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Relations Of Water Quality, Land Use Nuffers, And Diatom Communities Of Connected Depressions Within The Cache River Watershed, Arkansas, Usa, David R. L. Burge Sep 2014

Relations Of Water Quality, Land Use Nuffers, And Diatom Communities Of Connected Depressions Within The Cache River Watershed, Arkansas, Usa, David R. L. Burge

Student Theses and Dissertations

Over the past century, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain Ecoregion was altered from forest to agriculture. Associated with increased adjacent agriculture, water quality perturbations identified in Cache River connected depressions included elevated pH, DO, and conductivity. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling indicated significant changes in the epidendric and benthic diatom communities in relation to conductivity and adjacent agriculture. The communities of less-impacted wetlands were dominated by species in the genera Eunotia, Gomphonema, and Pinnularia shifted towards communities dominated by Diadesmis contenta and Nitschia clausii in the more disturbed wetlands. Also, correlations among autecological metrics showed the relative abundance of planktonic diatoms increased and …

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Sustainable Service-Learning Projects In The Tropics: A Costa Rica Maymester, Kimberly Lutz Aug 2014

Sustainable Service-Learning Projects In The Tropics: A Costa Rica Maymester, Kimberly Lutz

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

International service-learning projects extend textbook knowledge into practical, real-world applications while giving students an opportunity to engage in a different culture. In May 2012, a group of Purdue students from various majors in the College of Agriculture, led by a student leader and faculty member, traveled to Costa Rica to complete several service-learning projects. These projects included: (1) the construction and installation of water filtration systems, (2) creating an animal health care curricula for local schools, and (3) finalizing a guidebook of fl ora and fauna to benefit an emerging ecotourism site. Maymester students met for an 8-week course prior …

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Determining The Role Of Dnttip1: Piecing Together The Callipyge Sheep Muscle Hypertrophy Pathway, Kimberly Lutz Aug 2014

Determining The Role Of Dnttip1: Piecing Together The Callipyge Sheep Muscle Hypertrophy Pathway, Kimberly Lutz

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Callipyge sheep have muscle hypertrophy in their loin and pelvic limbs due to a mutation in the DLK1-DIO3 imprinted gene cluster, which results in a 30–40% increase in muscle mass without altering live weight. There is also a change in the myosin gene expression causing an increase in fast twitch glycolytic fibers. Previous gene expression studies have shown that DNTTIP1 (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase interacting protein 1) is up-regulated in the callipyge muscle. DNTTIP1 is a transcription factor, meaning it binds to a specific DNA sequence to control the amount of mRNA produced. DNTTIP1 may regulate other genes, ultimately leading to …

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A Case Study Of Changing Cropping Diversity And Agricultural Risk In The Doulthabad Mandal Of Telangana State In India, Srikanth Kondabolu Aug 2014

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 …

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"Wake Up The Knowledge That You Have": An Assessment Of Community Food Security In Fellsmere, Florida, Susan Marie Tyler Jul 2014

"Wake Up The Knowledge That You Have": An Assessment Of Community Food Security In Fellsmere, Florida, Susan Marie Tyler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the global industrial agricultural system many people lack access to high-quality nutritious foods and food production techniques are often inefficient and reliant on harsh chemical inputs. While numerous strategies exist to address the disparities present in the global food system, increasingly researchers and practitioners are looking to local food systems for solutions to strengthen community food security (CFS). CFS emphasizes small-scale production strategies such as farmer's markets, community gardens, and consumer supported agriculture. As these efforts evolve, research is needed to understand how these strategies affect communities. To explore a local CFS initiative, qualitative data were collected from community …

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Envisioning The Farms Of The Future: In Pursuit Of Sustainable Agriculture In The Rio Grande Valley, Matthew Draper Jul 2014

Envisioning The Farms Of The Future: In Pursuit Of Sustainable Agriculture In The Rio Grande Valley, Matthew Draper

Latin American Studies ETDs

This thesis attempts to define the parameters that characterize sustainable agriculture on the level of an individual farm in the context of the central Rio Grande valley. Using historical sources about New Mexican agriculture, contemporary scientific literature and interviews with practicing farmers in the region, it develops a vision for the shape that farms must take in order to sustain agriculture in the region indefinitely. In doing so, particular attention is paid to how farms can be successful in the present moment and prepare for a future defined by resource scarcity and climate change. It begins with a brief history …

