Fall, 1990 (v3n1)
by Jill Auburn, SAREP
Jim Grieshop of the
UC Davis Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences, and graduate students
Arnaz Raj, Maureen Plas, and Andy Karas, worked with
SAREP and the UC Small Farm Center to survey participants at seven farm
conferences last fall and winter, including the 1990 annual Farm Conference
in Visalia, four conferences oriented toward farmers making a transition
to more sustainable methods, and two general conferences sponsored by
the California Farm Bureau.
The survey asked questions
about growers' concerns and practices, and asked them to mark where they
believe they are on a continuum from "High Ecological" (high
concern for the environment; very judicious use of inputs; minimal reliance
on man-made resources; reduced use of chemicals; increased conservation
of soil, water, and energy) to "High Conventional" (effective
use of new and traditional technologies and practices, chemicals, and
natural resources; centralized arrangements and agricultural practices
for effective management and production; primary reliance on resources
and practices that maintain desired level of production). Farmers' ratings
in three five-year intervals show a pronounced shift toward a more ecological
orientation (see Figure, page 1). While just under half rate themselves
on the ecological end of the scale today (categories 1-3), and less than
one-third considered themselves to be in those categories in 1985,
more than 75 percent expect to be using more ecological production
practices in 1995.
Grieshop and Raj are analyzing
the survey data to compare these overall self-ratings with responses to
questions on specific concerns and production practices. More results
from the survey will be made public in the next few months. In a similar
study conducted for the American Farmland Trust in 1989 (Agriculture
and the Environment: A Study of Farmers' Practices and Perceptions,
J. Dixon Esseks, editor) very little relationship was found between farmers'
self-identification as "low-input," "sustainable,"
"organic," or "conventional," and the production methods
they reported using. Will the same be true of California growers in this
survey? Or do growers who describe themselves as more ecological adopt
different farming practices?
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