Life Sciences Commons^™

Deep Soils Modify Environmental Consequences Of Increased Nitrogen Fertilizer Use In Intensifying Amazon Agriculture, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Christopher Neill, Eric A. Davidson, Marcia N. Macedo, Ciniro Costa, Gillian L. Galford, Leonardo Maracahipes Santos, Paul Lefebvre, Darlisson Nunes, Carlos E.P. Cerri, Richard Mchorney, Christine O’Connell, Michael T. Coe

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Agricultural intensification offers potential to grow more food while reducing the conversion of native ecosystems to croplands. However, intensification also risks environmental degradation through emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitrate leaching to ground and surface waters. Intensively-managed croplands and nitrogen (N) fertilizer use are expanding rapidly in tropical regions. We quantified fertilizer responses of maize yield, N2O emissions, and N leaching in an Amazon soybean-maize double-cropping system on deep, highly-weathered soils in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Application of N fertilizer above 80 kg N ha−1 yr−1 increased maize yield and N2O emissions only slightly. Unlike experiences in …

Ecology And Genomics Of An Important Crop Wild Relative As A Prelude To Agricultural Innovation, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg, Peter L. Chang, Fatma Başdemir, Noelia Carrasquila-Garcia, Lijalem Balcha Korbu, Susan M. Moenga, Gashaw Bedada, Alex Greenlon, Ken S. Moriuchi, Vasantika Singh, Matilde A. Cordeiro, Nina V. Noujdina, Kassaye Negash Dinegde, Syed Gul Abbas Shah Sani, Tsegaye Getahun, Lisa Vance, Emily Bergmann, Donna Lindsay, Bullo Erena Mamo, Emily J. Warschefsky, Emmanuel Dacosta-Calheiros, Edward Marques, Mustafa Abdullah Yilmaz, Ahmet Cakmak, Janna Rose, Andrew Migneault, Christopher P. Krieg, Sevgi Saylak, Hamdi Temel, Maren L. Friesen, Eleanor Siler

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Domesticated species are impacted in unintended ways during domestication and breeding. Changes in the nature and intensity of selection impart genetic drift, reduce diversity, and increase the frequency of deleterious alleles. Such outcomes constrain our ability to expand the cultivation of crops into environments that differ from those under which domestication occurred. We address this need in chickpea, an important pulse legume, by harnessing the diversity of wild crop relatives. We document an extreme domestication-related genetic bottleneck and decipher the genetic history of wild populations. We provide evidence of ancestral adaptations for seed coat color crypsis, estimate the impact of …

Similarity Of Introduced Plant Species To Native Ones Facilitates Naturalization, But Differences Enhance Invasion Success, Jan Divíšek, Milan Chytrý, Brian Beckage, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Zdeňka Lososová, Petr Pyšek, David M. Richardson, Jane Molofsky

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The search for traits associated with plant invasiveness has yielded contradictory results, in part because most previous studies have failed to recognize that different traits are important at different stages along the introduction–naturalization–invasion continuum. Here we show that across six different habitat types in temperate Central Europe, naturalized non-invasive species are functionally similar to native species occurring in the same habitat type, but invasive species are different as they occupy the edge of the plant functional trait space represented in each habitat. This pattern was driven mainly by the greater average height of invasive species. These results suggest that the …

National Contributions To Climate Change Mitigation From Agriculture: Allocating A Global Target, Meryl Breton Richards, Eva Wollenberg, Detlef Van Vuuren

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Globally, agriculture and related land use change contributed about 17% of the world’s anthropogenic GHG emissions in 2010 (8.4 GtCO2e yr−1), making GHG mitigation in the agriculture sector critical to meeting the Paris Agreement’s 2°C goal. This article proposes a range of country-level targets for mitigation of agricultural emissions by allocating a global target according to five approaches to effort-sharing for climate change mitigation: responsibility, capability, equality, responsibility-capability-need and equal cumulative per capita emissions. Allocating mitigation targets according to responsibility for total historical emissions or capability to mitigate assigned large targets for agricultural emission reductions to North America, Europe and …

Agroecology In Canada: Towards An Integration Of Agroecological Practice, Movement, And Science, Marney E. Isaac, S. Ryan Isakson, Bryan Dale, Charles Z. Levkoe, Sarah K. Hargreaves, V. Ernesto Méndez, Hannah Wittman, Colleen Hammelman, Jennifer C. Langill, Adam R. Martin, Erin Nelson, Michael Ekers, Kira A. Borden, Stephanie Gagliardi, Serra Buchanan, Sarah Archibald, Astrid Gálvez Ciani

