Agriculture Commons^™

Comparative Analysis Of Citrate Synthase Activity In Skeletal Muscle, Liver, And Adipose Tissue In Beef Cattle, Abigail Webb

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Mitochondrial efficiency plays a central role in determining how cattle partition nutrients toward muscle growth or adipose deposition, yet little is known about tissue-specific differences in mitochondrial density among tissues or among beef cattle. This study aimed to quantify mitochondrial density in muscle, liver, and adipose tissue samples from beef cattle and evaluate its potential relationship with metabolic efficiency. Tissue samples of semitendinosus muscle (ST), liver, and subcutaneous adipose (SC) were collected, homogenized, and analyzed for citrate synthase (CS) activity using a fluorometric assay as a proxy for mitochondrial density. Preliminary analyses revealed that the semitendinosus muscle displayed the highest …

Understanding Rice Production Stagnation In The Philippines: Regional Evidence And Development Implications, Henry Bartelet, Alenn Jhulia D. Prodigalidad, Janelle S. Dy, Jan Gabriel N. Manzano

Quantitative Methods and Information Technology Faculty Publications

Despite decades of investment in agricultural research and rice development, the Philippines continues to face stagnation in domestic rice production. This persistent trend, occurring despite a sizable arable land base and large rural workforce, has contributed to the country’s growing reliance on rice imports to meet national food needs. In response, the government has implemented a tariff-based import system designed to fund domestic productivity improvements. While previous studies have explored the technical and environmental constraints affecting rice production, such as irrigation shortfalls, land degradation, and climate variability, few have examined recent national trends using regionally disaggregated data alongside qualitative insights. …

Perspectives Of Cannabis Farmers On Intersection Of Water Access And Cannabis Frontier Constraints In Southern Oregon, Tapiwa Malvin Chabikwa

Dissertations and Theses

Cannabis farming and use are being legalized at unprecedented levels by many states in the United States. Oregon was one of the pioneer states to legalize cannabis in 2016. Although it is legalized at the state level (in Oregon), cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. Due to the quasi-legalization of cannabis, an agricultural frontier for marijuana is unfolding. Cannabis farming in Oregon has grown as there is a market and ideal weather climate for the cannabis industry to flourish. This study seeks to understand the challenges cannabis farmers face in accessing water and the socio-economic and political constraints that …

Evaluation Of Host Resistance To Rotylenchulus Reniformis In Sweetpotato Germplasm, Timothy S. Miller

LSU Master's Theses

The reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis) is an emerging plant-parasitic threat to sweetpotato production. Dissimilar from the galling caused by root-knot nematode infections, infections from the reniform nematode occur without visible damage to the root system. In the southern United States, heavily infested sweetpotato fields can lose up to 40% of their total yield. Growers rely heavily on fumigants and nematicides which provide inconsistent control and are not sustainable in the long-term. Past research has been more focused on the efficacy of chemicals than in the identification of host resistance or tolerance in sweetpotato germplasm. This study evaluated past …

Satellite Remote Sensing Reveals Voluntary Cover-Crop Adoption And Crop-Rotation Hotspots In The Mississippi Alluvial Plain, Zobaer Ahmed, Connor Lawson, Kris R. Brye, V. Steven Green, Mike Popp, Aaron Shew, Lawton Nalley

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Government-subsidized programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program provide financial motivation for adopting cover crops. Nevertheless, many producers have internalized the holistic benefits of cover crops and voluntarily adopted them as a sustainable soil management practice. Yet, little is known about how cover crop adoption propagates beyond the first order link between financial incentives and total adopted cover crop acres. This study examined voluntary adoption of winter cover crops as well as which crop rotations had the highest cover crop use in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) region. Cover crop locations were identified using remote …

Quantifying Single, Compound And Cascading Climate Extremes: Implications For Agricultural Resilience In California, Shahryar Fazli, Wenzhao Li, Rejoice Thomas, Surendra Maharjan, Mohammad Sina Jahangiri, Andre Daccache, Hesham Morgan, Mohamed Allali, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

