Table Of Contents

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

No abstract provided.

Challenges Of Stocking Small Ruminants In Grazing Plots With Dormant Browse Species, Sanjok Poudel, Uma Karki, Wendell Mcelhenney, Yubaraj Karki, Asha Tillman, Lila Karki, Anthony Kumi

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Abstract

Integration of browse species into the grazing system can increase the grazing/browsing opportunity; however, information is limited on their proper management for long-term use and persistence. The objective of the study was to determine whether it is safe to allow small ruminants to graze pastures consisting of dormant browse species. Katahdin ram lambs (9) and Kiko wethers (20) had access to the study plots containing four dormant browse species (mulberry, Morus alba; mimosa, Albizia julibrissin; white lead tree, Leucaena leucocephala; and bush indigo, Amorpha fruticosa) for two months. Type and extent of damage to the browse …

Abridged Submission Guidelines For Manuscripts For The Professional Agricultural Workers Journal (Pawj)

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

No abstract provided.

Latino Immigration And Community Development In Rural Nebraska, Daniela Mettos

Cornhusker Economics

"Community" originates from the Latin "communis," meaning common. A community can be defined as a group of people who know one another and share common cultural traditions, interests, concerns, and objectives mainly because they have always interacted on a regular basis. To most rural people, community means the same familiar faces and places, a daily routine, social systems and norms they understand, things they have always done. This scenario has been changing with the influx of immigrants in rural areas. Nowadays, rural community residents find themselves sharing their place with new people from distant regions and different cultures.

Impacts Of A Community Supported Agriculture (Csa) Voucher Program On Food Lifestyle Behaviors: Evidence From An Employer-Sponsored Pilot Program, Jairus J. Rossi, Timothy A. Woods, James E. Allen Iv

Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

Community supported agriculture (CSA) programs have recently received attention for their potential to influence food lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes. We build on and expand inquiries into the relationship between CSA participation and behavior change by presenting the results from a controlled pilot study of first-time CSA shareholders. We offered 95 first-time shareholders a $200 voucher to participate in a CSA. Prior to and immediately following CSA participation, these shareholders completed a survey on food lifestyle behaviors. Using econometric analyses, we measured shareholder behavior changes against an 82 person control group. All participants were drawn from a pool of individuals …

Rice Hull Bioreactor For Recirculating Aquaculture, Marlon A. Greensword

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The engineering of floating media biofilters has been optimized over the years. The backwashing process has made them more energy and water efficient. Likewise, moving bed bioreactors (MBBR) are gaining interest and popularity because they are relatively affordable to build. Yet, developing countries’ aquaculture production remains largely excluded from the advances made in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). This discrepancy is partially driven by the high costs of media such plastic beads and Kaldnes (KMT) media, commonly used in MBBR.

This dissertation evaluates the usability and profitability of rice hulls (RH), an abundant by-product in many developing nations, as a sinking …

Market And Welfare Effects Of Renewable Portfolio Standards In United States Electricity Markets, Suparna Bhattacharya, Konstantinos Giannakas, Karina A. Schoengold

Cornhusker Economics

Rising energy prices, dependence on foreign oil supplies, and alarming consequences of global warming have prompted governments worldwide to initiate green energy policies that can motivate a shift away from fossil fuels and toward renewables for electricity generation. Recognizing the fact that around 40 percent of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States come from fossil fuel combustion in the electricity sector, several policies have been adopted across states for reducing carbon emissions and stimulating renewable energy development. One of the innovative policy instruments that stands out due to widespread adoption by states since the late 1990s is the …

2017 Crop Share Leasing Trends In Nebraska, Jim Jansen

Cornhusker Economics

The Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights Report 2016-2017 provides recent trends on land values and rental rates for landlords, tenants, and stakeholders. Each year, a special feature section covers emerging issues related to agricultural land in Nebraska. This year the special feature section focuses on crop share leasing trends in Nebraska given the renewed interest in this lease arrangement due to lower commodity prices.

Community Ownership Of Essential Businesses In Small Nebraska Towns, Jim Crandall

Cornhusker Economics

Some communities in rural Nebraska are facing the closure of what many would consider an essential business in their community. Grocery stores, cafes and restaurants, clothing, hardware, gas/service stations, and variety stores often top the lists of businesses calling it quits. Most of the time the business is the only one of its kind in town.

