Agribusiness Commons^™

Applying Experimental Economics To Obesity In The Family Household, Mariah D. Ehmke, Travis Warziniack, Christiane Schroeter, Kari Morgan

Agribusiness

The objective of this study is to identify experimental economic tools that can be employed to explain the role of economic behavior in overweight and obesity in the household. We identify three economic experiments that can be used to understand how parent-child economic relationships relate to obesity. Loss aversion experiments are discussed as a tool to understand challenges some individuals face in achieving a healthy diet. Finally, testbed experiments are introduced as a means to test and understand new policies and incentives for better health at the household level.

Economic Factors And Body Weight: An Empirical Analysis, Christiane Schroeter, Jayson L. Lusk

Agribusiness

With this study, we investigate the effects of changes in economic factors on body weight by constructing a utility theoretic model. The model is empirically estimated by combining data on individuals’ body weight, demographic and physical activity information, and state level measures pertaining to the prices of food away from home, food at home, and wages. By combining these data sources, we aim to estimate directly the weight effects of price and income changes. The empirical analysis suggests that decreasing the price of food at home could decrease body weight, a finding which has important public policy implications.

Do College Students Learn By Correcting Missed Exam Questions?, Christiane Schroeter, Steven V. Green, Erin Bess

Agribusiness

This study determines the learning benefit of correcting missed exam questions. The results show that in addition to exams being an assessment tool, they can also be used as a tool for student learning. The availability of this information will provide help considering design, development, and improvement of traditional assessment methods for student learning.

Does The Corn/Soybean Farmer Have Time For Alternative Crops? [Abstract], Lori A. Hoagland, Laurie Hodges, Glenn A. Helmers, James R. Brandle, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Diversification of traditional row-crop farming in the Corn Belt is seen as advantageous in providing a wider economic base, decreasing economic risk associated with the link between commodity grain and cattle, increasing net farm income, and increasing biodiversity in the region. As farm size has increased to provide sufficient farm income, farm operations during the critical planting and harvesting windows are seen as limits to additional on-farm enterprises.

The Rise Of Agrarian Capitalism With Chinese Characteristics: Agricultural Modernization, Agribusiness And Collective Land Rights, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The article discusses the agricultural transformation taking place in the rural areas of China. Details about the Chinese laws regarding rural reform and the effect they have had on rural Chinese farmers and families are included. The authors examine the expansion of agrarian capitalism in China and describe the rise of agribusiness in rural Chinese areas. The practices of Chinese agribusinesses and the Chinese land rights laws are explored. The relationships between individual farmers and agribusinesses is also examined.

Interview With Michael Menzies, Braeside Farms, 2008 (Audio), Michael Menzies

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Michael Menzies by Joel DaMetz at Braeside Farms in Estacada, Oregon on June 6th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Jill And Michael J. Paine, Gaining Ground Farm, 2008 (Audio), Jill Paine, Michael J. Paine

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Jill and Michael J. Pain by James Pritchett in Yamhill, Oregon on May 28th, 2008.

The interview index is available for download.

Global Farm Animal Production And Global Warming: Impacting And Mitigating Climate Change, Gowri Koneswaran, Danielle Nierenberg

Agribusiness Collection

BACKGROUND: The farm animal sector is the single largest anthropogenic user of land, contributing to many environmental problems, including global warming and climate change.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to synthesize and expand upon existing data on the contribution of farm animal production to climate change.

METHODS: We analyzed the scientific literature on farm animal production and documented greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as various mitigation strategies.

DISCUSSIONS: An analysis of meat, egg, and milk production encompasses not only the direct rearing and slaughtering of animals, but also grain and fertilizer production for animal feed, waste storage …

Survey Of Dairy Management Practices On One Hundred Thirteen North Central And Northeastern United States Dairies, W. K. Fulwider, T. Grandin, B. E. Rollin, T. E. Engle, N. L. Dalstead, W. D. Lamm

