Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Weather And Climate Summary And Forecast: August 2018 Report, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report provides a summary of the weather and climate forecast for August 2018. It includes forecast information specific to the Pacific Northwest and the western United States, as well as forecast information for other portions of the United States and abroad.

Pod Shattering: A Homologous Series Of Variation Underlying Domestication And An Avenue For Crop Improvement, Ezgi Ogutcen, Anamika Pandey, Mohd Kamran Khan, Edward Marques, R. Varma Penmetsa, Abdullah Kahraman, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

All rights reserved. In wild habitats, fruit dehiscence is a critical strategy for seed dispersal; however, in cultivated crops it is one of the major sources of yield loss. Therefore, indehiscence of fruits, pods, etc., was likely to be one of the first traits strongly selected in crop domestication. Even with the historical selection against dehiscence in early domesticates, it is a trait still targeted in many breeding programs, particularly in minor or underutilized crops. Here, we review dehiscence in pulse (grain legume) crops, which are of growing importance as a source of protein in human and livestock diets, and …

Toxic Effects Of Lead Disposal In Water: An Analysis Of Tri Facility Releases, Patrick Koval

Economics Department Working Papers

Using county-level TRI data from 2003 to 2016, I find evidence that lead emissions in water adversely affect birth weights within the emitting county, especially with respect to the percentage of births considered low birth weight within that county (less than 2,500 grams). I find that a one percent increase in lead emissions per square mile increases the proportion of low birth weights by 0.27 percentage points. For a county with an average number of births in a particular year, this one percent increase in lead per square mile translates to an additional $475,000 in hospitalization costs from complications with …

Cover Crops Have Negligible Impact On Soil Water In Nebraska Maize–Soybean Rotation, J. Burdette Barker, Derek M. Heeren, Katja Koehler-Cole, Charles Shapiro, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Roger W. Elmore, Christopher A. Proctor, Suat Irmak, Charles A. Francis, Tim M. Shaver, Ali T. Mohammed

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

One perceived cost of integrating winter cover cropping in maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation systems is the potential negative impact on soil water storage available for primary crop production. The objective of this 3-year study was to evaluate the effects of winter cover crops on soil water storage and cover crop biomass production following no-till maize and soybean rotations. Locations were near Brule (west-central), Clay Center (south-central), Concord (northeast), and Mead (east-central), Nebraska, United States. Treatments included crop residue only (no cover crop) and a multi-species cover crop mix, both broadcast-seeded before …

Tiered Approaches In Analyzing Rice Field Pesticide Fate And Transport For Ecological Risk Assessment, Ruoyu Wang

Ruoyu Wang

No abstract provided.

Irrigation Management, Environment, And Profits: Who Wins?, Emily O'Donnell

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

The impact of irrigation technology on farmers’ management strategies and resulting environmental benefits depends upon agronomic properties and market forces. We evaluate the role of deficit irrigation using soil moisture probe technology on corn yield and evapotranspiration, which is a measure of water use efficiency. Evapotranspiration represents the water that transits through the plant during planting to harvest (transpiration) and the evaporation from the soil into the environment, or the displaced water in the production process. We develop yield and evapotranspiration response functions to inform a constrained profit maximization model used to identify the optimal irrigation level across a variety …

Point-Of-Sale Specific Willingness To Pay For Quality-Differentiated Beef, Kar Ho Lim, Michael Vassalos, Michael R. Reed

Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

Despite the growing interest of producers and consumers toward grass-fed, local, and organic beef, the supply chain for these products to reach consumers is not always clear-cut. Among the available options are direct-to-consumers and the conventional food supply chain. Although consumers may pay a premium for beef differentiated by quality attributes, the willingness to pay (WTP) difference across point-of-sales is unclear. In this study, we contrast the WTPs for conventional, grass-fed, local, and organic beef by brick-and-mortar supermarkets (B&Ms), farmers’ markets, and via online stores. We conduct a choice experiment with a nationwide online sample of American consumers. The findings …

Weather And Climate Summary And Forecast: July 2018 Report, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report provides a summary of the weather and climate forecast for July 2018. It includes forecast information specific to the Pacific Northwest and the western United States, as well as forecast information for other portions of the United States and abroad.