Label Position And Its Impact On Willingness To Pay For Products Containing Genetically Modified Organisms, Ruskin Gautam

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Food labels play an important role in communicating information. Labels provide information about production techniques, nutrition and ingredient information, and quality of a product (i.e. federal grade standards for eggs, U.S.D.A. quality grades on beef and pork). These are some of the key product attributes that consumers seek while making purchasing decisions. However, labels can be confusing and misleading and at times consumers simply ignore them. Research on the placement and effectiveness of labels conducted over the past few decades have found that information on the label influences buying habits. Food manufacturers could strategically use or place such attributes of …

Historical Perspective Of Crop Rotations Across Nebraska, Matthew Stockton, Daran Rudnick, Devin Broadhead

Cornhusker Economics

Nebraska is a diverse state with a wide range of farm production environments including irrigated and rain-fed systems. With this diversity, crop rotation has become a big factor. Recent work at Stanford University, published in the March issue of the Agronomy Journals, is a whole series of various corn/soybean rotational effects and yield penalties across the U. S. Corn Belt. (Refer to references below) This information is leveraged by University of Nebraska-Lincoln to simulate historical economic relevance for producers in their state. Historical annual corn and soybean yields for 6 of the 8 United States Department of Agriculture - National …

Selection Of Breeding Stock By U.S. Meat Goat Producers, Narayan Nyaupane, Jeffrey Gillespie, Kenneth Mcmillin, Robert Harrison, Isaac Stienei

Community & Leadership Development Faculty Publications

Using nationwide survey data, we investigate U.S. meat goat producer preferences and willingness to pay for meat goat breeding stock attributes. Discrete choice experiments were employed, and mixed logit and latent class models were used for analysis. Results showed that producers preferred animals that were highly masculine/feminine, had good structure and soundness, and were of the Boer breed, whereas they preferred fewer animals that were older, of Kiko and Spanish breeds, and priced higher. Significant preference heterogeneity was found among the respondents. Larger-scale producers had greater preference for high masculinity/femininity, good structure and soundness, and Boer bucks.

Qualitative Analysis Of Social Capital In Arkansas – A Case Study Based Approach, Valerie Kilders

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the vast research on social capital in general, only very little research is focused on the quality of social capital. While some research studies incorporated aspects that are associated with the quality of social capital, they often take a one dimensional approach that fails to take the different aspects of the topic into consideration. In order to gain more insights into this I conducted a series of semi-structured interviews in three rural counties in Arkansas. The counties were selected on the basis of a social capital index of all U.S. counties using quantitative measures. I used a guide on …

The Bracero Program In The Arkansas Delta: The Power Held By Planter Elite, William Chase Whittington

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the Bracero Program and its implementation from the start of World War II to the end of the program in 1964. Farmers and planters in America needed a sufficient labor supply once the war started, and Mexico became the main supplier. The Bracero Program was initiated as a war effort and meant to only last until the end of the war, but the planter elite had far different intentions once they realized how productive and inexpensive the program could be. This paper identifies the leading causes for how the Bracero Program was able to last over twenty …

The Cost Of Forward Contracting In Mississippi River Barge Freight And Cif Nola Markets, Bradley John Isbell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Grain elevators often use paper markets to mitigate the risk of (or hedge) their cash grain positions, as well as establish a profit margin through basis trading. Typically, merchandisers use futures or forward contracts to perform these transactions. However, in order to liquidate a cash grain position, grain transportation must be arranged in order to deliver the grain to the buyer. For elevators located along the Mississippi River system selling to Gulf export elevators in New Orleans, that mode of grain transportation is most likely river barge. Contracts for barges are bought and sold by grain merchants either directly with …

Evaluating The Impact Of An All-Vegetable Protein Supplement Containing Fat Emulsifiers And Probiotics On Broiler Performance, Jordan Weil