Farm Animal Welfare Collection

The objective was to conduct a broad survey of dairy management practices that have an effect on animal well-being. Dairies were visited during the fall and winter of 2005 and 2006 in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, and New York. Data were collected on 113 dairies on colostrum feeding, dehorning, tail-docking, euthanasia methods, producer statements about welfare, use of specialized calf-raising farms (custom), level of satisfaction with calf-raising by producers, and cow behavior. Calves were raised by the owner on 50.4% of dairies; 30.1% were raised on custom farms during the milk-feeding period, 18.6% were custom raised after weaning, and 1% …

On Changes In Rural China: The Rise Of Agrarian Capitalism And Dissolution Of The Peasantry In Contemporary China, Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

For decades, Mr. Hong and his family have toiled the ground of Dounan Village, an area of Yunnan Province that became well-known throughout China for the quality of its fresh vegetables. While Hong and his neighbors have, since the early 1980s, concentrated on the small plot of land that the state allocated to them, in recent years, Dounan village has begun producing vegetables in large enough scale to market to distant, wealthy coastal areas, bringing new-found prosperity to the area. After gaining experience producing vegetables both on the plot that the government allocated to his family, and on his neighbors’ …

Crop Updates 2008 - Lupins, Pulses And Oilseeds, Mark Seymour, Robert Johnson, Ian Pritchard, Raj Malik, Wayne Parker, Martin Harries, Robert French, Jo Walker, Laurie Maiolo, Leigh Smith, Alan Harris, Rod Hunter, Tanveer Khan, Jenny Garlinge, Pooran Gaur, Kambot Siddique, Heather Clarke, Neil Turner, William Macleod, Stuart Morgan, Wendy Vance, Philip Chambers, Chris Veitch, Tony Leonforte, Rodger Beermier, Moin U. Salam, Jenny Davidson, Jean Galloway, Pip Payne, Tess Humphries, Art Diggle, Harmohinder Dhammu, Michael Materne, Kerry Regan, Mohammad Amjad, Andy Sutherland, Pat Fels, Glen Riethmuller, Wallace Cowling, Milton Saunders, Eliot Jones, Chris Newman, John Duff, David Sermon, Svetlana Micic, Anthony Dore, Geoff Strickland, Blakely Paynter, Vince Lambert, Chris Roberts

Crop Updates

This session covers twenty six papers from different authors:

Regional Roundup

1. SOUTH EAST AGRICULTURAL REGION, Mark Seymour Department of Agriculture and Food, and Robert Johnson CBH Group, Esperance

2. CENTRAL AGRICULTURAL REGION, Ian Pritchard, Department of Agriculture and Food

3. GREAT SOUTHERN AND LAKES REGION, Raj Malik, Department of Agriculture and Food

4. NORTHERN AGRICULTURAL REGION, Wayne Parker and Martin Harries, Department of Agriculture and Food

LUPINS

5. Cropping lupins in wide rows in Western Australia, Martin Harries and Bob French, Department of Agriculture and Food

6. The effect of sowing time and radish density …

Crop Updates 2008 - Weeds, Craig A. Ruchs, Abul Hashem, Catherine Borger, Ken Mckee, Peter Newman, Aik Cheam, Siew Lee, Meagan Pearce, Michael Walsh, Stephen Powles, Kent Stone, Mike Clarke, Andrew Loorham, Roberto Busi, Shahab Pathan, Alexandra Douglas, Ray Fulwood, Chris Roberts, Glen Riethmuller, Sally Peltzer, Lorinda Hunt, John Borger, Meir Altman, Ed Barrett-Lennard, Stephen Davies, Pippa Michael, Bill Mcleod, Harmohinder Dhammu, Mark Seymour, Vince Lambert, John H. Moore, Rohan Rainbow

Crop Updates

This session covers twenty nine papers from different authors:

1. BOXER® GOLD, a new pre-emergent herbicide option for WA wheat and barley growers for the control of Annual Ryegrass and Toad Rush, Craig A. Ruchs, Syngenta Crop Protection Australia Pty Ltd

2. Efficacy of Boxer Gold in the control of annual ryegrass in wheat, Dr Abul Hashem, Dr Catherine Borger, Department of Agriculture and Food, Mr Ken McKee, Field Development Manager, Syngenta Crop Protection Australia Pty Ltd

3. Alternative herbicides to avoid trifluralin resistance, Catherine Borger and Abul Hashem, Department of Agriculture and Food