Sustainability Partnerships And Viticulture Management In California, Vicken Hillis, Mark Lubell, Matthew Hoffman

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

Agricultural regions in the United States are experimenting with sustainability partnerships that, among other goals, seek to improve growers' ability to manage their vineyards sustainably. In this paper, we analyze the association between winegrape grower participation in sustainability partnership activities and practice adoption in three winegrowing regions of California. Using data gathered from a survey of 822 winegrape growers, we find a positive association between participation and adoption of sustainable practices, which holds most strongly for practices in which the perceived private benefits outweigh the costs, and for growers with relatively dense social networks. We highlight the mechanisms by which …

Phosphorus Vs. Mycorrhiza: Mitigation Of Lead Uptake In Tomatoes, Helen Senerchia, Liz Miernicki, Andrew Margenot

PRECS 2018

This study seeks to understand how the mutualist relationship between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM) and Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) affects the uptake and distribution of iron (Pb) found in soil by tomatoes and how the effects of phosphorous (P) application may pose a trade-off between AM and P mitigation of bioavailability of Pb.

Distribution Of Classified Soils In South-West Western Australia, Dennis Van Gool, Angela Stuart-Street, Peter Tille

Resource management technical reports

This report provides areas, locations and properties of the main soil classifications identified in south-west Western Australia using current conventional soil map data. It is a reference point for classified soils in the south-west. It provides a way of communicating how soil properties or productivity are likely to relate to soils with similar classifications found elsewhere so that soil research or knowledge can be effectively shared around the state and across Australia.

This is a high-level summary of the relationships between the main soil classifications currently used in Western Australia. These are: • Western Australian Soil Groups, WASG (Schoknecht & …

Mandatory Labels Can Improve Attitudes Toward Genetically Engineered Food, Jane Kolodinsky, Jayson L. Lusk

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The prospect of state and federal laws mandating labeling of genetically engineered (GE) food has prompted vigorous debate about the consequences of the policy on consumer attitudes toward these technologies. There has been substantial debate over whether mandated labels might increase or decrease consumer aversion toward genetic engineering. This research aims to help resolve this issue using a data set containing more than 7800 observations that measures levels of opposition in a national control group compared to levels in Vermont, the only U.S. state to have implemented mandatory labeling of GE foods. Difference-in-difference estimates of opposition to GE food before …

Gaining And Maintaining A Competitive Edge: Evidence From Csa Members And Farmers On Local Food Marketing Strategies, Emily H. Morgan, Michelle M. Severs, Karla L. Hanson, Jared Mcguirt, Florence Becot, Weiwei Wang, Jane Kolodinsky, Marilyn Sitaker, Stephanie B.Jilcott Pitts, Alice Ammerman, Rebecca A. Seguin

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a widely-used approach for farmers to sell directly to consumers. We used the product, place, price, and promotion (4P) marketing mix framework to examine characteristics that help farms offering CSA maintain member satisfaction and thus competitiveness. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 CSA members and 24 CSA farmers in four states. CSA members additionally completed a modified choice experiment. Qualitative data were coded iteratively, and choice experiment data were summarized and compared across scenarios. CSA members and farmers were motivated by a range of personal, social, environmental, and economic objectives. Members favored high-quality staple vegetables (e.g., …

Is Aging The Important Factor For Sustainable Agricultural Development In Korea? Evidence From The Relationship Between Aging And Farm Technical Efficiency, Jun Ho Seok, Hanpil Moon, Gwanseon Kim, Michael R. Reed

Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

This paper examines the effects of aging and income subsidies on farm efficiency in Korea by utilizing the Korean Farm Household Economic Survey from 2008 to 2015. A stochastic frontier model with a non-monotonic assumption on the effect of efficiency factors is implemented to reflect a super aging and less developed production structure in Korean agriculture. This study finds continuously decreasing farm efficiency with age, which contradicts the commonly assumed inverted-U relationship between age and productivity. Especially, we find that labor is the most important factor to explain recent farm efficiency losses in Korea. Furthermore, this paper finds that the …

Understanding Agricultural-Land Conservation From The Perspective Of Landowners In Franklin County, Massachusetts, Rocio Lalanda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

What motivates agricultural-land owners to use conservation easements? As these legal tools have become a popular strategy for private land conservation in the U.S., a growing body of literature is examining how and why landowners conserve their properties through conservation easements. This research project expands upon environmental, geographical and rural land development literature through a qualitative fieldwork study of 34 private, conservation landowners associated with the Franklin Land Trust, a nonprofit conservation organization in western Massachusetts. The study identifies a broad range of environmental, social, spiritual and financial motivations for agricultural-land owners to conserve their properties, and indicates that for …

Weather And Climate Summary And Forecast: June 2018 Report, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report provides a summary of the weather and climate forecast for June 2018. It includes forecast information specific to the Pacific Northwest and the western United States, as well as forecast information for other portions of the United States and abroad.

