Master of Science / Department of Grain Science and Industry / Keith C. Behnke / The effect of tracer particle size on the accuracy of measuring retention time inside the conditioner of a pellet mill was studied. Three experiments were conducted using tracers with different particle sizes. The control retention time was calculated using the hold-up capacity method, while retention times for treatments were calculated using the pulse-input method. In addition to the previously prepared tracers, crystalline salt and powder color dye were used as tracers in this study to represent small particle tracers. In experiment one, large, medium, and small tracers were used. The treatment with large particle size was closer to the control with differences around 1.5%. Conversely, using the tracer with small particle size resulted in larger differences, approximately 18%. Two tracers were used in experiment two, resulted in 33% difference between treatment and control using a small particle size tracer, and a 10% difference using a tracer with similar particle size to the main materials. A tracer similar in particle size to the materials flowing inside the conditioner was used in the third experiment in addition to the salt and dye. Statistical analyses for this experiment indicated that particle size affects the accuracy of retention time measurements. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in the comparison between salt and red color dye in treatment two, while there was no significant difference (P>0.05) between them in treatment one (same particle size). Moreover, in another comparison of the differences between treatments and their related controls, there was significant difference (P<0.05). However, the P-value for the red dye comparison (0.0126) was higher than that of salt (0.0026), which adds density as another influential factor that affects retention time measurement.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Ted C. Schroeder / In the last few years the beef industry has rapidly begun to change. The beef industry during my lifetime will not look like the same industry as during my grandfather's. Input costs are rising dramatically, as well as land values. Weather events have impacted the industry and the supply cycle is beginning to change. Producers need to find ways to get higher prices for their cattle in order to remain profitable. One way to increase their profit is through branded beef and alliance programs. The problem is that cattlemen are good at raising quality products, but they are not the best marketers. Over the past several years though, several beef alliances have formed. There are so many options available today that it can be difficult for a producer to know where to start. This thesis focuses on developing a solution to that problem. Through this thesis, an online marketing tool was developed. Producers will visit this tool and fill out a simple questionnaire about their operation. They will be given results that will include branded beef programs for which they qualify, along with contact information to find out more. This tool gives producers access to 100 marketing programs, over twenty USDA Process Verified Programs, and close to thirty Quality Systems Assessment programs. This will be a beneficial tool for producers to take a commodity product and change it into a valuable branded product for the consumer.

Master of Science / Department of Agronomy / P. V. Vara Prasad / In many countries producers have been growing varieties of hard white winter (HWW) wheat since decades. The cause of concern is most varieties of HWW wheat are susceptible to pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) which affects grain quality. Environmental conditions like high humidity, precipitation, heavy dew and hormonal activity at physiological maturity stimulate PHS in HWW. To alleviate these conditions research was carried out at KSU. KS01HW163-4, a sprouting tolerance line was crossed with Heyne, a sprout susceptible cultivar. A total of 224 doubled haploid (DH) lines thus produced were phenotyped in the present study through experiments conducted in controlled environments. The objectives of this research were to (i) characterize and phenotype the doubled haploid lines for PHS in controlled environments; (ii) understand the impact of growth environment (high temperature and/or drought) and; (iii) impact of exogenous application of growth hormones on tolerance to pre-harvest sprouting in the parental lines of the doubled haploid population. The phenotypic data collected from this research will be ultimately combined with the genotypic data to identify DNA markers related to PHS tolerance and provide DNA markers for marker assisted selection. Based on my results of the germination percentages from the 224 DH lines, the population was distributed as susceptible, and tolerant to PHS showing a bimodal distribution and X[superscript]2 analysis indicating a complimentary gene action. From the study of the influence of environmental factors on PHS, my results confirmed a definite influence of stress on sprouting. Under optimum temperature (OT), KS01HS163-4 was tolerant to PHS, but at HT and/or drought it became susceptible to PHS. Growth under stressed conditions changed the tolerance levels to PHS. Seed dry-weight, and harvest index were also influenced negatively due to stress. Therefore multi-location tests must be conducted with variable environments to test the stability of a variety to PHS. From the study of the influence of phytohormones on PHS, the results suggest that tolerance to sprouting was seen in seeds from plants sprayed with abscisic acid (ABA) and paclobutrazol (GA-inhibitor) treatments where as those from gibberellic acid (GA) treatment showed susceptibility to sprouting.

