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Climate Change has been related to GHG emissions, of both natural and anthropogenic origin. Agricultural management practices like reduced tillage and intensive cropping systems have a significant impact on the flow of C among its sources and sinks. These management practices involve complex biophysical interactions resulting in a range of impacts on farm income and GHG abatement. The focus of this study was on the impact of alternative annual crop tillage systems on GHG emissions and income to better inform climate change mitigation policy in agriculture. Besides tillage intensity, cropping intensity and crop mix and the interaction of these characteristics with the biological and physical attributes, the emission and income effects are a function of factor inputs, factor costs and commodity prices. Therefpre, the analysis was multi-disciplinary in nature and the tool of choice that depicts impacts on individual indicators is Trade-off Analysis (TOA). A component of risk analysis was also included. The analysis focused on short and long-term performance, the uncertainty of soil N2O emission coefficients as well as changes in weather patterns. As the adoption of reduced till has been a relatively recent development and as such, there is not a lot of long-term biophysical and economic data, which limits the effectiveness of econometric analysis. The different scenarios of uncertainty and long-term impacts were analysed by use of a simulation model. The model was parameterised with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1996 coefficients, a farmer survey, and cost data from Saskatchewan Agriculture Agri-Food and Rural Revitalization (SAFRR) for 2004. Results indicated that net GHG emissions were relatively lower for reduced tillage management while conventional tillage may be relatively more attractive from an economic perspective. However, results indicated that such economic factors as risk and economies of size may have a significant influence on this latter result. The study also highlighted the need to evaluate the GHG abatement potential of reduced tillage while simultaneously considering the abatement capability of the farm.

Climate Change has been related to GHG emissions, of both natural and anthropogenic origin. Agricultural management practices like reduced tillage and intensive cropping systems have a significant impact on the flow of C among its sources and sinks. These management practices involve complex biophysical interactions resulting in a range of impacts on farm income and GHG abatement. The focus of this study was on the impact of alternative annual crop tillage systems on GHG emissions and income to better inform climate change mitigation policy in agriculture. Besides tillage intensity, cropping intensity and crop mix and the interaction of these characteristics with the biological and physical attributes, the emission and income effects are a function of factor inputs, factor costs and commodity prices. Therefpre, the analysis was multi-disciplinary in nature and the tool of choice that depicts impacts on individual indicators is Trade-off Analysis (TOA). A component of risk analysis was also included. The analysis focused on short and long-term performance, the uncertainty of soil N2O emission coefficients as well as changes in weather patterns. As the adoption of reduced till has been a relatively recent development and as such, there is not a lot of long-term biophysical and economic data, which limits the effectiveness of econometric analysis. The different scenarios of uncertainty and long-term impacts were analysed by use of a simulation model. The model was parameterised with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1996 coefficients, a farmer survey, and cost data from Saskatchewan Agriculture Agri-Food and Rural Revitalization (SAFRR) for 2004. Results indicated that net GHG emissions were relatively lower for reduced tillage management while conventional tillage may be relatively more attractive from an economic perspective. However, results indicated that such economic factors as risk and economies of size may have a significant influence on this latter result. The study also highlighted the need to evaluate the GHG abatement potential of reduced tillage while simultaneously considering the abatement capability of the farm.

