Despite significant progress in promoting the wider use of conservation tillage systems among farmers in Ontario, recent evidence suggests that adoption levels remain low overall, and especially low in those areas where agricultural soils are predominantly clay-based. Given the prominence of cash-crop agriculture in these regions, there is continuing interest in understanding the reasons for non-adoption in these areas, and in identifying strategies that would result in greater use of conservation tillage systems. This paper reports on an empirical analysis of conservation tillage adoption among a sample of 50 farmers in Lambton County, Ontario. The purpose of the research was to document and explain variations in the use of conservation tillage, and to assess prospects for increasing the adoption of this technology. A statistical analysis revealed that personal and attitudinal factors were largely unrelated to decisions concerning the use of conservation tillage. Instead, significant factors related to the scale of the farm operation as reflected in both farm size and sales, and in the nature of the farming system itself Subsequent analysis of farmers' stated motivations and perceived barriers suggests that inertia and uncertainty act as impediments to adoption. The findings point to the need for site-specific and farm system-specific information on the performance of this technology, and to the importance of benefits that are readily observable and communicable within local farming communities.

Sustainable production systems are needed to maintain soil resources and reduce environmental contamination on erodible lands that are incompatible with tillage-intensive operations. A long-term cropping systems comparison was established at Beltsville, Maryland, on a site with 2 to 15% slope to evaluate the efficacy of sustainable strategies compatible with reduced-tillage systems. All systems followed a 2-year rotation of corn the first year and winter wheat followed by soybean the second year. Treatments included (1) no-tillage system with recommended fertilizer and herbicide inputs, (2) crownvetch living mulch system with similar inputs to the no-tillage system, (3) cover crop system including a hairy vetch cover crop before corn and a wheat cover crop before soybean with reduced fertilizer and herbicide inputs, and (4) manure system including crimson clover green manure plus cow manure for nutrient sources, chisel plow/disk for incorporating manure, and rotary hoe plus cultivation for weed control. Results from the initial 4 years demonstrated the relative productivity of these systems. Corn yields were similar in the no-tillage and cover crop systems in each year; both systems averaged 7.8 Mg ha-1 compared to 5.7 Mg ha-1 in both the crownvetch and manure systems. Wheat yields were highest in the manure system in the first 2 years and in the crownvetch system in the last 2 years. Soybean yields were highest in the cover crop system in all years. The manure system usually had lower yields than the highest yielding systems, partly because of competition from uncontrolled weeds. Several measures of the efficiency of grain production were evaluated. The no-tillage system produced the most grain per total vegetative biomass throughout the rotation. The cover crop system produced the most grain per unit of external nitrogen input and, along with the no-tillage system, had the highest corn water-use efficiency. The cover crop system also recycled the most vegetative residues and nutrients of all systems. No single system performed best according to all measures of comparison, suggesting that trade-offs will be required when choosing production systems.

Residential household owners were surveyed in two different New Hampshire communities that varied in terms of population size, degree of rurality, and per capita income, each with no activities in land application of biosolids. Logit models were developed and logistic regression analyses were carried out for each community. The empirical results suggest that the perception by residents of the potential economic benefits and negative impacts from land application of biosolids can be very influential in achieving public acceptance. From a policymaker's viewpoint, this suggests the need for sound educational programs that explicitly describe the economic benefits, negative impacts, and potential risks that typically occur with land application of biosolids. Supportive studies are needed to complement the educational programs. These measures will allow residents to weigh the relative benefits and costs to determine their positions on this approach to management of biosolids and to discount emotional judgements and misinformation. The media needs to ensure that newspaper, magazine, and television reports are accurate and taken from reliable sources. Survey results suggest that the less volume of information presented by the media, the more supportive residents are of land application. Therefore, with such sensitivity by respondents to quantity of information, it is imperative that media outlets place high priority on the quality and accuracy of materials presented. Socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents did not influence attitudes toward acceptance or rejection of biosolids application, thus eliminating the difficulty that social stratification could cause in achieving acceptance.

