Life Sciences Commons^™

Pursuing Antiracist Public Policy Education: An Example Connecting The Racist History Of Housing Policy To Contemporary Inequity, Craig W. Carpenter, Tyler Augst, Harmony Fierke-Gmazel, Bradley Neumann, Richard Wooten

The Journal of Extension

We review the antiracism concept and contextualize it in Extension public policy education and the Extension system itself. Despite public policy education having a long history in Extension on a wide variety of issues, missing from this programming is the pursuit of antiracism. As a programmatic example, we review some historical causes of present-day housing inequities and an associated example approach for pursuing antiracism in housing policy education. Finally, we conclude by noting additional opportunities to pursue antiracism in Extension public policy education. In doing so, we emphasize that public policy education cannot be “nonracist” if it is not antiracist.

Shiny Apps: The Evolution Of Extension Tools From Spreadsheets To New Interactive Dashboards, Allan Fabricio Pinto Padilla, Terry Wayne Griffin

The Journal of Extension

The Interactive web dashboard is the newness with characteristics and features that are replacing the status quo downloading spreadsheets. RStudio is the program used to create Shiny Apps dashboards with R. We explain some of those features so that Extension specialists can adopt the methodology, engage stakeholders, and help them understand and apply results to their production systems, although we do not explain the creation process step by step. Our approach offers not only a useful and modern way to disseminate information to empower decision-making, but also a safe environment in which data can be automatically updated and users cannot …

Estimated Impact Of X-Disease And Little Cherry Disease In Washington And Oregon From 2015 To 2020, Cody Molnar, Tianna Dupont, Ashley Thompson

The Journal of Extension

X-disease phytoplasma and little cherry virus 1 and 2 have resulted in substantial loss of stone fruit acreage in Washington and Oregon. The extent and financial impact on the industry was not previously known. A Washington and Oregon State University survey documented 238,856 trees equivalent to 974 acres of sweet cherries removed due to X-disease and little cherry disease between 2015 and 2020. Removed trees reduced revenue to the industry by an estimated $30 million in 2020 and $65 million between 2015 and 2020. Over the seven-year re-establishment period estimated lost revenue and establishment costs to growers is an estimated …

Is There An Economic Advantage To Planting Diverse Summer Annual Forage Mixtures?, Kelly Mercier, Chris Teutsch, Ray Smith, Kenny Burdine, Edwin Ritchey, Eric Vanzant

The Journal of Extension

This study examined economic implications of planting summer annual mixtures of grasses, legumes, and forbs at varying nitrogen rates. No differences in yield occurred between the three mixtures, indicating that mixtures with lowest seed cost will be most economical. Applying N resulted in yield increases of 12.26 lb DM per lb N applied. Although yield responses to N were positive, sensitivity analyses showed that applying N resulted in positive net returns only when hay prices were high and N prices were low. When utilization rates are accounted for, enterprise budgets determined grazing to be 18% cheaper to implement than haying.

An Economic Impact And Investment Analysis Of Armillaria Root Rot In The United States Peach Industry, Gracie Herrin

All Theses

Peach production in the United States has decreased over the last decade due to increased disease prevalence. Armillaria root rot (ARR) is a lethal root fungus that affects many stone fruits, including peaches, often leading to rapid decline/death of trees and abandonment of orchards. This thesis is divided into four chapters which focus on answering four key questions that, to the best of my knowledge, have not been addressed in previous industry research.

The second chapter determines the magnitude of ARR disease prevalence in the United States and producers’ maximum willingness to pay (WTP) for a theoretical ARR-resistant rootstock. Results …

Engaging Farmers, Culinary Schools, And Communities In Value-Added Production To Strengthen Local Food Systems, Lauren B. Errickson, Ethan D. Schoolman, Virginia Quick, Sarah Davis, Anthony Capece

The Journal of Extension

Value-added products can generate farm income and improve community food access, yet lack of available kitchen infrastructure and labor can limit farm production capacity. This project explored how community-based culinary schools might fill the gap. A unique “product share” model was identified and piloted, meeting the collective needs of farmers, a culinary school, and urban consumers. By researching farmer crop availability and business model preferences, and aligning value-added production with community food preferences, we demonstrate a successful pilot indicative that similar initiatives can be replicated in other metropolitan areas, with potential to engage cross-disciplinary extension professionals.

The Adoption Of Food Safety Practices And The Implications Of Regulation For Small Scale Farms, Elizabeth Canales, Juan Silva, Joy Anderson

The Journal of Extension

In this article we examine the adoption of food safety practices among produce growers in the south and discuss implications of food safety regulations in the U.S. Produce growers have adopted standard food safety practices to varying degrees, but there is still an adoption gap, particularly among small scale operations. Market-driven and regulatory food safety enforcement continues to tighten, and this can further hinder market access for small scale producers.

