Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Research Report: Confidence In Institutions, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Mary Emery, Katelyn Larson, Bradley D. Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Rebecca J. Vogt

Nebraska Rural Poll

This report details 943 responses to the 2025 Nebraska Rural Poll, the 30th annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about their confidence in institutions. Trends for some of the questions are examined by comparing data from the 2017 Poll and 2021 Poll to this year’s results. In addition, comparisons are made among different respondent subgroups, that is, comparisons by age, occupation, region, etc. Based on these analyses, some key findings emerged:

• Rural Nebraskans’ confidence in many institutions did not change much during the past eight years. However, more rural Nebraskans have a …

Research Report: Insights Into Community, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Mary Emery, Katelyn Larson, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Rebecca J. Vogt

Nebraska Rural Poll

Rural Nebraskans are more positive about the current change in their communities this year but are less positive about its future. Starting three years ago, the proportion believing their community changed for the worse was more than the proportion believing it had changed for the better (similar to what occurred in 2003 and 2009). However, last year that trend reversed back to the typical pattern and continued this year. This year, more people believe their community has changed for the better than has changed for the worse. When asked about what they expect ten years from now, this year more …

Food Resource Efficiency Decision Support Hub: Workshop 2 - Summary Report, Jennifer Attard, Tracey O'Connor, Simon Patterson, Julia Lessa Feitosa Virgolino, Mina Sadeghzadeh

Publications

FRED is focused on informing policy on food waste prevention using a total food system sustainability approach.

Food Resource Efficiency Decision Support Hub: Workshop 3 - Summary Report, Jennifer Attard, Tracey O'Connor, Simon Patterson, Julia Lessa Feitosa Virgolino, Mina Sadeghzadeh

Publications

FRED is focused on informing policy on food waste prevention using a total food system sustainability approach.

Food Resource Efficiency Decision Support Hub: Workshop 4 - Summary Report, Jennifer Attard, Tracey O'Connor, Simon Patterson, Julia Lessa Feitosa Virgolino, Mina Sadeghzadeh

Publications

FRED is focused on informing policy on food waste prevention using a total food system sustainability approach.

Food Resource Efficiency Decision Support Hub: Workshop 1 - Summary Report, Jennifer Attard, Tracey O'Connor, Simon Patterson, Julia Lessa Feitosa Virgolino, Mina Sadeghzadeh

Publications

FRED is focused on informing policy on food waste prevention using a total food system sustainability approach.

Food Resource Efficiency Decision Support Hub: Food System Stakeholder Needs Identification, Jennifer Attard, Tracey O'Connor, Simon Patterson, Julia Lessa Feitosa Virgolino, Mina Sadeghzadeh

Publications

Understanding the needs of everyone in the food system is vital to solving the food waste problem. If interventions are misaligned with stakeholder needs, the resultant impact will be highly diminished and/or will result in unintended consequences. We there fore conducted significant stakeholder engagement to identify and prioritise stakeholder needs.

Food Resource Efficiency Decision Support Hub: Consumer Survey Report, Tracey O'Connor, Mina Sadeghzadeh, Julia Lessa Feitosa Virgolino, Jennifer Attard

Publications

FRED is focused on informing policy on food waste prevention using a total food system sustainability approach.

Consumers sit at a critical point of food value networks as the decision-makers about food purchasing, household storage and management, and (non-)consumption. It was critical therefore to understand the consumer context, their concerns and needs regarding the food system, and their food purchasing and waste attitudes and behaviours.

Modeling Wild Rice Bed Health: A Dual Metric Approach For Bed Strength And Invasive Impact, Seth Sisneros-Martinez

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Wild rice (mannoomin; Zizania palustris) is an aquatic grain that grows in slow-moving rivers and shallow bays throughout northern Minnesota. In Headquarters Bay on Leech Lake, wild rice has served as a cultural staple for Indigenous communities for centuries. However, its population has declined in recent years due to multiple environmental issues. One potential contributor is Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum; EWM), an invasive species that forms dense mats capable of outcompeting native aquatic vegetation, including wild rice. EWM was first recorded on the southern shoreline of Leech Lake in 2005 and has since become widespread. This study …

Floral Encounters: Examining The Role Of Experience Goods And Promoters In Specialty Cut Flower Workshops, Savannah L. Columbia

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This thesis provides insight for any farmer interested in agritourism, specifically, specialty cut flower workshops, by investigating consumer behavior related to specialty cut flower workshops as an experience good. It investigates which experience good cues may be important for a consumer’s decision-making process. It introduces a Specialty Cut Flower Workshop Experience Map, which explains how potential participants move from first learning about a specialty cut flower workshop to their long-term behaviors as consumers. These findings help to provide marketing support for smaller-scale specialty crop farmers, specifically, specialty cut flower farmers.

