Digital Commons Network^™

Rough Hands: Family Conceptions Of Rural Morocco’S Agricultural Labor, A Case Study, Leah Kahler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Conceptions of success for people in any capitalist context are tangled with social hierarchies of work. The rural women of Morocco have been specifically singled out as the objects discourses about their domestic and agricultural work, agency, gender identity and role, and their use of private and public space ownership. This project will examine the justifications, conceptions, and satisfaction with rural-agricultural work in a small-scale family farm in Morocco’s Al Hoceima province. Using the case study approach, I will live with a family in Sidi Bouafif and work alongside the family for an eight-day fieldwork period. Through participant observation and …

Ethnomedical, Ecological And Phytochemical Studies Of The Palauan Flora, Christopher Kitalong

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There has been a serious deterioration of Palauan culture, language and traditional practices over the last century. To promote health and avoid this deterioration of tradition, ecological, ethnobotanical and phytochemical studies have been carried out on the plant Phaleria nisidai Kaneh. (Thymelaeaceae), "Delal a Kar", Palauan for "Mother of Medicine". This study is the first study that sets the foundations for the development of natural Palauan therapeutics, through validation of ethnomedically significant plants. Validations of these plants is done through documenting Palauan plant ethnomedical data; mapping the distribution of Palauan plants on limestone Rock Islands; and analyzing ethnopharmacological and phytochemical …

Systematics And Evolution Of Leandra S.Str. (Melastomataceae, Miconieae), Marcelo Reginato

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Phylogenetic studies in the Melastomataceae have demonstrated the need of taxonomic rearrangements in the current classification. Melastomes are among the most diverse groups of plants and several cases of known artificial taxa are observed and awaiting further resolution. One example is the Leandra s.str. clade, which includes the majority of the taxa traditionally treated in the genus Leandra. Some attempts have been made to infer the relationships of Leandra s.str., but the sampling in these earlier studies was sparse and the resolution low inside the clade. The main objective here is to propose a comprehensive phylogenetic framework for this group …

Utilizing Repurposed Materials To Construct Utility Buildings And Small Animal Shelters, C. Kim Chapman

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes how to use repurposed materials such as shipping pallets, scraps from construction sites or other building projects, to construct utility buildings and small animal shelters.

2014 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Contents:

Cow/Calf

Effect of Pubertal Status and Number of Estrous Cycles Prior to the Breeding Season on Pregnancy Rate in Beef Heifers .5

Comparison of Long-term Progestin-based Synchronization Protocols on Fixed-time AI pregnancy Rate in Beef Heifers . 8

Androgen Excess in Beef Cows Results in Altered Theca Cell Gene Expression and Fertility 11

Follicular Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A Expression Before and After the LH Surge . 14

Evaluation of Genomic Predictors for Red Angus Cattle . 17

Preconception Distillers Grains Supplementation Improves Mature Beef Cow Return to Estrous . 19

Impact of Supplemental Protein Source on Pregnant Heifers …

The Effect Of A Small Ruminant Farm Operation And Sustainable Farm Practices: Soil Quality And Run-Off At The University Hickory Hill Farm, Delaware, Gulnihal Ozbay Dr., Akida J. Ferguson, Raju Khatiwada, Lathadevi K. Chintapenta

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

This project was designed to evaluate the effect of ruminant grazing practices at Hickory Hill Farm on the surrounding environment by measuring soil nutrients and runoff chemistry. Three pastures on the farm (Goat, Cattle and Control) were selected for soil sampling and nutrient analyses were recorded. Physical water quality parameters were conducted on the runoff collected from the farm after Hurricane Sandy. The sites with animal activity had higher levels of sulfate, phosphate, nitrate, Mehlich 3 phosphorus and conductivity when compared to control site. However, the control site had slightly higher pH and chloride levels. Nitrogen and phosphorous levels were …

Organic Growers Of Alabama Cooperative, A Loosely Fitted Cooperative: Nurturing The Community And Growing Together, Wylin D. Wilson, Jose Gbadamosi, Decetti Taylor, Susan Barnes, Jan Garrett, Asabi Hunter, Cheryl Parker, Wendy Williams, Henry Williams

