Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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[92], (2)
Location of Five Interviewed Farmers
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These farmers are some of the most colorful people I have ever met. Each
in their ownway has stood up against incredible odds andworked to develop
a successful organic farming business. I visited and telephoned each farmer
m ultiple times between 1994 and 2004. I taped all conversations and typed
ou t the transcripts. My initial interviews were open-ended, as I wanted to
le arn as much as possible. Later I often called or e-mailed the farmers to
ch at or to ask specific questions: Has the early spring rain been bad for you
th is year? Did you decide to rent that extra land? Did the vetch cover crop
w ork out? After I had all the written transcripts completed, I reviewed them
ex tensively, and I listened to the taped interviews repeatedly. This helpedme
di scover trends, identify themes, and pull out key topics. Each time I read
an interview, I made lists of key ideas and scrawled over the lists with new
id eas and topics the farmers taught me. Rather than using numbers as data,
I u sed the farmers' words as data. Essentially, I used qualitative data analysis
te chniques to discover the key factors that influence these geographically
an d operationally diverse organic farmers. Theoretically, I ammotivated by
a pragmatic behavioral approach that seeks to understand the context of
agricultural concerns by investigating farmers' experiences (Duram 1998b).
[92], (2)
O RGANIC FARMERS IN FIVE GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS
Let me introduce these organic farmers. In upstate New York, Steve Porter
and his family have shifted their operation from conventional livestock
to wholesale organic vegetables and a successful Community Supported
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