Master of Science / Department of Agronomy / Robert M. Aiken / Mary B. Kirkham / Transpiration efficiency (TE) is defined as total biomass produced per unit of water transpired. Improvement of TE means maximizing crop production per unit of water used. The objectives of the study were to examine, at the leaf level and the whole plant level, the variation in TE for sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] accessions, previously screened for TE and to test physiological mechanisms that may account for differences in TE. Three field studies and two mini-lysimeter studies (one done in pots under greenhouse conditions and one done in pots in the field) were conducted with eight accessions. Instantaneous measurements of assimilation (A), stomatal conductance (gs), and transpiration by gas exchange provided measures of the transpiration efficiency at the leaf level. Growth observations and soil water balance in field plots quantified components of whole-plant TE. Growth and development measurements showed significant difference, explaining the existence of photoperiod sensitivity among the sorghum genotypes. Assimilation (A), stomatal conductance (gs), and maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) were consistently greater for accession PI533946 (from India) and greater for accession PI295121 (from Australia) in both field and the field-pot studies (p<0.05). Internal carbon dioxide (Ci), an indicator of intrinsic transpiration efficiency, differed among lines under field conditions (p<0.05). Leaf relative water content (RWC), measured in the greenhouse, and did not differ among the eight accessions. No consistent differences in biomass and water use were detected among lines under field conditions. In conclusion, developing reliable selection indices for TE will require a greater understanding of whole-plant physiological processes to utilize the differences in TE observed at the leaf level.

Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Kevin C. Dhuyvetter / A Microsoft Excel based budget was developed to find the cost of becoming National Animal Identification Systems (NAIS) compliant in the U.S for beef cow-calf producers. This budget was turned into a stochastic budget by using different distributions for five key variables. From these distributions 10,000 observations were simulated using Latin Hypercube sampling. From the comprehensive budget, a second, more simple budget was constructed for obtaining NAIS cost. This Microsoft Excel based model gives beef cow-calf producers an estimate and a prediction interval associated with the estimated cost of adopting a cattle ID system that is compliant with the National Animal Identification Systems quickly and conveniently, requiring only six inputs. Both the comprehensive and the quick budget are available online. An Ordinary Least Squares regression was estimated using the simulated observations to find marginal effects associated with key variables. The driving factor of total cost per head was eID tag price for operations that tag and eID tag price and chute costs for non-tagging operations. For producers with five or less animals, it was cheaper to hire third parties to tag animals. From the sample data generated, smaller operations pay significantly more than larger operations on a per head basis, as the minimum cost was $2.08 for the larger operations and the maximum cost to small operations was $17.56. The estimated overall average cost per head for the cow/calf industry was $6.26, with a standard deviation of $4.12. Costs were on a per breeding female basis. The Excel spreadsheet budget and model can be downloaded at http://www.agmanager.info/ for producers who wish to estimate NAIS costs specific to their operations.

