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Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad: How Slaughterhouse Safety Hasn’T Kept Up With The Times, Emily Ziemski

Capstones

From legal loopholes and outdated rules to undetectable infections and understaffing, the United States Department of Agriculture may not be doing all it can to make sure the American public’s health isn't at risk. As the people of the United States consume over 500 million pounds of beef a year, food safety policy and slaughterhouses are falling behind in proper procedural measurements in the beef industry.

emziemski.com/capstone

Evaluation Of Genetic Diversity And Stability Of Colocasia Cultivars Using Issr, Seukmin Hong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using 44 ornamental Colocasia cultivars planted at Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, TX), cultivar assessment, genetic diversity, stability, and relationship were examined with banding patterns produced from Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. Comparing banding patterns of vegetatively propagated clones of each cultivar, genetic stability was examined. Unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and principal coordinate analysis (PCO) were performed to examine genetic relationship that can explain a need for the new classification Colocasia gigantea and recent movement of re-classifying Colocasia antiquorum. Average Shannon’s diversity index for all loci was found to quantify genetic diversity. The genetic …

Roles Of Peroxisomes And Peroxisome-Derived Products In Controlling Plant Growth And Stress Responses, Elizabeth May Frick

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The peroxisome is a vital organelle conserved through the entire eukaryotic lineage. In all examined species, peroxisomes are responsible for such essential processes as fatty acid beta-oxidation and metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In plants, peroxisomes have taken on additional specialized roles, such as production of some plant hormones and vitamins. In this work, I have uncovered novel factors regulating peroxisome number in model species Arabidopsis thaliana, and novel mechanisms governing how peroxisomes respond to salt stress. I discovered a role for Arabidopsis MAP KINASE17 (MPK17) as a negative regulator of peroxisome division that acts in the salt-stress response …

Analysis Of Argonaute-Small Rna-Transcription Factor Circuits Controlling Leaf Development, John Steen Hoyer

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Experimental studies of plant development have yielded many insights into gene regulation, revealing interactions between core transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory pathways present in all land plants. This work describes a direct connection between the three main small RNA-transcription factor circuits controlling leaf shape dynamics in the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We used a high-throughput yeast 1-hybrid platform to identify factors directly binding the promoter of the highly specialized ARGONAUTE7 silencing factor. Two groups of developmentally significant microRNA-targeted transcription factors were the clearest hits from these screens, but transgenic complementation analysis indicated that their binding sites make only a small contribution …

Vineyard Age Effect On Juice Chemistry, Anthocyanins, And Total Phenolics, Eric L. Camera

Wine and Viticulture

Grapevines (cv Zinfandel) planted in the same vineyard 100 years apart were analyzed for juice chemistry and phenolic content of the fruit. The vineyard was dry farmed, and vines from the original 1890 vineyard were compared to vines inter-planted in 1990. As “old vine” wines can command higher prices in the market due to a perceived difference in fruit characteristics. This study attempted to observe if there was a measurable difference in fruit characteristics, or if it is simply an effective marketing strategy. There has been little research conducted in the wine industry attempting to observe a difference of old …

The Economic Benefits Of The South African Agricultural Research Council’S Wheat Breeding Program: 1992–2015, Matthew James Coale

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although classified as an upper middle-income country by the World Bank, food insecurity is still a concern throughout South Africa, as was evident in 2014–2015 when a drought left 22% of households food insecure. As such, agricultural research in South Africa is needed specifically in plant breeding to increase yields and help mitigate future food insecurity. To fill this need, the South African government funds the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), which conducts holistic research on wheat and other crops. Wheat is important to South African food security; due to the significant drop in wheat area planted since the abolishment of …

Profitability Analysis Of Varying Herd Sizes Based On Price Signals In Cow-Calf Operations, Colson Tester

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

The third most consumed meat around the world is beef. Despite global growth in demand, cattle markets experience price cycles related to biological production lags causing variability in cash flow and profitability for producers. Price-driven herd size management strategies thus have received attention. This study adds to that literature by analyzing both price and production risk using three herd size management strategies: i) steady state – holding herd size constant; ii) dollar cost averaging – keeping reinvestment constant by varying the number of replacement heifers retained at a constant long run average dollar total; and iii) moving average – using …

