Throughout the 20th century, American farmlands, agricultural policy, and diets have seen dramatic transformations. The number of farms in America has decreased, but the average size of farms has increased. These larger farms are increasingly more industrialized and produce a short list of profitable, subsidized commodity crops. Similarly, changes in the American diet throughout the 20th and 21st centuries have reflected these shifts in the landscape of American farmland. Simultaneous to the evolution of American farms was an increase in federal involvement in American agriculture through policy that seems to encourage these trends. Although separating out the causes from the effects can be difficult, this paper attempts to understand the role that policy has played in a changing American farmland, the players behind American food and agricultural policy, and the implications these changes have had on the American diet.

The overall purpose of this study was to define the water balance of feedlot pens in a Saskatchewan cattle feeding operation for a one year period. Although the initial intention of the study was focused upon an active feedlot, cattle were removed from the pens in July 2003. Therefore, the year of analysis was conducted on the manured surface of an inactive feedlot. The water balance was also performed on a scraped soil surface, since manure is removed from the pens and spread on agricultural land, leaving the pen surfaces bare for a short period of time each year. <p>During the monitoring period (Sept. 2003 to Aug. 2004), 313 mm of precipitation was received at the feedlot, but only 84 mm of that total was received before June 2004. Winter precipitation was very low (33 mm) and there was no observed runoff from it. Runoff collection weirs in operation for only part of the summer recorded no runoff. The Green-Ampt and USDA SCS runoff models, as well as a snowmelt runoff equation, were used to predict runoff from both the manure pack, as well as the scraped soil surface. Using manure and soil hydraulic parameters determined in the laboratory (from falling head permeameter measurements) and the field (from rainfall simulations), as well as incorporating the greatest 24 hour rainfall amounts and 30 minute intensities experienced at the feedlot, the USDA model found that 29 mm of runoff would occur from the scraped soil surface. Additionally, snowmelt runoff was estimated to be 19 mm for the winter precipitation received. Drainage beneath the 0.6 m soil depth was negligible and the top 0.6 m of soil experienced an increase in moisture of 54 mm. Finally, 211 mm was lost as evaporation. For the manure pack, no runoff was predicted using the Green-Ampt and USDA SCS models and snowmelt runoff equation, which corresponded well to the lack of runoff measured both from the weir and rainfall simulations. Drainage beneath 0.6 m soil depth was negligible. Of the 313 mm of precipitation that fell during the study year, 42 mm was stored within the manure pack and the rest was lost as evaporation (271 mm).

The overall purpose of this study was to define the water balance of feedlot pens in a Saskatchewan cattle feeding operation for a one year period. Although the initial intention of the study was focused upon an active feedlot, cattle were removed from the pens in July 2003. Therefore, the year of analysis was conducted on the manured surface of an inactive feedlot. The water balance was also performed on a scraped soil surface, since manure is removed from the pens and spread on agricultural land, leaving the pen surfaces bare for a short period of time each year. <p>During the monitoring period (Sept. 2003 to Aug. 2004), 313 mm of precipitation was received at the feedlot, but only 84 mm of that total was received before June 2004. Winter precipitation was very low (33 mm) and there was no observed runoff from it. Runoff collection weirs in operation for only part of the summer recorded no runoff. The Green-Ampt and USDA SCS runoff models, as well as a snowmelt runoff equation, were used to predict runoff from both the manure pack, as well as the scraped soil surface. Using manure and soil hydraulic parameters determined in the laboratory (from falling head permeameter measurements) and the field (from rainfall simulations), as well as incorporating the greatest 24 hour rainfall amounts and 30 minute intensities experienced at the feedlot, the USDA model found that 29 mm of runoff would occur from the scraped soil surface. Additionally, snowmelt runoff was estimated to be 19 mm for the winter precipitation received. Drainage beneath the 0.6 m soil depth was negligible and the top 0.6 m of soil experienced an increase in moisture of 54 mm. Finally, 211 mm was lost as evaporation. For the manure pack, no runoff was predicted using the Green-Ampt and USDA SCS models and snowmelt runoff equation, which corresponded well to the lack of runoff measured both from the weir and rainfall simulations. Drainage beneath 0.6 m soil depth was negligible. Of the 313 mm of precipitation that fell during the study year, 42 mm was stored within the manure pack and the rest was lost as evaporation (271 mm).

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<p dir="ltr">The Farm Service Agency's Guaranteed Loan Program supports eligible lender's ability to provide credit to farms who would otherwise not qualify for loans by guaranteeing up to 95% of principal and interest if the farmer defaults. The first chapter examines the degree to which bank characteristics influence FSA guaranteed loan rates paid by farmers. We leverage the unique characteristics of a panel of FSA guaranteed loans that include both borrower and lender information. Relative to pooled OLS, our preferred fixed-effects regression specification suggests that both time-varying and invariant lender effects are a significant determinant of FSA guaranteed loan rates. Further, when controlling for lender-effects, the significance of borrower characteristics largely diminish. These findings are consistent with prior studies of broader lending market interaction. This is the first study to examine FSA guaranteed loans which accounts for bank-level variation in lending terms. The findings may be of interest to policymakers, program administrators, lenders, and farmers.</p><p dir="ltr">Bankers’ expectations have been shown to provide reasonable forecasts of land value. In the second chapter, we test the informativeness of bankers’ expectations in predicting FSA guaranteed loan application volumes. Once again, we leverage proprietary administrative data from the FSA and, this time, pair it with survey data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to evaluate bankers’ forecasts. Results show that bankers’ forecasts are outperformed by naïve models, and including bankers’ expectations does not improve predictive models. Once again, these results will be of interest to FSA program administrators, lenders, and potential borrowers.</p><p dir="ltr">The study of risk is an important thread of farm management research as agriculture is an industry with many sources of risk. In the third chapter, we link broad measures of policy risk in the form of Equity Market Volatility trackers to farmer’s perceptions of risk and uncertainty. We consider disagreement in ex ante sentiment questions to measure farmer risk. Through a series of pairwise VARs, we show which sources of risk matriculate as concerns for farmers measured by uncertainty in the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. Increases in tax policy, trade policy and infectious disease uncertainty are found to Granger-cause movement in farmer sentiment uncertainty.</p>