Master of Science / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Timothy G. Rozell / Several alternatively-spliced mRNA transcripts of the follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) have been identified in sheep, including FSHR-1 (G protein-coupled form), FSHR-2 (dominant negative form), and FSHR-3 (growth factor type-1 form). Coupling of the FSHR to signaling pathways which activate different downstream effectors leads to speculation that specific splice variants may be transcribed under differing physiological conditions. This is the first study to correlate expression patterns of FSHR-1, FSHR-2, and FSHR-3 and development of follicles in the mature sheep ovary. In Experiment 1, 8 Suffolk-cross ewes were allowed to come into estrus naturally and were euthanized 24 (n=3), 36 (n=3), and 48 (n=2) hours after the onset of estrus. In Experiment 2, 7 Suffolk-cross ewes received CIDRs for 14 days. At CIDR removal, PMSG (500IU) was administered to treatment ewes (n=3), while controls (n=4) received no PMSG. Ewes were euthanized 24 (n=4; 2 CIDR only, 2 PMSG) or 36 (n=3; 2 CIDR only, 1 PMSG) hours later. All visible follicles were aspirated and pooled according to follicular diameter: small (≤ 2.0 mm), medium (2.1-4.0 mm), large (4.1-6.0 mm), and preovulatory (≥ 6.1 mm). Granulosa cells were separated from follicular fluid by centrifugation. Total RNA was extracted from granulosa cells (GC) and reversed transcribed. The resulting cDNA was subjected to qPCR, using primer sets designed to amplify each variant specifically. For Experiment 1, regardless of time after onset of estrus, relative expression of FSHR-3 exceeded that of both FSHR-1 and FSHR-2 in medium follicles (p < 0.01), and tended to be higher in small follicles (p=0.09). For Experiment 2, treatment with PMSG did not significantly alter expression patterns of FSHR variants (p=0.18). The FSHR-3 was expressed higher than FSHR-2 in all follicle sizes (p < 0.01) and was numerically more highly expressed than FSHR-1, although this difference was not significant (p > 0.11). These experiments show that in addition to the well characterized G protein-coupled form of the FSHR, alternatively spliced variants of the FSHR may participate in follicular dynamics during the first follicular wave of the sheep estrous cycle. Furthermore, these results would indicate that an “alternatively” spliced form of the FSHR (FSHR-3) is the predominant form of the FSHR in the sheep.

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Dale J. Bremer / Heat stress is an important problem in potted nursery plants, but container color may moderate effects of solar radiation on container soil temperatures. Field studies were conducted near Manhattan, Kansas, USA during summer to evaluate effects of container color on growth of roots and aboveground biomass in: bush beans (Phaseolus vulgaris); red maple (Acer rubrum); and eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis). In the tree studies, effects of shaded soil-surfaces on plant growth were also evaluated. Four treatments among studies included containers colored black (control), flat white, gloss white, and silver, with two additional treatments in the tree studies of green and black containers with shaded soil surfaces (black shaded); treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design. Plants were grown in a bark-based soil-less media, and temperatures were measured at 5 cm depths in the sun-facing sides and centers in five containers per treatment. After four months (June-October), plant variables were measured. Roots were separated into three sections: core (10.2 cm diam.), north, and south, rinsed of all media, dried and weighed. In the bean study, media temperatures at the sun-facing side averaged lowest in gloss and flat white (~36 oC) and greatest in the black control (50.3 oC). Accordingly, total root biomass at the sun-facing side was reduced by 63 to 71% in black compared to flat and gloss white containers. In heat-sensitive maples, media temperatures at the sun-facing side averaged up to 7.7 oC greater in black, black shade and green than in other treatments; temperatures in black shade may have been lower if shade cloth had covered the sun-facing sides of containers in addition to only the media surface. Media temperatures in the core averaged 3.5 to 3.8 oC greater in black than in flat and gloss white, resulting in up to 2.5 times greater belowground biomass and up to 2.3 times greater aboveground biomass in flat and gloss white than in black pots. In heat-tolerant redbuds, the effects of container color on whole-plant growth were less evident. Data suggests that heat-sensitive plants benefit from using white pots or painting outer surfaces of green and black pots white.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Arlo Biere / The objective of this thesis is to examine the factors that a producer will want to consider when choosing the milk cooling and storage system for the dairy farm. The two systems studied are the traditional, on-farm, bulk tank system and the more recently developed, direct tanker loading system that uses glycol chilling plates. As a long-term investment, the choice of the refrigeration and storage system will have an impact on at least four dimensions of the dairy business. The capital cost of the milk cooling/storage system can range from 2% to 5% of the total capital investment in the farm. Milk cooling costs can also account for as much as 25% of the farm’s total electric costs. The system selected can also have an impact on the hauling charges and the hauling charges can account for as much as 10% of the dairy’s gross revenue. Lastly, the storage system selected may influence the range of markets available to the producer as not all processors accept milk from farms using direct tanker loading. Using an economic engineering approach, three hypothetical farm sizes were considered: milking 700, milking 1,400, and milking 2,100 cows. Capital and operating cost data were collected from three major dairy equipment manufacturers that service the Upper Midwest. Capital expenses for each size farm were priced for conventional bulk tanks and then also priced for glycol plate chiller systems that load directly into tanker trailers. The comparison of annualized costs of ownership for all three farm sizes shows only minor differences in the two systems. For the 700 cow farm, a direct tanker loading system saved 0.24% over the total capital investment; for the 1,400 cow farm, a direct tanker loading system saved 0.97%; and for the 2,100 cow farm, a direct tanker loading system saved 1.19%. Thus, differences in hauling charges, which will vary with each situation, become critical to the choice. Because the overall cost of the two systems are so close, one can expect that the peripheral and non-economic issues may be much more influential on each producer’s decision. Given the known differences in hauling charges, one can conclude that for the 700 cow farm, conventional tanks would be the preferred choice. For the 1,400 cow farm and the 2,100 cow farm, the determining factors come down to the differences in hauling charges and long-term goals for the farm business.

