Life Sciences Commons^™

Impacts Of Sprouted Barley On Performance And Carcass Ultrasound Measurements In Angus-Influenced Steers During Backgrounding, Zachary C. Crump, Anthony Fernando Alberto, Bailee L. Brown, Bryce W. Roholt, Lillian L. Okamoto, Ryan A. Spurling, Robert E. Ward, Brady M. Blackett, Robert L. Harding, Sanjeewa D. Ranathunga, Kara J. Thornton

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

The objective of this research was to determine the impacts of including sprouted barley (SB) in the diets of backgrounding beef steers. Angus-influenced steers (328 ± 6.59 kg) were assigned to one of four diets (n = 15/diet): a control (CON) diet, or a diet containing 5%, 10%, or 20% SB (DM basis)—replacing corn silage and some rolled barley. Individual intake and feeding behavior were monitored using Vytelle bunks. Body weight (BW) and ruminal fluid samples were collected on d 0, 30, and 60, while dry matter intake (DMI), feeding behavior, average daily gain (ADG), and gain-to-feed ratio (G:F) were …

Field Guide To Common Plant Species Of Uinta Mountain Fens, Samantha Kurkowski, Blake Wellard, Karin M. Kettenring

All Current Publications

Fens are a unique class of wetland that host many specialized plant species globally and, in Utah, occur primarily in the Uinta Mountains. This guide provides an easy-to-use resource for amateurs and professionals who want to identify plants in fens. This guide includes key characteristics for identifying species, details on similar species and how to tell them apart, and information on habitat and frequency of occurrence. Species range from wetland obligates to upland plants that occasionally make their way into fens, with the purpose of including most species that may be encountered in a fen.

High Tunnel Pollinators, Miranda L. Jones, Sheriden Hansen, Kelsey Graham, Robert Nelson Schaeffer, Brent Black

All Current Publications

High tunnels are used to extend the growing season. Unlike greenhouses, high tunnels are semi-permanent and not heated or cooled by a climate-control system. Instead, they use plastic sheeting to trap solar heat, allowing for season extension in temperate climates around spring and fall. Bee pollination can improve yields for several valuable crop species grown in high tunnels. Because high tunnels are largely enclosed, bees are typically released and managed within the structure. This fact sheet provides information on how to obtain and manage bee pollinators in high tunnels.

Hwi 20th Volume Milestone

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human-Wildlife Interactions is entering a milestone volume in 2026.

A Brief History Of Irrigation In Utah, Burdette Barker, Reagan Wytsalucy

All Current Publications

Irrigation is essential for most crop production in Utah. With an ever-increasing population, regular drought cycles, and environmental concerns, there is a public discourse about agricultural irrigation water use. This fact sheet is an effort to step back in time to consider the heritage of irrigated agriculture in Utah, from prehistory to the present, and the modernization of irrigation driven by global industrialization and the information age.

Irrigation Management With A Field Water Balance And Virus Incidence In Dahlia Cut Flowers, Chloe Seeborg, Melanie Stock, Claudia Nischwitz, Xin Dai, Cambry Adams, Burdette Barker

Plants, Soils and Climate Student Research

Irrigation guidelines are needed for the field production of emerging specialty crops to support the sustainability and economic viability of small farms. The goal of this study was to establish crop coefficients (K_c) of dahlia (Dahlia × hybrida), a popular, profitable cut flower crop, while documenting virus infection. A two-year field study was conducted with two industry-important cultivars that vary in production timing and bloom: ‘Boom Boom White’, an earlier and mid-sized formal decorative, and ‘Café au Lait’, a later and large informal decorative bloom type. A field water balance was used to evaluate five irrigation …

Building Wellbeing Through Nature And Adventure For Justice-Involved Youth, Lewis Kogan, Meagan Ricks, Janna Coulter, Miranda Margetts, Lori Butterfield, Ben Ukoh-Eke

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Justice-involved youth often experience elevated levels of stress, mental health challenges, and reduced access to positive developmental opportunities. A nature- and adventure-based youth development program designed to strengthen resilience, self-efficacy, nature-connectedness, and well-being among justice-involved youth was piloted in 2025 to address these challenges. Pilot findings indicated improvements in resilience, self-efficacy, hopefulness, and connectedness to nature.

Youth Gopher Trapping: Benefits For Agriculture And Youth, Melanie Heaton, Kalen Taylor

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah State University Extension partnered with local government and conservation districts to reduce agricultural losses while creating meaningful opportunities for youth. Over three years, 92 participants removed 3,941 rodents, earned $26,620, and gained practical skills through hands-on conservation work. The program shows how Extension-led partnerships can strengthen agricultural profitability, youth development, and community collaboration at the same time.

