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Jagelavičius, Žydrūnas. "Ūkininko ūkio finansinės būklės ir rezultatų vertinimo metodikos tobulinimas palyginamumo požiūriu." Master's thesis, Lithuanian Academic Libraries Network (LABT), 2009. http://vddb.library.lt/obj/LT-eLABa-0001:E.02~2009~D_20090608_152750-19390.
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Tyrimo objektas – ūkininko ūkio finansinės būklės ir rezultatų vertinimas.
Darbo tikslas – sudaryti ūkininko ūkio finansinės būklės ir rezultatų vertinimo metodiką, grindžiamą palyginamumo principu.
Tyrimo tikslui pasiekti darbe numatoma išspręsti šiuos uždavinius:
1. atskleisti finansinės būklės ir rezultatų vertinimo metodikos esmę;
2. identifikuoti žemės ūkio produkcijos gamybos ir apskaitos specifikos veiksnius, sąlygojančius atskiros finansinės būklės ir rezultatų vertinimo metodikos ūkiui poreikį;
3. atlikti identifikuotų veiksnių sąlygojamas ūkio apskaitos ir santykinių finansinių rodiklių apskaičiavimo metodikos korekcijas, grindžiamas palyginamumo principu;
4. sudaryti ūkininko ūkio finansinės būklės ir rezultatų vertinimo metodiką, grindžiamą turinio svarbos prieš formą ir palyginamumo principais;
5. empiriškai patikrinti sudarytą finansinės analizės metodiką panaudojant ūkio finansinės atskaitomybės duomenis.
Tyrimo metodai: teisinės, ekonominės ir mokslinės literatūros analizė ir sintezė, loginė analizė ir sintezė, prognozinės ūkio finansinės atskaitomybės panaudojimas, santykinių pokyčių skaičiavimas, apskaičiuotų statistinių dydžių sisteminimas (lentelių sudarymas), palyginamoji finansinių rodiklių analizė, gautų rezultatų apibendrinimas ir išvadų formulavimas.
Tyrimo rezultatai:
• pirmoje darbo dalyje atskleista finansinės būklės ir rezultatų vertinimo metodikos esmė, kuri apibrėžta kaip taisyklių, reikalavimų, metodų ir būdų visuma finansinei informacijai apie... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]Research object – the evaluation of farmer’s farm financial state and results. Research aim – to compose the methodics of evaluation of financial situation and results in the farmer’s farm based by the comparability principle. Objectives: 1. to disclose the essence of methodics of evaluation of financial state and results; 2. to identify the factors of specifics of agricultural production and accounting taking influence on demand of individual methodics of evaluation of financial state and results in the farm; 3. to perform the corrections in farm accounting and methodics of calculation of comparative financial indicators influenced by the identified factors and based by the comparability principle; 4. to compose the methodics of evaluation of financial situation and results in the farmer’s farm based by the content importance prior to form and the comparability principles; 5. to verify empirically the prepared methodics of financial analysis using the farm financial accountability data. Research methods: analysis and synthesis of juristic, economic and scientific literature, logical analysis and synthesis, use of farm prognostic financial accountability, calculation of comparative variation, filing of counted statistic dimensions (formation of tables), comparable analysis of financial indicators, generalization of obtained results and formulation of conclusions. Research results: • in the first part of work the essence of methodics of evaluation of financial state and... [to full text]
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Sorensen, Emily Allyson. "Modeling Whole Farm Systems to Enhance Beginning Small Farmer Success in Southwest Virginia." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/72282.
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The number of very small farms (<10 acres) is increasing and beginning farmers (in practice for <10 years) are more likely to run them. Very small farms are typically complex systems in which the farmer manages both production of a diverse array of crops and marketing of crops directly to consumers and their failure rate in early years is high. This work seeks to increase the likelihood of success for beginning farmers by understanding these complex systems better. We collected qualitative and quantitative data from interviews with three successful beginning farm operations in Southwest Virginia covering practical and philosophical aspects of farm production, sales and management. We mapped social, environmental and economic aspects of farming systems and studied how farmers use resources (Community Capitals) and management to enhance their system's success, developing a broader definition of success that encompasses what farmers gain from farming beyond profitability. Using these maps, we created a system dynamics model of a small farm system in STELLA including unique components such as customer attraction and retention. Through model development, we learned that these successful farmers began their operations with experience and financial resources, and employed their skills, resourcefulness and cultural and social capital to charge prices for their products that could sustain their operations financially. Using our model, current and aspiring farmers, service providers, and small farm advocates will be able to simulate real or hypothetical farm systems to better understand what establishing a successful small farm might require and how to confront potential challenges.Master of Science
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Makhura, Moraka Thomas. "Overcoming transaction costs barriers to market participation of smallholder farmers in the Northern Province of South Africa." Pretoria : [s.n.], 2001. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-09012001-131116/.
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Mark, Allyssa. "Effects of Farm and Household Decisions on Labor Allocation and Profitability of Beginning Vegetable Farms in Virginia: a Linear Programming Model." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/70975.
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The United States is facing a rising average age of principal farm operators and a decline in number of beginning farmers. With numerous barriers and challenges resulting in many farm failures, a majority of beginning farmers are relying on off-farm income to support their households. Decision-making and farm business planning are difficult skills to develop and improve, and the ability to develop a plan to balance on- and off-farm labor could allow farmers to make more profitable decisions. In this study, a General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) is used to develop a labor management planning framework for use by Virginia's beginning vegetable farmers or service providers, such as extension agents, with the goal of improving total (on- and off-farm) profitability and farm viability. Study findings suggest that a willingness to work of 12 hours per day, 365 days per year and hired labor costs of $9.30 per hour, which is the national average for agricultural workers encourage a farmer to maintain an off-farm job, while a relatively lower off-farm wage or salary may encourage a farmer to work on the farm only. Lastly, higher hired labor costs may encourage a farmer to pursue his or her most profitable work opportunity, be it on- or off-farm, without hiring labor to maintain the farm. The model developed in this study may be used to plan multiple years of farm management to include anticipated changes in off-farm employment opportunities, land availability, product mix, and access to farm labor. The author suggests that beginning farmers who use this planning tool are able to make more informed decisions related to allocation of labor time and resources, resulting in lower failure rates for beginning farmers in Virginia. A user-friendly interface may be developed based on the study framework, to strengthen the results and increase the practicality of the tool.Master of Science
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O'Leary, Niall. "Farmer attributes associated with farm profitability : a study of dairy farms in Great Britain." Thesis, University of Reading, 2017. http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/75745/.
