, particularly for the agritourism activities of hospitality, recreation, and entertainment. While direct-to-consumer sales, agricultural education, and farm diversification were referenced …

Vermont Agriculture And Food System Plan 2020 -- A Review Of Recommendations (Part One), Susanna Baxley, Ann Chiarenzelli, Lucy Drummond, Tung-Lin Liu, Meredith T. Niles

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

Key Findings in reviewing the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Plan:

1. All recommendations in this review have been coded into eight thematic categories to be used more effectively by stakeholders.

2. We identify four clusters of recommendations to assist stakeholders in understanding the relationships between categories and enabling understanding of the various stakeholders and resources necessary to implement recommendations from different briefs

3. 87% of recommendations either request direct funding for an initiative or recommend a capital expenditure. With financial challenges amidst COVID-19, we highlight eight recommendations for a Vermont Food System that could move forward without financial resources. …

The Cows Don’T Milk Themselves: Using Worker-Driven Social Responsibility To Fight Labor And Housing Injustice On Vermont’S Dairy Farms, Marisa Grace Loury

UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses

Despite the importance of dairy to Vermont’s state economy, the migrant farmworkers who have come to fill shortages in domestic labor suffer exploitation at the bottom of the supply chain. This is a result of price pressures imposed by large corporations on the farm owners, which cause them to abandon workers’ rights because of the financial incentive. The structural inequalities within this system force many farmworkers to work under inadequate health and safety conditions for sixty to eighty hours per week without a day off, only to return to undignified housing provided by the farmers. Workers are also taken advantage …

Local Farmer Knowledge Of Adaptive Management On Diversified Vegetable And Berry Farms In The Northeastern Us, Alissa White

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Agricultural adaptation to climate change is notoriously context specific. Recently updated projections for the Northeastern US forecast increasingly severe and erratic precipitation events which pose significant risks to every sector of agricultural production in the region. Vegetable and berry farmers are among the most vulnerable to the risks of severe precipitation and drought due to the intensive soil and crop management strategies which characterize of this kind of production. To successfully adapt to a changing climate, these farmers need information which is tailored for the unique challenges of vegetable and berry production, framed at the level of climate impacts, and …

Nitrous Oxide Release From Agricultural Soils Under Different Management Practices During Freeze-Thaw Cycles, Julia M. Pupko

UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a greenhouse gas 298 times more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO₂), and is a source of ozone-depleting nitrogen oxides. Agricultural soils are estimated to account for over 75% of anthropogenic N₂O emissions and 23-31% of total global N₂O emissions (Charles et al., 2017). Soil release of N₂O is primarily from the biological processes of nitrification and denitrification, with large emission fluxes surrounding freeze-thaw cycles (FTCs). While increasing numbers of studies on agricultural- and FTC-induced N₂O emissions have been done over recent decades, there is …

Governing Water Quality Limits In Agricultural Watersheds, Courtney Ryder Hammond Wagner

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The diffuse runoff of agricultural nutrients, also called agricultural nonpoint source pollution (NPS), is a widespread threat to freshwater resources. Despite decades of research into the processes of eutrophication and agricultural nutrient management, social, economic, and political barriers have slowed progress towards improving water quality. A critical challenge to managing agricultural NPS pollution is motivating landowners to act against their individual farm production incentives in response to distant ecological impacts. The complexity of governing the social-ecological system requires improved understanding of how policy shapes farmer behavior to improve the state of water quality. This dissertation contributes both theoretically and empirically …

Repelling Contarinia Nasturtii (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), A Brassica Specialist, Using Non-Host Essential Oils, Chase Stratton

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Swede midge, Contarinia nasturtii Kieffer (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is an invasive pest causing marketable losses on Brassica crops in the Northeastern United States and throughout southern Canada. Heading brassicas, like cauliflower and broccoli, are particularly susceptible because larvae feed concealed inside meristematic tissues of the plant, where head formation occurs. Our work details the development of a sustainable, affordable pest management tactic for swede midge – plant derived repellents.

