The Production Function,Crop Diversity,and the Debate Between Conventional and Sustainable Agriculture1

Abstract Organizational assumptions embedded in the production function of neoclassical economics have served to structure production agriculture in the United States for the past 100 years. The narrow focus of the production function on the inputs of land, labor, capital, and management and the use of on-farm profitability as the primary definition of sustainability have come under attack from sustainable agriculturalists, who argue that the social and environmental consequences of production are as important as the economic outcomes. Using diversity of crops harvested as an indicator of sustainability, the production function is operationalized to inform the debate between the conventional, neoclassical model of production and the alternative, sustainable model. Census of agriculture data from 1978, 1982, and 1987 are used in both cross-sectional and temporal models. Results show that increases in expenditures for equipment and machinery, prevalence of corporate farms, higher rates of tenancy, and the prevalence of large farms are associated with lower levels of diversity at the county level. Conversely, higher levels of diversity are found in counties with greater farm labor expenses, where there are more medium-size farms, and where farmers are more likely to farm full-time.     

“Tractorettes” or Partners? Farmers' Views on Women in Kansas Farming Households

In the United States, for various reasons, fewer farm families rely solely on their farming operations for their livelihoods. As the structure of agriculture changes and farm families adjust their livelihood strategies, do the discourses around gender relations in households also change? This article analyzes the portrayal of women's roles in farming households by drawing on interviews with Kansas field crop farmers, primarily regarding their land‐use decisions, but also inquiring about their farms and communities. The article addresses the following question: How do farmers' discourses compare to Brandth's (2002a) categorizations of three dominant discourses in the literature on gender in European family farming—the discourse of the family farm, the discourse of masculinization, and the discourse of detraditionalization and diversity? While Brandth finds the discourse of the family farm prevalent in the literature, overall, the discourse apparent from 30 farmer interviews is more characteristic of detraditionalization and diversity. Although men are primarily the principal operators in farming, overall, women were not portrayed simply as helpers. Rather, their roles are depicted as diverse and important to farm operations.     

Farm Work Satisfaction and Acceptance of Sustainability Goals by Australian Organic and Conventional Farmers1

Abstract Farmer dependence on large-scale organizations for inputs to production is an attribute of Australian agriculture and has changed the character of farm work and how farmers see the future of agriculture. We discuss how these changes are related to farmer satisfaction with their work and their commitment to an alternative or conventional agricultural paradigm. Organic and conventional farmers are compared and findings show that organic farmers experience higher levels of work satisfaction and endorse the alternative agricultural paradigm more strongly than conventional growers. Personal success in using organic methods explains differences between organic farmers in their work satisfaction and commitments to the alternative paradigm. Similarly, conventional farmers confident about the future of their farms are satisfied with their work and express some commitment to the sustainability paradigm. Organic and conventional farmers share concerns about environmental sustainability, but are thinking differently about what sustainable farming is and how it will affect the future of Australian agriculture.     

Contrasts and Commonalities: Hispanic and Anglo Farming in Conejos County,Colorado

Abstract The San Luis Valley farming systems' project sought to identify improved technologies and better decision-making capabilities for modest-sized and limited-resource farms. Characteristics of limited-resource farms operated by Hispanic and Anglo families, which may or may not be associated with differential rates of social participation and/or institutional discrimination, were examined. To determine characteristics of client farms, data were collected and stratified on farm resources, farm operations, goal hierarchies, and operational management strategies. Hispanic and Anglo farmers differed significantly in several respects. Key among these differences were crop and livestock enterprise mixes and the importance of off-farm income to households. For many farming parameters, farm size, age of farmer, and full-time/part-time characteristics overshadowed ethnicity as a determinant of decision-making. However, an important subset of the farm population is composed of Hispanic farmers who operate below median farm acreage on a part-time basis and for whom few technological developments or assistance programs are specifically designed or delivered.     

Global warming and navy beans: Decision making by farmers and food companies in the U.K.

