Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Novel Pilot Development Of A Closed-Loop Sustainable System Between Biogas Renewable Energy, Distilling, And Aquaculture By Vermiculture Of Stillage Wastes, Samuel C. Kessler

The Cardinal Edge

This study provides a mixed-methods approach in analyzing a potential closed-loop system between renewable biogas production from anaerobic digestion, vermiculture production, aquaculture production, and organic wastes with a particular focus on stillage wastes. Such system may hold significant promise for significantly reducing organic carbon and methane emissions from its components, and should be assessed for such. The 2021 IPCC report essentially identified methane reduction as the single fastest way to slow global warming (IPCC, 2021), making the study and implementation of methane-reducing systems and supportive policy for them critical. Knowledge gaps to implementing this system were qualitatively identified as disconnect ...

Farmers’ Adoption And Perceived Benefits Of Diversified Crop Rotations In The Margins Of U.S. Corn Belt, Tong Wang, Jin Hailong, Yubing Fan, Oladipo Obembe, Dapeng Li

Economics Faculty Publications

Monoculture and simplified two-crop rotation systems compromise the ecosystem services essential to crop production, diminish agricultural productivity, and cause detrimental effects on the environment. In contrast to the simplified two-crop rotation, diversified crop rotation (DCR) refers to rotation systems that contain three or more crops. Despite multiple benefits generated by DCR, its usage has dwindled over the past several decades. This paper examined determinants of farmers' adoption decisions and perceived benefits of DCR in the west margins of the U.S. Corn Belt where crop diversity has declined. We analyzed 708 farmer responses from a farmer survey conducted in the ...

Consumer Valuation Of And Attitudes Towards Novel Foods Produced With Npets: A Review, John C. Beghin, Christopher R. Gustafson

Economics Working Papers

We review the emerging international body of evidence on attitudes and willingness to 10 pay (WTP) for novel foods produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques (NPETs). NPETs include genome/gene editing, cisgenesis, intragenesis, RNA interference and others. These novel foods are often beneficial for the environment and human health and more sustainable under increasingly prevalent climate extremes. These techniques can also improve animal welfare and disease resistance when applied to animals. Despite these promising attributes, evidence suggests that many, but not all consumers, discount these novel foods relative to conventional ones. Our systematic review sorts out findings to identify conditioning ...

Whose Journey To Self-Reliance? Participation In The Journey To Self-Reliance And The Land-Grant Imaginary, Lia R. Keinsky-Jones, Kim L. Niewolny

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

Land-grant university and civil society development actors have long partnered with local and global communities to eliminate food insecurity. Despite the common aim of addressing food insecurity as a wicked problem, their approaches and designs differ in scope and scale. Similarly, levels of local stakeholder participation in agricultural development historically vary reflecting the complexity in relinquishing hierarchal decision-making power. In this pilot study, we investigated how participation is framed within the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) policy, “The Journey to Self-Reliance”. Subsequently, we sought to understand the implications of this framing on land-grant universities’ agricultural development aims ...

Building Self-Reliance: A Framework To Evaluate Smallholder Coffee Farmers’ Pursuit Of Commercialization, Colby J. Silvert, John Diaz, Laura A. Warner, T. Grady Roberts, Raul Injoque

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

This study examines the application of a self-reliance framework for practitioners and evaluators to better understand the capacities and intrinsic factors impacting smallholder coffee farmers’ commercialization behaviors. We surveyed 40 smallholder coffee producers in Peru using a quantitative instrument. Data were analyzed to determine if statistical relationships exist between farmers’ self-reliance (measured via knowledge and skills, attitudes, and aspirations) and their commercialization behaviors. Findings indicate the self-reliance framework effectively illustrates relationships between farmers’ aspirations, knowledge and skills and their commercialization behaviors, while future, additional studies are needed to better measure and understand the role of commercialization-related attitudes. Practitioners can leverage ...

