The increasing presence of aquaculture in coastal waters calls for a better understanding of its environmental effects. Currently little information is available on the impact of shellfish farms on cetaceans. Here we compare long-term ranging patterns of adult female bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp. in Shark Bay, Western Australia) before and during full-scale pearl oyster farming operations, ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of roadway policies for lighting and marking of farm equipment in reducing crashes in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. METHODS In this ecological study, state policies on lighting and marking of farm equipment were scored for compliance with standards of the American Society of Agricultural...

Haque, Samiul. Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2014. US Commodity Support Payments: On Allocation of Resources and Fairness, Post 1996. Major Professor: Kenneth Foster This dissertation investigates the effect of US commodity support payment on agricultural producer decisions during the “decoupled” regime. Particular attention is paid to the national optimal output mix, input proportions, an...

BACKGROUND Tractor overturns kill an average of 100 farmers and farm workers per year. Roll-over protective structures (ROPS) are a proven intervention, but are not on a sufficient number of tractors in the US to reduce these deaths. Little has been reported on ROPS use by racial minority farm operators. METHODS Data from the NIOSH OISPA survey were used to assess ROPS prevalence rates from a...

Due to the decline in agricultural labor force and rapid aging of farmers, machinery is becoming larger, higher-performance, diversified. In this study, an air pollutant emission inventory for tractors was analyzed compared with developed by a national agency. Agricultural include walking riding and, further, were divided into three subcategories based on their engine size. addition, tractor em...

Draft animal power (DAP) has been identified as an environmentally friendly technology that is based on renewable energy and encompasses integration of livestock and crop production systems. Draft animal technology provides farmers with a possibility to cheaply access and use manure from the draft animals and farm power needed to apply renewable practices for land intensification. Compared to m...

This paper uses real options analysis, specifically a hybrid Monte Carlo simulation – decision tree analysis as well as a binomial tree analysis, to look at optimal decisionmaking for investment by a small community wind farm under uncertainty. In particular, the uncertainty due to forecasting of electricity prices and the potential for carbon pricing are considered. Two options are considered:...