Modelling The Impact Of National Development Strategies For The East African Rice Sector, Florence Muthee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The 2008 food crisis prompted many food importing nations to reconsider the need to be self-sufficient especially in their staple food needs. This awakening led to the launch of the Coalition for Africa Rice Development (CARD) initiative with a goal to double rice production in Africa. Under the CARD umbrella member countries drafted individual National Rice Development Strategies (NRDS). This study is a quantitative assessment of four East African countries’ NRDS: Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda within dynamic global rice economy models. The NRDS targets and strategies are not realistic and included under estimation of rice consumption for Kenya, an …

Economic And Policy Evaluations And Impacts Of The National Rice Development Policy Strategies In Malaysia: Self-Sufficiency, International Trade, And Food Security, Roslina Binti Ali

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the fact that the recent rice policy has been moving to a strategy of self-sufficiency while the status quo of the national rice economy remains ambiguous, Malaysia has made an extreme policy decision to pursue an autarky economy in its rice sector, thus closing borders from the international markets in the future. The goal of this dissertation research is to comprehensively evaluate a deep-rooted rice policy in Malaysia and analyze the holistic impacts of the self-sufficiency and international trade policies at the national and farm-household levels, utilizing economic frameworks. The protectionist policy measures using a Policy Analysis Matrix reveals …

Evaluation Of Insecticide Seed Treatments To Protect Rice (Oryza Sativa) Against Various Herbicides, Steven Michael Martin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The increase in herbicide-resistant weeds in Arkansas crop fields has led to the need for new herbicide modes of action for use in all crops. This need has led to the introduction of technologies that can be devastating to conventional rice crops. Field observation, noted that insecticide seed treatments used in rice could potentially reduce the effects of off-target movement of herbicides onto rice crops and possibly reduce the negative effects of some herbicides applied directly to rice. Research was conducted to determine if insecticide seed treatments could reduce the harmful effects of drift from imazethapyr and glyphosate onto conventional …

Time Series Forecast Analysis In Wholesale Broiler Markets, Christopher R. Sims

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2016 the chicken industry provided nearly 1.2 million jobs, 68 billion dollars in wages, 313 billion dollars in economic activity and 24 billion dollars in government revenue (John Dunham & Associates, Inc., 2016). Broiler production has changed dramatically from the early 90’s to the turn of the 21st century. Technological advancements, continuous improvements, production efficiencies and industry changes have made the industry the global market it is today. The poultry industry is an extremely volatile market with prices constantly fluctuating in response to input price volatility and demand and supply changes. These changes are often driven by world economic …

Effect Of Land Use Change On South Texas Bats, Katharine Leigh Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Bats were acoustically recorded in South Texas over the summer of 2017. Nine species of bats were recorded and identified.

In The Field The Women Saved The Crop: The Women’S Land Army Of World War Ii, Denna M. Clymer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Women’s Land Army brought together rural and urban sectors of the United States in a climate of national and regional crisis. By the time the country was cast into war, the agricultural sector was already caught in a downward economic spiral that drove away laborers. With demand falling, and farms propped up only by experiments in subsidy and parity, when military and industrial jobs emerged in urban areas, farm laborers became scarce. At the same time the war created jobs for men outside of the agricultural sector, farm prices recovered and demand soared, forcing farmers to look to women …

Animal Welfare Frames: How Social Media Messages Bridge The Gap Between The Protein Industry And Consumers, Olivia Norton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The two articles in this thesis used content analysis to analyze and compare animal welfare related website and Twitter content of the top five animal protein producing companies in the United States. In the first article, the animal welfare website content of Cargill, Tyson Foods Inc., Smithfield, JBS® and Sysco were analyzed for persuasive frames, common topics, and key terminology to describe their corporate positions on animal welfare. Sysco’s main page devoted to animal welfare dominated the word count with 1,045 words, while JBS®’s main animal welfare page used only 265 words to communicate the company’s views. The most commonly …

Surveillance Of Ticks Parasitizing Tennessee Beef Cattle And Investigations Into The Microbial Communities Of Cattle Associated And Questing Amblyomma Maculatum, David Paul Theuret

Masters Theses

Despite the risks that ticks and tick-borne disease pose to the beef cattle industry, many Tennessee producers are unaware of the dangers they represent. This mindset could facilitate the invasion and establishment of exotic ticks and pathogens that would devastate the cattle industry. Current control practices rely on chemical methods, which are not effective long-term; therefore, investigations into creating an integrated approach to control would create more sustainable methods. This study aims to address this through two objectives: The first is to determine the species composition, seasonal prevalence, geographic distribution and diversity of ticks on Tennessee cattle. The second is …

