The Agricultural Economics Profession at 100 Years: A Profile and Projections for the Future

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

AGRICULTURE TO INSTREAM WATER TRANSFERS UNDER UNCERTAIN WATER AVAILABILITY: A CASE STUDY OF THE DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON

Prior appropriations of river flows (primarily to agriculture) have greatly reduced flow in many Oregon streams, causing major changes in stream ecosystems. This study focuses on trade-offs between instream and agricultural uses for the two largest irrigation districts in OregonÂ’'s Deschutes River basin. Both short- and long-term water lease strategies are examined, as are requirements now in place that water leases be accompanied by fallowing land formerly served by the leased water. The low-cost strategies combine canal lining with reductions in farmerÂ’'s per acre water use. Short-term leases are less costly than long-term leasesResource /Energy Economics and Policy,

HOW MUCH DO FARMERS PAY IN TAXES?

A variety of federal, state, and local taxes are levied on farming operations in the United States. To date, there has been no attempt to systematically estimate what the total tax burden is on U.S. farms and how that burden varies from state to state. Based on the results of this analysis, the total farmer tax burden in 1994 was estimated at nearly $17 billion, most of which was in the form of real property tax (44%) and federal personal income tax (26%).farms, income taxes, property taxes, tax burdens, Agricultural Finance, Public Economics,

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: DO THEY INFLUENCE THE SALE PRICE OF LAND?

Land Economics/Use,

INCORPORATING GOVERNMENT PROGRAM PROVISIONS INTO A MEAN-VARIANCE FRAMEWORK

E-V studies traditionally have relied on historical data to calculate returns and variance. Historical data may not fully reflect current conditions, particularly when decisions involve government-supported crops. This paper presents a method for calculating mean and variance using subjectively-estimated data. The method is developed for both government-supported and non-program crops. Comparisons to alternative methods suggest the approach provides reasonable accuracy.Agricultural and Food Policy,

The Impact of Tenure Arrangements and Crop Rotations on Upper Gulf Coast Rice Farms.

92 p

Enzyme-catalysed polymer cross-linking:Biocatalytic tools for chemical biology, materials science and beyond

Intermolecular cross-linking is one of the most important techniques that can be used to fundamentally alter the material properties of a polymer. The introduction of covalent bonds between individual polymer chains creates 3D macromolecular assemblies with enhanced mechanical properties and greater chemical or thermal tolerances. In contrast to many chemical cross-linking reactions, which are the basis of thermoset plastics, enzyme catalysed processes offer a complimentary paradigm for the assembly of cross-linked polymer networks through their predictability and high levels of control. Additionally, enzyme catalysed reactions offer an inherently ‘greener’ and more biocompatible approach to covalent bond formation, which could include the use of aqueous solvents, ambient temperatures, and heavy metal-free reagents. Here, we review recent progress in the development of biocatalytic methods for polymer cross-linking, with a specific focus on the most promising candidate enzyme classes and their underlying catalytic mechanisms. We also provide exemplars of the use of enzyme catalysed cross-linking reactions in industrially relevant applications, noting the limitations of these approaches and outlining strategies to mitigate reported deficiencies

A New Probe of the Planet-Forming Region in T Tauri Disks

We present new observations of the FUV (1100-2200 Angstrom) radiation field and the near- to mid-IR (3--13.5 micron) spectral energy distribution (SED) of a sample of T Tauri stars selected on the basis of bright molecular disks (GM Aur, DM Tau, LkCa15). In each source we find evidence for Ly alpha induced H2 fluorescence and an additional source of FUV continuum emission below 1700 Angstroms. Comparison of the FUV spectra to a model of H2 excitation suggests that the strong continuum emission is due to electron impact excitation of H2. The ultimate source of this excitation is likely X-ray irradiation which creates hot photo-electrons mixed in the molecular layer. Analysis of the SED of each object finds the presence of inner disk gaps with sizes of a few AU in each of these young (~1 Myr) stellar systems. We propose that the presence of strong H2 continuum emission and inner disk clearing are related by the increased penetration power of high energy photons in gas rich regions with low grain opacity.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted by ApJ Letter