4. Exiting …

Crop Updates 2008 - Farming Systems, John De Majnik, Paul Meibusch, Vince Logan, Louise Barton, Wahid Biswas, Daniel Carter, Nicolyn Short, Jodie Bowling, Glen Riethmuller, James Fisher, Moin Salam, Stephen Davies, Jim Dixon, Dennis Van Gool, Alison Slade, Bob Gilkes, Megan Abrahams, Caroline Peek, Daniel Gardiner, Kari-Lee Falconer, David Hall, Jeromy Lemon, Harvey Jones, Yvette Oliver, Tania Butler, Michael Robertson, Stephen Carr, Chris Gazey, David York, Joel Andrews, Michael Simeoni, G. Peter Mangano, Svetlana Micic, Dave Gartner, Adam Clune, Matthew Morell, Adam Umbers, Angelo Loi, Brad Nutt, Clinton Revell, Geoff Kew, Vivien Vanstone, Ali Bhatti, Ming Pei You, Imma Farre, Bill Bowden, Henry Smolinski, Jane Speijers, John Bruce, David Mccarthy, Gary Lang, David Rees, Rob Grima, John Young, Ross Kingwell, Chris Oldham, Derk Bakker, Ian Foster, David Beard, Wen Chen, Richard Bell, Ross Brennan, Art Diggle, Reg Lunt, Qifu Ma, Zed Rengel, Tim Hilder, Dusty Severtson, Shahajahan Miyan, Sam Clune, Barb Sage, Tenielle Martin, Chris Newman, Neal Dalgliesh, Caroline Peak, Andrew Blake, Megan Ryan, Richard Bennett, Tim Colmer, D. Real, Jiyan Pang, Lori Kroiss, Dion Nicol, Tammy Edmonds-Tibbett, Ron Mctaggart, Sean Kelly, Helen Hunter

Crop Updates

This session covers thirty nine papers from different authors:

PLENARY

1. Developments in grain end use, Dr John de Majnik, New Grain Products, GRDC, Mr Paul Meibusch, New Farm Products and Services, GRDC, Mr Vince Logan, New Products Executive Manager, GRDC

PRESENTATIONS

2. Global warming potential of wheat production in Western Australia: A life cycle assessment, Louise Barton1, Wahid Biswas2 and Daniel Carter3, 1School of Earth & Geographical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 2Centre of Excellence in Cleaner Production, Division of Science and Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, 3Department of Agriculture and …

Crop Updates 2008 - Cereals, Christine M. Zaicou-Kunesch, Shahajahan Miyan, Brenda Shackley, Steve Penny, Sarah Ellis, Darshan Sharma, Blakely Paynter, Jeff Russell, Andrea Hills, Glen Riethmuller, Bill Bowden, Paul Blackwell, Harmohinder Dhammu, Vince Lambert, Chris Roberts, David Cox, Sally Cox, Jeremy Lemon, Paul Damon, Zed Rengel, Geoff J. Thomas, Ciara Beard, Anne Smith, Kithsiri Jayasena, Sean Kelly, Rob Loughman, Bill Macleod, Raj Malik, Ravjit Khangura, Vivien Vanstone, Colin Hanbury, Mehreteab Aberra, Gordon Masnish, Brenda A. Coutts, Geoff Strickland, Monica Kehoe, Dustin Severtson, Roger A C Jones, Dominie Wright, Megan Jordan, Xinhua He, Eli Manyol, Song-Ai Nio, Imran Malik, Tina Botwright-Acuña, Len Wade, Nigel Metz, Linda Price, Dean A. Diepeveen, Leisa Armstrong, Peter Clarke, Doug Abrecht, Rudi Appels, Matthew Bellgard

Crop Updates

This session covers twenty four papers from different authors:

WHEAT AGRONOMY

1. Wheat variety performance in the Northern Agricultural Region in 2007, Christine Zaicou, Department of Agriculture and Food

2. Wheat variety performance on the Central Agricultural Region in 2007, Shahajahan Miyan, Department of Agriculture and Food

3. Response of wheat varieties to sowing time in the Great Southern and Lakes Region in 2007, Brenda Shackley and Steve Penny, Department of Agriculture and Food

4. Wheat variety performance in the South Coastal Region in 2007, Sarah Ellis, Department of Agriculture and Food

5. Flowering dates of wheat varieties in Western …

An Hsus Report: The Impact Of Industrialized Animal Agriculture On Rural Communities, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

Industrialized animal agriculture production practices and systems not only jeopardize the welfare of farm animals and the environment, but also negatively impact public health, independent family farmers, and quality of life in rural communities. The tolls exacted on rural communities necessitate dramatic and immediate changes in animal agriculture.

