Agriculture Commons^™

Ensuring Nonprofit Impacts Through Strategic Planning, Marilyn R. Schlake

Cornhusker Economics

Like most states, Nebraska has a vibrant nonprofit sector that fulfills a very important role in our rural and urban communities. Nonprofits contribute to the health and welfare of our communities, build social capital through education investments, and enhance the quality of life through new recreational facilities, low-income housing, museums and numerous other ways that benefit community members.

A Plan For Pollinator Landscape Management On The Ursinus Campus, Megan N. Hanscom

Environment and Sustainability Honors Papers

Due to increased pollinator decline over the past decade, colleges and universities are developing pollinator management plans to help combat pollinator loss. Pollinators, and more specifically bees, are vital members of local ecosystems and protection efforts are greatly needed. This plan was created to address the needs of Ursinus College pollinators using relevant suggestions from pollinator research and existing protection plans. This plan includes suggestions for increased pollinator habitat on campus, ways to reduce pollinator stressors, and ways that the Ursinus community can positively impact pollinator health.

Nontarget Effects Of Orchard Pesticides On Natural Enemies: Lessons From The Field And Laboratory, Elizabeth H. Beers, Nicholas J. Mills, Peter W. Shearer, David R. Horton, Eugene R. Milickzy, Kaushalya G. Amarasekare, Lessando M. Gontijo

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

The nontarget effects of insecticide programs used to control codling moth, Cydia pomonella L. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), were studied in large-plot field trials in apples, pears, and walnuts in the western United States. We assessed the health of the natural enemy community by sampling the abundance of natural enemies and by monitoring for outbreaks of secondary pests. The insecticides used in the field tests overlapped those tested in laboratory bioassays. Using these parallel lab and field studies, we examined two hypotheses: 1) pesticides found to have negative effects on natural enemy fitness in laboratory bioassays will predict reductions in natural enemy …

Managing Drought Stress In California Agricultural Systems, Gregory D. Brittain Jr.

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

California is currently facing a historic drought, and this has led many farmers in the state to severely cut back on irrigation. Optimal use of water for irrigation requires a comprehensive understanding of how plants respond physiologically to water stress (Chapter 1). By monitoring water requirements in crops and managing irrigation to meet those requirements, growers can significantly reduce water use (Chapter 2). This can be done through improving application efficiency of irrigation technology as well as increasing the water use efficiency of the crops themselves. Deficit irrigation practices can be used to manipulate the physiology of water use in …

Automated Mini-Channel Platform For Studying Plant Root Environments, Kevin F. Kreis

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Plants are crucial to our lives; they provide us with building materials, oxygen, and food. A season’s crop yield can be significantly affected by local environmental factors. Farming practices currently focus on using fertilizer, pesticides, monitoring water availability, and genetic modification of the plant to increase crop yield. Improving fundamental understanding of plant root interactions with their local soil environment, or rhizosphere, will help improve crop yield. Studying such interactions is challenging because roots are underground, making it difficult to observe interactions and to manipulate the local soil environment.

The goal of this thesis is to develop an automated mini-channel …

Ecological Risks Of The Conventional Insecticide/Fungicide Seed Treatment Mixture Of Thiamethoxam And Mefenoxam In Soybean On Beneficial Insects, Carolina Camargo

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The impact of neonicotinoid seed treatments on beneficial insects has been a controversial topic during the last years. While neonicotinoids are usually used as mixtures with systemic fungicides, few studies have examined the impact of the mixtures on beneficial insects. Pesticide mixtures can have synergistic, additive, or antagonistic effects on the toxicity of neonicotinoids on non-target species.

Thiamethoxam with mefenoxam is the most used neonicotinoid insecticide/fungicide mixture applied to soybean. Based on the systemic nature of thiamethoxam and mefenoxam, residues of this insecticide/fungicide mixture can be present in soybean vegetative and floral tissue with potential impacts to beneficial insects. This …

Improved Microplate Fluorometric Soil Enzyme Assay For Β-Glucosidase Detection, Emily C. Hoehn

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soil microbes produce extracellular enzymes responsible for degrading complex organic compounds to release energy and nutrients. Measurement of soil enzymes can be considered an indicator of soil health and microbial community composition because of its sensitivity to agricultural and management practices. Fluorescence enzyme assays tend to be more sensitive than spectrophotometric (ie. colorimetric) assays and a 96-well plate has the potential capacity for high-throughput use. Development of a newly modified enzyme assay using fluorometric (4-methylumbelliferone), automated pipetting system and sonication, as well as a reduction in replicates allows for a higher sample throughput rate suitable for service laboratory use. The …

Lb176 Packer Feeding Bill Enacted, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Legislative Bill 176 authorizes custom feeding contracts between packers and Nebraska pork producers. This newsletter discusses the background of packer feeding in Nebraska as well as the LB176 amendments increasing contract producer protections.

