Agriculture Commons^™

Assessment Of Grain Safety In Developing Nations, Jose R. Mendoza

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Grains are the most widely consumed foods worldwide, with maize (Zea mays) being frequently consumed in developing countries where it feeds approximately 900 million people under the poverty line of 2 USD per day. While grain handling practices are acceptable in most developed nations, many developing nations still face challenges such as inadequate field management, drying, and storage. Faulty grain handling along with unavoidably humid climates result in recurrent fungal growth and spoilage, which compromises both the end-quality and safety of the harvest. This becomes particularly problematic where there is little awareness about health risks associated with poor …

Nebraska State And Federal Tax Issues: Opinions Of Rural Nebraskans, John C. Allen, Sam Cordes, Amy M. Smith, Matt Spilker, Amber Hamilton

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

Includes

Executive summary

Introduction

Methodology

Respondent profile

Findings

Nebraska Tax Issues

Federal Government Deficit Reduction

Federal Taxation Options

Federal Program Reduction Alternatives

Conclusions

Resilience In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Capacity To Overcome Disasters And Hardships. 2020 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca Vogt, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, Brad Lubben, L.J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steve Schulz, Jason L. Weigle

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

The definition of resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Synonyms include toughness, perseverance and grit. Last spring’s severe weather events and this year’s ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are likely testing the resilience of rural Nebraskans. Given that, how do rural Nebraskans rate their communities on dimensions that measure their resiliency? How confident are they that the federal government or local emergency management authorities can contain infectious disease outbreaks? How do they rate their ability to help their community handle adversities? How prepared are rural Nebraskans to deal with financial emergencies? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these …

Feeder Cattle Future Price Spreads: Opportunities To Hedge?, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

First paragraph:

Feeder cattle future price spreads across all months have recovered to near pre-COVID-19 levels as quarantine restrictions and packing plant capacity issues have been mostly sorted out. For example, for the week of July 17, 2010 [sic], prices reached levels not seen since the beginning of March 2020. Pasture and corn progress are two factors that have the potential to push prices lower in the next coming months. Given current market conditions, producers have some options to lock in a margin.

Severe Weather In Nebraska: Impacts On Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans. 2020 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Tim Meyer, Steve Schulz, Jason L. Weigle

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

In March 2019, a bomb cyclone produced a historic blizzard as well as flooding that impacted many counties in Nebraska. Given that, did rural Nebraskans experience extreme weather events or natural disasters in 2019? To what extent were they harmed by these weather events? What personal impacts did they experience? How concerned are they about weather events? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these questions. This report details 1,979 responses to the 2020 Nebraska Rural Poll, the 25th annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about weather events. Comparisons are made among …

Validation Of An Automated Body Condition Scoring System Using 3d Imaging, Niall O'Leary, Lorenzo Leso, Frank Buckley, Jonathon Kenneally, True North Technologies, Shannon Business Centre, Shannon, Clare, Ireland;, Laurence Shalloo

Publications

Body condition scores (BCS) measure a cow’s fat reserves and is important for management and research. Manual BCS assessment is subjective, time-consuming, and requires trained personnel. The BodyMat F (BMF, Ingenera SA, Cureglia, Switzerland) is an automated body condition scoring system using a 3D sensor to estimate BCS. This study assesses the BMF. One hundred and three Holstein Friesian cows were assessed by the BMF and two assessors throughout a lactation. The BMF output is in the 0–5 scale commonly used in France. We develop and report the first equation to convert these scores to the 1–5 scale used by …

Introduction To The R-Package: Usdampr, Elliott James Dennis, Bowen Chen

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

Why the Need for the Package? In the 1990’s, concern over growing packer concentration and a hog industry market shock resulted in discontent among producers and packers. As a result, the United States Congress passed the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 (1999 Act) [Pub. L. 106-78, Title IX] which is required to be reauthorized every five years. See here for a full history of the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Background.

Market reports were publicly issued in the form of .txt files with varying frequency from April 2000 to April 2020. Current and historical data were also housed in a USDA-AMS …

Utilizing Annual Forage Crops In Rotations, John Hewlett, Jay Parsons, Jeff Tranel

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

First paragraph

Approximately 60 million acres of forage are harvested annually in the United States, according to the National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS). With lower commodity grain and oilseed prices along with high pasture rental rates and/or difficulty finding range and pasture to rent, some producers are considering ways to incorporate more forages into their crop rotations.

