Agricultural Economics Commons^™

Evaluating Used Farm Machinery And Assessing The Sustainability Of Tile Drainage Installation, Robert C. Ellis

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation comprises three essays regarding the impacts of tile drainage implementation in row crop production and the evaluation of the farm machinery markets of combine harvesters and tractors. The second chapter focuses on tile drainage in traditional row crop agricultural systems. Although tile drain systems have been used for many years, recently, their popularity has increased. This increase has led to questions about these systems' costs and environmental impacts. These concerns have left many operations and individuals questioning if the system’s benefits outweigh the costs. This dissertation presents a life cycle cost (LCC) and carbon footprint (CF) Analysis for …

A Tale Of Two Working Landscapes, Sage C. Sutcliffe

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Waterbird-Perceived Damage, Control Measures, And Economic Implications For Rice Production In The Brazilian Cerrado, Demetrio Luis Guadagnin, Alexandre Afonso Meyer, João Augusto Rossi Borges, Fernanda Maia Justo

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Waterbirds have the potential to inflict economic damage to crops. However, is rice (Oryza sativa) production in the Brazilian Cerrado significantly affected by waterbirds? This study aimed to assess the extent of waterbird damage on irrigated rice production in Central Brazil. We conducted surveys of waterbird populations in rice agroecosystem habitats throughout the cultivation cycle and analyzed the expenses associated with waterbird-induced yield losses and the control measures employed by farmers. The 2 most prevalent waterbird species observed were Dendrocygna viduatta and D. autumnalis, comprising 68.6% of all recorded waterbirds. These species were more frequently encountered and …

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 …

Understanding Cut Flower Consumers, Makaylie Langford, Kynda R. Curtis, Melanie Stock

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information on cut flower consumers, such as floral preferences and consumer demographics and psychographics. It discusses possible ways to enhance perceived value and interest in cut flowers.

Cut Flower Markets And Marketing In The Intermountain West, Makylie Langford, Kynda R. Curtis, Melanie Stock

All Current Publications

This fact sheet discusses different markets for cut flowers in the Intermountain West, including wholesale and direct-to-consumer markets. Farmers markets, community-supported agriculture and subscription services, u-pick operations, farm venues, and online options are explored, as well as using social media to advertise and build clientele.

An Overview Of The Cut Flower Industry, Makaylie Langford, Kynda R. Curtis, Melanie Stock

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides an overview of the cut flower industry. It provides information about traditional and specialty cut flowers, comparing flowers sourced locally in Utah and internationally.

Developing A Precision Agriculture Framework To Assess Financial Viability Of Decisions In Farming And Conservation, Jennifer Sublett

Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural producers are invested in managing the impacts of crop damage on their yields and profit. When damage occurs early enough in an agricultural growing season, farmers have the option to replant their corn stand in an effort to recoup some of the lost profits. In this thesis two different types of naturally occurring damage, wildlife depredation and persistent weed or insect patches, were simulated on two representative regions of Mississippi. These data were then used to assess the financial viability of a range of damage mitigation methods, including partial replanting, enrollment into a government conservation buffer, and no action. …

Insights Into The Challenges Posed By Climate Change And Land Competition To Brazil’S Midwest Pulpwood Market, Roberto Hajime Sant Anna Kimura

Theses and Dissertations

I investigated the effect of climate change in one of the few expanding markets in the world in Brazil. In the last decades the demand for pulpwood increased from zero to 11 million tons, leading to an expansion of 700 thousand hectares of Eucalyptus plantation. In 2024, a new mill will start operating increasing the consumption of wood fiber by 8.2 million tons (+49%). I used mathematical programming to investigate how different scenarios of productivity and land will affect the market. My results showed that around 946,000 hectares (+124%) of additional timberland will be necessary in the upcoming decades. The …

Effects Of Wet Aging On Water-Soluble Flavor Compounds, Descriptive Flavor, Consumer Acceptability, And Willingness-To-Pay Of Beef Longissimus Lumborum Steaks, Shangshang Wang

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of wet aging on water-soluble flavor compounds, descriptive flavor, consumer acceptability, and willingness-to-pay of beef strip steaks. Twenty USDA Select boneless beef loins (NAMP #180) were dorsally divided into four equal portions, which were randomized to receive either 0, 7, 14, or 21 d of wet aging. Short-chained peptide concentration increased from 4.11 mg/g on d 0 to 5.12 mg/g on d 7 (P = 0.011) and subsequently increased to 7.14 mg/g on d 21 (P < 0.001). Cooked beef contained 1.85 mg/g less short-chained peptides than raw beef (P < 0.001). Wet aging for 21 d increased the concentrations of amino acids, which are precursors for the Maillard reaction, including methionine, threonine, cystine, serine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine (P < 0.001). Wet aging decreased the nucleotide concentrations (P ≤ 0.003) and increased hypoxanthine concentration, a compound that imparts bitter flavor (P …

Recognizing Power And Control When Planning Your Estate, Allan Vyhnalek

Cornhusker Economics

The older generations have spent their entire professional lives using the power and control that they accumulated through hard work and their long tenures. Having them retire and give up that control and power is difficult for some in those generations. Overall, it is challenging for them to give up control or power.

