Weed management: the broader context - Ecological Management of Agricultural Weeds - page 510

by forming alliances with industries having shared interests, e.g., cultivator
manufacturers, and organic food processors and distributors. At present,
industry support in weed science is essentially synonymous with support by
herbicide manufacturers.Industries with a vested interest in sustainable agri-
culture must be made to realize that the changes sweeping through the agri-
cultural sector can to some extent be directed by strategic placement of
research money. The chemical companies are masters at this game, but the
rapid growth of the organic food industry opens the possibility of other
players. Unlocking this potential source of funding will require careful iden-
tification of how proposed research would reduce the wholesale price of
organic products needed by food processors.
Implementing ecological weed management
Because the market forces presently acting on agriculture appear
likely to compromise the well-being of future generations, we believe it is
appropriate for government agencies to proactively protect the environment
and promote economically and socially viable rural communities. Given that
the structure of agriculture contributes to heavy reliance on herbicides, the
widespread implementation of ecological weed management requires
changes in government policies and a reworking of relationships among
farmers, extensionists and researchers. We believe five types of changes are
particularly necessary.
First, tax laws and government financial policies need to favor medium-
sized owner-worked farms and investment in sustainable technologies rather
than large industrial farms and the acquisition of land, buildings, and
machinery (Strange, 1988, pp. 134-64, 262-4). Although environmental and
economic problems in farming are not precluded by an agricultural system
based on family farms, the forces creating those problems tend to be less viru-
lent when the family is the primary source of management and labor.
Diminishing the trend toward larger farms by removing biases against small
and mid-sized farms would increase opportunities for crop diversification,
crop-livestock integration, and timely cultivation, all of which would facili-
tate weed management with greater emphasis on ecological processes and less
use of chemicals. If small and mid-scale farms are going to be viable without
substantial dependence on non-farm employment or government subsidies,
then policy makers need to foster processes whereby farmers can cost-effec-
tively produce food and fiber in an ecologically sound manner and retain a
greater share of agricultural profits on their farms.
Second, legislative initiatives promoting soil and water conservation