Agricultural Economics Commons^™

Wayne E. Sabbe Arkansas Soil Fertility Studies 2025, Nathan A. Slaton

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Rapid technological changes in crop management and production require that the research efforts be presented in an expeditious manner. The contributions of soil fertility and fertilizers are major production factors in all Arkansas crops. The studies described within will allow producers to compare their practices with the university’s research efforts. Additionally, soil-test data and fertilizer sales are presented to allow comparisons among years, crops, and other areas within Arkansas.

To Hold Or Sell Breeding Cattle In The Rangelands, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock factsheets

In a dry season where feed, water and finances are limited, removing less productive animals as soon as possible is a good option. This will free up feed for more productive animals and help preserve ground cover.

This page provides some of the information and a process for making decisions about holding or selling breeding cattle.

Essays On The Economics Of Farmland Valuation And Investment In U.S. Agriculture, Colson Tester

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents three empirical essays that collectively advance the understanding of farmland valuation in key U.S. agricultural regions, emphasizing the critical advantages of comprehensive, transaction-based data over traditional survey methods. Farmland represents a significant portion of agricultural wealth, and its accurate valuation is crucial for farmers, investors, and policymakers, influencing everything from credit access to investment strategies. Historically, research has often relied on subjective survey data, which can suffer from biases, inaccuracies, and insufficient granularity. This dissertation addresses these limitations by leveraging extensive datasets of arm’s-length farmland transactions, offering a more precise and market-driven perspective on land values. The …

Assessing Crop Rotation Productivity, Soil Health, And Fertility, And Economic Performance, To Enhance Semi-Arid High Plains Cropping Systems Sustainability, Ezequiel Maria Villamil

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

Sustainable crop production in the semi-arid High Plains of Nebraska faces challenges from limited precipitation, high interannual variability, and economic risk. This dissertation investigates the long-term productivity, water use, soil health, and economic sustainability of dryland crop rotations, with emphasis on the role of pulses as alternatives to fallow.

Chapter 1 analyzes nearly three decades (1995–2023) of on-farm data from the High Plains Agricultural Laboratory (Sidney, Nebraska) to compare seven crop rotations, including wheat, corn, millet, sunflower, and field peas. Results showed that wheat–corn–fallow (W–C–F) consistently outperformed traditional wheat–fallow (W–F) and more intensified four-year rotations, providing the highest grain yields, …

Wayne E. Sabbe Arkansas Soil Fertility Studies 2024, Nathan A. Slaton

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Rapid technological changes in crop management and production require that the research efforts be presented in an expeditious manner. The contributions of soil fertility and fertilizers are major production factors in all Arkansas crops. The studies described within will allow producers to compare their practices with the university’s research efforts. Additionally, soil-test data and fertilizer sales are presented to allow comparisons among years, crops, and other areas within Arkansas.

Excavated Tanks (Farm Dams), Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Guidelines and information for planning, legal requirements, design, construction and management of excavated tanks for water storage on farm.

Excavated tanks (farm dams) provide effective water storage wherever surface water run-off can be harvested for livestock, crop spraying, irrigation and domestic use on rural properties.

Excavated tanks for rainfall storage are common in the southern agricultural areas of WA.

Well-designed and constructed dams are farm assets, safe and require little maintenance.

Poor design and construction can lead to poor water harvesting and storage, excessive costs, downstream erosion and risks to property and people.

DPIRD recommends that excavated tanks should be …

Roaded Catchments In Wa, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Roaded catchments are earthwork structures designed to increase the amount of run-off from the catchment above a receiving farm dam.

Roaded catchments are lined with clay and compacted to make a smooth surface that reduces infiltration and increases run-off. Roaded catchments should discharge into a silt trap and then into a dam (excavated earth tank). This combined structure should be fenced to exclude livestock.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recommends that roaded catchments are part of an integrated water and salinity management program.

The information in this page is only a guide – seek expert advice before …

Evaluation Of Dual Purpose Canola And Cereals Grazed With Cattle, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock factsheets

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development conducted research to investigate and demonstrate the importance of dual-purpose crops (canola, wheat and barley) to improve the feed availability for cattle (in late autumn to early winter) in mixed farming systems of the high rainfall environment of Western Australia (WA).