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, several niche markets, such as organic and “all natural”, are marketed within the poultry industry. However, little research has been undertaken to determine the cost-effectiveness of poultry diets used to produce chicken within these markets. Specifically, the economics and resulting profits associated with raising chicken with antibiotic-free, all-vegetable (AV) diets are not evaluated. As national chain restaurants such as Chick-fil-A and Panera Bread begin to mandate poultry suppliers raise chicken without antibiotics and use AV diets, it becomes increasingly important to evaluate the economics for integrators. Given the rapidly changing feeding strategies necessary to respond to consumers’ and wholesalers’ …

Simulating The Impact Of A Co2-Equivalent Meat Tax On Grain And Livestock Markets, Regan Gilmore, Azzeddine Azzam

UCARE: Research Products

Research Question

What are the potential effects of imposing a carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent tax on meat consumption, including beef, pork, and poultry, on U.S. livestock and grain markets and greenhouse gas emissions?

This is the second half of a research project introduced in the poster entitled "Using an Equilibrium Displacement Model to Simulate the Impact of an Environmental Meat Tax on Grain and Livestock Markets," online at https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ucareresearch/125/

The Effect Of The Dodd-Frank Act On Non-Metro Cooperative Lenders, Greg Mckee

Cornhusker Economics

Credit availability affects the equilibrium quantity of housing. Lenders incorporated as cooperatives, such as agricultural credit associations (ACA) and credit unions, are aware of their role in offering rural residential real estate loans, facilitating entry into this housing market. In some instances there are few alternatives to cooperative financial institutions for access to mortgages in rural areas. At year -end 2016, credit unions were the only type of financial institution in approximately 275 nonmetropolitan counties nationwide. In some instances other types of financial organizations simply do not offer home finance products in nonmetro locations. Compounding these features of non-metropolitan real …

Trade Balances, E. Wesley F. Peterson, Marianna Khachaturyan

Cornhusker Economics

The fact that the United States has a global trade deficit as well as bilateral trade deficits with particular countries, such as China or Germany, has recently received extensive commentary in the news (see Irwin 2016, Constable 2017, Goodman 2017). The balance of trade is the difference between the value of a country’s imports of goods and services and the value of its exports and can be either negative (deficit) or positive (surplus). Trade balances between two countries are actually of little economic interest as countries always have trade surpluses with some countries while having trade deficits with others. The …

2016 Net Farm Income, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

The Nebraska Farm Business published results from their 2016 Farm Financial Averages program in May. The data included is from farms and ranches across Nebraska that participate in their financial analysis program. The data is a result of the averages from the individual farms which the producers can use as benchmarks, but also provide a source of actual farm level information to gauge the financial health of the producers in Nebraska.

The Impact Weather Has On Nyc Citi Bike Share Company Activity, Mark Martinez

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper seeks to figure out the effect weather has on individuals’ behavior. A more focused approach to determining this effect is seeing how different weather conditions ranging from the temperature, the precipitation, the amount of inches of snowfall and the wind speed effect the ridership of Citi Bikes throughout all four seasons. The approach of this research paper is using data from the National Climatic Data Center that focuses in on the weather found in Manhattan, New York and correlates each of the weather conditions to the total number of trips per day that is provided by the Citi …

The Effects From Public Transportation On Property Values: A Closer Look At Scituate, Hanover, And Norwell, Massachusetts, Alexandra Taylor Perticone, Christine S. Coveney

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Prior studies have expressed the value of location in real estate, but more recent studies have explored the influence that public transportation has had on housing prices. Access to public transportation is understood to increase the value of homes. Easier access to public transportation allows for shorter and more convenient commutes into or within cities. However, other studies have found that proximity to public transportation can also have adverse effects on property values. This paper investigates whether the implementation of the Greenbush Commuter line in Massachusetts in October 2007 increased the housing prices in Scituate, Ma--the furthest town from the …

Invited Introduction To Jerec, Matthew Kahn

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

Welcome By The Editor, Nathan W. Chan

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

Estimation Of The Virtual Water Content Of Main Crops On The Korean Peninsula Using Multiple Regional Climate Models And Evapotranspiration Methods, Chul-Hee Lim, Seung Hee Kim, Yuyoung Choi, Menas Kafatos, Woo-Kyun Lee

