Sustainability Commons^™

Farm Service Agency Employee Intentions To Use Weather And Climate Data In Professional Services, Rachel E. Schattman, Gabrielle Roesch-Mcnally, Sarah Wiener, Meredith T. Niles, David Y. Hollinger

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.. Agricultural service providers often work closely with producers, and are well positioned to include weather and climate change information in the services they provide. By doing so, they can help producers reduce risks due to climate variability and change. A national survey of United States Department of …

Animal Agriculture And American Health: The Search For Sustainable Protein, Britta Brinkmann

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

This study examines the impact large-scale animal agriculture has on the environment. It links the environment and health. The goal is to find protein sources that are sustainable and nutritious in order to replace typical meat and dairy products. A study is proposed to measure the impact of the typical American diet, a vegan diet, an insect-supplemented diet and a diet heavy in seafood.

Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding Farmer And Agricultural Advisor Perceptions Of Climate Change And Adaptation In Vermont, United States, Rachel E. Schattman, V. Ernesto Méndez, Scott C. Merrill, Asim Zia

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The relationships among farmers’ belief in climate change, perceptions of climate-related risk, and use of climate adaptation practices is a growing topic of interest in U.S. scholarship. The northeast region is not well represented in the literature, although it is highly agricultural and will likely face climate-related risks that differ from those faced in other regions. We used a mixed methods approach to examine northeast farmers’ perceptions of climate change and climate-related risks over time, and perceived trade-offs associated with on-farm practices. Our investigation shows how northeastern farmers think about climate-risk, and what they are doing to address it.

Farmer Perceptions And Behaviors Related To Wildlife And On-Farm Conservation Actions, Sara M. Kross, Katherine P. Ingram, Rachael F. Long, Meredith T. Niles

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Conservation Letters published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Policy makers are increasingly encouraging farmers to protect or enhance habitat on their farms for wildlife conservation. However, a lack of knowledge of farmers’ opinions toward wildlife can lead to poor integration of conservation measures. We surveyed farmers to assess their perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices from perching birds, raptors, and bats—three taxa commonly targeted by conservation measures. The majority of farmers thought that perching birds and bats were beneficial for insect pest control and that raptors were beneficial for vertebrate pest control; however, fruit farmers viewed perching birds more negatively than …

Successful Climate Change Strategies In Corporate Farming In North America, Deann Renee Reaves

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The impact of climate change on agriculture is evident in changing growing seasons, crop yield, crop quality, and even complete crop losses. Changing climate conditions negatively affect the profitability of agricultural organizations. This study was a single descriptive case of one agricultural corporation in the western United States. The purpose was to identify and explore successful climate change-based sustainability strategies. The conceptual framework for this study was legitimacy theory. The data collection methods consisted of a semistructured interview of a corporate exectutive and obtaining corporate documents, including the annual report from the company's website. Data were analyzed using content analysis …

Governing Environmental And Economic Flows In Regional Food Systems, Michael Bishop Wironen

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Globalization, specialization, and intensification have transformed the global food system, generating material flows and impacts that span multiple scales and levels, presenting novel governance challenges. Many argue for a transition toward a sustainable food system, although the scope and specific goals are fiercely contested. Theory and method is needed to evaluate competing normative claims and build legitimacy.

In this dissertation Vermont serves as a case study to investigate how environmental and economic flows impact regional governance, focusing on efforts to manage agricultural phosphorus to achieve water quality goals. A material flow account is developed to estimate phosphorus flows embedded in …

Understanding The Food Water Nexus: Characterizing The Impact Of Climatological Anomalies On Agrosystems, Patrick M. Wurster Jr.

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Climate variability at global and regional scales is escalating with increased atmospheric carbon and is expected to magnify the intensity and duration of meteorological extremes, especially droughts. From the many environmental stresses that diminish crop production (e.g., soil salinity, frost, soil erosion) drought is one of the most prevalent. This study focuses on the sensitivity of three key crops produced in the northwestern United States to climatological anomalies, while controlling for attribution using anomalies in price. The study differs from similar studies in that we focus on variability in production which captures both yield (tonnes/ha) and cropping area (ha), as …