Agriculture Commons^™

Spreading The Char: The Importance Of Local Compatibility In The Diffusion Of Biochar Systems To The Smallholder Agriculture Community Context, Laura C. V. Munoz

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis enters the context of smallholder agriculture communities in the developing world. It explores the potentials of biochar and what biochar systems could bring to the smallholder communities while simultaneously bringing environmental benefits. It then acknowledges the challenges of diffusion –the spreading of an unfamiliar innovation. It seeks to answer the question of what will make diffusion of biochar systems more successful in the smallholder context, fixating on the characteristic of compatibility as well as the role local community members can play in making a new biochar system more visible to the rest of the communities.

Knowledge, Perceptions, And Outcomes Of Agricultural Communications Curriculum In Arkansas Secondary Agricultural Classrooms, Carley Payne Calico

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed method study was to assess the effectiveness of agricultural communications curriculum developed and incorporated into a semester-long agricultural leadership and communications course for secondary agricultural education programs in Arkansas. This study was comprised of three parts including a pilot test, teacher training assessment, and a descriptive field test over a two-year period. For the pilot test portion of the study, students (N = 297) participated in newly developed instructional modules (careers, writing, design, and multimedia) predetermined by a committee of agricultural education and communications faculty at the University of Arkansas. The pilot test indicated students' …

Effects Of Animal Science Agricultural Education Course Completion On Urban High School Students' Career Choice, Kristina Gowans

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study focused on testing the effects of agricultural education on urban high school students’ career choices. It looked into how students view agriculture, how they perceive their peers view agriculture, how their demographics are related to career choice, and if their career choice was changed to a different career upon completion of the study. The study showed a positive relationship between completing an agricultural education class in animal science and interest in going into an agricultural career. Further, females in the study were more likely to choose an agricultural career. After the completion of a school-based agricultural education program, …

Drivers Of Spatial And Temporal Variation In Soybean Yield And Irrigation Requirements In The Western Us Corn Belt, Patricio Grassini, Jessica A. Torrion, Kenneth Cassman, Haishun Yang, James Specht

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Both rainfed and irrigated soybean production are important in Nebraska (western US Corn Belt), accounting for a respective 48 and 52% of the state’s soybean production of 7 Mt on a respective 55 and 45% share of the state soybean area of 1.9 Mha. To date, no assessment of factors that may account for regional and inter-annual variation in yield and irrigation amount has been performed. To accomplish that objective, we evaluated a database containing on-farm field yields and total irrigation amount used in those fields. These data have been collected annually from ca. 1000 soybean fields in six regions …

Appropriate Strategies For Developing Information Marketing In Iranian Faculties Of Agriculture, Mojtaba Sookhtanlo, Hamid Movahed Mohammadi, Ahmad Rezvanfar, Yousef Hedjazi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The main purpose of this research was to identify strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with information marketing and appropriate strategies for the development of information marketing in Iranian Faculties of Agriculture. The research population consisted of all staff employed in central libraries of in the selected Faculties of Agriculture (Universities of Tehran, Ferdowsi of Mashhad, Shiraz, Tabriz and Isfahan technology) (N=107). The respondents selected by census sampling method so that ultimately number of 90 questionnaires obtained (n=90). According to the findings, the majority of respondents (72.3%) has a positive and very positive attitude to applying information marketing factors. …

Structural Change Of The Western United States Alfalfa Hay Market And Its Effect On The Western United States Dairy Industry, Joseph Patrick Cann

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Alfalfa is the fourth largest commodity grown in the Western U.S., representing 20% of the crop acreage over the past twenty years. In the last five years alfalfa hay price has doubled from what it was previously, indicating a possible structural change in the market. This research project was completed to test for this structural change using econometric analysis of the important demand components of alfalfa price. In addition to this, simulations of an average Utah dairy were completed to examine which ratio of forage crops provided the highest economic return to the operation.

To analyze the structural change of …

Economic And Soil Quality Impacts From Crop/Rangeland Residue Burning, Lyle Holmgren, Grant Cardon, Clint Hill

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes the practice of burning crop residues and the impacts of it on economics and soil quality.

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 29, 2014, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of the United States for April 29, 2014 (4/29/14) plus: United States crop areas experiencing drought (map), an approximate percentage of crop located in drought by state (bar graph), and the percentage of crop area located in drought during the past 52 weeks (line graph) for corn, soybeans, hay, cattle, and winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 22, 2014, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of the United States for April 22, 2014 (4/22/14) plus: United States crop areas experiencing drought (map), an approximate percentage of crop located in drought by state (bar graph), and the percentage of crop area located in drought during the past 52 weeks (line graph) for corn, soybeans, hay, cattle, and winter wheat.

Biopesticide Use In Ipm For Low Desert Vegetable And Fruit Production, Jeremy Wagnitz

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Like most other agricultural areas, the low desert valleys of the southwestern United States experience issues with crop pests. Although the arid environment is not suitable for some pests, others thrive in microclimates that develop in each individual irrigated field. These crop pests whether they are insects or pathogens must be managed in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Throughout the past 50 to 60 years there has been an over-reliance on synthetic pesticides to manage these issues in agriculture. This over-reliance has allowed crop pests to develop resistance to many of these control products. Due to the development of …

Table Of Contents

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

No abstract provided.