Réalisées aux échelles internationales et nationales, les études de vulnérabilité aux changements et à la variabilité climatiques sont peu pertinentes dans un processus de prise de décisions à des échelles géographiques plus petites qui représentent les lieux d’implantation des stratégies de réponses envisagées. Les études de vulnérabilité aux changements et à la variabilité climatiques à des échelles géographiques relativement petites dans le secteur agricole sont généralement rares, voire inexistantes au Canada, notamment au Québec. Dans le souci de combler ce vide et de favoriser un processus décisionnel plus éclairé à l’échelle de la ferme, cette étude cherchait principalement à dresser un portrait de l’évolution de la vulnérabilité des fermes productrices de maïs-grain des régions de Montérégie-Ouest et du Lac-St-Jean-Est aux changements et à la variabilité climatiques dans un contexte de multiples sources de pression. Une méthodologie générale constituée d'une évaluation de la vulnérabilité globale à partir d’une combinaison de profils de vulnérabilité aux conditions climatiques et socio-économiques a été adoptée. Pour la période de référence (1985-2005), les profils de vulnérabilité ont été dressés à l’aide d’analyses des coefficients de variation des séries temporelles de rendements et de superficies en maïs-grain. Au moyen de méthodes ethnographiques associées à une technique d’analyse multicritère, le Processus d’analyse hiérarchique (PAH), des scénarios d’indicateurs de capacité adaptative du secteur agricole susmentionné ont été développés pour la période de référence. Ceux-ci ont ensuite servi de point de départ dans l’élaboration des indicateurs de capacité de réponses des producteurs agricoles pour la période future 2010-2039. Pour celle-ci, les deux profils de vulnérabilité sont issus d’une simplification du cadre théorique de « Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change » (IPCC) relatif aux principales composantes du concept de vulnérabilité. Pour la dimension « sensibilité » du secteur des fermes productrices de maïs-grain des deux régions agricoles aux conditions climatiques, une série de données de rendements a été simulée pour la période future. Ces simulations ont été réalisées à l’aide d’un couplage de cinq scénarios climatiques et du modèle de culture CERES-Maize de « Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer » (DSSAT), version 4.0.2.0. En ce qui concerne l’évaluation de la « capacité adaptative » au cours de la période future, la construction des scénarios d’indicateurs de cette composante a été effectuée selon l’influence potentielle des grandes orientations économiques et environnementales considérées dans l’élaboration des lignes directrices des deux familles d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) A2 et A1B. L’application de la démarche méthodologique préalablement mentionnée a conduit aux principaux résultats suivants. Au cours de la période de référence, la région agricole du Lac-St-Jean-Est semblait être plus vulnérable aux conditions climatiques que celle de Montérégie-Ouest. En effet, le coefficient de variation des rendements du maïs-grain pour la région du Lac-St-Jean-Est était évalué à 0,35; tandis que celui pour la région de Montérégie-Ouest n’était que de 0,23. Toutefois, par rapport aux conditions socio-économiques, la région de Montérégie-Ouest affichait une vulnérabilité plus élevée que celle du Lac-St-Jean-Est. Les valeurs des coefficients de variation pour les superficies en maïs-grain au cours de la période de référence pour la Montérégie-Ouest et le Lac-St-Jean-Est étaient de 0,66 et 0,48, respectivement. Au cours de la période future 2010-2039, la région du Lac-St-Jean-Est serait, dans l’ensemble, toujours plus vulnérable aux conditions climatiques que celle de Montérégie-Ouest. Les valeurs moyennes des coefficients de variation pour les rendements agricoles anticipés fluctuent entre 0,21 et 0,25 pour la région de Montérégie-Ouest et entre 0,31 et 0,50 pour la région du Lac-St-Jean-Est. Néanmoins, en matière de vulnérabilité future aux conditions socio-économiques, la position relative des deux régions serait fonction du scénario de capacité adaptative considéré. Avec les orientations économiques et environnementales considérées dans l’élaboration des lignes directrices