As climate change intensifies, extreme weather increasingly threatens California’s Central Valley (CV), a vital agricultural region exposed to rising risks from heatwaves (HW), droughts (DR), and compound extremes. These events disrupt crop productivity and broader processes like water demand, pest dynamics, and soil stability, posing systemic risks. This study examines the spatiotemporal dynamics of HW, coldwaves (CW), DR, excessive rainfall (ER), and their compound (e.g., HWDR) and cascading forms from 1951 to 2025, using NOAA nClimGrid-Daily data. We assessed trends in frequency, intensity, and duration over long-term (1951–2025) and mid-term (1981–2025) periods. Results show increasing HW and DR in the …

Securing The Digital Harvest: Cybersecurity As A Core Agribusiness Skill, Jody Herchenbach, George Grispos

Mountain Plains Business Conference

The digitization of agriculture, through IoT-enabled equipment, cloud platforms, and precision technologies, has improved efficiency and profitability while also introducing significant cybersecurity risks. These vulnerabilities can disrupt supply chains, compromise sensitive data, and undermine financial stability. Yet agribusiness degree programs often overlook cybersecurity education. This paper proposes integrating cybersecurity content on threat awareness, incident response, and data protection into agribusiness curricula. Embedding these elements equips graduates to manage both digital and financial risks, enhancing resilience and competitiveness. Such curricular innovation aligns technical and managerial training, preparing future agribusiness professionals to lead securely and sustainably in an increasingly connected industry.

Creating A Food Business Model: Case Study Of Traditional Drinks Made From Roselle, Millet, And Corn, Josephine Nyame

College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to develop a comprehensive process flow for establishing a small food business, using traditional drinks made from millet, roselle, and corn as a case study. The specific objectives were to (1) identify the steps involved in developing a food product, (2) perform a sensory evaluation of the developed drinks, and (3) develop a prototype business plan to commercialize the most preferred drink. This study adopted a case study approach of a food business in producing traditional beverages. Consumer preferences were evaluated through sensory evaluation of the formulated roselle, millet, and corn drink recipes. Consumer evaluation data were …

Quantifying Interest In And Sentiment Of Online Media About Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Cattle Production In The United States, Michael L. Smith, Jinho Jung, Nicole Olynk Widmar, Danielle J. Ufer, Maria Berikou, Jayson Lusk

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

The public is paying increased attention to the environmental impacts associated with cattle production systems in the US. Thus, cattle producers are increasingly exploring ways to communicate their efforts to reduce those environmental and climate impacts. This study uses online and social media data from 2018 to 2022 to examine public interest in and sentiment about beef and dairy cattle production when discussed within the context of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Variation in mentions and net sentiment over the reporting period is quantified and analyzed. Over the period of data collection, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we find …

Flawed Analysis Invalidates Claim Of A Strong Yellowstone Trophic Cascade After Wolf Reintroduction: A Comment On Ripple Et Al. (2025), Dan R. Macnulty, David Cooper, Michael Procko, T.J. Clark-Wolf

Aspen Bibliography

Ripple et al. (2025) recently argued that large carnivore recovery in Yellowstone National Park triggered one of the world’s strongest trophic cascades, citing a ∼1500 % increase in willow crown volume derived from plant height data. In this comment, we show that their conclusion is invalid due to fundamental methodological flaws. These include use of a tautological volume model, violations of key modeling assumptions, comparisons across unmatched plots, and the misapplication of equilibrium-based metrics in a non-equilibrium system. Additionally, Ripple et al. rely on selectively framed photographic evidence and omit critical drivers such as human hunting in their causal attribution. …

Factors Influencing Plant Community Structure And Composition Of Restored Tamaulipan Thornscrub Forests, Jerald T. Garrett, Audrey J. Hicks, Christopher A. Gabler

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of Texas is a biodiversity hotspot due to its high alpha, beta, and gamma diversity and high regional endemism, which are at high risk of degradation. The region has lost 95% of its native thornforest habitat primarily due to agricultural and urban expansion. This study aims to evaluate the current vegetative structure and composition of restored thornforest sites located in the LRGV to identify restoration methods and site characteristics that affect forest restoration outcomes. Twelve restored thornforest sites were selected for this study that varied in time since restoration, patch size, degree of isolation, …

