Field studies were conducted in 1990 and 1991 to determine the effects of corn planting date and hairy vetch control method on the efficacy of fall-planted hairy vetch as a weedsuppressive cover crop for no-till corn. Glyphosate controlled hairy vetch when applied at the early bud growth stage (April), but hairy vetch residue provided no weed control compared to the weedy check. Mowing was not an effective means of suppressing hairy vetch at the early bud stage. Untreated hairy vetch reduced weed biomass 96% in 1990 and 58% in 1991 but reduced yield over 76% in April-planted corn. There was no competition of untreated hairy vetch with corn when corn planting was delayed until May or June (mid- or late-bloom growth stages of hairy vetch). Corn planted in May into untreated hairy vetch yielded similarly to corn planted in a no-cover weed-free check.

Soil cultivation (3 to 5 times/yr) and herbicide management (oxadiazon, 3.92 kg ai/ha), agricultural standards for reducing weed competition, were compared to three alternative nursery field management systems regarding weed suppression: ‘Norcen’ bird's-foot trefoil companion crop, ‘Wheeler’ winter rye cover crop/mulch, and grass sod (80% ‘Eton’ perennial ryegrass and 20% ‘Ruby’ red fescue). Field management treatment had a significant effect on observed weed populations. Weed densities were also subject to yearly variations caused by climate and endogenous weed life cycles. Herbicide management (oxadiazon) consistently provided the best control of undesired vegetation (0.3 weeds/m2) followed by the grass sod (0.7 weeds/m2), Wheeler rye cover crop/mulch (1.7 weeds/m2), Norcen bird's-foot trefoil companion crop (8.6 weeds/m2), and cultivated (55.7 weeds/m2) treatments, respectively. Although the grass sod treatment provided excellent control of undesired vegetation, as an alternative to cultivation and herbicide use, it proved to be excessively competitive with the nursery crop. The bird's-foot trefoil treatment quickly became infested with broadleaf weeds the eradication of which proved difficult. The Wheeler winter rye cover crop/mulch field management system provided acceptable weed control combined with other beneficial effects on the plant/soil environment. Results support the effectiveness of Wheeler winter rye and perhaps other allelopathic cover crop/mulch systems in controlling undesired vegetation in horticultural field production systems.

Mathematical programming results revealed that moving toward more flexible agricultural policies would generate substantial economic and environmental gains in a North Carolina diversified cropping region. But in a Washington-Idaho dryland grains region, only the use of relatively new and sometimes problematic alternative cropping systems permitted environmental and economic gains under policy reform. In both regions, a recoupling policy, which links government payments to resource-conserving farming practices, was needed to protect environmental quality when market prices for program crops were high.

Although discussion of the role of urban agriculture in developing nations has occurred over the past decade, dialogue relating to urban agriculture in industrialized countries, including the United States (US) has only recently begun to attract significant attention. The unique factors that influence urban agriculture, including limited and non-traditional land access, use of reclaimed soils and alternative growing mediums, local legal and political environments, social and community-based missions, and involvement of non-traditional farmers, create a production system distinct from rural agricultural enterprises. In many cases, specific local environmental and external factors drive urban farms to develop unique innovations for space-intensive production systems, often creating a dominant paradigm for urban farming for a given location. Furthermore, non-production-related organizational goals are often the primary focus of urban agricultural operations, with the food production becoming a secondary objective. In order to address this information gap regarding the status of urban agriculture in the US, our project, centered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, gathered data through site visits to and interviews of organizations in seven cities, examining how structural and strategic food system factors shape urban agricultural efforts. A broad range of operations are considered, including diverse business and production models based on both commercial and community-based management strategies and production in parking and vacant lots, warehouses, public land and peri-urban locations. Based on these observations, the unique innovations in space-intensive agricultural production that have arisen in response to urban food system factors are discussed. We conclude with an assessment of the most significant challenges continuing to face urban agriculture.

