Research poster: Climate change impacts to groundwater, springs hydrology and aquatic communities Amargosa Desert and Death Valley National Park, Nevada and California

Research poste

Do Profitable Farms Remain Profitable? Transition Probabilities Using Markov Switching Models Applied to Kansas Farm Data

Financial vulnerability has been observed across agricultural production regions; however, uncertainty regarding farms’ persistence within specific profitability categories exists. This study compared farm characteristics that persist in most and least profitable categories and then evaluated the probability that farms transitioned among profitability categories. Using 425 Kansas Farm Management Association (KFMA) farms that were present for the 20-year period 1994–2013, the persistence of remaining or transitioning to another profitability category was tested. Specifically, Markov transition probabilities were estimated for Kansas and the six regional KFMA regions. Comparisons of farms that persist in the highest and lowest profitability categories revealed no dramatic differences in acreage or other physical characteristics. Kansas farms tend to persist in their current profitability category, suggesting that operator skill and/or quality of farmland dominate random factors. In general, transition probabilities were greater for the highest and lowest profitability categories than for the middle categories. Farms were observed switching from highest to lowest profitability categories between 5% and 20% of the time within one year. Farmers were likely to stay in the highest profitability group more than half the time. By contrast, farmers were likely to stay in the lowest profitability group 42% of the time. Just like with the most profitable group, the least profitable group has a greater likelihood of remaining at the bottom, indicating that random events do not cause persistence

Contemporary Viewpoints: a Survey of Law Enforcement Officers in Oregon

Contemporary Viewpoints: A 2012 Survey of Law Enforcement Officers in Oregon is the culmination of a research initiative conducted in partnership with Oregon’s major law enforcement organizations: the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police (OACP), Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association (OSSA), Oregon State Police (OSP), and the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST). The project had two objectives. First, collect a statewide sampling of viewpoints from Oregon law enforcement officers employed in municipal police agencies, sheriff’s offices, and the State Police to establish a baseline dataset, which could then be used to measure selected aspects of law enforcement’s professional development. The second objective is to use the findings as a means to facilitate critiques of the data in partnership with Oregon’s law enforcement practitioners. Consequently, it is both a report and an open invitation. The report examines aspects of an officer’s work-environment presented from two viewpoints. The first viewpoint is from an “agency perspective” (i.e. state police, municipal police, and sheriff’s offices) and is intended to highlight any differences or similarities of opinion that occur between agencies. The second viewpoint is from a “rank perspective” looking across all ranks in these agencies (i.e. line officers, sergeants, lieutenants, captains and above, and chiefs and sheriffs) and is intended to highlight any differences or similarities of opinion that occur between ranks

Successful treatment of a guitarist with a finger joint injury using instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization: a case report

Finger injuries are common and can greatly affect a musician's quality of life. A 55-year-old man, who had injured the proximal interphalangeal joint of the left index finger 6 months prior to any intervention, was treated with a manual therapy approach incorporating instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM). Initial examination findings included self-reported pain and functional limitations and physical impairments that significantly impeded his ability to play the acoustic guitar. He was treated once a week for 6 weeks with IASTM, joint mobilization, therapeutic exercise, and ice massage. Additionally, a home exercise program and self-care instructions were provided. The patient gained positive outcomes with improvements in pain (Numerical Pain Rating Scale while playing the guitar: initial 5/10, discharge 1/10) and function (Disability Arm Shoulder Hand Sports-Performing Arts Optional Module: initial 75; discharge 6·25), each reaching a minimum clinically important difference. Importantly, he was able to play the guitar with minimal to no pain as desired. Physical measures also improved, including an immediate gain in finger range of motion with IASTM alone. Manual therapy approaches integrating IASTM may provide an effective conservative treatment strategy for patients with finger/hand conditions in the performing arts and other patient populations

Range or Meadow Regrowth Grazing and Weaning Effects on Two Year-Old Cows

Body condition of cows at calving affects pregnancy rate and breeding date. Body condition at calving of spring calving cows wintered on range is influenced by fall body condition. A Montana study showed that lactating cows grazing range lost body condition during August and September. The loss of body condition was attributed to an inadequate consumption of crude protein. Diet samples of cattle grazing Sandhills range during August to October contain 6% to 8% crude protein. Loss of body condition of spring calving, primiparous cows grazing Nebraska Sandhills range during the fall is a concern. Subirrigated meadow regrowth is a higher quality forage than upland range in the fall. Diet samples collected from cattle grazing regrowth from subirrigated meadow during October contained approximately 11% crude protein. Two potential ways of maintaining or increasing cow body condition during the fall is to wean the calf, thus reducing the cow\u27s nutrient requirements, or increase the potential to meet crude protein requirements with higher quality forage. Our objectives were to determine if September weaning or grazing subirrigated meadows would improve body condition score of spring calving primiparous beef cows during September and October. and to determine nutrient intakes by dry and lactating cows grazing native range or subirrigated meadow regrowth

Troup Factory: Archaeological Investigations of a Nineteenth Century Mill Site in LaGrange, Georgia.

Troup Factory, the first cotton mill in Troup County, and the second such plant in Georgia, was established in 1846 on Flat Shoal\u27s Creek. The mill was in operation throughout the latter half of the 19th century before being relocated to the city of LaGrange. Troup Factory sheetings and homespun were standards of excellence across a widespread area of Georgia. The purpose of this paper is to document the history of the mill site through archival research and archaeological survey. Through these means a better understanding of a once prestigious mill site was obtained in order to illuminate an important period of Georgia history

Seasonal Changes in Protein Degradabilities of Sandhills Native Range and Subirrigated Meadow Diets and Application of a Metabolizable Protein System

Meadow and range diets increased in digestibility, crude protein. and escape protein during periods of active growth

Effect of MIN-AD Ruminal Buffer and Roughage Level on Ruminal Metabolism and Extent of Digestion in Steers

Six ruminally and duodenally cannulated steers were used in a metabolism experiment to determine effects of adding a ruminal buffer to diets containing increasing levels of roughage. Steers were fed high-concentrate diets containing 4.5, 9.0, or 13.5% alfalfa hay with or without 1.0% MIN-AD ruminal buffer. There were no differences observed in feed intake, ruminal metabolism, or total tract digestibility due to MIN-AD inclusion in the diet. Average pH increased and time below pH 5.6 and pH 5.3 decreased with increasing alfalfa level. Total tract digestibility decreased with increasing alfalfa level. Addition of MIN-AD to high-concentrate diets did not produce a response similar to increasing the roughage level in the diet