Digital Commons Network^™

Does Adding Forage Radish Enhance Winter Rye Cover Crops In Northeastern Corn Silage Systems?, Kirsten Cynthia Workman

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Cover crops play an important role in decreasing erosion and nutrient runoff associated with corn silage production in northern New England. Winter rye (Secale cereal L.) is the primary cover crop species used in this region. While winter rye (rye) monocultures are easily established, they can be challenging to manage in the spring, expensive to establish at recommended seeding rates, and can interfere with the planting of subsequent corn crops. We hypothesized that adding forage radish (Raphunus sativus L.) to a rye cover crop could augment fall performance and enhance the ecosystem services provided by the cover crop and allow …

From Tap To Table: Consumer Values, Producer Attitudes, And Vermont Maple Syrup In A Dynamic Landscape, Aidan Conor Mccracken

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Harvesting the sap of maple trees [Acer saccharum] for use in the production of syrups and sugars has a storied history stretching back to the pre-Columbian practices of North America’s indigenous peoples. Since its adaptation by European settlers in the late seventeenth century and into the present day, the production of maple syrup has become especially integral to the livelihoods and cultural identities of farmers in Vermont. While oftentimes esteemed as a timeless agrarian tradition, market forces and environmental changes have led maple syrup producers (or sugarmakers) to adopt new production practices that scarcely resemble the taps, buckets, and draft …

Farm Fresh Food Boxes, Lauren Greco

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In response to trends that challenge food access, farmer livelihoods and public health, several market and social institutions have pursued the development of alternative food systems (AFS). These attempt to support the production and distribution of foods with important qualities, such as attention to specific growing practices, higher worker standards, superior product quality and taste, support for environmental health and farmer well-being (Valchuis et al. 2015). While there has been some success in these efforts, as evidenced by the growth of farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture programs, and farm-to-institution relationships, growth in direct to consumer markets has flattened in recent …

Social Networking And Social Media As Resilience Strategies Among Us Women Farmers, Kerry Daigle

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Women farmers worldwide have long been under-recognized and undervalued in agricultural contexts. Traditionally, women farmers in the United States have experienced limited access to land, equipment and training, and women often bear the brunt of household responsibilities. Despite the significant challenges they face, women farmers have developed creative ways to access farming opportunities, including through alternative farming operations that use sustainable agricultural methods. Such strategies have allowed women farmers to remain resilient, while also bringing an array of benefits to the environmental, social, and economic well-being of rural communities.

Barriers that women farmers face in agriculture have been increasingly studied, …

Increasing The Agronomic And Economic Value Of Chickpea And Pea, Edward Marques

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Domestication has had a profound global impact on human history and a wide range of plants. Understanding the advertent and inadvertent effects of domestication on crops has been instrumental in bolstering food security efforts. For instance, by identifying and re-incorporating lost genotypic variation due to domestication, we can increase crop tolerance to biotic and abiotic stressors. With changing climatic conditions and the ever-growing human population, it has become more imperative to increase and fortify agricultural production. My dissertation addresses this topic in two agronomically important legumes: chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and pea (Pisum sativum). My research aims to increase the agronomic …

Rapid Evolution In Agroecosystems: Transposable Elements And Epigenetics In The Colorado Potato Beetle, Kristian Brevik

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Within agricultural ecosystems, humans and insects enter into complex relationships. Humans consider many of these insects to be pests, and exert significant pressures upon them, such as efforts to kill them using insecticides. One of the ways insects respond to these efforts is by rapidly evolving resistance to insecticides - but how they do this is not fully understood. DNA methylation, an epigenetic mechanism, and transposable elements, which are mobile genetic elements within genomes, may each play a role in shaping the way insects rapidly evolve in response to exposure to insecticides. Understanding the role of transposable elements and DNA …

Examining Vermont Agricultural Producers’ Willingness To Pay For Extension One-On-One Business Planning Services And Future Programming Considerations, Anthony Kitsos

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

Extension agricultural business programs have provided enhanced individualized services to Vermont’s agricultural producers by using a variety of external funding sources combined with base departmental funds. These farm business programs are uniquely positioned to deliver one-on-one outreach education and information that not only has a direct benefit to private farm business owners but indirectly serves the public good by enhancing farm business viability. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing cultural shift among Extension professionals and farm owners who acknowledge that Extension programs cannot be sustained at low or no cost to participants. Funding for Extension programming has been declining for …

The Agronomics Of Organically Managed Legume-Grass Mixtures For Ensiled Forage Production, Allen Wilder

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Legume-grass mixtures are commonly grown on livestock farms in northern New England that feed high forage diets. Such farms typically ferment stored feed into silage that can be fed throughout the year. Many legumes and grass species are available for use in temperate climates and information on the yield, forage quality, and fermentation characteristics of various legume-grass combinations would help farmers make informed decisions about species selection and optimum management for their forage programs.

One obstacle to evaluating numerous forage treatments in agronomic research is the high variability in silage dry matter content. We hypothesized that a method of artificial …

The Potential Of Refugee Seed Systems To Promote Contemporary Adaptation In Traditional Crops: A Case Study Of African Maize In New England, Andi Kur

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

There are many mechanisms by which landraces evolve in a contemporary agricultural setting; however, the influence of forced human migration on landrace redistribution and evolution has received little attention in comparison to the stochastic effects of drift, mutation, and gene flow in the centers of origin. Although the seed systems of forcedly-displaced people remain poorly understood, evidence suggests that refugees often continue to grow traditional crops after resettlement. From a genetics perspective, the crops that are transported to highly disparate environments provide an interesting opportunity to study adaptation.

This research addresses how forced human migration has impacted contemporary landrace evolution …