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How farmer attributes influence farm businesses performance and profitability is poorly understood. This thesis sets out to ascertain the farmer attributes that are associated with farm performance and profitability. For the first time from a farm management perspective, the management and job performance literature is reviewed comprehensively. A broad exploratory study focusing on farmer attitudes is reported along with a focused study on farmer personality attributes. Participants in both studies were dairy farmers in Great Britain. Linear models are presented in both studies. Just six and three variables were included in each model in the respective attitudes and personality studies. Models in both studies predict more than 40% of the variation in profitability. Cumulatively, more than half the profitability variation can be predicted by the GCA, Detail Conscientious competence, Leadership competence, temperament, attitudes and beliefs of farmers. These findings underline the major significance farm manager attributes are likely to have in driving farm profitability. The qualification ‘likely’ is used as causality has yet to be clearly established in agriculture (unlike in other sectors). The findings reported here relating to dairy farms are consistent with findings in other sectors. They thus appear to be broadly applicable and so likely to be of similar relevance to farms in sectors other than dairy. The effect sizes and the proportion of variation explained are large and may be surprising but are also similar to those found in other sectors. Strategic development and management of the highlighted farmer attributes is advised to facilitate potentially large improvements in farm profitability and financial viability. For farm management research, these may be pivotal findings offering several promising avenues for future research.
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Wadud, Md Abdul. "Farm efficiency in Bangladesh." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/184.
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This thesis examines farm-level efficiency of rice farmers in the High Barind region of Bangladesh by estimating technical, allocative and economic efficiency using farm level cross section survey data. Two contrasting methods for measuring efficiency are applied: the stochastic econometric frontier and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). These measures are used to investigate the factors associated with technical, allocative and economic inefficiency. First, technical efficiency is computed by estimating the translog stochastic frontier in which technical inefficiency effects are modelled as a function of socioeconomic, infrastructure and environmental degradation factors in a single stage estimation technique using maximum likelihood method. Technical and scale efficiency are calculated by solving output- and input-oriented constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS) DEA frontiers. A Tobit model is used to evaluate factors associated with technical and scale inefficiency from both input-oriented and output-oriented CRS and VRS frontiers. Same factors are analyzed as in the translog stochastic frontier. The translog stochastic frontier results show that farm households are, on average, 79 per cent technically efficient. The output-oriented DEA frontier results show that the average technical efficiency estimates are 79 and 86 per cent under CRS and VRS assumptions and the average scale efficiency is 92 per cent. The average values for technical efficiency measures and scale efficiency from the input-oriented CRS and VRS frontiers are 79, 85 and 93 per cent respectively. The translog stochastic frontier exhibits decreasing returns to scale, whereas the DEA frontier exhibits decreasing, constant and increasing returns to scale. The technical inefficiency effects model in the translog stochastic frontier and Tobit analysis for DEA frontier show that irrigation infrastructure and environmental degradation are significant factors in determining technical inefficiency. We then measure technical, allocative and economic efficiency by estimating the Cobb- Douglas stochastic frontier following the Kopp and Diewert cost decomposition technique and by running input-oriented CRS and VRS DEA frontier models. We estimate the Tobit model to analyze the factors associated with technical, allocative and economic inefficiency from the DEA frontiers. In addition, we compare the results obtained from both the Cobb- Douglas stochastic frontier and DEA frontiers. The results from the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier shows that the average technical, allocative and economic efficiency of farm households are 80, 77, and 61 per cent respectively. The input-oriented CRS frontier results show that farm households have, on average, 86, 91 and 78 per cent technical, allocative and economic efficiency and the corresponding VRS frontier shows that farm households are, on average, 91, 87 and 79 per cent technically, allocatively and economically efficient. An evaluation of factors associated with technical, allocative and economic inefficiency from both the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier and DEA frontier reveals that irrigation infrastructure and environmental degradation are the most statistically significant factors affecting technical, allocative and economic inefficiency. This implies that diesel-operated pumps and environmental degradation are not only reducing output from given inputs but are also causing sub-optimal cost-minimizing input decisions. Assessing efficiency suggests that there is a considerable amount of inefficiency among farm households and there is room for enhancing rice production through the improvement of technical, allocative and economic efficiency without resort to technical improvements. Farm households could reduce their variable production costs, on average, between 21 - 31 per cent if they could utilize their inputs in a technically and allocatively efficient manner. An evaluation of factors associated with inefficiency concludes that government electrification programmes which convert diesel pumps into electricity-operated pumps for irrigation in rural areas and policies which lead to reduced environmental degradation would reduce inefficiency, thereby increasing rice production and the welfare of farm households.
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Mohammed, Anisa A. "Urban Farm." VCU Scholars Compass, 2007. http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd_retro/154.
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According to Michael Pollan's article in Mother Jones Magazine, "The typical fruit or vegetable on an American's plate travels some 1,500 miles to get there, and is frequently better traveled and more worldly than its eater" (Pollan 38). The majority of citizens living in or near metropolitan centers rarely come in contact with produce pre-barcode; that is, produce still connected to the earth or not yet processed for mass distribution and consumption. This is especially the case in urban settings where land is at a premium and is valued more for residential and commercial purposes than for food production. In the case of U.S. cities, though we produce sufficiently to feed our population, the majority of produce consumed is grown outside of state lines if not entirely outside of the country. "In 2004, the U.S. exported nearly $20 million worth of lettuce - over 3/4 of it grown in California - to Mexico. The same year, it imported $20 million worth of Mexican lettuce" (Pollan 43). It is far more likely that urbanites seek references from their car mechanics and tailors than from producers of the food they consume. Locally grown and consumed food has several quality-of-life enhancing attributes, most importantly providing fresher, more nutritious produce with a known history, increased self-sufficiency with respect to food, and reduced environmental impact caused by reduced inter and intra-national transportation.
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Perkin, P. "An investigation into the relationship between farm and farmer characteristics and objectives among a sample of farmers in Berkshire." Thesis, University of Reading, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.332224.
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Peacock, Frances Louise. "My daddy's farm." Virtual Press, 1997. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1045628.