This thesis is concerned with the UK agro-food system, and in particular the emergence of 'alternative strategies' ('AS') that seek to overcome, or at least circumvent, some of the problems associated with the globalised and industrialised practices on which it is based. Underlying the emergence of these 'AS' is the intention to reconnect the processes of food production and consumption in various ways, and to reconfigure the relationship between producers and consumers. Commercial imperatives remain important within 'AS', but they are overlain with social, cultural and ethical constructs that can significantly influence the motives of those involved, as illustrated by Fair Trade produce which seeks to introduce a sense of equity within the exchange process. This research focuses on the relationship between producers and consumers within the context of Farmers' Markets (FMs). FMs have been used as the portal for this purpose because they are considered to be an exemplar of how producer-consumer relations are being reconfigured within a concrete exchange context. FMs aim to re-locate production within specific localities and specific personal relationships, in an attempt to facilitate produce traceability and give food a sense of identity. In order to examine these emerging relationships, data were drawn from a questionnaire survey of FM managers across the UK, semi-structured interviews with producers and focus group discussions with consumers at five FMs in England. In the first instance the data were interpreted through the notion of 'embeddedness', which established that the exchange process at FMs is modified by social interaction within a localised setting. As this did not permit an explanation of aspects of the relationship that were clearly of value to the participants, but extraneous to their commercial evaluations, the data were also analysed within the notion of 'regard', which established that there were additional benefits to the producers and consumers at FMs, intrinsic to the human-level interaction between them. For example, producers sometimes felt personally valued for the effort they make to produce high-quality food produce. On this basis, it was possible to establish what distinguishes FMs as a retail outlet, in terms of how the producers and consumers relate to each other and to the produce available. In order to better understand the significance of these results within the wider agro-food system, they were subsequently assessed within Conventions Theory (CT). CT is based upon a number of conventions, of which the 'civic' and 'domestic' conventions are of particular relevance in this instance as they I are concerned, respectively, with the general societal benefits of a product, and the development of trust in a product on the basis of attachments to specific places or people. The concept of conventions enables an understanding of how the participants at a FM define the quality of the products to be exchanged between them. However, CT does not specifically address the benefits of regard and so this thesis proposes that a regard convention should be considered, which can specifically incorporate this aspect of quality evaluation. Each of the conventions of quality identified for FMs is the subject of ongoing negotiation, and the concept of a bubble of FM alterity is suggested as a means of understanding the durability of FMs as an 'AS', before their underlying integrity is breached and they cease to have a distinctive identity. In this context, the term bubble is used to convey flexibility and elasticity, whereas alterity means 'otherness' which implies an intention to produce change within the agro-food system.

Animal agriculture plays a vital role in the provision of food for the world population; however, in the wake of global warming and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the industry has been under scrutiny as one of the net emitters causing global warming. The same scrutiny applies to beef production in western Canada. The objective of this study is to evaluate the economic impact of GHG mitigation practices (GHGMP) for beef operations, and in the process identify economic and environmental sustainable scenarios. This study was an extension to a study by Beauchemin et al (2011) who studied the mitigation of GHG emissions from beef production in western Canada A beef simulation model was developed to measure the impacts of adopting GHGMPs on the profitability of a mixed farm in Vulcan County, Southern Alberta. Feed for the herd was produced on the farm, and calves were born and finished on the farm. Whole farm gross margin was used as a profitability measure of the farm over a period of 9 years, which is a full beef production cycle. Eleven GHGMPs were examined and compared to the baseline scenario. These scenarios were adopted from Beauchemin et al (2011), and included dietary modifications (change in use of forages, use of canola seed, and corn distillers grains, and improvement in quality of forage), and improvement in animal husbandry (increased weaning rates, and increased longevity of breeding stock). Simulation results showed a discounted whole farm gross margin of $11.38 per acre for the baseline scenario. Feed costs accounted for 47.1 percent of total costs of beef production. The change in whole farm gross margin per acre from implementation of different GHGMPs ranged from an increase of 4 percent to a decrease of 5 percent. Six scenarios were identified as ‘win-win’ scenarios as they improved both environment and economics of the farm. The profit of these scenarios ranged from $238.11 to $30.31 per tonne of GHG reductions expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent). The loss from the other scenarios capable of reducing GHG emissions range from $92.06 to $582.46 per tonne GHG reduced. Based on these results, it was concluded that western Canadian beef producers can adopt sustainable GHGMPs without substantial changing the structure of their operations. Scenarios that improved both the environment and the economics of the farm were: Scenario 7: use of corn distillers dried grain (CDDG) in finishing ration; Scenario 4: use of canola seed in finishing ration; Scenario 8: use of CDDG in breeding stock ration; Scenario 10: increased calve weaning rate (85% to 90%); Scenario 5: use of canola seed in breeding stock ration; and Scenario 9 : improved hay for breeding stock.