Economic Implications Of The Mexican Fruit Fly Infestation In Texas, Samuel D. Zapata

The Journal of Extension

The Texas citrus industry is threatened by the presence of Mexican fruit fly. The objective of this study was to estimate the economic losses caused by this invasive pest. Economic impact is estimated in terms of loss in revenue and increase in operating costs. Under current quarantined areas and pest management strategies, the Texas citrus industry could experience an annual economic loss of $5.79 million. The analysis was extended to evaluate the economic impact associated with different quarantined area scenarios. This article can be used to increase awareness and adapted to estimate the economic impact of emerging invasive pest outbreaks.

Characterizing The Decision Process In Setting Corn And Soybean Seeding Rates, David A. Hennessy, Alexander J. Lindsey, Yuyuan Che, Laura E. Lindsey, Maninder Pal Singh, Hongli Feng, Elizabeth M. Hawkins, Sakthi Subburayalu, Roy Black, Eric A. Richer, Daniel S. Ochs

The Journal of Extension

Selecting optimal corn and soybean seeding rates are difficult decisions to make. A survey of Ohio and Michigan farm operators finds that, although generally keen to learn from others, they tend to emphasize their own experience over outside information sources. Soybean growers declare university and extension recommendations as more important than do corn growers. In response to direct queries and in free comments, growers place more emphasis on understanding the agronomic and technological problems at hand than on adjusting to the market environment. Given the decision environment, we argue that these responses are reasonable.

What Makes A Small Farm Successful? A Review Of Success Factors, Needs, And Challenges, Katie Tritsch, Ken Mix, Michelle L. Edwards, Manuel Piña Jr.

The Journal of Extension

Small-scale farmers face unique challenges. In this review, we conceptualize small farm success by aggregating and categorizing results from recent (post-2000) literature on small farm success factors and producer needs assessments. Our findings suggest that small farm success is multifaceted and not limited to profitability. We find that small farms have a diverse range of needs, though little has been done to rank their importance. We conclude that future research would benefit from increased methodological transparency and a systematic approach to needs evaluation. We consider the role of Extension professionals regarding the continued success of small farms.

An Almost Ideal Demand System Analysis Of Orange And Grapefruit Beverage Consumption In The United States, Catrice Taylor

All Theses

This thesis estimates a demand system for natural fruit juices and flavored citrus drinks. Consumption and price data from the Florida Department of Citrus is used to estimate a Linear Approximate Almost Ideal Demand System for natural fruit and fruit juice drink elasticities. The monthly data covers the period from October 2004 to June 2014. Elasticities show orange juice does not have a substitute among the other beverages. 100% orange juice and grapefruit juice are compliments, although other studies have found them to be substitutes.

Application Of Modern Statistical Tools To Solving Contemporary Economic Problems: Evaluation Of The Regional Agricultural Campaign Impact And The Usda Forecasting Efforts, Ran Xie

All Dissertations

The research is comprised with three studies to implement statistical tools for examining two economic issues: the impact of a regional agricultural campaign on participating restaurants and efforts of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasting reports in agricultural commodity markets. The first study examined how various components of the Certified South Carolina campaign are valued by participating restaurants. A choice experiment was conducted to estimate the average willingness to pay (WTP) for each campaign component using a mixed logit model. Three existing campaign components--Labeling, Multimedia Advertising, and the 'Fresh on the Menu' program were found to have a significant positive …

An Examination Of The Feasiblity Of A Food Hub For The Pee Dee Region, Emily Purcell

All Theses

Horry County, the home of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, attracts a large level of spending by visitors who are helping to fuel growing demand for locally produced food. Regional growers are interested in meeting this demand but are limited by retail requirements with respect to lot size, timing, and quality (including food safety aspects such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification). A number of communities have turned to food hubs as a means of aggregating production by local growers and providing appropriate marketing functions, such as storage and meeting standards. Hence, food hubs can fill a gap between producers and …

Serving As Suppliers To Institutional Foodservices: Supply Chain Considerations Of Small And Medium Scale Specialty Crop Producers, Laura Westray

All Theses

Institutional foodservice, which includes schools, hospitals, and long-term care facilities, is an important food marketing channel. The centralized nature of the US food system effectively, and supply, logistic and other constraints, effectively precludes small and medium scale (SMS) specialty crop producers from serving as suppliers to these types of operations. Passage of The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and increasing public attention to food safety issues, further complicates this matter. While the FSMA Tester-Hagen Amendment provides regulatory exemptions for SME producers, it is likely that in the future food purchases on or behalf of institutions will require more stringent food …

Temporal Aggregation And Treatment Of Zero Dependent Variables In The Estimation Of Food Demand Using Cross-Sectional Data, Kristyn Leffler

All Theses

This study analyzes U.S. consumers' demand for eight food commodity groups: Cereal and Bakery goods, Meat and Eggs, Dairy, Fruits and Vegetables, Nonalcoholic Beverages, Fats and Oils, Sugar and Sweets, and Miscellaneous goods. The estimation of the demand system of equations is carried out using the EASI demand model of Lewbel and Pendakur (2009) and five years of data (2002-2006) from the Nielsen Homescan program. Two different levels of temporal aggregation, monthly and the average month within a year, referred to as 'annual' were considered. Using the monthly data, I evaluated the performance of two econometric methods to account for …