An Hsus Report: Human Health Implications Of Non-Therapeutic Antibiotic Use In Animal Agriculture, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

For decades, the U.S. meat industry has fed medically important antibiotics to chickens, pigs, and cattle to accelerate their weight gain and prevent disease in the stressful and unhygienic conditions that typify industrialized animal agriculture production facilities. A strong scientific consensus exists, asserting that this practice fosters antibiotic resistance in bacteria to the detriment of human health. In response to this public health threat, the European Union has banned the non-therapeutic feeding of a number of antibiotics of human importance to farm animals. Given these serious concerns as well as recent data that suggest an overall lack of financial benefit, …

An Hsus Report: Human Health Implications Of Intensive Poultry Production And Avian Influenza, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

The high stocking density, stress, unhygienic conditions, lack of sunlight, and breeding practices typical of industrial poultry and egg production systems may facilitate the emergence and spread of diseases, including highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses with public health implications such as H5N1.

An Hsus Report: Food Safety Concerns With The Slaughter Of Downed Cattle, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

Nonambulatory cattle may be at higher risk of harboring foodborne pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and, very rarely, the infectious agent that causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy, colloquially known as “mad cow disease.” The exclusion of nonambulatory cattle from slaughter for human consumption may strengthen the safety of the food supply and is a prudent measure already in place throughout the European Union.

An Hsus Report: Factory Farming In America: The True Cost Of Animal Agribusiness, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

Across the United States, nearly 10 billion land animals are raised and killed each year for meat, eggs, and milk. More than half of all confined farm animals by weight—54%—are concentrated in just 5% of the country‟s industrial animal production farms. The realities of today‟s animal agribusiness practices are a far cry from the ones embraced by the small, family farms that once supplied the marketplace. Industrialization and raising unprecedented numbers of farm animals have resulted in the intensive confinement of these chickens, pigs, turkeys, cattle, and other animals—and the intensive problems faced by those who must contend with the …

An Hsus Report: The Impact Of Animal Agriculture On Global Warming And Climate Change, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

The farm animal production sector is the single largest anthropogenic user of land, contributing to soil degradation, dwindling water supplies, and air pollution. The breadth of this sector‘s impacts has been largely underappreciated. Meat, egg, and milk production are not narrowly focused on the rearing and slaughtering of farm animals. The animal agriculture sector also encompasses feed grain production which requires substantial water, energy, and chemical inputs, as well as energy expenditures to transport feed, live animals, and animal products. All of this comes at a substantial cost to the environment.

One of animal agriculture‘s greatest environmental impacts is its …

An Hsus Report: The Impact Of Industrialized Animal Agriculture On The Environment, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

The continuous confinement of chickens, pigs, turkeys, cattle, and other animals raised in industrialized agricultural systems jeopardizes the animals’ welfare and degrades the environment. Factory farms produce immense quantities of animal waste and byproducts, which threaten water and air quality and contribute to climate change.

An Hsi Report: Human Health Implications Of Intensive Poultry Production And Avian Influenza, Humane Society International

HSI REPORTS

The high stocking density, stress, unhygienic conditions, lack of sunlight, and breeding practices typical of industrial poultry and egg production systems may facilitate the emergence and spread of diseases, including highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses with public health implications such as H5N1.

An Hsi Report: The Impact Of Animal Agriculture On Global Warming And Climate Change, Humane Society International

HSI REPORTS

The farm animal production sector is the single largest anthropogenic user of land, contributing to soil degradation, dwindling water supplies, and air pollution. The breadth of this sector‘s impacts has been largely underappreciated. Meat, egg, and milk production are not narrowly focused on the rearing and slaughtering of farm animals. The animal agriculture sector also encompasses feed grain production which requires substantial water, energy, and chemical inputs, as well as energy expenditures to transport feed, live animals, and animal products. All of this comes at a substantial cost to the environment.

