This thesis is an analysis and description of pollution problems caused by large feedlots in Utah. A description of pollution caused by cattle feedlots is undertaken as part of the study. The 26 feedlots analyzed had a capacity to/or did feed over 1,000 head. They were broken down into four groups on the basis of their pollution problems: those having no apparent pollution problem, those having minor problems, those having major problems, and those requiring relocation. The cost impact of meeting environmental standards with regard to runoff control was found to be very slight for the cattle feeding industry as a whole - only 18 cents per head fed on the average. The feedlots with minor problems averaged costs of slightly over 2 cents per head fed. The feedlots with major problems averaged costs of almost 5 cents per head fed using the least cost method of natural evaporation ponds and mechanical disposal systems. The feedlots requiring relocation were most affected, as they averaged $1.15 per head fed loss in value of assets through relocating.

This thesis considered the potential benefits of employing linear programming in cheese manufacturing plant as a decision tool for management. Its potential has been enhanced by the recent approval of acid orange 12 as a chemical for testing the percent protein in milk; therefore , a practical test is now available for monitoring protein as well as milk fat in milk manufacturing and fluid milk plants. Seven models , each one differing only in the milk fat and protein percentages or means of standardizing the cheese milk, were manipulated individually and simultaneously to test the managerial benefits of linear programming under various plant and market conditions. Each model consisted of five cheese activities or variables , two butter activities, three powder activities, and a selling activity for each product produced. The maximum price that could be paid the farm producer per hundred weight of milk and the minimum wholesale price per pound of manufactured product , to cover variable costs were determined for each variety of cheese and composition of milk. 7nere ·~as a cie;'ini t.e int.eract.ion between eacn of the activities. ~n~s causea the cos~ to nroduce a pound of cneese to vary according to t.ne alternative uses for milk, cream, ski~,ilk, and whey, ,J,ocn the simulated plant was beinl' utilized at or near full capacity and the cheese milk was standardized with non fat dry milk powder , total cheese yield increased as did tot.al profits , Wnen the plant was not beinl' utilize to :ull capacity, profits were hi~ner by not standardizing.

This study estimated the 1972 costs and returns, and analyzed the physical response and economic relationships of corn hybrids for silage and grain production in some counties of Utah. Average size of enterprise, land value and equipment value were estimated for silage and grain corn production in Utah. Labor requirements for land preparation, growing and harvesting of silage and grain corn production were averaged. Net returns a nd costs (variable and fixed) for s ilage and grain corn production were computed in 30 farms of 15 counties of Utah to find the total production cost. Yields, total cost, total revenue and economic profit for the hybrid seed varieties for silage and grain corn trials established in 1971 and 1972 are presented in the corresponding tables.

Through the use of a regionalized Linear Programming model, a profit maximized optimal solution was obtained for livestock feed and product production for a selected base year (1979). Production data, seasonality, transfer activities, and herd liquidation are developed for ten feeds and seven livestock products and incorporated within the model. Two drought induced simulations were imposed affecting feed production and feed prices, procuring new optimal results. Drought is simulated by the use of crop-weather indexes and range response equations. Results are discussed and presented in tables for the base year and drought simulations. Results include profits, costs, feed and livestock production, transfer activities , and herd liquidation. Seasonality of feeds, allocation of f eeds, and shadow prices are also analyzed. Policy implications and recommendations are presented.

Cattle finishing is an enterprise involving the feeding of cattle to improve their slaughter condition. This can be accomplished by gazing cattle on pasture alone, by supplementing pasture with concentrated feeds, and by feeding harvested crops to cattle in yards. The latter method is one commonly used in Utah.

The willingness to pay of participants in cisco fishing was studied for 1970. Opportunity cost of time, calculated from foregone income, was examined as part of the total costs of fishing. The opportunity cost of time was found to be a significant factor in the consumers' decision to participate, and therefore effected the valuation of the recreation considerably. Additionally, the coefficients of income and opportunity costs of time were compared and found to be of different sign for rural counties indicating a difference between the two variables.