Farm Service Agency Employee Intentions To Use Weather And Climate Data In Professional Services, Rachel E. Schattman, Gabrielle Roesch-Mcnally, Sarah Wiener, Meredith T. Niles, David Y. Hollinger

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.. Agricultural service providers often work closely with producers, and are well positioned to include weather and climate change information in the services they provide. By doing so, they can help producers reduce risks due to climate variability and change. A national survey of United States Department of …

Climate Change Mitigation Beyond Agriculture: A Review Of Food System Opportunities And Implications, Meredith T. Niles, Richie Ahuja, Todd Barker, Jimena Esquivel, Sophie Gutterman, Martin C. Heller, Nelson Mango, Diana Portner, Rex Raimond, Cristina Tirado, Sonja Vermeulen

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

A large body of research has explored opportunities to mitigate climate change in agricultural systems; however, less research has explored opportunities across the food system. Here we expand the existing research with a review of potential mitigation opportunities across the entire food system, including in pre-production, production, processing, transport, consumption and loss and waste. We detail and synthesize recent research on the topic, and explore the applicability of different climate mitigation strategies in varying country contexts with different economic and agricultural systems. Further, we highlight some potential adaptation co-benefits of food system mitigation strategies and explore the potential implications of …

Capturing Variation In Lens (Fabaceae): Development And Utility Of An Exome Capture Array For Lentil, Ezgi Ogutcen, Larissa Ramsay, Eric Bishop Von Wettberg, Kirstin E. Bett

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Premise of the Study: Lentil is an important legume crop with reduced genetic diversity caused by domestication bottlenecks. Due to its large and complex genome, tools for reduced representation sequencing are needed. We developed an exome capture array for use in various genetic diversity studies. Methods: Based on the CDC Redberry draft genome, we developed an exome capture array using multiple sources of transcript resources. The probes were designed to target not only the cultivated lentil, but also wild species. We assessed the utility of the developed method by applying the generated data set to population structure and phylogenetic analyses. …

Groundwater Prospectivity In The Midlands Area, L J. Baddock, S Johnson

Natural resources commissioned reports

As part of the Water For Food Midlands project, Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development (DPIRD) is undertaking mapping of high-quality agricultural land (HQAL) to identify areas of agricultural value. This mapping utilises data relating to soils, land capability and rainfall, that is being integrated into a GIS-format that is easy to comprehend and can be incorporated into planning processes. This report details the development and results of a GIS-based product that represents groundwater resource prospectivity for irrigated agriculture in the Midlands project area. The output maps will be useful for landowners and developers highlighting the opportunities and risks …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

What’S At Steak? The Political Discourse Of Emissions Intensity And Implications Of Animal Agriculture, Kalyn Simon

Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the international discourse of greenhouse gas emissions in relation to livestock production. Specific government ministries, research institutes, and multilateral organizations are framing a new strategy to mitigate emissions by using emissions intensity metrics. Emissions intensity is a ratio comparing emissions produced per unit of animal product as oppose to measuring absolute emissions. This research is acknowledged as a win-win scenario which allows for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions while continuing production more efficiently. This thesis outlines the emergence of this metric in international discourse and the implications this shift has on the livestock sector globally. Ultimately, …

Morphometric Change Detection Of Lake Hawassa In The Ethiopian Rift Valley, Yonas Abebe, Menberu Bitew, Tenalem Ayenew, Clement Alo, Assegid Cherinet, Mulugeta Dadi

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes have been subjected to environmental and ecological changes due to recent development endeavors and natural phenomena, which are visible in the alterations to the quality and quantity of the water resources. Monitoring lakes for temporal and spatial alterations has become a valuable indicator of environmental change. In this regard, hydrographic information has a paramount importance. The first extensive hydrographic survey of Lake Hawassa was conducted in 1999. In this study, a bathymetric map was prepared using advances in global positioning systems, portable sonar sounder technology, geostatistics, remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) software analysis …

Alteration Of Rumen Bacteria And Protozoa Through Grazing Regime As A Tool To Enhance The Bioactive Fatty Acid Content Of Bovine Milk, Melissa L. Bainbridge, Laurel K. Saldinger, John W. Barlow, Juan P. Alvez, Joe Roman, Jana Kraft

