Business Commons^™

Two Essays On Food Environment, Nutrition, And Food Insecurity, Suliman Abdulaziz Almojel

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

A healthy food environment is fundamental to good health. It contributes to the reduction of obesity and the development of healthy eating habits. In spite of this, many people in the United States (US) have been hypnotized to become obese due to the current food environment. Recently, the US has consistently ranked high in the world in terms of obesity. The rising rate is symptomatic of consuming unhealthy diets. Besides, the double-edged crisis of the US food environment and obesity poses a major threat to food security and public health. Therefore, studying the US food environment is important to sustain …

Evaluating The Economic Costs And Land Value Implications Of Implementing Cover Crops In Kentucky, Robert C. Ellis

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This thesis is comprised of two essays regarding the costs and impact of land values due to cover crops. This first essay uses a linear-programming resource allocation model combined with sequencing and machinery selection to optimize the practices and machinery utilization of a hypothetical western Kentucky grain farm. This was accomplished through maximizing returns over selected costs at various acreage adoption levels. Additionally, a decision tool was developed to assess the costs related to cover crop adoption. The results show a $30 per acre cost to adopt 1000 acres of cover crops when no benefits were considered. The second essay …

Two Essays On Input Substitution And Optimal Decision Making In Crop And Livestock Production Systems, John T. Allison Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The thesis presented consists of two essays that analyze input substitution and decision making in crop and livestock production systems. The first essay consists of a whole-farm analysis that sought to optimize feed mixes and enterprise combinations for an organic dairy operation in the Southeastern United States. This was accomplished through mathematical programming where whole-farm net returns were maximized, and total feed costs were minimized simultaneously for four milk production level cases. Additionally, the sensitivity of the system and break-even milk price were explored. Results suggest substitutability in ration components where an increase in supplemental feeds is justified by additional …

Determining Millennial Food Buying Preferences: Based On Product Marketing With “Buzzwords”, Victoria N. Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

This research focuses on the importance on the Millennial Generation and their perceptions of food buzzwords. Since the Millennial Generation is the largest group purchasing and preparing their own foods, the food industry is becoming dependent on their buying preferences. A survey reflected the participants’ demographics and their buying preferences based on a series of food buzzwords when they are purchasing foods. Results show the Millennial Generation prefers “local” buzzwords. As the Millennial Generation continues to purchase foods for themselves and their families, it can be expected their choices will encourage others to do the same based on their family …

Investment For Trade? Impact Of Investment From Gulf Cooperation Council Countries On Trade, Sattam Faleh Almodarra

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The world has made great progress over the centuries through the massive increase in the interconnectedness of nations around the globe. Today, the world is connected through various ways, including the movement of goods, people, and money. The amount of goods traded across countries borders has drastically increased as the result of technological progress and the removal of barriers to trade. Not only has the world become more interconnected with the physical flows of goods and services, but also countries of the world have become more integrated financially. This study proposes to analyze how increase in financial flows, as measured …

Determining The Value Of Birthrank And Parent Age In Thoroughbred Racehorses, Xiurui Cui

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Thoroughbred racing is referred to as “the sport of Kings”, because historically it was a leisure activity of the upper-class. Thoroughbred breeding on the other hand has transformed from a hobby of the upper-class to a worldwide agricultural industry. With the deep involvement of the royal and rich in the Thoroughbred industry, the auction prices of horses are raised significantly at the top end of the market.

Research in the biological sciences suggests there exits correlations between dam age, foal birthrank, and the racing performance of Thoroughbred horses. This study first investigates how the market values these biological factors and …

Characteristics Of United States Seafood Consumers, Suliman Almojel

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

In this thesis, I conducted an analysis of the consumption patterns associated with demographic and socio-economic characteristics, using Tobit and double-hurdle models. Data were collected for 11,574 households from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for the year of 2014. Specific determinants included household size, age, income, gender, education, race, region, marital status, and whether the household lived in a coastal state. The results reveal that seafood expenditures are sequential decisions. Asian racial groups, households headed by married couples, a large number of members in households, higher income households, and households residing in the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts were variables …

Economic Considerations Of Aggressively Treating The Influenza Virus In Equines, Charlotte R. Hansen

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The equine influenza virus is a significant cause of respiratory disease in horses. Even though horses generally recover from this virus, sometimes horses with equine influenza develop secondary bacterial infections which can cause severe pneumonia, thereby increasing recovery times. Owners and managers are faced with the decision of whether to delay preventative treatment in hopes of the horse avoids contracting a secondary bacterial infection (“wait and see”) or aggressively treat the horse with an antibiotic in hopes of avoiding a serious infection (“treat now”). From a decision making standpoint, the economic considerations include explicit treatment costs as well as nonmonetary …