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This article surveys the current state of agroecology in Canada, giving particular attention to agroecological practices, the related social movements, and the achievements of agroecological science. In each of these realms, we find that agroecology emerges as a response to the various social and ecological problems associated with the prevailing industrial model of agricultural production that has long been promoted in the country under settler colonialism. Although the prevalence and prominence of agroecology is growing in Canada, its presence is still small and the support for its development is limited. We provide recommendations to achieve a more meaningful integration of …

Pod Shattering: A Homologous Series Of Variation Underlying Domestication And An Avenue For Crop Improvement, Ezgi Ogutcen, Anamika Pandey, Mohd Kamran Khan, Edward Marques, R. Varma Penmetsa, Abdullah Kahraman, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

All rights reserved. In wild habitats, fruit dehiscence is a critical strategy for seed dispersal; however, in cultivated crops it is one of the major sources of yield loss. Therefore, indehiscence of fruits, pods, etc., was likely to be one of the first traits strongly selected in crop domestication. Even with the historical selection against dehiscence in early domesticates, it is a trait still targeted in many breeding programs, particularly in minor or underutilized crops. Here, we review dehiscence in pulse (grain legume) crops, which are of growing importance as a source of protein in human and livestock diets, and …

Mandatory Labels Can Improve Attitudes Toward Genetically Engineered Food, Jane Kolodinsky, Jayson L. Lusk

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The prospect of state and federal laws mandating labeling of genetically engineered (GE) food has prompted vigorous debate about the consequences of the policy on consumer attitudes toward these technologies. There has been substantial debate over whether mandated labels might increase or decrease consumer aversion toward genetic engineering. This research aims to help resolve this issue using a data set containing more than 7800 observations that measures levels of opposition in a national control group compared to levels in Vermont, the only U.S. state to have implemented mandatory labeling of GE foods. Difference-in-difference estimates of opposition to GE food before …

Gaining And Maintaining A Competitive Edge: Evidence From Csa Members And Farmers On Local Food Marketing Strategies, Emily H. Morgan, Michelle M. Severs, Karla L. Hanson, Jared Mcguirt, Florence Becot, Weiwei Wang, Jane Kolodinsky, Marilyn Sitaker, Stephanie B.Jilcott Pitts, Alice Ammerman, Rebecca A. Seguin

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a widely-used approach for farmers to sell directly to consumers. We used the product, place, price, and promotion (4P) marketing mix framework to examine characteristics that help farms offering CSA maintain member satisfaction and thus competitiveness. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 CSA members and 24 CSA farmers in four states. CSA members additionally completed a modified choice experiment. Qualitative data were coded iteratively, and choice experiment data were summarized and compared across scenarios. CSA members and farmers were motivated by a range of personal, social, environmental, and economic objectives. Members favored high-quality staple vegetables (e.g., …

The Vermonter's Guide To The Farm Bill, Olivia A. Peña

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

The Farm Bill is a comprehensive set of laws and programs that dictates United States policies across the food system. While it may seem that a farm bill is only related to agriculture, this legislation, in reality, includes a broad set of policies on food production, nutrition assistance, rural community development, research, the environment, international trade, and more. Often known as a farm and food bill, the legislation impacts food systems stakeholders, including those who farm, live in a rural community, and even those who eat food—so that is everyone.

Considering the widespread impacts of the Farm Bill, it is …

Farm Service Agency Employee Intentions To Use Weather And Climate Data In Professional Services, Rachel E. Schattman, Gabrielle Roesch-Mcnally, Sarah Wiener, Meredith T. Niles, David Y. Hollinger

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.. Agricultural service providers often work closely with producers, and are well positioned to include weather and climate change information in the services they provide. By doing so, they can help producers reduce risks due to climate variability and change. A national survey of United States Department of …

Climate Change Mitigation Beyond Agriculture: A Review Of Food System Opportunities And Implications, Meredith T. Niles, Richie Ahuja, Todd Barker, Jimena Esquivel, Sophie Gutterman, Martin C. Heller, Nelson Mango, Diana Portner, Rex Raimond, Cristina Tirado, Sonja Vermeulen

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

A large body of research has explored opportunities to mitigate climate change in agricultural systems; however, less research has explored opportunities across the food system. Here we expand the existing research with a review of potential mitigation opportunities across the entire food system, including in pre-production, production, processing, transport, consumption and loss and waste. We detail and synthesize recent research on the topic, and explore the applicability of different climate mitigation strategies in varying country contexts with different economic and agricultural systems. Further, we highlight some potential adaptation co-benefits of food system mitigation strategies and explore the potential implications of …

