An Analysis of the 2002 Farm Bill’s Value-Added Producer Grants Program

Our objective is to identify the determinants for success among USDA’s Value- Added Producer Grants (VAPG) program recipients. Business development has become an important program in departments of agricultural economics. Market share was found to be an important determinant of VAPG success. Size variables including greater sales and increased grant dollars, as well as a lower number of producers, were also determinants of business success. Departments of agricultural economics are likely best able to assist VAPG recipients by providing information on price discovery, explaining their relationship to potential plant location, and providing education on best management practices to help producers avoid costly mistakes.agribusiness, business development, value-added, Agribusiness, Financial Economics, Productivity Analysis,

Rebound Discharge in Deep Cerebellar Nuclear Neurons In Vitro

Neurons of the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) play a critical role in defining the output of cerebellum in the course of encoding Purkinje cell inhibitory inputs. The earliest work performed with in vitro preparations established that DCN cells have the capacity to translate membrane hyperpolarizations into a rebound increase in firing frequency. The primary means of distinguishing between DCN neurons has been according to cell size and transmitter phenotype, but in some cases, differences in the firing properties of DCN cells maintained in vitro have been reported. In particular, it was shown that large diameter cells in the rat DCN exhibit two phenotypes of rebound discharge in vitro that may eventually help define their functional roles in cerebellar output. A transient burst and weak burst phenotype can be distinguished based on the frequency and pattern of rebound discharge immediately following a hyperpolarizing stimulus. Work to date indicates that the difference in excitability arises from at least the degree of activation of T-type Ca2+ current during the immediate phase of rebound firing and Ca2+-dependent K+ channels that underlie afterhyperpolarizations. Both phenotypes can be detected following stimulation of Purkinje cell inhibitory inputs under conditions that preserve resting membrane potential and natural ionic gradients. In this paper, we review the evidence supporting the existence of different rebound phenotypes in DCN cells and the ion channel expression patterns that underlie their generation

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Economic analysis of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s value-added producer grants program

Master of ScienceDepartment of Agricultural EconomicsMichael A. BolandThe 2002 Farm Bill Rural Development Title created new programs to encourage the development of businesses designed to convert commodities to value-added products. This thesis identifies determinants of business development success for Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) recipients. Success is categorized in nine different stages of development:(1) creation of an idea, (2) formation of the idea into a written plan as a feasibility study, business plan, or marketing plan, (3) formation of an organizational structure for the idea, (4) the hiring of a manager or employees for the idea, (5) raise capital for the idea through equity drives, (7) creation of the idea into a product in a facility, (8) distribute and sell the product, (9) and whether the product was being sold in March of 2006. The data involves information on 621 grant recipients. Two econometric models are used to evaluate the data. The number of USDA Rural Business and Cooperative Employees, the value-added producer grant amount divided by the number of producers in the organization, the 2006 organizational sales divided by the number of producers in the respective organization, and the total production of the organization divided by the national production of the respective crop were significant variables. These four size variables had a negative impact on an organization being in steps one though eight, but a positive impact on being in step nine, which was the successful stage of business development. (such as dairy, flowers, fruit, nuts, specialty meats, wheat, and wine were positively associated with successful VAPG grant recipients. Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin had significantly greater odds of success in business development also

An Analysis of the 2002 Farm Bill’s Value-Added Producer Grants Program

Our objective is to identify the determinants for success among USDA’s Value- Added Producer Grants (VAPG) program recipients. Business development has become an important program in departments of agricultural economics. Market share was found to be an important determinant of VAPG success. Size variables including greater sales and increased grant dollars, as well as a lower number of producers, were also determinants of business success. Departments of agricultural economics are likely best able to assist VAPG recipients by providing information on price discovery, explaining their relationship to potential plant location, and providing education on best management practices to help producers avoid costly mistakes