Alabama's Women In Agriculture: The Road To Gaps Harmonization And Global Addendum - Tuskegee's Walmart Initiative, Gertrude D. Wall, Walter A. Hill, Barrett Vaughan, Barbara Shipman, Assata Maat, Rose Hill, Shirley Tyson

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

This paper shares challenges faced and overcome by four African American women on their 2013 journey to secure USDA’s Produce Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Harmonized Food Safety Standards with the Global Addendum (Global Markets Primary Production Assessments: GMPPA). Collaboration, consistent training, and technical support from the Tuskegee University Extension and Research staff, and the Small Farmers Agricultural Cooperative undergirded the preparation of the farms for GAPs Certification. The timely sharing of staff expertise and experience from commercial partners (Walmart, Purivida, C.H. Robinson, W.P. Rawls), and support from the USDA (Strike Force Initiative) were important contributors to the positive outcomes described. …

A Transformative Partnership Between Socially And Historically Disadvantaged Farmers, 1890 Land Grant Institutions, And Walmart, Walter A. Hill, Raymon Shange, Miles Robinson, Tasha M. Hargrove

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Ensuring a sustainable future for socially and historically disadvantaged farmers (SHDFs) remains a central mission of many 1890 land grant universities. As major corporations adopt socially responsible and sustainable policies they are exploring new partnerships, including those with the aforementioned farmers and institutions. This article explores the opportunity presented by the partnership between Tuskegee University and Walmart during 2011, 2012, and 2013 that focused on assisting SHDFs to work together to expand their produce marketing opportunities to include large commercial retailers. This article provides perspective for the articles that follow in this issue of the Professional Agricultural Workers Journal (PAWJ). …

A Case Study Analysis Of A Regional Food System: The Sustainable Agriculture Consortium For Historically Disadvantaged Farmers Program, Tasha M. Hargrove, Walter A. Hill, John Brown, Miles Robinson, Iris Cole-Crosby, Elizabeth Myles, Billy Lawton, Karla Martin

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The Sustainable Agriculture Consortium for Historically Disadvantaged Farmers Program (SACH) was designed to carry out an experiment by five 1890 Land-Grant Universities in partnership with five farmer based cooperatives in five states to assess marketing fruits and vegetables to Walmart from a regional perspective. Using the Consortium as a case study, this study assessed the Consortium within the framework of implementation evaluation; data were collected using semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The study answered questions such as, what did the Consortium do, and what were some of the accomplishments of the Consortium? The farmers were able to: negotiate price points; …

Extending Sustainable Irrigation Opportunities To Socially And Historically Disadvantaged Farmers In The Alabama Black Belt To Support Commercial-Level Production, Raymon Shange, Richard Martin, Victor Khan, Kwesi Daniels, George X. Hunter, Gwendolyn J. Johnson, Steve Musser, William Puckett, Walter A. Hill

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

This paper focuses on providing sustainable irrigation opportunities to socially and historically disadvantaged farmers (SHDFs). The ability to provide steady production capacity through the use of renewable energy sources and microirrigation is innovative, in that it demonstrated how to develop and utilize a sustainable irrigation system in both energy and water conservation. This venture is also innovative in that it sought to provide SHDFs with irrigation in a state in which irrigation in agriculture is minimal, while at the same time, offsetting the energy costs that normally accompany irrigation. Several farmers are profiled in their participation in the irrigation program. …

Small Farmers Agricultural Cooperative Launched, Miles Robinson, John Brown, Alice Paris, Walter A. Hill, Tasha M. Hargrove, Barrett Vaughan, Raymon Shange, Al Hooks, Demetrius Hooks, Thomas Turner, Bobby England, Audrey Zeigler

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The Walmart Initiative was designed to provide technical support to train at least 200 farmers on best practices in marketing produce to larger companies and corporations like Walmart. This support was provided through specialized training, workshops, informational group meetings, and overall awareness of market opportunities. The specialized training included Food Safety Standards and Food Safety Certification requirements, effective production techniques, harvesting, grading, packaging, refrigeration/cold chain requirements, transportation, fiscal responsibility, financial management, record-keeping, and insurance and product liability. As part of a five state initiative, Tuskegee University identified and assisted in the formation of the Small Farmers Agricultural Cooperative comprised of …

Case Study Of A Food Safety/Good Agricultural Practices (Gaps) Educational Program For Small And Limited Resource Produce Farmers, Barrett Vaughan, Audrey Zeigler, Gertrude D. Wall, Miles D. Robinson, William A. Hodge, Conrad O. Bonsi, Ntam R. Baharanyi, Walter A. Hill

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

This case study examined methods used in a food safety/Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) educational program with small and limited resource produce farmers in Alabama to assist them with obtaining certification. Two methods were used, namely, the identification of challenges to food safety certification and development of strategies to address the challenges, and the enlistment of educational methods to facilitate food safety certification. As a result, there were four challenges to food safety certification identified; needs for motivation, information, clarification, and resources. In addition, the educational methods enlisted included group meetings, instructional material distribution, individual farm instruction, and expert instruction. The …

Abridged Submission Guidelines

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

No abstract provided.

Overview Of The Integrated Pest Management (Ipm) Terrain And Activities In Furtherance Of The Walmart Initiative To Purchase Fresh Vegetables From Local Growers In Alabama, Franklin Quarcoo, Conrad Bonsi

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Tuskegee University has been providing various types of technical expertise to limited resource farmers who have been supplying Walmart with collard greens, watermelons and purple hull peas. A number of pests bedevil the cultivation of these crops; cost-effective management methods for these pests are needed. The objectives of this paper are to document the IPM activities associated with supplying produce to Walmart; summarize pest problems encountered on the afore-stated crops; recommend IPM methods suitable for limited resource farmers; and suggest other activities that ensure that farmers incur even less pest-related crop losses. Anthracnose was the major pest encountered on watermelons. …

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 15, 2014, Brian Fuchs

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 15, 2014 (4/15/14) 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.