Self identified research needs of New York organic farmers

A survey of organic farmers in New York State identified problems in need of university research. Weed management was the most frequently mentioned problem by far, identified as significant by two-thirds of the organic farmers. Only a few other problems were listed as significant, including insufficient time for farm work, lack of markets, low prices, and lack of appropriate tools. These were cited by more than a third of the farmers. Drought, insect management, and a lack of a dependable supply of labor were cited by about one-third of the respondents. The survey also examined organic farmers' information sources. They do not use conventional sources of agricultural information, such as the extension service and conventional agricultural media, as much as books, magazines, and newsletters on organic f arming, other organic f armers, and on-farm experiments. Many respondents noted that local extension agents did not know very much about non-chemical solutions to organic production problems. They considered University Extension to be accessible, but not very useful in solving problems specific to organic farming, and had many suggestions to improve Land Grant research in organic agriculture

Bt Corn Farmer Compliance with Insect Resistance Management Requirements: Results from the 2002 Minnesota and Wisconsin Farm Polls

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reregistered Bt corn in 2001 with mandatory Insect Resistance Management (IRM) requirements in order to promote sustainable use by farmers. Since then studies report IRM compliance rates ranging from 80 to 90 percent. Using survey data from Minnesota and Wisconsin, we show that previous compliance rate estimates are likely too high because they do not use a comprehensive measure for compliance. With a more comprehensive measure, we find compliance rates ranging between 60 to 75 percent.Bt corn, compliance, Insect Resistance Management, refuge, Crop Production/Industries,

Agricultural Turns, Geographical Turns: Retrospect and Prospect.

It is accepted that British rural geography has actively engaged with the ‘cultural turn’, leading to a resurgence of research within the sub-discipline. However, a reading of recent reviews suggests that the cultural turn has largely, if not completely, bypassed those geographers interested in the agricultural sector. Farming centred engagements with notions of culture have been relatively limited compared with those concerned with the non-agricultural aspects of rural space. Indeed, agricultural geography represents something of an awkward case in the context of the disciplinary turn to culture, a situation that demands further exposition. In seeking explanation, it becomes evident that research on the farm sector is more culturally informed than initially appears. This paper argues that there have been both interesting and important engagements between agricultural geography and cultural perspectives over the past decade. The paper elaborates four specific areas of research which provide evidence for concern about the ‘culture’ within agriculture. The future contribution that culturally informed perspectives in geographical research can bring to agricultural issues is outlined by way of conclusion

Environmental consciousness and choice of bulb for lighting in a developing country

Background: Most countries in the world especially those in Asia and Africa have been undertaking policies meant to help promote science, technology and innovation towards meeting some provisions of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, there is still a sizable number of households who have not yet fully embraced energy-saving technologies. This study provides highlights on the economic and environmental benefits for investing in energy-saving light bulbs. Methods: Using a survey and a multistage random sampling approach, we administered questionnaires to 1650 households in Ghana. The relevant diagnostic tests associated with cross-sectional data were undertaken. We estimated a maximum-likelihood probit model with its associated marginal effects to find out how the choice of energy-saving light bulb (behaviour) is influenced by environmental consciousness (both local knowledge and global knowledge) and other demographic factors. Results: Our results are consistent with economic theory as well as what earlier empirical evidence found in literature. That is, environmental consciousness, education, income, etc. are very important in explaining the choice of buying energy-saving light bulbs in Ghana. Conclusions: Besides advocating for information that will make society more environmentally conscious, we further recommend the use of fiscal policies (i.e. subsidies) to support lower income brackets who are predominant in developing countries

Explaining the Uneven Penetration ofIndustrialization in the U.S. Dairy Sector

One of the most dramatic trends in American farm-structural change over the past several decades has been the industrialization of livestock production. Many now expect that dairying in the United States will be the next major livestock sector to succumb to the industrialization trend. This paper utilizes a multidimensional definition of industrialization to critically examine evidence for and against the dairy industrialization hypothesis. The authors find that while there is a persistent trend toward larger units of production, and a geographical shift towards states with more industriallike farm operations, the penetration of industrial relations of production has occurred more slowly and incompletely than many have assumed. The paper concludes by noting how unique characteristics of the dairy sector help explain the uneven character of the industrialization process in the United States

A Profile of Wisconsin\u27s DairyIndustry, 1999

In the late winter and early spring of 1999, the Program on Agricultural Technology Studies (PATS)2 surveyed over 1,600 of Wisconsin’s dairy farmers. Because the sample was large, was drawn randomly from the Wisconsin Dairy Producers List, and yielded a relatively high response rate (50 percent), the results provide a scientifically reliable snapshot of the Wisconsin dairy farming sector as of the spring of 1999. This report provides an overview of the initial findings of the overall study. The emphasis of this report is on the characteristics of the Wisconsin dairy farming sector, and on the characteristics of the operators and their families. We pay particular attention to Wisconsin dairy farmers’ use of a wide range of dairy and crop production technologies or practices. In this survey, we also included questions about several emerging technologies, like genetically engineered crops and “information technologies” (such as use of computers and the internet, and precision farming). This report summarizes the results for all dairy farms in the sample (usually on the far right hand side of each table). Because dairy farms in Wisconsin are quite diverse, we also disaggregate the results for dairy herds of different size. The tables below report the characteristics of farms in five herd size categories: 1-24 cows, 25 to 49 cows, 50 to 99 cows, 100 to 199 cows, and 200 or more cows. In each case, herd size measures include both milking cows and dry cows. More detailed reports and indepth analyses of specific issues based on the survey will become available over the coming months