Digital Commons Network^™

Utilizing The Land-Based Learning Model For The Clemson Agricultural Safety, Growing Safe Tigers Program, Maryann Lovern

All Theses

The Clemson Agricultural Safety, Growing Safe Tigers program was developed in 2019 with the goal of increasing the awareness of agricultural safety in South Carolina. By utilizing the land-based learning model, a need for agricultural safety education was identified through incident surveillance strategies. Agricultural incidents were quantified using AgInjuryNews.org and recommendations were made for the program to provide more tailored information to the four regions of South Carolina, based on the primary cause of incident for each region.

Educators’ understanding of place and interconnected systems was determined pertaining to agricultural safety to provide a baseline for how agricultural education teachers …

Consumer Valuation Of Rice Quality In Colombia, Juliann Phillips

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice is a crucial contributor to global food security and is an important staple for over half the world’s population. In Colombia, total rice consumption has grown by 25% in the last decade (2011-2021), reaching 1.9 MMT in 2021, yet in 2021 around 15.5 million Colombians were classified as food insecure. Colombia is the third largest rice producer in Latin America, producing 1.8 million metric tons (milled basis) in 2021. Increasing rice consumption coupled with high levels of food insecurity highlights the necessity that rice markets effectively price rice according to consumer preferences. Therefore, the goal of this study focuses …

Effect Of Authentic Kefir And Nigella Sativa On Broilers Challenged By Coccidia And Clostridium Perfringens, Julian E. Nixon

All Dissertations

Black seed oil concentrations of 0%, 0.1%, 1% and 5% were added to milk inoculated with kefir grains and incubated at 25°C for 22 h. The pH and microbial count indicated 1% black seed oil caused low inhibition (P > 0.05) of fermentation, but 5% black seed oil caused significant inhibition of the kefir microorganisms (P < 0.05).

Cobb 500 male chicks (n = 256) were distributed in a randomized block design and received one of four treatments: CTRL1 (Non-medicated, no kefir, no Clostridium perfringens), CTRL2 (Non-medicated, no kefir, C. perfringens inoculated), CTRL3 (BMD medicated, no kefir, C. perfringens inoculated), KTRT (Non-medicated, …

Dry-Aged Beef Flavor Development, And The Effect Of High Levels Of Vitamin-E On Beef Color Stability, Nicolas Herrera

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Palatability and consumer purchasing are essential factors of fresh meat. To meet consumer expectations during purchasing and consumption, fresh beef must maintain desirable cherry-red color at retail and achieve desirable cooked flavor. Dry-aged beef popularity has grown, and identifying methods to ensure quality dry-aged meat is necessary to maintain demand. To understand dry-aged palatability, this dissertation addressed effects of moisture loss and aging time, fundamental factors of dry-aged beef, using bone-in and boneless strip loins. Study two investigated flavor development using cookery methods and internal temperatures in boneless and bone-in dry-aged beef. In study one, increased dry-aging time (creation effect) …

Identification And Assessment Of Lameness In Sows Through The Utilization Of NuTrack And Gaitfour Systems, Lexi M. Ostrand

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Lameness is a financial concern for producers and a welfare concern for the animals. Utilizing both the GAITFour and NUtrack systems, gilts’ natural tendencies and gait were analyzed to better understand the onset of lameness and what indicators can be identified in a commercial setting. Beginning at 20 weeks of age, video on replacement gilts was collected for 9 consecutive days and processed using the NUtrack System to identify individual gilts’ distance travelled (m), avg speed (m/s), angle rotated (degrees), and time standing (s), sitting (s), eating (s), and laying (s). NUtrack is a deep learning-based multi-object …

Consequences Of Cow–Calf Production With Limited Perennial Forage Grazing, Hannah Fae Speer

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Conversion of perennial grasslands to cropland and rising land prices prompts a need to evaluate alternative beef cow-calf production systems. A 3-yr study was conducted comparing beef cow-calf performance between two August-calving cow systems: perennial forage and corn residue grazing; or summer drylot, fall grazing of late-summer-planted cover crop, and corn residue grazing. Cow body condition score differed between systems, but condition of cows in both systems never fell below adequate. There were no differences in pregnancy rates between systems. Calf weaning weights differed between systems each year; differences are attributed to feedstuff quantity, quality, and type available to calves …