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Development Of A Public Education Website: Building Bridges Over Water, Angelina Mckee Jul 2014

Development Of A Public Education Website: Building Bridges Over Water, Angelina Mckee

Agricultural Education and Communication

Website created by Angelina McKee to educate the public about water resource issues. Water is the basic unit of life, water resources are the basis for what societies and ecosystems are founded upon. Water shortages and droughts are more prevalent in our ever-changing world. It is no shock that there are discrepancies between various stockholders on either sides of the dry riverbed. This senior project resulted in the development of a website that addresses global water resources, water use in California, water conservation, and water allocation. The website informs the public on water resources and related issues and will hopefully …

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Women's Roles And The Gender Division Of Labor Within The Local Food System Of The Central New Mexico Regional Foodshed, Tiffany Terry Jul 2014

Women's Roles And The Gender Division Of Labor Within The Local Food System Of The Central New Mexico Regional Foodshed, Tiffany Terry

Architecture and Planning ETDs

Within the Central New Mexico regional foodshed (i.e. within a 300 mile radius of Albuquerque), many women are working within the local food system to help locally grown food go from farm to fork. In certain roles, women predominate. In others, women are less represented. Women participating in the local food system provided their insights and expertise on how gender affects their own participation, as well as their perceptions of the gender division of labor within the local food system. Through this exploration, eleven women co-participants of this study found that regardless of the role, there are challenges based on …

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An Asian Origin Of Virulent Aeromonas Hydrophila Responsible For Disease Epidemics In United States-Farmed Catfish, Mohammad J. Hossain, Dawei Sun, Donald J. Mcgarey, Shannon Wrenn Jun 2014

An Asian Origin Of Virulent Aeromonas Hydrophila Responsible For Disease Epidemics In United States-Farmed Catfish, Mohammad J. Hossain, Dawei Sun, Donald J. Mcgarey, Shannon Wrenn

Faculty Articles

Unlabelled: Since 2009, catfish farming in the southeastern United States has been severely impacted by a highly virulent and clonal population of Aeromonas hydrophila causing motile Aeromonas septicemia (MAS) in catfish. The possible origin of this newly emerged highly virulent A. hydrophila strain is unknown. In this study, we show using whole-genome sequencing and comparative genomics that A. hydrophila isolates from diseased grass carp in China and catfish in the United States have highly similar genomes. Our phylogenomic analyses suggest that U.S. catfish isolates emerged from A. hydrophila populations of Asian origin. Furthermore, we identified an A. hydrophila strain isolated …

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Biodiversity: A Guide To Agricultural Wildlife, Rebecca Ozeran, Elaina Cromer Jun 2014

Biodiversity: A Guide To Agricultural Wildlife, Rebecca Ozeran, Elaina Cromer

Animal Science

We have compiled a list of the birds and mammals that we documented at selected locations on campus. Through this document we aim to offer an easily accessible resource that students, faculty, and visitors can utilize to not just satisfy their curiosity but also spark further contemplation. For each species and for each location, we have also summarized the possible implications of our observations from a holistic perspective. The purpose of this is to get people to think about the way land is managed and what may indicate that it is being mismanaged or that the certain aspects of current …

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Effect Of Monetary Policy On Agricultural Sector In Nigeria, Elias A. Udeaja, Udoh A. Elijah Jun 2014

Effect Of Monetary Policy On Agricultural Sector In Nigeria, Elias A. Udeaja, Udoh A. Elijah

Economic and Financial Review

The study examinee the effect of monetary policy on agricultural sector in Nigeria, utilizing time series data for the periods spanning from 1970 to 2010. The study captures both monetary and non-monetary policy variables such as lending rate, commercial banks credit to agriculture, exchange rate, government expenditure in agriculture and inflation rate in examining the effect of monetary policy on agricultural output. The methodology adopted is the Auto- Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bound Testing Approach. The results obtained shows that exchange rate and government expenditure had positive and significant effect on agricultural output and, hence agricultural sector in Nigeria. It …

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Benefits Of Exposing Animals To Poor-Quality Foods Early In Life, Beth Burritt Jun 2014

Benefits Of Exposing Animals To Poor-Quality Foods Early In Life, Beth Burritt

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides research examples of how exposure early in life to poor-quality or high-toxin forages can increase intake and preference for certain forages and improve the productivity of livestock.