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Sustainable agriculture in the era of climate change needs to find solutions for the retention and proper utilization of water. This study proposes an ensemble approach for identifying the virtual water content (VWC) of main crops on the Korean Peninsula in past and future climates. Ensemble results with low uncertainty were obtained using three regional climate models, five potential evapotranspiration methods, and the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) crop model. The productivity results of major crops (rice and maize) under climate change are likely to increase more than in the past based on the ensemble results. The ensemble VWC is …

Western Australian Arable Crops Industry - Overview For Potential Investors And Other Stakeholders, Virginia Wilkinson, Tim Morris, Nicki Hall, David Hughes Professor

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

When looking at opportunities for investment in the Western Australian arable crop production system, one must consider by whom? If you were to judge purely from the popular press, you would believe Western Australia agriculture was totally controlled by billionaires and foreign speculators. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The largest farmer, the largest farmland owner, the largest investor, the largest employer and the largest agrifood research funder in Western Australia (WA) is the government. The government is also the largest builder of the infrastructure used by the industry. At the same time, the government invests in food safety …

Growing South Dakota (Summer 2017), College Of Agriculture &. Biological Sciences

Growing South Dakota (Publication of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences)

This issue contains the 2016 SDSU Extension Annual Report.

Page] 2 From the Director
[Page] 3 WaterTouches Everything, Multi-State Network Strives to Enhance Water Stewardship
[Page] 6 From RubbleTo Renewal, Unique Art Project Helps Delmont Community Heal
[Page] 7 Future Focused, Community Development Program Helps Harness Ideas Into Action
[Page] 8 Health Help, Statewide Program Strives To Help Individuals Better Manage Chronic Health Condition
[Page] 10 Making An Impact, Master Gardener Program Helps Individuals & Communities Flourish
[Page] 12 Statewide Highlights & Happenings
[Page] 14 Outreach to Youth, Programs Foster Engagement With Diverse Youth Audiences
[Page] 17 A Look At …

Factors Influencing Employment Choices Of Graduates From The Department Of Agricultural Economics, Larry Van Tassell

Cornhusker Economics

During the Spring of 2012, we sent a survey to alumni of our department for the purpose of collecting information to assist students and aid in student recruitment. We surveyed 2,899 alumni and had 789 responses. For this article, I focused on the 406 respondents who have graduated since 1980. The average respondent抯 age was 40, with a range of 22 to 65. Twenty-six percent were female and 74 percent were male.

The Challenges Of Developing A Successful Cooperative Through An Integrated Resource Approach: Small Farmer-Tuskegee University-Walmart Project, Gertrude Wall, Walter A. Hill, Tasha M. Hargrove, Barrett Vaughan, Franklin Quarcoo, Miles D. Robinson

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Abstract

This paper shares the challenges that small, socially disadvantaged Alabama vegetable and fruit producers in Alabama faced and overcame to secure their USDA Produce Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) food safety certification. The commercial buyers, collaborating with the Small Farmers Agricultural Cooperative (SFAC) producers, required the producers to be certified. This certification was based on the regulated security standards for food safety, the Harmonized Food Safety Standards with the Global Addendum (Global Markets Primary Production Assessments). This venture entailed the integrated resource approach, which comprised experts from Tuskegee University (Extension and Research staff) working closely with SFAC producers. Additional support …

The Small Farmers Agricultural Cooperative Today, Miles D. Robinson, John Brown, Alice Paris, Walter A. Hill, Tasha M. Hargrove, Barrett Vaughan, Raymon Shange, Al Hooks, Demetrius Hooks, Thomas Turner, Bobby England, Audrey Zeigler

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Abstract

The Small Farmer-Tuskegee University-Walmart Project was designed to provide technical support to train at least 200 farmers on best practices in marketing produce to large companies such as Walmart. Activities included specialized training, workshops, and informational group meetings, and overall awareness of market opportunities. The specialized trainings included food safety standards and food safety certification requirements, efficient production techniques, harvesting, grading, packaging, refrigeration/cold chain requirements, transportation, fiscal responsibility, financial management, record-keeping, and insurance and product liability. As part of the process, Tuskegee University assisted with the formation of the Small Farmers Agricultural Cooperative, which is comprised of members from …