Life Sciences Commons^™

Untangling The Economic And Social Impediments To Producer Adoption Of Organic Wheat, Donya L. Ralph-Quarnstrom

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Consumer demand for organic products has shown double-digit growth in recent years encouraging the development of a wider range of goods (Greene, 2017). Americans with an annual household income under $30,000 actively purchase organic foods at nearly the same rate as households with over $75,000 in annual incomes, 42% versus 49% (Greene et al., 2017). Previous research observed the adoption of organic farming practices on a combination of different grains, fruits and vegetables, meat, and dairy products from across the globe. However, this is the first study to examine the adoption of organic wheat in the Western U.S. By addressing …

An Economic Analysis Of Factors Affecting Pre-Weaned Dairy Calf Growth And Profit Optimization In Dairy Calf Operations, Vincent T. Hess

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was an extension of a study submitted in April 2014 by Sheldon D. Holt entitled “Ambient Temperature, Calf Intakes, and Weight Gains on Preweaned Dairy Calves”.

A major component in a profitable dairy operation is the raising of female calves as replacement heifers; but since no direct income is generated by calf raising alone, it is often overlooked as a potential profit area on a dairy farm. Calf management practices that ultimately impact milk productivity and reproductive performance during a heifer’s lifetime begin at birth. This study examines the effect of calf starter intake on calf growth, measuring …

An Analysis Of The Feasibility Of Anaerobic Digestion On Small-Scale Dairies In Utah, Steven Chans Lund

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

With an ever increasing concern for the environment, different methods of managing organic waste on dairy farms have been explored and analyzed. Anaerobic digestion has long been a popular method of managing organic waste. Its popularity stems from the potential to decrease greenhouse gases, improve air quality and provide a source of additional revenue for the farm. Problems with implementing anaerobic digestion arise from high failure rates, high start-up costs and continuous maintenance and equipment replacement.

Subsidies for the initial investment and improved technology have increased the possibility of large-scale dairy farms to adopt anaerobic digestion. Due to economies of …

Entrepreneurs' Perceived Factors Of Success And Barriers-To-Entry For Small Business And Farm Operations In Rural Paraguay, Braden J. Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Both agriculture and nonagriculture activities are important for Paraguay's economy and its rural development plan. Ensuring opportunity for successful enterprise creation and expansion will facilitate new business entrance, while also growing rural economies. Past research has identified many factors that contribute highly to business and farm operation success, though little information exists about the perceptions of would-be entrepreneurs.

This study analyzes perceptions and characteristics of young, would-be entrepreneurs and agriculture producers in rural Paraguay to better understand their views of business/farm success and hurdle factors. Results suggest that increased experience, education and business exposure will decrease perceptions of many barrier …

Factors Of Profitable Field Crop Selection, Jacob Thomas Briscoe

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Methods of crop selection are varied, depending on a variety of factors, including resources, climate, soil type, and potential marketability of the crop. This study utilizes a theoretical farm of one thousand farmable acres to estimate the costs and returns as well as the resources associated with cultivating, planting, irrigating, harvesting and selling the crop products. The theoretical farm is situated in southwest Idaho in any of the counties of Ada, Canyon, Elmore, Owyhee and Payette. The crops grown are typical of the area; the crops examined are field corn (Zea mays), alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and …

Economic Assessment Of Organic, Eco-Friendly, And Conventional Peach Production Methods In Northern Utah, Trevor D. Knudsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fruit producers in Northern Utah face several challenges to their production, urbanization, decreased availability of agricultural land, and competition from domestic producers and imports. As consumers are willing to pay premiums for foods differentiated by production method, such as eco-friendly and organic, conversion to these methods may increase the profitability of fruit growing operations.

This study found that consumers in Northern Utah are willing to pay a premium for peaches grown using organic and eco-friendly production practices over conventionally grown peaches. The study also found that of the three methods of peach production examined (conventional, eco-friendly, and organic), organic had …

Water Decision-Making Under Uncertainty, Augustina Yaa Oye Odame

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation is made up of three separate studies under the unifying theme of “Water Decision-Making under Uncertainty.” The first study analyzed a farmer’s decision to invest in a more efficient irrigation system given uncertainty about future water supplies and his post-investment efficiency. It found the price at which farmers would no longer produce to be a bigger consideration in irrigation investment than previously thought. It also found support for a careful identification and consideration of all significant sources of uncertainty in order to create better policy incentives for irrigation technology investments.

