Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Detroit Food Metrics Report 2018, Alex B. Hill, Amy Kuras

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

This report provides a snapshot of data and information on Detroit’s food system as well as trends over time. The report includes a broad range of programs and initiatives that local organizations, the Detroit Food Policy Council, and the City of Detroit are undertaking to address food insecurity, increase healthy food access and awareness, and support a more sustainable and just food system.

Essays On Energy Economics And Environmental Policies, Janak R. Joshi

Economics ETDs

This dissertation contains three distinct empirical chapters in applied energy and environmental economics. Each chapter focuses on a unique set of research questions, methods, and data. The unifying motivation therein concerns the development of renewable or alternative low-carbon energy sources as a policy response to the challenges of climate change mitigation, local and regional environmental quality issues, and energy security concerns. Economic and environmental evaluation of the energy policies coupled with understanding energy use patterns is of paramount importance. Together, the empirical chapters focus on demand, supply, and policy aspects of energy markets in the United States (US).

First, Chapter …

Can A Global Fund Help Solve The Global Marine Plastic Debris Problem?, Karen Raubenheimer, Alistair Mcilgorm

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

The problem of marine plastic debris impacts all of the world’s oceans and requires all nations to respond. However, developing States require funds to improve waste management infrastructure and services in order to reduce marine debris at source. Plastics manufacturers and retailers globally must be incentivised to design products for the environment as well as for the collection and end-of-life treatment facilities available within the intended markets. Given the oceans are a global common, we investigate the option of developing a global fund mechanism to progress the necessary actions to reduce plastic waste entering the world’s oceans. This requires consideration …

Community-Scale Water Treatment Systems In The Dominican Republic, Jonathan Racey, Annabelle Papai, Elise Fischer, Becca Johnson

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

Engagement and Service-Learning Summit: Reciprocal and Sustainable Partnerships

Diffusion, Adoption, And Network Constraint: Can Understanding Personal Networks Of Afghan Women Improve The Adoption 0f Agricultural Innovations, Clair Wilcox

Dissertations

A plethora of case studies conducted in myriad locations find that factors influencing the adoption of agricultural innovation are different, emphasizing the need for locality specific understanding (Waddingon 2014). The diffusion of agricultural innovations may be influenced by the structure of the social system in which that diffusion is taking place. This study investigates the social structure of rural Afghan women, in an effort to determine how they interact and exchange information, and how the personal network structure, and the nature of the women’s interaction influences adoption of innovations. With the objective of framing rural development programs targeting women in …

Corn Exports Extrication, Claire Hutchins

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Annual corn exports, as a percentage of total use, exhibit a persistent, downward trend starting in the mid-1970s. Changes in government policy and domestic supply-demand dynamics are widely held as the determinants for corn price movement over the same period. However, significant disputes have emerged since 2013 which attribute the last five years of corn market underperformance to minor trade vicissitudes between the U.S. and China. This report estimates a corn price determination model which demonstrates that foreign exports play an insignificant role in the U.S. corn market between 1997 and 2018.

The Global Food Security Act: America's Strategic Approach To Combating World Hunger, Michael Adkins

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The world’s farms currently produce enough calories to adequately feed everyone on the planet. From the 1960s through 2008, per capita food availability worldwide has risen from 2220 kilocalories per person per day to 2790. Specifically, developing countries have recorded a rise in kilocalories per person per day, from 1850 to 2640. Yet, despite overall availability, around 815 million people still suffer from hunger or some form of malnutrition. Approximately one in ten people are undernourished.

Eco-News December 2018, Office Of Sustainability, University Of Southern Maine

Eco-News

In this issue:

• Greening Your Laundry
• Bus Ridership (Husky Line)
• Helping The Community With Energy Savings
• Sustainability Tip

Financial Outcomes From Selection Of Insurance Intervals, Shana Anderson Stewart

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the potential value of enrolling in rainfall-index for pasture, rangeland, and forage insurance for Utah producers. A stochastic optimization model is used to identify the optimal selection of insurance intervals that will provide the maximum indemnity payments less premiums. Four Utah counties were selected for analysis. Results indicate that positive returns will occur greater than 60% of the time in all counties with the selected insurance intervals. The optimal months to insure varied in each county.

