Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
1. The terms “grass radicals” and “dairy heresy” were coined by Joel McNair
(1992a,b). The profile of the Wisconsin intentional rotational graziers and their
networks draws primarily from Hassanein 1999. Supplemental information used
here is from Cris Carusi and Jennifer Taylor of CIAS and from Hassanein and
Kloppenburg 1995.
2. Schlosser 2001, p. 50.
3. Cochrane 1979.
4. Hassanein and Kloppenburg 1995, pp. 726-727 (original citations omitted).
5. Quoted on p. 78 of Hassanein 1999.
6. Cited on p. 77 of Hassanein 1999.
7. For history and analysis, see Rosenberg 1961 and Scott 1970.
8. The information about the Thompsons' farm is from National Research
Council 1989 and from Bell 2004.
9. David Lighthall wrote his dissertation on Iowa's ridge-till agriculture and the
Practical Farmers of Iowa. He published several articles on PFI farmers' geogra-
phy, sociology, and strategies (Lighthall 1995; Lighthall 1996; Lighthall
and Roberts 1995). Lighthall found substantial progress toward lower input
production of corn and soy by ridge-till farmers, but he also discovered that larg-
er (non-PFI) operators viewed ridge-till farming as highly risky. Farmers with
smaller farms were able to monitor field conditions and deploy agroecological
practices, while larger farmers relied on chemical technologies. Ridge tillage is
one of several conservation tillage strategies; see chapter 4.
10. The information about PFI is from Bell 2004, and is supplemented by an
interview with Rich Pirog of the Leopold Center.
11. For more on the origins, development, and challenges of the Leopold Center,
see Carroll 2005.
12. National Research Council 1989.
13. This history is related in CIAS 1998. For more on the organization and
activities of CIAS, see Stevenson et al. 1994. As of this writing, CIAS hosts 16
faculty and staff members engaged in all phases of sustainable-agriculture
research, education, and outreach. (Many of these positions are part-time.) See
also Carroll 2005.
14. Carroll 2005, p. 59.
15. On the legislation and development of the LGU system, see National
Research Council 1995, 1996.
16. Kloppenburg 1988. The adoption/diffusion literature started with Ryan and
Gross 1943.
17. On the history of the tomato harvester, see Friedland and Barton 1975 and
Friedland 1980.
18. Hightower 1973. On the impact of this topic, see Buttel 2005.
