Gerard E. D'Souza

SMALL FARMS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: IS SMALL MORE SUSTAINABLE?

A new, post-industrial, paradigm for agriculture is emerging under the concept of sustainable agriculture. The sustainability paradigm has emerged to solve problems created by the industrial model, primarily environmental pollution and resource base degradation. The role of farm size in this transformation to a more sustainable agriculture is the issue addressed. Using a descriptive approach, and relying on a survey of the literature including emerging paradigms and observations, we conclude that, from a sustainability perspective, the smallest effective size will be the most competitive size for farms, as for other knowledge-based enterprises of the future.

The Influence of Socioeconomic and Environmental Determinants on Health and Obesity: A West Virginia Case Study

A recursive system of ordered self assessed health together with BRFSS data were used to investigate health and obesity in the Appalachian state of West Virginia. Implications of unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity of lifestyle outcomes on health were investigated. Obesity was found to be an endogenous lifestyle outcome associated with impaired health status. Risk of obesity is found to increase at a decreasing rate with per capita income and age. Intervention measures which stimulate human capital development, diet-disease knowledge and careful land use planning may improve health and obesity outcomes in Appalachia in particular and rural America in general.

Determining consumer perceptions of and willingness to pay for Appalachian grass -fed beef: An experimental economics approach

The focus of the current study was on the market potential for grass-fed beef in the Appalachian region, given that these products embody observed, experiential, nutritional, and process attributes that may appeal to a large consumer base. An in-store variant of the Becker-DeGroot-Marschack experimental auction mechanism was employed in the region to determine consumer preferences and willingness to pay. A majority of respondents preferred the grass-fed product over conventional grain-fed samples and were willing to pay a price premium to obtain it. Preferences for grass-fed were rooted largely in the associated superior nutritional content and core observed attributes.

Trading Poultry Litter at the Watershed Level: A Goal Focusing Application

We explore the transfer of poultry litter among watersheds incorporating both economic characteristics (litter demand and supply) and environmental characteristics (vulnerability to phosphorus runoff, a major pollutant). A combination of techniques was employed: the Lemunyon-Gilbert P-Index model to determine watershed environmental vulnerability, GIS for land use coverages, and a goal focusing model (incorporating Saatys eigen-value approach for penalty weight estimation) to identify optimal litter shipments among watersheds. Both primary and secondary data were used. The results should be useful to producers and policy makers in the study area and in other areas where poultry production is linked to water quality, and contribute to a more sustainable poultry sector.

Stochastic Simulation of Pasture-Raised Beef Production Systems and Implications for the Appalachian Cow-Calf Sector

ABSTRACT Cow-calf enterprises provide significant opportunity for supplemental income to small-scale farmers in Appalachia, despite considerable production and economic uncertainty. To assess the viability of pasture-raised beef systems as alternatives to conventional production and marketing paradigms, stochastic budgets representative of several hypothetical producers of each type were constructed and evaluated via Monte Carlo techniques in terms of relative profitability and risk. Statistical distributions were utilized to capture seasonal variability in output prices, pasture availability and animal performance. Results suggest that the intensive pasture and animal management required for pasture-raised production yield greater profit and less economic risk than conventional strategies.

West Virginia Farm Direct Marketing: A County Level Analysis

To understand the factors that influence farm direct marketing, a linear regression model is estimated to test the relationships between county-level direct market sales and socioeconomic, agricultural production, and location characteristics for West Virginia. The results show that higher median housing value, increased population density, a younger population, a greater number of direct market farms, more diversity of fruit and vegetable production and closer proximity to Washington, D.C., increase direct market sales. The results have implications for other states with a large proportion of small and part-time farmers, many of whom are located in close proximity to metropolitan areas.

Mine water aquaculture as an economic development strategy: linking coal mining, fish farming, water conservation and recreation.

Abstract This study involves a comprehensive economic analysis of mine water aquaculture. First, the costs and benefits are quantified using standard enterprise budgeting and feasibility techniques. Next, a price analysis is conducted to determine the underlying probability distribution and generate confidence intervals for use in planning purposes. Then, the relationships between mine sites and unemployment, and mine sites and tourism, respectively, are illustrated using a spatial analysis. Finally, the potential economic development impacts of growth in the aquaculture industry on statewide output, income, and employment are estimated. The results have implications for entrepreneurs and the aquaculture and coal industries in Appalachia and other parts of the US where coal mining can be linked to fish farming, water conservation, and recreation.

WILLINGNESS TO CONSUME GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS—THE CASE OF FISH AND SEAFOOD

ABSTRACT As adoption of genetic modification (GM) technologies grows, so do questions about consumer acceptance. While willingness to consume GM crop products has been studied extensively, similar studies of GM fish and seafood are lacking. Econometric analyses of U.S. survey data reveal that older, higher income, non African American males are most likely to consume GM fish and seafood. The results can contribute to our understanding of GM fish and seafood consumption decisions which, in turn, can be used to identify and exploit the niche market for GM fish products.

External Costs of Aquaculture Production in West Virginia

Temperate hill-lands of the U.S.A. such as those in West Virginia are areas from which increasing output of farm-raised fish may be possible. However, the downstream economic impacts of current and projected future effluent as a result of aquaculture production have not been extensively studied. Using an externality framework and a combination of primary and secondary data, this study determines pollution prevention costs (PPC), and downstream pollution damage costs resulting from fish farm wastewater effluent measured as willingness to pay (WTP) for restoring water quality. PPC is estimated at

An economic and environmental assessment of alternative forage-resource production systems: A goal-programming approach

0.11 per kg of trout produced (which would add 6% to private production cost), and WTP is estimated at