The second study extended the first to allow …

Structural Change Of The Western United States Alfalfa Hay Market And Its Effect On The Western United States Dairy Industry, Joseph Patrick Cann

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Alfalfa is the fourth largest commodity grown in the Western U.S., representing 20% of the crop acreage over the past twenty years. In the last five years alfalfa hay price has doubled from what it was previously, indicating a possible structural change in the market. This research project was completed to test for this structural change using econometric analysis of the important demand components of alfalfa price. In addition to this, simulations of an average Utah dairy were completed to examine which ratio of forage crops provided the highest economic return to the operation.

To analyze the structural change of …

Assessment Of Consumer Motivations To Attend Farmers' Markets, Their Preferences, And Their Willingness To Pay For Differentiated Fresh Produce: Three Essays, Jean Dominique Gumirakiza

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this public abstract is to present research objectives, societal benefits, and costs associated with this dissertation. This dissertation is one the outcomes of a three-year $155,450.86 project whose number is UTA01008. Kynda Curtis, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Economics proposed the project to assess consumer demand and purchase motivations for differentiated produce across direct marketing outlets. In general, this dissertation seeks to analyze consumer primary motivations for attending farmers’ markets, their preferences, and their willingness to pay for differentiated fresh produce. To accomplish this task, we develop three essays.

Specific objectives for the first essay are to …

Nutritional And Economic Analysis Of Small-Scale Agriculture In Imbabura, Ecuador, Jake Erickson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Intervention projects in the developing world normally aim to satisfy either the nutritional needs of a group, or advancing the economic stability, but not both. One of the many issues that may arise by narrowly focusing and creating an aid program is that although a group may be fed, they are not equipped to mitigate risks that will arise after project completion and thus continue or revert back to a malnourished state. A bridge is required to join the economic and nutritional programs to create aid interventions that are sustainable past the point of donor separation.

This paper proposes the …

Economic Strategies For White-Tailed Deer And Livestock Production On Central And South Texas Ranches, Will E. Cohen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Recently, hunting and associated recreation have become an important business for Texas landowners. Most ranchers want to realize maximum net return from their investments. This study's objectives were to develop white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and livestock enterprise budgets and to determine optimal economic combinations and levels of deer and livestock enterprises to maximize net returns. Questionnaires were mailed to landowners in the Edwards Plateau and South Texas Plains who purchased shooting preserve licenses in 1985. Five hundred and twenty-four ranchers responded (23.4%). Respondents were segregated by enterprises (deer, cattle, sheep, and Angora and Spanish goats) and a 5% …

Effects Of Exchange Rate Changes On Sugar And Rice Trade Of The Dominican Republic, Gertrudys Brito

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present research measures the role of exchange rate changes in explaining variations of sugar and rice trade. As background for this research, monetary, fiscal, and exchange rate policies of the Dominican Republic since 1970 are reviewed.

The theoretical framework describing the relationship between exchange rate changes and sugar and rice trade has been tested empirically using the Dominican Republic's annual data for the period of 1970-1987. Regression analyses on the import of rice and export of sugar are estimated.

The regression results conform with the expectation that exchange rate variance is most influential for rice import demand and less …

Benefit/Cost Variables And Comparative Recreation Use Patterns Of Wilderness And Non-Wilderness Areas, Kim S. Christy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper examines formal wilderness designation and is presented in two parts. The first section offers a general classification and comprehensive review of the benefit and cost variables associated with wilderness designation and management. The second section investigates recreation use, which society has historically perceived to be the highest valued element in the network of wilderness benefits.

Variables associated with the benefits of wilderness designation are presented under three major categories: 1) naturalness preservation, 2) solitude or primitive and unconfined types of recreation, and 3) special features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historic value.

Costs attributed to wilderness designation are …

The Effect Of Utah Population Growth On Conversion Of Agricultural Land To Residential Land, Suzanne Shoshana Dyner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Land resources are essential to the production of many goods and services, including food, fiber, housing, and recreation. Often, these alternate uses are thought to be incompatible, and the conventional wisdom holds that in a place such as Utah, where rapid population growth is occurring near farming activities, at least some agricultural land must be converted to developed uses. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the strength of the relationship between population growth and change in farmland, especially cropland, in Utah.