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My Daddy's Farm is a work of fiction about Clement J. Jones, a man, my great-grandfather, who committed suicide on November 19, 1924. In the early nineteen-twenties, this family man was a well respected, wealthy citizen of his county who--like one-third of his peers--had an active membership in the Indiana Ku Klux Klan. The story is narrated in part by a slightly sympathetic omniscient narrator, but mainly by Hazel Louise Jones, his daughter, who was in her teens when the Klan swept across Indiana in the nineteen-twenties; she was sixteen when her father committed suicide on November 19th, 1924.I have used three variations in this writing, based loosely on the style Gloria Naylor uses in Mama Day. These variations are characterized by the titles of their respective sections: "Our Spring," "Our Farm," "Our Family," and "Our Shame" are all narrated in first person, past tense, by Hazel Jones, Clement's sixteen year old daughter who is speaking as a representative of her family; "Clement J. Jones" and "Hazel Louise Jones" are written in third person, limited omniscient narration; and, "To Margaret," and "To Daddy" sections are present tense, with second person narration from Hazel Jones. Starting with "Our Shame," the story is punctuated by "Document" selections posted at the close of each chapter. These documents are nonfiction: they are news articles taken directly from the Indianapolis Star, the Williamsport Review-Republican, and the Williamsport Pioneer dated 1922, 1923, and 1924; and, they are papers taken out of the "United Klans of America" collection located in the Archives and Special Collections department of Bracken Library, Ball State University.Among sources listed on page 71 of this document, there are a few that were most helpful in providing details about the Indiana Klan: Anti Movements in America, edited by Gerald N. Grob, which reprints "Papers Read at the Meeting of Grand Dragons Knights of the Ku Klux Klan at their First Annual Meeting held at Asheville, North Carolina, July 1923"; and Women of the Klan, by Kathleen M. Blee. Exceptionally helpful was William Lutholtz's Grand Dragon, a well researched work of non-fiction about D.C. Stephenson's rise to power in the Indiana Klan and the development of the Indiana Klan.Three works of fiction especially provided creative direction for this thesis: Mama Day, by Gloria Naylor; Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood; and, In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim OBrien.Department of English
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Ngcobo, Phumelele Nondumiso. "Implementation Evaluation Of The Smallholder Farmer Support Programme And Its Likelihood Of Increasing Farm Productivity: A Case Of “Abalimi Phambili Project”, Jozini, Kwazulu-Natal." Master's thesis, Faculty of Commerce, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30870.
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Farmer support programmes are aimed at assisting in unlocking barriers faced by smallholder farmers. These programmes were implemented many years ago by the public and private sector. However, research continues to show that the increase in the number of these initiatives and in budgets/expenditures have not equally translated into an increase in the number of smallholder farmers advancing to commercial status. Therefore, this evaluation research is focused on assessing the implementation progress of a farmer support programme being implemented in Jozini, KwaZulu-Natal. The aim is to assess whether or not the programme is implemented according to the theory of change and to assess the likelihood of the programme achieving its intended outcomes. Both the quantitative and qualitative approaches were applied to collect and analyse data. Quantitative data was made up of project data and qualitative data was obtained through conducting in-depth interviews with farmers currently participating in the programme. Findings from this paper are expected to add to the existing body of knowledge in terms of strengthening and improving the design of farmer support programmes; to emphasise the importance of conducting implementation evaluations to assess programme performance early in implementation; to better understand what is working or not during implementation; and to understand why this is so.
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McFadden, Caterina M. "An Urban Dwelling Place for Farmers." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36087.
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It is my intention to plan for the types of activity carried out by future inhabitants of vertical farms. Through a twenty-six storey high building,a conceptual farm with housing for the producers, situated amongst dense urban fabric of Baltimore Maryland, architecture is explored.
Utilizing form, order and space, architecture has a responsibility to construct the interalia or main theatre of human function. The architect
has a fiduciary responsible to determine the design and purpose of the stage, setting limits on the types of drama that the inhabitants play.
From spacious rural cultivator with evocative farmhouses, to confined urban neo-farmer, the stage for dwelling is extremely critical to
determine. These displaced farmers do not perform all typical city functions, but they are confined as city dwellers. For them, it remains
critical to be connected with nature and neighbor. Urban farmers need housing that enhances their quality of life. Rather than imposing
regulated apartment space for one inhabitant, the city comes forth to them in a different light, with many open neighborhood spaces for
interaction and farm activity within a merging dual structure. The dialog the two concepts (city dwelling and farming) play as they join, dwell
on a relationship of graphic tools such as rotation, scale, thickness and transparency. Further opportunity exists to investigate the act of labor(natural) and work (physical) of the urban neo-farmer, in a tall building in an effort to provide insight to their human condition. One
activity that is part of being an urban neo-farmer may be the practice of cleaning off boots and placing them in lockers before returning home
after a long work day.Master of Architecture
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Rigdon, Leah Rachel. "Linking rural vendors with urban public markets institutional constraints and possibilities in the evolution of urban food systems /." Auburn, Ala., 2007. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/2007%20Spring%20Theses/RIGDON_LEAH_25.pdf.
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Benu, Fredrik Lukas. "Farm productivity and farmers' welfare in West Timor, Indonesia." Curtin University of Technology, Muresk Institute of Agriculture, 2003. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=14865.
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This study examines agricultural productivity and farmers' welfare in West Timor, Indonesia. The driving force behind this study is to understand why the welfare of farmers has lagged behind others despite significant growth in the agricultural sector. The main research problem in this study is that while agricultural production has increased significantly in West Timor, the welfare of farmers has not increased as fast as that of non-farmers. To reduce the gap in income between farmers and nonfarmers, the growth of income of West Timor's farmers, as the indicator of their welfare, has to accelerate at least as fast as the growth of non-farmers' income. This target might be achieved if there is an appropriate policy of agricultural development implemented by the government. For this reason, evaluation of the structure of agricultural production, as well as the welfare of the farmers of West Timor, is an important issue that needs to be addressed. This study analyses the structure of agricultural production and the welfare of farmers in West Timor. An econometric method (Three Stage Least Squares) was used in modelling the agricultural system to evaluate the structure of the agricultural production as well as farmers' welfare in West Timor. A simultaneous equations model which consists of eight structural and four identity equations was constructed for the analysis of the structure, the estimation of elasticities from the regression coefficients and the subsequent policy analysis. The data used for the analysis are secondary data published by the Indonesian government.All data used in the model were time series data from 1979 to 1998 and gathered in the period between January and July 1999. The results of this research found that technical factors such as water availability. pasture capacity and irrigation channels influence the production of agriculture more than economic factors such as the price of products and cost of inputs. Too, population growth and the availability of socio-economic institutions such as cooperatives at the village level. have a significant influence on the agricultural production. Although technical factors influence the production of agriculture more than economic factors, subsequent policy analysis shows that an increase in agricultural credit as well as a reduction in the cost of production will still have a positive impact on the production of agriculture. A policy to increase the price of agricultural commodities at the farm gate, especially the price of live cattle and rice, will increase the profit of farmers, further motivating them to increase their overall production. There are six scenarios of the policy alternatives that are simulated in this study. These are: (1) the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the size of irrigated areas, (2) the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the amount of credit, (3) the scenario of a 35 per cent decrease in total cost per hectare of maize cultivation, (4) the scenario of a 10 units increase in the number of cooperatives, (5) the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the price of live cattle at the farm gate, and (6) the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the price of rice at the farm gate.
The results of the policy analysis found that the largest positive impact on the agricultural sector output as well as farmers per capita income is derived from the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the size of irrigated area. The scenarios of increasing amount of agricultural credit and the number of co-operatives have also generated a large positive impact on the agricultural sector output, but with a high increase in farmer population growth. Two other scenarios that have a large impact on the agricultural sector output as well as farmers' per capita income are the scenario of a 10 per cent increase in the price of live cattle and the price of rice. Based on the results of the policy analysis, two main policies that might be undertaken by the government to promote the growth of the agricultural sector and farmers' per capita income are expansion of irrigated areas and improving farmers' access to agricultural credit.