Floral Consumer Experience Study, Wenonah Marie Marlin

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The main objectives of this research is to identify the retailer controlled variable that are significant to increase floral purchases. Surveys were sent to MSU alumni and dispersed through social media. Respondents answered questions regarding floral purchasing patterns, floral product selection and quality, consumer attitude and socio-demographics. Responses were separated and compared by generation. Results show that Baby Boomers and older are more likely to purchase flowers more often, floral purchases are seasonal and flower type and a stylish shop are important to consumers.

Imperfect Produce Pricing: Relationships Between Price Percent Discount And Demographic Traits Of Customers, April Foster

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research sought to understand the impact of price reductions on consumer spending behaviors related to the purchase of imperfect produce. Additionally, the correlation between consumers’ demographics and their willingness to purchase imperfect produce at various price points was evaluated. The data was viewed with mindfulness toward reducing food loss as a function of the world food crisis. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between Washington County, Arkansas consumers’ demographic traits and the percent discount at which they are willing to alter their behavior to purchase specific imperfect produce items. Using the Theory of …

Understanding Consumer Attitudes Towards Antimicrobial Risk Reducing Practices, Sabrina Gulab

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

The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance is a natural evolutionary reaction to antimicrobial exposure. However, the misuse and overuse of antimicrobial drugs in human medicine and in agriculture are speeding up the process. Antimicrobials have been used in food-producing animals for therapeutic purposes as well as to promote growth by applying low concentrations in animal feed. Antimicrobial resistant pathogens can enter the food chain through food containing residues of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and cause infections in humans. In the United States, millions of people are infected every year with antimicrobial resistant bacterial diseases causing approximately 23,000 deaths (CDC 2013). This …

‘Haciendas And Plantations’: History And Limitations Of A 60-Year-Old Taxonomy, Marc Edelman

Publications and Research

In 1957, Eric R Wolf and Sidney W Mintz published ‘Haciendas and Plantations in Middle America and the Antilles’ in the Jamaican journal Social and Economic Studies. This article discusses the production of the Wolf and Mintz article, its analytical framework and the theoretical tensions it contains, and its subsequent influence, mainly though not exclusively on anthropological and historical scholarship about large landed properties in Latin America and the Caribbean. ‘Haciendas and Plantations’ appeared at a time when anthropologists such as Elman Service, Charles Wagley, and Marvin Harris were trying to make sense of agrarian Latin America by developing typologies …

Assessing Rice Consumers’ Preferences And Willingness To Pay In Haiti, Cleeford Pavilus

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the last 30 years, rice has become the number one food staple in Haiti, and rice imports have outpaced domestic production to supply the country’s increasing rice demand. Policy makers support the claim that increasing local rice supply will not only reduce the dependency on imported rice but also upheave the national economy. However, there is a lack of information on Haitian consumers’ preferences for rice to aid the development of the local rice supply chain. This research aims to bridge that gap by assessing Haitian consumer preferences and willingness to pay for selected rice quality characteristics. The results …

Risk And Return Comparisons Of Pre-Harvest Marketing Strategies, John Leander Turner V

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes risk and returns associated with pre-harvest corn grain marketing strategies for the state of Arkansas. Farming is characterized by a volatile environment. Numerous risks are taken by producers in order to provide commodities that are bought and sold by various parties in the supply chain. Price, yield, and production costs vary daily and can have large variation between years. Risk and Return Comparisons of Pre-harvest Marketing Strategies examines the effectiveness of using pre-harvest marketing strategies to enhance returns and to mitigate inherent price risk in the Memphis cash corn market. Thirteen strategies are compared to the October …

Annual Net Returns To Cover Crops In Iowa, Alejandro Plastina, Fangge Liu, Wendiam Sawadgo, Fernando E. Miguez, Sarah Carlson, Guillermo Marcillo

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

Despite the active promotion of cover crops as a key conservation practice, their adoption is very limited. We developed a series of partial budgets based on a statewide survey of Iowa farmers to evaluate the changes in net returns resulting from the incorporation of cover crops into a corn or soybean production system. The average net returns to cover crop use for farmers who did not use cover crops for grazing livestock or forage were consistently negative across different planting and termination methods, tillage practices, and experience levels. Only farmers who used cover crops for grazing livestock or forage and …

Using Social Media To Assess The Consumer Nutrition Environment: Comparing Yelp Reviews With A Direct Observation Audit Instrument For Grocery Stores, Ying Shen, Philippa Clarke, Iris N. Gomez-Lopez, Alex B. Hill, Daniel M. Romero, Robert Goodspeed, Veronica J. Berrocal, Vg Vinod Vydiswaran, Tiffany C. Veinot

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

Objective
To examine the feasibility of using social media to assess the consumer nutrition environment by comparing sentiment expressed in Yelp reviews with information obtained from a direct observation audit instrument for grocery stores.

