Farmers around the world rely on IPM practices in order to increase their yields and reduce their losses due to pests. Assessing the impacts of previous IPM CRSP studies is crucial for successful continuance of the program and to provide meaningful recommendations to farmers. This thesis...

This thesis analyzes the effects on the price impacts of the Commodity Procurement Program when canned peaches are purchased. The main objective is to assess the effects of canned peaches purchases on the farm-level price of canning peaches. Interviews of the industries that participate in the...

The first part of this doctorate dissertation examines the factors influencing the occurrence and costs of pinhole leak corrosion as well as the household decisions for corrosion prevention and plumbing material selection. Three mail surveys of households were used to elicit the experiences with...

This dissertation contains three related papers. The first paper revisits the concept of integrated rural development and provides examples on how to design balanced development work programs for the Trifinio region, a small rural region shared by 3 Central American countries. Work programs...

This dissertation explores household risk and savings behavior in Zimbabwe, and agricultural technology adoption, and the impact of public investments on the economy and community health in Ethiopia. The first paper analyzes changes in per capita consumption and savings behavior in Zimbabwe...

This study was designed to characterize consumer purchases of organic milk by differentiating consumers based on buying behavior and then evaluating what personal and household characteristics were most prominent in each group. Cluster analysis was used to differentiate four groups of consumers...

Virginia beef producers have been overwhelmed with increasing costs and decreasing profits as well as facing challenges such as development pressures, drought, increasing competition for grazing land. Together these have reduced opportunities for expansion and often increased incentives for...

This thesis is a long-term evaluation of the profit margin hedging strategy suggested by Kenyon and Clay. To implement this strategy an expected profit margin is estimated based on the amount of pork, corn price, and soybean meal price. The profit margin that can be âlocked inâ by the futures...

The purpose of this study is to assist planners and scientists in assessing the economic implications of the USAID-funded Integrated Pest Management-Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP) research activities. The study presents a framework and a set of procedures for documenting,...

The passage of the 2002 Farm Bill and the removal of the peanut quota system revealed underlying fundamental problems in the Virginia peanut industry. Lower yields and high costs plague producers at the farm level, acreage levels continue to decline and it is doubtful that peanut production in...