Origin, Rise And Development Of American Upland Cotton And Their Status At Present. Second Edition, Ed. By F.M. Bourland, J. O. Ware

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

American Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is a Dixie product. Although the stocks of the species were brought from elsewhere, new types (through series of adaptational changes) formed this distinctive group—the final characteristics of which are a product of the Cotton Belt of the United States. These biological processes were considerably aided by man and the steps of development possibly were about as follows: (a) natural selection took place in the earlier introductions, (b) seed were saved from the more choice stocks, (c) series of subsequent introductions were obtained from the better sources, (d) these were acclimatized and the superior ones …

Growing Agriculture Literacy’S Presence In America’S Classrooms, Emily Stone

Journal of Food Law & Policy

“Americans, as a whole, were at least two generations removed from the farm and did not understand even the most rudimentary of processes, challenges, and risks that farmers and the agricultural industry worked with and met head-on every day.” This quote perfectly describes the mindset of agriculture stakeholders in 1981 as they began to realize the drastic steps our education system had taken away from using principles of agriculture in K-12 education. As they saw it, Americans were moving out of rural America, away from farms, and becoming less connected to the food they daily consumed. Simultaneously, the education system …

Assessing The Feasibility Of Implementing A Dairy Industry In Mauritius, Sophia Ultes

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mauritius faces food security and economic challenges due to its lack of a domestic dairy industry. To address this, the University of Arkansas partnered with the Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security to explore the possibility of establishing a dairy sector on the island.

Through surveys and interviews with locals, including restaurant owners and grocery store customers, we investigated the demand for fresh milk. We also studied factors like consumer preferences and production costs. Our research, conducted with IRB approval, aimed to understand if people are willing to buy locally produced milk.

During the summer, our team visited Mauritius …

Assessment Of Needs And Priorities For Precision Agriculture And Soil Testing In Arkansas, Solomon Frimpong

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Optimum crop production is needed to meet the growing population's food, water, fiber, and energy needs. However, agricultural productivity is hampered by many destabilizing factors such as pest management challenges, declining water quantity, and climate change which threaten long-term food security. Maximizing productivity will require optimizing resources through Precision Agriculture (PA) by supplying inputs based on crop needs. Precision Agriculture offers tools that can be used to optimize crop management practices globally. However, stakeholders’ perceptions and the lack of data-driven site-specific recommendations limit stakeholders’ ability to fully harness the potential benefits of PA. Identification of stakeholder needs and approaches to …

Adoption And Continued Use Of Irrigation Management Practices In Arkansas, Evelyn Osei

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The paper assesses row crop producers continued use of irrigation management practices, namely the decision to continue rather than stop the use of irrigation practices, using a probit with a sample selection model. To better explain and increase user acceptance, we must understand why producers adopt and continue using irrigation management practices. Past studies have researched the adoption of management practices. However, it is also essential to consider what factors influence continued use and why producers discontinue irrigation practices after adoption. This is the first study to investigate factors influencing the continued use of irrigation management practices in Arkansas. Producers …

Social Media Impacts On Arkansas Consumer Perceptions Of Gmos, Elizabeth R. Berner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study builds upon previous consumer perceptions of GMOs studies. A need existed to determine what, if any, effects social media messages about GMOs had on consumer perceptions in Arkansas. The study utilized a qualitative approach with three focus groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive code. Participants were found to have a general understanding of GMOs, though discussion about what a GMO product was took an uncertain tone. Most participants did not consider GMOs as a factor when purchasing products. Rather participants considered characteristics such as price, quality, and convenience. Participants did not believe the infographics had changed their opinions …

Economic Analysis Of Sod-Seeded Summer Annuals For Forage And Grazing, Ivanelle Meyer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Forage and pasture trials were conducted over the summers of 2021 and 2022 to assess how forage production and nutritive value of sorghum sudangrass, cowpea, and sorghum sudangrass-cowpea mixtures, sod-seeded to bermudagrass pasture would impact stocker cattle performance. The forage trials compared forage production and quality when poultry litter was surface or sub-surface applied biennially in comparison to a no poultry litter control. Poultry litter is a nutrient dense fertilizer utilized on pastures in the mid-southern United States to increase forage nutritive value and yield. Broadcasting poultry litter results in more nutrient losses due to runoff and nitrogen volatilization compared …

Investigation Of Breeding Objectives And Indexes-In-Retrospect, Hunter F. Valasek

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis presents two projects that investigate the impacts of breeding objectives and indexes-in-retrospect within the beef cattle industry. The first project synthesized how changes due to planning horizon, breeding system, and sale endpoint in the economic breeding goal of cattle influence the relative emphasis of traits as well as the re-ranking of selection candidates. A total of three breeding systems that represent straightbred and crossbred cattle were used along with six planning horizons (2, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 yrs.) for both a weaning and slaughter point of sale. The combination of these different breeding objective attributes resulted …

Economic Analysis Of Solar Investment In An Agricultural Setting, Morgan King

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Robust financial modelling is critical for evaluating solar investments in agricultural applications. Agricultural producers with electricity-intensive systems (especially poultry houses but also, for example, irrigation pumps) face monthly electricity bills in the thousands of dollars. Further, volatile electricity bills, because of uncertain electric rate inflation, add to financial risk as utility costs make up a large portion of operating costs. While solar panels reduce input cost risk with certain installation cost up front, producers are hesitant to invest given long payback periods, uncertainty about the future of net metering, and high financial leverage. To enable producers to accurately assess the …