Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Determinants Of Gluten-Free Diet Adoption Among Individuals Without Celiac Disease Or Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity, Kristina Arslain, Christopher Gustafson, Pratiksha Baishya, Devin Rose

Faculty Publications: Agricultural Economics

Objectives: Gluten free (GF) foods are typically less nutritious and more expensive than their gluten-containing variants, yet people without a diagnosed gluten sensitivity continue to adopt this diet. There is a lack of research about what factors drive people without Celiac disease or non-Celiac gluten sensitivity to follow the GF diet. Methods: A nationally representative sample of 2982 US residents without a diagnosed gluten sensitivity were surveyed about their attitudes, perceptions, and experiences with the GF diet. Logistic regression was used to compare respondents who were currently avoiding or had avoided gluten previously (GF consumer) to respondents who had never ...

Understanding Factors Contributing To Community Change, Norman Walzer, Sharon Gulick, Connie Loden, Mary Emery, Milan Wall

Community Development Practice

This paper describes the work of the Community Change Network, a collaboration of university researchers and practitioners to understand the factors that contribute to lasting community changes. It describes the resources available as well as what has been accomplished regarding this issue.

Swinging Shale: Shale Oil, The Global Oil Market, And The Geopolitics Of Oil, Inwook Kim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Is shale oil “revolutionizing” the global oil market and the geopolitics of oil? If so, how? While two aspects of the shale boom—a new source of supply and a cause for the price collapse in 2014–2015—dominate the conventional wisdom, I argue that the most revolutionary change is the least understood aspect of shale oil—shale oil producers’ rise as new swing suppliers due to its unique extraction technique and cost structure. Shale oil producers also differ from traditional swing producers in motives, contexts, and an amount of accessible excess capacity such that while shale oil lowers the ...

Louisiana Southern Flounder: Commercial And Recreational Trends, David Russell Smith

LSU Master's Theses

Southern Flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) is a coastal flatfish species that supports recreational and commercial fisheries throughout Louisiana. The recreational and commercial sectors of the Southern Flounder fishery in Louisiana both lack current information that profiles the fishery’s ability to meet stakeholder interest. This project characterized the Louisiana Southern Flounder fishery through an evaluation of fishery-dependent data and a survey of coastal Louisiana anglers.

Fishery-dependent data was gathered to characterize the recreational and commercial Southern Flounder fisheries in Louisiana. This study had three objectives for this evaluation: 1) modeling landings data to evaluate any trends, 2) examine the seasonality of ...

The Politics Of Seeds And Their Effects On Small-Scale Paraguayan Farmers, Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly

Capstone Collection

International corporate seed companies have manipulated Paraguay’s politics and agricultural development since 1995, increasing Paraguay’s use and protection of genetically modified seeds, while also undermining farmers’ control over their production and financial stability by almost eliminating markets for heirloom varieties. Paraguay continues to be excluded from research critiquing the effects of neoliberal policies on global agricultural systems. Therefore, this study aims to illuminate small-scale farmers’ experiences and bring Paraguay into the global conversation on seed sovereignty by critically examining the effects Paraguay’s national seed policies have on small-scale farmer’s development opportunities and resilience to climate change ...

The Perceived Benefits, Challenges, And Environmental Effects Of Cover Crop Implementation In South Carolina, Lucas Clay, Katharine Perkins, Marzieh Motallebi, Alejandro Plastina, Bhupinder Singh Farmaha

Economics Publications

Cover crops are becoming more accepted as a viable best management practice because of their ability to provide important environmental and soil health benefits. Because of these benefits, many land managers are strongly encouraging the use of cover crops. Additionally, there is limited information on farmers′ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of implementing cover crops. Many farmers state that they do not have enough money or time to implement cover crops. In an attempt to gather more data about the adoption rate and perceptions of cover crops in South Carolina, a survey was sent to 3000 row crop farmers ...