Design
Trained raters used the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in Stores (NEMS-S) in 100 grocery stores from July 2015 to March 2016. Yelp reviews were available for sixty-nine of these stores and were retrieved in February 2017 using the Yelp Application Program Interface. A sentiment analysis was conducted to quantify the perceptions of the consumer nutrition environment in the review text. Pearson correlation coefficients (ρ) were …

Biosecurity Council Of Western Australia Annual Report 2017/2018, Biosecurity Council Of Western Australia

Biosecurity published reports

There were two key areas in which the Council focused during the year:

• environmental biosecurity; and
• the attributes required by a biosecurity ‘combat’ agency to effectively sustain a biosecurity response.

In addition, planning began for two new areas of advice to Government – biosecurity research and development; and border biosecurity.

Developing constructive advice to Government requires a comprehensive understanding of the needs and challenges of industry, Government and the community. It also requires an understanding of how changes to the biosecurity system might impact these groups and affect the State’s biosecurity status. During 2017/18 the Council continued to monitor biosecurity …

Identification And Characterisation Of Novel Phages Of Pectobacterium And Erwinia, Colin Buttimer

PhDs

Losses in crop yields due to disease need to be reduced to meet increasing global food demands associated with growth in the human population. There is a well-recognised need to develop new environmentally-friendly control strategies to combat bacterial crop diseases. There are several crop diseases for which no effective bactericidal agents are currently available, such as potato blackleg and soft rot disease caused by Pectobacterium atrosepticum and other members of soft rot Enterobacteriaceae (Czajkowski et al., 2011). Furthermore, current control measures involving the use of traditional chemicals or antibiotics are losing their efficacy due to the natural development of bacterial …

Economic Impacts Of Groundwater Salinity In Louisiana, Rajan Dhakal

LSU Master's Theses

In the United States, nearly 60 million acres of land is affected by water and soil salinity problems that pose a serious threat to the long-term economic and environmental viability of the agricultural sector. Understanding the economic impacts of soil salinity in agricultural lands is essential for planning farming practices in several salinity affected regions. This study presents a two-stage approach to assess the damage from salinity in two major aquifers in Louisiana. In the first stage, looking at the trend of rise in salt content within these aquifers, I predict the future level of salinity by assuming three different …

Using Global Goals To Drive Progress In Mountain West, Anthony Pipa

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West invites you to a lecture titled "Using Global Goals to Drive Progress in the Mountain West" by Senior Fellow in Global Economy and Development, Anthony Pipa. This lecture will examine the state of inclusive economic progress and environmental sustainability in the Mountain West, as measured against the globally adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). What cities and states are making progress? Who is being left behind? How can outcome-based goals help address the region’s challenges and spur economic progress?

Ohio River Survey (Fa 656), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 656. Kentucky Folklife Program project titled: “Ohio River Survey,” which includes interviews, tape logs, photographs and other documentation of folklife along the Ohio River in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. Interviews may include a description of belief, traditional occupation, practice, craft, or tool, informant’s name, age, birth date, and address.

Pemban Farmer Agency In Adapting To Climate Change, Rachael Hood

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As a result of climate change, agricultural societies will be challenged by a variety of altered conditions, including increased severe weather events, saltwater intrusion, pest and disease outbreaks, and higher temperatures. The island of Pemba, in the Zanzibar archipelago, is home to many small-scale agriculturalists. During this study, I interviewed Pemban farmers in the districts of Wete and Micheweni about their awareness of the impacts of climate change and the mitigation strategies that they have implemented. The results from Pemba were compared to relevant academic literature regarding climate change to explore whether disparities exist between models of climate change in …

Three Land Use Proposals For Geldinganes Framed By The City Of Reykjavik’S Municipal Plan And Climate Neutrality Goals, Emma Hokoda

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With global CO2 levels rising every year, climate change is becoming a larger, looming threat. Cities around the world have an important role in reducing the negative impacts of climate change through strategic and sustainable urban planning. The purpose of this study is to conduct an introductory analysis of Geldinganes island and its potential and capacity for land development that will support and expand upon the city of Reykjavik’s 2010-2030 municipal plan and 2040 climate neutrality goals. Within this study three proposals for Geldinganes are considered, the current proposal and two new proposals. The lowest development impact proposal for Geldinganes …