Conservation And Farm Viability On Vermont Small Farms, Mark Cannella, Anthony Kitsos

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In spring 2019 the UVM Extension Agricultural Business program conducted a survey of Certified Small Farms (CSFO) in Vermont. The goal of this survey is to gather information on the economic situation across Vermont’s small farms, explore their adaptation to water quality regulations and to understand the next steps for farms moving forward. Vermont implemented new Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) in 2017. The anonymous survey was distributed to 334 CSFO businesses owners through postal mail. The survey was completed by 173 respondents.

Results show that small farms made many conservation improvements to attain compliance new regulations. Lower cost investments in …

Size And Scope Of Carbon County Agriculture 2019, Ryan Feuz, Ryan Larsen, Steven Price

All Current Publications

Carbon County is located south of Duchesne and Wasatch counties in east-central Utah. Along with Emery County to the south, it is often referred to as Utah’s Castle Country. The county became industrialized very early after statehood with the arrival of the railroads and discovery of many coal beds for which the county is named. It is also a large producer of natural gas within the state. Its primary economic base today comes from regional services, retail, tourism, recreation and resource extraction. As of 2017, the population was estimated at 20,295. Price is the largest city and county seat. This …

2020 Cares Act – Financial Supports For Small Business, Marilyn R. Schlake

Cornhusker Economics

Whether a business is impacted by weather-related disasters, road construction or sudden economic downturns, having a plan to mitigate the impacts can be crucial to the immediate and long-term survival of the business. Unforeseen circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may require owners to re-evaluate their business models, cut operating costs and seek outside financial supports – all to keep cash flowing and the business open. To help small businesses during the pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27. It contains $349 billion in relief for American small businesses and …

Online Shoppers Spending On Fresh Produce; Do Those On Government Assistance Spend Less?, Wyatt Tucker Lucas

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study applies an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model to explain differences in the amount that online shoppers might spend per month on fresh produce, given specific consumer characteristics. It also uses a multinomial logit model to determine the relative probability of online shoppers spending more or less, given specific consumer characteristics. The independent variable of interest in both models is whether or not the respondent is a recipient of a government assistance food program. These analyses used data from a stratified random sample of 1,205 online shoppers residing in the southern region of the United States. “Online shoppers” in …

Pricing Stallion Seasons For An Individual Stallion: The Existence Of Top Tier Pricing And Market Power, Robert L. Losey Ph.D., Thomas E. Lambert 1959-

Faculty Scholarship

This paper is an academic treatment of the pricing of stallion seasons (a “season” confers the right to breed a mare to a stallion) The commercial stallion seasons market can be represented schematically as a triangle that normally has a single-digit number of stallions offering high-priced seasons in the narrow apex, a moderate number of stallions composing the middle section, and over 150 in the $5,000-$10,000 range. We argue that it is logical for profit-maximizing stallion managers, most especially those in the apex of the stallion seasons triangle, to charge different prices for different groups of buyers of the same …

The Combine: Program Overview (Brochure)

The Combine

Nebraska is known nationally for its distinguished brand and production efficiency in food and agriculture. The state ranks among the top producers of over a dozen commodities including corn, beans, beef, and millet.

The Combine is a statewide program focused on fostering high-growth innovation and entrepreneurship in food and agriculture-tech sectors. The initiative is led by Invest Nebraska with support from The Nebraska Department of Economic Development and The Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

Invest Nebraska Corporation builds a better future for our state by providing financial and operational assistance to high growth companies, developing high growth infrastructure, and attracting out-of-state …

Exploring The Nebraska Rural Poll, 2020, Rebecca Vogt, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L.J. Mcelravy, Tim Meyer, Steve Schulz, Jason L. Weigle

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

The Nebraska Rural Poll was initiated in 1996. Over the past 24 years, input has been gathered from over 64,000 nonmetropolitan Nebraskans. 102 separate reports have been produced covering 31 unique topics

Trend Analysis

Subgroup Comparisons

Some questions have been repeated at various intervals of time

Labor Use And Labor Challenges Faced By Small Fruit And Vegetable Farms: The Case Of Tennessee, Justin L. Cross

Haslam Scholars Projects

United States (U.S.) fruit and vegetable farms depend heavily on labor for the production of the crops they grow and sell. In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for farms to obtain the labor they need to produce their crops. Therefore, labor management strategies have become critical in determining the profitability and long-term sustainability of farms specializing in the production of fruits and vegetables. These strategies are even more significant for smaller farms that face resource constraints that inhibit their use of alternative labor sources (e.g., migrant workers) or their ability to reduce their reliance on labor through mechanization. …