Farmers are continually adjusting their business enterprises in response to the shifting economic, political and social pressures which affect each aspect of their production. These adjustments may include structural changes, agronomic (production) changes or moves into ‘diversification’ enterprises, and are manifest at different scales, from the farm unit to changes in a country's or region's agricultural structure. One factor influencing future changes in agriculture is likely to be climate change (‘global warming’) which will alter the physical environmental conditions of production. The consequences of this might include a change in the crop species cultivated in different areas. This paper examines the responses of farmers in part of southern Britain to the possibility of growing navy beans, a crop used for baked bean manufacture and obtained almost wholly from North America, as a response to a warmer climate. The paper seeks to explore the network of relations at the farm, national and international scales which will determine the likelihood of commercial adoption of the crop occurring in the U.K. Through discussion of the results of interviews with farmers, food processing companies and associated agencies it is concluded that there are significant structural barriers to the adoption of navy beans as a diversification option on U.K. farms as a result of international trade restraints and a measure of inertia and risk aversion within the processing companies.     

The Dimensions of Agricultural Diversification: A Spatial Analysis of Italian Municipalities

Diversification in agriculture could ensure the survival of farming by broadening the income base of farms and encouraging agricultural sustainability. The diversification of on-farm activities may depend on socioeconomic and environmental characteristics. Although multifunctionality is a hotly debated topic, few papers have focused on the farm characteristics that influence diversification and none have focused on the influence of the spatial pattern. This paper examines the relationship between farm characteristics and the adoption of a specific type of diversification. An econometric model is presented that uses a spatial autoregressive lag model at the municipal scale. The results demonstrate that the activation of each diversification dimension is influenced by both internal and external factors, encompassing farmers’ characteristics, the farm structure, and territorial features, including regional and spatial patterns. Deepening is mainly influenced by the farmer’s age, education, and the presence of small and labor-intensive farms. The key factors for broadening diversification are the presence of small farms and farms with mixed production (breeding and crop cultivation). Regrounding is most affected by the labor-intensive farms in the area and the farms with mixed production.     

On the Question of the Feminization of Production on Part-time Farms: Evidence from Norway1

Abstract The argument that production on part-time farms has been feminized is evaluated using longitudinal and indepth interview data sets from communities throughout Norway. Time-series data suggest that traditional part-time farms are not being reproduced in Norway. Rather, there is a shift toward modern forms of part-time farming; in its most common form, women juggle off-farm, farm, and household work while men farm or combine farming with an off-farm job. As some women shift or reduce their labor input to the farm, others opt to become independent female farmers. What has emerged is an increasing number of two-career households with male and, less frequently, female farmers whose working spouses contribute some labor to die farm. In all cases, women continue to do most, if not all, of the domestic housework.     

Understanding the Microdynamics of Farm Structural Change: Entry,Exit, and Restructuring among Wisconsin Family Farmers in the 1980s1

Abstract Despite many differences among competing theories of agrarian transformation, all tend to presume that aggregate structural changes are essentially a reflection of changes taking place on individual farms over time. This presumption has been reinforced by a reliance on aggregated county-level census data or cross-sectional surveys of individual farm operations, which unfortunately afford few opportunities to test conventional assumptions about the underlying dynamics of the process. Given the large gross flows into and out of the farm sector, this paper examines the question: do aggregate structural changes primarily result from adaptations made on continuing farms, or are they the product of selective entry and exit processes? Data from a panel study of Wisconsin farmers are used to shed light on the micro-dynamics of structural change. The results suggest that continuing farmers often adapt in ways very different from aggregate trends. They also demonstrate how the character of entry and exit patterns is critical to the structural change process.     

