Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

2017 Nebraska Water Leaders Academy - Final Report, Mark E. Burbach, H. Reiners-Hild

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Twenty participants completed the 2017 Water Leaders Academy bringing the total number of graduates to 101 since the inception of the program in 2011. Assessment of participants’ transformational leadership skills, champion of innovation skills, water knowledge and engagement, civic capacity, and entrepreneurial leadership behaviors showed a significant increase over the course of the year, from both participants’ and their raters’ perspectives. Feedback from participants was highly positive and constructive. Participant concerns were addressed, and only minor changes are planned for the 2018 Academy curriculum. Results of the program assessment indicate that the curriculum is meeting Academy objectives. Most importantly, Alumni …

Confessions Of A Collaborator: Shoesole And Stewardship Alliance Of Northeast Elko County, Nevada, Robin Boies

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Abstract – The Shoesole Management Team (Shoesole) and the Stewardship Alliance of Northeastern Elko (SANE) are place-based, landowner-organized, natural and human resource conservation initiatives. The Shoesole was organized in 2002 to take a more holistic approach to grazing management issues on two federal livestock grazing allotments. This effort provided the foundation for SANE, which was organized in 2012 by representatives of eight ranches in northeastern Nevada in response to the potential listing of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse). Shoesole and SANE came together voluntarily, as a rancher organized initiative, with a common goal of creating a better …

Food Waste In The United States: Issues, Ethics, And Solutions, Patrick Erickson

Honors College Theses

One-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally. In North America and Europe, 280-300 kg of food is wasted per capita each year, with more than 40% of the losses occurring at the retail and consumer level. In this paper, I compare the amount of food wasted in the United States to the amounts wasted by different societies around the world, and discuss the reasons for the food waste, and the consequences that the waste has on our society, in terms of resource consumption and production of pollution. The pragmatic philosophy of Richard Rorty states …

Cluster Approach: Gaps And Shortcomings In Un Coordination Of Humanitarian Actors In Post-Earthquake Haiti And Implications For Policy Concerns Of The New Humanitarian School Of Thought, Naomi Vinbury

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research analyzes the role of the UN OCHA Cluster Approach in the context of Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Gaps and shortcomings of the current humanitarian model are identified and the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach is considered as a model to be used as an instrument to inform the New Humanitarian school of thought. A recent history of Haiti and the political relationship to the international community will be reviewed as context that outlines the vulnerabilities that created a risk society leading up to the disaster. A brief history of the recent trajectory of humanitarian aid will be reviewed and …

Modelling The Impact Of National Development Strategies For The East African Rice Sector, Florence Muthee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The 2008 food crisis prompted many food importing nations to reconsider the need to be self-sufficient especially in their staple food needs. This awakening led to the launch of the Coalition for Africa Rice Development (CARD) initiative with a goal to double rice production in Africa. Under the CARD umbrella member countries drafted individual National Rice Development Strategies (NRDS). This study is a quantitative assessment of four East African countries’ NRDS: Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda within dynamic global rice economy models. The NRDS targets and strategies are not realistic and included under estimation of rice consumption for Kenya, an …

The Impact Of Groundwater And Well Characteristics On Irrigator Energy Contract Choice, Taylor Hackbart

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The thesis uses cross sectional data from the year 2009 to analyze irrigator choice of electricity contract. The data includes irrigators from the Midwest Electric Cooperative Corporation (MECC), which covers portions of three of Nebraska’s Natural Resource Districts (the Middle Republican, Twin Platte, and Upper Republican NRDs). Each of these institutions tries to reduce the pressure its users place on limited natural resources.