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The age-old connection between the people and the land is something that seven women, who have organized themselves into a loosely fitted cooperative, are reviving. In the process of growing together as members of a cooperative, these women in Macon County, Alabama, are not only promoting healthy living and nurturing community, but are also addressing the issue of food security by making nutritious affordable produce and other agricultural products available to their community. Additionally, they are illustrating alternative strategies of community and economic development. This article examines why they chose the structure of a loosely fitted cooperative over a traditional …

Fermented Food: Putting The Power Of Good Health Back Into The Hands Of The People, Marsha L. Thadison

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Editors’ Note: At the December 2013 Professional Agricultural Workers Conference, several women were invited to share, information about their unique businesses. One such presenter was Marsha L. Thadison, owner of Yesterday’s Kitchen 4 Today, a company that focuses on promoting functional foods. Thadison shared that food is produce and consumed differently from previous generations. Today's food, she argued, involves many more agricultural inputs that aid in food preservation, extension of shelf life, and promotion of animal health. She espoused the benefits of fermented food.

Economic Contribution Of The Agricultural Sector To The Arkansas Economy In 2012, Leah English, Jennie Popp, Wayne Miller

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

This report is the ninth in a series of reports examining agriculture’s economic contribution on the Arkansas economy. Utilizing data from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), USDA Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and IMPLAN Group, LLC , the economic contribution of agriculture on the Arkansas economy was estimated for the most recent year available, 2012.

Is Creep Feeding Lambs A Profitable Undertaking?, Donald G. Ely, Endre Fink

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

Creep feeding is a technique of providing feed to nursing lambs to supplement the milk they consume. Creep-fed lambs grow faster than noncreep-feds and are more aggressive in nursing ewes. This aggression stimulates greater ewe milk production which, in turn, increases creep feed intake because these lambs will be bigger at a given age.

Nebline, September 2014

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: 4-H Youth Showcase Their Achievements at Super Fair

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Hypomagnesemic Tetany Or “Grass Tetany”, Michelle Arnold, Jeff Lehmkuhler

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

Magnesium is a vital component of normal nerve conduction, muscle function, and bone mineral formation. Hypomagnesemic tetany or “grass tetany” is a disorder caused by an abnormally low blood concentration of the essential mineral magnesium (Mg). Synonyms for this disorder include spring tetany, grass staggers, wheat pasture poisoning, or lactation tetany.

The Trehalose Pathway In Maize: Conservation And Gene Regulation In Response To The Diurnal Cycle And Extended Darkness, Clémence Henry, Samuel W. Bledsoe, Allison Siekman, Alec Kollman, Brian M. Waters, Regina Feil, Mark Stitt, L. Mark Lagrimini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Energy resources in plants are managed in continuously changing environments, such as changes occurring during the day/night cycle. Shading is an environmental disruption that decreases photosynthesis, compromises energy status, and impacts on crop productivity. The trehalose pathway plays a central but not well-defined role in maintaining energy balance. Here, we characterized the maize trehalose pathway genes and deciphered the impacts of the diurnal cycle and disruption of the day/night cycle on trehalose pathway gene expression and sugar metabolism. The maize genome encodes 14 trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) genes, 11 trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase (TPP) genes, and one trehalase gene. Transcript abundance of most …

How To Use Anti-Mullerian Hormone Testing To Diagnose Granulosa Cell Tumors In Mares, Dirk K. Vanderwall, Kerry A. Rood

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes how to use Anti-Mullerian hormone testing to diagnose granulosa cell tumors in mares.

New Insight Into The Effects Of Small Heat Shock Proteins On Callipyge Lamb Meat Tenderness, Traci Cramer, Yuan H Brad Kim, Danyi Ma, Jolena N. Waddell, Moriah Penick

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Callipyge lambs are a type of sheep that are genetically known to produce tough meat. High expression of calpastatin, which inhibits proteolytic activity of µ-calpain, has been identified as the main factor behind the toughness of callipyge lamb meat. Another group of proteins called small heat shock proteins (sHSP) has recently been suggested for its possible involvement in tenderness development of meat, where up-regulation of sHSP may be associated with toughness. However, the role of sHSP in meat tenderization of callipyge lambs has never been investigated; therefore, the objective of this study is to determine possible involvement of sHSP in …

The View From Lu Cooperative Extension, August 2014, Lincoln University Cooperative Extension

The View from LU Cooperative Extension

Volume 1, Issue 5

Aquaponics And Basil Plant Density, Danika L. Macmaster, Brook Murphy, Dudley Burton