Agriculture Teacher Couples: Opportunities And Challenges, Kaylan Hope Johnson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Aspergillus Flavus Soil And Corn Kernel Populations From Eight Mississippi River States, Jorge A. Reyes Pineda

LSU Master's Theses

Aspergillus flavus is a saprophytic ascomycete that can also actively invade the seed of crops and potentially contaminate them with harmful aflatoxins. Management of A. flavus currently relies mostly on biocontrol. However, there is still a lot to learn about its biology and ecology so the current approach can be improved. An A. flavus population survey was undertaken during the fall of 2014 across eight Mississippi River states to determine population diversity and geographic distribution of VCGs. Isolates from corn and soil were also characterized for VCG, sclerotial morphotype, mating type, cyclopiazonic acid, and aflatoxin production in order to determine …

Golfer Exposure To Pesticides, Jeffery Doherty

Doctoral Dissertations

There is concern among industry regulators, turfgrass managers, and the general public over human exposure to pesticides following their application to turfgrass. The residential aspect of turfgrass applications raises concerns about exposure to infants and children, as well as adults. To accurately determine the exposure of golfers to turfgrass pesticides, it is necessary to understand their transfer and absorption dynamics, as well as the routes of golfer exposure. Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to some turfgrass pesticides is at a level that would concern USEPA risk assessors using the USEPA Hazard Quotient (HQ) criteria (1). This current research used …

All Roads Lead To Weediness: Stories About Weedy Rice Origins, Weedy Genes And Weed Competitiveness, Zhongyun Huang

Doctoral Dissertations

Weedy rice (Oryza spp.), a weedy relative of cultivated rice (O.sativa), infests and persists in cultivated rice fields worldwide. Many weedy rice populations have evolved similar adaptive traits, considered part of the ‘agricultural weed syndrome’, making this an ideal model to study the genetic basis of parallel evolution. Using population genetics analyses of South Asian and US weedy rice, my research reveals multiple independent evolution events giving rise to weed groups in the two geographic areas. Weeds in South Asia have highly heterogenous genetic backgrounds, with contributions from both cultivated varieties (aus and indica) …

Agricultural Communications Lesson Plans For High School Agriculture Programs, Caitlin Anne Stanton

Agricultural Education and Communication

In today’s workforce, individuals are expected to be able to communicate effectively through all means of communication. This includes video, graphics, emails, social media, and in person. In the agriculture industry, these means of communication have become crucial to promoting agricultural literacy throughout the world. It is important for young people to have a grasp on professionally utilizing these communication methods so that they can use them in future careers as well as advocating for the agriculture industry. The role of technology and social media is rapidly increasing in everyday life and becoming a key learning tool in secondary education. …

Determination Of Primordial And Anthropogenic Radionuclide Concentrations In Agricultural Soil Of The United Arab Emirates Using Gamma-Ray Spectrometry, Rahaf Moutaz Billah Ajaj

Theses

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has initiated the first civilian nuclear power plant, and it will be operating four reactors between (2018-2020). The establishment of Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, which will employ the nuclear power to generate clean energy, is a significant step forward minimizing the UAE carbon footprint. Before the construction of any regulated nuclear facility, it is essential to investigate the environmental background radiation level in the country. Such an investigation is critical for providing the background data for the environmental impact assessment of the nuclear facility. The present study represents the first research effort in the (UAE) …

Impact Of Pre-Bloom Square Loss On Yield And Lint Quality In Louisiana Cotton Cropping Systems, Cory L. Cole

LSU Master's Theses

During the 2016 growing season, research was conducted at three locations in the state of Louisiana to evaluate the impact of pre-bloom square loss on cotton lint yield and fiber quality. Two cotton varieties, Phytogen 499 WRF and Phytogen 222 WRF were chosen up which to imitate early season square loss due to tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) and/or cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter) feeding or unfavorable weather conditions. Thirty plants within each plot were selected and squares were counted. Squares were assigned numbers, and numbers were then randomized using a computerized number generator. To simulate intervals …

Identifying Clusters Of Non-Farm Activity Within Exclusive Farm Use Zones In The Northern Willamette Valley, Nicholas Chun

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis provides an extensive look at where permitted non-farm uses and dwellings have clustered within Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) zones in the Northern Willamette Valley in Oregon. There is a looming concern that non-farm related uses and dwellings, or non-farm development, are conflicting with agricultural preservation strategies. Specifically, non-farm developments can potentially undermine the critical mass of farmland needed to keep the agricultural economy sustainable, but until now, studies have lacked spatially precise data to systematically track these phenomena. This thesis offers methodological contributions towards analyzing these operations and presents a broad account of what has been occurring in …

Rice Hull Bioreactor For Recirculating Aquaculture, Marlon A. Greensword

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The engineering of floating media biofilters has been optimized over the years. The backwashing process has made them more energy and water efficient. Likewise, moving bed bioreactors (MBBR) are gaining interest and popularity because they are relatively affordable to build. Yet, developing countries’ aquaculture production remains largely excluded from the advances made in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). This discrepancy is partially driven by the high costs of media such plastic beads and Kaldnes (KMT) media, commonly used in MBBR.