To accomplish this the MECC has established interruptible contracts with irrigators. These contracts allow the MECC to control the electricity supply for an irrigator’s well for a pre-determined number of days, which allows it to better manage …

In The Field The Women Saved The Crop: The Women’S Land Army Of World War Ii, Denna M. Clymer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Women’s Land Army brought together rural and urban sectors of the United States in a climate of national and regional crisis. By the time the country was cast into war, the agricultural sector was already caught in a downward economic spiral that drove away laborers. With demand falling, and farms propped up only by experiments in subsidy and parity, when military and industrial jobs emerged in urban areas, farm laborers became scarce. At the same time the war created jobs for men outside of the agricultural sector, farm prices recovered and demand soared, forcing farmers to look to women …

Peel Business Park Transition Strategy, Ghd

Natural resources commissioned reports

Transform Peel

Transform Peel is a $49m Royalties for Regions funded program aimed at achieving job creation, sustainable growth and economic development in the Peel Region. The Peel Development Commission and its partners, intend to implement this program over 35 years where projections estimate that 35,000 jobs will be created generating an approximate $16.2b per annum economic output by 2050. Located in the Shires of Murray and Serpentine Jarrahdale, the program comprises three integrated, strategic elements, the Peel Business Park (PBP), the Peel Food Zone (PFZ) and the Peel Integrated Water Initiative.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development …

Biosecurity Council Of Western Australia Annual Report 2016/2017, Biosecurity Council Of Western Australia

Biosecurity published reports

Developing constructive biosecurity advice to government requires a comprehensive understanding of the needs and challenges of industry, government and community. It also requires an understanding of the potential impacts of changes to the Western Australian biosecurity system on these groups as well as on the biosecurity of the State.

During 2016/17, the Council continued its commitment to engaging with key stakeholders. The strong consultative processes used by the Council enabled robust advice to be developed for government. The main area of focus during the year was government’s investment in Western Australia’s biosecurity. The key areas of advice that were progressed …

Econometric Estimation Of Groundwater Depth Change For The High Plains Aquifer, Jonathan R. Sims

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This article presents a new method for estimating changes in depth to groundwater at a yearly, county level and incorporates these estimates as the dependent variable of econometric models for the High Plains aquifer. The High Plains (Ogallala) aquifer underlies eight states in the central United States and is the primary source of irrigation water for this large food producing region. The stock of groundwater is a finite, non-renewable resource with minimal recharge in most areas. Many fields of study, including hydrology and agricultural economics, are interested in depth to groundwater changes because they serve as a proxy for estimating …

Demographic Influences On Nonadoption Of Calf Management And Marketing Practices For Cow-Calf Operations, Stephanie Schumacher, Derrell S. Peel, Kellie Curry Raper

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

Though research indicates that many calf management and marketing practices are available to add value for the cow-calf producer, a high percentage of producers are still nonadopters of such practices. Little information identifies nonadopters in the beef cattle industry, limiting efforts to provide educational support. This study uses a binomial logit model and primary survey data to examine the demographic influence on producers’ nonadoption of commonly recommended value-added management and marketing practices specific to feeder calves in the cow-calf segment.

Short-Term Asset And Debt Choice And U.S. Corn Farm Liquidity, Sarah Stutzman, Todd Hubbs

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

The liquidity positions of U.S. corn farms over the period 2002–2013 is examined using Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) data and calculating the average annual working capital to gross revenue (WC/GR) ratio for farms within the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile. The relationship between liquidity and land ownership, farm size, and the composition and level of short-term farm asset and debts by category are compared across farms within the 25th, 25th–75th, and 75th WC/GR ratio percentile. We find that, on average, farms in the 75th WC/GR ratio percentile owned a greater portion of their operated acres and maintained both …

Financial Vulnerability Of Midwest Grain Farms: Implications Of Price, Yield, And Cost Shocks, Shasha Li, Michael Boehlje

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

Recent years have witnessed increasing volatility in crop prices and yields, fertilizer prices, and farm asset values. In this study, the financial performance of illustrative Midwest grain farms with different scales, tenure status, and capital structures was examined under the shocks of volatile crop prices, yields, fertilizer prices, farmland value, and cash rent. Illustrative farms of 550, 1,200, and 2,500 acres were constructed reflecting the production activity for these farms with three different farmland ownership structures (15%, 50%, and 85% of land owned) and two capital structures measured by debt-to- asset ratio (25% and 50%). Absolute measures and financial ratios …