Application was made of the economic rent method of resource valuation for the resident deer hunt in Utah. Total economic, location and quality rent values were estimated for all hunting units. These values incorporate the relationship existing between the variable use cost and the units of activity associated with the site. Data were collected by mail survey from hunters following the 1970 season. Approximately 2033 questionnaires were used in the analysis. Additional data were collected from the Utah Division of Natural Resources. The total rent value estimated from the model was approximately $3,326,238.00. Eighty-five percent of the total was attributed to quality and 15 percent to location. Total rent values were highest for Unit 2 (Cache, Unit l (Box Elder) and Unit 6 (Lost Creek). It was hypothesized that variations in quality value could be explained by variations in site specific factors. The factors were made subject to multiple regression analysis and the number of bucks, two and one-half years of age and greater taken by resident hunters, was found to be the most significant. Variation in this variable and the others in the model explained 71.3 percent of the variation in the site quality value. To test the sensitivity of capacity in the model, an additional set of capacity constraints were estimated and used in the least-cost program. This gave a higher least cost allocation as the hunters were forced to incur a higher transfer cost. In this allocation the location value increased as the quality value decreased. Multiple regression analysis indicated that 83.3 percent of the variation in site quality was due to variations in site specific factors.

Privately owned lands often undersupply environmental benefits and oversupply environmental costs through land use and management decisions. Insights into human behavior suggest a range of cognitive biases and nonstandard preferences that offer alternative explanations for and, perhaps, strategies to influence landowner behavior. People respond to simple changes in context and framing, make inconsistent choices over time, and respond to social influence—the opinions and behavior of peers. This dissertation applies insights from behavioral science to strategies that seek to influence individual decisions that impact the environment, especially related to land management. First, I review existing experimental research on behavioral insights to influence decisions in six domains that have large environmental externalities. Behavioral interventions, including changing the status quo and leveraging social influence, are often more effective than simply providing information, but there are few applications to land management. Chapter Two maps behavioral insights onto farmers’ plot-level conservation decisions that benefit biodiversity. Using a case study from California, USA, I find farmers who receive information from their peers are three times more likely to adopt practices that support biodiversity than those who do not. Chapter Three tests the causal effect of social influence on engaging Vermont forest owners in bird habitat conservation. Contrary to results from similar studies in other domains, information about peer participation reduced interest in the conservation program. Chapter Four presents results from another large-scale field experiment that tested the effect of message framing on contributions to water quality in a polluted urban watershed. Participants who read an emotional, personal narrative with tenuous connections to nutrient pollution were willing to pay more for nutrient runoff-reducing landscaping products than those who read a scientific description of nutrient pollution's impacts on ecosystems and surrounding communities. The findings from these four studies contribute to our understanding of environmentally relevant behavior, with implications for privately managed land and the environmental benefits it provides.

Water management in California is an extremely complex issue that requires collaboration from all levels of government. As the water supply shrinks and demand pressures increase over the next century, water management will become increasingly difficult. There is no single solution to the water issues facing California but there are many incremental steps than can be taken to secure an efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly economy. Water conservation programs appear to be the most cost effective means of reducing water demand. This requires a combination of incentives to reduce consumption, education about the true cost of water for California, and regulatory reform to promote efficient use and distribution of water. The state needs to make investments in education about water in California for conservation measures to be successfully adopted and implemented by the general populace. From a policy perspective, higher levels of government in the state need to establish statewide performance standards for groundwater withdrawals, point and non-point pollution, flood risk, and watershed integration for local governments to enforce. In order for these changes in water policy to be implemented, strong leadership is necessary.

Sustainability and locally sourced goods are pressing issues in today’s society for many environmental, economic, and cultural reasons. Farmers markets are becoming a highly popular method of implementing these ideas. As universities have begun to address their own processes to support sustainable practices, appeal has grown for adding a farmers market on campus. Information pertaining to markets already created and the process of implementation is not readily available. This study seeks to explore the rationale for a campus farmers market as a sustainable development on a university campus and review the processes by which a market may be established as exemplified by the newly formed Farmers Market at East Tennessee State University.