Foreign aid project exit strategies that contribute to sustainable development have been rarely considered throughout the history of development studies and practice. The philosophical underpinnings of early development were based on economic theories. Over the years initiatives have manifested themselves by investments through international aid projects. As aid projects are donor-driven, most exit strategy planning involves closing down a project without turning it over to another organization to continue implementation. This means that aid benefits end with whatever impact the project has made, leaving ill-equipped local ministries or under-resourced NGOs to meet local development needs and fill the gap of terminated services. The project cycle—a popular development tool used by multinational and bilateral organizations alike—provides a framework to induce development, but makes no accommodation for an exit strategy that perpetuates development. This is a missed opportunity that reveals a flaw in the project cycle. This flaw can be corrected by revising the project cycle implementation stage to include building the capacity of people to perform the functions the project was designed for, as well as a local implementing entity through which they can work. Once accomplished, a sponsor can transfer project activities and resources to the local implementing entity though a phase-over process to extend development post-project for ongoing impact. / The aim of this thesis is to promote a greater understanding of exit strategies and analyze an aspect of project management essential to all foreign aid projects since every project must eventually end its interventions upon completion of its goals or within prescribed financial and time constraints. What are the conditions necessary to complete a foreign aid project phase-over to a local institution successfully? How can in-country local project staff contribute to institution-building before, during, and after a phase-over? What are the appropriate ways to measure the success of a phase-over? / This thesis examines the concept of exit strategy within the context of a case study of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Marketing Assistance Project (USDA-MAP) in Armenia (1995-2005) and the innovative phase-over approach it used to establish the Center for Agribusiness & Rural Development (CARD). To do this, the writings of Levinger & McLeod (2002), Gardner et al. (2005), and Esman (1972) are drawn upon to analyze this case. The actions taken by the USDA illustrate how an emphasis on internal local project staff, over external technical interventions, furthers development. The USDA’s exit strategy incorporated collective participation, empowered local stakeholders, promoted development ownership through localization, and built individual and institutional capacity. The resulting organization that was created is evidence of a successful phase-over and an innovative institution. This phase-over model offers a paradigm that embraces and promotes social/human assets within aid projects for sustainable development, and in so doing has ramifications for policy makers, project designers, and development practitioners to rethink conventional development practices.

Foreign aid project exit strategies that contribute to sustainable development have been rarely considered throughout the history of development studies and practice. The philosophical underpinnings of early development were based on economic theories. Over the years initiatives have manifested themselves by investments through international aid projects. As aid projects are donor-driven, most exit strategy planning involves closing down a project without turning it over to another organization to continue implementation. This means that aid benefits end with whatever impact the project has made, leaving ill-equipped local ministries or under-resourced NGOs to meet local development needs and fill the gap of terminated services. The project cycle—a popular development tool used by multinational and bilateral organizations alike—provides a framework to induce development, but makes no accommodation for an exit strategy that perpetuates development. This is a missed opportunity that reveals a flaw in the project cycle. This flaw can be corrected by revising the project cycle implementation stage to include building the capacity of people to perform the functions the project was designed for, as well as a local implementing entity through which they can work. Once accomplished, a sponsor can transfer project activities and resources to the local implementing entity though a phase-over process to extend development post-project for ongoing impact. / The aim of this thesis is to promote a greater understanding of exit strategies and analyze an aspect of project management essential to all foreign aid projects since every project must eventually end its interventions upon completion of its goals or within prescribed financial and time constraints. What are the conditions necessary to complete a foreign aid project phase-over to a local institution successfully? How can in-country local project staff contribute to institution-building before, during, and after a phase-over? What are the appropriate ways to measure the success of a phase-over? / This thesis examines the concept of exit strategy within the context of a case study of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Marketing Assistance Project (USDA-MAP) in Armenia (1995-2005) and the innovative phase-over approach it used to establish the Center for Agribusiness & Rural Development (CARD). To do this, the writings of Levinger & McLeod (2002), Gardner et al. (2005), and Esman (1972) are drawn upon to analyze this case. The actions taken by the USDA illustrate how an emphasis on internal local project staff, over external technical interventions, furthers development. The USDA’s exit strategy incorporated collective participation, empowered local stakeholders, promoted development ownership through localization, and built individual and institutional capacity. The resulting organization that was created is evidence of a successful phase-over and an innovative institution. This phase-over model offers a paradigm that embraces and promotes social/human assets within aid projects for sustainable development, and in so doing has ramifications for policy makers, project designers, and development practitioners to rethink conventional development practices.

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