Beef And Dairy Substitution Effects Associated With Carbon Labeling And An Information Intervention, Sara Gardner Hedgecock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding consumer perceptions of carbon emissions in agriculture is a critical step to help increase the sustainability of food consumption. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 14.5 percent of all global anthropogenic GHG emissions are estimated to be represented by livestock (FAO), and cattle, raised for beef and milk, are the largest animal species responsible for emissions, comprising over 60 percent of the livestock sector’s emissions. This motivates this study’s analysis of beef and dairy milk products and alternatives. To better understand how consumers may substitute meat and milk products when provided with information about …

The Effect Of Herbal Adaptogen On Feeding-Related Hypothalamic Neuropeptides In Heat-Stressed Broilers, Maryam Afkhami Ardakani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Heat stress is a major issue in the poultry industry, having numerous negative consequences for chicken productivity. Decreasing feed intake is one of these issues, which results in higher mortality and poor growth performance. Moreover, Herbal adaptogens, plant extracts that are also known as stress response modifiers, are metabolic regulators that improve an organism's ability to adapt to environmental stresses and minimize damage from such stressors. Previously, we published data indicating that herbal adaptogen supplementation increased feed intake under heat stress conditions. Therefore, we hypothesized that dietary herbal adaptogen supplementation might exert these effects through alteration of the expression of …

A Pilot Study Of Students’ Ethical Decision Making And Emotional Intelligence, Casandra K. Cox

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Demand for ethical leaders in agriculture is high to meet 21st century goals, while ethics course offerings in land-grant institutions are limited. The purpose of this case study was to establish a baseline of current University of Arkansas Bumpers College of Agriculture, Food and Life Science (Bumpers College) agriculture and natural resource program students’ ethical decision making (EDM), as measured by the DIT-2, and emotional intelligence (EI), as measured by STEM-B and STEU-B, determine if EI mean scores predict EDM, and identify relationships between EDM or EI and demographic characteristics or lifespan experiences. An online survey design with probability sampling …

Decrypting The Processes Of Policy Evolution: Comparing Québec And Ontario’S Evolution Of Risk Management Policies, Frederick Clerson Guicherd

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through policies or programs, states can influence industries to align with their vision of what a sector should become. However, this vision is subject to influence from actors of the industries which emphasize the importance of the relationship between the state and interest groups. In this dissertation, we observe the evolution of 9 Canadian agriculture risk management programs implemented by two provincial governments between 1990 and 2020 to understand how such programs coped with the new trends in agriculture. Through a review of parliamentary discussions and official documents, we evaluate the factors that justified program evolution based on the combination …

Ecology And Host Manipulation By An Egg-Larva Parasitoid Of Chrysodeixis Includens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Daniel V.C. Neves, Renata R. Pereira, Julia N.D. Campos, Rodrigo S. Ramos, Paulo A.S. Junior, Daiane G. Carmo, Marcelo C. Picanço

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Parasitoids are among the main natural enemies of crop pests. Copidosoma truncatellum (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is a parasitoid of Chrysodeixis includens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Plusiinae), which is an important pest of soybean, bean, cotton, sunflower, tomato and potato. Copidosoma are parasitoids of lepidopteran egg-larva, especially those of the subfamily Plusiinae. The embryonic development of the Copidosoma parasitoid begins in the lepidopteran egg, and this development extends to the beginning of the host larval stage of the parasitized lepidopteran. However, the rate of parasitism is a complex ecological relationship affected by climatic elements and age of the host. Thus, the present study …

Beef Color And Tenderness Response To Production Systems Utilizing Additive Combinations Of Growth-Promotant Technologies, Megan J. Webb, Janna J. Block, John R. Jaeger, R. Funston, Michael G. Gonda, Keith R. Underwood, Judson K. Grubbs, Kenneth C. Olson, Amanda D. Blair

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

The objective of this study was to compare the influence of beef production systems using additive combinations of growth-promotant technologies on meat quality. Steer calves (n = 120) were assigned to 1 of 4 treatments: 1) no technology (NT; control), 2) antibiotic treated (ANT; NT plus therapeutic antibiotics, monensin, and tylosin), 3) implant treated (IMP; ANT plus a series of three implants), and 4) beta-agonist treated (BA; IMP plus ractopamine-HCl). Muscle biopsy samples from the longissimus lumborum were extracted from a subset (n = 4 per treatment) of steers to evaluate expression of calpain-1, calpain-2, and calpastatin using …