The grain yield of a wide range of canola and cereal varieties sown in mid-April were unaffected by the grazing of cattle at a stocking rate of 20 to 22 dry sheep equivalent (DSE) per hectare (ha) for up to 4 weeks at Esperance in 2011.

The grazed crops yielded the …

Cucumber Mosaic Virus And Its Management In Narrow Leafed Lupins, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grains and other field crops factsheets

Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is a seed- and aphid-borne virus that infects narrow-leafed lupins. Western Australian (WA) grainbelt regions most at risk are the high rainfall zones of the northern and central agricultural region and the south coastal region.

The principal infection source for lupin crops is sowing infected lupin seed.

Root Lesion And Burrowing Nematodes And Their Management, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grains and other field crops factsheets

Nematodes are common soil pests that feed on the roots of a wide range of crops in all agricultural areas of Western Australia, resulting in significant crop yield loss. Root lesion nematode can be managed but not eradicated.

This factsheet summarises the biology of the root lesion nematode (RLN, Pratylenchus spp.) and burrowing nematode (Radopholus spp.) species that damage Western Australian (WA) crops, and their diagnosis and management.

Roly Poly And Its Management, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grains and other field crops factsheets

Roly poly, also known as prickly saltwort or tumbleweed (Salsola australis), is a native species found throughout Australia. The dead plants can break off at ground level, forming the ‘tumbleweeds’ seen in movies.

Like most summer weeds, roly poly uses soil moisture and nutrients that would otherwise be available to the following crop. The time taken to clear uncontrolled plants can delay seeding.

Livestock will graze the young plants; however, they will not eat the mature plants and are injured by the prickly leaves.

Foliar Diseases And Their Management In Lupins, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grains and other field crops factsheets

This factsheet describes symptoms and management of the major fungal and viral diseases affecting lupin foliage, stems, and pods. Several of these diseases have the capacity to cause significant losses if not managed effectively.

Inoculum can be carried in soil, seed, stubble, on green regrowth, or by insect vectors, depending on the disease. Therefore, an integrated approach to disease management is required using tactics such as crop rotation, stubble management, fungicide seed dressing, variety selection, and seed testing

Rotary Spading To Ameliorate Soil Water Repellence, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

One-off deep cultivation can reduce the severity of soil water repellence by mixing some of the repellent topsoil into the wettable subsoil and bringing wettable subsoil to the surface.

Rotary spading or deep cultivation increases water infiltration by providing pathways for water entry; diluting the water repellent soil with non-repellent soil; increasing the breakdown of soil organic matter causing water repellence; in some soil types, spading and other deep cultivation can lift subsoil with higher clay content to the surface.

Deep cultivation increases the risk of wind and water erosion. To minimise the risk of erosion, follow the guidelines on …

Developing A Controlled Traffic (Tramline) Farming System, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grains and other field crops factsheets

Controlled traffic farming (CTF) is a farming system built on permanent wheel tracks where the crop zone and traffic lanes are permanently separated. It can improve profitability and sustainability.

Implements for seeding, spraying, spreading and harvesting have a particular span, or multiple of it, and all wheel tracks are confined to specific traffic lanes.

CTF increases profit by more yield, better grain quality, improved operation timeliness, and reduced costs. The environment can improve, with less nutrient leaching, less water erosion, better water infiltration, and less greenhouse gas emission. Implementation needs a clear, long-term plan, and prioritisation of soil health.

Another …

Boosting Winter Pasture Growth, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grains and other field crops factsheets

Applying gibberellic acid or nitrogen fertiliser to pasture in winter can increase dry matter production of grasses and broadleaf weeds and help reduce feed shortages in winter.

What Soil Is Worth: A Cost-Benefit Framework Analysis Of Syntropic Farming, Aubrey Kettley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Syntropic farming, a type of regenerative agriculture, models its farming system after a forest. This type of farming prioritizes soil health while also providing a varied yield of crops. Because it is a fairly new system globally, little research has been done on the economic impacts of syntropic farming, and therefore the feasibility of scaling up regenerative systems like this. This study aims to analyze the economic feasibility of this system through a literature review and a cost-benefit analysis framework. The results highlight the applicability, environmental advantage and economic feasibility of the system. Based on the presented framework, the short …

Wayne E. Sabbe Arkansas Soil Fertility Studies 2023, Nathan A. Slaton

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Rapid technological changes in crop management and production require that the research efforts be presented in an expeditious manner. The contributions of soil fertility and fertilizers are major production factors in all Arkansas crops. The studies described within will allow producers to compare their practices with the university’s research efforts. Additionally, soil-test data and fertilizer sales are presented to allow comparisons among years, crops, and other areas within Arkansas.