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Douarin, Elodie. "Decoupled Farm Payments and Changes in Farmers' Intended Behaviour." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.485424.
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The objective of this thesis is to assess the impact of the 2003 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) refonn and the implementation of decoupled supports on the fanning sector in three EU- J5 countries, namely England, France and Sweden. The main assumption behind the research is that the shift from coupled to decoupled payments will change the remuneration of productive inputs and therefore have an impact on fanners' distribution of allocatable fixed resources between on- and off-fann activities. T~~ thesis focuses more specifically on two factors of agricultural production: labour and lanl The thesis presents a conceptual framework of decoupling and its impacts on land and labour decisions based on economic rationality. On this basis, it empirically explores the detenninants of the intentions to exit and alter the size ofthe fann (measured in land area) and of operators' time allocation between on- and off-fann activities, within a 5-year time horizon from 2006, under three policy scenarios, namely a counterfactual continuing Agenda 2000, the implementation of the Single Fann payment ,as decided in the countries studied and an hypothetical full decoupling scenario. The investigation of the detenninants of intentions in response to a policy change relies on economic and socio-psychological factors to allow interpreting intended behaviours deviating from the prediction of the conceptual model. The main findings of the rese~'rch indicate that fanners are planning some limited adjustments ,consistent with decoupling and that operators' attitudes and opinions do impact on their plans. The first chapter of the thesis introduces the bac;kground and the objectives of the study. Chapter 2 focuses on decoupling and its expected'impacts on fanners and the fanning sector, and the tools available to study those impacts. The motivations and drawbacks behind the choice of a survey of intentions are presented, as well as the interest of using sociopsychological variables in such a context. Chapter 3 is concerned with the questions of exit/growth and time allocation and the development of a conceptual framework within which these can be studied. Methodological approaches and hypotheses are derived. Chapter 4 presents the characteristics of the case-study countries. Chapter 5 is focusing on data requirement and collection. Finally, chapter 6 and 7 present the results and policy implications focusing on exit/growth and time allocation respectively, while chapter 8 concludes.
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Mathenge, Mary W. Kiiru. "Essays on off-farm labor market participation, farm production decisions and household economic wellbeing empirical evidence from rural Kenya /." Diss., Connect to online resource - MSU authorized users, 2008.
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Flower, Todd E. "Characteristics of farm operator attitudes and interest in agroforestry in Missouri /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2004. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p1426055.
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Mbwika, James M. "Kenya smallholder farmer education and farm productivity." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/29578.
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This research was undertaken to study the effect of education on small farm revenues and profits in Kenya. Schooling (defined as the number of school standards completed by the farm operator) was used as the most important source of education. It was hypothesized that schooling has a positive effect on farm revenues and profits. The effect of other sources of information viz; extension contact, demonstration attendance and baraza attendance on farm revenues and profits were also investigated.
The research was done using regression analysis where these variables and other farm activity relevant variables were fitted in regression equations. The choice of these variables
were based on economic theory, Kenya small farm characteristics and the objective of the study. Several factors would qualify as supporting evidence for the argument that educated farmers are more productive. We expect educated farmers to be more informed in terms of use of new production technologies. Education as a source of human capital also enhances the productive abilities of human beings and also enables those who have invested in education to use their resources more efficiently as well as adjusting to new "ways of producing more efficiently".
In the current study we find that schooling of the farm operator is positively related to level of expenditure on farm purchased variable inputs. This indicates that education enhances adoption of new technologies and innovativeness. Further it was shown that farmers with more education earned more value added per acre from their farm business compared to their less educated counterparts. On the overall farm activity, farmers with eight or more standards of schooling earned upto 80.2% in value added per acre compared to those who had no schooling.
The regression estimates were done on a stepwise procedure where farm specific enterprises
were estimated separately and then aggregated and estimated as one farm sector. Thus a crop equation, a livestock equation and a total farm output equation were estimated.
This model was then developed into a variable profit function. A simple linear function procedure was used in the regression analysis.
In all the estimated value added equations the schooling coefficient was positive and significant at 5% level two tail t-test. As we move from farm specific activities to a farm aggregate output model and lastly to value added model the schooling coefficient increased in size confirming the positive role of education in allocative effect. These results show that schooling plays an important role in allocation of other purchased inputs and also choice of crop mix and input selection. The estimated marginal return to schooling of farm operator in the profit function was Kshs.281. In an earlier function where schooling of the farm operator was fitted into a total farm income equation the estimated marginal return to schooling was Kshs.778.89.
When schooling of the farm operator is allowed to interact with extension service the estimated interaction variable coefficient is negative showing the two act as substitute sources of knowledge, and the schooling coefficient increased in size showing that those who had both schooling and extension service earned comparatively more farm revenues.
The role of other educative factors like extension service, demonstration attendance, and baraza attendance in influencing agricultural production was investigated. Regression
results showed that extension contact had a negative and significant effect on farm revenues and profits. Demonstration and baraza attendance had similar effects on farm revenues and profits.
In the value added function hired labour variable was fitted as the cost of hired labour per day. The estimated coefficient for this variable was positive and significant at 5%. The estimated coefficient for this variable shows hired labour is not optimally used, and farmers can increase their farm profits by hiring more labour. When this variable was fitted as the wage rate paid to hired labour per day the estimated coefficient was positive and significant. These results indicate that cost of hired labour depends on its quality. In the sales function hired labour was specified as mandays of hired labour per year and the estimated coefficient which reflects the shadow price of labour was higher than average hired labour wage rate implying that this factor is underemployed.
In the sales function the estimated coefficient for the value of purchased inputs variable indicates that there is an element of underutilization of these inputs. This variable is fitted in value terms and in profit maximizing conditions the estimated coefficient is expected to be no different from unit. However, the estimated coefficient for this variable is approximately 2.5 showing a shilling spent on purchased inputs will bring forth 2.5 shillings. Thus an increase in the use of purchased inputs will increase farm revenues.
Results show evidence of regional differences in farmer productivity and utilization of purchased inputs in favour of Central province.
The study is based on the 1982 CBS-IDS-World Bank Household Survey of Rural Kenya data set.Land and Food Systems, Faculty of
Graduate
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Nickolai, Carol A. "Ella Sharp's Hillside Farm expressions of class and gender in nineteenth century rural Michigan /." Columbia, S.C. : South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2002. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/50564150.html.
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Zhao, Zishi. "Analysis on rationalizing Chinese landless farmer's compensation." abstract only (free order & download UNR users only), 2007. http://0-gateway.proquest.com.innopac.library.unr.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:1446448.