Capturing Variation In Lens (Fabaceae): Development And Utility Of An Exome Capture Array For Lentil, Ezgi Ogutcen, Larissa Ramsay, Eric Bishop Von Wettberg, Kirstin E. Bett

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Premise of the Study: Lentil is an important legume crop with reduced genetic diversity caused by domestication bottlenecks. Due to its large and complex genome, tools for reduced representation sequencing are needed. We developed an exome capture array for use in various genetic diversity studies. Methods: Based on the CDC Redberry draft genome, we developed an exome capture array using multiple sources of transcript resources. The probes were designed to target not only the cultivated lentil, but also wild species. We assessed the utility of the developed method by applying the generated data set to population structure and phylogenetic analyses. …

Alteration Of Rumen Bacteria And Protozoa Through Grazing Regime As A Tool To Enhance The Bioactive Fatty Acid Content Of Bovine Milk, Melissa L. Bainbridge, Laurel K. Saldinger, John W. Barlow, Juan P. Alvez, Joe Roman, Jana Kraft

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Rumen microorganisms are the origin of many bioactive fatty acids (FA) found in ruminant-derived food products. Differences in plant leaf anatomy and chemical composition between cool- and warm-season pastures may alter rumen microorganisms, potentially enhancing the quantity/profile of bioactive FA available for incorporation into milk. The objective of this study was to identify rumen bacteria and protozoa and their cellular FA when cows grazed a warm-season annual, pearl millet (PM), in comparison to a diverse cool-season pasture (CSP). Individual rumen digesta samples were obtained from five Holstein cows in a repeated measures design with 28-day periods. The treatment sequence was …

Climate-Smart Land Use Requires Local Solutions, Transdisciplinary Research, Policy Coherence And Transparency, Sarah Carter, Bas Arts, Ken E. Giller, Cinthia Soto Golcher, Kasper Kok, Jessica De Koning, Meine Van Noordwijk, Pytrik Reidsma, Mariana C. Rufino, Giulia Salvini, Louis Verchot, Eva Wollenberg, Martin Herold

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Successfully meeting the mitigation and adaptation targets of the Paris Climate Agreement (PA) will depend on strengthening the ties between forests and agriculture. Climate-smart land use can be achieved by integrating climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and REDD+. The focus on agriculture for food security within a changing climate, and on forests for climate change mitigation and adaptation, can be achieved simultaneously with a transformational change in the land-use sector. Striving for both independently will lead to competition for land, inefficiencies in monitoring and conflicting agendas. Practical solutions exist for specific contexts that can lead to increased agricultural output and forest protection. …

2016 Maple Business Benchmark, Mark Cannella, Christopher Lindgren

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

At the time of this report (January 2018) market prices have dropped to near $2.00 per pound for bulk syrup and organic premiums have declined modestly. The current US bulk market prices have de-coupled from an exact calculation of the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (FPAQ) pricing levels adjusted for US-Canadian currency exchange rates. Several public presentations from industry leaders at VT Maple Conferences have confirmed that markets continue to grow but that there is short term surplus syrup inventory following strong 2016 and 2017 crop years. This market situation continues to prompt dialogue about the industry outlook, policy …

Direct Farm-To-Institution Marketing: The Common Challenges And Keys To Success Of Northeast Producers, Chloe E. Boutelle

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

This research discovers what are the shared barriers Northeast producers engaged in the institutional market consistently face and what enables them to establish, maintain and strengthen a sales relationship with institutions. The findings can help producers understand the challenges and opportunities, how and when to approach, and provide strategies to enhance their success with the institutional market. The research concludes with implications for non-grower farm-to-institution stakeholders.

The common challenges producers faced in establishing, maintaining and strengthening institutional sales relationships included buyers who focus on low price points, uncommitted buyers, food service management companies, demand for processed products and laws and …

Agency And Empowerment On Women-Owned Farms: A Vermont Agricultural Case Study, Caroline R. Putscher

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

When examining data from the most recent US Census of Agriculture (2012), I noticed a distinct imbalance between the percentages of male and female farmers, both in the country and in Vermont. Sales from women-owned farms represent only 3.3 percent of the total of U.S. agricultural sales, and in Vermont, women were the principal operators of 22.38 percent of farms. I wanted to examine the factors that led to these imbalances, and also understand from women farmers themselves what strategies they used to overcome these obstacles. The theories of agency and empowerment can be used in explaining women’s inequality in …