STAR Program Research Presentations

Aquaponics is the use of water from a fish tank to provide nutrients to plants in a soil-less environment. The rocks cultivate the bacteria that turns the ammonia into nitrates that the plants need, and the plant bed functions as a filter for the fish tank. In this study, with the guidance of Doctor Dudley Burton, Doctor Brook Murphy, we researched the optimal plant density for basil in an Aquaponics system. We attempted to control or measure all the other variables to consider, as to isolate the variable of distance between plants. The water flow was spread through the plant …

Efficacy Of An Electronic Scarecrow On 4 Mammalian Crop-Raiders In Limpopo Province, South Africa, Merrie Renee Richardson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In South Africa, 2 primate species, Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) and vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), and 2 nocturnal mammals, Cape porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis) and bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), are among many species of crop raiders. Currently, cost-effective, non-lethal solutions are lacking. From June through December 2012, I installed novel electronic scarecrows on two commercial citrus orchards and a private reserve and used video-recording remote cameras to assess cropraiders’ reactions to them in Limpopo Province, South Africa. I used focal animal sampling data from treatment and control group animals to examine differences in activity …

Nebline, August 2014

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Cherry Creek Habitat Provides Opportunities for Pollinator Education

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Special pullout section: Lancaster County Super Fair 2014 Schedule & Map

Closing A Liquid Manure Storage Structure, Stephen F. Higgins, Kylie Schmidt

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

Liquid manure storage structures, such as a lagoon, holding pond, or pit, serve an essential purpose on an active livestock operation. However, when this structure is no longer actively managed it can become a major liability to the producer because of its potential to have a discharge. The discharge from a liquid manure storage structure can contain pollutants such as nutrients, heavy metals, hormones, pathogens, and agriculture chemicals, all of which can pose serious threats to human health and aquatic ecosystems. Because of the pollution potential, livestock producers ceasing their operation are required to close their liquid manure storage structure(s) …

Brassicas: Be Aware Of The Animal Health Risks, Michelle Arnold, Jeff Lehmkuhler

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

Winter annuals are often used to extend the grazing season. These forages can be used as supplemental feed when lower quality perennial forages dominate or to provide grazing at times when other forages are not available. On farms where row crops are grown, the combination of crop residues and fall growth of annual crops can allow livestock grazing to be extended well into the winter months. The annuals provide a cover for the soil during winter as well. Winter annuals planted in the early fall will allow grazing in late fall to early winter similar to stockpiled fescue. Based on …

A Case Study Of Changing Cropping Diversity And Agricultural Risk In The Doulthabad Mandal Of Telangana State In India, Srikanth Kondabolu

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Doulthabad^[1] Mandal is a hot semi-arid agro-ecological sub-region (Rao et al. 2006) located in Mahbubnagar District on the North Telangana Plateau in the state of Telangana. Agriculture is the main occupation in this region, which is populated mostly with small and marginal farmers. This study uses the time period from 1971 to 2004 to study the variation in cropping pattern diversity and distribution of rainfall during the monsoons and understand the implications on production risk in agriculture. Quantitative methods were used in determining the changes in rainfall while qualitative methods were used to study cropping system changes. The …

Millennial Alumni Perceptions Of Communications Media Utilized By The Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences, Amanda Nicole Anthony

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alumni relationship cultivation serves as the foundation of higher education and must be maintained to keep graduates and alma maters connected. To evaluate the success of communications media in reaching recent graduates, classified as Millennials, this study sought to determine Millennial alumni perceptions of media distributed by the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences (Bumpers College) from 2012 through 2014. Assessed communications media included The Graduate and AR Culture magazines, The Graduate e-newsletter, tailgate and mocktail party invitations, College website, and social media presences. Active and inactive Millennial alumni (N = 20) responses were gathered through …

Identification And Development Of The Support Needs In Nematology For Arkansas Cooperative Extension Personnel, Mia Gentry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

County extension agents are vital to the land-grant university system and are responsible for transferring current, research-based knowledge from the university to the community. In-service training allows agents the means to maintain a current, sound knowledge base. Needs identified by leading nematologists led the researcher of this study to assess if nematology education was a topic that warranted in-service training development for Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service (CES) agents. The researcher also assessed agents' comfort level with job related technology. Of the respondents, 67% identified general knowledge of plant parasitic nematodes necessary to meet the needs of their clientele. Findings from …