Since the early 1980s organic agriculture has undergone enormous growth and innovation in the US and throughout the world. Some observers have pointed to the US Department of Agriculture's 1980 Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming as having provided the catalyst for many of these developments. It is important, however, to understand how the evolving character of organic ideology during the 1960s and 1970s helped lay the foundation for moving organic agriculture onto the US governmental agenda in the early 1980s. We explore these and other contextual factors surrounding the USDA Report's release, including its methods, findings and recommendations, and both positive and negative reactions, as well as those factors that led to the Report's declining influence by the decade's end. The need for agricultural sustainability has played an important role in shaping, not only the path of organic agriculture in the US but also the overall politics of American agriculture. Legislative efforts to support organic agriculture have evolved along with this altered policy environment and are considered here within the broader context of the politics of sustainable agriculture. Next, we consider the organic industry's transition from a privately managed enterprise to the pivotal role now played by the federal government in the administration of the National Organic Program. Calls to move ‘beyond organic’ are also examined. Finally, we explore the impact of sustainable agriculture, agricultural research and farm structure upon the future of organic agriculture in the US. The politics within these three interrelated domains of public agricultural policy will likely bear heavily upon the future of organic farming and the organic industry as a whole.

The transition away from forage-based cropping systems in Iowa to corn and soybean rotations since World War II has corresponded with degraded economic and environmental conditions in the state. Falling net incomes for farmers and concern over global warming and the effects of agriculture-related pollution on water, wildlife and human health have increased interest in diversified cropping systems. This paper reviews the benefits of diversifying Iowa corn and soybean rotations with perennial forage species such as alfalfa and red clover. Perennial forage crops improve soil quality, decrease NO3-N leaching and soil erosion, increase carbon sequestration and decrease pesticide and herbicide needs by controlling weed and insect pests. Forage legumes reduce N fertilizer needs for succeeding corn crops at a higher rate than soybeans, and corn crops following forages have higher yields than after corn or soybeans. Farmers who add alfalfa to corn and soybean rotations could realize significant economic gains. A simulated 5-year rotation in Iowa including corn–soybeans–oats/alfalfa–alfalfa–alfalfa would result in a 24% net income increase over 5 years of corn–soybean–corn–soybean–corn, even with government farm support payments for the row crops. Farm policies that encourage commodity production create little incentive for Iowa farmers to diversify their cropping systems beyond corn and soybeans, despite the clear economic and ecological benefits. We recommend increasing federal support for conservation programs that reward environmentally beneficial farm practices such as the Conservation Securities Program and we encourage land grant universities to hire researchers interested in alternative agricultural systems.

Systems advocating alternative agriculture would appear to be handicapped by the amount and the minutiae of human labor required. Is this really a threat to the continuity of farms associated with these systems? We do not believe that this directly hampers the survival of a farm. We advance the theory that continuity is not just down to chance; the farmer at the time chooses to prolong the life of the farm and more especially to look for a successor. We have shown through a study conducted in central France (Auvergne) that the main guarantee of organizational sustainability, that which sustains the business as a viable entity when another person takes over, is when a farmer thinks of his farm as an entity-cum-project supporting a meaningful life plan. A farmer might also see his farm solely as capital or as heritage, but neither of these last two attitudes is sufficient for him to ensure the spirit of his enterprise is passed on. There is a particularly large number of farmers in the first category (entity-cum-project) who adopt alternative farming practices, which are meaningful. It also seems to be the case that the manner of working is closely linked to the moral principles of farmers who use alternative systems. Moreover, the same objective amount of work that might be thought excessive in a system that puts strong emphasis on high productivity, is regarded as normal in an alternative system. Farmers often approach extension advisors to help reorganize their working conditions. We maintain that alternative systems have peculiarities with regard to work that make this type of advice difficult. Our aim is to help advisors clearly construct the input they give to the various types of farmers. We put forward a typology of possible practices as regards advice on work, according to assessments farmers have made about the amount of work they do and their way of working. The large number of hours devoted to an alternative farming activity and the nature of that activity, whether demanding or linked to practices thought archaic, are not always a handicap to the continuity of an alternative system. On the contrary, these features can be its hallmark.