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Reintroducing Hemp (Rongony) In The Material Palette Of Madagascar: A Study On The Potential Of Hemp Clay Components And Its Impact On Social And Ecological Communities., Henintsoa Thierry Andrianambinina

Masters Theses

When mentioning the word hemp, especially in the local language of Madagascar, the literal translation does not set it apart from marijuana, as they are both called “rongony” - creating the stigma around hemp as the negative stereotype of marijuana. However, the material has been used by the ancestors of Madagascar, as well as across cultures, in its fibrous form to produce fabrication like textile goods and packaging. During colonization, the prohibition of hemp intensified, and since then, any activity related to either of these plants is prohibited and will end in severe punitive measures. This thesis explores the strengths …

Wayne E. Sabbe Arkansas Soil Fertility Studies 2022, Nathan A. Slaton, Mike Daniels

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Rapid technological changes in crop management and production require that the research efforts be presented in an expeditious manner. The contributions of soil fertility and fertilizers are major production factors in all Arkansas crops. The studies described within will allow producers to compare their practices with the university’s research efforts. Additionally, soil-test data and fertilizer sales are presented to allow comparisons among years, crops, and other areas within Arkansas.

Arkansas Corn And Grain Sorghum Research Studies 2021, Victor Ford, Jason Kelley, Nathan Mckinney Ii

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

The 2021 edition of the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Research Studies Series includes research results on topics pertaining to corn and grain sorghum production, including weed, disease, and insect management; economics; sustainability; irrigation; post-harvest drying; soil fertility; mycotoxins; cover crop management; and research verification program results. Our objective is to capture and broadly distribute the results of research projects funded by the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Board. The intended audience includes producers and their advisors, current investigators, and future researchers. The Series serves as a citable archive of research results.

Wayne E. Sabbe Arkansas Soil Fertility Studies 2021, Nathan A. Slaton

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Rapid technological changes in crop management and production require that the research efforts be presented in an expeditious manner. The contributions of soil fertility and fertilizers are major production factors in all Arkansas crops. The studies described within will allow producers to compare their practices with the university’s research efforts. Additionally, soil-test data and fertilizer sales are presented to allow comparisons among years, crops, and other areas within Arkansas.

Effects Of Foliar Application Of Zno Nanoparticles On Lentil Production, Stress Level And Nutritional Seed Quality Under Field Conditions, Marek Kolenčík, Dávid Ernst, Matej Komár, Martin Urík, Martin Šebesta, Ľuba Ďurišová, Marek Bujdoš, Ivan Černý, Juraj Chlpík, Martin Juriga, Ramakanth Illa, Yu Qian, Huan Feng, Gabriela Kratošová, Karla Čech Barabaszová, Ladislav Ducsay, Elena Aydın

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Nanotechnology offers new opportunities for the development of novel materials and strategies that improve technology and industry. This applies especially to agriculture, and our previous field studies have indicated that zinc oxide nanoparticles provide promising nano-fertilizer dispersion in sustainable agriculture. However, little is known about the precise ZnO-NP effects on legumes. Herein, 1 mg·L⁻¹ ZnO-NP spray was dispersed on lentil plants to establish the direct NP effects on lentil production, seed nutritional quality, and stress response under field conditions. Although ZnO-NP exposure positively affected yield, thousand-seed weight and the number of pods per plant, there was no statistically significant …

Effects Of Conservation Management Practices On Soil Health And Crop Yields In Eastern South Dakota, Alex Mclain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conservation management practice adoption on agricultural land has increased in recent years due to increasing public and private investment. The anticipated impact of increasing conservation management practice adoption are reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved soil, water, and air quality. Understanding how these conservation management practices affect agricultural producers economically is vital to properly incentivize these practices. The existing literature on how conservation management practices affect soil health and crop yields is mixed and generally has been conducted on experimental research stations. These studies may not fully account for the on-farm effects of conservation management practices. The objectives of this …

