Agriculture Commons^™

Aging In Place In Rural Nebraska: Homecare Worker Cooperatives, Cythia Houlden

Center for Agricultural Profitability

In 2022, the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center (NCDC), in partnership with the Northwest Cooperative Development Center of Washington state, introduced a six-week Homecare Worker Cooperative Academy designed to take caregivers through the worker cooperative development process. Topics covered by the academy included democracy in the workplace, business basics, marketing and member engagement.

The impetus for the academy was the realization that Nebraska — and the U.S. as a whole — are facing a potential elder care crisis.

The Basics Of Loans For Farmers And Ranchers, Jessica Groskopf

Center for Agricultural Profitability

Borrowing a loan can be a useful tool for farmers and ranchers, especially to fill in gaps when cash or working capital is short to cover current obligations or to make necessary or planned capital purchases. Before signing for a loan, understand the loan terms and repayment requirements as spelled out in the loan documents. This article defines and explains important lending terminology and considerations for farmers and ranchers.

The North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, Part Iii: Outcomes And Impacts, Bradley D. Lubben, Christine Lockert, Sheila Aikanathan Johnson, Milan Chauhan

Cornhusker Economics

The North Central Extension Risk Management Education (ERME) Center has existed since 2001 to help support producer-focused agricultural risk management education across the twelve-state North Central Region. The Center works together with centers in other regions of the country to implement a comprehensive program of needs assessment, regional grantmaking, capacity building, and evaluation and reporting to support projects that help producers manage risk and document the outcomes and impacts of those projects.

The last two Cornhusker Economics articles have described the Center and its activities and have highlighted the successes of some recently funded projects. This article concludes the discussion …

Ideas For Estate And Transition Planning: Gift Leaseback, Jessica Groskopf

Center for Agricultural Profitability

Simply gifting assets helps reduce estate value and potential taxes for the owners and increase the wealth of the heirs. However, some families are hesitant to engage in gifting strategies because the farm or the ranch needs access to those assets to remain viable. This article expands on gifting strategies by combining gifts with a lease agreement.

With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner

Whittier Scholars Program

My Whittier Scholars Program self-designed major, Teaching Creativity, is a mixture of Art, Literature, and Education classes. My research and praxis classes have been focused on the ‘how?’s and 'why?’s of creativity, so it felt only right that my project should be a constructivist, generative project. The project I have been working on throughout my time at Whittier, and that has just fully come to fruition on April 11th, 2024, was a solo art gallery/open mic event entitled ‘With Love,’. With Love, was conceptually inspired by the research I’ve conducted on creativity and creative arts education over the past few …

North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center Helps Producers Manage Risks, Christine Lockert, Sheila Aikanathan Johnson, Bradley D. Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

Established in 2001, the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center (NCERMEC) has a long history of supporting risk management education programs serving producers in the region. Located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Agricultural Economics Department, the Center is one of four regional Extension Risk Management Education (ERME) Centers located throughout the country. ERME is funded through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and was authorized by the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000. The fundamental purpose of the ERME program is to educate producers to manage risk and position their farm or ranch for future growth and …

50 Common Questions About Field Crops, Matt Yost, Burdette Barker, Cody Zesiger, Jody Gale, Justin Wyatt Clawson, Mark Nelson, Matthew Palmer, Michael Pace, Cheyenne Reid, Steven Price, Earl Creech, Corey Ransom, Grant Cardon, Clara Anderson, Madelyn Kunzler

All Current Publications

Utah State University Extension strives to provide research-based information and knowledge to help agricultural producers. Producers often have questions about several aspects of field crop production. This article is not comprehensive of all questions about field crops but represents some of the common questions that USU faculty have received from the public, producers, and crop advisors.

