VTechWorks staff will be away for the Thanksgiving holiday beginning at noon on Wednesday, November 27, through Friday, November 29. We will resume normal operations on Monday, December 2. Thank you for your patience.
 

Assessing the conservation value and food system impacts of high tunnels

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorFoust-Meyer, Nathanielen
dc.contributor.committeechairO'Rourke, Megan E.en
dc.contributor.committeememberStraw, Richard A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberHodges, Steven C.en
dc.contributor.departmentHorticultureen
dc.date.accessioned2016-12-31T07:00:17Zen
dc.date.available2016-12-31T07:00:17Zen
dc.date.issued2015-07-09en
dc.description.abstractThere is growing demand for food grown and sold locally, but climate often limits supply. High tunnels can often overcome these limitations. In order to encourage local availability and production of specialty crops the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has launched the Seasonal High Tunnel initiative. This cost-share program provides farmers with a high tunnel intended to encourage the availability of locally grown fresh produce. Using mixed-methods research this thesis examines the social, economic, and conservation impacts of the NRCS high tunnel program. We have run a county by county negative binomial regression of the NRCS high tunnel distribution biophysical, socio-demographic, and market driven factors. Additionally, 7 vegetable farms throughout Virginia were visited during the 2014 growing season to compare high tunnel and field grown cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) and tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum). Additional detail about high tunnel production and food distribution was obtained with a survey of Virginia high tunnel growers. Survey respondents indicate that the majority of their high tunnel produce is sold within 100 miles of their farm. Regression results indicate that the NRCS high tunnel program is benefiting areas where the availability of local food is high, but may be neglecting areas with historically underserved communities. Our field results show that yield and the yield per pesticide application dividend were higher in high tunnel production of both cucumber and tomato. Therefore, we conclude that, high tunnels meet conservation goals different than the ones outlined by the NRCS. The NRCS high tunnel program is promoting the expansion of local food availability. However, work remains to clarify conservational benefits and to ensure that all communities have equal access to the fresh produce they provide.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:5300en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/73911en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjecthorticultureen
dc.subjectcucumberen
dc.subjecttomatoen
dc.titleAssessing the conservation value and food system impacts of high tunnelsen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineHorticultureen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Foust-Meyer_NR_T_2015.pdf
Size:
1.15 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Foust-Meyer_NR_T_2015_support_1.pdf
Size:
409.99 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Supporting documents
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Foust-Meyer_NR_T_2015_support_3.pdf
Size:
326.39 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Supporting documents
Download

Collections

Masters Theses