Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century (2010) / Chapter Skim
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4 Economic and Social Dimensions of the Sustainability of Farming Practices and Approaches
Pages 189-220

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From page 189...
... Next the socioeconomic outcomes at the community level, including farm labor issues, community economic security, food quality, and access to food by different segments of U.S. society are presented.
From page 190...
... . The organization and production practices adopted by individual farm businesses also can affect the economic security of hired farm workers, and conversely, the availability of labor can affect the economic outcomes and sustainability of the farm operation, as will be discussed in a later part of this chapter.
From page 191...
... . Economic Security at the Farm Level Strategies to improve economic security at the farm level include reducing production costs, increasing the value of farm products, and diversifying income streams.
From page 192...
... Increasingly, farmers in that region are rotating cotton with corn. The highest net returns were found when cotton and corn rotations were combined with minimum tillage In Washington State, under dryland conditions with low rainfall, a study noted the environmental advantages of the annual no-till rotation of winter wheat over the conventional tillage system with winter wheat and summer fallow in terms of the reduction in wind erosion and improvement in soil health (Schillinger et al., 2007)
From page 193...
... They found that no-till rotations provided the greatest estimated net economic returns, followed by a conventional corn–soybean rotation; net returns on the two cover crop rotations were lowest, although they generated significant environmental benefits. Jatoe et al.
From page 194...
... However, not all farmers benefit equally from nutrient management planning. A crop farmer without any previous legume crops or application of organic sources of nutrients and who is already conducting soil testing and following accepted fertilizer recommendations might not save any fertilizer costs from a nutrient management plan (Steinhilber, 1996)
From page 195...
... , and found that nutrient plans often recommend nitrogen application rates that are below optimum in Minnesota. Precision Agriculture for Nutrient Management Advances in technology have facilitated the development of farming equipment and management systems designed to apply agricultural inputs with greater precision, depending on site-specific soil and crop plant conditions (Zilberman et al., 2002)
From page 196...
... Business and Marketing Diversification Strategies Diversification of crop and livestock enterprises represents an important component of many modern sustainable agricultural systems. However, there has been growing attention to efforts of some farmers to diversify their income by developing alternative agriculturally related enterprises and marketing strategies (Barbieri et al., 2008)
From page 197...
... . Generally, such strategies can offer economic benefits to the extent that they employ underutilized farm assets, are complementary to existing farming practices, increase the farmer share of income from con sumer spending on retail food products, or reduce reliance on generic farm commodities as a source of farm business income (McInerney, 1991; McNally, 2001; Barbieri et al., 2008)
From page 198...
... Direct Marketing For various reasons, operators of small- and medium-sized farms have difficulty competing with large farms in the mainstream food marketing system. For example, they might be unable to provide sufficient quantities needed to fulfill the supply requirements of large corporate buyers, they might not be able to take advantage of economies of scale to reduce their production costs, and they are not likely to have the manpower or capital to meet criteria imposed by buyers to monitor compliance with increasingly complex food safety and quality standards (Hendrickson et al., 2001; Reardon et al., 2001)
From page 199...
... By cutting out the role of food processors and retailers, direct marketing allows farmers to capture a larger share of the end consumer's food dollar. Farmers engaged in direct marketing also report satisfaction in knowing the people who consume their food and feel that they are contributing to the well-being of their local community (Hinrichs, 2000; Smithers et al., 2008)
From page 200...
... farms reported direct farm income from agritourism activities in 2002 (Brown and Reeder, 2007)
From page 201...
... Overall, having off-farm income sources can contribute significantly to the long-term stability of many farming households. Quality of Life and Sustainable Farming System Studies of the adoption of many farming practices and systems aimed to improve sustainability often emphasize the importance of qualitative impacts on the farm labor process and the farm family.
From page 202...
... . SOCIOECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABILITY AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL Farm Labor Conditions and Security Labor conditions on the farm have rarely been the focus of analysis or attention even though social equity has always been considered one of the goals of sustainability.
From page 203...
... This section summarizes scientific evidence for the community economic linkages associated with different types of farming systems. Farming Practices for Improving Sustainability and Community Economic Security Few empirical studies have been conducted on the social and economic impacts of improving farms' sustainability on their local communities.
From page 204...
... to either conventional farming or a farming system that included crop rotations, intensive management of inputs, reduced tillage, and intensively managed, pasture-based beef production. They estimated that the latter farm generated more direct purchases of farm inputs and services, local farm businesses retained a higher share of farm economic activity, and the increased demand for farm labor and management associated with the practices listed above generated more net farm income and household consumption when compared to the conventional farming system.
From page 205...
... can be important sources of income for local businesses, the manner in which farm products are marketed can also have an impact on local community well-being and economic development. Specifically, the rise of local food marketing outlets such as farmers' markets, CSAs, or direct sales to local restaurants has been linked to social and economic vitality in local communities (Kloppenburg et al., 1996; Feenstra, 1997; Hinrichs et al., 2004)
From page 206...
... counties, the direct effects of local food production currently are unlikely to serve as a major basis for local economic development, although economic multipliers might increase the total impact (Otto and Varner, 2005; Gillespie et al., 2007; Sonntag, 2008)
From page 207...
... , many farming practices for improving environmental sustainability do not compromise productivity and might even enhance yield (for example, cover cropping, crop rotations, and integrated pest management) , as reported in Chapter 3.
From page 208...
... Other innovative initiatives such as farm-to-school projects and the rapidly growing development of community urban gardens are helping to improve sustainable agriculture's ability to deliver food to low-income populations in the United States. Despite those initiatives, most direct marketing and value-trait food chains to date have predominantly benefited middle-income and upper-income households (Cone and Myhre, 2000; Kaltoft, 2001; Hinrichs and Kremer, 2002; Allen, 2004; Guthman, 2008)
From page 209...
... Manure and compost applications can be used as nutrient management strategies without compromising food safety. Irrigation water also can be a source of bacterial contamination, particularly if the irrigation well is exposed to farm animal or wildlife feces (Doyle and Erickson, 2008)
From page 210...
... (2002) compared pesticide residue from foods in three market categories: organic, integrated pest management, and conventional.
From page 211...
... , which has more than 506,000 members across 50 states; 4-H, which has more than 6 million members in 50 states and 80 countries; the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers and Ranchers Program; National Young Farmer Educational Association; International Farm Transition Network; American Farmland Trust; and Land Trust Alliance. USDA provides financial assistance to beginning farmers and ranchers under its Direct Farm Ownership Down Payment Loan Program.
From page 212...
... Long-term economic assessment of farm ing approaches would provide valuable information on economic sustainability of different practices. • Although such strategies as direct marketing, CSA, and agritourism help to pro mote farm products and diversify farm income, financial security at the farm level remains a concern because many farms in the United States rely heavily on non farm sources of income.
From page 213...
... 2008. Implementing reduced-risk integrated pest management in fresh market cabbage: Improved net returns via scouting and timing of effective control.
From page 214...
... 2004. Analysis of plant nutrient management strategies: conventional and alternative approaches.
From page 215...
... American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 11(1)
From page 216...
... Community implications of sustainable agriculture. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 9(3)
From page 217...
... 2009. What Is a Nutrient Management Plan?
From page 218...
... 2008. Within-field variability of wheat yield and economic implications for spatially variable nutrient management.
From page 219...
... 2000. Phosphorus-based nutrient management planning on dairy/poultry farms: implications for economic and environmental risks.


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