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Idaho Gag Law Hides Horrors Of Ag Industry, Lauren Carasik May 2014

Idaho Gag Law Hides Horrors Of Ag Industry, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

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Farming: It's Not Just For Farmers Anymore, Jennifer Schmidt May 2014

Farming: It's Not Just For Farmers Anymore, Jennifer Schmidt

Pomona Senior Theses

Agricultural education, originally the province of land grant institutions, has recently entered the liberal arts curriculum. This represents a profound shift from the origins of agricultural education, when it was intended primarily as vocational training for future farmers, and has important implications for the future of the American food system. The first chapter of this thesis addresses the history of agricultural education: what was it originally like, and why did it come to be heavily criticized in the late twentieth century? Formal agricultural education changed significantly in response to these criticisms, making it more environmentally sustainable and bringing it into …

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California Drought: A Need For Agricultural Revolution In The Golden State, Benjamin Clinkinbeard May 2014

California Drought: A Need For Agricultural Revolution In The Golden State, Benjamin Clinkinbeard

2014 Student Theses

California is in a drought State of Emergency, which is fueling negative social and economic consequences. After multiple years of below average rainfall, California has arrived at one of the most severe droughts in recorded history. Climate change is upon the Golden State, and the ugly consequences need to encourage citizens to spur green movements combating environmental destruction. The agriculture industry is in need of drastic change in order to secure a future that includes clean water, and fresh food for a growing population. Currently, the agricultural techniques practiced are far from sustainable. Adopting a new ideal on what it …

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Biodynamic Agriculture: A Valuable Alternative To The Industrial Farming System, Eden K. Olsen May 2014

Biodynamic Agriculture: A Valuable Alternative To The Industrial Farming System, Eden K. Olsen

Scripps Senior Theses

Since the Scientific and Industrial revolutions, advancing technologies and cutting-edge science have enabled our society to continually promote a growing global economy. Industrial growth has increasingly become a top priority for most governments, notably in the agricultural realm. The advances towards agricultural industrialization began in the 17th century and escalated during the Green Revolution, which examined the possibility of using synthetic fertilizers and mechanization in farming to decrease labor and improve yields. Although seen as economically beneficial, the shift from an agrarian lifestyle to industrial farming has created an ecological, economic, and ideological crisis to our modern world. This …

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Post-Secondary Student's Perception Of College Readiness Skills Developed During Secondary Education Careers, Loren Gross May 2014

Post-Secondary Student's Perception Of College Readiness Skills Developed During Secondary Education Careers, Loren Gross

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This study is designed to collect information from participants in the AGRI 175 University Experience Agriculture course. The data collected will be focused on the college readiness and career preparedness of students coming from a secondary school system by being broken into the subcategories of: FFA/ 4-H/ Extracurricular, Classroom, Outside of Classroom Educational Obligations, and Miscellaneous. The study will use these four sections as primers for responses for the participants. The four areas will utilize questions to attain attributes in knowledge, skill, and abilities from the subjects with their experiences in secondary education. The goal of this study is to …

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Farming And Education : An Interview Project Advocating For Farm-Based Education, Rebekah Mindel May 2014

Farming And Education : An Interview Project Advocating For Farm-Based Education, Rebekah Mindel

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This thesis is meant to inspire educators to value farm-based education in which farming and education come together in experiential, inquiry-based learning.

