This thesis is concerned with evaluating the principles of, and approaches to, contemporary land redistribution programmes. Using contemporary South African land redistribution policy as a case study, it examines the policy process of a land reform programme. This enables an assessment of the extent to which policy implementation difficulties that are often experienced are the result of flawed policy conceptualisation and/or policy development, rather than simply poor policy implementation. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in South Africa between 1998 and 2001, the thesis provides the first full account of the policy process for contemporary South African land redistribution policy. This account identifies many of the broader political and contextual factors that help explain why and how the policy process evolved as it did, and adds to previous academic research on the extent to which competing political agendas affected the policy process. The main argument of the thesis is that the policy process for conceptualising, developing and implementing land redistribution policy between 1994 and 2001 was flawed. The thesis contrasts theoretical models of a policy process with models of the actual policy processes observed in South Africa during this period, in order to identify how and why the policy process was flawed. It proposes that the policy process was influenced primarily by competing political agendas that weakened and hindered the policy conceptualisation and policy development stages of the process, resulting in a land redistribution policy that was both difficult to implement and unable to meet the challenge of rural poverty it was meant to help alleviate.

Master of Public Health / Department of Human Nutrition / Sandra B. Procter / HIV/AIDS is one of the most devastating health concerns of the developing world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To address individual food insecurity and malnutrition, numerous small-scale nutrition and agriculture interventions have been implemented. This study compared the CTC Community Garden Project in Maai Mahiu, Kenya (n=15) and the HelpMercy Nutrition and Food Security Project (seed distribution) in Macha, Zambia (n=64), after one year. Study objectives included assessing food security in Maai Mahiu, determining beneficiaries' perceived usefulness of the interventions, comparing and evaluating the interventions, determining the importance of education in the interventions, and making recommendations for improvement. A survey in Maai Mahiu used a modified FAST tool to determine food security for beneficiaries (n=15) and non-participants (n=50). The majority of respondents were determined food insecure (without hunger), indicating a need for improved access to food/land. To determine outcomes and make comparisons, intervention outcome and beneficiary 'perceived usefulness' were measured using two verbally administered surveys, two focus groups, and two interviews with translation. Qualitative and quantitative results demonstrated differences between beneficiary perceptions of the interventions. No association was observed between perceived usefulness of the two studies (χ2). A backward elimination logistic regression model of the HelpMercy intervention showed that attendance at community-based nutrition and agriculture education sessions (CBES), household size, and number of seed types planted were predictors of perceived usefulness. Households who attended at least one CBES were more likely to perceive the intervention as useful (χ2 for trend, p=0.007), and there was a linear relationship between number of CBES attended and perceived usefulness (Mann-Whitney, p=0.008). Results may support research that agriculture interventions are more effective when combined with nutrition education. Perceived barriers and benefits differed significantly between the two programs. 60.3% of HelpMercy beneficiaries and 40.0% of CTC beneficiaries perceived the interventions as useful. Program improvements are possible, and further research is needed to better understand the impact and potential benefits of small-scale nutrition and agriculture interventions for HIV-affected populations in SSA.

Master of Science / Entomology / Brian McCornack / Several lepidopteran species infest developing panicles. Larval identification is challenging and time intensive, so current recommendations are often simplified by treating all larvae equally across species. Consequently, the yield-loss model developed for corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) by Buckley and Burkhardt (1962) has been the foundation for management recommendations in modern sorghum Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs for the last 49 years. Additionally, although pest populations primarily include both fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and corn earworm, only a single species damage estimate is used in economic threshold (ET) and economic injury level (EIL) calculations despite multi-species infestations. This research demonstrates both the validation of current management recommendations for corn earworm and the verification of previously assumed damage potentials for fall armyworm feeding in developing sorghum panicles. These results have important implications for sorghum producers faced with making a management decision for multi-species infestations.

Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Timothy Dalton / Previous research in low-income countries reveals that genetically modified (GM) maize has the potential to increase yield and reduce labor use; however, other issues, especially regarding Roundup Ready (RR) maize, remain mostly unexplored. This research examines the impact of GM maize on yield, cost, and risk among 184 smallholders during the 2009-10 maize production season in two regions in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; Hlabisa and Simdlangetsha. Two hybrid maize varieties; Pannar and Carnia, and three GM varieties; Bt, RR, and BR (stacked with Bt and RR) are produced. In both regions, producers of RR and BR maize pay 47% more per kilogram of seed and use 44% less labor per hectare compared to other varieties. Due to low labor costs, net returns from RR and BR varieties are 25% and 40% higher than other varieties in Hlabisa and Simdlangetsha, respectively. Stochastic dominance analysis is used to compare net returns of all five varieties in both regions. RR maize is second-degree stochastic dominant to all other varieties in Simdlangetsha, while no variety is stochastically dominant in Hlabisa. Stochastic efficiency with respect to a function (SERF) analysis indicates that RR maize is the preferred variety for producers over the entire range of risk preferences in both regions. While average maize gross returns are $713 per hectare, risk premiums between $18 and $221 must be paid to RR maize producers, depending on region and farmer risk preference, to persuade them to switch to the second-most preferred variety. Econometric analysis indicates significant yield gains of at least 8% from RR maize, although the yield gain varies greatly when input endogeneity is taken into account. Elasticities of output with respect to labor are 0.41 and 0.82 for RR and non-RR maize respectively, and 0.61 and 0.33 with respect to land. A cost function analysis indicates that RR maize has 19% lower costs per maize plot, which increases to at least a 35% advantage when controlling for selectivity bias. Nonparametric kernel density estimation also reveals consistently lower total and average costs of RR maize at most levels of output, suggesting technological benefits to smallholder farmers from RR maize not available through conventionally-bred hybrids.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Allen Featherstone / The thesis assesses the viability of investing in a new grain discharge terminal at the port of Santos, located in the Brazilian southern region, used mostly for wheat but also for malt and malting barley operations. ABC Intl suffered losses of more than USD 1.0 million in 2006 due to demurrage costs at berth 39, used by ABC Intl to export and import grains, sugar and soybean. Congestion tends to increase with the growth of Brazilian soybean and sugar cane production and exports (average 5.0% per year) and 2.0% growth of wheat imports. Demurrage losses are expected to amount to USD 3.0 million by the year 2011 if no investments are made. A brief summary of Brazilian wheat supply and demand for the last five years is presented. Brazil is a net importer between 6.0 and 8.0 million metric tons of wheat per year, to supply the 10.0 million metric ton internal demand. Brazilian wheat imports through the port of Santos average 1.6 million metric tons per year from 2000 to 2006. Sao Paulo is the most populated Brazilian city with more than 18.0 million inhabitants. Its wheat consumption amounts to a third of the total Brazilian consumption and represents around 3.0 million metric tons per year. The thesis analyzes data related to berth 39 activities in the past seven years. A 56-day lineup in 2006 represented more than USD 1.0 million demurrage costs. The thesis forecasts the activity of berth 39 for next five years with and without investment at the new terminal. The new terminal will result in an average of USD 1.8 million savings on demurrage costs over five years. Codesp, Companhia Docas de Sao Paulo, the governmental authority in the port of Santos, is offering a unique opportunity for ABC Intl to invest in a new terminal for grain imports granting the land at no cost. The new terminal would be located at the middle of the port (berth 13/14) close to the railroad and the main avenue in the port of Santos, allowing discharging, storing and loading grain to trucks and wagons. ABC Intl needs to invest USD 5.0 million in the new terminal. It comprises the dismantling and rebuilding of all the grain discharge equipment that will be moved from shed 39 to the new terminal, including two suckers and conveyor belts. The thesis analyzes four different wheat import scenarios for the next five years. In addition, the same scenarios are analyzed for a 10-year period for comparison purposes. The weighted average of the Net Present Value of the four different investment scenarios, considering the probability of each occurring, is a positive USD 78,908 with 13.1% Internal Rate of Return, compared to 9.0 % ABC Intl opportunity cost of capital. It must be considered that the Net Present Value is a conservative figure since it does not take into account the savings on demurrage at berth 39, forecasted to be more than USD 3.0 million in the year 2011 if the company does not invest in the new terminal construction. It is recommended the ABC Intl invest in the new terminal to improve the overall logistics of the port and the quality of the service. This will avoid unnecessary demurrage costs and improving shareholders wealth by investing in a project with positive Net Present Value.