The Long and Short of Groundwater Education for Michigan Farmers

The Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Program (MGSP) has pursued a variety of educational strategies to educate farmers about groundwater risks associated with pesticide and fertilizer use. This article describes a 4-year study investigating program effectiveness. The results suggest that Farm*A*Syst has been a successful intervention for promoting farm management practices. Yet, despite the apparent changes in some farm management practices, little impact on groundwater literacy has been achieved. We suspect adoption of these practices may be driven by financial incentives, rather than an improved understanding of the need to assess and evaluate risks to their local groundwater supplies

An Economic Analysis of the Potential Influence of Carbon Credits on Farm Management Practices

The objective of the 1997 Kyoto agreement was to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions among signatory countries and thereby slow global warming. Under the agreement, Canada has committed itself to reduce GHGs over the next decade by 6 percent from estimated 1990 levels. Debate has now begun on the appropriate government policies that will induce the desired GHG reductions. Regulations could be in the form of direct controls or economic incentives, such as a subsidy/tax system or an emission trading system. The success of the U.S. emission market for SO2 (Schmalenseeet al., 1998) has generated growing interest in the use of a similar market mechanism for carbon (Holmes and Friedman, 2000). The existence of a carbon credit market presents the agricultural sector with another potential revenue source (Sandor and Skees, 1999). While agriculture contributes approximately 10 percent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, it also has the potential to sequester carbon through strategies such as zero tillage, reduced summer fallow and improved grazing. These sequestration activities could be incorporated into an emission trading system and create a “carbon credit†for each unit of CO2 that is removed from the atmosphere. Firms with high emission reduction costs could then buy these credits rather than bear the large abatement costs associated with reducing their GHG emission levels. The perception is that the marginal cost of abatement for agriculture is less than that for other sectors (McCarl and Schneider, 2000). Thus, farmers may be able to profit by selling credits for activities that sequester carbon. An example of such a transaction was the purchase of carbon credits from Iowa farmers who adopted no-till by a consortium of Canadian energy companies (GEMCO) (Lessiter, 1999). Whether the development of a carbon credit market will affect the management decisions of an Ontario crop farmer isthe focus of this study.Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management,

Not so `Invisible': A qualitative case study exploring gender relations and farm management software

This qualitative case study explored farm management practices by women cotton growers who used computer-based information systems, most particularly the agricultural farm management software, CottonLOGIC, within the Australian cotton industry. This study found that, although gender differences and inequalities persist in rural parts of the region, the agency of women cotton growers ensures not only a sustainable future for themselves and their families, but also for the broader cotton industry as a whole. The use of farm management software by women cotton farmers was informed by Connell’s theoretical framework of gender relations (2002). The findings suggested that, women’s active participation in family farm partnerships and their acquisition of technological skills through the use of farm management software like CottonLOGIC, meant that all cotton growers benefit through the feminizing of specific farm management practices in family farm enterprises. This, therefore, has significant implications for developing the cotton industry into a truly sustainable entity

Assessing the sustainability of EU dairy farms with different management systems and husbandry practices

The EU funded SOLID project supports research which will contribute to the competitiveness of organic and low input dairy systems, and increase their sustainability. There are many aspects of the sustainability of dairy farms, relating to economic, environmental and social dimensions, and methods of animal husbandry can affect all of these. A UK spreadsheet based tool for rapid assessment of the whole farm was adapted for application on a range of organic and low input dairy farms across the EU. This tool was used to assess approximately ten organic dairy farms in each of four EU countries. Data on farm management practices collected in face to face interviews with farmers were entered and the tool then calculated a composite score for each of 11 separate “spurs” or dimensions contributing to stainability. The results can be used to stimulate discussion between farmers and point to areas where farm sustainability might be improved or topics that would benefit from further research

Farm Cost Allocation Based on the Maximum Entropy Methodology - The Case of Saskatchewan Crop Farms

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has an ongoing research program to provide information on the effect of potential agricultural policy and technology scenarios on the environment and the economic conditions, behavior and performance in the agriculture sector. Included in this work program is a project to improve our farm level data on cost of production and farm management practices for economic and environmental analysis. As part of this effort to improve our data, this report evaluates an analytical method, called Maximum Entropy (ME), for its effectiveness in extracting detailed, enterprise level, cost of production information from whole-farm data. The ME method has been shown to be a promising and cost-effective option for obtaining these enterprise-level estimates from whole-farm data sets already available.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Changes in the soil organic carbon balance on China’s cropland during the last two decades of the 20th century

Agro-ecosystems play an important role in regulating global changes caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Restoration of soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural soils can not only improve soil quality but also influence climate change and agronomic productivity. With about half of its land area under agricultural use, China exhibits vast potential for carbon (C) sequestration that needs to be researched. Chinese cropland has experienced SOC change over the past century. The study of SOC dynamics under different bioclimatic conditions and cropping systems can help us to better understand this historical change, current status, the impacts of bioclimatic conditions on SOC and future trends. We used a simulation based on historical statistical data to analyze the C balance of Chinese croplands during the 1980s and 1990s, taking into account soil, climate and agricultural management. Nationwide, 77.6% of the national arable land is considered to be in good condition. Appropriate farm management practices should be adopted to improve the poor C balance of the remaining 22.4% of cropland to promote C sequestration