This dissertation evaluates the usability and profitability of rice hulls (RH), an abundant by-product in many developing nations, as a sinking …

An Examination Of Agriculture Faculty Members' Involvement In And Perceptions Of Study Abroad Programs, Shelli Elizabeth Danjean

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Globalization and internationalization are not new concepts. In the context of higher education, globalization can be viewed as the environment in which contemporary institutions function, while internationalization refers to the actions taken by universities and colleges in response to the changing environment. While internationalizing education has become popular rhetoric among institutions of higher education, is necessary to reflect on the actualization of internationalization goals in the closing of the decade. Can we hope to provide mechanisms for student engagement on an international level without continuing engagement of university faculty? As suggested by prior research, the answer is no. Faculty involvement …

Pinching And Spacing Effects On Cut Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus) Production In East Texas, Rebecca B. Burnett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Three experiments evaluated pinching and spacing on Helianthus annuus in East Texas to determine their effects on growth and development. Experiment 1 was designed to determine the effects of pinching nodes 1, 2, 3, or 4 on ‘Pro Cut Gold’ sunflowers. Results from experiment 1 showed non-pinched plants produced marketable stem lengths and flower sizes, while pinched plants’ stem length, stem diameter, flower diameter, and disk diameter decreased compared to the non-pinched plants. The objective for experiment 2 was to evaluate pinching and spacing treatments on ‘Pro Cut Gold’ sunflowers. All spacings for non-pinched plants in experiment 2 produced marketable …

Identification Of Molecular Mechanisms Of Resistance To Transgenic Maize Producing The Cry1fa Protein In Different Spodoptera Frugiperda Populations, Rahul Banerjee

Doctoral Dissertations

The use of transgenic maize event TC1507 producing the Cry1Fa insecticidal protein from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis has been very useful to control the target lepidopteran insect pest Spodoptera frugiperda. The extensive use of this transgenic maize event resulted in high selection pressure for development of Cry1Fa resistance in field insects in multiple locations, including Brazil, Puerto Rico and the southeastern USA. Resistance developed in Puerto Rico was characterized in the 456LS3 strain originated from that island as monogenic, autosomal recessive and associated with reduced expression of a membrane bound alkaline phosphatase (SfmALP2). Currently, we focused on identifying the …

Qualitative Analysis Of Social Capital In Arkansas – A Case Study Based Approach, Valerie Kilders

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the vast research on social capital in general, only very little research is focused on the quality of social capital. While some research studies incorporated aspects that are associated with the quality of social capital, they often take a one dimensional approach that fails to take the different aspects of the topic into consideration. In order to gain more insights into this I conducted a series of semi-structured interviews in three rural counties in Arkansas. The counties were selected on the basis of a social capital index of all U.S. counties using quantitative measures. I used a guide on …

The Influence Of Visual Storytelling On The Occupational Aspirations Of Non-Agricultural Undergraduate Students, Hanan Marie Southard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The agricultural industry has been experiencing a shortage in qualified college graduates to fill its numerous open positions in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of visual storytelling on the occupational aspirations of non-agricultural undergraduate students. Social media channels, virtual storytelling and the higher education classroom provide a unique opportunity to convey information about and recruit students into the agricultural career field. The diffusion of innovation model provides the framework for the introduction of agricultural jobs in a non-agricultural business classroom while the social cognitive theory provides the understanding of the importance of self-efficacy …

The Role Of Utah Farmers In Farm To School Programming, John L. Hawley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This purpose of this study was to describe Utah farmers’ role in farm to school (FTS) programming and their interest in institutional marketing of local foods. The researcher sent a survey to farmers belonging to the Utah Farm Bureau to discover the role they play in FTS in Utah.

Respondents held positive attitudes toward FTS programming and agreed that building relationships with community members and increasing awareness of local food were benefits. They cited a lack of information about schools seeking to purchase local products and restriction of growing seasons as barriers to their participation in FTS. They displayed their …