The Rappahannock River Basin Commission is undergoing a collaborative water supply planning process for Virginiaâs Rappahannock River Basin. Participants in the planning process have indicated an interest in technical information about the possible impact conservation programs may have on...

In international trade involving agricultural products, attempts to safeguard the health of humans, animals, and plants, have led to the imposition of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards. Due to the fact that groundnuts are susceptible to aflatoxin contamination, stringent aflatoxin...

The purpose of this study was to analyze the cost implications of various provisions of the Virginia Nutrient Credit Exchange Act. The first objective was to estimate the cost implications of point source trading provisions of the Act. An integer programming cost minimization model was...

This thesis explores constraints to the development of markets for high quality cacao in Ecuador. It focuses on the role of market level constraints, particularly the transmission of quality incentives along the marketing chain and their effects on farmersâ incentives to invest in quality...

There is growing interest in learning the impacts of agricultural technologies especially in developing economies. Economic analysis may entail assessment of employment and time allocation effects of new technologies. An issue of importance in South Asia is the impacts of technological change on...

This dissertation explores household risk and savings behavior in Zimbabwe, and agricultural technology adoption, and the impact of public investments on the economy and community health in Ethiopia. The first paper analyzes changes in per capita consumption and savings behavior in Zimbabwe...

Two very important benchmarks in the development of a marketing strategy are the variable and fixed costs of production. Every farmer has costs of production that are unique to their particular farm. Accurately identifying the costs of production or break even costs for the various crop...

This dissertation examines a number of issues related to Static and Dynamic Student t Regression Models. The Static Student t Regression Model is derived and transformed to an operational form. The operational form is then examined in a series of Monte Carlo experiments. The model is judged...

The agricultural negotiations in the World Trade Organizationâs (WTO) Doha Development Agenda (DDA) are calling for a specific Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) for developing countries that will protect agricultural producers from import surges or price declines, and could potentially add...

This dissertation consists of three essays that examine consumer behavior with respect to drinking water quality issues. The first essay uses contingent valuation method to explore consumersâ willingness to pay (WTP) for a hypothetical material in home drinking water infrastructure that will...