Improving Public Perceptions Of Dairy Production Through On-Farm Educational Tours, Drew Swartz, Justin Wyatt Clawson, Jaydee Gunnell, Elise Jenson, Dylan Waldron, Jenna Dyckman

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah dairy producers identified public perceptions as a top concern. Utah State University Extension partnered with Cache County organizations to offer dairy farm tours. Participants reported increased knowledge, more favorable perceptions, and stronger intentions to engage with agriculture, supporting experiential education as a means to strengthen understanding of dairy production.

Organic Pesticides: A General Overview, Marion Murray, Ann Mull

All Current Publications

Organic pesticides are naturally occurring, nonsynthetic, or minimally processed substances that control unwanted organisms in the environment. Categories include insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and miticides.

Best Practices For Managing Human–Beaver Conflicts In North America: Balancing Ecological Benefits And Human Interests, Alec J. Sundelius, Jerry Altermatt, Doug Brimeyer, Derek J. Broman, Jared Duquette, Cory Mosby, Falyn Owens, Shawn Rossler, David B. Ruid, Brian F. Wakeling, H. Bryant White

Human–Wildlife Interactions Monographs

We explore the complexities of managing beaver (Castor canadensis) conflicts in North America, describing the most common approaches used by natural resource management agencies to address conflicts. We identify specific conflicts caused by beavers, the ecological benefits beavers provide, and the tools commonly used to address conflicts. We discuss regional differences in beaver management strategies, including ecosystem restoration and conflict prevention. We specifically discuss a variety of management practices including public education, land use management, trapping, translocation, exclusion, shooting, dam removal, repellants, and harvest incentive programs; we then review the challenges and benefits of these tools. We discuss …

American Plum Borer In Utah Orchards (Euzophera Semifuneralis), Emilie Demard, Marion Murray, Claudia Nischwitz

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information on American plum borer in Utah orchards, also known as APB. This pest primarily damages fruit trees. APB moths were detected in traps in 2026, but to date, no tree damage has been found. This fact sheet discusses hosts, identification, and management methods.

Utah Vegetable Production Guide (5th Edition), Nick Volesky, Marion Murray, Amelia Olds, Bridger Carey

All Current Publications

This guide, written by a collection of Utah State University (USU) Extension faculty and specialists, provides information on general Utah vegetable production, soil, nutrient, and water management, integrated pest management practices, and pesticides. The included chapters cover various vegetable crops, including brassicas, cucurbits, leafy greens, potatoes, legumes, onions, root crops, sweet corn, and solanaceous crops.

Determining The Feasibility Of A Habituation Assessment In Managed Red Wolves, Emily C. Lynch, Joseph W. Hinton, Jennifer B. Nagashima, Curtis Malott, Natalie J. Johnson, Emily Haering, Robin Petersen, Allison Johnson, Julie K. Young

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

For species extirpated from the wild, ex situ breeding programs are essential for providing the individuals necessary for re-establishing wild populations through reintroductions. However, repeated exposure to humans under managed care may reduce wariness and alter behavioral responses in ways that are maladaptive after release. Although some pre-release behaviors reflect natural responses essential for survival and reproduction, others may result from habituation to humans and increase the risk of conflict, recapture, or mortality following translocation. These risks underscore the need for behavioral assessments to help identify appropriate candidates for release. However, because the assessments themselves require some exposure to humans, …

Technologies To Remoisturize Alfalfa In The Windrow For Baling, Earl Creech, Ryan Larsen, Matt Yost, Mark Nelson, Mckenna Barney

All Current Publications

Having the correct moisture at the time of baling is critical to maximizing economic return. In 2020 and 2021, researchers at Utah State University studied moisturization technologies to determine their impact on alfalfa yield, quality, and economic return. This fact sheet provides a research overview and study results on bale moisture and weight, yield, quality, and visual appearance. An economic analysis is also included.

Malnutrition Risk, Nutrition Insecurity, Barriers, And Facilitators To Dietary Management Among Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease In The Us Rocky Mountain Region: A Cross-Sectional Mixed-Methods Study, Heather Burr, Carrie Durward, Korry Hintze, Getrude Mphwanthe

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science Student Research

We conducted an online cross-sectional study to assess malnutrition risk, food and nutrition insecurity, and perceived barriers and facilitators to dietary management among adults (18–64 years old) with a self-reported clinical diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in outpatient and community settings. We assessed malnutrition risk using the Saskatchewan IBD-Nutrition Risk screening tool, food security risk using the two-item Hunger Vital Signs questionnaire, and nutrition security risk using a validated four-item tool. Open-ended questions elucidated barriers and facilitators to dietary management of IBD. Among 57 participants who self-reported a clinical diagnosis of IBD, 52.6% (n = 30/57) had ulcerative colitis, …