Utilization Of The NuTrack System To Objectively Evaluate Changes In Active And Passive Behaviors Of Group-Housed Nursery Pigs Exposed To An Endotoxin Challenge, Aaron Holliday

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study aimed to evaluate the changes in activity of group-housed, newly weaned pigs challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). At weaning, pigs (n = 192, 5.73 ± 1.8 kg) were stratified by sex, litter, and body weight (BW) and randomly assigned to one of three treatments (16 pigs/pen, 4 pens/treatment): 1) Saline-injected (SAL), 2) 50% challenged [50%-LPS) – only half of the pigs in a pen (8 pigs) were challenged with LPS and 3) 100% challenged (100%-LPS) – all pigs in a pen were challenged with LPS. Pigs in the SAL and 32 in the 50%-LPS treatment received a 3.0 …

Adding Parasite Resistance To A Hair Sheep Breeding Objective, Bob Forbes

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The U.S. Hair Sheep Index was designed to increase total weight of lamb weaned per ewe lambing (TW) using estimated breeding values (EBV) for direct (DWWT) and maternal (MWWT) weaning weight, and number of lambs born (NLB) and weaned (NLW), as selection criteria. Producers are interested in adding post-weaning fecal egg count EBV (PFEC), an indicator of parasite resistance, to the index to achieve genetic change in both TW and PFEC.

First, the effects of adding PFEC alongside TW to the breeding objective of indexes that used either phenotypes or EBV as selection criteria were studied. Since MWWT is …

Proposing Urban Agroforestry Designs For Lincoln, Nebraska: A Model From Berlin, Germany, Noah Johnson

Honors Theses

Given the threat of a worsening climate crisis, there is a strong need for community and ecosystem resilience. Diverse urban agroforestry systems have the potential to accomplish both and meet many of the objectives outlined in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska’s climate action plan. Additionally, Berlin, Germany could provide an effective model for Lincoln in this regard given the city’s extensive history of established urban agroforestry systems. The objective of this study then is to develop a design for an urban agroforestry site modeled on Berlin’s allotment gardens and tailored to Lincoln’s needs. The methods for creating this design included …

Evaluation Of Critical Weed-Free Period For Three Sweetpotato (Ipomoea Batatas) Cultivars, Emmanuel G. Cooper, Stephen L. Meyers, Jeanine Arana, Katherine Jennings, Ashley Adair, Kevin D. Gibson, William G. Johnson

Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture Faculty Publications

Sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] is a staple crop that provides nutritional benefits to humans globally, but it is subject to yield loss when competing with weeds, especially during the early stage of establishment. Yield loss can vary widely based on the cultivar, production environment, weed species, and management techniques. To address this challenge, we conducted field research at the Samuel G. Meigs Horticulture Research Farm, Lafayette, IN, and at the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center, Vincennes, IN, in 2022 to determine the effect of sweetpotato cultivar on the critical weed-free period. The experiment was a split-plot design, with weed-free interval …

The Future Of The Organization Of The Petroleum Exporting Countries, Mikayla Gross

Honors Theses

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a multinational and intergovernmental organization that dictates the petroleum exportation policies of 13 countries: Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela (About Us, 2023). The mission of OPEC is to ensure a stable supply of petroleum through its shared policies for its Member Countries and consumers (Our Mission, 2023). Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela founded OPEC in 1960 under the foundations and principles that dictated the international world order. Those foundations and principles …

Application Of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy And Chemometrics For The Rapid Detection Of Insect Protein Adulteration From A Simulated Matrix, Dongdong Ni, Joost L. D. Nelis, Amanda L. Dawson, Nicholas Bourne, Pablo Juliano, Michelle L. Colgrave, Angéla Juhász, Utpal Bose

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The popularity of insect protein as a food and feed supplement is growing. Protein quality, end use and prices vary considerably between different insect species, which may incentivise insect protein adulteration. Here, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and chemometrics were used to detect the presence of cricket, black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) and mealworm proteins in a simulated complex insect protein mixture. Additionally, BSFL protein powders collected from three commercial sources were investigated to determine whether the NIR-based technology can discriminate the proteins obtained from different companies based on their composition. The proximate analysis suggests compositional protein, fat and chitin differences between …

Feeding Dried Distillers Grains With Solubles To Lactating Dairy Cattle: Whole Animal Energy Utilization And Manure Biogas Production, Grant Michael Fincham

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

When DDGS are fed to lactating dairy cattle, the observed response in energy supply, milk production, and methane production varies among studies. One potential reason for these observed discrepancies is the nature of the diet formulation itself. Furthermore, little research has been conducted to examine how dietary changes can affect dairy cattle manure composition and methane production in an anaerobic manure digester. In order to gain a better understanding of these topics, we conducted two experiments. The first experiment was conducted to test how the manipulation of lactating dairy cattle diets affects energy utilization, milk production, methane production, and manure …

Next-Generation Crop Monitoring Technologies: Case Studies About Edge Image Processing For Crop Monitoring And Soil Water Property Modeling Via Above-Ground Sensors, Nipuna Chamara

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced rapidly in the past two decades. Internet of Things (IoT) technology has advanced rapidly during the last decade. Merging these two technologies has immense potential in several industries, including agriculture.