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Eating Misery: The Moral Question Of Factory Farming And The Struggle With Affected Ignorance, Victoria Elizabeth Oh May 2014

Eating Misery: The Moral Question Of Factory Farming And The Struggle With Affected Ignorance, Victoria Elizabeth Oh

2014 Student Theses

What moral responsibility do we have to the suffering that we cause to animals? Should we reconsider our socially accepted treatment of animals in agriculture? In this essay I attempt to explore those moral questions by comparing new agriculture to the past; quantitative data linking environmental concerns to animal agriculture; and the current policy and law relating to factory farming. Using this information I try to unpack our moral obligation to these animals in factory farms and our affected ignorance to the entire subject of the unethical treatment of animals in factory farms. I recommend that we need to transform …

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Colony Collapse Disorder In North American Honey Bees: History, Economics And Policy, Lauren Marra May 2014

Colony Collapse Disorder In North American Honey Bees: History, Economics And Policy, Lauren Marra

2014 Student Theses

In recent years, millions of bees have died in North America as part of a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder. This thesis analyzes the importance of productive bee colonies and how their act of pollination is a vital ecosystem service to many of our economies. It identifies the major crops reliant on bee pollination and the many ecological threats that declining bee populations pose. Using data from the USDA, university studies, and other scientific research, this thesis evaluates the many reasons for the decline of honeybees as a result of the gradual decline of the nation’s current agricultural system. …

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Palatability Of Teff Grass By Horses, Rachel R. Cummins May 2014

Palatability Of Teff Grass By Horses, Rachel R. Cummins

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Most forages commonly used to feed horses have potential detriments including blister beetles or excessive fiber concentrations. Teff grass (T), a warm-season annual forage, has the potential to be a good alternative for horses because of its lack of observed disorders. Our objective was to compare preference by horses for T harvested under different conditions with that of bermudagrass (B) harvested at two maturities. Six different forages were evaluated: T harvested at the late vegetative stage (TLV), at late bloom but that incurred 33 mm of rainfall between mowing and baling (TLBR), with caryopsis visible (TES), or at soft dough …

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Maintaining A Healthy Water Supply While Growing A Healthy Food Supply: Legal Tools For Cleaning Up Agricultural Water Pollution, Mary Jane Angelo, Jon Morris May 2014

Maintaining A Healthy Water Supply While Growing A Healthy Food Supply: Legal Tools For Cleaning Up Agricultural Water Pollution, Mary Jane Angelo, Jon Morris

UF Law Faculty Publications

This article will explore a number of legal mechanisms that could play a role in ensuring that discharges from agricultural activities do not cause or contribute to violations of water quality standards. Specifically, this article will evaluate the relative effectiveness of: (1) narrative nutrient criteria as compared with numeric nutrient criteria; (2) Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) implementation through regulatory and non-regulatory mechanisms; and (3) the relative efficacy of design-based standards such as Best Management Practices (BMPs) and performance-based standards in reducing water pollution from agriculture. The article will draw on experiences from the State of Florida, including Everglades' restoration …

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Feasibility Studies On Future Exchange Of Agricultural Commodities In Kosovo, Lorez Qehaja May 2014

Feasibility Studies On Future Exchange Of Agricultural Commodities In Kosovo, Lorez Qehaja

Theses

The agriculture sector in Kosovo is a sector that has great potential to contribute to the economic development of Kosovo. Being a developing country, with a high trade imbalance, Kosovo’s focus is to increase country’s export and try to meet 100% of the local demand with local products. The aim of this paper is to investigate the possibility of creating a regulatory office in Kosovo that would initiate the agriculture commodities futures exchange. The main purpose is to study the possibility of Kosovo to develop such market based on its economic indicators and market features. Three main categories of agricultural …

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Should Ranchers Value Sagebrush? Why We Need Sagebrush, Beth Burritt, Thomas Monaco, Eric Thacker May 2014

Should Ranchers Value Sagebrush? Why We Need Sagebrush, Beth Burritt, Thomas Monaco, Eric Thacker

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes the value of sagebrush to ranchers. Big sagebrush is beneficial to grasses and forbs growing under its canopy by supplying them water, nutrients,organic matter and protection from overgrazing. It provides food and cover for a number of birds, reptiles, small mammals and beneficial insects. It can provide winter forage for both wildlife and livestock. Lastly, it is an important plant for revegetation efforts in the West.

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Nutritional Value And Toxins In Various Noxious Weeds, Beth Burritt, Rae Ann Hart May 2014

Nutritional Value And Toxins In Various Noxious Weeds, Beth Burritt, Rae Ann Hart

All Current Publications

Teaching animals to eat noxious weeds may be a solution to reducing noxious weeds. Grazing animals often avoid eating weeds due to novelty even though weeds are often as nutritious as many of our planted pasture and rangelands species. This fact sheet provides livestock producers with the nutritive values of many common weeds. These values were summarized from a variety of peer-reviewed journal articles.