Cross-Reactivity Of 15 Jev Antigen-Directed Rabbit Antisera With Three Clinically Important Jev Serogroup Members: Wnv, Mvev, And Slev, Sang-Im Yun, Young-Min Lee

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), the prototype member of the JEV serogroup within the genus Orthoflavivirus (family Flaviviridae), is closely related to West Nile virus (WNV), Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV), and St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV). To characterize antigenic cross-reactivity within this group, we evaluated 15 region-specific rabbit antisera, previously generated against nearly the entire JEV protein-coding region, by immunoblotting whole-cell lysates from BHK-21 cells infected with WNV, MVEV, or SLEV, with JEV included as a reference. Six antisera (α-E^N-term, α-NS2B, α-NS3^N-term, α-NS3^C-term, α-NS5^N-term, and α-NS5^C-term) robustly recognized homologous …

Custom Hydroponic Lid Design, Noah Langenfeld

Browse all Datasets

This data set contains files necessary to recreate a custom hydroponic lid for a two-gallon bucket. Additional component descriptions are available online at cea.usu.edu.

Flexible Grazing: Evaluating Stocker Cattle As A Drought Management Tool For Utah Livestock Producers?, Ross Israelsen

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Drought is a persistent concern in the western United States, often leading to reduced forage production, overgrazing, and economic challenges for livestock producers. This study evaluates the economic feasibility of incorporating stocker cattle as a flexible drought management strategy under varying forage conditions across four Utah grazing locations: Park Valley, Nephi, Vernal, and Beaver. The Rangeland Analysis Platform (RAP) was used to estimate annual forage production and stocking rates from 2001 through 2025. Four stocking-rate scenarios (100%, 75%, 60%, and 50% cow–calf stocking rates) were evaluated using a Net Present Value (NPV) framework to compare the economic performance of traditional …

Formulation And Analysis Of Physiochemical And Sensory Properties Of Ready-To-Mix Whey Protein Phospholipid Concentrate Beverage, Chris Jaquin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Whey protein phospholipid concentrate (WPPC) is commonly recovered as a coproduct in filtration process whose aim is to obtain whey protein isolate (WPI) from whey protein concentrate (WPC). Whey protein phospholipid concentrate is high in milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), which has been shown in rodent and human studies to have a variety of physiological benefits, including an increase in exercise capacity. Whey protein phospholipid concentrate is currently considered as an underused dairy coproduct, with most of it either being disposed of or used as animal feed. This research consisted of incorporating WPPC in a protein shake–like beverage at a …

Understanding The Impact Of Environmental Change On Shorebird Abundance And Distribution Across The Intermountain West Over The Past 30 Years, Sharon Montecino

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Shorebirds have declined worldwide over the past century, mainly due to wetland loss and degradation. Wetlands are sites that are temporarily or permanently flooded and provide critical habitat for shorebirds, especially in arid and semi-arid regions such as the Intermountain West. However, climate change and human water use threaten these wetlands, and how these threats may affect shorebirds in this region remains poorly understood. In the early 1990s, shorebird counts at over 160 wetlands across the Intermountain West provided a broad assessment of shorebird populations in the region. These counts remained the only large-scale surveys until 2022, when the Intermountain …

The Effects Of Psychological Stress On Gut Health In Mice Fed Either A Healthy Diet Or The Total Western Diet, David Keenan Thomas Prescott

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Total Western Diet (TWD), a rodent diet designed to model the typical American dietary pattern, has been shown to worsen inflammation and colitis severity in mice. Psychological stress has also been associated with increased intestinal inflammation, barrier dysfunction, and alterations to the gut microbiome. The goal of this study was to determine whether combining the TWD with psychological stress would further worsen colitis severity and alter the gut microbiome. To investigate this, mice were fed either a healthy control diet or the TWD and exposed to psychological stress using a social disruption stress model. Colitis was induced using established …

Nutrient Leaching Under Traditional And Intercropped Cover Crop Fields In Northern Utah, Katherine Hewitt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This study examines whether cover crops can be used in Utah and the Intermountain West to improve water quality and reduce contamination due to nutrient leaching from agricultural soils into the groundwater. Cover crops such as grasses, clover, and other seed mixtures can be planted to improve soil health, increasing the soil’s ability to retain water and nutrients, which reduces the amount of nitrate and phosphate fertilizers lost through leaching and contamination. In Utah, short growing seasons and limited irrigation water availability hinder the ability to establish cover crops. By planting the cover crop between the rows (intercropping) when the …

Incorporation Of Dairy Ingredients Into Chocolate And Caramel: Impact On Product Quality, Shelf Life, And Consumer Acceptance, Taelie Kennedy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Incorporating next-generation milk powders like milk protein isolate (MPI) and milk protein concentrate (MPC) into confections can increase protein content. Milk permeate powders (MPP) are byproducts of the production of high-protein dairy ingredients (MPC and MPI). Typically considered waste streams, growing awareness of sustainability has increased interest in the use of MPP in food. There is minimal research on the use of these ingredients in confections. 