One of animal agriculture‘s greatest environmental impacts is its …

The Welfare Of Animals In The Duck Industry

Agribusiness Reports

Duck production in the United States shares many of the same intensive husbandry practices found in the chicken and turkey industries, despite being much smaller in scale. The vast majority of farmed ducks are reared in dimly lit sheds with high stocking densities and without access to water for swimming, a significant welfare concern for these aquatic animals. Lameness, feather pecking, respiratory problems, and eye infections are common, and most birds are subjected to bill-trimming, a physical mutilation known to cause pain. The stress and physical trauma of catching and crating for transport, as well as the journeys themselves, further …

The Welfare Of Animals In The Egg Industry

Agribusiness Reports

Hundreds of millions of chickens in the egg industry suffer from poor welfare throughout their lives. Male chicks, considered a byproduct of commercial hatcheries, are killed soon after they hatch. The females are typically beak-trimmed, usually with a hot blade, to prevent them from developing the abnormal pecking behaviors that manifest in substandard environments. The overwhelming majority of hens are then confined in barren battery cages, enclosures so small that the birds are unable even to spread their wings without touching the cage sides or other hens. Battery cages prevent nearly all normal behavior, including nesting, perching, and dustbathing, all …

The Welfare Of Crustaceans At Slaughter, Stephanie Yue

Agribusiness Reports

The most common methods of slaughtering crustaceans include splitting, spiking, chilling, boiling, gassing, “drowning,” and using chemicals or electricity. As crustaceans do not have a centralized nervous system, unlike vertebrates, they do not die immediately upon destruction of one discrete area, such as the brain. New technologies, including the Crustastun electrical stunning and killing system, may improve the welfare of crustaceans during slaughter, which is critically important as most if not all current techniques are inhumane.

The Welfare Of Animals In The Aquaculture Industry

Agribusiness Reports

In the United States, approximately 1.3 billion fish are raised in off-shore and land-based aquaculture systems each year for food, making them the second-most commonly farmed animal domestically, following broiler chickens. The majority of farmed fish are subject to overcrowded and restrictive conditions, which, if unchecked, can quickly deteriorate water quality, cause severe stress, and result in increased mortality. Aquaculture practices and production—including handling, grading, transport, genetic manipulation, aggression from conspecifics, predation, physiological stress, and inhumane slaughter—compromise the welfare of these animals.

The Welfare Of Animals In The Turkey Industry

Agribusiness Reports

The natural behavior and habitat of wild turkeys stand in sharp contrast to the life of turkeys commercially raised for meat. Overcrowded in automated, barren “grow-out” houses, turkeys are offered little opportunity to display their full range of complex social, foraging, and exploratory behavior. Today’s commercial breeds grow at an unnaturally rapid pace to unprecedented weights. This forced rapid growth further compromises their health and welfare, and causes them to suffer from skeletal, muscular, and other health problems, as well as painful and often crippling leg disorders. Breeding birds, unable to mate naturally due to genetic selection for fast growth …

Welfare Issues With Caponizing Chickens

Agribusiness Reports

No U.S. state or federal regulations prohibit the practice of caponizing cockerels—castrating male chickens under one year of age. Crude instructions and surgical implements are readily available to provide any amateur “hobbyist” with the means to perform this procedure, typically on fully conscious, unanesthetized birds. Caponizing has been banned in the United Kingdom due to animal welfare concerns and should be disallowed in the United States.

Welfare Issues With Transport Of Day-Old Chicks

Agribusiness Reports

In the United States, more than 9 billion chickens and 250 million turkeys are raised and slaughtered annually for food. Virtually all broiler chickens (those raised for meat) and turkeys come from strains produced by four and three primary breeding companies, respectively. Within several hours after hatching, the chicks are typically relocated from the hatchery or breeder farm to the commercial grow-out facility via ground and air transportation. Small hatcheries also send chicks to backyard “hobbyists” via U.S. Postal Service delivery. Unless carefully controlled and properly managed, transport—whether by truck or plane and regardless of scale, commercial or specialty—can subject …