Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Brian C. Briggeman / Grain Elevators have towered the plains of Southwest Kansas for over the last half of a century. Many of these large white concrete structures were built during the 1950s using a slip form concrete design. While new grain storage has been built over time, many of the original slip form structures remain a large part of the farm cooperatives storage capacity. Grain production has continued to increase and put greater demand on storage facilities and handling capabilities. Thus, there is a need for cooperatives to meet the future demands of farmers by replacing or updating grain storage assets. The objective of this project is to provide a comparative analysis of grain storage options that a cooperative, primarily the Garden City Co-op, Inc. (GCC), could utilize in making a decision to update or replace grain storage assets. The project examines three different options for grain storage including concrete, steel, and bunker storage. The project will also examine extending the life of an original slip form elevator by installing a gunite bin liner. To determine which option that provides the most economic benefit to GCC and its members, Net Present Value and the Internal Rate of Return are estimated for each grain storage option. GCC historical grain handling margins and grain storage costs were derived from historical averages and bids from projects GCC has undertaken in the past five years, respectively. The model assumes receipts as a percentage of storage to accurately represent bushels handled by a facility. Grain storage is highly variable in initial cost and the operational needs will change in every circumstance. The results indicate that a large volume of grain is needed before economic profits will be realized.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

This thesis is about the act of inhabiting the post-industrial landscape: about how a city with the remains of and scars from a previous era can begin to repurpose those remnants--both in a physical, as well as intangible sense. Proposing an alternative to the patterns of development that created such a landscape, it offers resistance to the entrenched values of privatization, commodification, and consumption. The chosen site--an abandoned grain elevator in Buffalo, New York--sits at a nexus of converging landscapes: the grid of downtown to the north, a former industrial canal to the east, a stretch of barren waterfront land to the south, and the expansive Lake Erie to the west. This site, existing at the mouth of the now contaminated Buffalo River, possesses both beauty and sublimity in its deterioration; as such, it is uniquely situated to become a charged point of entry to the desolate waterfront beyond, as well as a bridge--literally and figuratively--between the city, its heritage, and its legacy. Drawing on such precedents as the library and the enlightenment-era salon as traditional places of scholarship and colloquy, the project is also influenced by the archetypes of the tavern and the union hall as more informal, although no less vital, places of cultural exchange. It is the aim of this thesis to bring the residents of Buffalo together in a public platform that would impress and bring into focus the processes that created the current conditions, allow for the meaningful re-inhabitation of this landscape, as well as foster a sense of community, dialogue, exchange, learning, and inquiry, with the desired outcome of participatory change.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Michael R. Langemeier / With increased focus on food safety and protection, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has examined the possibility of removing the exemption for elevators pertaining to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). The objective of this thesis was to determine the extent to which Kansas Elevators have adopted GMPs. To accomplish the objective of this thesis, information from an online survey completed by 42 elevators was summarized and analyzed. The information that was collected focused on the general classification of the elevators, grain safety programs, pest control programs and procedures, operational methods and personal practices, and maintenance of the facilities and equipment. Correlation coefficients were computed to determine if there were any significant correlations between elevator characteristics and GMPs. The study found that many of the elevators surveyed do not comply with the GMP requirements, and would require more resources in order to do so. Little connection was made between classification information such as size, location, or number of employees and GMP implementation. The significant correlations found were between HACCP and Pest Management, and HACCP and Traceability. The main limitation of this thesis was the small number of survey participants.