Application Of Physics-Informed Neural Networks On Crop Yield Prediction At Multiple Scales, Aditya P. Prabhu, Pratishtha Poudel, James V. Krogmeier

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Accurately predicting crop yields is a critical challenge in sustainable agriculture, food security, and farm management. Traditional process-based models rely on agronomic domain knowledge, crop physiology and statistical approaches, while purely data-driven approaches leverage machine learning or deep learning models using meteorological and spatial data. Unfortunately, these black-box models(Data-drive approaches) often lack interpretability and fail to incorporate well-established physical principles. This project explores a hybrid approach by implementing Physics Informed Neural Networks, mainly, physics-based recurrent neural networks (PI-RNNs) for time-series yield prediction. PINNs allow for the integration of scientific knowledge directly into the model by embedding physical laws as constraints …

Crop Insurance And Weather Risk: Decision Tools And The Effects Of Rising Temperatures In Kentucky, Enil Serrano

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This thesis investigates how rising temperatures and climate variability affect crop insurance decisions and premium rates for corn and soybean farmers in Kentucky. It introduces a new decision-support tool, the "Crop Insurance Decision Maker" (CIDM), which helps producers evaluate the financial trade-offs of various crop insurance products under different risk preferences. The first chapter details the tool’s development, function, and potential to improve farmer understanding of insurance options. The second chapter quantifies how +1°C and +2°C warming scenarios impact yield risk and crop insurance premium rates using 73 years of corn yield data, 51 years for soybean yield, and weather …

Adaptation For Whom? Understanding The Impacts Of Dyke Policies On Small-Scale Farmers In Ca Mau Province Of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Quang, Nguyen Van Minh, Nguyen Vo Chau Ngan, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Low-lying deltas worldwide are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. As the risks of climate-induced flooding become increasingly clear, the thirst for infrastructure-driven adaptation increases. This highlights a patent need to understand the impacts of engineering adaptation solutions, especially those targeting built structures such as dykes and sluices, on farmers from a bottom-up, farmer-centred perspective. The study addresses this call by examining cases where dyke policies, while successful in some dimensions, have undermined small-scale farmer livelihoods in Ca Mau ― Vietnam’s southernmost rural province. It identifies areas in need of attention and adds empirical data related to this group of farmers. …

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …

The Dirt Underneath My Fingernails: The American Pastoral And 21st-Century Food System Reform, Annabella Isaacson

Scripps Senior Theses

The following is an amalgamation of my experiences personally and vested interests academically, and is meant to be read as just that. As a thesis that combines Environmental Analysis and Writing & Rhetoric degrees, this project challenges traditional academic forms by integrating creative nonfiction and poetry with academic writing and analysis. This thesis attempts to fuse the academic and personal essay into one cohesive piece. The inconclusive nature of the narratives and explorations that follow are intended to represent my process in grappling with the histories and significance of American pastoral literature through the ways in which this genre has …

The Fate Of Coffee: A Socioeconomic Analysis Of Peruvian Coffee Management In The Face Of Usaid Withdrawal And Climate Change, Sophia E. Elliott

Honors Theses and Capstones

Coffee is one of the most widely traded commodities globally, with the market valued at over USD 223 billion in 2023. The cultivation and management of this crop are largely carried out by small-scale farmers, who make up approximately 80% of producers and rely heavily on coffee farming for their livelihood. Despite the relevance of this crop for producers and consumers alike, these producers often live in conditions of extreme poverty. Variability within climatic conditions has increased the vulnerability of coffee plants to pests and pathogens, in particular Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) (Hemileia vastatrix). This, in turn, has led to …

An Economic And Production Analysis Of Seaweed Farms In California And The Pacific Northwest, Brian Donovan

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Since the early 2010s, the seaweed aquaculture industry has steadily expanded in the United States, with states like Alaska, Maine, Hawaii, and Connecticut leading the way in the development of this emerging sector. However, information gaps remain concerning certain aspects of the domestic seaweed aquaculture industry. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of the seaweed aquaculture industry along the West Coast of the United States; specifically in the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Seaweed farmers in these states were invited to voluntarily complete surveys asking important production, economic, and commercial questions regarding their operations. Data …

Three Essays On Sustainability Economics, Hélène Flore Nguemgaing

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As global economies face increasing resource dependencies and supply chain challenges, it becomes essential to understand the vulnerabilities that threaten economic stability. This dissertation investigates three empirical issues in agribusiness and critical minerals using econometric models to estimate the following: 1) the impact of supply chain disruptions on stock market returns during COVID-19; 2) the extraction of rare earth elements from acid mine drainage treatment by investigating the impacts of ownership and legislation in West Virginia and Pennsylvania; 3) China-to�FOBb (Free-on-Board) price transmission in rare earth elements markets: a copula-based dynamic tail dependence analysis.

The first essay evaluates how events …

Next In Line: Exploring Owner, Business, And Family Characteristics And Farm Succession Planning, Tucker Lane Bittick

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The growing average age of the American farmer raises concerns about who will be involved in the future agricultural economy. Efficient succession in family farms keeps farm values high, and farms that plan for succession have an incentive to invest more resources into the farm. Knowing what factors on family farms are common when succession occurs could help encourage earlier succession planning. The research questions were: “Are family, business, and owner characteristics significantly related to the presence of a farm succession plan on farms in the Midwest?” and “Are family, business, and owner characteristics significantly related to principal operators’ preference …

Location Intelligence Unveils Seasonal Spatiotemporal Pattern Shifts Of Habitat Use And Selection By Cattle Across A South Texas Coastal Landscape Infested With Rhipicephalus Microplus, Taylor G. Donaldson, Brian T. Rich, Miranda R. Peterson, Hsiao-Hsuan Wang, William E. Grant, Donald B. Thomas, Kimberly H. Lohmeyer, Adalberto Á. Pérez De León, Pete D. Teel

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Knowledge gaps on the dynamics of cattle fever tick-cattle-habitat-climate interactions in South Texas and their influence on the efficacy of treatments to eliminate infestations with the Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus prevent optimal interventions by the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program (CFTEP). The CFTEP has been operating in the USA since 1907. This study applied the concept of location intelligence to examine movement, habitat use and selection by cattle in a highly heterogeneous coastal landscape infested with R. microplus. Cattle interface with white-tailed deer and nilgai, which are alternate wildlife hosts of R. microplus, in this unique South …