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Allen Featherstone / Because agriculture is a cornerstone in the U.S. and World economies, the agricultural retail industry is becoming more competitive. To gain a competitive advantage, agricultural retailers must take advantage of competencies that they have. The thesis provides an in depth analysis of how FluidGro products effect the profitability of Centennial. It explores the issues impacting Ag Retail and how marketing concepts and theories can make a retailer achieve success in volatile times. Insight is provided regarding how Centennial Ag Supply can use those strategies to give them a low cost position and a differentiated product and how Centennial can improve profitability by implementing effective marketing strategies for the FluidGro brand of products. Finally, a couple of capital improvement options that Centennial Ag can invest in to increase the sales and profitability of their FluidGro product line and what impact that will have on company sales and profitability. A net present value analysis is used to analyze the capital improvements and linear regressions estimate the profitability of the FluidGro product line and how this will contribute to increased profitability to the parent company, Centennial Ag Supply. Results indicate that Centennial should first invest in a wholesale division. Next, Centennial should invest in a heat exchanger to allow it to manufacture additional products.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Bryan Schurle / The milling of wheat into white flour is a high volume, low margin business. Flour is a commodity. Competition is fierce. Over the past several years, there have been several mergers and acquisitions leading to fewer, but larger flour mills. The number of companies in the flour milling business has diminished as well. Flour sold in small packages on the grocery store shelf is but a small part of the business these days. Most flour is sold to commercial bakers in large bags or bulk trucks. The process of milling wheat into white flour consists of numerous variables within an extensive collection of equipment. It is the job of the miller to minimize the negative impact of these variables or at least hold constant as many of these variables as possible while achieving the best efficiency possible. To lessen the effect of these numerous variables on a large extensive system makes for a well running operation. When efficiency is achieved, a flour milling operation can be a profitable venture. A number of the variables that influence efficiency are affected by the amount of flour storage that a flour mill has. This thesis examines the benefits of flour storage as related to flour process efficiencies in milling. With flour mills operating at large output capacities, it is necessary for a flour mill to have adequate bulk flour storage bins as well as the right amount of warehouse space. Changes from one type flour to another in a flour mill require some time and an abundance of intervention by a skilled operator or miller. Having the proper amount of storage space makes it possible to minimize changes as well as the opportunity to optimize production of each specific flour type that is processed on the mill. To justify capital project money to invest in the proper amount of storage can be a challenge. Warehouse space and bulk flour storage can be expensive, and it is difficult to quantify how theoretical improvements will increase production and quality in the end product of flour. Using regression methods, production data obtained from an average sized commercial flour mill was used to estimate the increase in extraction due to a longer length of run allowed by the addition of storage space. By increasing the time a mill stays on a specific wheat mix to a minimum of twenty hours, there is a theoretical increase in extraction of 1.02 percentage points, resulting in wheat savings of over $500,000 per year. This resulting savings on the raw input material showed that capital expenditures on storage can be justified. A positive net present value and good internal rate of return show that the increased efficiency due to longer lengths of run justified the additional expense of the additional storage capacity. As volatility and the price per bushel of grain continue to increase, having the proper plant infrastructure with regard to storage space is of the utmost importance. Other benefits of storage will be realized as well in the area of flour quality and customer service.

Master of Science / Food Science Institute / J. Scott Smith / Carboxymethyllysine (CML) and other advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have been shown to affect diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s by inducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and tissue damage. CML is formed in foods through Maillard browning reactions and through various mechanisms that are affected by time, temperature, pH, water activity, trace metals, and antioxidants. Natural antioxidants can be found in plant and fruit extracts, as well as in spices. The research contained herein is in two parts. The first part includes preliminary work, which examines the percent recovery of CML from various solid phase extraction columns, the analysis of CML in maple syrup, barbeque sauce, honey, and infant formula. The data show that solid phase extraction with a C-18 cartridge produced the highest percent recovery when using a CML standard at 100 ppb, with a recovery of 69%. Furthermore, the analysis of the syrups and sauces is inconclusive, due to the very low levels of CML detected in the infant formula, and the complications due to the high levels of reducing sugars. The second part of the research examines the effect that cinnamon, onion, garlic, black pepper, and rosemary have on CML levels in biscuits. The data show that all of the spices inhibit the formation of CML, at each of the 0.5%, 1%, and 2% levels used in the experiment, by a minimum of 3% in 2% onion samples and a maximum of 79% in 0.5% cinnamon samples when looking at the cumulative data. When looking subsets of the data, the CML inhibition was a minimum of 59% in 2% onion samples and a maximum of 74% in 0.5% cinnamon samples. Other trends can be observed in the chroma values in the CML color data, which suggest that chroma values decrease as the spice level increases, but these are not statistically significant. They may be due to color from the spices themselves, or to the chemical changes in the Maillard reaction.