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Family-Farm Therapy: An Urban Therapy Clinic To Address The Multifaceted Needs Of Multi-Stressed Families And Their Surrounding Communities, Felisa M. Huene Apr 2014

Family-Farm Therapy: An Urban Therapy Clinic To Address The Multifaceted Needs Of Multi-Stressed Families And Their Surrounding Communities, Felisa M. Huene

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Family-Farm Therapy incorporates a therapeutic clinic within an urban farming community site, and focuses on multi-stressed family systems and the larger community system. The goal is for systemic change within the family and the community by creating positive relationships and personal acceptance. Farming has traditionally been a family endeavor which makes it a unique environment to be utilized as metaphors for family systems, their interactions, behaviors, and structure. Multi-stressed families have socioeconomic hurdles that complicate their ability to adjust to change and crisis in their family. Farming addresses such hurdles by offering economic sustenance, increased physical health, and community acceptance. …

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Unpermitted Urban Agriculture: Transgressive Actions, Changing Norms And The Local Food Movement, Sarah B. Schindler Apr 2014

Unpermitted Urban Agriculture: Transgressive Actions, Changing Norms And The Local Food Movement, Sarah B. Schindler

Faculty Publications

Roberta keeps four chickens in her backyard. Bob snuck onto the vacant lot next door, which the bank foreclosed upon and now owns, and planted a vegetable garden. Vien operates an occasional underground restaurant from his friends’ microbrewery after beer-making operations cease for the day. The common thread tying these actions together is that they are unauthorized; they are being undertaken in violation of existing laws and often norms. In this Article, I explore ideas surrounding the overlap between food policy and land use law, specifically the transgressive1 actions that people living in urban and suburban communities are undertaking to …

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Agricultural Awareness Days: Integrating Agricultural Partnerships And Stem Education, Brian T. Campbell, Carol A. Wilkinson, Pamela J. Shepherd Apr 2014

Agricultural Awareness Days: Integrating Agricultural Partnerships And Stem Education, Brian T. Campbell, Carol A. Wilkinson, Pamela J. Shepherd

Journal of Extension

In the United States there is a need to educate young children in science, technology, and agriculture. Through collaboration with many agricultural groups, the Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Education Center has set up a program that works with 3rd grade students and teachers to reinforce the science that has been taught in the classroom in a hands-on environment. This program has grown in size and scope over the years that it has been in place, but the partnerships that come together from Extension, Virginia Tech, USDA, and many others is what makes this program such a success.

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Modeling Acequia Water Use In The Rio Hondo Watershed, Sandeep Sabu Mar 2014

Modeling Acequia Water Use In The Rio Hondo Watershed, Sandeep Sabu

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

Acequia communities are agricultural communities that rely on self-organized participatory water allocation for irrigation. In North America, these communities originated with the Spanish colonization of the New World that took place towards the end of the 16th Century. Currently, functioning acequia communities in the United States are located in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. As the first users of snowmelt water, these communities are threatened by future changes in climate. Projections for decreases in precipitation, increases in temperature, and prolonged, drastic periods of drought are all factors in possible future diminishments in stream flow. Other threats to acequia culture …

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Agriculture, Environmental Restoration And Ecosystem Services: Assessing The Costs Of Water Storage On Agricultural Lands In South Florida, Kayla Ouellette Mar 2014

Agriculture, Environmental Restoration And Ecosystem Services: Assessing The Costs Of Water Storage On Agricultural Lands In South Florida, Kayla Ouellette

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A large part of the environmental restoration required by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan calls for more water-storage on lands south of Lake Okeechobee in order to restore the natural water flows of the Everglades watershed. The Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) can be used for increased water storage in order to relieve coastal estuaries of excess water in the rainy season. This water storage can deliver additional ecosystem services of soil retention and reduced CO2 emissions that could compensate farmers for the cost of water storage by increasing long term farm profitability. The goals of this study were 1) to …

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