This study evaluated the effects of incorporating milk protein powders and MPP into chocolate and the effects of replacing granulated sugar with MPP in caramel on product quality and consumer acceptance. 

Chocolate batches were …

Secure Agricultural Futures: Re-Defining And -Imagining Agricultural Water Landscapes In The Us West, Britta L. Schumacher

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Aridity is swiftly becoming the US West’s new normal. As agricultural communities adjust to persistent growing-season scarcity, they find their livelihoods under increasing threat. This points to the urgency of finding paths toward more secure water futures. A piece of this future puzzle includes water (re-)distribution – taking excess from one place and delivering it to another in need. To begin thinking about (re-)distribution, this dissertation engages with three mixed-methods and multiscale studies. The first study pairs county-level data across the 11 westernmost US states with survey data collected from individual producers in Utah to assess past and current trends …

Youth Agricultural Engagement And Its Association With Dietary Diversity, Household Food Insecurity, And Nutritional Status In Southwest Nigeria, Sherif Olasoji

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Youth remain underserved in nutrition research, policy, and programming despite being an integral part of the food systems. While the nutrition-sensitive agriculture framework has been established, there is limited evidence demonstrating how youth engagement in agriculture can serve as a pathway to improve nutritional outcomes. The study assessed youth agricultural engagement and its association with household dietary diversity, household food insecurity, and nutritional status in southwest Nigeria.

Using a cross-sectional design, data on socio-demographic characteristics, agricultural engagement, dietary diversity, household food insecurity, body mass index, and skin carotenoids were collected from 143 youth aged 15 to 35 from Ekiti, Osun, …

Agronomic And Economic Evaluation Of Alternative Forage Crops Under Irrigation Technologies And Deficit Irrigation, Shikha Sharma

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Water is becoming more limited in the western United States, including Utah, so farmers need forage crops that can produce well while using less irrigation water. This study examined how different forage crops respond to reduced irrigation and different irrigation application methods, and whether some crops can provide better economic returns under limited water conditions.

Field studies were conducted at three Utah locations, Cedar City, Logan, and Vernal, from 2020 to 2024. The alternative forage crops included teff, sorghum-sudangrass (sudex), and forage rye. For economic comparison, conventional forage crops included alfalfa, corn, and three-way small grains. Four to five irrigation …

Bees In The Trap: Leveraging Bumble Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus) Bycatch For Ecological And Genetic Insights, Tori L. Strausser

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Managers rely on insect monitoring traps to detect insect pests that harm crops and protect food and other agricultural production. However, these traps also capture non-target insects, including bumble bees, raising concerns about whether repeated trapping could harm pollinator populations. This thesis explores whether bees caught as non-targets, also called bycatch, in routine pest monitoring traps can be used to better understand bumble bee populations, and whether traps pose risks to their long-term persistence. Using bumble bees collected from pest surveillance traps placed in crop fields across Utah, this research examined seasonal patterns in body size, timing of capture, and …

Advancing Management Strategies For Two Promising Mason Bee Species (Osmia Ribifloris And Osmia Bruneri) For Berry Pollination, Miranda L. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Bee management can broadly refer to human manipulation of one or multiple parts of a bee’s lifecycle. Managing honey bees, commonly referred to as beekeeping, is responsible for providing most pollination for global food crops. However, using more than one bee species for crop pollination can have many benefits. Benefits include better crop pollination and insurance in case one bee species underperforms or its population collapses. Some bees within the genus Osmia are already widely managed for crop pollination because their developmental lifecycle allows bee managers to readily deploy pollinating bees in sync with varying crop blooms, and for certain …

Integrated Soil-Water Processes And Irrigation Management For Agricultural Water Optimization In Semi-Arid Regions, Tejinder Singh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Water is one of the most important resources for agriculture in the western United States. In semi-arid regions, farmers depend on irrigation to grow crops, but water supplies are becoming less reliable because of drought, declining snowpack, groundwater depletion, and increasing competition for limited water. Improving agricultural water use is therefore not simply about applying less water. It also requires understanding where water goes after it enters a field, how long it remains available to crops, and how farmers can use that information to make better irrigation decisions. This dissertation follows water through irrigated agricultural systems to better understand how …