Evaluating Nature Of Expenditures And Economic Impact Of Tourism Spending On Nature-Based Activities In South Carolina Coastal Economies, Alexis Imler

All Theses

The general goal of this study is to better understand South Carolina coastal tourism. The region of study includes the coastal counties of Horry, Charleston, and Beaufort (and Georgetown, Berkeley, Dorchester, and Jasper counties for the economic impact analysis). This study includes two types of analyses: a regression analysis of visitors' expenditures and an economic impact analysis of tourist spending.
The empirical visitors' expenditure models are specified using economic consumer demand theory. The regression analysis of the model is conducted using data from a tourist survey of 818 South Carolina visitors (conduced in fall 2008 and summer 2009). The activity …

Back To The Basics: What Does The Market Tell Us About Harvest Grain Basis, Matthew Fischer

All Theses

Grain marketing in the United States is a complex system; therefore producers require information on grain markets to effectively manage risk. Futures markets provide the mechanism for price risk management based on the national supply and demand signals. However price risk is managed on the local level, therefore the relationship between local cash price and futures price, basis, must be understood.
The market forces which explain grain basis are the cost of storage and the transportation cost. The current body of research in grain basis uses the storage component of basis as the driving force. This approach is applicable to …

Evaluating The Impacts Of Production Process And Product Origin On Willingness To Pay For Shrimp, Addison Ellis

All Theses

The 2002 Farm Bill included a provision requiring various agricultural commodities to comply with country of origin labeling (COOL). Proponents of COOL argued that the policy would support U.S. producers and benefit U.S. consumers. This argument was based on the assumption that U.S. consumers prefer domestic products to imported products and hence the demand for U.S. products would increase following the implementation of COOL. However, analyzing the impact of COOL on shrimp, one of the first commodities covered the program, is complicated by recent trade disputes, concerns over the safety of farm raised products and potential stigma effects associated with …

Evaluation And Adjustment Of Usda Wasde Cotton Forecasts, David Tysinger

All Theses

The dynamic and volatile nature of agricultural markets causes individuals to rely on forecasts in their decision-making. WASDE cotton forecasts are shown to be especially volatile as cotton is one of the most trade dependent commodities in the world. Therefore, its evaluation requires us to look beyond U.S. WASDE categories and evaluate forecasts for China and the World.
This study will use data from monthly WASDE balance sheets for upland cotton for the U.S, China and World over 1985/1986 through 2008/2009 including unpublished price forecasts. The results of this study will provide information that can be used to improve the …

Willingness To Pay For Locally Grown And Organically Produced Fruits And Vegetables In Dominica, Seraphine George

All Theses

ABSTRACT
With the intent of improving agricultural revenues and solidifying her place as an eco-tourism destination, it has been proposed that the island nation of The Commonwealth of Dominica convert all agricultural activities to organic production. To meet this challenge from the supply perspective, training of farmers in organic production practices has already begun. It remains, however, to quantify the potential demand for organically produced products. With this information in hand, appropriate producer support and marketing programs could be developed that would help to promote the production and consumption of Dominica‟s organic outputs and would propel Dominica toward its desired …

The Effects Of Decoupled Payments On Production Decisions Under Base Acreage And Yield Updating Uncertainty: An Investigation Of Agricultural Chemical Use, Janet Peckham

All Theses

When first introduced, decoupled payments were thought to have minimal impacts on current production decisions and input use. In order to comply with the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture requiring all World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries to reduce trade distorting agricultural policies, in 1996 U.S. agricultural policies began shifting away from coupled payments, based on current prices, production, or output, towards decoupled payments.
However, the literature has identified several mechanisms by which decoupled payments have the potential to distort production in the current period. First, risk averse producers may increase production due to insurance and wealth effects. Second, in …

Influence Of Selected Economic, Demographic And Political Characteristics On Growth In Africa, Richard Ogwal-Omara

All Theses

ABSTRACT Despite their common sources of development funds, African countries have had varying rates of growth. This study assesses the influence of selected social and economic variables on economic growth in Africa using data from 45 African countries for the year 2005. Regression results show that literacy rate, property rights, net budget surplus and inflation rate significantly influenced on growth in Africa. Judicial independence, number of days to start business and reliability of financial institutions did not show significant influence on growth in Africa. To promote growth, African governments need to redesign their education systems in order to be able …

Financial Impact Analysis Of Ipm With Conventional Sampling And Ipm With Binomial Sequential Sampling Method To Traditionally Operated Farms For Collards, 2007, Myra Clarisse Ferrer

All Theses

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been very successful in directing farming to a more environment-friendly production. However, the extent of its economic impact is an equally-important question. This study looks at the amounts of savings and potential market profitability of using IPM in South Carolina collard production considering alternative scouting methods. Conventional sampling (CS) and binomial sequential scouting method (SSM), a recently developed scouting system for traditionally operated collard farms are compared. SSM is geared towards a more economical execution of scouting without forfeiting the effectiveness of the process. Financial analysis specifically costs and returns methods and sensitivity analysis on …

Intestate Tenure And Rural Land Uses In Selected Areas Of South Carolina, Gloria Bromell Tinubu

All Theses

No abstract provided.