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Hawley, John L. "The Role of Utah Farmers in Farm to School Programming." DigitalCommons@USU, 2017. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6087.
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Many studies have observed the involvement of stakeholders in farm to school (FTS) programming to further understand their role, yet no study had previously assessed the role of Utah farmers in FTS programming. As a result, the purpose of this research was to describe Utah farmers' role in FTS programming and their interest in institutional marketing of local foods. The researcher sent an online descriptive survey to 5,470 farmers belonging to the Utah Farm Bureau. The survey used Dillman's Tailored Design Method. Of the 184 survey responses received, 143 surveys were usable.
The theory of planned behavior was the theoretical framework for the study. Respondents reported a positive attitude toward FTS programming, although a majority (83.6%) had not participated. They indicated that building relationships with community members and increasing awareness of local food were top benefits associated with FTS programming. Top barriers to participating in FTS programming included a lack of information about schools seeking to purchase local products and restriction of growing seasons. Respondents indicated that they intended to host farm tours for students and food service personnel. Their training and resource needs related to FTS programming included small business assistance. Demographics characteristics revealed a majority of respondents were male and had more than 22 years of farming experience. The subjective norm and perceived behavioral control components of the theory of planned behavior statistically predicted the intention of respondents to participate in farm to school programming. Theory components, including attitude, accounted for 67.2% of the variance in intention to participate in FTS programming. These findings suggest other influences contributed to the intention of respondents to participate in FTS programming.
One future research recommendation for FTS programming includes conducting similar studies with different groups of farmers. The researcher recommends continued use of the theory of planned behavior as a theoretical framework for studies assessing involvement in FTS programming. Variables not included in this study may discover further influences on farmers' intention to participate in FTS programming. One recommendation is to increase outreach and marketing to farmers who may be interested in FTS programming.
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Chea, Sareth. "Economics of rice double-cropping in rainfed lowland areas of Cambodia : a farm-level analysis /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2002. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe16913.pdf.
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Johansson, Marie. "FORETELL." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Designhögskolan vid Umeå universitet, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-110635.
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Today’s farmers gut feeling and Fingerspitzengefühl comes from a learning by doing. By year 2025 farmers will have less know-how than today. Foretell supports the farmers in developing their gut feeling and lead more efficient farms. By visualising data, the system provides a comprehensive overview of the farm, both in the tractor, the barn, at the field and in the office. In the transition from running a family farm to become an entrepreneur with an own company has resulted in that the farmers need to supervise the farm’s production but also have control of external conditions. Future farmers needs to quicker become experts. Through research and user studies the system Foretell have been created. Foretell connects the data available today and displays it where it is needed and when it is suitable. The mobile application shows information on the go. While the desktop version gives the user better planning tools. A new precision farming input is added in form of a near-infra-red camera that detects the plants health. With all pieces together Foretell is bringing gut feeling to farmers!
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Gandee, Jesse E. "Modeling direct farm marketing in West Virginia a spatial, policy, and profitability analysis /." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2003. http://etd.wvu.edu/templates/showETD.cfm?recnum=2842.
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Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2003.Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 87 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 84-87).
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Guilhermino, Magda Maria. "The use of information systems by dairy farmers in England and Wales." Thesis, University of Reading, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.283608.
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Crow, G. P. "Agricultural rationalization : The fate of family farmers in post-war Britain." Thesis, University of Essex, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.377083.
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Ku, Tsun-Yao. "Educational needs in farm management skills of Taiwan's core rice farmers /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2002. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p3074418.
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Musonzo, Charity Priscilla. "Malawi Farm Input Subsidy Programme - impact on income of smallholder farmers." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29044.
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Agriculture is the single most important sector in Malawi due to its contribution to the economy ranging from employment creation, contribution to GDP growth to source of foreign exchange earnings. These significant contributions have necessitated the Government of Malawi to develop strategies and policies such as the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), whose main aim is to increase household incomes and reduce food insecurity and ultimately reduce poverty. It is nine years since the introduction of FISP but its results remain mixed. Using the 2009/10 Integrated Household Survey Phase 3 (IHS3) dataset, a logistic regression in a multivariate data analysis approach was used to investigate the impact of FISP on income levels and food security of rural smallholder farmers in Malawi. The analysis showed that about 82 percent of smallholder farmers live in rural areas, about 75 percent of them were males, 71 percent were married, 70 percent did not go to school and 69 percent benefited from FISP. In farming, 68 percent of these smallholder farmers had less than 1 hectare of farms, 70 percent of them had labour force of less than 5 people, 51 percent of them harvest less than 5 bags of 50kgs of maize of which 92 percent sell most of their harvested maize and 89 percent of them receive less than MK5, 000 from sales. In addition, about 99 percent of these smallholder farmers were food insecure as they save less than 1 bag of 50kgs after harvest. Only 1 percent of these smallholder farmers receive remittances and 21 percent had other income generating activities (IGAs). Demographic and socio-economic factors have no impact on these farmers capability to increase income levels and enhance their food security. There is also no statistically significant difference between FISP beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries in terms of capabilities of increasing incomes and enhancing food security. It is, therefore, concluded that FISP had no significant impact on the abilities of these smallholder farmers to increase their incomes and enhancing their food security. Hence, FISP did not prove to be the best food security and poverty alleviation tool in Malawi.
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Peoples, Susan J., and n/a. "Farm women : diverse encounters with discourse and agency." University of Otago. Department of Geography, 2007. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20071127.160311.
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This thesis contributes to the established literature on farm women within the context of family farming. It recognises that not enough is yet known about the discourses and agency which influence their lives. Consequently, this study has sought to establish what dominant discourses shape the lives of farm women, their responses to these discourses and how their discursive positioning influences their agency.
This study employed a qualitative case study approach involving interviews with a diverse mixture of independent farm women, along with women farming in marital relationships. This thesis engages these narratives to showcase the colourful, complex life-experiences of farm women. In addition, and where present, women�s partners were interviewed to provide male farmers� perspectives about women in family farming.
This research has found that women�s lives are shaped by positioning and contextualising discourses, with which they comply to ensure that the family farm survives. Their subservient discursive positioning limits the agency they can express, although they are able to mobilise indirect agency through supporting their partner; an implicit form of agency which has previously been unrecognised or understated.
Cumulatively, this thesis highlights the need to recognise the diversity of farm women, and how they are able to exercise agency from their constrained subject positions within the family farming context. Furthermore it emphasises that agency is a dynamic, and far more varied concept than previously understood.
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Parkins, J. "Farm forestry networking, farmer group development in Kenya." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp04/mq21199.pdf.
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Munz, Stevie M. "The Farmer's Wife: An Oral History Project." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1469038905.
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Harper, Cecil. "Farming Someone Else's Land: Farm Tenancy in the Texas Brazos River Valley, 1850-1880." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1988. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc332078/.