Capturing the Multiple and Shifting Identities of Farm Women in the Northeastern United States

The identities of women on farms are shifting as more women enter farming and identify as farmers, as reflected by the 30 percent growth in women farmers in the U.S. census of agriculture (USDA 2009). This article draws from identity theory to develop a quantitative measure of the identities of farm women. The measure incorporates multiple roles farming women may perform and weights these roles by their salience to two farm identities, farm operator and farm partner. We use a sample of women on farms (n = 810) in the northeastern United States to assess the measures of role identity in relation to reported decision‐making authority, farm tasks, and farm and individual characteristics. The findings provide a multidimensional view of farming women in the northeastern United States, a far more complex view than traditional survey research has previously captured. This research provides a measure that other researchers can use to assess the multiple and shifting identities of farming women in other sections of the United States.     

Farm diversification, tenancy and CAP reform: Results from a survey of tenant farmers in England

Little work has considered explicitly the role of farm tenancy in influencing the uptake (or not) of diversification activities. The need to examine this link has been heightened because of the 2003 CAP reforms and the decision to tie Single Farm Payment (SFP) entitlement to the land rather than what is produced on that land. The main objective of this paper, therefore, is to examine the nature of diversification activities on tenant farms in England, which includes a consideration of how the introduction of the SFP and other CAP reforms may influence such restructuring processes. Results from a national postal survey, supported by tenant farmer/landlord interviews and a workshop, reveal high rates of farm diversification on farms with tenanted land. However, if one takes away contract/hire services the rate of diversification on tenant farms is much less. Tenant farms appear to favour more ‘traditional’ diversification activities and the results also demonstrate an increasing need to move towards more ‘encultured’ definitions of farm diversification. The second key finding to emerge from the research relates to the high levels of uncertainty and negativity surrounding the potential impacts of the CAP reforms, and SFP in particular, on farm business behaviour. Tenant farmers were more concerned about levels of SFP and entitlement than future investment decisions, including diversification.     

Crafting Mass Dairy Production: Immigration and Community in Rural America

In many parts of rural America, agrofood producers compete for a larger share of global markets by mechanizing, deskilling, and flexibly relocating to reduce labor costs. They recruit new immigrant workers but sow transience rather than sustainable rural growth. The industrialization of U.S. dairy farming appears to be aligned with these processes, and yet the large‐scale dairy farmers who have replaced small craft producers face a paradox: The more they rationalize production on their farms, the more vulnerable their herds become to stress and illness, compromising production. Focusing on three competing dairies in Kansas, I examine how farmers variously organize work among immigrant employees to promote herd health while expanding their operations. Evidence from 22 months of ethnographic research and repeated interviews with farm owners, managers, employees, and extension agents suggests that enhancing production requires promoting employee citizenship at work—especially among immigrant employees possessing the fewest citizenship rights outside of work. In contrast to the high labor turnover endemic to other forms of industrialized food production, the distinctive human‐animal relations central to dairying encourage farm owners and employees to cooperate, with promising results for farms and rural communities.     

The future of small farms in Asia

Farms throughout Asia are predominantly small. By nature, small farms use labour‐intensive production methods. The question arises as to the viability of small farms in the face of the rapidly increasing wage rate in most Asian countries. There is also indication that the production efficiency of small farms has declined relative to large farms in many Asian economies, indicating the increasing disadvantage of small farms in Asia. Therefore, this study argues that unless new policy measures are taken to expand farm size, Asia as a whole is likely to lose comparative advantage in agriculture and become an importer of food grains in the future.     

Risk and returns of sustainable crop intensification: The case of smallholder rice and potato farmers in Uganda

The use of modern inputs such as synthetic fertilizers is often put forward as the best way to increase crop yields in an ecologically sustainable way. However, such inputs can be perceived as risky, and adoption may depend on how much extra risk a farm household can afford. This article describes the potential for fertilizer and pesticide use among Ugandan smallholder rice and potato farmers. In addition, it documents patterns observed in socioeconomic data that suggest that risk is an important barrier to sustainable crop intensification practices. We find that households that engage in risk‐management strategies, such as investing in risk‐reducing technology or engaging in precautionary savings, are more likely to practise intensified cropping. We also elaborate on the policy consequences.     