Apiculture Adaptations In A Shifting World: The Beekeeper’S Experience Across The Globe, Katherine Lloyd

Capstone Collection

Existing research suggests that changes in climate, such as rainfall and temperature shifts, will threaten bees’ main food sources and cause detrimental impacts on apiculture globally. Despite this, to the best of the author’s knowledge, there is little available by way of research relating to how beekeepers themselves experience these increased pressures to their practices. This research project investigated the experiences of beekeepers in the United States, Malawi, and Cameroon. Surveys of US beekeepers, and interviews with Malawian and Cameroonian beekeepers were coded for emergent themes and surveys were analyzed via descriptive statistics. Major differences in challenges reported by ...

Measuring Palatability As A Linear Combination Of Nutrient Levels In Food Items, Jeffrey S. Young

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

It well known that palatability and nutritional quality of foods and/or diets are viewed as being in tension with one another. While there exist multiple measures of healthiness, there are no such measures for tastiness. This gap limits the degree to which researchers can investigate this tension and its implications for dietary behavior and hence public health and nutrition policy. The scope of future work concerning the dietary behavior of Americans would expand greatly if researchers better understood consumers’ willingness to eat certain foods, which matters as much as recommending those foods for them to eat in the first ...

To Know The Land With Hands And Minds: Negotiating Agricultural Knowledge In Late-Nineteenth-Century New England And Westphalia, Justus Hillebrand

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ever since the eighteenth century, experts have tried to tell farmers how to farm. The agricultural enlightenment in Europe marked the beginning of a long arc of new experts aiming to change agricultural knowledge and practice. This dissertation analyzes the pivotal period in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Germany and the United States when scientists, improvers, and market agents began to develop comprehensive ways to communicate agricultural innovation to farmers. In a functional approach to analyzing the negotiation of agricultural knowledge through its communication in things, words, and practices, this dissertation argues that the process of change ...

Public Perception Of Uas And Vertiports In The Wastach Front Survey Results, Brent C. Chamberlain, Katelynn Hall, Keunhyun Park

Browse all Datasets

This project aims to further understand the current public perception of UAS and their integration into residential areas for package delivery through the development of vertiports The survey also aims to identify evidence of NIMBY (not in my backyard) in these perceptions. The survey specifically asked participants about demographics, familiarity with UAV, perceptions of UAV, and perceptions of vertiports through 6 different potential vertiport placements in residential of community center focused areas.

Perceptions Of Future Community And Individual Well-Being In Rural Nebraska, Amanda L. Kowalewski

Dissertations and Theses in Agricultural Economics

Populations of rural areas continue to decline, yet some communities are more vibrant than ever. While past research has studied current satisfaction or well-being, few have examined future well-being. Using an ordinal logistic regression and combining primary and secondary data sources, this study investigates the predictors of rural Nebraskan’s sense of future well-being, both at the community and individual levels. The model indicates that resilience may be more important in well-being than social capital. Additionally, certain satisfaction indicators are more important than others. Factor analysis was employed to re-index variables, and findings were similar. Social capital, resilience, and quality ...

Food Security Impacts Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: Following A Group Of Vermonters During The First Year, Ashley C. Mccarthy, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Belarmino, Meredith T. Niles

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

We surveyed a cohort of Vermonters three times during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the impacts of the pandemic on food security and food access. The surveys were conducted in March/April 2020, June 2020, and March/April 2021. A total of 441 Vermonters responded to all three surveys. This brief shares changes in their experiences between March 2020 and March 2021. Key findings include: 1. Food insecurity rates increased during the pandemic and remained above pre-pandemic levels a year after the start of the pandemic. 2. 31.6% of respondents experienced food insecurity at some ...

The Tax Implications Of The American Families Plan On Iowa Farmland Owners, Kristine Tidgren, Wendong Zhang

CARD Policy Briefs

President Biden proposed the American Families Plan (AFP) on April 28, 2021, to provide new social programs to millions of Americans. To pay for this $1.8 trillion benefits package, the AFP proposes significantly changing the way capital gain is taxed. The Administration has explained that “reforms to the taxation of capital gains and qualified dividends will reduce economic disparities among Americans and raise needed revenue.” Specifically, the AFP proposes increasing the top marginal tax rate, taxing some capital gain at ordinary income tax rates, and subjecting more gain to the 3.8% Medicare tax. The AFP would thus boost ...

