Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
partnership activities, either to help participating growers or to present a
comprehensive guide to the lessons learned by the partnership. Four
focus only on pest management and are more accurately described as
IPM manuals.
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The three winegrape partnerships using an integrated farming system
approach understood their task somewhat differently than the BIOS
manual described above. Their manuals are constructed less like a guide
and more like an integrated business audit. These three are the most
complete guidebooks for sustainability developed in California agricul-
ture. They present objective criteria to growers to evaluate their own
operation, and then link that back to group processes. They are a sophis-
ticated and highly effective structure for facilitating social learning.
Winegrape growers and vineyard managers came together to improve
their environmental practices in the Central Coast region, and in 1995
they formed the Central Coast Vineyard Team. They were motivated by
environmental and land-use controversies, and were not directly influ-
enced by the integrated farming system of BIOS. Their initial idea was to
develop a best management practices guidebook for the region.
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The
group examined existing point systems scoring the adoption of practices,
but made a significant conceptual switch: re-orient the design of the sys-
tem to reward growers by “giving them points” for good practices
instead of “penalizing” them for failing to do so, which has been the
more common approach. This was an effective pedagogical shift.
Although this is only one simple feature of their scoring system, team
members report that its positive character makes it much more appeal-
ing. The creation of the Positive Points System was important as both a
process and as a management tool, and both have improved the way the
partnership participants understand their farming systems.
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In 1999, buoyed by the success of his BIFS program, Cliff Ohmart
began the Lodi partnership's “Integrated Farming Program” in order to
stimulate more systems thinking among growers. Its foundation is the
LWWC Winegrower's Workbook: A Self-Assessment of Integrated
Farming Practices
. Ohmart and Matthiasson developed this workbook
from several years of presenting this material in local growers meetings
and at field days. They held “workbook workshops” to provide semi-
structured social learning opportunities for growers and PCAs. In a
“workbook workshop,” growers are instructed to connect the name of