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This dissertation develops and utilizes a methodology for combining data drawn from the manuscript census returns and the county tax rolls to study landless farmers during the period from 1850 until 1880 in three Texas Brazos River Valley counties: Fort Bend, Milam, and Palo Pinto. It focuses in particular on those landless farmers who appear to have had no option other than tenant farming. It concludes that there were such landless farmers throughout the period, although they were a relatively insignificant factor in the agricultural economy before the Civil War. During the Antebellum decade, poor tenant farmers were a higher proportion of the population on the frontier than in the interior, but throughout the period, they were found in higher numbers in the central portion of the river valley. White tenants generally avoided the coastal plantation areas, although by 1880, that pattern seemed to be changing. Emancipation had tremendous impact on both black and white landless farmers. Although both groups were now theoretically competing for the same resource, productive crop land, their reactions during the first fifteen years were so different that it suggests two systems of tenant farming divided by caste. As population expansion put increasing pressure on the land, the two systems began to merge on terms resembling those under which black tenants had always labored.
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Cloonan, Daniel Peter. "The extension need : learning through dialogue : a theory-informed extension practice /." View thesis View thesis, 1996. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20030529.132358/index.html.
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Thesis (M. Sc. (Hons.)--University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 1996."A thesis submitted to the School of Agriculture and Rural Development, University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury for the degree of Master of Science (Honours) -- T.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-183).
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Proulx, Francine Pamela. "The impact of farm women's external employment on farm and family functioning: a case study of Virginia." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/45922.
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Many American farmers have faced financial stress in the early 1980s unprecedented since the Depression. Simultaneously, farm wives have joined the off-farm labor market at rates exceeding urban women. Since prior research has found different correlates of family functioning and of external employment for rural and urban families, this descriptive study of Virginia farm wives (N = 128) investigated the impact of farm wives' external employment on the functioning of the farm and the farm family. While the sample did not represent the total Virginia farm population, it did appear to represent the financially stressed farm population. A comparison of employed farm wives (E = 57) and non-employed wives (N = 71) was analyzed to determine differences. Dependent variables affecting farm functioning included the farm's debt-to-asset ratio indicating the financial _ stress level, the wife's mental strain due to economic pressures, and lifestyle satisfaction. Dependent variables affecting family functioning were the wife's marital adjustment, psychological well being, and overall life satisfaction. The results indicated that the wife's external employment had a significantly negative impact on farm functioning. Wives working off the farm were more likely to come from farms with greater financial stress and were less satisfied with the equity factor of their lifestyle satisfaction. While mental strain was not significantly higher, more than one-third of employed wives experienced high mental strain. A signficantly negative impact on family functioning was not found although employed farm wives reported lower marital adjustment and overall life satisfaction with proportionately fewer employed farm wives than nonemployed wives reporting positive psychological well-being.
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Barhoum, Saer Issa. "Risk and farmers' decisions to farm organically : the case of Devon (UK)." Thesis, University of Plymouth, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/2698.
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Over the past few decades, the organic sector in most developed countries has flourished. Growth in the sector has been paralleled by a substantial amount of research on several arenas (see Cobb et al. 1999; Robles et al. 2005; Jackson and Lampkin 2008; Lobley et al. 2009c; among others). Reasons for adopting organic farming have been studied in a variety of instances (Padel 2001a). Although there is a considerable body of evidence that supports the distinctly ‘risky nature’ of organic farming, our identification and understanding of how this nature affects farmers’ decisions whether or not to farm organically are limited (see, for example, Lockeretz 1995; Duram 1999; Midmore et al. 2001; Baecke et al. 2002; Hattam 2006). It seems that there has been widespread acceptance of the hypothesis that organic farmers are more likely to be risk-takers compared to non-organic farmers. Similarly, the hypothesis that organic farmers with Non-Farming Backgrounds (NFBs) may have different attitudes towards risk has not been investigated yet through detailed empirical analysis. Accordingly, this thesis seeks to analyse the importance of farmers’ willingness to take risk in organic farming in their decisions regarding the adoption of organic farming where it is assumed that there is a link between attitudes and behaviours. The thesis employs a variety of methods: a questionnaire; familiarisation; in-depth interviews; and secondary data. The findings of this thesis suggest that not all sources and types of risks associated with organic farming are differently perceived by non-organic and organic farmers. In Devon (i.e. the study area), more non-organic than organic farmers mentioned the existence of ‘farm-related risks’ and ‘risks related to farmers’ belief’. Further, ‘risks related to financial returns’ were perceived to be of concern by non-organic farmers compared to their organic counterparts. On the other hand, other types and sources of risks associated with organic farming were equally perceived to be of concern by both groups. As expected, the recent risky environment of organic farming played a significant role in this respect (see also de Buck et al. 2001; Flaten et al. 2005). The wider environment was moreover the cause of greater concern regarding production, market and institutional risks (as opposed to personal ones) among organic farmers in Devon at the time of the questionnaire survey, when compared to the level of concern at the time of adoption. This shows that perceptions of types and sources of risks associated with organic farming are subject to change across time (CRER 2002). Compared to their non-organic counterparts, organic farmers in Devon were willing to take risk in organic farming. With regard to risk in farming and to risk in general, more organic farmers expressed risk-taking attitudes than did their non-organic counterparts. Consequently, and based on the main reasons for adoption and non-adoption of organic farming, this thesis suggests that willingness to take risk in organic farming acts as an extremely significant trigger for the uptake of organic farming. This in turn confirms what has been emphasised by many researchers (see Baecke et al. 2002; Acs et al. 2005; Serra et al. 2008; among others). It also suggests that investigations into people’s behaviours and decisions in relation to a ‘risky activity’ should take into account their attitudes towards risk in that activity. This thesis, in common with other studies (e.g. Kaltoft 1999; Lobley et al. 2005), also shows evidence of heterogeneity among organic farmers. A small group of organic farmers in Devon from NFBs was in search of the ‘good life’ and wanted to produce public goods from organic farming. Although technical, market and institutional risks associated with organic farming were of concern to organic farmers from NFBs in this study, these farmers did not have distinct risk perceptions. In contrast, they had distinct attitudes towards risk in organic farming. More organic farmers from NFBs than organic farmers from Farming Backgrounds (FBs) were willing to take risk in organic farming. Finally, and in accordance with Morris and Potter’s (1995) work, this thesis has placed 79% of surveyed farmers in Devon on a typology which reflects the fact that farmers are not homogeneous. The ‘conditional non-organic farmers’ and ‘pragmatic organic farmers’ in this typology may, with varying degrees of ease, switch between organic and non-organic methods at any point in the future due to possible changes in their attitudes towards risk in organic farming. In contrast, the ‘resistant non-organic farmers’ and ‘committed organic farmers’ at the two extremes of this typology will very likely be resistant to changes in their current farming systems. Accordingly, a set of policy recommendations which may help to increase future organic adoption in the UK has been set forth.
