Agriculture Commons^™

Willingness To Adopt Best Management Practices By Beef Cattle Producers In A Southeastern Tennessee Watershed, Alicia Marie Signore

Masters Theses

Extensive beef cattle farming in the ridge and valley region of East Tennessee suggests that cattle producers could play an important role in improving water quality through the adoption of livestock best management practices (BMPs). This study examines factors influencing willingness to adopt four BMPs—rotational grazing, pasture improvement, stream water crossing, and water tank systems—by beef cattle operations in a southeast Tennessee watershed. Factors examined include farm and farmer characteristics, farmer attitudes, and a hypothetical incentive program encouraging adoption of these practices. Data was collected through a mail survey of 5,150 farmland owners in McMinn, Bradley, and Monroe Counties. Respondents …

Carbon Sequestration, Carbon Markets, Technical Efficiency And Maize Production Using Conservation Agriculture In Mozambique, Timoteo Eduardo Simone

Masters Theses

Conservation agriculture practices are a promising sustainable farming system being promoted by various organizations in Mozambique. This thesis analyzes the impact of adoption of conservation agriculture practices on maize production technical efficiency, carbon sequestration and farmer income. The technical efficiency estimation utilizes data from a household survey conducted in Manica and Tete provinces of Mozambique. Soil carbon simulations use information from various sources including the household survey, European Energy markets and local meteorological data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The second chapter of the thesis evaluates the technical efficiency of maize production using conservation agriculture practices. This section …

Value-Added Lignin Based Carbon Fiber From Organosolv Fractionation Of Poplar And Switchgrass, Andreas Attwenger

Masters Theses

Carbon fibers have unique properties that include high strength, low density and excellent chemical and thermal resistance. However, they have a low level of utilization because of their high price; typically around $30/kg for an entry level polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon fiber. Low-cost carbon fibers derived from lignin are currently being investigated at the University of Tennessee, because using lignin as a precursor could significantly reduce production costs. Lignins obtained from the pulp and paper and the emerging biofuel industries have the potential to be used for carbon fiber production, however, they are typically unsuitable because of the high levels …