Yield And Economic Performance Of Crop Rotation Systems In South Dakota, Hanxiao Feng, Tong Wang, Shannon L. Osborne, Sandeep Kumar

Economics Faculty Publications

Crop yield and economic profitability, both highly dependent on local crop management, soil characteristics, and weather conditions, are among the most influential factors to consider when considering a cropping system. The objective of this study was to compare the economic returns of three different 4-yr diverse crop rotations with that of a 2-yr traditional crop rotation in eastern South Dakota. The rotations included were (a) corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]–spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–pea (Pisum sativum L.) (CSSwP), (b) corn–pea–winter wheat–soybean (CPWwS), (c) corn–oat (Avena sativa L.)–winter wheat–soybean ...

Global Famine After Nuclear War, Lilia Xia, Alan Robock, Kim J. N. Scherrer, Cheryl S. Harrison, Jonas Jaegermeyr, Charles G. Bardeen, Owen B. Toon, Ryan F. Heneghan

Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Consumer Preferences And Associated Price Premiums For Agricultural Traits In Maine Markets, Lauren Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I investigate the roles of both consumers and producers in the emergence of traited (i.e. local and organic) goods markets in Maine. I discuss welfare changes after differentiation of the market as well as the impact of changing consumer preferences on market outcomes.

The first chapter motivates the emergence of traited goods markets—as consumers try to satisfy their preferences and producers seek to increase incomes.

The second chapter explores the market for traited goods in Maine, focusing on the evolution of consumer preferences. A market differentiation framework is used to consider factors that impact total ...

The Quest To End Hunger In Our Time: Can Political Will Catch Up With Our Core Values?, David P. Lambert

Journal of Food Law & Policy

David Lambert a nationall recognized advocate to end hunger speaks about his work and the impact it has had on Arkansas, the USA and the world.

Toward A Constructive Engagement: Agricultural Biotechnology As A Public Health Incentive In Less-Developed Countries, Chidi Oguamanam

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Discourses on global public health crises, especially as they impact the less-developed world, focus mostly on the issue of access to life-saving drugs for needy populations. Also, they implicate the misalignment of global pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) agenda with the health needs of the poor. Equally attracting significant attention is the role of intellectual property in driving up the cost of drugs and exacerbating the drug access freeze to needy populations. More often, the conceptual strings of these discussions are woven around a complex interaction of themes, including those of globalization, the development narrative, and strategic changes in ...

Global Food Security: In Our National Interest, David P. Lambert

Journal of Food Law & Policy

All Americans have a direct stake in the problem of global hunger, which has many dimensions. For most of us it is a profound moral issue, and we are guided by our faith to respond.

The Response Of Onion Plants Allium Cepa L. To Foliar Spray With Different Concentrations Of Seaweed Extract (Algaren), Rawaa Babilie, Ossamh Al-Abdallah, Bassima Kassawat

Journal of the Arab American University مجلة الجامعة العربية الامريكية للبحوث

The experiment was carried out in the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research in the nursery of Al-Adaway in 2014 and 2015 seasons to study the effect of foliar spraying with seaweed extract (Algaren, Seaweeds and Seaweed Products) on local red onion growth and the yield of dry bulbs and produce of seeds. Spray treatments: (control/distilled water, 5, 10, and 15 ml/l Algaren) were applied four times during the season. The complete randomized block design was used with four replicates per treatment.

The results showed that spraying the onion plants emerged from bulblets (Resulting from seed cultivation( with ...

The Estimation Of Area, Water, Chlorophyll And Phenols Content In Trees Leaves Infected With Sooty Mold Disease Alternaria Alternata - Libya, Zahra El-Gali

Journal of the Arab American University مجلة الجامعة العربية الامريكية للبحوث

This study was conducted during the season of 2017-2018 to estimate the changes that might occur in leaves covered with sooty mold in the Omer Al-Mukhtar University periphery, El-Beida, Libya. The results indicated that the disease caused significant reduction in the leaf’s area from 158, 28.8 and 10cm2 in healthy leaves to 126.5, 23 and 7.5cm2 in infected leaves of fig, oleander and olive trees respectively. Also, water content decreased by (52.8%, 51.9% and 43.6%) in infected leaves compared with the healthy ones. Considering the effects on chlorophyll and phenols contents, data showed ...