de la famille d’émission de GES A2, les indicateurs de capacité adaptative du secteur à l’étude seraient respectivement de 0,13 et 0,08 pour la Montérégie-Ouest et le Lac-St-Jean-Est. D’autre part, en considérant les lignes directrices de la famille d’émission de GES A1B, la région agricole du Lac-St-Jean-Est aurait une capacité adaptative légèrement supérieure (0,07) à celle de la Montérégie-Ouest (0,06). De façon générale, au cours de la période future, la région du Lac-St-Jean-Est devrait posséder une vulnérabilité globale plus élevée que la région de Montérégie-Ouest. Cette situation s’expliquerait principalement par une plus grande vulnérabilité de la région du Lac-St-Jean-Est aux conditions climatiques. Les résultats de cette étude doivent être appréciés dans le contexte des postulats considérés, de la méthodologie suivie et des spécificités des deux régions agricoles examinées. Essentiellement, avec l’adoption d’une démarche méthodologique simple, cette étude a révélé les caractéristiques « dynamique et relative » du concept de vulnérabilité, l’importance de l’échelle géographique et de la prise en compte d’autres sources de pression et surtout de la considération d’une approche contraire à celle du « agriculteur réfractaire aux changements » dans les travaux d’évaluation de ce concept dans le secteur agricole. Finalement, elle a aussi présenté plusieurs pistes de recherche susceptibles de contribuer à une meilleure évaluation de la vulnérabilité des agriculteurs aux changements climatiques dans un contexte de multiples sources de pression. / The undertaking of vulnerability studies in relation to climatic change and vulnerability at the international and national levels renders them less relevant to a decision-making process at smaller spatial scales where specific response strategies are implemented. Vulnerability studies to climatic change and variability at relatively small geographic scales within the agriculture sector are rare in general, and even nonexistent in Canada, including Quebec. In order to fill in this gap and to contribute to a better decision-making process at the farm level, this study aimed at presenting a description and analysis of the evolution of grain corn growers’ vulnerability to climatic change and variability and other stressors within the Montérégie-Ouest and Lac-St-Jean-Est regions. A general methodology consisting of an assessment of farmers’ overall vulnerability by combining vulnerability profiles to climate and socio-economic conditions has been considered. For the reference period (1985-2005), vulnerability profiles were constructed by analyzing the variation coefficients of grain corn yields and crop area data. By means of ethnographic methods associated with a multicriteria analysis technique, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), adaptive capacity indices of the agriculture sector have been elaborated upon for the reference period. These indices have then been used as a starting point in the construction of scenario indices of future adaptive capacity of farmers for the future period 2010-2039. For this future period (2010-2039), vulnerability profiles for both regions have been created using a simplified version of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conceptual framework on the components of vulnerability. For the « sensitivity » component of grain corn growers to climate conditions within the selected agricultural regions, a set of grain corn yields has been simulated using five climate scenarios coupled with CERES-Maize, one of the crop models embedded in the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT 4.0.2.0 version) software. In regards to the evaluation of the « adaptive capacity » for the future period (2010-2039), the elaboration of indices for this component has been undertaken by considering the potential influence of the main economic and environmental drivers used in the development of the storylines for two greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenarios families, namely the A2 and A1B families. The application of the methodological approach mentioned above produced the following key results. For the reference period, the Lac-St-Jean-Est region appeared to be more vulnerable to climate conditions than Montérégie-Ouest region. The