Jillian Hammond

I am a first year Master’s student from Harrisonburg, VA pursuing a thesis degree. I grew up in a heavily agriculture-based area, where my love for animal production was cultivated from a young age. I completed my undergraduate degree here at Virginia Tech in Animal and Poultry Sciences with a concentration in livestock production and I’m proud to be a double Hokie! It was through my undergraduate degree and research that my interests in how animal agriculture impacts the environment and plays a role in rural development started to take root.

My Master’s thesis is focused on evaluating the performance of precision technologies on livestock operations and subsequently the economic programs needed to ensure optimal implementation. I am working under Dr. Robin White, more specifically on a project highlighting the greenhouse gas reduction that can be attributed to anaerobic digesters partnered with determining an appropriate pricing structure to subsidize farmers based on pollution mitigation levels. Dr. White’s lab adopts the ideal of interdisciplinary collaboration and I am excited to be working in a field where those relationships are easily facilitated.