Fall 1995 (v7n4)
	From the Director Two Experts Welcome Chaos "Chaos defines my farm. I allow natural grasses to go wild. I see new six-legged creatures migrating into my fields, which now look like green pastures. I watch with paranoid panic, wanting to believe all will be fine while terrified I may lose the crop and even the farm. I need a lesson on managing chaos." - David Mas Masumoto, in Epitaph for a Peach (Harper Collins, 1995) California farmers like Mas Masumoto are vividly aware of the issues that Tom Peters addressed in his book, Thriving on Chaos (Knopf, 1987): international competition, accelerating technology, changing consumer tastes and other forces demand flexible management like never before. Peters advocates that we learn to thrive on chaos rather than merely learn to cope with it: "the winners of tomorrow will deal proactively with chaos, will look at the chaos as a source of market advantage, not as a problem to be gotten around." Enhancing our sustainability in agriculture is, in many ways, an attempt to build in flexibility that works with, rather than resists, rapid change. Two exciting new projects, funded under our Biologically Integrated Farming Systems (BIFS) program (see p. 10), illustrate this approach. They look for ways to enhance the buffering that occurs in biologicallybased systems, rather than merely treating immediate problems and symptoms. They are based upon participatory teams, in which the farmers, scientists and consultants are equal partners in research and education,very similar to Peter' concept of selfmanaging teams. In his more recent book, The Pursuit of WOW! (Random House, 1994), Peters responds to criticisms of selfmanaging teams. "Experts say the shift to selfmanaged teams takes years of training and preparation. Really? Whats a family but a selfmanaged team?" Perhaps that similarity is why Masumoto's book, subtitled Four Seasons on My Family Farm, is such an enjoyable illustration of many of Peters' management themes. For example, Masumoto's description of his efforts to instruct his pruning crew, only to admit that "These men have pruned more than I have...so now we exchange a few comments, they nod, and then they disregard my model," demonstrates perfectly Peters' maxims about the value of supervisors empowering frontline workers. As Masumoto notes, "Most good farmers I know are ... tending to their trees and vines as best they can, comfortable with their work, and confident that the final product will be fine. Whether they know it or not, seasoned farmers are already experts at chaos." Those of us who work for the University of California or other public or private organizations that support the agricultural community may take comfort in the fact both an internationally respected management expert and a successful farmer agree it is not possible or always desirable to have all the answers. Masumoto and Peters, unlikely soul mates, know from experience it may be better to have a flexible system of management in place so that the vagaries of life and land can be received with enthusiasm. -Jill Shore Auburn, associate director, University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.   [ Back | Search | Feedback ]