coefficient of variation for grain corn yields within the Lac-St-Jean-Est region was evaluated to be 0,35, while the value for the Montérégie-Ouest region was only 0,23. However, with respect to the socio-economic conditions, the Montérégie-Ouest region showed greater vulnerability than the Lac-St-Jean-Est region. The values of the coefficient of variation for the areas under grain corn during the reference period (1985-2005) within Montérégie-Ouest and Lac-St-Jean-Est were 0,66 and 0,48 respectively. For the future period (2010-2039), the Lac-St-Jean-Est region, once again, would seem to be more vulnerable to climate conditions than the Montérégie-Ouest region. The average values of the coefficient of variation for the simulated grain corn yields fluctuate between 0,21 and 0,25 for the Montérégie-Ouest region and between 0,31 and 0,50 for Lac-St-St-Jean-Est region. However, from a socio-economic perspective, the relative vulnerability status of both regions would seem to vary according to the scenario of adaptive capacity considered. With the economic and environmental drivers considered in the storylines of the A2 GHG emissions scenario family, the adaptive capacity indices for the sector under study would be 0,13 and 0,08 for Montérégie-Ouest and Lac-St-Jean-Est, respectively. On the other hand, by considering the economic and environmental drivers considered for the A1B GHG emissions scenario family, the Lac-St-Jean-Est agricultural region would appear to have an adaptive capacity slightly higher (0,07) than that of the Montérégie-Ouest region (0,06). In general, for the future period, the Lac-St-Jean-Est region would appear to have greater overall vulnerability than the Montérégie-Ouest. This situation can be explained mainly by a greater vulnerability of Lac-St-Jean-Est region to climate conditions. The results of this study have to be interpreted within the context of the assumptions considered, the methodology used, and the characteristics of the two regions under study. In general, using a simple methodological approach, this study revealed the « dynamic and relative » characteristics of the vulnerability concept, the importance of spatial scale and consideration of multiple stressors and the integration of an approach different to the commonly used« dumb-farmer » approach for the evaluation of this concept of vulnerability within the agriculture sector. Finally, this study has also identified some new research pathways likely to contribute to a better evaluation of farmers’ vulnerability to climate change in the context of multiple stressors.

Ancestral Pueblo communities of the central Mesa Verde region (CMVR) became increasingly reliant on agriculture for their subsistence needs during Basketmaker III (BMIII) through Terminal Pueblo III (TPIII) (AD 600–1300) periods. Researchers have been studying the Ancestral Pueblo people for over a century using a variety of methods to understand the relationships between climate, agriculture, population, and settlement patterns. While these methods and research have produced a well-developed cultural history of the region, studies at a smaller scale are still needed to understand the changes in farming behavior and the distribution of individual sites across the CMVR. Soil moisture is the limiting factor for crop growth in the semi-arid region of the Goodman Watershed in the CMVR. Thus, I constructed the soil moisture proxy model (SMPM) that is on a local scale and focuses on variables relevant to soil moisture – soil particle-size, soil depth, slope, and aspect. From the SMPM output, the areas of very high soil moisture are assumed to represent desirable farmland locations. I describe the relationship between very high soil moisture and site locations, then I infer the relevance of that relationship to settlement patterns and how those patterns changed over time (BMIII – TPIII). The results of the model and its application help to clarify how Ancestral Pueblo people changed as local farming communities. The results of this study indicates that farmers shifted away from use of preferred farmland during Terminal Pueblo III, which may have been caused by other cultural factors. The general outcome of this thesis is an improved understanding of human-environmental relationships on the local landscape in the CMVR.