Increasing Rye Cover Crop Biomass Production After Corn Residue Removal To Balance Economics And Soil Health, Sabrina J. Ruis, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Paul J. Jasa, Glen Slater, Richard B. Ferguson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Low or variable cover crop (CC) biomass production could limit CC benefits. Longer CC growing periods via late termination could increase CC benefits, especially under limited crop residue return. We studied whether early (2–3 wk before planting)- or late (at planting)-terminated winter rye (Secale cereale L.) CC maintains soil properties, crop yields, and farm income under 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% corn (Zea mays L.) residue removal in rainfed and irrigated no-till in the U.S. Great Plains after 6 yr. Early-terminated CCs produced < 1 Mg ha^-1 of biomass while late-terminated CCs averaged 1.6 Mg ha^-1 at the rainfed …

Unraveling Prevalence And Effects Of Deleterious Mutations In Maize Elite Lines Across Decades Of Modern Breeding, Shichao Sun, Baobao Wang, Changyu Li, Gen Xu, Jinliang Yang, Matthew B. Hufford, Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, Haiyang Wang, Li Wang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Future breeding is likely to involve the detection and removal of deleterious alleles, which are mutations that negatively affect crop fitness. However, little is known about the prevalence of such mutations and their effects on phenotypic traits in the context of modern crop breeding. To address this, we examined the number and frequency of deleterious mutations in 350 elite maize inbred lines developed over the past few decades in China and the United States. Our findings reveal an accumulation of weakly deleterious mutations and a decrease in strongly deleterious mutations, indicating the dominant effects of genetic drift and purifying selection …

Variable Synchrony In Insect Outbreak Cycling Across A Forest Landscape Gradient: Multi-Scale Evidence From Trembling Aspen In Alberta, Barry J. Cooke, Jens Roland

Aspen Bibliography

Using multi-scale trembling aspen tree-ring width data from Alberta, we show that scaling has a profound influence on dendroecological inferencing. At all scales of sampling, there is a significant climatological signal whose strength is nevertheless superseded by the pervasive effect of insect herbivory. At the smallest spatial scale, 20 km x 20 km, we demonstrate a quasi-periodic pattern of sharp growth reductions and the existence of negative spatial correlations among successive outbreaks. At the intermediate spatial scale of 20 km x 80 km, we show that the period 1930-1963 was marked by extremely low correlations in aspen ring widths, with …

Crop-Livestock Diversification And Efficiency In Agriculture, Jay Parsons, Maroua Afi

Cornhusker Economics

Diversification is a familiar strategy for managing risk in agriculture. It can take several forms including growing more than one crop or operating a farm with both crop and livestock enterprises. As with other strategies for managing risk, diversification comes with a unique set of costs. Managing a farm with multiple enterprises creates additional overhead as well as additional demands on management, labor, land, capital, and other resources. Diversification adds complexity to an operation and too much complexity can lead to inefficiencies.

Role Of Biotechnology In Creating Sustainable Agriculture, Saurav Das, Manjit Kumar Ray, Dinesh Panday, Piyush Kumar Mishra

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

This narrative review paper discusses the role of biotechnology in the development of sustainable agriculture. The paper begins by defning sustanability and highlights the importance of biotechnology in establishing sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is an approach that prioritizes meeting current food and fiber production needs while conserving and enhancing natural resources for future generations. To achieve agricultural sustainability, it is necessary to strike a balance between economic viability, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility. This can be difficult, especially in the face of biotic and abiotic stresses such as pests, diseases, climate change, soil degradation, and water depletion. The prevalence of …

An Analysis Of The Status Of Small Producers In Selected Alabama Black Belt And Surrounding Counties, Mamnenge Gbim-Gbande

College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences Graduate Theses and Dissertations

AN ANALYSIS OF THE STATUS OF SMALL PRODUCERS IN SELECTED ALABAMA BLACK BELT AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES

by

Mamnenge Gbim-Gbande

The purpose of this study was to analyze the status of small producers in selected Alabama Black Belt and surrounding counties. The specific objectives were to (1) describe demographic information, (2) examine farm, economic, marketing, and other information, and (3) examine relationships between specific demographic information and farm, economic, marketing, and other information. The data were obtained from a convenience sample of 24 producers, and were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, and correlation analysis. The results showed that there were more part-time …