Economic Potash Fertilizer Rate Recommendations, Kimberly B. Oliver

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is comprised of two studies that estimate profit-maximizing potassium (K) fertilizer application rates for various crops across different time periods. Estimation of profit-maximizing fertilizer-K rate (K*) for both studies considered the initial soil test level of K (STK) and yield response information, as traditional recommendations do, and added crop price and the cost of fertilizer. Profit maximum occurs where the marginal revenue from additional yield is equal to the marginal cost of applying an additional unit of fertilizer-K. The first study calculated K* for corn (Zea mays) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and compared results to previous studies on …

Estimating Irrigation In Rice Fields With A Water Balance Approach, Kristen Trinh

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Global food production must increase to meet the demand associated with increased population growth, so irrigation water use will continue to rise. Therefore, it is important to monitor water usage particularly when an irrigation flowmeter is unavailable. A field water balance was created for a selection of rice fields in East-central Arkansas under observation in 2018 and 2019. From those, irrigation inputs are deduced from the water balance alone. First, each field had sensors that collected water table level (WTL) data. Next, other water inputs and outputs such as precipitation and evapotranspiration (ET) were collected from two modeled sources. The …

Projected Surface Water For Fruit And Vegetable Irrigation Under A Changing Climate In The Us, Marty Matlock, Greg Thoma, Kieu Ngoc Le, Eric Cummings, Zach Morgan, Andrew Shaw

Water Systems

Increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, resulting in climate impacts, are raising concerns over the hydrologic cycle and its effects upon agricultural productivity. If rainfall patterns change, meeting an increased demand for fruits and vegetables will pose a challenge for domestic production regions in the United States (U.S.). Information on potential water supply scarcity in the current production regions provides decision makers with critical information for risk mitigation for future production. We used a hydrologic balance-based model of historic and future water availability to evaluate risk of available irrigation water to support major fruit and vegetable production the US. …

Statistical Analysis Of Nutrient Loads From The Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (Marb) To The Gulf Of Mexico, Phyllis Okwan, Yi Zhen, Huan Feng, Shinjae Yoo, Murty S. Kambhampati, Abreione Walker, Shayne Boykin, Joe Omojola, Noel Blackburn

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study investigated the annual and seasonal variations in nutrient loads (NO₂⁻ + NO₃⁻ and orthophosphate) delivered to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) and examined the water quality variations. The results indicate that (1) annually, the mean NO₂⁻ + NO₃⁻ and orthophosphate loads showed a steady increase during 1996–1999, a persistent level during 2000–2007, and a moderate increase during 2008–2016; (2) seasonally, NO₂⁻ + NO₃⁻ and orthophosphate in MARB in spring and summer were higher than those in autumn and winter. Analysis of …

Effect Of Foliar Spray Application Of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles On Quantitative, Nutritional, And Physiological Parameters Of Foxtail Millet (Setaria Italica L.) Under Field Conditions, Marek Kolenčík, Dávid Ernst, Matej Komár, Martin Šebesta, Martin Urík, Edmund Dobročka, Ivan Černý, Ramakanth Illa, Raghavendra Kanike, Qian Yu, Huan Feng, Denisa Orlová, Gabriela Kratošová

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

It has been shown that the foliar application of inorganic nano-materials on cereal plants during their growth cycle enhances the rate of plant productivity by providing a micro-nutrient source. We therefore studied the effects of foliarly applied ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on Setaria italica L. foxtail millet’s quantitative, nutritional, and physiological parameters. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the ZnO NPs have an average particle size under 20 nm and dominant spherically shaped morphology. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry then confirmed ZnO NP homogeneity, and X-ray diffraction verified their high crystalline and wurtzite-structure symmetry. Although plant height, thousand grain weight, and grain …

Stakeholders’ Perceptions Of Geographical Criteria For Loblolly Pine Management For Bioenergy Production In Virginia, Meghann Smith, Gia Nguyen, Taylor Wieczerak, Bernabas Wolde, Pankaj Lal, John Munsell

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study analyzed the perceptions of four stakeholder groups (forest landowners, private forest consultants, forest management researchers or educators, and federal or state agency foresters), regarding their management practices and preferred geographic growing conditions of loblolly pine in Virginia by combining AHP (analytical hierarchy process) and regression modeling. By ranking the importance of different geographical conditions for managing loblolly pine, we aimed to identify ways to support loblolly growth as a potential feedstock for biofuel generation. We achieved this through collecting survey responses from 43 stakeholders during the 2019 Virginia Forestry Summit. The results showed that the landowner, researcher/educator, and …