Over A Cup Of Tea And Koko Sāmoa, Elizabeth Stanis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Fa’aSāmoa, a concept that incorporated culture, tradition, and heritage all specific to Sāmoa, impacts the daily life of Sāmoans. Agriculture and farming also have a role in everyday life, as they impact food security, the economy, and have ties to cultural events. This paper recognizes the importance of the Fa’aSāmoa and agriculture separately and then observes how the Fa’aSāmoa impacts agriculture and is incorporated into agricultural development. Through interviews with local Sāmoans and the use of historical particularism, the cultural side of agriculture and farming is better understood and its importance in society is analyzed through customary land and …

Land As Power: Pathways For Closing The Gender Gap In Land Rights In India, Rachel Lubitz

Capstone Collection

This Independent Practitioner Inquiry Capstone sought to uncover whether women in their respective communities in India experience improvements in income, education, health, food security and their livelihoods, if said women farmers are able to secure the rights to both their land and other productive assets. The study used a comparative analysis to highlight the state of women’s land rights in India, in conjunction with a selection of best practices relevant to the context and analyzing a case study assessing the impact of one organization’s women’s land rights efforts in particular: The Human Development and Research Center’s Swabhoomi Kendra Center in …

Livelihoods Of The People Of Mazumbai: A Collection Of Stories And Portraits, Tanga Region, Tanzania, Joseph Baldus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Despite rapid urbanization in Tanzania, agriculture remains central to the nation, the economy, and the livelihoods of a large portion of the population. Smallholder farmers account for the vast majority of agricultural production, yet are an extremely vulnerable population due to poverty, single-sourced income, and climate-dependency for both subsistence and cash-crop agriculture (Rapsomanikis, 2015). This report explores these dynamic rural livelihoods through interviews and portrait photographs in a case study on Mazumbai, Tanga region, Tanzania. Semi-structured interviews explore the people’s modes of economic subsistence, domestic lives, education, challenges, and life stories. Excerpts from these interviews combined with portrait photographs create …

¿Conservar O Consumir? El Impacto De Las Áreas Naturales Protegidas En La Seguridad Y La Soberanía Alimentaria De La Gente Indígena En Madre De Dios, Perú / Conserve Or Consume? The Impact Of Protected Natural Areas On Security And The Food Sovereignty Of Indigenous People In Mother Of God, Peru, Adde Sharp

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mediante un enfoque comparativo-etnográfico, este estudio se enfocó en cómo la creación de dos Área Naturales Protegidas (ANPs): el Parque Nacional Bahuaja Sonene (PNBS) y la Reserva Nacional Tambopata (RNTAMB) en la Amazonía peruana han perjudicado el sistema de seguridad y soberanía alimentaria de la comunidad nativa (CN) de Infierno, o la gente del pueblo indígena Ese Eja. El estudio utiliza principalmente entrevistas de miembros de la CN para examinar como era la alimentación tradicional antes de la creación de las dos ANP en los años 1996 y 2000 (respectivamente) en comparación con la situación actual. Los resultados afirman que, …

Justice Served Fresh: Associations Between Food Insecurity, Community Gardening, And Property Value, Micajah Daniels, Courtney Coughenour Ph.D

McNair Poster Presentations

Numerous stakeholders in Nevada have used a variety of efforts to combat the growth of food insecurity facing Nevadans. The purpose of this research project is to understand the association between food insecurity, community gardens, and property value. Following the wealth of scholarship on these topics and data collected from community garden agencies in Southern Nevada, the research questions for this project include: (1) Where are community gardens located in SNV? (2) What efforts community gardens agencies are doing to address food insecurity (most interested in their efforts using community gardens)? (3) What are the perceptions of supports and barriers …

The Rationale For Taxpayer Support For Primary Industry Research And Innovation In Western Australia, Ross Kingwell

Research Reports

During the 2000s a common view in government circles was that governments were over-investing in primary industry research and innovation. In agreement with this view, the Western Australian (WA) government lessened its support for primary industry research and innovation over the last decade. The impacts of this reduced support are seen clearly in the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). In 2008–09 its agricultural staff count was 1518, yet by the end of 2017–18 this will be under 800, with remaining staff working mostly in regulation, biosecurity and corporate services rather than research. So great has been the …