Ticks And Tick-Borne Pathogens From Wild Pigs In Northern And Central Florida, Sarah E. Mays Maestas, Lindsay P. Campbell, Michael P. Milleson, Lawrence E. Reeves, Phillip E. Kaufman, Samantha M. Wisely

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Simple Summary

Ticks are vectors of several agents of human disease, and improvements to traditional surveillance methods are needed to aid in tick-borne disease monitoring and prevention. Invasive wild pigs are broadly distributed in the southern U.S., and removal efforts are often undertaken by local, state, and federal entities. Wild pigs are hosts to several human-biting tick species associated with agents of human disease. This research examines the use of tick collection from wild pigs in the state of Florida as a method of surveillance for ticks and tick-borne pathogens of human concern. Four species of human-biting ticks were collected …

Morphological Trait Evolution In Solanum (Solanaceae): Evolutionary Lability Of Key Taxonomic Characters, Rebecca Hilgenhof, Edeline Gagnon, Sandra Knapp, Xavier Aubriot, Eric Tepe, Lynn Bohs, Leandro Giacomin, Yuri Gouvea, Andres Orejuela, Christopher T. Martine, Clara Ines Orozco, Iris E. Peralta, Tina Sarkinen

Faculty Journal Articles

Solanum is one of the world's largest and economically most important plant genera, including 1245 currently accepted species and several major and minor crops (e.g., tomato, potato, brinjal eggplant, scarlet eggplant, Gboma eggplant, lulo, and pepino). Here we provide an overview of the evolution of 25 key morphological traits for the major and minor clades of this giant genus based on stochastic mapping using a well-sampled recently published phylogeny of Solanum. The most evolutionarily labile traits (showing >100 transitions across the genus) relate to plant structure (growth form and sympodial unit structure), herbivore defence (glandular trichomes), pollination (corolla shape …

Improving Decision Support Systems With Machine Learning: Identifying Barriers To Adoption, Skye Brugler, Maaz Gardezi, Ali Dadkhah, Donna M. Rizzo, Asim Zia, Sharon A. Clay

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Precision agriculture (PA) has been defined as a “management strategy that gathers, processes and analyzes temporal, spatial and individual data and combines it with other information to support management decisions according to estimated variability for improved resource use efficiency, productivity, quality, profitability and sustainability of agricultural production.” This definition suggests that because PA should simultaneously increase food production and reduce the environmental footprint, the barriers to adoption of PA should be explored. These barriers include: 1) the financial constraints associated with adopting DSS, 2) the hesitancy of farmers to change from their trusted advisor to a computer program often behaves …

Sheep Worms – Sustainable Summer-Autumn Worm Control, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock factsheets

A summer drenching program for sheep worm control is now recognised as a key cause of drench resistance in Western Australia. However, some small changes can increase the sustainability of pre-emptive control programs. Drenches in summer should always be given to younger, growing sheep (current and previous year’s age groups), whereas adult sheep should be drenched in autumn, or if drenched in summer, some should be left untreated (if drenching at all). Research shows that this reduces the chance of developing drench resistance but still provides effective worm control.

Skeleton Weed In Western Australia: Control Program 2023–2024, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Biosecurity bulletins

Skeleton weed can reduce crop yields by competing for moisture and nutrients (mainly nitrogen). This guide helps you manage and eradicate skeleton weed infestations on your property, and helps to stop the spread across WA. Without the coordinated program aimed at controlling the spread, skeleton weed would now be much more abundant and widely established throughout cereal growing areas.

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Summer 2023

Louisiana Agriculture

Rice, alligators and sugarcane are quintessential Louisiana products, and LSU AgCenter researchers and extension agents devote themselves to helping the producers who grow them. Economists are finding ways to improve the market for alligators while specialists focus on innovation in the sugar industry and creating new varieties of rice.

AgCenter researchers also have an eye on the natural world. They are protecting the roseau cane that thrives on the coast and the ironwood trees of Guam. All these efforts are detailed in this issue of Louisiana Agriculture magazine.