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 19, 2016, Richard Tinker

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 19, 2016 (4/19/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Biology, Gene Flow, And Management Of Glyphosate-Resistant Common Waterhemp (Amaranthus Rudis Sauer) In Nebraska, Debalin Sarangi

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Common waterhemp is the most troublesome weed in the midwestern United States. Growers from Nebraska reported failure to control common waterhemp following sequential applications of glyphosate in glyphosate-tolerant corn and soybean, which led to moderate to severe yield loss; justifying the need to confirm resistance and study the biology and management of common waterhemp. The objectives of this research were: 1) to confirm the presence of glyphosate-resistant (GR) common waterhemp biotypes in Nebraska and to evaluate their sensitivity to herbicides belonging to alternative sites-of-action; 2) to evaluate the response of common waterhemp to water stress; 3) to quantify pollen-mediated gene …

Land Management Effects On Selected Properties Of Silt Loam Soil In Tennessee, Usa, Kang-Chi Wu

Scholars Week

Land management practices greatly influence soil properties. However, the effects are different among soil properties. This study was conducted to determine the impact of various common land management systems on selected soil properties, include organicmatter content, the level of acidity, soil color and macro-aggregate content. During fall of 2015, soil samples were collected fromtopsoiland subsoil of silt loamatStewart County, TN. Soil samples were taken from six different land management systems, such as 30 years of tobacco field, 30 years of hardwood forest, 20 years of vegetable garden, 20 years of pasture, 35 years of lawn, and 6 years of corn …

Northern Beef Infrastructure Audit: Infrastructure Plan And Business Case Summaries - Phase 4 Final Report, Acil Allen Consulting Pty Ltd

Animal production and livestock published reports

The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) is leading Northern Beef Futures, a four year $15 million project funded by the State Government's Royalties for Regions program, to transform Western Australia’s northern beef industry through improving markets, businesses and productivity. The Northern Beef Futures project will support the success of the beef industry to capture new market opportunities, particularly in Asia, and secure sustainable growth.

ACIL Allen Consulting (ACIL Allen) has been commissioned by DAFWA and Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) to conduct an audit of infrastructure supporting the beef industry in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions, referred …

On-Farm Demonstration Of Computerized Hole Selection Programs In Arkansas Commercial Soybean And Cotton Fields And Evaluation Of Polyacrylamide In Plot-Scale Furrow Irrigated Cotton, Austin Lorenzo Lewis

Student Theses and Dissertations

Groundwater depletion is a rising concern in the Midsouth region of the U.S. Many crops depend on the use of groundwater in order to meet water demands and potentially reach higher yields. Products and practices have been developed to conserve both groundwater and surface water by using easily collected field data to improve irrigation advance uniformity, infiltration, irrigation runoff water quality, and reduce irrigation runoff. A field demonstration was initiated to determine the value of incorporating the computerized hole selection program, Pipe Planner, into two commercial cotton fields and two commercial soybean fields. The cotton fields were located in Judd …

Louis Schwing: Interview Transcript, Part 1, Ben Halpern

Oral History Interviews & Transcripts

Interview With: Louis Schwing

Date of Interview: 4/12/2016

Location of Interview: Dewey, IL

Transcribed by: Jessica Craig

Date(s) of Transcription: 9/1/2016

Length of Interview: 01:30:22

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 12, 2016, Richard Tinker

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 12, 2016 (4/12/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

William Cresap: Interview Transcript, Ben Halpern

Oral History Interviews & Transcripts

Interview With: William Cresap

Date of Interview: 4/08/2016

Location of Interview: Rural Champaign County

Transcribed by: Jessica Craig

Date(s) of Transcription: 8/30/2016

Length of Interview: 00:23:30

Interview With Pat Feeney, Part 1, Ben Halpern

Oral History Interviews & Transcripts

No abstract provided.

Interview With Pat Feeney, Part 2, Ben Halpern

Oral History Interviews & Transcripts

No abstract provided.

Gibsonville Healthy Forest Restoration Project: Silviculture Report, Dan Roskopf

Aspen Bibliography

The Forest Service proposes to reduce the risk of wildfire, to protect, restore, and enhance forest ecosystem components (i.e., streams, meadows, aspen areas) in the vicinity of Gibsonville, California. A combination of hazard tree removal, forest health, and fuels reduction treatments are proposed on 1,200 acres of Forest Service system lands. These actions are proposed to be implemented on the Feather River Ranger District of the Plumas National Forest.

Disturbance Agents And Their Associated Effects On The Health Of Interior Douglas-Fir Forests In The Central Rocky Mountains, Andrew D. Giunta, Michael J. Jenkins, Elizabeth G. Hebertson, Allen S. Munson

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Interior Douglas-fir is a prevalent forest type throughout the central Rocky Mountains. Past management actions, specifically fire suppression, have led to an expansion of this forest type. Although Douglas-fir forests cover a broad geographic range, few studies have described the interactive effects of various disturbance agents on forest health conditions. In this paper, we review pertinent literature describing the roles, linkages, and mechanisms by which disturbances, including insect outbreaks, pathogens, fire, and other abiotic factors, affect the development, structure, and distribution of interior montane forests primarily comprised of Douglas-fir. We also discuss how these effects may influence important resource values …