We have identified several research gaps in utilizing IoT technology in agriculture. One problem was the digital divide between rural, unconnected, or limited connected areas and urban areas for utilizing images for decision-making, which has advanced with the growth of AI. Another area for improvement was the farmers' demotivation to use in-situ soil moisture sensors for irrigation decision-making due to inherited installation difficulties. As Nebraska …

Artificial Insemination And Fetal Programming In Beef Production Systems, Dempster Christenson

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pregnancy to artificial insemination and late gestation fetal programming of the next calf crop are central to genetic development, reproductive longevity, calf crop productivity, and efficiency of cow/calf ranching. The purposes of this research are to find methods to improve pregnancy rate to artificial insemination, the growth and reproductive health of pregnant heifers, and the productivity of their offspring. In the first of four studies we found that extending the period of progesterone administration in an estrus synchronization protocol did not significantly hasten estrus response or increase pregnancy rate to artificial insemination, but timing of estrus within the melengestrol acetate …

Establishment Of Wildflower Islands To Enhance Roadside Health, Ecological Value, And Aesthetics, Jackson Ebbers

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Roadsides provide an abundant opportunity to increase connectivity of fragmented landscapes with diminishing floral resources for pollinating insects. The ecological value of these sites is often overlooked as quality habitat for pollinators, particularly monarch butterflies, which have been experiencing severe declines due to loss of habitat and loss of milkweeds that provide food for their larvae. Land managers across the nation are realizing the potential of roadsides to provide high quality floral resources for the benefit of insects and other wildlife. Current wildflower seed mixes used by state transportation departments are often low diversity and may only be implemented following …

Agriculture 4.0 And Beyond: Evaluating Cyber Threat Intelligence Sources And Techniques In Smart Farming Ecosystems, Hang T. Bui, Hamed Aboutorab, Arash Mahboubi, Yansong Gao, Nazatul H. Sultan, Aufeef Chauhan, Mohammad Z. Parvez, Michael Bewong, Rafiqul Islam, Zahid Islam, Seyit A. Camtepe, Praveen Gauravaram, Dineshkumar Singh, M. A. Babar, Shihao Yan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The digitisation of agriculture, integral to Agriculture 4.0, has brought significant benefits while simultaneously escalating cybersecurity risks. With the rapid adoption of smart farming technologies and infrastructure, the agricultural sector has become an attractive target for cyberattacks. This paper presents a systematic literature review that assesses the applicability of existing cyber threat intelligence (CTI) techniques within smart farming infrastructures (SFIs). We develop a comprehensive taxonomy of CTI techniques and sources, specifically tailored to the SFI context, addressing the unique cyber threat challenges in this domain. A crucial finding of our review is the identified need for a virtual Chief Information …

Exploring The Intersection Between West Virginia Farmland Protection Boards, Landowners, And The West Virginia Agrarian Commons, Samuel W. Bayne, Joshua Lohnes

Undergraduate Scholarship

New Roots Community Farm (NRCF) came to life through the purchase of a piece of land by the Fayette County Farmland Protection Board in a buy-protect-sell model. NRCF then partnered with The Agrarian Land Trust, a New England based organization experimenting with land commons models across the United States, to purchase the property and create the West Virginia Agrarian Commons (WVAC), an entity that could advance land access for the next generation farmers in WV. The experience of NRCF and the WVAC and the vision for its operation and extension of the buy-protect-sell model in partnership with county farmland protection …

Examining Eastern Food Hub's Food Access Programs: A Research Study Sustainable Development Internship (Sdi) Spring 2024, Devin Anthony Barkefelt, Fritz Boettner

Undergraduate Scholarship

In 2020, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) introduced the Farmers to Families Food Box (FFFB) program. Its objectives were threefold: (1) deliver food to those in need, (2) support small and mid-sized producers, and (3) bolster food distribution companies through the pandemic. While the program ended in 2021, the USDA has continued to fund other programs, such as the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and the Local Food For Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS). The WVU Center for Resilient Communities (CRC) is researched how previous, current, and future programs can be implemented to best support producers, …