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Rumen microorganisms are the origin of many bioactive fatty acids (FA) found in ruminant-derived food products. Differences in plant leaf anatomy and chemical composition between cool- and warm-season pastures may alter rumen microorganisms, potentially enhancing the quantity/profile of bioactive FA available for incorporation into milk. The objective of this study was to identify rumen bacteria and protozoa and their cellular FA when cows grazed a warm-season annual, pearl millet (PM), in comparison to a diverse cool-season pasture (CSP). Individual rumen digesta samples were obtained from five Holstein cows in a repeated measures design with 28-day periods. The treatment sequence was …

Sustainable Agriculture: Integration Of Aquaponics At Punta Leona Hotel And Club In Costa Rica, Cailin Sierra Dyer, Paris Riley Smith

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Sustainable agriculture is becoming an increasingly important method of food production. As human populations continue to grow, attendant food demand has been increasingly met via agribusiness, including monoculture crop production and factory farming. As is well documented, the rise of agribusiness has led to resource degradation and declining stocks on which “sustainable agriculture” relies. This paper describes a local attempt to re-establish “sustainable agriculture” through the development of an aquaculture system that mimics a naturally occurring cycle that integrates fish and plants. The system was constructed over a three-week period in Punta Leona, Costa Rica. First, the ground was cleared …

Climate-Smart Land Use Requires Local Solutions, Transdisciplinary Research, Policy Coherence And Transparency, Sarah Carter, Bas Arts, Ken E. Giller, Cinthia Soto Golcher, Kasper Kok, Jessica De Koning, Meine Van Noordwijk, Pytrik Reidsma, Mariana C. Rufino, Giulia Salvini, Louis Verchot, Eva Wollenberg, Martin Herold

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Successfully meeting the mitigation and adaptation targets of the Paris Climate Agreement (PA) will depend on strengthening the ties between forests and agriculture. Climate-smart land use can be achieved by integrating climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and REDD+. The focus on agriculture for food security within a changing climate, and on forests for climate change mitigation and adaptation, can be achieved simultaneously with a transformational change in the land-use sector. Striving for both independently will lead to competition for land, inefficiencies in monitoring and conflicting agendas. Practical solutions exist for specific contexts that can lead to increased agricultural output and forest protection. …

Weather And Climate Summary And Forecast: May 2018 Report, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report provides a summary of the weather and climate forecast for May 2018. It includes forecast information specific to the Pacific Northwest and the western United States, as well as forecast information for other portions of the United States and abroad.

Comparing Strip Trials Of Chicken Litter, Compost, Hog Manure, And Wet Cattle Manure On Soil Fertility, Tanner Douma, Emily Hummel, Wendi Jo Vande Voort

Student Work

Utilizing agriculture animal and biodegradable waste can reduce the input costs of fertilizers while enhancing the soil. This comparative study focuses on the nutrient values soil receives from agricultural waste. The central objective was, “Due to the historical over-application of manure leading to environmental concerns, a comparative study of soil fertility and economic viability of manures and compost are analyzed in a one-year study”. On an 18.7 acre corn plot, 11 strips were applied with four different manure types, which were randomized, during the 2017 growing season. Chicken litter, compost, hog manure, wet cattle manure, and control strips were replicated …

The Combined Effects Of Soil Fertility And Soil Amendments On The Growth And Mycorrhizal Associations Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius), Emily Ann Murray

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are fungi that form symbiotic associations with 70-90% of plant families. They are known to allow for the extension of the root system as well as an increase in plant size by assisting with the uptake of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. The role that AMF play in plant health and success has led to the development of commercial inoculum, which is used in agricultural settings. However, soil fertility, and soil amendments are known to affect AMF and plant associations. This study intends to look at how cultivated American Ginseng seedlings are affected by commercial …

Sustainable Intensification Of Agriculture: Opportunities And Challenges For Food Security And Agrarian Adaptation To Environmental Change In Bangladesh, Aaron Michael Shew

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates three unique aspects of sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) in the context of Bangladeshi rice production. The first article presents a qualitative analysis of SAI and farmer surveys in the embanked polder region of coastal Bangladesh. The second article investigates the global food security and environmental impacts of already adopted High Yielding Variety (HYV) rice and double-cropped rice systems in Bangladesh using a spatial partial equilibrium trade model and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The final article demonstrates a remote sensing methodology for monitoring dry season rice production at 30 m resolution in Bangladesh using a harmonic time …