Crop producers are challenged to operate profitably, use resources efficiently, meet high standards of quality and protect the environment, while sustaining rural economies and societies. Cropping systems are generally fine-tuned and improved through changes that have small effects which can often be verified only through research. The processes and successes of two farmer research projects were studied. Results of these studies, information from other sources and the authors' reflections on their own experiences were integrated to develop guidelines for the implementation of farmer research projects for alternative agriculture and multi-functional agro-ecosystems with diverse stakeholders. Surveys were mailed to 118 farmers currently or previously participating in a farmer research project, and to 15 advisors. Responses show that involvement in a farmer research project was profitable, stimulating, enjoyable and worthwhile, despite a substantial time requirement. Tillage and soil fertility research had greater impact on annual farm profit than research on other topics. Farmers and advisors emphasized the importance of the farmers' roles in identification of research topics, research planning and implementation, and interpretation of the results. Replicated trials conducted over 2 or 3 years were recognized as necessary to adequately verify practices for the corn–soybean rotation of eastern Nebraska, USA. Such trials may need to be complemented with alternative research approaches for improving alternative agriculture and multi-functional agro-ecosystems where knowledge about some system components is relatively scarce and there is a need to evaluate long-term effects. In conclusion, organized farmer research is an efficient means to cropping system improvement. Guidelines are given for initiation and implementation of farmer research projects.

Natural systems agriculture is based on an understanding that natural systems are self-sustaining due to regulatory mechanisms and processes that help to ensure the long-term maintenance of the ecosystem. An agroecosystem modeled after nature should encompass greater stability and biodiversity at all levels of organization than an agroecosystem based on conventional agricultural practices. The main objective of this study was to determine whether agroecosystems modeled after nature exhibit advantages over conventional agroecosystems. Five treatments were examined: winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) monoculture, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) monoculture, strip-cropped alfalfa and wheat, and two alfalfa–wheat intercrops (one no-till and one conservation-till). Indicators of ecosystem function studied included primary productivity, soil fertility, plant nitrogen (N) concentration, and abundances of arthropod pests and predators. No fertilizers or pesticides were used prior to or during this investigation. Monoculture, strip-crop and conservation-till treatments produced significantly higher yields than no-till intercropped alfalfa and wheat. Although yields from the no-till intercrop were low, wheat protein values were comparable to other treatments. Soil N concentrations tended to be high in treatments containing alfalfa. Insect pests preferred alfalfa and were, therefore, often more abundant in treatments containing high percentages of alfalfa, as were predators such as spiders. Researching alternatives to monoculture agroecosystems, such as the intercrop systems in this study, may provide us insight into a true natural systems agriculture.

The traditional farming system (TFS) in the Ghouta has been an integral pan of the social life and has contributed to the food supply of Damascus for millennia. Very little is known about this traditional and sustainable system, considered by many as a hindrance to development. This study is an attempt to analyze the economic perfonnance of this system. The objective is to evaluate the economic performance of the TFS and its impact on system viability. Three farms, representing the three different agricultural strategies in this area, were selected for data-collection. Participant observation was used to derive estimates of labor, costs and revenues, which are not recorded by farmers. These three farms formed a base for continuous contact with other farmers in the Ghouta. The average values, after cross-checking with these estimates and other farmers, were used in the economic analysis at three levels: production, family and market level. The production system of the Ghouta is adaptable to economic forces of a major city as the high level of market orientation of the TFS stimulates diversity of farms. It is concluded that the diversified farms managed by farmers in this area provide a satisfactory income, which is in harmony both with the social values and with preserving the system, the overall objective of the farmers.