Cradle Explorer: Casfer Interactive Platform For Data And Model Visualization, Olatunde D. Akanbi, Vibha S. Mandayam, Haiping Ai, Arafath Nihar, Erika I. Barcelos, Laura S. Bruckman, Jeffrey Yarus, Yinghui Wu, Huichun (Judy) Zhang, Roger H. French

Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Buying Revenue Protection (Rp) Versus Buying The Rp With Harvest Price Exclusion (Rphpe) Version Of Multi-Peril Crop Insurance, Matt Stockton, Shannon Sand

Cornhusker Economics

In a conversation with one of the TAPS participants about Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) he suggested that you would never recommend RPHPE, due to the risk associated with a higher fall harvest price compared to the spring or predicted price. Since the year 2000, this has occurred about one-third of the time. This price reversal may alter indemnity size considerably, depending on which insurance is selected and if one qualifies for an indemnity. The discussion with the TAPS participant focused on the concern of risk exposure from pre-selling uninsured grain due to an unexpected increase in harvest price. This relates …

Effects Of Fungal Biopesticide Doses On Mortality In Bumble Bees, Colton Burris

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Agricultural practices often include the use of pesticides to produce meaningful crop yields. While the pesticide may be used to target “pest” insects (e.g. thrips, aphids, whiteflies), it can also have negative effects on important pollinating insects such as bees. Neonicotinoid pesticides have been found responsible for widespread decline in bee biodiversity, and were even banned in Europe (Sgolastra et al. 2020) . Beauveria bassiana, sold as Botanigard, on the other hand, is a fungal biopesticide that is marketed to be a safer alternative for bees, and has been found to have other possibly harmful effects to the inner …

Net Farm Income Impacts Net Worth Growth, Glennis Mcclure

Center for Agricultural Profitability

The beginning of the year is busy for businesses in finalizing records and filing annual income taxes. Farm and ranch operations are no exception. Beyond the net income or loss showing on the farm’s Schedule F, analyzing the true picture of the operation’s net farm income, and earned net worth change for the year is important.

Preparing an income statement using accrual adjustments will tell us more about the operation’s profitability and performance beyond what income tax statements provide. The income statement tells the story of revenue, expenses, and depreciation between the beginning of year balance sheet and the end …

Ideas For Estate And Transition Planning: Gifting, Jessica Groskopf

Center for Agricultural Profitability

For many farm and ranch families, bringing children or grandchildren into the operation is the ultimate goal. Successfully bringing additional family members into the operation may require some creativity as all parties need to maintain a viable standard of living. This article is part of a series that will highlight ideas and tactics for bringing another family member into the operation. If this is the first article you are seeing in this series, I would encourage you to go back to the previous article for background and additional guidance.

The second tactic to transfer wealth between generations is gifting. The …

Maintaining And Improving Irrigation Application Uniformity In Sprinkler And Drip Systems, Burdette Barker, Sheridan Stewart, Mark Nelson

All Current Publications

The goal of most irrigation system design and management is to provide all plants in an irrigated area with equal access to water. Ideally, each plant should receive the exact amount of water it needs. If a field needs 1 inch of water for irrigation, all parts of the field should receive exactly that. The reality is not so perfect. It is practically impossible to apply the same quantity of water to all plants in an irrigated area, plot, or field. In other words, all irrigation systems have some nonuniformities in the water delivered. Instead of designing and managing irrigation …

The Backyard Garden: Garlic Pests, Nick Volesky, Bridger Carey, Amelia Olds, Marion Murray

All Current Publications

The Backyard Garden is a series from Utah Pests, Utah State University Extension. This fact sheet explores the pests and diseases that affect garlic plants, covering severity, other hosts, general information, symptoms, and management.

The Backyard Garden: Sweet Corn Pests, Nick Volesky, Amelia Olds, Nick Sanchez, Marion Murray

All Current Publications

The Backyard Garden is a series from Utah Pests, Utah State University Extension. This fact sheet explores the pests that affect sweet corn, covering severity, other hosts, general information, symptoms, and management.

2024 Disease Management At A Glance, Sai Sree Uppala, Martha Sylvia

Cranberry Chart Book - Management Guide

No abstract provided.

2024 Nutrition Management At A Glance, Peter Jeranyama

Cranberry Chart Book - Management Guide

No abstract provided.