Double-cropping provides a method of diversifying the rotation, maximizing production, and increasing the profit potential of a cropping system. We assessed agronomic and economic performance of five alternative crops in comparison to the no-till wheat-soybean double-cropping system prevalent in the southern Corn Belt. Canola has shown potential as a profitable winter crop, but its effects on the subsequent crop in a no-till double-crop system required further study. Amaranth, buckwheat, sunflower, and pearl millet were planted after the harvest of canola or wheat, or after fallow. Alternative double-crop grain yield, production costs, and net returns were compared with those of double-crop soybean.

Wheat yielded more than canola. Sunflower grain yields did not differ significantly after winter-crop treatments at any site. Yields of amaranth, buckwheat, soybean, and pearl millet differed after winter crops at some sites. At three study yield levels, net returns were positive and greatest for double-crop wheat-amaranth, canola-amaranth, wheat-sunflower, and canola-sunflower systems. All double-crop systems except canolapearl millet had positive net returns at median study yield levels. Low or negative net returns resulted from the combination of low yield and low price for some double crops. Canola was shown to be an economically feasible alternative to wheat in a doublecropping system for central and southern Missouri. Buckwheat and sunflower were shown to be agronomically and economically competitive alternatives to soybean following either canola or winter wheat, with buckwheat most valuable in late-season planting conditions.

This paper examines the effects of irrigation practices and related activities on the environment and human health in the West Bank. Irrigated agriculture in the West Bank covers an area of 9,473 ha and utilizes 93 million cubic meters of irrigation water annually. The current annual use of fertilizers in the irrigated areas is 18,980 tons of chemical fertilizers and 198,900 to 265,200 tons of organic fertilizers. The total annual use of pesticides (excluding methyl bromide) in irrigated agriculture is 153 tons, of which 27 tons are internationally banned products. Methyl bromide is a dominant soil fumigant in the West Bank with a total estimated annual use of 400 tons, 44% of which is used on vegetables planted in plastic houses and high plastic tunnels. The soil solarization method to control soil-borne diseases is used by only 0.5% of the surveyed farmers. This study indicates that some farmers have suffered health problems due to exposure to pesticides, from the lack of protective clothing. Of the surveyed farmers, 19% suffer from poisoning symptoms and 1% are affected by methyl bromide fumigants. The total quantity of plastic sheets was estimated at 4,750 tons, at least 50% of which becomes waste. Eighty-eight percent of the surveyed farmers collect and burn the plastic wastes on the field, which could harm both the environment and human health through toxic fumes. Some water-related diseases occurred in the study area. Seventy-nine people were affected by leishmaniasis and 14 others by dysentery. Despite the heavy use of fertilizers, water quality analysis did not show high concentrations of nitrate.

Ranching in the 1990s involves vivid word pictures with emotions, learning, a bit of humor, and fierce independence, explained Connie, as students and resource specialists sat on hay bales in a small barn on the high desert in central Oregon. Rangeland Resource students listened, a high school English teacher listened, an Extension horticultural specialist listened, and a Bureau of Land Management ecologist listened along with the professor. A wagon wheel stood near a rusty bucket of sagebrush and bunchgrass. Doc contributed short stories, a few facts, and his perspective of the same events. As she continued, Connie looked toward Doc and wondered whether her story was pitched at about the right level of emotion; was she effectively describing their ranching experience in the 1990s? He smiled under a large grey cowboy hat as his boot rested on the wagon wheel. Everyone felt the tension. Inviting environmental advocates to their ranch … was this wise?

Many experiences later, Doc says they have regained independence through collaborative learning with urban dwellers and consumers of their beef products. They welcome people with open minds toward learning. Their vision includes cattle, fish, and wildlife; the 7 inches of rain or snow that falls in winter and must be captured to sustain fish and urban dwellers in August; and sharing beliefs and values about the landscape while fish, grass, and ranchers survive.

Concern over the performance and future direction of American agriculture is well justified and widely shared. Although bankruptcies and foreclosures have dramatized the current farm crisis, agriculture's underlying problems extend well beyond economics to the long-term sustainability of the system itself.

Organic producers have traditionally understood the value of conserving the natural enemies of the pests of the crops they grow. An equal appreciation of the value of importing new species of natural enemies is also needed. Given this understanding, the interests of organic farmers could then be promoted by efforts to stimulate greater activity by government agencies in charge of such importations. Furthermore, the focus of such importations could be altered to target more precisely pests of crops most commonly grown by organic producers. This would benefit organic farmers by permanently solving or greatly reducing the intensity of problems from many introduced crop pests. The potential benefit of a coordinated federal and state program of classical biological control could be very large for organic farmers. There is an increasing interest nationwide in expanding the use of classical biological controls. Organic producers now have the opportunity to add their influence to this trend to reshape the country's pest control agenda away from chemicals and toward biological controls and to focus this at least in part on those pests of greatest concern to organic producers. To do so, however, organic producers will have to learn a new lesson, i.e., the difference between native and imported pests and the value of importation as a means to control the latter.

