DOES THE MARKET ANTICIPATE SMOOTHING IN USDA CROP PRODUCTION FORECASTS?

This study examines whether market participants anticipate the predictable component in USDA revisions of corn and soybean production forecasts during 1970/71 through 2003/04 marketing years. The analysis revealed that markets consistently under-predicted October corn production revisions and over-predicted September soybean production revisions. These biases may be attributable to inefficient use of information about smoothing in USDA revisions. In all other cases market analysts seemed to be aware of USDA smoothing practices and generally efficiently incorporated this information into their own forecasts.Marketing,

Women Farmers: Pulling Up Their Own Educational Boot Straps with Extension

Women comprise a rapidly growing segment in agriculture. In this article, we examine how a network of women farmers, Extension educators, and researchers responded to the significant increase in women farmers in one state by creating a membership organization that draws on the expertise and resources of the land-grant university and Extension in Pennsylvania to create educational events with networking opportunities. We report 4 years of evaluation data for 37 events indicating educational impact, expansion and enhancement of the network, and marketing strategies for Extension to improve participation of women

EFFECTIVE COSTS AND CHEMICAL USE IN U.S. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION: BENEFITS AND COSTS OF USING THE ENVIRONMENT AS A "FREE" INPUT

This study uses a cost-function-based model of production processes in U.S. agriculture to represent producers' input and output decisions, and the implied costs of reductions in risk associated with leaching and runoff from agricultural chemical use. The model facilitates evaluation of the statistical significance of measured shadow values for "bad" outputs, and their input- and output-specific components, with a focus on the impacts on pesticide demand and its quality and quantity aspects. The shadow values of risk reduction are statistically significant, and imply increased demand for effective pesticides over time that stem largely from improvements in quality due to embodied technology, and that vary substantively by region.Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management,

Cultivar and Fungicide Evaluations for Cercospora Leaf Spot Control in Organic and Conventional Table Beet Production

Cercospora leaf spot (CLS), caused by the fungal pathogen Cercospora beticola, is the most destructive foliar disease of table beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) in Wisconsin, USA, and globally. Under conducive conditions, symptomatic lesions on the leaf expand and coalesce forming large necrotic areas that can ultimately lead to complete defoliation. This damage reduces productivity and threatens the ability to mechanically harvest. CLS damage also detracts from the visual appeal of fresh market bunched beets to such an extent that growers risk buyer rejection if CLS severity is observed to be greater than 5%. Fungicide use for CLS control is threatened by the emergence of resistant C. beticola strains, and the application of host resistance is constrained by limited knowledge of cultivar reaction to CLS in table beet. This study aimed to address the knowledge gaps of fungicide efficacy and cultivar reaction by conducting replicated field trials in multiple table beet growing environments across Wisconsin. Broad variation for resistance to CLS was observed among the 10 included cultivars. The mean area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) across environments for the most susceptible cultivar was 267% greater than the most resistant cultivar. Spearman correlations between environments for mean cultivar AUDPC value ranged from 0.71 to 0.99, revealing consistent cultivar CLS reactions across environments. Although susceptible cultivars surpassed 5% severity in all environments, the resistant cultivars remained below this threshold in six of the 10 environments. By comparison with resistant sugar beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) cultivars, however, all tested table beets appeared susceptible to CLS, highlighting the potential for a CLS breeding effort in table beet. Neither of the evaluated Organic Materials Review Institute–listed treatments were effective at limiting CLS disease progress, whereas both tested conventional fungicides significantly reduced disease severity over the nontreated plots. These findings may provide helpful guidance to table beet growers affected by CLS in Wisconsin and beyond

Identifying Quantitative Trait Loci for Resistance Against Stripe Rust and Septoria tritici blotch in Soft White Winter Wheat

Stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) and Septoria tritici blotch (Zymoseptoria tritici) are a constant and significant threat to wheat production, significantly reducing wheat quality and yield. Wheat is responsible for 20% of the world’s human calorie intake, and wheat production must increase to supply the demand of the world’s growing population. Both stripe rust and Septoria tritici blotch (STB) are critical foliar diseases of wheat in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Increasing stripe rust and STB resistance through plant breeding is the most cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly approach to manage these diseases. A recombinant inbred line population was developed from a cross between ‘Madsen’ and ‘Foote’ soft white winter wheat cultivars to study stripe rust and STB resistance. Foote (PI 599663) was initially resistant to stripe rust but is now considered susceptible to new, virulent strains of the pathogen. However, Foote has maintained moderate resistance to STB in the PNW. Madsen (PI 511673) has provided effective resistance to stripe rust, but it is considered moderately susceptible to STB. The recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, consisting of 217 lines, was phenotyped across multiple environments for stripe rust and STB response and genotyped using Illumina HiSeq 3000 Sequencing. The 217 lines were also phenotyped for seedling resistance for stripe rust in growth chambers against a bulk population of spores collected from the field in 2012 and a single isolate of race Pstv-37. Pstv-37 has been the most abundant race in the PNW in the last six years. The STACKS and Bfctools programs were used for calling genotype variation. The best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) was calculated across environments and used to detect QTL resistance. Results of quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis indicated minor alleles for adult plant resistance to STB in wheat chromosomes 4B, 5A, 6B, 6D and 7DS. Stacking these genes is the best strategy to develop durable resistance to STB. For wheat stripe rust in the field, major alleles for resistance were identified in wheat chromosome 2AS, which is likely the known stripe rust resistance gene Yr17, and in 1AS. Two minor QTL were found in 2AS/2DS and 4DL. For the growth chamber study, four QTL were found in 1B, 2B, 6B, and 7B, with the identified QTL dependent on the stripe rust race used for screening. Combining Yr17, 1AS, and the other QTLs will lead to developing durable resistance to individual cultivars. The QTL identified in this thesis could help to develop breeder-friendly molecular markers for use in genotypic selection for improved STB and stripe rust resistance in whea