Browsing by Author "Willis, David B."
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Item Agricultural cost of maintaining playa lake hydroperiod to preserve playa lake ecosystems in the Texas High Plains(Texas Tech University, 2005-08) Peabody, Phillip J.; Willis, David B.; Smith, Loren M.; Lansford, Vernon D.The Agricultural Policy Environmental Extender (APEX) model was used to simulate playa lake hydroperiod in the Texas High Plains and the effect of sedimentation from agricultural operations on the storage capacity of playa lakes.Item Consumer willingness to pay for organic and locally grown produce on Dominica: Insights into the potential for an "Organic Island"(2014) Boys, Kathryn A.; Willis, David B.; Carpio, Carlos E. (TTU)With the intent of improving agricultural revenues and solidifying her place as an ecotourism destination, it has been proposed that the island nation of The Commonwealth of Dominica convert all agriculture to organic production. This study explores Dominica's current and potential domestic demand for organic and/or "locally grown" produce. Surveys were conducted with Dominican consumers to assess their opinions and willingness to pay for these products, and evaluated using a maximum likelihood estimation procedure. On average, Dominican consumers are willing to pay 17.5 % more for organic, and 12 % more for locally grown, produce. These results were varied significantly across demographic segments of the sampled population, respondent tastes and preferences, the health status of their family, and the extent to which they were early adopters of new products. Despite several expected challenges of a successful transition to organic, implementation of this policy may offer a net positive welfare increase for Dominica's permanent residents. Results from this analysis suggest that, from the perspective of domestic consumers, Dominica should continue to pursue the possibility of becoming an "Organic Island." © 2013 The Author(s).Item Effect of levels of irrigation on forage standing crop and quality of WW-B.Dahl (Bothriochloa bladhii) pasture under summer grazing(2006-05) Ortega-Ochoa, Carlos; Villalobos, Carlos; Wester, David B.; Britton, Carlton M.; Ethridge, Don E.; Willis, David B.Incorporation of Old World bluestem grasses into the forage/beef production system on the Texas High Plains promises acceptable results, but information on grass responses to different moisture conditions and grazing is lacking. This study investigated the effect of three levels of irrigation on forage standing crop, forage quality, and steer performance on WW-B.Dahl [Bothriochloa bladhii (Retz) S.T. Blake]. Forage utilization and economic analysis on the beef production capabilities of this grass were also evaluated. The study was conducted in Lubbock County, Texas during consecutive summers, 2003 and 2004, in a 54 hectare of WW-B.Dahl pasture. Three irrigation levels were established: no irrigation (NI), low irrigation (LI) applying 25.4 mm of water every 20 days, and high irrigation (HI) applying 25.4 mm of water every 10 days. Three grazing periods of 28 days also were arranged. Steers with initial average weight of 198 kg were used for the grazing trial. Steers were fed with a whole cottonseed supplement (S), (0.454 kg/head/day fed three times a week) and no supplement (NS). Forage standing crop in both years was affected by irrigation. Higher forage standing was observed for LI during the first year with 1,650 kg ha-1. For the second year HI produced the higher amount of forage with 2,211 kg ha-1. Irrigation affected crude protein (CP) content during 2004 and the highest CP value (7.3%) was detected in LI. In vitro dry matter digestibility, neutral digestible fiber, average daily gain, and average gain per hectare were not affected by irrigation in either year. Supplementation had an effect in ADG in 2004. Forage utilization was no affected in 2003 and 2004 neither by irrigation nor by supplementation. The economic analysis showed that beef production was more profitable in dryland-no supplement scenario in 2003 and dryland-supplement scenario in 2004. Profit in dollar/ha in 2003 and 2004 under these scenarios was $306 and $223 respectively. Overall results for this study suggest that WW-B.Dahl has potential to improve beef production under dryland conditions in the Texas High Plains.Item Electricity Rates, Input Use and Irrrigated Cotton Profitability: A Hedonic Versus Traditional Profit Maximization Approach(Agriculture Consortium of Texas, 2003) Ramirez, Octavio A.; Britt, Megan B.; Willis, David B.The impact of increasing energy cost on the optimal level of nitrogen and irrigation water use is examined for two irrigated cotton production management strategies using LEPA irrigation. The first strategy is a traditional production management strategy where the optimal per acre application rate is the rate that maximizes expected profit based on a fixed expected cotton lint price and known lint yield response to applied nitrogen and irrigation water. Under the second production strategy, cotton producers are assumed to maximize a hedonic profit function that explicitly considers the tradeoff between lint yield and lint quality attributable to alternative nitrogen and irrigation application rates, and the net effect the tradeoff has on per acre profit. The hedonic production approach, which manages for both quality and quantity, was found to be the more profitable producer strategy and used less fertilizer and less irrigation water.Item SOPHISTICATED IRRIGATION TECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY ADOPTION: IMPACTS ON GROUND WATER CONSERVATION(AgBio Forum, 1999-11-02) Willis, David B.; Segarra, Eduardo; Arabiyat, Talah S.A county-wide dynamic optimization model is used to evaluate the potential contributions associated with the adoption of sophisticated irrigation system technology and anticipated biotechnological advances in crop production on ground water conservation. The results indicate that adoption of these technologies could contribute significantly to ground water conservation efforts.Item Supporting local food system development through food price premium donations: A policy proposal(2016) Willis, David B.; Carpio, Carlos E. (TTU); Boys, Kathryn A.This study investigates consumer preferences for a marketing system that improves integration of farmers into a local food system. Attribute-based methods are used to estimate consumer willingness to pay for a locally grown product that is bundled with a local food bank (LFB) donation. Estimates reveal that, on average, households are willing to pay 11% more for locally grown relative to nonlocal agricultural products. When the locally grown product attribute is combined with a donation to support a LFB, the premium nearly doubles. Results suggest that the proposed system could provide resources to strengthen local food distribution networks.Item Water policy alternatives for the Southern Ogallala Aquifer: Economic and hydrologic implications(2005-08) Wheeler, Erin Alexis; Segarra, Eduardo; Johnson, Phillip N.; Willis, David B.; Johnson, JeffEvaluation of Water Policy Alternatives for the Southern Ogallala Aquifer including the High Plains of Texas and Eatern New Mexico.