'In these complicated times': An environmental history of irrigated agriculture in post-communist Ukraine

This paper examines irrigation in post-communist Southern Ukraine, mapping the continuity of late Soviet investments in centre pivot irrigation technology in the post-Soviet period, but also situating this largescale irrigation in a regional context where there are significant, but uneven, changes in water access. Framing irrigation change within long-term environmental history, this paper argues that post-Soviet developments are the consequence of a collapsing modernisation project. An Actor Network approach is used to explore the ontological politics surrounding possible alternative uses of irrigated farm fields, as well as the 'agency' of centre pivot irrigation technology, which 'acts' to undermine landowners’ rights. This is noted as ironic, because the technology was originally imported from the United States during the Cold War, while post-communist land reform was influenced by the Washington Consensus. Uneven water access near the area with centre pivot irrigation is explored. Understanding this uneven geography puts post-Soviet agrarian change in Ukraine in perspective, identifying the disappearance of collective farms as a factor driving changing water access. The paper concludes that 20th century Soviet investments in irrigation are potentially more sustainable than comparable investments in other countries – as in the American West – complicating the conventionally negative view of Soviet environmental management

Towards a Deeper Understanding of Agricultural Production Systems in Sweden – Linking Farmer’s Logics with Environmental Consequences and the Landscape

Farm restructuring is a continuous on-going process supported by national agricultural policy in Sweden; while striving for more efficient farms in terms of labor and yields, farms enlarge their holdings of arable land and animals. The environmental consequences of more intensive land uses have in turn stimulated environmental policies to deal with negative environmental consequences. In this paper we argue that an underlying problem with both of these policy approaches is that they primarily emphasize specific components of farms and fail to see the farm as an interconnected system. In this paper we therefore focus on the farm as a ‘system’ and on the systemic role of farming in the broader landscape. We develop a theoretical framework of farming logics which help to better understand agricultural production systems. Drawing on 34 semi-structured interviews with farmers, we divide the farms into three farming logic categories: I) ‘production vanguards’; II) ‘landscape stewards’; and III) ‘environmental vanguards’. We use these categories to analyze the role of key aspects such as size, intensity of production, specialisation, how farmer preferences and knowledge influence land use systems, and interactions of these with the local landscape. The findings show how farms that on the one hand share some basic characteristics can display quite different farming logics and vice versa. We argue that these farming logics offer a potentially positive diversity in farming approaches, with complementary and mutually dependent roles in Sweden’s overall food system

Farm performance and input self-sufficiency increases with functional crop diversity on Swedish farms

Diversified crop production is a key agroecological practice that enhances ecosystem functions and reduces reliance on costly external inputs, such as for plant protection and nutrition but might also increase labour costs and lower crop yields. We investigate if functional diversification, i.e., cultivation of crop species with contrasting ecological functions, is associated with a higher growth in farm economic performance and input selfsufficiency. This is compared with increased related crop diversity i.e., the cultivation of genetically closely related crop species. We apply the system GMM dynamic panel data estimator to 35,195 medium and large Swedish farms (2001-2018), combining information on crop grown on each field and year with farm financial and individual characteristics. We find growth in farm economic performance and input self-sufficiency to respond positively to functional crop diversification and negatively to related crop diversification. The results highlight that a decomposed assessment of crop diversification provides an enhanced understanding of the buildup of resource-use efficiencies and production- and market risk reductions on Swedish farms

Long-term trends in functional crop diversity across Swedish farms

The diversity of cultivated crops is relevant on various spatial scales, from the field and farm to the landscape. We apply a decomposition of the Shannon diversity index that allows the differentiation of functional diversity of production. The decomposition separates diversity of functional crop groups from related diversity, which shows the species diversity within the crop groups. Using population-based field and farm-level data from Sweden 2001–2018, we are able to study the development of overall (Shannon), functional and related crop diversity among a total of 83770 farms. Crop diversity indices are calculated by farm and year based on the Swedish Land Parcel Identification system (LPIS). We find that functional crop diversity has declined among Swedish farms over the period. Related crop diversity has declined but regained in recent years. Accounting for farm size and pedoclimatic conditions, organic farms have a higher functional diversity, and the uptake of organic practices leads to an increase in functional crop diversity over the period

From panic to business as usual: What coronavirus has revealed about migrant labour, agri-food systems and industrial relations in the Nordic countries

This article focuses on migrant labour in Nordic agriculture, wild berry picking and food processing. The starting point is the fear of a food crisis at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic (2020) because of the absence of migrant workers. The question was raised early in the pandemic if food systems in the Global North are vulnerable due to dependence on precarious migrant workers. In the light of this question, we assess the reactions of farmers and different actors in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden to what looked like an unfolding food crisis. In many ways, the reactions in the Nordic countries were similar to each other, and to broader reactions in the Global North, and we follow these reactions as they relate to migrant workers from an initial panic to a return to business as usual despite the continuation of the pandemic. In the end, 2020 proved to be an excellent year for Nordic food production in part because migrant workers were able to come. We discuss reasons why the Nordic countries did not face disruptions during the pandemic, map out patterns of labour precarity and segmentation for migrant labour in agriculture and food production in the Nordic countries and propose questions for further research

A Cryogenic Silicon Interferometer for Gravitational-wave Detection

The detection of gravitational waves from compact binary mergers by LIGO has opened the era of gravitational wave astronomy, revealing a previously hidden side of the cosmos. To maximize the reach of the existing LIGO observatory facilities, we have designed a new instrument able to detect gravitational waves at distances 5 times further away than possible with Advanced LIGO, or at greater than 100 times the event rate. Observations with this new instrument will make possible dramatic steps toward understanding the physics of the nearby Universe, as well as observing the Universe out to cosmological distances by the detection of binary black hole coalescences. This article presents the instrument design and a quantitative analysis of the anticipated noise floor

A Cryogenic Silicon Interferometer for Gravitational-wave Detection

The detection of gravitational waves from compact binary mergers by LIGO has opened the era of gravitational wave astronomy, revealing a previously hidden side of the cosmos. To maximize the reach of the existing LIGO observatory facilities, we have designed a new instrument that will have 5 times the range of Advanced LIGO, or greater than 100 times the event rate. Observations with this new instrument will make possible dramatic steps toward understanding the physics of the nearby universe, as well as observing the universe out to cosmological distances by the detection of binary black hole coalescences. This article presents the instrument design and a quantitative analysis of the anticipated noise floor