Life Sciences Commons^™

Imperfect Produce Pricing: Relationships Between Price Percent Discount And Demographic Traits Of Customers, April Foster

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research sought to understand the impact of price reductions on consumer spending behaviors related to the purchase of imperfect produce. Additionally, the correlation between consumers’ demographics and their willingness to purchase imperfect produce at various price points was evaluated. The data was viewed with mindfulness toward reducing food loss as a function of the world food crisis. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between Washington County, Arkansas consumers’ demographic traits and the percent discount at which they are willing to alter their behavior to purchase specific imperfect produce items. Using the Theory of …

Assessing Rice Consumers’ Preferences And Willingness To Pay In Haiti, Cleeford Pavilus

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the last 30 years, rice has become the number one food staple in Haiti, and rice imports have outpaced domestic production to supply the country’s increasing rice demand. Policy makers support the claim that increasing local rice supply will not only reduce the dependency on imported rice but also upheave the national economy. However, there is a lack of information on Haitian consumers’ preferences for rice to aid the development of the local rice supply chain. This research aims to bridge that gap by assessing Haitian consumer preferences and willingness to pay for selected rice quality characteristics. The results …

Risk And Return Comparisons Of Pre-Harvest Marketing Strategies, John Leander Turner V

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes risk and returns associated with pre-harvest corn grain marketing strategies for the state of Arkansas. Farming is characterized by a volatile environment. Numerous risks are taken by producers in order to provide commodities that are bought and sold by various parties in the supply chain. Price, yield, and production costs vary daily and can have large variation between years. Risk and Return Comparisons of Pre-harvest Marketing Strategies examines the effectiveness of using pre-harvest marketing strategies to enhance returns and to mitigate inherent price risk in the Memphis cash corn market. Thirteen strategies are compared to the October …

Socioeconomic Impacts Of Infrastructure Investment In Eswatini: The Case Of Lusip, Noussayma Njeim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The 2016 Eswatini Vulnerability Assessment Report indicated that over half of the Eswatini population required livelihood support due to the severe El Niño drought. Since agriculture is the backbone of Eswatini’s economy, investments in climate change mitigation are needed in order to help protect the agriculture sector and associated livelihoods from increased yield and profit variability associated with future droughts. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) estimates climate change in Eswatini could reduce rain-fed agricultural yields by up to 50%, threating the ability of Eswatini to be food secure. As such, investing in water capture systems could help mitigate …

Factors Driving Sugar Cane Production In The Kingdom Of Eswatini, Brooke Danielle Anderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sugar cane is the largest industry in Eswatini with 16 percent of the total workforce working directly or indirectly in the sugar industry. Like all agricultural industries the sugar industry in Eswatini is heavily dependent on an abundant labor supply and climatic conditions. Labor efficiency and abundance is a defining factor of food security and profitability in Eswatini, having one of the highest national HIV/AIDS rates in the world. Small-scale sugar cane producers are often the hardest hit by HIV/AIDS as they traditionally rely on family labor more than hired labor. The 2016 Eswatini Vulnerability Assessment Report indicated that over …

Factors Influencing Adoption Of Conservation Agriculture In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Willy Mulimbi Byamungu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The agricultural sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is still struggling to cope with its post-independence political and structural instability. From 1961 to 2000, the DRC experienced a decrease of 34% and 37% in daily caloric intake and protein intake, respectively. The DRC’s agriculture sector, led by women (who are the core of subsistence farming), is now being targeted as a potential pathway out of poverty through sustainable development programs. Empowering farmers to increase productivity by educating them to use conservation agriculture (CA), a more sustainable alternative to the traditional slash-and-burn agricultural practice, could contribute to reducing …

Can Social Capital Boost Irrigation Capital: Empirical Evidence From North China, Yefan Nian

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using data from China Water Institution and Management (CWIM) survey, the study first constructs measures of all three most studied dimensions of social capital: trust, networks, and norms. The study then examines if social capital has any predictive powers of individual farmers’ contribution decisions as well as farmers’ contributions aggregated at the village level. Farmers’ choices between different forms of contributions (labor versus cash) are also analyzed. Our results suggest that all three dimensions of social capital explain farmers’ contribution decisions. Governance quality of local irrigation systems and the norm of cooperation have strong predictive powers of farmers’ decisions to …