Wine Company Analysis In “The New World” And “The Old World”, Jiaji Liang

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

There is a growing global market for wine. In our research, we mainly examine wine companies from four countries: France, Italy, the U.S. and China. Data used in this analysis comes from the 2010 to 2013 Plimsoll Top 500 report, focusing on wine companies’ financial performance. The primary goal is to identify which factors may have significant influence on the firms’ profitability. Two-way fixed effects panel data analysis indicates that the firm’s shareholders’ funds in total asset have significant and positive effect on companies’ yearly profit. The results suggest that four years could be a reasonable period for most wine …

A Conjoint Analysis Study Of Preferences And Purchasing Behavior Of Potential Adopters Of The Bureau Of Land Management Wild Horses, Omotoyosi O. Adekunle

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This study uses conjoint analysis to examine the preferences of buyers for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wild horses based on physical attributes of wild horses and individual characteristics of the buyers. Generalized ordered logit models and multinomial logit models are used to study the impact of the buyers’ demographic characteristics such as age, gender, knowledge about wild horse care, and number of wild horses previously adopted on physical attributes of the horses such as color, age, height, training status, temperament, conformation, and unique markings. Using a choice experiment, taken together, these attributes determine buyer’s preferences for a wild horse. …

The Effects Of Food Safety Standards On Trade And Welfare: The Case Of Eu Shrimp Imports, Xiaoqian Li

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This research explores the link between a gravity model and welfare frameworks and then applies the quantitative model system to analyze how trade and welfare is affected by the Minimum Required Performance Limits (MRPL) in the shrimp importing market of European Union.

The quantitative model system consists of two parts: first, this study uses the “phi-ness” gravity model to investigate the trade effects of MRPL on EU shrimp market. The “phi-ness” gravity model partitions the standard variables to avoid biased estimation caused by the correlation between time and country fixed effects and policy variables. The Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) …

Evaluating Food Safety Systems Development And Implementation By Quantifying Haccp Training Durability, Marienne A. Anandappa

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

HACCP-based food safety programs have been widely acclaimed, accepted and implemented as an effective means of managing food safety risks. While HACCP training is a cornerstone of managing HACCP programs, there is little information about the effectiveness of HACCP training and the durability of HACCP knowledge. Findings reveal a link between involvement level in HACCP activities and the accuracy of HACCP knowledge over time. Opportunities for peer training in HACCP, irrespective of overall experience in the food industry provide favorable circumstances for maintaining accuracy of HACCP knowledge. The optimal window for engaging employees in HACCP is directly following the completion …

Modeling Of Biorefinery Supply Chain Economic Performance With Discrete Event Simulation, Joseph S. Amundson

Theses and Dissertations--Manufacturing Systems Engineering

As competition for fossil fuels accelerates, alternative sources of chemicals, fuels, and energy production become more appealing to researchers and the layman. Among the candidates to fill this growing niche is lignocellulosic biomass. Many researchers have examined supply chain design and optimization for biofuel and bioenergy production throughout the years. However, these models often fail to capture the variability and uncertainty inherent to the biomass supply chain. Multiple factors with high degrees of stochasticity can have major impacts on the performance of a biorefinery: weather, biomass quality, feedstock availability, and market demand for products are just a few. To begin …

Economic Modeling & Optimization Of A Region Specific Multi-Feedstock Biorefinery Supply Chain, William H. Faulkner

Theses and Dissertations--Manufacturing Systems Engineering

The objective of this thesis is to include strategic and tactical level decisions into the biorefinery supply chain design for a specific region while comparing multiple conversion technologies and biomass feedstocks. The allocation of biomass feedstocks, products, and the respective supply chain configuration locations are determined while ensuring the regions monthly biomass availability and product market demand constraints are met. This research considers all actions required to bring the bio-based products to market from harvesting, storing, and processing the biomass to market distribution. Two different conversion technologies are chosen for comparison: one advanced conversion technology and one conventional technology. Potential …

An Examination Of Corporate Agribusiness Financial Performance: How Agribusinesses Perform Over Time And Under Various Conditions, Sierra J. Enlow

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

While several studies examine the managerial structure of privately owned agribusinesses, few studies take a comprehensive look at publically traded agribusiness firms. Our study examines the historical position of agribusiness compared to the market, and then studies the impact of the global economic and financial crisis. The objective of this study is to pinpoint effects of corporate financial management strategies, commonly researched in financial literature on agribusiness firms’ performance. Through utilizing a quantile regression we find that agribusiness position in times of financial crisis is directly related to firm performance. As we examine internal factors, several interesting impacts of managerial …