A Mixed Methods Approach Of Communication Campaign Development And Assessment: Identifying The Needs Of An Audience And Determining The Value In Evaluation, Tara Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The two articles presented in this thesis used both quantitative and qualitative research methods to examine two distinct stages of communication campaigns: research and evaluation. In the quantitative study, students (n = 440) at the University of Arkansas were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the Arkansas Water Resources Center (AWRC), water resources, and water issues. A questionnaire was developed from an existing instrument, reviewed by a panel of experts, pilot tested, and revised. The researchers found participants were most aware (M = 3.23, SD = 1.14), concerned (M = 4.07, SD = 0.86), and interested (M = 4.10, SD …

Biomass Scoping Study: Opportunities For Agriculture In Western Australia, Kim Brooksbank, Mitchell Lever, Harriet Paterson, Melissa Weybury

Bulletins 4000 -

This 2014 report aims to provide a summary of national and international activity in the use of agricultural by-products for the production of bioenergy and biofuels. The summary is primarily an internal report for the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), but will hopefully be of some value to industry proponents that are interested in pursuing the opportunities provided by what are currently low value agricultural waste products. We outline three processes for obtaining energy from these by-products that may be appropriate for the farming sector in Western Australia (WA).

Endophytic Actinomycetes As Potential Agents To Control Common Scab Of Potatoes, Alaxandra A. Goodman

All NMU Master's Theses

Potato marketability and tuber quality can be decreased upon infection by a pathogen, Streptomyces scabies. Current disease control consists of expensive irrigation systems and using hazardous chemicals, which exert limited disease control and are potential hazards to those exposed. Biological control offers a cost effective method for controlling disease. Antibiotic producing Streptomyces have indicated their ability to combat plant diseases. Some Streptomyces species colonize within plant tissues without causing disease symptoms (endophytes). This research sought for the presence of endophytic Steptomyces or closely related species in potato plants that were grown in fields containing pathogen-inhibiting Streptomyces. To establish genus …

Evaluation Of 2,4-D And Dicamba Based Herbicide Programs For Weed Control In Tolerant Soybean, Dwayne Joseph

All Theses

Weeds are the most limiting factor on soybean yields in South Carolina. With their early emergence and rapid growth, weeds compete with crops for resources. The recent evolution of herbicide resistant weeds has made it increasingly difficult for growers to actively control weeds in fields. Glyphosate and ALS-resistant Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson) biotypes have spread rapidly throughout South Carolina, especially in areas where resistance management isn't practiced. In the near future, soybean varieties will be introduced with tolerance to 2,4-D (Dow AgroSciences) and dicamba (Monsanto Company). Field and greenhouse experiments were conducted at Edisto Research and Education Center …

Management Of Silverleaf Whitefly, Bemisia Argentifolii Bellows And Perring (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Using Non-Crop Companion Plants In Organically-Managed Cantaloupe Systems In South Texas, Ruth Renee Colyer

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Field trials in three separate phases of research were carried out from March, 2010, to August, 2012, to determine the effects of inter-cropping cantaloupe (Cucumis melo var. inodorus) with select non-crop companion plants in an effort to develop organic production strategies for melons in South Texas without the use of pesticides. A research program was designed and initiated to assess the effects of the companion plants and their ability to: 1) attract insect pollinators, and 2) repel or suppress pest species without affecting beneficial natural enemy complexes. The hypotheses were: 1) that organically-managed cantaloupe systems grown with non-crop companion plants …

Sheep Updates 2014, James Kynge, David Lindsay, Johan Greeff, John Young, Luke Stephen, Graham Gardner, Stephen Lee, Bindi Murray, James Rowe

Sheep Updates

This session covers nine papers from different authors:

Genetic Research: A brave new world of opportunities

1. "China's Appetite" - The implications for WA, James Kynge, Chairman, FT Confidential Research, Emerging Markets Editor, Financial Times, London.

2. The genetics warm-up - the secret language of genetic research and its impacts on WA's sheep flock, Professor David Lindsay, University of Western Australia, Perth WA

The strength of genetic data: is it really valuable?

3. Genetic research in Western Australia - What have the compromises in production been? Johan Greeff, Senior Geneticist, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia

4. Show …