This study assesses consumer perceptions of sustainably produced foods and evaluates whether a supermarket point-of-purchase intervention could increase shoppers' awareness of a campaign designed to promote purchases of sustainably produced foods. The in-store intervention involved the promotion of sustainably produced apples labeled with the Midwest Food Alliance's (MWFA) seal of approval. Minnesota consumers were surveyed at two eastern metropolitan area intervention stores and one eastern metropolitan area comparison store. The in-store campaign lasted 8 weeks and involved individually labeled apples, point-of-purchase materials, and weekly food demonstrations. Prior to campaign initiation, baseline surveys were administered to consumers in two test stores and one comparison store. Follow-up surveys were mailed to these same consumers upon conclusion of the campaign intervention. Independent samples t-tests comparing change from baseline to post intervention indicated that a statistically higher percentage of consumers in the test-market group had heard of the Midwest Food Alliance campaign. Furthermore, a statistically higher percentage of the test-market shoppers reported seeing signs and labels promoting the MWFA, indicating that the promotion had some impact. Baseline data gathered from all consumers indicated that foods produced with sustainable practices were important to consumers; however, food characteristics of freshness, taste, safety and healthfulness were most important. The majority of consumers reported that they would be willing to pay 10–30% more for selected sustainably produced foods. Research results indicated that an 8–week in-store intervention was effective at increasing consumer awareness of the MWFA. However, a more powerful intervention (including a longer promotion period with more labeled foods) may be needed to induce shoppers to increase their purchases of sustainably produced foods promoted by the MWFA.

Small farmers urgently need alternative marketing strategies if they are to achieve the goals of a more sustainable agriculture. This study was a survey of nine Pennsylvania wholesale produce auctions, all established between 1984 and 1998. The main goals of the auctions were to serve local communities, provide high-quality produce to local consumers and make profits. The results showed that the auctions typically employ an average of 7–10 people per growing season. The five most common commodities sold were cantaloupe, watermelon, tomato, pumpkin and sweet corn. Asparagus and onions were the least sold during a regular growing season. In terms of market share, roadside market operators purchased the largest proportion of produce (40%), followed by farmers (27%), chain food stores (16%), independent grocery stores (11%) and restaurants (6%), making up an average annual gross sale of $3.5 million per auction. The study revealed that the nine Pennsylvania produce auctions were successful in meeting their goals. The reasons for success included private ownership, excellent quality and freshness of produce, good location, local produce recognition, clientele availability and customer-oriented business. The auction managers identified some weaknesses, including inconsistent and poor grading, limited space in the auction facility, produce unavailability and limited volume, lack of cooling facility, price fluctuation and slow service. The study indicated that local wholesale produce auctions are a useful marketing alternative for small farmers in Pennsylvania, by providing marketing outlets and convenient shopping centers for sellers and buyers; by securing a source of fresh and locally grown produce not found in traditional wholesale terminal markets; and by allowing exchange and networking among farmers and buyers. Consequently, the wholesale produce auction can be a useful model for an alternative marketing strategy and can provide considerable benefits to small farm and rural communities.

Emergent research shows how some farmer groups in the United States are gaining visibility as a critical knowledge community, making important contributions to the ecological health and overall sustainability of the natural resource base. This study focuses on funded farmer research projects in the north central region, to analyze the process and outcome of local inquiry embodied in the discursive contents of reports to a funding agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. The analyses suggest that farmers' locality-specific agricultural practices may constitute a reflective and learning community, generating local knowledge keenly attuned to an underlying value system that supports actions towards sustainability.

We compared the crop yields and economic performance of organic, lowinput, and conventional farming systems over an eight-year period based on research from the Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems (SAFS) Project in California's Sacramento Valley. The SAFS Project consisted of four farming-system treatments that differed in material input use and crop rotation sequence. The treatments included four-year rotations under conventional (conv-4), low-input, and organic management, and a conventionally-managed, two-year rotation (conv-2). The four-year rotations included processing tomato, safflower, corn, and bean and a winter grain and/or legume doublecropped with bean. The conv-2 treatment was a tomato and wheat rotation. In the lowinput and organic systems, inorganic fertilizer and synthetic pesticide inputs were reduced or eliminated largely through crop rotation, legume cover crops, composted manure applications, and mechanical cultivation.

All crops, except safflower, demonstrated significant yield differences across farming systems in at least some years of the experiment. Yields of tomato and corn, the most nitrogen (N)-demanding crops in the rotations, responded most years to the farming-system years treatments, while bean and the winter grain/legume displayed treatment differences less often and instead tended to vary more with yearly growing conditions. Nitrogen availability and/or weed competition appeared to account for lower crop yields in the organic and low-input systems in some years. The economics of all farming systems depended mainly on the costs and profits associated with tomato production. The most profitable system was the conv-2 system due to the greater frequency of tomato in that system. Among the four-year rotations, the organic system was the most profitable. However, this system's dependence on price premiums leads to some concern over its long-term economic viability. Among the low-input cropping systems, corn demonstrated clear agronomic and economic advantages over conventional production methods. Based upon these findings, we suggest that future research on organic and low-input farming systems focus on developing cost-effective fertility and weed management options based upon improved understanding of N dynamics and weed ecology.

