Grad Student Position Details
Project Title
Carbon Sequestration Under Pasture and Forage Resources: Farm-Level Economics
Degree Program
MSc
Supervisor
Dr. Xiaoli Fan
Professorial Rank
Assistant Professor
Department
Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology
Project Start Date
09/01/2023
Project Description
We are recruiting a student to undertake economic analysis as part of a larger initiative to investigate carbon sequestration under alternative pasture and forage resource management systems (https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2022/06/new-research-will-map-out-how-much-carbon-prairie-soil-is-storing.html). The proposed economics project will utilize budgeting and simulation models to determine the impact of alternative best management agricultural practices on farm performance.
Representative farm analysis will be used to reflect the biophysical and economic environment within which production management decisions are made by commercial producers. This will be linked with Holos analysis completed elsewhere in the project to link economic performance with carbon sequestration levels. The representative operations will be simulated over time, without (i.e., baseline) and with adoption of the best management practices. Economic performance will be tracked and quantified (i.e., impact on profit, wealth), incorporating forage and pasture management practices, beef herd dynamics, etc. Risk exposure could be influenced by the choice of production management system. To account for this, the analysis will incorporate simulation of relevant sources of risk, (e.g., stochastic production and prices). The impact of current Business Risk Management (BRM) programs on the viability of adoption will also be examined.
If economic analysis suggests that adoption of best management practices may not be viable based on direct economic impacts, the tradeoffs between economic viability and carbon sequestration potential will be quantified. The results from the firm-level analysis will be used later in the larger project (work to be undertaken by a second student) in further analysis to investigate the potential for public policy to play a role in supporting producer adoption.
Keywords
Pasture management, Carbon sequestration, best management practices, economics, firm-level simulation
Contact Email
xiaoli@ualberta.ca
Other contact information
The successful student will be co-supervised by Dr. Fan (xiaoli@ualberta.ca) and Dr. Scott Jeffrey (scott.jeffrey@ualberta.ca). Interested students may contact Dr. Fan and/or Dr. Jeffrey and should include a current transcript and resume/CV. Appointment would be conditional on applying and being admitted to the graduate program in the Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology at the University of Alberta.
Project Website
Stipend Amount/year