Haitian Sun And Peruvian Ruins: Service-Learning In International Development, Paige Rudin

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Development issues in growing nations can be seen and discussed in service-learning programs on Purdue’s campus. Two international experiences in Haiti and Peru reveal a need for development strategies that can be universally applied in service-learning settings. Traveling with graduate students from Lima, Peru, to study animal connection in Peruvian society and teaching Haitian university students the basics of water quality and testing allow the exchange of ideas between cultures and profound learning for both parties. Connections like these change mindsets and inspire curiosity, thus strengthening human capacity. Challenges and barriers like integrating quantitative and qualitative data from community partners …

Answering Food Insecurity: Serving The Community With Food And Knowledge Using Technology, Courtney Simpson

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

The courses of Tech120, CGT110, and ENGT 180/181 and Red Gold at Purdue collaborated to design a robot that would plant and water a garden for a local community charter school. The students centered the project on the users’ needs for fresh food, nutrition education, and early exposure to STEM for children. The school, Anderson Preparatory Academy (APA), is comprised of many children who come from low-income families and are in the free or reduced lunch program. Inspired from “Farm Bot,” a similar system that allows for almost hands-free gardening, the “Boiler Bot” is designed to be scalable so children …

Water Supply In Developing Countries: Student Experiences In The Dominican Republic, Albert Alwang, Margaret Busse, Audrey Caprio, Marieke Fenton, Jason Hawes, Andrew Kanach, Autumn Mcelfresh-Sutton

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

In 2010, the United Nations established access to safe drinking water as a basic human right; however, many areas around the globe still lack access. The interdisciplinary service-learning course “Water Supply in Developing Countries” was established at Purdue in 2012 to address the complex issue of water insecurity around the world. Over the past five years, the course has produced teams involving students from nursing, engineering, agricultural economics, biology, and food science working together to develop sustainable, community-scale drinking water treatment systems. In partnership with Aqua Clara International, the student team in 2017 established a drinking water treatment system at …

Grand Staircase Escalante Economic Effects Data, Paul M. Jakus, Sherzod B. Akhundjanov

Browse all Datasets

The designation of landscape-scale national monuments has generated intense debate as to whether their regional economic effects are positive or negative. National monuments can restrict land uses, thus favoring economic development based on the low-wage tourism industry relative to higher-wage extractive industries. Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has been managed for landscape-scale conservation whilst protecting existing valid uses. We assess post-designation trends in the ranching, mining, and tourism industries, after which pre- and post-designation paths of per capita income are examined using difference-in-differences and synthetic control methods. We conclude that monument designation had no effect on regional per capita income.

The Urban Farmer, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Bjorn Low left a high-flying advertising job to reshape the urban, agricultural, and social enterprise landscapes in his native Singapore

¡El Agua Es Nuestra! Pensar Desde Afuera Del Discurso De ‘Público Vs Privado’ / The Water Is Ours! Thinking From Outside The 'Public Vs. Private' Speech, Julius Figueroa

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cualquier persona que haya vivido en Cochabamba por más de unos pocos años puede decir que la ciudad tiene una larga historia de problemas de agua. La respuesta del Estado a estos problemas ha sido variada y, a veces, problemática. En el año 1999, el gobierno de Bolivia firmó un contrato con una empresa transnacional llamada Aguas del Tunari en una tentativa de privatizar el suministro municipal del agua de Cochabamba. Después de un drástico aumento en los precios del agua, protestas y manifestaciones estallaron por toda la ciudad de Cochabamba. La gente de Cochabamba finalmente logró presionar al gobierno …

Losing Faith: An Exploration Of Village Ponds In The Thar Desert, Pentti Hanlon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The intention of this study is to provide a holistic look at the Naadi: a rain-fed common property resource used for drinking water collection in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan. A sustainer of human life in the Thar, Naadis have decided how and where residents of the Thar lived. This study examines both current and historical naadi use in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. The format of the study is a compilation and analysis of 15 field visits, a series of interviews, and investigation of recent alternatives to naadis. The success of a naadi is a function of geology, geography, and …