First, it was necessary to establish both a damage and marketability threshold for swede midge, so we developed a technique to manipulate larval density of swede midge on cauliflower, We asked: (1) …

Agency And Empowerment On Women-Owned Farms: A Vermont Agricultural Case Study, Caroline R. Putscher

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

When examining data from the most recent US Census of Agriculture (2012), I noticed a distinct imbalance between the percentages of male and female farmers, both in the country and in Vermont. Sales from women-owned farms represent only 3.3 percent of the total of U.S. agricultural sales, and in Vermont, women were the principal operators of 22.38 percent of farms. I wanted to examine the factors that led to these imbalances, and also understand from women farmers themselves what strategies they used to overcome these obstacles. The theories of agency and empowerment can be used in explaining women’s inequality in …

No Farm Is An Island: Pollinators And Pollination In Agricultural Landscapes, Charles C. Nicholson

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Productive, resilient and sustainable agricultural systems are required to meet the immediate needs of a burgeoning human population, while avoiding ecosystem collapse. Agriculture provides food, fiber, fuels and other products for our current population of 7 billion and is still the major livelihood for 40% of people worldwide. By replacing natural habitat and employing chemical inputs, agriculture also negatively impacts biodiversity and impairs the provision of ecosystem services. This poses a challenge for agriculture as these impacted services are often those required for high yielding and high-quality crop production. Evidence is accumulating that agricultural management can safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem …

Governing Environmental And Economic Flows In Regional Food Systems, Michael Bishop Wironen

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Globalization, specialization, and intensification have transformed the global food system, generating material flows and impacts that span multiple scales and levels, presenting novel governance challenges. Many argue for a transition toward a sustainable food system, although the scope and specific goals are fiercely contested. Theory and method is needed to evaluate competing normative claims and build legitimacy.

In this dissertation Vermont serves as a case study to investigate how environmental and economic flows impact regional governance, focusing on efforts to manage agricultural phosphorus to achieve water quality goals. A material flow account is developed to estimate phosphorus flows embedded in …

Bioretention In A Mixed-Use Agricultural Landscape: Lessons Learned From The Application Of Low-Phosphorus Compost And Panicum Virgatum, Jason M. Kokkinos

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Bioretention cells are a stormwater treatment technology that uses soil and vegetation to remove pollutants from runoff and improve downstream water quality. While bioretention has been shown to be effective at removing certain stormwater pollutants such as sediment and heavy metals, removal of nutrients has been more variable. Design components of bioretention such as vegetation and soil media amendments can influence pollutant removal performance. In my experiment, I isolate the effects of low-phosphorus compost and a Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) monoculture on bioretention performance. In fall 2016, three bioretention cells were installed at the University of Vermont Miller Research Complex, a …

Agricultural Impacts On Rural Food Access In Vermont: A Situational Analysis And Ideas For The Future, Meghan E. Brooks

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

This project examines how the state of Vermont is working toward increasing rural food access through agricultural practices. Four Vermont organizations or farms were interviewed to better understand the successes and challenges associated with increasing rural food access. Next, a situational analysis was conducted to determine the feasibility of a community farm that assists low-income and low-access Vermont residents to obtain healthy, local food.

Quantifying Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Soil Carbon Storage To Determine Best Management Practices In Agroecosystems, Tyler Goeschel

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Intensive agriculture, coupled with an increase in nitrogen fertilizer use, has contributed significantly to the elevation of atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Rising GHG emissions usually mean a decrease in soil carbon. Currently, soil C is twice that of all standing crop biomass, making it an extremely important player in the C cycle. Fortunately, agricultural management practices have the potential to reduce agricultural GHG emissions whilst increasing soil C. Management practices that impact GHG emissions and soil C include various tillage practices, different N fertilization amounts and treatments (synthetic N, cattle …

“Envisioning A Just Food System” A Students Teaching Students Course, Claire Snowden Wiggin, Leila Elliot Rezvani, Olivia Jane Burt

Environmental Studies Electronic Thesis Collection

The alternative food movement (AFM) in the United States is a collection of organizations, communities, and individuals who are united under a common goal to search for and ultimately carry out alternative solutions to the current industrial, pesticide-laden, monocrop agriculture model. As this movement has evolved and become more nuanced, questions surrounding exclusivity related to race, class, socioeconomic status, gender, and identity have begun to surface. Tied to the neoliberalist regime, the AFM as it stands today benefits the dominant group, white middle-to-upper class citizens who are educated, and vastly excludes underserved populations. Through the analysis of a 13-student, Students-Teaching-Students …