The strategic implications of a major, unique effort in the U.S. to expand organic food and agriculture are examined in this article. The authors recently completed an evaluation of the Upper Midwest Organic Marketing Project (UMOMP), funded initially by The Pew Charitable Trusts, and under the guidance of the Midwest Organic Alliance (MOA). The UMOMP was designed to increase the land area under organic production in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. On the supply side, the focus was on organic grain, edible bean, and dairy commodities. On the demand side, an increase in organic food consumption was the focus in the Minneapolis—St. Paul metropolitan area. The UMOMP not only encouraged growth in demand, but also aided in the creation of necessary regional organic production, processing, distribution, and retail infrastructure. The UMOMP was generally successful, notably in the increased involvement of mainstream grocery stores in providing and promoting organic food products. Part of this success was due to the MOA's help in forging broker and distributor connections between mainstream stores and regional and national organic suppliers. A broad-based public awareness campaign about organic food and agriculture was another important element in the UMOMP strategy. The organic production and marketing educational effort should help to enable future expansion of organic hectarage. However, serious national or regional strategies to encourage organic farming probably will need other elements as well. Such strategies will involve some fundamental issues about the future structure and nature of organic farming and food systems, e.g., whether organic agriculture can remain centered on small- and moderate-sized family farms that operate in a somewhat independent and entrepreneurial fashion. Whether organic agriculture can be a vehicle for encouraging food systems that are more regional in geographic scope is a related issue. Preserving an organic farming and food system that differs substantially from the presently evolving “industrial” system may necessitate a slower and more deliberate approach than was used in the UMOMP. However, that could involve some sacrifice in the rate of growth in organic supply and demand.

In this paper we report on what “sustainable agriculture” means to farmers who seek to develop more sustainable farming systems. Group interviews were conducted with two groups of sustainable farmers in Kansas to learn how they developed their respective approaches, the kinds of parameters they have used to evaluate success and progress, and what other evaluation tools would be helpful to them. For the farmers we interviewed, the central meaning of sustainable agriculture is its holistic approach to assets management. It also means an alternative perspective on what constitutes success in farming. While economic considerations are important, they are balanced by other considerations such as environmental quality, quality of life, and the contributions the farmers can make to their communities. Sustainable agriculture also means an approach to agriculture that entails “thinking risks” as much as financial risks. Lastly, sustainable agriculture means whole farm planning; the farmers we interviewed were more interested in applying whole-farm planning principles based on their local knowledge, than in evaluation tools based on the expert knowledge of researchers and other scientists. The implications of what sustainable agriculture means to these farmers for research and educational programs are discussed.

Weeds are considered the most important pest group for farmers interested in lowering external inputs and avoiding synthetic chemical use. Corn gluten meal (CGM) is a natural preemergence weed control used in turfgrass, which reduces germination of many broadleaf and grass weeds. The objective of this study was to investigate weed cover and vegetable seedling survival in field plots when CGM is incorporated before planting. Three studies were conducted, with three replications for each study. Five rates of powdered CGM (0,100, 200, 300, and 400 g m–2) were weighed and incorporated into the top 5–8 cm of soil in recently disked 1.5-m by 2.7-m plots. Seeds of eight vegetables were each planted in rows 1.4 m long and 0.3 m apart. Seedling survival and percentage of weed cover were recorded for each plot. Corn gluten meal at rates of 100, 200, 300, and 400 g m–2 reduced mean weed cover by 50, 74, 84, and 82%, respectively, compared with the control. Seedling survival at 100 g CGM per m2 was reduced by 67% for ‘Comanche’ onion, 35% for ‘Ruby Queen’ beet, 41% for ‘Red Baron’ radish, 71% for ‘Provider’ bean, 73% for ‘Scarlet Nantes’ carrot, 59% for ‘Maestro’ pea, and 68% for ‘Black Seeded Simpson’ lettuce, compared with the control. Seedling survival for ‘Daybreak’ sweet corn was not reduced by rates of 100 or 200 g CGM per m2, but was reduced by 26% at a rate of 300 g CGM per m2 compared with the control. Because of the reduction in seedling survival at even the lowest rate of CGM (100 g m–2), direct seeding of these vegetables into soil into which CGM has been incorporated is not advisable. Using transplants may be an alternative that takes advantage of the herbicidal effects of CGM and the nitrogen it provides.

A statistical model of crop-weed competition is developed to permit, but not require, the existence of crop tolerance of weed pests. The popular rectangular hyperbolic model of crop-weed competition is shown to be a special case of the more comprehensive model. Application of the model to corn weed control in Massachusetts demonstrates its practicality and detects evidence of pest-tolerant crop response in this crop-weed system.