Analyzing The Greenhouse Gas Impact Potential Of Smallholder Development Actions Across A Global Food Security Program, Uwe Grewer, Julie Nash, Noel Gurwick, Louis Bockel, Gillian Galford, Meryl Richards, Ciniro Costa Junior, Julianna White, Gillian Pirolli, Eva Wollenberg

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

This article analyses the greenhouse gas (GHG) impact potential of improved management practices and technologies for smallholder agriculture promoted under a global food security development program. Under 'business-as-usual' development, global studies on the future of agriculture to 2050 project considerable increases in total food production and cultivated area. Conventional cropland intensification and conversion of natural vegetation typically result in increased GHG emissions and loss of carbon stocks. There is a strong need to understand the potential greenhouse gas impacts of agricultural development programs intended to achieve large-scale change, and to identify pathways of smallholder agricultural development that can achieve food …

Relationship Between Food Waste, Diet Quality, And Environmental Sustainability, Zach Conrad, Meredith T. Niles, Deborah A. Neher, Eric D. Roy, Nicole E. Tichenor, Lisa Jahns

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Improving diet quality while simultaneously reducing environmental impact is a critical focus globally. Metrics linking diet quality and sustainability have typically focused on a limited suite of indicators, and have not included food waste. To address this important research gap, we examine the relationship between food waste, diet quality, nutrient waste, and multiple measures of sustainability: use of cropland, irrigation water, pesticides, and fertilizers. Data on food intake, food waste, and application rates of agricultural amendments were collected from diverse US government sources. Diet quality was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index-2015. A biophysical simulation model was used to estimate …

Genetic Diversity, Population Structure, And Genetic Correlation With Climatic Variation In Chickpea (Cicer Arietinum) Landraces From Pakistan, Syed Gul Abbas Shah Sani, Peter L. Chang, Asif Zubair, Noelia Carrasquilla-Garcia, Matilde Cordeiro, Ramachandra Varma Penmetsa, M. Farooq H. Munis, Sergey V. Nuzhdin, Douglas R. Cook, Eric J. Von Wettberg

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) production in arid regions, such as those predominant in Pakistan, faces immense challenges of drought and heat stress. Addressing these challenges is made more difficult by the lack of genetic and phenotypic characterization of available cultivated varieties and breeding materials. Genotyping-by-sequencing offers a rapid and cost-effective means to identify genome-wide nucleotide variation in crop germplasm. When combined with extended crop phenotypes deduced from climatic variation at sites of collection, the data can predict which portions of genetic variation might have roles in climate resilience. Here we use 8113 single nucleotide polymorphism markers to determine genetic variation …

Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding Farmer And Agricultural Advisor Perceptions Of Climate Change And Adaptation In Vermont, United States, Rachel E. Schattman, V. Ernesto Méndez, Scott C. Merrill, Asim Zia

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The relationships among farmers’ belief in climate change, perceptions of climate-related risk, and use of climate adaptation practices is a growing topic of interest in U.S. scholarship. The northeast region is not well represented in the literature, although it is highly agricultural and will likely face climate-related risks that differ from those faced in other regions. We used a mixed methods approach to examine northeast farmers’ perceptions of climate change and climate-related risks over time, and perceived trade-offs associated with on-farm practices. Our investigation shows how northeastern farmers think about climate-risk, and what they are doing to address it.

A Cross-Country Analysis Of Climate Shocks And Smallholder Food Insecurity, Meredith T. Niles, Jonathan D. Salerno

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Future climate changes will affect smallholder farmers in the developing world, posing threats to household food security. Nevertheless, there remains limited comparable evidence across multiple countries and regions regarding the global extent of climate shocks affecting smallholder food security. We examine data from 5,299 household surveys across 15 countries in Latin America, Africa and South Asia to assess the extent of climate shocks and their association with food insecurity, as well as what strategies may help buffer against climate shocks. We find that 71% of households reported experiencing a climate shock in the previous five years. Fifty-four percent reported experiencing …

Ecological And Economic Benefits Of Integrating Sheep Into Viticulture Production, Meredith T. Niles, Rachael Garrett, Drew Walsh

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The integration of crop and livestock systems has been recognized for its potential to reduce the environmental impacts associated with agriculture and improve farmer livelihoods. However, to date, most research has focused on the integration of cattle into crop and pasture systems. Here we examine the integration of sheep into vineyards and assess farmers’ perceived benefits and costs of the practice. Viticulture expansion has led to significant land use change in recent years and new environmental challenges, particularly with respect to herbicide use. Sheep integration into vineyards offers the potential to utilize the synergies of both systems to reduce external …