Assessment Of Agricultural Advisory Messages From Farmer-To-Farmer In Making A Case For Scaling Up Production: A Qualitative Study, Nana Afranaa Kwapong, Daniel Adu Ankrah, Dominic Boateng-Gyambiby, Joseph Asenso-Agyemang, Lydia Oteng Fening

The Qualitative Report

Inadequate access to agricultural extension services often results in poor farm practices, affecting yields and subsequently the income and wellbeing of smallholder farmers. Given the high demand for agricultural information and the limited capacity of extension services, a farmer-to-farmer extension approach has been explored by many underserved farmers. In this study, we use a qualitative case study approach explore how cassava farmers who had limited access to agricultural advisory services from public extension agents managed to up-scale their farming business. Our research question was: what lessons can be learned from the lived experience of these farmers to address current challenges ...

Food And Job Insecurity In Vermont During Covid-19 Infographic, Meredith T. Niles, Anna L. Josephson, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Belarmino, Roni Neff

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This infographic details the summary results from a second Vermont survey on food and job insecurity in Vermont during COVID-19 in March and June 2020. Key results include: 1) Nearly 1 in 4 Vermonters experience food insecurity in June 2020; 2) People of color, those without a college degree, with job disruption, with children, and women were more likely to be food insecure; 3) More than 50% of Vermonters experienced job loss or disruption, and 20% received unemployment in June 2020; 4) Use of food assistance programs rose significantly between March 2020 and June 2020.

Covid-19 And Food Insecurity Impacts: A Follow Up Vermont Study, Meredith T. Niles, Anna L. Josephson, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Belarmino, Roni Neff

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This brief report details the results from a follow-up survey of 1,236 Vermonters in June 2020, after an initial survey in March/April 2020 focused on the impact of COVID-19 on food access and security. The key results include: 1) Nearly 1 in 4 respondents (23%) were classified as food insecure in June, a reported 22% decrease since March, but higher than before COVID-19. 2) People of color, those without a college degree, those with a job loss, households with children, women, and younger people had greater odds of experiencing food insecurity. 3) The majority of respondent households had ...

China’S Missing Pigs: Correcting China’S Hog Inventory Data Using A Machine Learning Approach, Yongtong Shao, Minghao Li, Dermot Hayes, Wendong Zhang, Tao Xiong, Wei Xie

CARD Working Papers

Small sample size often limits forecasting tasks such as the prediction of production, yield, and consumption of agricultural products. Machine learning offers an appealing alternative to traditional forecasting methods. In particular, Support Vector Regression has superior forecasting performance in small sample applications. In this article, we introduce Support Vector Regression via an application to China’s hog market. Since 2014, China’s hog inventory data has experienced an abnormal decline that contradicts price and consumption trends. We use Support Vector Regression to predict the true inventory based on the price-inventory relationship before 2014. We show that, in this application with ...

Implementation Of Biogas-Based Energy Security Program And Evaluation Of Its Sustainability In Kediri Village, Pringsewu District, Lampung Province, Sri Ismiyati Damayanti, Simparmin Ginting, Otik Nawansih, Siti Hudaidah

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

The Biogas-based energy security program in Kediri Village, Pringsewu District, Lampung Province, aims to provide awareness and knowledge to villagers about the potential of cow dung to be made into biogas and promote awareness of good environment quality. An evaluation of the sustainability of the program in the community was conducted. The methods that were used in this program are (1) socialization to provide awareness of good environment quality and energy security, (2) digester construction and stove and biogas lamp installation, which was carried out by the community together with certified trainers, (3) creation of a master design of the ...

Intensifying Forage Legume Strata System Technology Through Dairy Cattle Production, Marcos E. Bollido, Teresa B. Polbos, Feleciano R. Bejar

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

Intensification of forage legume strata system technology (FLSST) through dairy cattle production was implemented in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and the local government unit of San Jorge, Samar, Republic of the Philippines. The beneficiaries of the program were selected based on specific criteria and qualifications. Farmers were given training on dairy cattle production, and 10 beneficiaries in five communities received one ready-to-breed cow. Each farmer-beneficiary established a 500 sqm pasture area using FLSST. Abundant grasses and leguminous forages helped improve the health of the cattle. Cattle weighing an average of 150 kg grew to an average weight of ...

Artisanal Marine Fisheries And Climate Change In The Region Of Lima, Peru, Edelina Coayla

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

This study explores the relationship between climate change and artisanal marine fisheries in the region of Lima, Peru. From the perspective of the economics of climate change and renewable marine resources, the methods of correlations and bivariate regression are employed. A negative relationship is found between the increase in the sea surface temperature (SST) and the marine fishery catches landed at the ports of the Lima region (2004-2017).The higher the SST, the lower fishing effort. It was also found that the SST significantly influences the gross added value of fishing. To reduce the vulnerability of artisanal marine fisheries, the ...

