Amish Dedication to Farming and Adoption of Organic Dairy Systems - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 229

Christ with our farm” was the primary motive for farming. Many Amish farmers
believe that Christian family values (e.g., humility, frugality, contentment, unity and
a strong work ethic) are best fostered through a rural lifestyle, where spiritual, social,
economic, and ecological values can be integrated in a framework we describe as
oikonomia .
Oikonomia is an integrated approach to decision making that stems from the
origins of the word economics oikos and translates as “household” (Meeks 1985 ;
Young 1992 ). This household value-based dedication contributes to the Amish
persistent presence in farming despite the many financial challenges. Amish values
are also critical in the formation and maintenance of tight-knit communities of
Amish families who support each other in daily work, family living, and religious
worship. The Amish embody a connection between community, family and rural
culture, and view the farm as the ideal place to raise children and live out their faith
(Brock and Barham 2009 ; Brock 2010 ).
Old Order Amish settlements 3 share a commitment to support (and defend)
Christian family values through locally developed rules and norms ( Ordnung )
as well as value-based sentiments. Many of these norms center on limiting the
introduction of new activities, technologies or behaviors that they perceive may
threaten core Christian family values. This fear of value loss illustrates one type of
'bounded rationality' behavior toward change and uncertainty that we argue below
helps to explain Amish farming decisions. Thus, bounded rationality, in addition to
oikonomia , is needed to illustrate how internal and external constraints may prevent
farmers from acting in a manner consistent with neoclassical economic models of
full-information, economic maximizing decisions.
No published literature to date compares farm decision-making about alternative
agriculture practices across Amish settlements. This may be due in part to the
logistical difficulties of working with Amish communities since they lack phone
and email access and can appear closed off to outsiders. Successful fieldwork
often depends upon building build trust with Amish leaders and families. The
absence of literature may also be due to the complexity and subtleties involved with
decisions like organic adoption. There is some research comparing sustainability
outcomes of Amish farming practices (Stinner et al. 1989 ) with other types of
(Hostetler 1993 ; Dilly 1994 ). The Amish have chosen to respond to the tension of being Christ's
example in a corrupt world with a removed lifestyle approach. This removed lifestyle explains
some of their dress styles and use of technology that are so distinctive from mainstream Americans.
It may also explain their distance from politics and from government assistance including farm
subsidies (Dilly 1994 ). The Amish farmers in this report are Old Order Amish and have more
restrictive ordinances (or Ordnung ) than many of the other Amish groups. The Old Order Amish
in the Kickapoo region (the focus of this study) may be different on a number of characteristics
than Old Order Amish groups. Some farming practices that are distinctive of the Amish in this
region include farming with horses and milking by hand.
3 Settlements are divided up into church districts of about 25 families, and church districts are
governed by a bishop and a varying number of ministers and deacons. The church district bishops
govern the Ordnung of the settlement as a whole. Each settlement tends to have commonalities in