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Wilson, Candice. "Factors affecting 2014 Farm Bill commodity program enrollment factors for Kansas farmers." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/35560.
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Master of ScienceDepartment of Agricultural Economics
Mykel R. Taylor
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The 2014 Farm Bill required Kansas producers to make a series of enrollment decisions that were both complicated and based on incomplete information. With this bill, producers were required to complete a one-time enrollment in one of three programs (ARC-CO, PLC, or ARC-IC) to serve as a safety net for poor crop prices and/or yields over the five-year life of the legislation. Analyzing the effects of incomplete information on producers’ decisions provides an opportunity to identify challenges associated with program selection under the 2014 Farm Bill and suggest changes for future farm support legislation. METHODS: Kansas county-level enrollment data obtained from USDA-FSA are used to model aggregate producer sign-up decisions as a function of estimated 2014 payments, county-level yield variability, prior program enrollment, and extension programming efforts at the county and state level. This OLS model is subsequently replicated using individual producer data from surveys conducted during fifteen extension meetings held across Kansas. The model based on individual data is a regression of stated preferences for the three programs as a function of farm size, farmer demographics, risk preferences, and knowledge of the legislation. RESULTS: Comparisons of model results from the aggregated enrollment data and the individual survey data offer insights into the factors affecting producer decisions. Specifically, aggregate enrollment decisions are difficult to explain given many unobservable enrollment considerations at a county level. However, when the regression is repeated using individual data, other factors affect the enrollment decision such as the number of years a producer has been farming, the size of the farm, their membership in commodity associations, and their risk preferences. CONCLUSIONS: The 2014 Farm Bill required producers to select participation in a single support program for the five-year life of the legislation. This decision had to be made without knowing exactly how crop prices and yields would behave in the future. It is important to understand how producers made their decisions based on incomplete information to inform future legislative efforts for an effective farm safety net. This research expands that understanding by analyzing both aggregate and individual data to determine the factors that influence program choice.
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Mtintsilana, Tando. "Environmental constraints affecting farmers in the Great-Kei Region." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1502.
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The sustainable use of the environment for agriculture has become a global priority, requiring urgent solutions in view of intensifying competition. The South African government and the agricultural sector drafted a strategic plan for South African Agriculture. In this plan it was argued that the potential for the horizontal expansion of agricultural production is limited with one of the limitations being that unused high and medium potential land is scarce. This implies that the challenge for higher agricultural production is immense because primarily it would have to come from increased efficiency. All businesses are confronted by change at some time in their history in which agribusiness in South Africa has been subjected to changes in its past. In this era of hyper competition, agribusinesses are faced with constant change. It is how businesses deal with that change that will determine how successful they will remain in the future. The main problem of this research was to determine if farmers in the Great-Kei Region have the appropriate strategies in place to manage environmental constraints effectively. Therefore, the identification and isolation of prominent environmental constraints, through literature review and survey data gathered and analysed, would assist agribusinesses in the planning and prioritising of investments. The investment would be aimed at facilitating the development and sustainable growth in the Great-Kei Region. In this study, a quantitative, descriptive and non-experimental research design was followed. The target population of the study was farmers with farming businesses operating in the Great-Kei Region. There was data obtained from the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture provincial office in Komga servicing the Great-Kei Region. The data obtained were lists of registered commercial farmers from the Komga iv Agricultural Association and emerging farmers operation in the region. The data obtained did not include all the farmers operating in the Great-Kei Region. The combined sum of farmers from both lists was 38 farmers (N = 38). The population N = 38 was used as a sampling frame representing the population of farmers in the Great-Kei Region. The population of this study consisted of owners or farm managers running the farming businesses and excludes other farm employees employed at the farms. Farmers with agribusinesses in the area who produced either livestock farming or crop farming or both were included for the study. The results of the survey revealed key findings, which enabled the researcher to draw meaningful conclusions and recommendations. The recommendations suggested how farmers can overcome the identified macro, micro and internal environmental constraints affecting them in the Great-Kei Region. Further identification of strategies currently employed by farmers in managing environmental constraints and the competency levels, indicated where gaps resided with strategies currently employed by farmers and where possible change would be required.
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Hounsome, Barry. "Investigating the relationship between farmer health and farm income." Thesis, Bangor University, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.428824.
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Donaldson, Susanna Meredith. "Farmers and farmworkers : negotiating labor and identity in rural northeast Tennessee." Diss., University of Iowa, 2015. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/1587.
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Burley tobacco--a key component in American-made cigarettes--has been produced in northeast Tennessee for well over a century. The economic importance of this crop and the peculiar nature of its production has had a profound influence on local agrarian culture. In Austin County, Tennessee--where I conducted approximately two years of ethnographic research--burley tobacco has become a marker of local identity. The crop is still transplanted, harvested, and processed manually. The work required to grow burley tobacco has been described by locals as "difficult, dirty, [and] sometimes dangerous." This is particularly true at harvest time when the five-foot plants must be cut by hand using a simple hatchet-like tool. The labor-intensive nature of the crop, the constraints of local geography (the Appalachian Mountains), and the limitations imposed by a New Deal initiative referred to as the Federal Tobacco Program kept burley tobacco farms small for much of the 20th century. Even so, the labor inputs needed to grow burley tobacco have remained high.
Traditionally, Austin County farm families have met their crop's demand for labor by "swapping" work. This reciprocal tradition was made possible by the ubiquitous production of the leaf in Austin County on a relatively small-scale. An examination of the political economy of burley tobacco, particularly as it relates to Austin County, Tennessee, I identify the conditions that (1) helped to shape the reciprocal tradition and (2) that encouraged or made possible the persistence of this tradition well into the 20th century. In addition, I examine the more recent shift from reciprocal labor to wage labor--specifically the increased use of Mexican and Central American migrant farmworkers.
I argue that the persistence of reciprocal labor in Austin County has influenced the ways in which rural families (particularly white, land-owning families) conceptualize burley tobacco farming and farm work. Even though most have adopted the use of migrant labor, the tradition of reciprocity contributes to locally specific ways of organizing and managing seasonal farm work. Rural families make use of many of the same strategies used nationwide by farm owners who employ seasonal migrant labor; however, the moral economy of reciprocity informs the management styles of most contemporary tobacco producers in Austin County. The social organization of burley tobacco work is further complicated by the "identity work" accomplished by farm owners. Despite their removal from the field and the curing barn, contemporary farm owner/operators continue to claim what I am calling a farmworking identity--an identity defined by an affinity to hard work, mutual aid, and respect. Both through farm work and discursive work these farm owner/operators are claiming, maintaining, and constructing the farmworking identity as it is conceptualized in Austin County. I argue that this "identity work" highlights and obscures social inequality in the field, the barn, and throughout Austin County as farmworking identities are constructed as both masculine and white. Cultural conceptions of farm work are produced locally by farmers and community members who draw on a shared work history. Although based on a notion of reciprocal labor, access to local definitions of farm work is unequal. These local constructions restrict the identities of some (i.e. women, low-income whites, and Mexican and Central American migrants) and provide others (i.e. white, male farm owners) the authority to claim conflicting identities--e.g farm owner and farmworker.