Agricultural production is an important source of environmental emissions. While water quality concerns related to animal agriculture have been studied extensively, air quality issues have become an increasing concern. Due to the transfer of nutrients between air, water, and soil, emissions to air can harm water quality. We conduct a multi-objective optimization analysis for a representative dairy farm with two different approaches: nonlinear programming (NLP) and ϵ-constraint optimization to evaluate trade-offs among reduction of multiple pollutants including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), greenhouse gas (GHG), and ammonia. We evaluated twenty-six different scenar- ios in which we define incremental reductions of N, P, ammonia, and GHG from five to 25% relative to a baseline scenario. The farm entails crop production, livestock production (dairy and broiler), and manure management activities. Results from NLP optimization indicate that reducing P and ammonia emissions is relatively more expen- sive than N and GHG. This result is also confirmed by the ϵ-constraint optimization. However, the latter approach provides limited evidence of trade-offs among reduction of farm pollutants and net returns, while the former approach includes different re- duction scenarios that make trade-offs more evident. Results from both approaches indicate changes in crop rotation and land retirement are the best strategies to reduce N and P emissions while cow diet changes involving less forage represents the best strategy to reduce ammonia and GHG emissions. / Master of Science / Human activities often damage and deplete the environment. For instance, nutrient pollution into air and water, which mostly comes from agricultural and industrial activ- ities, results in water quality degradation. Thus, mitigating the detrimental impacts of human activities is an important step toward environmental sustainability. Reducing environmental impacts of nutrient pollution from agriculture is a complicated problem, which needs a comprehensive understanding of types of pollution and their reduction strategies. Reduction strategies need to be both feasible and financially viable. Con- sequently, practices must be carefully selected to allow farmers to maximize their net return while reducing pollution levels to reach a satisfactory level. Thus, this paper conducts a study to evaluate the trade-offs associated with farm net return and re- ducing the most important pollutants generated by agricultural activities. The results of this study show that reducing N and GHG emissions from a representative dairy farm is less costly than reducing P and ammonia emissions, respectively. In addition, reducing one pollutant may result in reduction of other pollutants. In general, for N and P emissions reduction land retirement and varying crop rotations are the most effective strategies. However, for reducing ammonia and GHG emissions focusing on cow diet changes involving less forage is the most effective strategy.

Drawing on workplace ethnography at a farm in the East of England and interviews with former participants on the UK's temporary foreign worker programme, the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme, this thesis contributes to understanding of the everyday work and living experiences of migrant workers in UK horticulture. In particular, it assesses the influence of supermarket-driven supply chains and of immigration status on these experiences. This thus reveals a labour process which is strongly shaped by structural factors, yet workers' agency is also shown to play an important part. The analysis is organised around working and living spaces. It first explores the living spaces of the camp in which migrant workers were required to reside as a result of the conditions attached to the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme. Such conditions, it is argued, give rise to both social and physical enclosure and thus to employers' control of migrant workers. Secondly, the thesis focuses on everyday work spaces, illustrating how migrants' work efforts are influenced by two features of production operating in UK food supply chains: just in time and total quality control. The role of surveillance and technology are shown to be important in habituating migrants' bodies and their work efforts. The analysis of spaces of work also reveals how the piece rate form of payment and uncertainty over rates of pay are used to gain workers' consent and intensification of work effort. Moreover, it contributes to understanding of the bodily effects of that effort. The thesis further explores leisure and consumption spaces away from the camp. These can be sites of stigma, racism and exclusion and simultaneously reveal the working of a transnational social field. The analysis of these spaces provides evidence of how immigration status and nationality can shape both migrants' own identities and how others perceive them.

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