Economics Commons^™

Valuation Of Soil Health Ecosystem Services. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Research Report #5, Benjamin Timothy Dube, Alissa C. White, Taylor H. Ricketts, Heather M. Darby

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In this report, we present estimates for ecosystem services from soil health using two approaches for four different services. One approach generates estimates based on soil-health practices, and the other approach is based on improvements in soil-health indicators. For soil- health practices, such as adopting best-management practices on annual corn, we utilize a set of off-the shelf empirical models widely used to estimate ecological functions on farm landscapes. For soil-health indicators, we make estimates by linking these tools with soil data and statistical models describing how soil-health parameters influence the interaction of soils with water and their environment. We provide …

Covid-19 Impacts On Vermont Farms And Food Businesses: Pivots, Needs And Opportunities For The Future, Meredith T. Niles, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Belarmino, Mark Cannella, David S. Conner

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This report highlights results from a survey of Vermont farm and food businesses conducted during August and September 2020, with a total of 223 respondents. The survey was distributed via a number of non-profit, business, and state agencies in Vermont. Respondents included farms, food and farm product retail, agritourism operators, on-farm food processors, food and beverage manufacturers, nurseries/greenhouses/garden centers, and food hubs/aggregators. Overall, we find the majority of respondents experienced a COVID-19 business impact, especially in market and financial ways. We also find that the majority of respondents had business changes they wanted to make, but couldn't because of a …

Employment And Food During Coronavirus, Meredith T. Niles, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Morgan, Thomas Wentworth, Erin Biehl, Roni Neff

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Key Findings

1. 45% of respondents with jobs experienced some type of job disruption or loss. 19.7% had a reduction in hours or income, 9.3% had been furloughed, and 15.5% had lost their job since the coronavirus outbreak.

2. 38.5% of respondents experiencing job loss or disruption since the outbreak were classified as food insecure.

3. Respondents experiencing job disruption or loss were significantly more likely to be already implementing food purchasing or eating changes and concerned about food access compared to those who did not experience a change in employment.

4. Respondents with job disruption or loss were significantly …

A Gpi-Based Critique Of "The Economic Profile Of The Lower Mississippi River: An Update", Eric Zencey

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

The Genuine Progress Indicator, or GPI, is an alternative economic indicator that seeks to measure net economic welfare—the economic welfare that is gained by economic activity after the costs of producing that welfare (such as the costs of air pollution, water pollution, resource depletion, climate change, and the like) are deducted. From a GPI perspective, the economy of the Lower Mississippi River Corridor is not nearly as robust as traditional modes of economic analysis would suggest. There are clear paths to increasing GPI (and human economic wellbeing) that have implications for environmental, economic and river-management policy.