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Poling, Jennifer L. "How farmers in West Virginia are using value-added processing to increase annual income." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2002. http://etd.wvu.edu/templates/showETD.cfm?recnum=2385.
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Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2002.Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 64 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 33).
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Dorward, Peter. "Participatory farm management methods for improved agricultural extension with smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe." Thesis, University of Reading, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.311313.
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Cabrera, Victor E. "Farm problems, solutions, and extension programs for small farmers in Cañete, Lima, Peru." [Florida] : State University System of Florida, 1999. http://etd.fcla.edu/etd/uf/1999/amj9816/cabrera.pdf.
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Thesis (M.S.)--University of Florida, 1999.Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 92 p.; also contains graphics. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-91).
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Burbi, S. "Improving farm practices and evaluating livestock farmers' attitudes to greenhouse gas emission mitigation." Thesis, Coventry University, 2014. http://curve.coventry.ac.uk/open/items/6a15b53d-3eb5-4f67-bd57-c1147ba04bb9/1.
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In recent years the farming sector has been under growing pressure. Markets influence demand and prices, challenging farmers to improve production, business competitiveness and reduce environmental impact. Agriculture accounts for 9% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the United Kingdom. Quantitative scientific literature provides useful strategies to reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions from livestock farms. Their adoption may depend on their effectiveness and the influence of farmers’ perceptions of climate change on their decision-making. Adopting concepts of translational research and participatory action research, the study builds social capital among 14 livestock farmers in the South West and West Midlands, and evaluates the potential for adoption of emission mitigation strategies. The Rapid Farm Practices Appraisal (RFPA) tool was created to assess farm practices based on their mitigation potential. Practices were assessed twice over 6-9 months. Semi-structured interviews were used to assess barriers and opportunities to farmer engagement and on-farm innovation. Farmers were invited to a focus group meeting to network with other farmers and engage with researchers. All farmers participated in the 2 farm assessments. Only half the farmers adopted changes in farm management. The main difficulties related to the storage and treatment of manures due to the financial investments necessary. All farmers appreciated the RFPA tool, the clearness of the information provided and the focus of the tool on practices directly. All farmers accepted to be interviewed during the second farm visit; however, 2 farmers were unable to participate in the focus group meeting. Farmers’ main obstacles to innovation were limited financial capital, lack of trust in government action and confusion over the effectiveness of farm advice on mitigation. The lack of long-term flexibility of agricultural policies greatly influenced farmers’ decision-making. Farmers preferred practical solutions obtained through consistent, clear and transparent advisory services. The source of information greatly influenced their acceptance of advice. Farmers preferred peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and participatory activities in order to access knowledge on mitigation directly from scientists. Results provide positive grounds for the expansion of the RFPA tool to include economic assessment of farm practices and the engagement of a larger pool of farmers. Further research is needed in order to better understand how the source of information influences farmers’ acceptance of climate change science. Further studies should include a comparison between different farming systems i.e. organic v conventional, small-scale v large-scale.
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Khan, Muhammad Azeem. "Farmers' objectives and the choice of new crops in the irrigated farming systems of Pakistan's Punjab." Thesis, University of Reading, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.266194.
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Uko, Okon Edet. "Perceived farm management educational needs of part-time and small scale farmers in selected Ohio counties." The Ohio State University, 1985. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1389344764.
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Smith, Stephanie Mary. "Virginia Farmer Retirement and Transition Planning." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/32500.
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This study focuses on determining how Virginia farmers are planning for farm retirement and succession and whether they will be financially prepared for their retirement years. The Virginia farming population is aging, life expectancy is increasing, and Social Security benefits are not a stable source of retirement income presenting challenges for Virginia farmers who are planning to either retire from the family farm or transition it to the next generation. In this study a 59-item survey was sent to 2000 randomly selected Farm Credit agricultural customers. Results from the survey were analyzed using chi-square tests and correlations to determine statistically significant relationships between the variables. The analysis indicates that Virginia farmers planning to retire from the farm face high levels of debt and plan to sell the farm operation. Virginia farmers planning to transition the farm are generating higher profits from the farm operation and their successor has been identified. The majority of Virginia farmers are financially prepared for retirement with Social Security support; however, without supplemental income from Social Security the majority of the Virginia farming population is not financially prepared for retirement. The results indicate necessary action from the private, academic, and public sectors. Financial professionals should offer retirement planning seminars, academia should continue to research the issues, and the government should consider developing a savings plans specifically for the agricultural community that offer tax advantages.Master of Science
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Collins, Sophie. "An investigation of whether and how welfare outcome assessment could be better used by UK dairy farmers." Thesis, Royal Veterinary College (University of London), 2016. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.701666.
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Ranallo, Gerald W. "Using a statewide farm business management DACUM to determine the knowledge-base deficiencies of dairy farmers in northwest Wisconsin." Online version, 1998. http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/1998/1998ranallog.pdf.
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Murray, Jamey Allen. "Perceptions of the Farmland Preservation Program by West Virginia farmers." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10450/10509.
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Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2009.Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 72 p. : col. ill. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 52-53).
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Makunga, Phendulwa Zikhona. "Small-scale farmers' participation in planning and implementation of farmer support programmes in Amahlathi Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/6248.
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The democratic government in South Africa has brought about several policies which were initiated for rural development, and one of the government’s strategies was to involve the agricultural sector. Farmer Support Programmes (FSPs) were developed to assist small-scale farmers to become commercial farmers. The study looked at the participation of small scale farmers in the planning and implementation of the FSPs in the Amahlathi Local Municipality. 108 small scale farmers were selected using a non-random purposive probability and twelve farmers’ organisations. Semi-structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used as the data collection tool and method respectively. The data analysis used was a descriptive analysis and a thematic analysis. The results revealed that the farmers have a positive perception towards the support programmes being helpful in their farming needs. The positive perception was especially on the extension and advisory services, dipping and vaccination programme, and the supply and funding of inputs and assets. However, the results revealed that there was no significant difference between gender and the perception of the farmers when a chi square test of association was performed. The results also revealed that the farmers and farmers’ organisations were not involved in the planning of the programmes by the government. It is therefore recommended that for the success of the FSP and for economic growth in the rural areas, the government has to avoid using a top-down approach when developing these programmes, and instead consult the farmers and the farmers’ organisations to know the specific needs of the farmers in their farming practices.
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Porter, Matthew R. Porter. "Farm Household Motivations and Diversification Strategies of Organic Farmers at the Rural Urban Interface." The Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1469172871.
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