Business Commons^™

Social Media Impacts On Arkansas Consumer Perceptions Of Gmos, Elizabeth R. Berner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study builds upon previous consumer perceptions of GMOs studies. A need existed to determine what, if any, effects social media messages about GMOs had on consumer perceptions in Arkansas. The study utilized a qualitative approach with three focus groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive code. Participants were found to have a general understanding of GMOs, though discussion about what a GMO product was took an uncertain tone. Most participants did not consider GMOs as a factor when purchasing products. Rather participants considered characteristics such as price, quality, and convenience. Participants did not believe the infographics had changed their opinions …

Description Of Job Embeddedness In Arkansas County Extension Agents, Anika Parks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Cooperative Extension System (CES) has had a long-standing problem with the retention of its county Extension agents (CEAs), who are in charge of running various programs in over 3,000 counties within the United States. When a CEA leaves a county, voluntarily or involuntarily, the community members are left without that leader, and their needs go unmet, which was proposed to increase voluntary turnover among CEAs even further. Arkansas CES has had its problems with turnover, and studying this issue through the lens of Job Embeddedness Theory was identified as a gap in the literature.

Job Embeddedness Theory is a …

The Economics Of On-Farm Rice Drying In Arkansas, Clayton Parker

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Globally, rice producers are faced with the temporal problem of deciding the optimal time to being rice harvest. When harvested, paddy rice is typically at a moisture content (HMC) between 15 and 22%. Upon delivery, the rice is subsequently dried by the mill to a moisture content (MC) of 12.5%. Riceland Foods Inc., the largest miller of rice in the world, uses a stair-step pricing model to charge farmers to dry in price/unit as the MC of grain decreases from a range of +22% to 13.5%. This study estimates an alternative linear relationship in the stair-step model to determine MC …

The Political Preferences Of Arkansas Farmers And Ranchers, Rachel J. Barry

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research was conducted to evaluate where farmers and ranchers find political information and assess their political preferences. By conducting a survey of Arkansas farmers and ranchers we were able to determine that they prefer face to face interaction as a source of information by large margins. They typically consult friends, peers, and extension agents where appropriate. Depending on the type of political information they are seeking (information about candidates as opposed to information about policy topics), they often used other types of information sources such as the internet and broadcast media. We also ascertained that farmers and ranchers have …

The Economics Of On-Farm Rice Drying In Arkansas, Clayton J. Parker, Lanier Nalley

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Globally, rice producers are faced with the temporal problem of deciding the optimal time to harvest rice. When harvested, paddy rice is typically at a harvest moisture content (HMC) between 15% and 22% and subsequently dried by the mill to a moisture content (MC) of 12.5%. Riceland Foods Inc., the largest miller of rice in the world, uses a stair-step pricing model to charge farmers to dry, which can complicate the timing of harvest as producers try to balance the tradeoff of minimizing drying costs by waiting to harvest at lower HMC vs. maintaining higher rice quality typically observed when …

Identifying Arkansas Food Desert Blocks Suitable For A Peer-To-Peer Modeled Food Redistribution Program, Emily King

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

­­­­­­­­­ Nearly 10% of Americans reside in low-income urban food deserts which are low-income areas that lack access to affordable and nutritious foods. Food deserts in Arkansas contribute to a food insecurity rate above the national average, making it one of the most food insecure states in the country. Efforts to alleviate food deserts have included working with supermarkets to construct stores in underserved areas, encouraging the growth of farmers’ markets, and passing the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI). The inability of these programs to provide food desert residents with a variety of accessible and affordable food items year-round …

Identifying Arkansas Food Desert Blocks Suitable For A Peer-To-Peer Modeled Food Redistribution Program, Emily A. King, Jennie S. Popp, Michael R. Thomsen, Di Fang, Alvaro Durand-Morat

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Abstract

Nearly 10% of Americans reside in low-income urban food deserts which are low-income areas that lack access to affordable and nutritious foods. Food deserts in Arkansas contribute to a food insecurity rate above the national average, making it one of the most food insecure states in the country. Increased internet usage and consumer interest in sharing based companies contribute to the idea of a sharing, or peer-to-peer (P2P) style food redistribution program. The objective of this study is to identify which of the 186,211census blocks in the state of Arkansas are food deserts and best suited for and in …

Risk And Return Comparisons Of Pre-Harvest Marketing Strategies, John Leander Turner V

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes risk and returns associated with pre-harvest corn grain marketing strategies for the state of Arkansas. Farming is characterized by a volatile environment. Numerous risks are taken by producers in order to provide commodities that are bought and sold by various parties in the supply chain. Price, yield, and production costs vary daily and can have large variation between years. Risk and Return Comparisons of Pre-harvest Marketing Strategies examines the effectiveness of using pre-harvest marketing strategies to enhance returns and to mitigate inherent price risk in the Memphis cash corn market. Thirteen strategies are compared to the October …

Then And Now: Ten Years Of Arkansas Women In Agriculture, Paige Morgan Acklie

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

The United States Agricultural Census show that between 2002 and 2012, the number of farm women operators in Arkansas grew 14 percent (from 19,856 to 22,637). These women operators have made up an increasingly larger percent of all farm operators in the state (from almost 29% to nearly 33%). There is little published information regarding how women’s roles, challenges and factors important to their success may have changed over time. While some surveys of farm women have been conducted, these surveys are generally insufficient because data exist only for one point in time.

This research uses the first, middle and …