Western Ranch Management Institute, David Secrist

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Economic And Policy Drivers Of Climate-Smart Soil Health Practices In The United States, Roderick Rejesus, Serkan Aglasan, Lawson Connor

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Climate-smart soil health practices, such as cover crops and no-till, are considered to be key elements for climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture. We examine the empirical literature that provides data-driven evidence on the impact of cover crops and no-till on several economic variables of interest, such as yields, inputs, profits, risk, erosion, and water quality. In general, existing studies provide mixed evidence on the impacts of cover crops and no-till on these outcomes. Moreover, we discuss the empirical literature exploring the impact of economic and policy-related variables on adopting cover crops and no-till. We find that a number …

Forage Sampling Guide For Agronomic Crops, Jody Gale, Matt Yost, Megan Baker, Michael Pace, Earl Creech, Grant Cardon, Kalen Taylor, Cody Zesiger, Tiffany Evans, Rhonda Miller, Clara Anderson

All Current Publications

Forage sampling is a valuable tool that provides producers with quality information for calculating feed rations and marketing their forages. To ensure that this information is accurate and reliable, it is important to understand how to collect these samples correctly. Sampling tools have been developed that simplify this process and improve accuracy.

How To Identify Leafhoppers, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Biosecurity factsheets

These tiny plant-feeding insects are often considered pests due to the damage they can inflict on crops and gardens. Leafhoppers, treehoppers and spittlebugs (or froghoppers) are closely related to cicadas, and planthoppers are their more distant relatives. As their names suggest, most of them can hop.

Nebline, October 2025

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Contents

4-H super fair helps youth become beyond ready

What's popping? by Natalie Sehi

Recipes of the month, by Kayla Colgrove: Fish bait snack mix, kicked up popcorn, and cinnamon crunch snack mix

Are your trees for the next storm? by Rachel Anderson

Garden guide: Things to do this month by Mary Jane Frogge

GRO Big Red virtual learning series

Composting demonstration

Promoting language development in young children by Hayley Jackson

Tip sheet for harvest 2025 by John Nelson

Rogers Memorial Day farm field day, September 2025

Heart of 4-H volunteer award: Rachel Wells

Join 4-H to become beyond ready …

From Insight To Action: Advancing Extension Programming For Utah Agriculture, Melanie Heaton, Cheyenne Reid, Reganne K. Briggs, Rebekah E. Iverson, Kara Thornton-Kurth, Brooke Holgate

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah State University Extension programs, including evening events and a hands-on cattle boot camp, address gender disparities in Utah agriculture education. While open to everyone, these initiatives empower women through skill-building, peer support, and expert instruction, leading to increased confidence and knowledge, which ultimately enhances their roles and profitability in livestock production.

Zero Textbook Cost Syllabus For Env 3070 (Agroecology), Benjamin Iuliano

Open Educational Resources

Our relationships with the food we eat are deeply personal, but also connect us to a wide array of people, plants, animals, and landscapes around the world. Encompassing a diversity of scholarly approaches, the field of agroecology seeks to understand the interactions among these components, draw attention to the consequences of our present industrial food system, and create the conditions for more sustainable and just futures. In this course, students will learn about the science, practice, and social movement of agroecology through lectures, course discussions, field trips, and hands-on activities.

Integrating Food Loss And Waste Reduction Policies With Global Dietary Shifts: An Economic Modelling Study, Alessandro Gatto, Maksym Chepeliev

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

Background

Methods

Identifying Land Snails, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Biosecurity factsheets

Snails can be voracious eaters, destroying leafy vegetables, cereal crops, pasture grasses and some native plants. From time to time, exotic snails are intercepted in cargo, machinery, vehicles and packaging and then destroyed.

Snail species may be native or already established in Westen Australia; however, your reports will help detect exotic snails early and prevent them from invading gardens, agriculture and the environment.