Integrating Cover Crop Mixtures And No-Till For Sustainable Sweet Corn Production In The Northeast, Julie S. Fine

Masters Theses

Fall-planted forage radish (Raphanus sativus L. longipinnatus) cover crops have shown successful weed suppression and recycling of fall-captured nutrients. This research evaluated the nutrient cycling and weed suppressive benefits of forage radish cover crop mixtures to develop an integrated system for no-till sweet corn (Zea mays L. var rugosa) production that improves crop yield and soil health. Treatments included forage radish (FR), oats (Avena sativa L.) and forage radish (OFR), a mixture of peas (Pisum sativum subsp arvense L.), oats and forage radish (POFR), and no cover crop control (NCC). Subplots were assigned to …

Analysis Of Potential Vermicompost Market In California, Jason Alan Thomas

Master's Theses

Vermicompost transforms agricultural waste into a high quality soil amendment, though market acceptance remains in its infancy. This study examines how growers’ willingness to pay for vermicompost is affected by grower’s crop, region, income per acre, knowledge level of vermicompost and compost, previous use of compost, and the willingness to pay for compost. The survey results pulled together 223 responses from California growers. It was discovered growers’ had less knowledge of vermicompost than compost but were willing to pay more for vermicompost. There was statistical difference amongst the responses. It was shown the market value per ton of vermicompost lies …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Agricultural Information Needs And Food Access In The Stann Creek District Of Belize, Sam Harris

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to describe agricultural information sources available to farmers and to describe food access and availability for the people of Dangriga, Stann Creek, Belize. This study used descriptive survey research methods with convenience sampling of the general public (n=22) and of farmers (n = 38) in the summer of 2017. Farmers use a variety of agricultural information sources with the extension service cited most often, followed by friends and fellow farmers. Weather, lack of information, pests, and inadequate access to capital were of primary concern for farmers. Face to face meetings were …

An Impact Evaluation Of The Government Grant Programs And Input Efficiency Use In The Production Of Greenhouse Tomatoes And Peppers In Kosovo, Blend Frangu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Determinants of greenhouse tomato and pepper production input efficiency affect a farmer’s decision to contribute to the vegetable sector in Kosovo. This research investigates the non-optimal use of inputs in the production of greenhouse tomatoes and peppers. Two studies were conducted to first measure input efficiency use and then to quantify the impact of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development (MAFRD) grant programs in the production of both crops. The first study applied data envelopment analysis (DEA), and linear and logistic regression to assess factors that influence efficiency in production. The second study used propensity score matching with …

Enhancing Quality Of Life Through Foreign Direct Investment In Northern Mozambique, Sarah-Beth Delay

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has the potential to increase economic activity and improve GDP growth in low-income countries, but can hinder economic development (quality of life improvements) if not sustainable and holistic in manner. Africa serves as a host to many cases of FDI focused on economic growth, but not necessarily improving the quality of life for its citizens. FDI has spread throughout the African continent, where many countries are well endowed with natural resources, like minerals and coal. These economies have experienced rapid GDP growth with few benefits reaching citizens of the host country. Mozambique is a low-income country …

Sustainable Intensification Of Agriculture: Opportunities And Challenges For Food Security And Agrarian Adaptation To Environmental Change In Bangladesh, Aaron Michael Shew

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates three unique aspects of sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) in the context of Bangladeshi rice production. The first article presents a qualitative analysis of SAI and farmer surveys in the embanked polder region of coastal Bangladesh. The second article investigates the global food security and environmental impacts of already adopted High Yielding Variety (HYV) rice and double-cropped rice systems in Bangladesh using a spatial partial equilibrium trade model and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The final article demonstrates a remote sensing methodology for monitoring dry season rice production at 30 m resolution in Bangladesh using a harmonic time …

Consumers’ Willingness To Pay For Hydroponic Lettuce, Daniel Gilmour

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With continued advances in hydroponic plant production technology, an increasing number of farms have begun using hydroponic techniques to grow leaf lettuce and other food crops in a controlled environment. Recent controversy about the ongoing inclusion of hydroponics in the USDA organic program has highlighted uncertainty about marketing for hydroponic crops. In November 2017, the National Organic Standards Board voted not to recommend that hydroponic farms be banned from applying for organic certification. Since then, continued controversy has led a group of organic producers to start an additional independent certification program that would exclude hydroponic crops. While hydroponic production may …

