Environmental Studies Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing Environmental Studies Theses and Dissertations by Subject "Agriculture"

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    Consumer Willingness to Pay for Transitional Organic Produce
    (University of Oregon, 2013-10-03) Williams, Marissa; Cameron, Trudy Ann
    United States agriculture is continuing to shift toward organic production techniques to align with consumer demand, yet organic products make up an insignificant portion of the food market. This disparity has been examined via consumer willingness to pay for organic products and research on the costs and benefits of organic operations; however, little has been investigated about a potential transitional organic market. In shifting from conventional to organic agriculture there is a substantial transition phase of at least three years, during which producers cannot label their products as USDA organic. This research therefore examines consumer willingness to pay for transitional organic produce based on a Lane County representative adult population (n = 200). Results of the conjoint choice stated preference survey suggest that there exists a viable market for transitional organic products, revealing systematic heterogeneity in preferences for produce labeled as transitional USDA organic.
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    ItemOpen Access
    How Do Conservation Land Trusts Come to Embrace Agriculture? A Case Study from Oregon
    (University of Oregon, 2017-09-06) Pruch, Jared; Walker, Peter
    In part because of the state’s unique land use system, Oregon’s land trusts have largely focused their efforts on the protection of lands with wildlife habitat values, rather than productive agricultural land. And yet a confluence of contemporary trends – including population growth, aging farmer-landowners, and a growing regard for the conservation values embedded in well-stewarded farmland – are causing some land trusts to re-evaluate their conservation priorities. By conducting in-depth interviews with land trust staff and board members, farmers and ranchers, and land use advocates around the state, my work seeks to make transparent the network of influences underlying this shift. Making use of nonprofit management theory, I argue that land trusts change their conservation priorities through a combination of environmental assessment and managerial vision. Several predictors – willingness to innovate, agricultural representation within the organization, and community priorities – increase the likelihood that land trusts will include farmland as a conservation priority.