A COMPARISON OF SUSTAINABLE AND CONVENTIONAL FARMERS IN NORTH DAKOTA

Interviews and mail-out/mail-back surveys were conducted in 1992 with 38 conventional and 41 sustainable North Dakota farmers. The results emphasize the differences and similarities of these two types of farmers. Sustainable farms had more diverse cropping practices and were more likely to raise alternative crops like alfalfa, buckwheat, hay, millet, oats, and rye than conventional farmers. Conventional farmers were more likely to raise traditional crops like barley, sugar beets, sunflowers, and spring wheat. Conventional farmers averaged substantially higher crop yields than sustainable farmers. Three-fourths of the sustainable farmers raised livestock compared with one-half of the conventional farmers. Conventional farmers had greater equity, assets, gross farm income, and net farm income than sustainable farmers. Conventional and sustainable farmers reported nearly the same amount of satisfaction with farming as an occupation, the same stress levels, and the same perceived skill requirements.sustainable farms, conventional farms, organic, North Dakota, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management,

Selected Characteristics of North Dakota Farm Families Engaged in Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Sustainable Agriculture and the Structure of North Dakota Agriculture

Environmental Economics and Policy, Industrial Organization, Production Economics,

Attitudes Toward the Environment: How Do the Attitudes of Conventional, No-Till, and Organic Farmers Compare?

One of Che key dynamics in today\u27s increased interest in alternative fanning is concern for the environment (Beus and Dunlap, 1990). Many advocates of alternative farming argue that conventional farming harms the environment and may even destroy the future of agriculture. The implicit, and often explicit, notion associated with this view is that conventional farmers are less concerned about the environment than are alternative farmers. The present study will test this notion by comparing the attitudes toward the environment of conventional farmers with two types of alternative farmers, organic and no-till. By definition, conventional farmers are those farmers who practice high-input farming, including the use of such commercial chemicals as herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and synthetic fertilizers. Additionally, they typically practice routine tillage to supplement their chemical efforts to control weeds. In contrast, alternative farmers are those farmers who generally avoid the use either of commercial chemicals or of conventional tillage techniques. Specifically, organic farmers minimize the use of commercial chemicals, while no-till farmers minimize tillage. Presumably, the goal in switching to these alternative practices is to reduce pollution and soil erosion, so it is reasonable to expect that farmers who engage in these practices have more pro-environment attitudes than those who do not

Cooptation and Coalition Mobilization

The question addressed by this research was, “When structural circumstances make revolutionary action likely, under what conditions will a cooptation strategy prevent subordinate revolts?” Experimental procedures established a group status hierarchy consisting of a leader and two subordinates. Groups earned collective outcomes, and the leader usurped an inequitable portion of these outcomes. In this context, the first experiment shows that a cooptation strategy (i.e., offer of a promotion to one of two subordinates) inhibits subordinate revolts. Two additional experiments indicate that the cooptation strategy is most effective (a) if the offer (strategy) provides the target of cooptation a source of personal gain; (b) if the offer (strategy) is a result of the leader’s own volition, rather than situational constraints; and (c) if the leader conveys a strong commitment to follow through on the promotion offer. The results are interpreted with reference to subjective-expected-utility and reciprocity theories

A Comparison of Four Professional Groups\u27 Support for a Strengthened DUI Law

This study examined support patterns among criminal justice professionals for an enhanced DUI law. We surveyed North Dakota\u27s police, prosecutors, judges, and addiction counselors to measure their personal support and their perceptions of the support of others for the law. Respondents generally favored the strengthened law, but consistent with role theory, there were significant between group differences. There also were significant differences in personal versus perceived peer support and in perceived peer support versus the perceived support of other groups. Groups tended to agree in the differential levels of support they attributed to other groups. Implications for a coordinated system approach to combatting DUI are identified

The UfM and the Middle East 'Peace Process': An Unhappy Symbiosis

This contribution explores differing theories on how the failure of the ‘peace process’ featured in the design and goals of the UfM, drawing on lessons from the period when the EMP was pursued in parallel with the peace process. In each case, institutional overlaps are identified, as well as commonalities in the approaches of the actors to both pursuits. Crucially, however, the persistence and intensification of the Arab–Israeli conflict, in combination with the shift from multilateralism to bilateralism embodied in the UfM, has politicized the latter at the expense of the functionalist aspirations of its architects

Midwest Consumers’ Beliefs and Attitudes Regarding Agricultural Biotechnology: An Executive Summary

As part of a project investigating the social, economic, and ethical issues related to the application of biotechnology to food production and to the adoption or rejection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), we conducted a survey using a questionnaire mailed to a randomly selected sample of consumers in five Midwestern states—Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. This report highlights the responses of the 458 respondents to that completed and returned questionnaire

Producer attitudes toward agricultural biotechnology: A five state study

Agricultural producers from Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, andWisconsin were surveyed on their views toward agricultural biotechnology andtheir farming practices. The most divergent attitudes were North Dakota andSouth Dakota. Respondents from these two states differed on their attitudestoward crop preference, the regulation of genetically modified (GM) cropsthrough moratoria, and their views toward GM crops and other geneticallymodified organisms (GMOs) as a positive scientific advancement

Regional Practice Variation and Outcomes in the Standard Versus Accelerated Initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) Trial: A Post Hoc Secondary Analysis

OBJECTIVES: Among patients with severe acute kidney injury (AKI) admitted to the ICU in high-income countries, regional practice variations for fluid balance (FB) management, timing, and choice of renal replacement therapy (RRT) modality may be significant. DESIGN: Secondary post hoc analysis of the STandard vs. Accelerated initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) trial (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT02568722). SETTING: One hundred-fifty-three ICUs in 13 countries. PATIENTS: Altogether 2693 critically ill patients with AKI, of whom 994 were North American, 1143 European, and 556 from Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Total mean FB to a maximum of 14 days was +7199 mL in North America, +5641 mL in Europe, and +2211 mL in ANZ (p < 0.001). The median time to RRT initiation among patients allocated to the standard strategy was longest in Europe compared with North America and ANZ (p < 0.001; p < 0.001). Continuous RRT was the initial RRT modality in 60.8% of patients in North America and 56.8% of patients in Europe, compared with 96.4% of patients in ANZ (p < 0.001). After adjustment for predefined baseline characteristics, compared with North American and European patients, those in ANZ were more likely to survive to ICU (p < 0.001) and hospital discharge (p < 0.001) and to 90 days (for ANZ vs. Europe: risk difference [RD], -11.3%; 95% CI, -17.7% to -4.8%; p < 0.001 and for ANZ vs. North America: RD, -10.3%; 95% CI, -17.5% to -3.1%; p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Among STARRT-AKI trial centers, significant regional practice variation exists regarding FB, timing of initiation of RRT, and initial use of continuous RRT. After adjustment, such practice variation was associated with lower ICU and hospital stay and 90-day mortality among ANZ patients compared with other regions