Theoretically, population growth has been assumed to affect the amount of land in agricultural use. An empirical …

Alfalfa Production As Related To Irrigation Scheduling: An Economic Perspective, Craig L. Israelsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study analyzed the economics of irrigation scheduling for alfalfa hay in the Cache Valley, Utah area. Yield, evapotranspiration (ET) and irrigation drainage loss, along with the costs and returns per acre attributable to irrigation scheduling, were simulated through the use of a computerized plant growth model. The model created yearly "irrigation schedules" for alfalfa hay based on actual climatic, soil and plant characteristic data from the Utah State University Greenville Experiment Station. The model calculated the irrigation schedules based on a soil-water balance equation which never allowed the available soil water to go below the crop stress point.

The …

An Economic Analysis Of Food Policy In The Ivory Coast, Yao Prao Felix

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ivory Coast covers an area of 124,000 square miles with reasonable rainfall for food crops production. But besides what has been called the economic "miracle," the country relies on increasing food imports (rice, wheat, meat, and milk products). At the same time, the country's earnings from the major export commodities are shrinking. So the primary objective was to identify the main causes and circumstances that have resulted in reductions in food production. The major hypothesis was that the present situation is simply the result of policies that have favored cash crops relative to good products. A formal treatment and an …

Locoweed Poisoning In Cattle: An Overview Of The Economic Problems Associated With Grazing These Ranges, John E. Barnard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Locoweed poisoning, caused by ingestion of certain species of Astragalous and Oxytropis, has had serious economic impacts through a loss of productivity in livestock. This study has attempted to evaluate losses suffered by livestockmen grazing their cattle on areas infested with locoweed species. The results indicate a serious economic impact on these individuals.

Personal interviews were carried out with five cattle ranchers faced with typical locoweed problems. These beef cattle operations were located in Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico. All of these producers described similar problems and losses due to locoweed poisoning. Information obtained from these interviews was used …

A Linear Programming Analysis Of Several Determinants Of Profit On A Simulated Northern Utah Dairy Farm, Jay Dee Atwood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the study was to analyze several determinants of profit on a simulated northern Utah dairy farm. A linear programming model was developed to accomplish this. Optimal conditions on the farm were estimated and then other model applications were made to evaluate the importance of milk price, cropland ownership, and corn silage production and feeding. The significance of cow quality also was estimated.

Optimal conditions on the farm gave rates of return to capital between savings rates and loan rates obtainable at a financial institution. Marginal values derived for land did not support the current asking price of …

An Approach To Selection Of Variety And Planting Date In Corn Silage Production, Carlos A. Luna-Gonzalez

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The major purpose of this study is to make additional information available to the farm manager to improve the decision-making process relating to corn silage production. This study is primarily concerned with factors that influence planting date and variety selection. With-in the framework of decision theory analysis, a Bayesian approach is employed to calculate the best time to plant and the best variety to plant. The approach is used both with and without the possible occurrence of harmful spring frosts. The "seventy growing degree day" method is employed as a criterion for planting date selection. The planting dates are matched …

An Economic Analysis Of The Akkar Plain Project, E. Douglas Chard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this paper is to determine the economic feasibility of the Akkar Plain Agricultural Development Project. Data were collected at representative villages throughout the Akkar Plain in Syria. The data were used to establish the economic setting at the present time on the Akkar Plain and to establish a basis for determining the economic justification for the future planned developments. Methodology used was a farm budget analysis of a before development and after development situation. Internal rate of return and benefit/cost ratio were the measures used to determine economic feasibility. The paper discusses previous work completed, the development …

The Economic Impact Of Potential Changes In Federal Grazing Policies On Ranchers In Wayne County, Utah, Kib Elden Jacobson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to select an area in Utah that was predominantly livestock oriented which used federal lands for livestock grazing, and to develop model ranches exemplifying the typical live-stock operation in the area. These model ranches were then used in a Budget Generator Program (BG) and a Linear Programming framework (LP) to simulate reductions of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% reductions of BLM land usage. The results were then used to determine income changes, herd size changes, and resource usage in the models as the reductions took place.

The area chosen was Wayne County, Utah because …

Location Value Of Milk, Martin K. Beutler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Due to the growth of milk marketing areas in the Intermountain West, a study was made to determine the most advantageous allocation of producer milk to twelve selected processing demand areas and to calculate location differentials between these same markets. A theoretical determination of location differentials and of the allocation of milk supply areas to processing centers were made using supply-push and demand-pull price alignment models developed by Associated Milk Producers, Inc., for the months of November 1979 and June 1980. Grade A producer mil k from the six member cooperatives of Western Dairymen' s Cooperative, Inc., was used in …

An Interregional Study Of Kenya's Livestock Sector Using Linear Programming, Zakayo Joseph Mwangi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The major purpose of this study was to determine the least-cost method of producing red meat in Kenya. Linear programming was used in the study. A simulated reduction of grazing land available in one of the settlement areas was carried out to indicate what effect this had on the overall regional production pattern of meat in the country.