Hard Work, Cows And Community: Why Young People In Bethel, Vermont Are Choosing To Stay On Dairy Farms, Mikayla Sandra Peront

UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses

The number of dairy farms in Vermont has been declining for years due to a combination of factors including unstable milk prices, the rising cost of living, production pressure from commercial farms and increased opportunities for alternative ways of life. Yet despite these challenges, there are still members of the younger generation who are choosing to enter the dairy farming industry. This study investigates the factors that are keeping the younger generation on the farm, using the rural community of Bethel, Vermont as a case study. Following the national trend, Bethel has been losing its dairy farms yet it has …

Making The Healthy Choice: Exploring Health Communication In The Food System, Emily Portman

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Cooperative Extension System are organizations that serve the public and agricultural communities, respectively. Within these broad organizations are two groups of food systems professionals, registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) and Extension agents, who are utilizing communication as a critical point of access for health-related issues. Both groups of professionals negotiate organizational structure in order to construct their own health knowledge and, subsequently, communicate accurate information to their constituents. Understanding the ways that these professionals navigate their roles as health communicators are important for contributing to public discourse about how health knowledge is created …

Supporting A Growing Agricultural Economy By Understanding Child Care In Farm Families, Emily Stengel

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This thesis argues for the consideration of child care accessibility and costs as one factor in the success and wellbeing of farmers in the United States. There is a long tradition in rural studies of recognizing that farms are not just economic enterprises but are family-based social enterprises as well, with household level issues and family roles that are both acknowledged and contested. However, child care is missing from virtually all scholarly and public discussions of agricultural workforce development - even more so than other social services and family supports. Additionally, the agricultural sector, considered as a portion of U.S. …

The Greenleaf Farm Resiliency Project: An Ecological Landscape Design, Holly Lee Greenleaf

Environmental Studies Electronic Thesis Collection

An ecological landscape design that increases the resiliency of Greenleaf Farm in the face of a changing climate is the basis for this project thesis. It is a comprehensive long-term master plan that integrates various agricultural and land management techniques in an attempt to increase resiliency, i.e. ecological and human/cultural resiliency. Patterns in the landscape inform design decisions and serve as models for agricultural systems. The landscape’s tendency to be forested and the goal for production of diverse resources inform the method to integrate ecological goals of the land with greater resilience. Applying the concepts of complexity and diversity to …

The Greenleaf Farm Resiliency Project: An Ecological Landscape Design, Holly Lee Greenleaf

UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses

An ecological landscape design that increases the resiliency of Greenleaf Farm in the face of a changing climate is the basis for this project thesis. It is a comprehensive long-term master plan that integrates various agricultural and land management techniques in an attempt to increase resiliency, i.e. ecological and human/cultural resiliency. Patterns in the landscape inform design decisions and serve as models for agricultural systems. The landscape’s tendency to be forested and the goal for production of diverse resources inform the method to integrate ecological goals of the land with greater resilience. Applying the concepts of complexity and diversity to …

"Things Need To Change Around Here." The Diversification Of A Small Farm In Northwest New Jersey, Caitlan Stephens

Environmental Studies Electronic Thesis Collection

In the face of rampant food illiteracy and the steady decline of small farms in America, many organizations, schools, and farmers are working to develop creative solutions to these problems. From Farm-to-School partnerships to civic agriculture, farmers are getting involved in their local communities. Through this involvement farmers are providing educational and social benefits to those who visit their farms, with the added benefit of diversifying their livelihood. This case study documents and evaluates the measures taken by Stephens Farm, a small Certified Organic family farm, to strengthen its livelihood. The initial goal of this project was to establish and …

Eating Practices And Attitudes Among American Buddhists: An Aspect Of Buddhism And Ecology, Taylor Ralph

Environmental Studies Electronic Thesis Collection

The purpose of this thesis is to illuminate the ways that Buddhism and ecology intersect, specifically as it pertains to food beliefs and attitudes. I examined contemporary American Buddhists, their perceptions of the natural world, and the ways in which their dietary prescriptions may reflect those perceptions. Examining the historical and contemporarily relevant perspectives on food is vital in understanding Buddhism and Ecology, a field becoming more explored in the search for measures to solve the environmental crisis. This thesis functions to explore the ways that American Buddhist practitioners view the environment and as a result, their food practices and …