Sympatric Soil Microbe Interactions Between Streptomyces And Fusarium Isolates, Lehren A. Olk-Szost

All NMU Master's Theses

Interkingdom interactions between soil bacteria and fungi may play a critical role in occurrence of disease suppressive soils, yet our understanding of these interactions remains limited. Streptomyces are well-known producers of antimicrobial compounds important to medicine and agriculture. Production of these secondary metabolites is often mediated by quorum sensing. Most Streptomyces research occurs in single species experiments, yet new metabolites have been discovered in interspecies co-culture experiments. Interspecies, intergenic, and interkingdom co-culture research will likely reveal many valuable compounds, and strengthen our understanding of complex ecological interactions in soil microbiomes. Interactions between sympatric Streptomyces and Fusarium isolates from disease suppressive …

Skeleton Weed In Western Australia: Management Guide, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Biosecurity bulletins

Skeleton weed can reduce crop yields by competing for moisture and nutrients (mainly nitrogen). This guide helps you manage and eradicate skeleton weed infestations on your property, and helps to stop the spread across WA.

Without the coordinated program aimed at controlling the spread, skeleton weed would now be much more abundant and widely established throughout cereal growing areas.

Industry Funding Scheme (grains, seeds and hay)

The Grains, Seeds and Hay Industry Funding Scheme is overseen by a seven-member Industry Management Committee. These 2 groups are comprised of producers and others with an interest in the industry. They meet in …

Federal Agency Perspectives And Funding Opportunities For Weed And Invasive Plant Research, Stephen L. Young, James J. Kells, Vijay K. Nandula

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Weeds and invasive plants know no borders and have collectively impacted many ecosystems worldwide, including croplands, forests, grasslands, rangelands, wetlands, and riparian areas. Losses continue to mount, affecting yield and productivity, species diversity, and ecosystem services, with both short- and long-term repercussions on the sustainability of plant and animal communities and the livelihoods of many. New and emerging invasive plants, along with many of the most intractable weeds, have undermined even the best control efforts, serving as a reminder of the constant need for improvements in science, application, and technology. One of the main reasons for the success of weeds …

Effect Of Supplementation Prior To Artificial Insemination And During Gestation In Beef Females, Landon Folsom Tadich

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Objectives of Experiment 1 was to evaluate the impact of increased energy prior to AI on BW, ADG, and reproductive efficiency in heifers developed on range or in a dry lot. During the winter development period (131 ± 3.5 d/yr) heifers (n = 100/yr) were assigned to either upland range (RANGE) or fed a dry lot diet in two pens that either remained constant (DLLO) or increased in energy prior to AI (DLHI). Heifers developed on RANGE grazed upland winter range until 38 d prior to AI where they then received the DLLO diet. Pre-breeding BW was greater ( …

Mid-Gestation Maternofetal Inflammation Impacts Growth, Skeletal Muscle Glucose Metabolism, And Inflammatory Tone In The Ovine Fetus During Late Gestation, Zena Mariah Hicks

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Our 1^st and 2^nd studies assessed the impact of mid-gestation maternofetal inflammation on growth, skeletal muscle glucose metabolism, and inflammatory tone in the late gestation ovine fetus. The objective was to determine if inducing maternofetal inflammation during peak placental growth would lead to more profound IUGR characteristics in the fetus. MI-IUGR fetuses exhibited reduced body and skeletal muscle weights and hallmark asymmetric growth at late gestations. Fetuses had higher baseline glucose:insulin ratios and reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Moreover, hindlimb glucose oxidation was impaired independent of glucose uptake. Skeletal muscle specific glucose uptake and oxidation was reduced in MI-IUGR …

Impact Of Distillers' Removal And Impact Of Lowering Inclusions Of Distillers’ Grains Plus Solubles And Different Roughage Quality On Finishing Cattle Performance, Sofia Suarez Lorences

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A feedlot trial (Exp. 1) was conducted to evaluate the impact of removing modified distillers grains plus solubles (MDGS) on performance and carcass characteristics. Cattle with MDGS removed on either d 79 or d 43 had reduced final BW, DMI, and ADG. Cattle with MDGS removed on d 43 were 5% less efficient than cattle fed 20% MDGS throughout the entire 124-d feeding period. Cattle fed 20% MDGS throughout the whole feeding had the greatest HCW and LM area. There were no differences in backfat and marbling scores among treatments, and no differences in percent of abscessed livers. In conclusion, …