Irrigation Practice Adoption: Causes And Consequences In The Arkansas Delta, Kerr James Adams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Concerns about groundwater depletion from conventional irrigation agriculture in the Arkansas Delta region have led to the promotion of more efficient irrigation practices. With Arkansas being the largest producer of rice, the 10th largest producer of soybeans and the 16th largest producer of corn in the United States, the irrigation demand of these crops has put pressure on producers to find ways to irrigate more efficiently. Not only are the alternative technologies supposed to reduce water use, it is also believed that their adoption can also yield economic benefits for the producer. Despite these assumed benefits, adoption of alternative technologies …

Alternative Feeding Strategies For Growing Cattle Grazing Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue During The Summer, Kerri A. Johnson

MSU Graduate Theses

Two experiments were conducted to determine animal performance of alternative feeding strategies to heifers grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue during summer months. In Experiment 1, 40 Limousin heifers (261± 40kg initial BW) were stratified by weight and assigned to either a spring harvested tall fescue silage diet or grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue pasture with grain supplement having either natural or artificial shade for 80 days. In Experiment 2, 40 Limousin heifers (277 ± 44kg initial BW) were stratified by weight and assigned to either a traditional grain supplement or feather-meal supplement (rumen bypass arginine supplement) with natural or artificial shade while …

Direct Farm-To-Institution Marketing: The Common Challenges And Keys To Success Of Northeast Producers, Chloe E. Boutelle

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

This research discovers what are the shared barriers Northeast producers engaged in the institutional market consistently face and what enables them to establish, maintain and strengthen a sales relationship with institutions. The findings can help producers understand the challenges and opportunities, how and when to approach, and provide strategies to enhance their success with the institutional market. The research concludes with implications for non-grower farm-to-institution stakeholders.

The common challenges producers faced in establishing, maintaining and strengthening institutional sales relationships included buyers who focus on low price points, uncommitted buyers, food service management companies, demand for processed products and laws and …

Pizza And Poutine: Examining Long-Term Impacts Of The U.S.-Canada Dairy Dispute, Caroline Rogers

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Controlled-Release Nitrogen And Potassium Fertilizer In Louisiana Sugarcane Production, Samuel Kwakye

LSU Master's Theses

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp) production is an integral part of Louisiana's economy. Proper fertilizer management, particularly nitrogen (N) and potassium (K), optimizes sugarcane production. An experiment was established in 2015 at the LSU AgCenter Sugar Research Station in St. Gabriel, Louisiana to: (1) assess the effect of N and K fertilizer sources on sugarcane yield and quality parameters, and (2) monitor the changes in inorganic N and K levels in the soil at different sugarcane growth stages. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design on a Sharkey clay soil and complete randomized design on a Commerce …

Comparative Economic Analysis Of Beef Calf Preconditioning Programs, Breanthony Baker

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

On-Farm Utilization Of Precision Dairy Monitoring: Usefulness, Accuracy, And Affordability, Elizabeth A. Eckelkamp

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Precision dairy monitoring is used to supplement or replace human observation of dairy cattle. This study examined the value dairy producers placed on disease alerts generated from a precision dairy monitoring technology. A secondary objective was calculating the accuracy of technology-generated disease alerts compared against observed disease events. A final objective was determining the economic viability of investing in a precision dairy monitoring technology for detecting estrus and diseases.

A year-long observational study was conducted on four Kentucky dairy farms. All lactating dairy cows were equipped with a neck and leg tri-axial accelerometer. Technologies measured eating time, lying time, standing …

Waste Not, Want Not: Using Source-Separated Urine To Cultivate Maize In The Southern Highlands, Tanzania, Lucy Hatfield

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In Sub-Saharan African countries, soil fertility is low due to unsustainable agricultural practices and little to no access to chemical fertilizer. Poor yields have resulted in many of these countries struggling to produce enough food to feed their growing populations. Human urine has been used as an effective, low-cost alternative to chemical fertilizers in greenhouse and plot trials on a variety of vegetables, but its effects on elemental grain composition in cereal crops are largely unknown. Here we tested whether diluted human urine applied as a fertilizer can increase maize crop growth, yield and nutritional content on small family-owned plots. …