Small-Scale Genotypic Richness Stabilizes Plot Biomass And Increases Phenotypic Variance In The Invasive Grass Phalaris Arundinacea, Alexandra R. Collins, Brian Beckage, Jane Molofsky

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Botanical Society of China. All rights reserved. Aims We aim to understand how small-scale genotypic richness and genotypic interactions influence the biomass and potential invasiveness of the invasive grass, Phalaris arundinacea under two different disturbance treatments: intact plots and disturbed plots, where all the native vegetation has been removed. Specifically, we address the following questions (i) Does genotypic richness increase biomass production? (ii) Do genotypic interactions promote or reduce biomass production? (iii) Does the effect of genotypic richness and genotypic interactions differ …

An Autothermal, Representative Scale Test Of Compost Heat Potential Using Geostatistical Analysis, William J. Mccune-Sanders

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Composting has been practiced for thousands of years as a way of stabilizing and recycling organic matter into useful soil amendments. Thermophilic compost releases significant amounts of heat at temperatures (~140 °F) that are useful for environmental heating or process water. This heat has been taken advantage of in various ways throughout history, but development of a widely adopted technology remains elusive.

The biggest barrier to adoption of compost heat recovery (CHR) systems is projecting accurate, attractive economic returns. The cost of transfer equipment is significant, and with variability in composting substrates and methods, it is difficult to predict the …

Corn Cropping Systems To Improve Economic And Environmental Health, Heather Darby, Lindsey Ruhl, Rory Malone, Sara Ziegler

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

In 2018, UVM Extension’s Northwest Crops & Soils Program continued a multi-year trial at Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh, VT to assess the impact of corn cropping systems on overall health and productivity of the crop and soil. Yields are important and they affect the bottom line immediately and obviously. Management choices involving crop rotation, tillage, nutrient management, and cover crops also make differences in the long term. Growing corn with practices that enhance soil quality and crop yields improves farm resiliency to both economics and the environment. This project evaluated yield and soil health effects of five different corn …

Organic Spring Barley Variety Trial, Heather Darby, Hillary Emick, Haley Jean

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

With the revival of the small grains industry in the Northeast and the strength of the locavore movement, craft breweries and distilleries have expressed an interest in sourcing local barley for malting. Malting barley must meet specific quality characteristics such as low protein content and high germination. Depending on the variety, barley can be planted in either the spring or fall, and both two- and six-row barley can be used for malting. In 2018, UVM Extension in collaboration with the Eastern Spring Malting Barley Nursery (ESBN) testing network conducted a spring malting barley trial to evaluate yield and quality of …

Hop Germplasm Study, Heather Darby, John Bruce, Hillary Emick, Scott Lewins

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

Until now, commercial hop (Humulus lupulus L.) production has not occurred in the northeast (NE) region of the United States for 150 years. Vermont production peaked in 1860 when the state produced 289,690 kg of dried hops (Kennedy, 1860). A combination of the spread of hop downy mildew, the expansion of production in western states, and prohibition laws from the 1920’s contributed to the decline of the 19^th century NE hop industry. Today, the Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho remain the dominant hop production sites of the U.S. However, hop production in non-traditional regions is …

The Efficacy Of Spraying Fungicides To Control Fusarium Head Blight Infection In Spring Malting Barley, Heather Darby, Hillary Emick, Erica Cummings

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

Public interest in sourcing local foods has extended into beverages, and the current demand for local brewing and distilling ingredients is quickly increasing. One new market that has generated interest from both farmers and end-users is malted barley. The Northeast is home to over 180 microbreweries and 37 craft distillers. Until recently, local malt was not readily available to brewers or distillers. The rapidly expanding malting industry is providing farmers with new markets, and end-users readily available local malt. Operating maltsters still struggle to source enough local grain to match demand for their product. In addition to short supplies, the …

Soybean Planting Date X Variety Trial, Heather Darby, Sara Ziegler, Erica Cummings, Abha Gupta, Lindsey Ruhl

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

In 2018, the University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program investigated the impact of soybean variety and planting date on yield and quality at Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh, VT. Soybeans can be grown for human consumption, animal feed, and biodiesel. Livestock farmers are interested in producing more of their own grains and as a result, soybean acreage in Vermont is increasing. Given the short growing season in Vermont, it is important to understand optimum planting dates to obtain the highest yields. In an effort to support and expand the local soybean market throughout the northeast, the University …