Master of Science / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Joel M. DeRouchey / A total of 6,858 pigs were used in 6 experiments to evaluate the effects of crude glycerol, dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), Ractopamine HCl (RAC), NutriDense corn, and feeder adjustment on growing and finishing pig performance. In Exp. 1, pigs were fed diets with 0, 2.5, or 5% crude glycerol with 0 or 20% DDGS. Adding DDGS increased ADFI and decreased G:F with no differences for pigs fed glycerol. Neither glycerol nor DDGS affected any carcass characteristics. Pigs fed DDGS had increased iodine value in carcass fat. In Exp. 2, pigs were fed diets with 0 or 5% glycerol with 0 or 7.5 ppm RAC. Feeding RAC increased ADG and G:F and decreased ADFI while glycerol tended to improve G:F. Ractopamine HCl improved carcass traits. Loin chop drip loss worsened when glycerol and RAC were added separately, however, drip loss decreased when the combination of both were fed. Glycerol did not affect loin characteristics. Neither RAC nor glycerol influenced iodine value of carcass fat. Exp. 3 and 4 were conducted to determine the 4th limiting amino acid in diets containing NutriDense corn. In Exp. 3, pigs fed the positive control and the diet with added Ile, Trp, and Val (in combination) had greater ADG. Pigs fed added Ile or Trp had greater ADG than pigs fed the negative control indicates these amino acids were co-4th limiting for 37 to 59 kg pigs. In Exp. 4, pigs fed the positive control, added Trp, or the combination of added Ile, Trp and Val had greater ADG then pigs fed the negative control or pigs fed either Ile or Val indicates these amino acids were co-4th limiting for 77 to 100 kg pigs. Exp. 5 and 6 evaluated feeder adjustment on growth performance of finishing pigs. In Exp. 5, reducing feeder opening decreased ADFI. In Exp. 6, pigs were fed at three feeder opening and either a corn-soybean meal or byproduct-based diet. Diet type did not affect pig performance. Widening feeder openings increased ADG and ADFI. Feeder setting tended to influence G:F with the best G:F at the intermediate opening.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Christine Wilson / Methane digesters are a potential investment for a dairy farm. A digester can lower greenhouse gas emissions, manage manure waste, generate energy, provide fertilizer and recycle bedding. The AgSTAR project of the Environment Protection Agency describes anaerobic digesters as a solution to a problem dairy farmers have always had to solve but that has become more acute with the innovation of larger scale, confined animal feeding operations developed in response to the growing food demands of the world’s larger and more prosperous middle class population – what to do with cow manure. Digesters take cow manure and convert it into energy while also eliminating manure odor. Energy is the primary economic benefit of a digester. A dairy farmer can use the electricity or gas generated from the digester to fuel the energy needs of the farm. Selling gas or electricity on the market is a revenue source that largely determines the level of profit from investing in a digester. This thesis will explore the four economic factors required to make anaerobic digesters a viable economic investment for a 1,500 head cow herd in the United States. It is imperative that farmers are able to obtain a return on the investment as soon as possible as many do not have the capital to invest in a nearly $1 million project. Congress may need to provide additional incentives for farmers and utility companies to take waste and process to energy. The future for methane digesters looks profitable when energy and carbon markets are available and allowed to trade competitively. The federal government may consider focusing on incentives for the utility companies’ infrastructure to make purchases of renewable energy from a digester more economically attractive and efficient. Today, an obstacle for increasing the number of digesters in the United States is the cost associated with moving the energy from the digester and into the national natural gas to grid. Natural gas companies may need to be compensated for that expense plus the potential difficulties of dealing with multiple suppliers or digester owners. Electricity companies have a grid in place to power rural and urban communities. They have spent billions of dollars and decades to establish efficient routing of power to residents and businesses. Manure digesters are mostly located in rural areas that would also require an investment in infrastructure to move the energy from the digester to the power grid. Mandating net-metering would require energy companies to purchase renewable energy, but consumers may see an increase in their cost. Therefore, the answer to increasing the number of manure digesters in the United States may be to direct the incentives to utility companies to invest in expanding infrastructure rather than increasing digester owner subsidies. Although, the REAP grants are helpful for assisting farmers with startup installation costs, there may not be a need to increase that subsidy in the next farm bill if an energy bill includes incentives for energy companies to purchase renewable energy from digesters.