"Squeezed Between The Gunshots And The Gentrifiers”: Urban Agriculture In Philadelphia's Kensington Neighborhood, Arianna Hall-Reinhard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Urban agriculture (UA) is part of the broader alternative food movement and a potential avenue through which to “do” food justice work. UA projects in the urban Global North are frequently motivated by social and food justice goals. Despite these guiding ideals, UA projects in America are rife with internal contradictions, including those related to racial inequalities, complex gentrification dynamics, and funding realities. In this paper, I employ the conceptual frameworks of food justice and urban political ecology to consider how gentrification and UA project funding structures affect five specific UA projects in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. While the loss of …

"Teamwork Makes The Dream Work": Investigating The Impact Of Social Capital In The Tampa Bay, Fl Community Food System, Monica Petrella

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The research in this thesis investigates the relationship between social capital and the ability of a community food system (CFS) to contribute to broad community development goals. Social capital is understood to be an intangible resource that proliferates from strong relationships stocked with trust, reciprocity, and cohesiveness.

This research presents a journey through the literature to provide an overview of community food systems, the anticipated benefits that can result from adequate expansion, and how the concept of "embeddedness" contributes to development between the CFS and the community at large. The concept of social capital is introduced and discussed as previous …

Predicting Energy And Water Consumption On Dairy Farms Through Statistical Analysis And Machine-Learning Methods, Philip Shine

Theses

With the abolishment of milking quotas across all European Union member states in April 2015, dairy farmers must adjust their farming practises to minimise milk production costs to adequately prepare for potential periods of reduced revenue. Milk production is an intense energy and water consuming process. Coupled with challenging European greenhouse gas reduction targets and legislation regarding the prevention of groundwater pollution and deterioration, increasing the production of milk in Ireland must be met with the sustainable consumption of on-farm energy and direct water resources, to ensure the future monetary and environmental sustainability of Ireland’s dairy industry. Thus, this body …

Economic Growth And Changes In Forested Areas In Southeast Asia: Is Environmental Kuznets Curve Still Relevant?, Lan Thi Ngoc Nguyen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The environmental history of the twentieth century in Southeast Asia reveals tremendous loss of forested areas as a consequence of unprecedented economic transformations and unrestrained globalization. Featuring some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, Southeast Asia has been experiencing fundamental changes in its economic structure, sociopolitical institutions, and the rate of natural resources extraction and depletion, including deforestation. This study reexamines evidence of the (EKC) hypothesis in light of the deforestation the above region experienced over the period 1990-2013. We use the change in forest cover as an indicator for environmental degradation. A panel co-integration approach is invoked to investigate the …

Adapting To The Changing Tide: An Evaluation Of California’S Drought Policies And Future Mitigation Strategies, Lauren Dorsey

CMC Senior Theses

California endured an extreme and prolonged drought from 2012 until the winter of 2017, offering a fascinating yet tragic example of how drought impacts lives. Despite this recent and stark phenomenon, there is surprisingly little information about its effects and implications. This thesis aims to lessen this knowledge gap by asking how severe the drought was, how well the state responded, and what policies would increase California’s water security. It answers these questions by exploring the Golden State’s long and complicated water management history, which is necessary to understand the current drought policy framework; then, it collects the emerging literature …

Adoption Of Conservation Practices And Precision Technologies In South Dakota: An Empirical Analysis, Allen P. Deutz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Advances in conservation agriculture and precision agriculture technology practices have contributed to the adoption of conservation practices that reduce externalities from agricultural production, but this conversion was usually coupled with economic incentive, whether from increases in fertility and yield, or payments for on farm retirement or restoration practices. This study expands on this theme, evaluating the connection between conservation and the increased use of various precision agriculture technologies. The study uses survey data collected from South Dakota farmers and ranchers, with responses from 28 counties and over 500,000 acres of crop, pasture, and range land to address the following three …

The Impact Of Biofuel Policies On Overshooting Of Agricultural Prices, Mahdi Asgari

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The Federal Reserve has increased nominal interest rates since early 2016. It is expected that commodity prices will drop in response to this monetary intervention. The overshooting hypothesis explains that commodity prices are more flexible than manufacturing prices and therefore are more volatile. In this situation, it is expected that agricultural commodities decline significantly (i.e., overshoot) and gradually return to their long-run equilibrium. This adjustment behavior has implications for income stability and financial viability of farmers.

This research contributes to the overshooting literature by including the energy sector in the overshooting model. The interlinks between energy and other sectors in …