The extensive adoption of transgenic plants now under way has provoked heated debate about its effects on human health, rural life and the environment. But too many critics are neglecting to zero in on transgenic technology's Achilles heel: its inherent inability to deliver on its promises. Longstanding theory and practice predict, and growing evidence confirms, that transgenes cannot dramatically accelerate plant breeding, let alone revolutionize agriculture, save the family farm or feed the world.

This study examined how one aspect of intensive cultivation, double digging by hand (loosening the planting bed to 50 cm deep), contributed to crop productivity and nutrient uptake in bush beans (1994 and 1995) and red beets (1995 only). Comparison beds were prepared with the soil cultivated to 25 cm (single dig) and 6 cm (surface cultivation). Although there were significant differences (1994 beans) between the surface cultivated beds and other cultivation types for leaf mass and chlorophyll content, there were no significant differences in the total mass of beans (whole fruit) produced. There were no significant differences in beet green or root (edible portion) biomass among cultivation methods. Levels of Ca, Mg, and K in the bean fruits and beet roots were not significantly different among cultivation methods. This study demonstrated that deep cultivation significantly alters the soil profile as measured by penetrometer resistance, but that this change does not necessarily alter productivity or nutrient uptake. We suggest that deep hand tillage has little effect on crop productivity in well-watered and moderate to high fertility soils. These results are similar to those found in mechanically subsoiled systems.

The sustainability issues associated with agricultural development are a growing concern worldwide. This study focussed on farmers' attitudes about environmental degradation and long term productivity loss that may result from implementation of modern agricultural technologies. The study was conducted in a selected area of Bangladesh and field level data were collected from the sampled farmers through personal interviewing. Findings revealed that more than two-thirds of the farmers confronted either a medium or high level of environmental problems due to intensive cultivation. Their main concerns were stress on soil fertility, loss of essential aquatic life, and reduction of earthworms and other beneficial organisms in soil. The farmers' recommended solutions were production of high yielding crop varieties with conservation management practices, and the balanced use of chemical fertilizers and organic manures. To apply these techniques, the top expectation of the farmers was to receive subsidies for agricultural inputs, and get easy-term credit from the government or non-government organizations. Interestingly, just half the farmers in the study area possessed a less than favorable attitude towards sustainability issues of agricultural development. In other words, to them these issues were of low or marginal priority. Only 6% of them expressed a highly favorable attitude (high priority) and 44% expressed a moderate attitude. Based on correlations, the individual farmer's age, education, family size, organizational participation, television exposure, communication behavior and environmental problem confrontation were identified as the main determinants of their attitudes about sustainability issues. Hence, these factors should be considered when formulating programs and policies for agriculture development that aim for long-term sustainability.

In arid areas of western Rajasthan, major constraints responsible for low plant production include low and erratic rainfall, high evaporation, and low soil fertility, particularly with respect to organic carbon and nitrogen. These problems lead to acute shortages of grain, fodder and fuelwood. Sustainable crop and biomass production can be achieved through adoption of agroforestry, silvipastoral and agrihorticultural systems. Integrated nutrient and moisture management practices can help in controlling pathogens and in improving the soil environment for higher sustained production.

This article seeks to stimulate thought on the philosophy behind agricultural research. Pragmatism is identified as a philosophical basis for studying environmental issues that focus on human behavior. The ways in which this approach is applicable to the study of alternative agriculture are illuminated. “Behavioral pragmatists” differ from “behavioral positivists” in their aim, focus, process, and approach to research. I describe the main goals of the pragmatic behavioral approach: accepting a systems approach to study the interrelationships between humans and the environment; gaining understanding through human experiences; viewing problems as whole complex “problematic situations”; and promoting social activism and appropriate policy formulation. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods is often most effective. Pragmatism allows for holistic analysis that incorporates numerous factors that influence human uses of the environment. A specific example shows how behavioral pragmatism is effective in research on alternative agriculture.

Amaranth is an alternative grain crop that shows significant promise in the U.S. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to analyze the most suitable regions for growing amaranth in Missouri. GIS software provides tools to manipulate and display geographically based information, in this case the factors affecting amaranth's suitability. Of several such factors considered, the ones used were soils, rainfall, sorghum production, disease potential, and labor availability. Soil, rainfall, and disease information were assumed to be direct factors in yield potential. Current sorghum production areas were considered likely areas for amaranth production, given the similarities between the crops. Labor availability also was assumed to affect adoption, since amaranth requires more labor than traditional grain crops. The analysis showed that central and southeastern Missouri would be the most favorable areas for amaranth production. Other suitable areas are along the Mississippi and Missouri river valleys and in western Missouri. This GIS approach can be modified to include additional factors and refinements, and could be used with other alternative crops or for other regions of the country.

In March 1997 an international conference was held in Boston, Massachusetts, on the ways that the nutritional value and quality of foods are affected by how they are produced. It was organized by the School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, and was attended by people from 19 countries.

The conference theme was interpreted broadly, with “quality” encompassing not only biological and chemical characteristics such as nutrient content, but also social and political consequences of different production systems. In all, 46 papers were presented, the abstracts of which are printed here, followed by the closing address. The 20 papers marked with * are included in the proceedings volume.