How Are Tourists Affected By Offshore Wind Turbines? A Case Study Of The First U.S. Offshore Wind Farm, Simona Trandafir, Vasundhara Gaur, Priya Behanan, Emi Uchida, Corey Lang, Haoran Miao

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

This paper examines the impact of the construction of United States’ first offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island on tourism, the largest revenue generator for the island. Using a stated preference survey, we find no negative impact on the number of trips taken by tourists since their construction. We also examine the determinants of tourists’ willingness to pay for different recreational activities on Block Island, both with and without the presence of turbines. We find evidence that prior awareness of wind turbines results in an overall improvement in welfare by approximately 20 million USD in tourism-generated revenue ...

The Effect Of Nutrition Labelling On Fast-Food Nutritional Content, Joshua Reed

Masters Theses

The United States has implemented many policies to target obesity. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has mandated that restaurants must label the calorie content of the food they provide on menus and menu boards. Previous literature suggests that this policy will cause a small subset of consumers to improve the nutritional quality of the food they consume. Restaurants’ responses to the policy are not as well studied but existing literature suggests that menu items become slightly healthier after the introduction of various local policies. This paper seeks to assess the impact of a nationally-instituted nutrition labeling policy ...

Impact Of Covid-19 On Arkansas Field Crop Farms, A. Durand-Murat, S. Stiles, B. Watkins, C. R. Stark Jr.

Research Reports and Research Bulletins

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is disrupting the global economy in unprecedented ways, and the agricultural sector is no exception. Prices of most commodities decreased since the pandemic began, which are affecting farm revenues and production costs. We assess the impact of COVID-19 on Arkansas field crop farms using the Representative Farm models, calibrated to the latest baseline published by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. The results show that COVID-19 decreases the net cash farm incomes of all five farms, increases the probability of having a negative net cash farm income, and increases the cost of commodity programs. Payments ...

Large Variability In Feeding Behavior Among Crossbred Growing Cattle, David N. Kelly, Roy D. Sleator, Craig P. Murphy, Stephen B. Conroy, Michelle M. Judge, Donagh P. Berry

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

The purpose of this study was to define an extensive suite of feeding behavior traits in growing crossbred cattle and to investigate their phenotypic inter-relationships as well as relationships with other performance and efficiency traits. Time-series feeding behavior data, as well as feed intake and liveweight records, were available for 624 growing crossbred cattle, of which 445 were steers and 179 were heifers. Feeding behavior repeatability estimates were calculated using linear mixed models. Additionally, partial Spearman correlations were estimated among 14 feeding behavior traits, as well as between feeding behavior with both performance and feed efficiency traits, using residuals retained ...

Relationship Between University Student Characteristics And Water Conservation Behaviors, Matthew A. Wise

Theses and Dissertations

Water over-consumption is a critical issue due to it being a mismanaged, and virtually finite, natural resource. In order to convey this information to the public and promote change, it is important to understand the public’s current attitude towards the topic in order to develop more targeted teaching approaches. The purpose of this study was to determine college-age students’ perceptions about water resource usage, their personal levels of active engagement in water conservation, and if any differences existed between agriculture students and non-agriculture students. This study utilized an online quantitative survey, guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, which ...

Sugar In Rio Grande Valley : The Sugar Bowl Of America, C.H. Swallow & Co.

Lower Rio Grande Valley

Promotional brochure for investing in sugar plantations in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Neoliberal Legacies: Peru, Potatoes And The Challenges Of Agricultural Reform, Emma Belliveau

Honors Scholar Theses

Peru and the potato; the two have been linked together for almost 10,000 years. This relationship has developed and born rich food, cultural heritage, and agricultural tradition. Once Spain, one of the dominant global and colonial powers, entered the mix in the 16th C, the makeup of Peru's potato growing industry changed for good. While the potato catapulted Europe's population out of hunger and allowed the Western world to modernize, Peru became merely a stomping ground for raw materials. The economy of Peru--to this day--is dependent on exporting raw materials, which means exporting agricultural goods as well ...