Kenya was divided into eleven livestock producing and consuming regions. 1979 was used as the base year, and the demand projection was based on the 1979 population. Input and output coefficients, livestock unit requirements, and market prices were developed. A linear programming …

An Economic Analysis Of Farm Flock Sheep Production In Utah, Ken Beck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the economic aspects of farm flock sheep production in Utah. Using 1979 as a base year, costs and returns were calculated from data obtained from twenty- six Utah farms. Characteristics that typify the states· farm flock sheep production, at this writing, with regard to: 1) the farm flock producers and 2) the farm flock enterprise, were presented.

Various models were dev eloped and examined using Multiple Regression and Linear Programming analytical techniques. Multiple Regression was us ed to estimate the effects that different variables had on the profitability of the sheep enterprise. …

Economic Impacts Of Public Grazing Reductions In The Livestock Industry With Emphasis On Utah, Deevon Bailey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this paper was to determine the immediate impact of reductions in public grazing on livestock production in the United States. This was accomplished by the use of linear programming techniques. Different grazing reduction simulations were utilized to determine the short and long run effects of across-the-board reductions in public grazing.

The United States was divided into 13 regions. The 11 western states were considered as individual regions. Special emphasis was placed on the effects of grazing reduction on Utah. The availability and utilization of feed and livestock products during a "normal year", 1978, were considered in this …

The 160-Acre Limitation And Economies Of Size: A Case Study In The Uintah Basin, Thomas C. Hatch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to analyze the economies of size in farming in the Roosevelt-Myton area of the Uintah Basin and to assess their impact on the financial viability of different size farms. This information will be useful in recommending changes to reclamation law.

Farmer interviews were used to obtain costs of production for 160, 320, 640, and 1280 acre farms. The field data were entered into the Oklahoma State Budget Generator to provide the necessary cost breakdown. This in formation was used to derive a curve approximating the long run average cost curve and to determine the …

Job Competencies, Employment Demands, And Perceived Training Needs In Production Agriculture In Utah, James O. Summers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was limited to 165 farmers involved in various segments of production agriculture in the state of Utah. County agents and vocational agriculture teachers in each county nominated these farmers as candidates according to their respective farming operations.

The following six defined areas of production agriculture were used as selection criteria to insure equal input in the study: Beef, Dairy, Swine, Sheep, Poultry, and Crops. All farmers were surveyed by means of persona l interviews conducted by either county agents or vocational agriculture instructors in their respective counties. The surveying instrument used was developed through a thorough review of …

Possible Innovations For Teaching Farm Management In Iran, Mehdi- Khosroshahin

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Throughout the history of mankind, agriculture has always been the main element of interest. The early Romans recorded a number of facts in relation to farming and cultivation. Arthur Young, a famous writer about the 19th Century British farming states, "The magic of ownership turns sand to gold." [l, p. 1]

Interregional Competition In Markets Facing Utah Livestock And Poultry Producers, Terrell O. Sorensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis is to make an evaluation of the competitive position of the Utah livestock industry based on feed ingredient and transportation costs, This is done by the use of a linear programming model (MPS-360). This is on the basis of the least cost means of production to meet the quantity demanded of the livestock products. This is accomplished by dividing the United States into six regions where Utah is one of these regions to enable careful consideration of Utah's agricultural enterprises.

Beef, pork, broilers, turkeys, eggs, and milk are the agricultural products used in the model. …

An Analysis Of Farm Land Use Changes Related To Inheritance Taxes, Estate Planning, And Sale For Retirement In Selected Utah Counties During 1971-1975, Randall Nolan Parker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Because of increasing rural land values, potential estate problems have been created for farm owners. This study was conducted to analyze land use changes when the farm owner dies. Land use changes and factors related to use change for estates subjected to probate court during 1971-1975, in the selected Utah counties, are described in this thesis.

County records were searched for information pertaining to farm estates probaged in six Utah counties. Individuals handling the affairs of the estates were contacted by mail. Questionnaires returned were used in the analysis and are the basis for the conclusions of this study.

General …