Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Participation In Agricultural Governmental Cost Share Programs In The Kentucky River Watershed, Pedro Miguel Fernandes Da Costa

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to review existing literature of factors that influence farmers’ decision to participate in conservation programs. This study is also intended to collect county data and information on conservation programs and participation in the Kentucky River watershed region, which can be analyzed and used to draw differences in characteristics of the region that would suggest willingness to participate in a trading scheme for improvements in water quality.

The results suggest that more participation in a trading scheme from some counties than others should be expected. Counties with more farms and larger farms will probably have …

2010 Ohio Animal Welfare Compromise, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

In June 2010, Ohio elected officials and animal welfare activists negotiated an animal welfare compromise agreement that kept an animal welfare proposition off the November ballot in Ohio.

2011 Federal Estate Tax Update, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Estate planning is a very important topic for farm families. In 2001, President Bush signed legislation that reduced the federal estate taxes up until 2010, when the federal estate tax was reduced to zero. If no new federal legislation had been enacted, the Federal Estate Tax Exemption would have fallen from unlimited to $1 million on January 1, 2011. However, on December 17, 2010 President Obama signed HR 4853, which extended the Bush tax cuts through the end of 2012. This means that from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2012, the Federal Estate Tax Exemption is $5 million, but …

Overcoming The Obstacles To Sustainability In Ghana, Ashley M. Scott

CMC Senior Theses

For several decades following its independence from Great Britain, Ghana’s policies continued to promote over-extraction of natural resources to the detriment of its economy and rural communities.  Agricultural and forestry policy has gradually evolved to foster more sustainable and equitable practices, as in building partnerships with the private sector to fund infrastructure improvements.  Policy has recently recognized the dire need to adopt agricultural practices and means of forest resource extraction that are compatible with ecological stewardship.  However, many shortcomings are still apparent.  Large logging operations completely disregard forestry regulations with impunity, whereas rural sustenance extractors are severely punished in the …

A Framework For Monitoring Local And Regional Food Systems, Heather Victoria Davis

Capstone Collection

The US food system has been experiencing gradual, yet significant, changes in recent years - with many people recognizing that conventional approaches are not only unsustainable, but also detrimental. As an alternative paradigm, the development of local food systems has been flourishing because of the benefits they bring to us: more local control over our food; supporting the local economy and entrepreneurs; healthier food options; fewer “food miles” and the related benefits of lowered use of petroleum; stronger community bonds; job creation for our rural communities; more gentle on the environment; and a more secure food system overall. Monitoring the …

The Campaign For Bias-Free Policing In Vermont: One State’S Resistance To The Localization Of Federal Immigration Agency, Amanda L. Park

Capstone Collection

There are roughly 1,500 immigrants from Mexico and Central America currently working on farms in Vermont, helping to sustain approximately half of all milk produced in the state. But the lack of adequate visa-to-work options leaves these individuals without proper documentation to be in the US. As such, they are vulnerable to exploitation by their employers, susceptible to harassment from the communities in which they live, and under constant threat of deportation by federal immigration agents. Now, the US Department of Homeland Security—in charge of domestic defense and immigration—is attempting to use local and state law enforcement officers in the …

Crop Insurance Changes In 2011, H. Doug Jose

Cornhusker Economics

For a number of years the Risk Management Agency (RMA) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been working with the crop insurance industry to streamline the crop insurance program for the major crops. The new Common Crop Insurance Policy, referred to as the COMBO Policy, is in effect beginning with crops harvested in 2011. Crops covered include corn, soybeans, grain sorghum, wheat, barley, cotton, rice, canola and sunflowers.

Empathy Tempering Economic Choice: The Empirical Evidence, Marianna Khachaturyan, Gary D. Lynne, Natalia Czap, Hans Czap, Mark E. Burbach

Cornhusker Economics

The notion that something beyond money could also be an important part of economic choice goes back hundreds of years. Adam Smith, who is credited with providing the framework for modern market-based economies, wrote extensively in the late 1700s about the role of the “moral sentiments.” In fact, his book The Theory of Moral Sentiments was actually drafted first, and he worked on it many years after the publication of his better known book On the Nature and the Causes of the Wealth of Nations, the latter focused “on the money.” Intriguingly, the sentiments/empathy book is all about how …