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.

New crop production technologies developed in response to growing concern over environmental contamination from agriculture may be neither more profitable nor higher yielding than the systems they replace, but they often reduce environmental contamination or improve soil and water quality. Systems designed with environmental objectives cannot be evaluated fairly just by productivity, which is what often is done in economic studies of alternative systems. We review 58 recent studies comparing alternative crop production systems to identify the key criteria for system comparisons, the system characteristics important in designing the analysis, and the methods most suited for comparing alternative systems.

The four key criteria we looked for in system comparisons are expected profit, stability of profits, expected environmental impacts, and stability of environmental impacts. Most economic studies of crop production focus exclusively on profitability, and incorporate neither environmental criteria nor the dynamic characteristics inherent in alternative systems. We identify promising new approaches that take account of specific environmental characteristics and attempt to balance the objectives of profitability and environmental risk management. Balanced environmental-economic analysis is most likely to be achieved by integrating biophysical simulation models with economic optimization methods to model the trade-offs among profitability, environmental impact, and system stability (both financial and environmental).

Applied agricultural research that is concerned with highly specific production methods and growing conditions differs in its purposes and social value from more “academic” kinds of research intended to advance knowledge in a more general and less immediately practical way. Nevertheless, it is conducted in an institutional setting established largely for the latter kind of research. Many people have suggested that the resulting conflicts could be reduced by introducing greater flexibility into the professional reward system for agricultural researchers. However, the mismatch may go too deep to be fixed this way. An alternative would be to remove highly applied researchfrom the academic domain and treat it instead as a service to the university's outside constituencies. A service orientation is especially appropriate for publicly supported universities, which is where most such research is done.

The acceptance and utility of alternative agricultural research can be enhanced by better incorporating social sciences and issues and by broadening its scope to the entire food system rather than focusing only on food production. Researchers have made strong contributions in developing and evaluating alternative agricultural technologies, but research attention also is needed to articulate strategies for synthesizing those technologies into coherent strategies, to examine the social effects of different scenarios, and to create better decisionmaking processes for ensuring broad-based knowledgeable participation in the choices among alternative strategies. Research that addresses human needs beyond food and fiber will help build truly alternative and desirable agricultural systems.

Researchers at land-grant universities are under pressure to widen their research objectives, which requires them to expand their inquiry from a disciplinary base to a systems level, to include farmers and nonuniversity organizations as research collaborators, and to communicate with broader sectors of the public, such as consumers and policy makers. However, there are few rewards for scientists who undertake long-term, systems based research. An approach that brings together multidisciplinary, multiprofession teams using a radial model of organization has successfully addressed these challenges in Wisconsin. A small “hub” manages the team, with the remaining participants linked to component taskforces or “satellite” projects. This enables research to be done on both multidisciplinary and related single-discipline questions. Radially organized teams can attract diverse people with different time commitments and reward incentives. The research meets the criteria of public and academic audiences alike. For innovative research and extension efforts like radial teams to reach their full potential, larger institutional changes are needed within the land-grant system and professional agricultural societies.

Control of agricultural policymaking by the “agricultural establishment” has been challenged by a wide range of interests concerned with the externalities of modern industrialized agriculture. An “externalities/alternatives” or “ex/al” coalition appears to be an emerging force in agricultural policy debates. We surveyed three alternative agriculture groups, three conventional agriculture groups, and a statewide sample of farmers to learn whether each category forms a distinct, unified interest group whose perspectives on agricultural policy diverge substantially from the others'. There is considerable similarity among the alternative agriculture groups and among the conventional agriculture groups, the differences between them being much greater than the differences within each category. The statewide farmer sample is generally intermediate between the two sets of interest groups, but is closer to the conventional perspective on most issues.