AgJOBS: New Solution or New Problem?

Over half of the workers employed on U.S. farms are not authorized to work in the United States. An historic compromise between employer and worker advocates in September 2003 would legalize some currently unauthorized workers and make it easier for farmers to obtain guest workers, but is unlikely to change the farm labor market, so that the percentage of unauthorized workers is likely to climb again.     

The Persistence of the Black Farmer: The Contemporary Relevance of the Lenin-Chayanov Debate1

Abstract Previous empirical studies of black farmers have identified socioeconomic and demographic variables as important to their success and survival. The theories of Lenin and Chayanov also highlight the role of demographic and socioeconomic factors in the differentiation of the peasantry. Panel data from a survey of black small-scale farm operators in the North Carolina Piedmont are used to test hypotheses based upon the Lenin-Chayanov debate. A multivariate analysis shows that black farmers who survived owned tobacco quota, had more on-farm household labor, had smaller households, and had higher gross farm incomes than those who left agriculture. These results point to the need to synthesize Lenin's macro-level focus on class formation and Chayanov's micro-level focus on enterprise formation in order to understand smallholder persistence. Over the five-year period studied, approximately 50 percent of the original respondents were no longer actively operating farms indicating that the future of the black smallholder remains precarious.     

Women's Work? The Relationship between Farmwork and Gender Self‐Perception

Women have long been involved in agricultural production, yet farming and ranching have been associated with masculinity and men. In recent years women have become more involved and more likely to take active and equal roles on farms and ranches and thus increasingly are doing tasks that have been associated with masculinity. Prior work indicates that women are perceived by others as more masculine when they do these tasks, but less work has focused on the association between women's involvement in farming and women's own perceptions of their gender (i.e., how masculine or feminine they feel). Using 2006 survey data from a random sample of women in livestock and grain operations in Washington State, we find that women's involvement in farm and ranch tasks is associated with their gender self‐perception, with more involvement being associated with a more masculine self‐perception. Women who view their primary role as independent agricultural producers or full partners also perceive themselves as more masculine than women who view their primary role as homemaker. We discuss the implications of these findings for women's experiences in agriculture.     

Women farm workers on South African deciduous fruit farms: Gender relations and the structuring of work

Utilizing a feminist perspective and based on data obtained by interviewing 350 women farm workers on South African deciduous fruit farms, the article analyses how existing gender relations structure various aspects of women's paid work on farms. It explores the recruitment and employment of women, the division of labour and existing wage differentials between women and men workers, and the nature of women's work relations. Women's participation in the reconstitution of existing gender relations and the obstruction of women's choices are interpreted within the context of ‘the farm as family’ and the farm worker community as subculture. It is suggested that some women workers on fruit farms are gaining a measure of control over certain aspects of their work lives. The transformation of traditional to neo-paternalistic labour relations, the extension of labour legislation to the agricultural sector, and especially farmers' changing perceptions of women (and consequently their utilization as farm workers) have been central to women farm workers gaining more power in the workplace.     

Women and Their Work on Australian Farms

Traditional definitions of farm work have been narrow and commodity-based, allowing the efforts of women to be discounted because they have not been viewed as directly contributing to production. This paper examines the structural gender arrangements that operate to render farm women powerless and to discount their contributions. Data are presented on the extent of women's economic contribution on Australian farms.     

Family Influences on the Social Participation of Youth: The Effects of Parental Social Involvement and Farming

Abstract Parents shape children's social choices through their social and economic actions. Parental social participation connects children to a civic culture and encourages involvement in civic groups. Parents' ties to farming in farm‐dependent communities further enhance children's civic orientations by providing added opportunities and incentives for social participation. Data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project confirm these hypotheses, showing that the children of farmers and of rural leaders are more likely to participate in civic groups. These results establish parental social involvement as a source of social capital and demonstrate the importance of farm influences for understanding the social involvement of youth in rural society.