Penelope L. Diebel

• Oregon State University

In this quantitative survey study of 1,299 undergraduate students at a College of Agricultural Sciences (CAS), we explored possible factors impacting students’ decisions to prematurely depart their academic pursuits before degree completion. One of the objectives of the study was to determine differences between students of color and white students...

The current study explored challenges, support mechanisms, and successes experienced by postsec-ondary students enrolled in a STEM-based (i.e., science, technology, engineering, and math) minority student program within a College of Agricultural Sciences. Students faced challenges in the form of academic rigors, balancing school and life responsibi...

This paper presents the design and use of Representative Agricultural Pathways (RAPs) in regional integrated assessment of climate impacts. In the first part of the paper, we describe the role of pathways and scenarios in regional integrated assessment as well as the three RAPs developed for a study of dryland wheat-based systems in the U.S. Pacifi...

Ethics and agriculture is a complex debate, but one in which agricultural economics students must be prepared to participate. There are many links between economics and ethic or moral philosophy. Classroom teaching tends to focus on discussion of issues involving behavioral ethics and disregards the teaching of philosophical ethics and its applicat...

A combined economic and water quality modeling framework was used to evaluate impacts of alternative policies and management practices on reducing nitrate movement to groundwater for dairy farms in Rockingham County, Virginia. The analysis considers three on-farm manure storage options, cost-sharing programs for purchasing manure storage facilities...

Students in five courses offered with a variety of distance and on-campus delivery methods were surveyed to determine student expectations and post-evaluation of courses; student demographics; and student experiences and preferences with technology and course delivery methods. The response group was primarily degree seeking upperclassmen, taking a...

The objective of this study was to compare potential atrazine, nitrogen, and sediment loadings from conventional and alternative cropping systems in northeast Kansas. Annual contamination loadings and the associated environmental risk under each system were simulated. Results indicated that several alternative systems have lower mean annual loading...

We coupled a nonlinear mathematical programming model with sensitivity analysis and evaluated some economic barriers to adoption of low-input agriculture by farmers in Richmond County, Virginia. Collection of primary data made the model more realistic. We analyzed potential barriers to adoption, including poultry litter price, yields, labor require...

The Integrated Farm Management Program Option (IFMPO) of the 1990 farm bill is designed to increase crop management flexibility and to promote the use of resource-conserving crops. Economic analysis of this program indicates that although the current format provides flexibility, it provides little economic incentive to adopt resource-conserving cro...

This analysis compares net returns of conventional and alternative agricultural cropping systems in northeast Kansas, with and without government commodity programs. The highest net return is consistently from the alternative system, wheat/clover-sorghum-soybeans. Sensitivity analysis reveals that the economic performances of the alternative system...

The economic feasibility of fertilizing irrigated grain sorghum with compos ted manure is evaluated using net return budgeting and production function analysis. Although the use of compost is technically feasible, the economic analysis indicates that compost does not comprise a large percentage of the nitrogen source in the profit-maximizing combin...

Protection of ground water quality is of considerable importance to local, state, and federal governments. This study uses a 15-year mathematical programming model to evaluate the effectiveness of low-input agriculture, under alternative policy scenarios, as a strategy to protect ground water quality in Richmond County, Virginia. The analysis consi...

Agricultural activities have been identified as major contributors to the non-point pollution of the Chesapeake Bay. Low-input agricultural practices are being considered to reduce pollution in areas adjoining the Chesapeake Bay. A multiperiod mathematical programming model was used to examine the potential adoption of low-input practices and to as...

The Chesapeake Bay is a major water resource whose quality has been threatened by soil erosion and agrichemical contamination. The control of agricultural pollution of the Bay is one of the focal points of the 1987 Chesapeake Bay agreement formed by four states in the Bay's watershed (Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia)....

The Integrated Farm Management Program Option (IFMPO) of the 1990 farm bill is designed to increase crop management flexibility and promote the use of resource-conserving crops. Economic analysis of this program indicates that, although the current format provides flexibility, it provides little economic incentive to adopt resource-conserving crop...

Describes provisions arising from the 1990 Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act and the revised commodity program in relation to farm management. Options from these programs allow the possibility of reducing the negative impacts of farming practices on the environment. An important provision of the act is the integrated farm management pro...

Ground water contamination from agricultural nitrates poses potential adverse health effects to a large segment of the rural population of the United States. Unlike point source contaminants, these contaminants are often stochastic in nature. A mixed integer programming model of a representative dairy farm in Rockingham County, Virginia with stocha...

The fundamental policy choice of who has the right to do what to whom is a pivotal issue of governance. Over the last few decades, the answer to that question has become more restrictive to those who own and use natural resources as inputs into production processes. Increasingly, the beneficiaries of new policy initiatives are those who desire high...

In conjunction with faculty at Oregon State University, we developed a distance education course in two phases. During Phase I, conducted Spring of 1996, we used Oregon ED-NET (a simulcast satellite education system) to reach 143 students at 14 sites in Oregon. In the second phase, we offered the course nation-wide in a video format Spring term 199...

Introduction The production of high quality grass seed is important to the agricultural economy of the Grande Ronde Valley (GRV) of eastern Oregon. The predominate grass seed crops grown in the area are Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescues. Historically, open-field burning has been an effective, economical means by which to remove residue and mainta...

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