Are Farmers of the Middle Distinctively “Good Stewards”? Evidence from the Missouri Farm Poll, 2006

James, Harvey S.; Hendrickson, Mary

doi:10.1007/s10806-009-9228-8

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…While small scale farming may evoke images of farmers who have sustainability-related values, of equitable farm labor arrangements and of more careful tending of the earth, direct effects of small scale production are difficult to pinpoint. Some studies have found that small farms are more likely to have sustainable agricultural practices than large farms (Tavernier and Tolomeo 2004), while a review by James and Hendrickson (2010) finds mixed results in terms of effect of farm size on conservation and sustainable farming practices. In any case, these impacts arise from chosen production methods, not farm size in itself.…”

Section: Fig 1 Direct and Indirect Linkages Between Afn Characteristmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, as Jarosz (2008) points out, aspects such as crop diversity (which links to food security) are not tied to farm size. The small size of farms may have its effects through other characteristics such as redistribution of power, through having more participants in production and controlling the land on which food is grown, rather than this power being concentrated in the hands of few (Berry 1987, cited by James andHendrickson 2010). Often, small scale may simply be the result of other characteristics such as artisanal production or reduced physical distance and the impacts associated with small scale may in fact arise from these characteristics that typically co-occur with small scale.…”

Section: Fig 1 Direct and Indirect Linkages Between Afn Characteristmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The sustainability promise of alternative food networks: an examination through “alternative” characteristics

2014

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Concerns about the unsustainability of the conventional food system have brought attention to so called alternative food networks (AFNs), which are widely thought to be more sustainable. However, claims made about AFNs' sustainability have been subject to a range of criticisms. Some of them present counterevidence, while others have pointed to problematic underlying features in the academic literature and popular discourse that may hamper our understanding of AFNs' sustainability. Considering these criticisms, together with the fact that the literature often addresses a specific type of AFN or a specific sustainability-related issue, it is hard to form a clear overall picture of the sustainability promise of AFNs. In this article, we seek to contribute to a clearer understanding of this promise through a structured review, focusing on links between AFN characteristics and sustainability. Through an analysis of AFN conceptualizations reflected in the literature, we identify and consolidate their key characteristics. We then synthesize claims of how these characteristics may translate into sustainability, finding a wide range of potential direct and indirect impacts. Examining these from different angles, we find that the sustainability promise of AFNs found in these claims is qualified by the presence of potentially unaddressed issues, by criticisms regarding for example the evidence base of the assumed impacts and their power in addressing sustainability, and by considerations of how these impacts might play out in actual, real-life food networks. Indirect impacts of learning and participation may be highly significant for sustainability. We conclude with recommendations for research and practice.

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Section: Fig 1 Direct and Indirect Linkages Between Afn Characteristmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fig 1 Direct and Indirect Linkages Between Afn Characteristmentioning

confidence: 99%

The sustainability promise of alternative food networks: an examination through “alternative” characteristics

2014

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“…Although the notion of scale is central to the organization of agriculture for policy‐making, regulation, trade, and research, there is no standard scale used within and especially between sectors (c.f. Burns and Kuhns ; James and Hendrickson ). Scale is conceptualized differently for different kinds of agriculture (e.g., produce vs. meat vs. commodity) and contexts (e.g., developing vs. developed world) (Bokusheva and Kimura ; MacDonald, Korb, and Hoppe ).…”

Section: Framing “Agriculture Of the Middle”mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using this threshold, Burns and Kuhns () report that mid‐size farms account for six percent of farms and 21 percent of production value in 2014. Other researchers have defined mid‐sized farms using different GCFI thresholds (e.g., James and Hendrickson ). This lack of standardization makes assessments and comparisons difficult—especially across production types.…”

Section: Framing “Agriculture Of the Middle”mentioning

confidence: 99%

Confronting the Goldilocks Problem: Encountering “The Middle” in Anthropological Studies of Food and Agriculture

Thompson¹,

Stinnett²

2018

Culture Agric Food & Envi

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Globally, and in the U.S., agricultural and food systems are increasingly bifurcated into large and small-scale operations. Our ethnographic work indicates that there is a great deal of creativity and innovation between these poles, but this is largely being overlooked in agricultural research and policy where "the middle" is largely subject to erasure. Although constructs of scale are ideological in nature, they have material impacts across actors and networks. In this context, there is a critical need for theoretical and ethnographic work that seeks to understand the vast middle. Anthropologists are poised to bring the depth of contextualized, materially focused, process-oriented ethnography to understanding how agriculture and food systems are experienced and navigated, in highly heterogeneous ways-at the thresholds of scale, and in the interconnections of networks. To illustrate, we draw upon our ethnographic research in the meat industry and with farm to school initiatives. [scale, agriculture of the middle, food systems, ethnography, networks]

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“…Both of these variables are expected to increase the probability of making investments of all types (James and Hendrickson, 2010;Fernandez-Cornejo and Daberkow, 2002;Lambert et al, 2007), although smaller farms are frequently hypothesized to be more environmentally oriented (Tavernier and Tolomeo, 2004;Welsh and Rivers, 2011).…”

Section: Description Of Regression Analysis and Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are preserved farms actively engaged in agriculture and conservation?

et al. 2015

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Abstract:This study addresses the question of whether farms enrolled in land preservation programs are actively engaged in agricultural or conservation activities. Data are drawn from an original survey administered to preserved farm owners in the states of New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware in 2011. "Actively engaged" is defined as investment in conservation projects, buildings, equipment, or irrigation since the land was preserved. Affirmative answers to the survey's investment questions range from a low of 19% for irrigation to a high of 69% for equipment. Special attention was paid to differences between lifestyle farmers and small and large commercial farmers, which are classified using the USDA typology developed in 2000. Regression analysis estimates differences in investment behavior across these groups as well as farm tenure categories, controlling for farm size, program/ state location, and demographic variables. Only owners who employ tenants or managers exclusively on their land were found to invest significantly less than the largest professional farmers, and they did so across all four types of investment. This study's findings support preservation goals articulated by legislators and program administrators, because (1) agricultural and land stewardship investments appear to be widespread on preserved farms, partly due to administrators' preference for larger parcels, (2) there is no evidence that "hobby farmers" are disproportionately attracted to farmland preservation programs -in fact the opposite seems to be true -while those that exist in our sample behave similarly to the largest commercial farmers, (3) although tenant farming is associated in the sample with lower rates of investment, it is less common on preserved farms than on all farms in the three study states. The matter of land tenure, highlighted in this as in other studies, has not yet become a primary focus of either farm-behavioral research or state agricultural policy. 2 Es s E k s E t a l .

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Are Farmers of the Middle Distinctively “Good Stewards”? Evidence from the Missouri Farm Poll, 2006

Cited by 10 publications

References 17 publications

The sustainability promise of alternative food networks: an examination through “alternative” characteristics

The sustainability promise of alternative food networks: an examination through “alternative” characteristics

Confronting the Goldilocks Problem: Encountering “The Middle” in Anthropological Studies of Food and Agriculture

Are preserved farms actively engaged in agriculture and conservation?

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