Are Conventional Farmers Conventional? Analysis of the Environmental Orientations of Conventional New Zealand Farmers*

Fairweather, John R.; Hunt, Lesley; Rosin, Chris; Campbell, Hugh

doi:10.1526/003601109789037222

Cited by 41 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Although issues related to soil, air and land use featured in the respondents' comments, there was more focus on both the views of the public on farming practices and government regulation (mostly referring to the fear of -more red tape‖). It is important however, to note that there is likely to be a significant group of farmers who are pursuing environmental issues due to their personal ethical values, rather than public and government pressure [18].…”

Section: Primary Producers-farmers and Their Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scotland’s Food and Drink Policy Discussion: Sustainability Issues in the Food Supply Chain

Leat¹,

Revoredo‐Giha²,

Lamprinopoulou³

2011

Sustainability

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Abstract:The purpose of the paper is two-fold. First, to identify the main sustainability issues that Scottish food supply chain actors are concerned with and any differences that exist between primary producers, processors and distributors and consumers; and second, to explore the implications of respondents' views for the direction of food and drink policy in Scotland. The analysis was based on a dataset assembled from the written responses to the National Food Policy discussion in Scotland, which contains opinions on the different dimensions of sustainability (economic, environmental and social) from a broad range of individuals and organizations representing different segments of the Scottish population. The empirical analyses involved comparing the responses according to two criteria: by food supply chain stakeholder and by geographical region. The results indicated that whilst there were differences among the studied groups, the importance of social and economic sustainability were strongly evident in the foregoing analysis, highlighting issues such as diet and nutrition, the importance of local food, building sustainability on sound economic performance, the market power of supermarkets, and regulation and support in building human and technical capabilities.

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Section: Primary Producers-farmers and Their Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scotland’s Food and Drink Policy Discussion: Sustainability Issues in the Food Supply Chain

Leat¹,

Revoredo‐Giha²,

Lamprinopoulou³

2011

Sustainability

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“…This focus on broad-leaved herbaceous weed abundance and cover in pastures forms part of wider studies undertaken by the Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability (ARGOS 2010) that investigates the environmental, social and economic outcomes of different market accreditation systems as complementary pathways to more sustainable and resilient agriculture (Rosin & Campbell 2008, Fairweather et al 2009, Darnhofer et al 2010). This study of herbaceous weeds is part of a wider investigation of weed management options and techniques, pathways for invasion of woody weeds into agricultural land and assessment of future weed management research needs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance and diversity of herbaceous weeds in sheep/beef pastures, South Island, New Zealand

Blackwell

Lucock²,

Møller

et al. 2011

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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This study compared species diversity, abundance and size of broad-leaved herbaceous weeds on 28 South Island sheep/beef farms that employed either organic, integrated management (IM) or conventional management (CM) systems. Three or six paddocks per farm were surveyed using walked transects in November 2005, and the presence and number of individuals of each weed species encountered were recorded. 39 broad-leaved herbaceous weeds were recorded on all the farms in the study, but 76.7% of occurrences were of just three species (Californian thistle (Cirsium arvense L.), dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Weber and daisy (Bellis perennis L.)). The ten next most abundant species made up 21% of records and the remaining 26 species just 1.9%. Very few significant differences were found in the geographic distribution, species richness or Shannon diversity index, abundance, cover or size of broad-leaved herbaceous weeds present on farms employing the different management techniques. However, there were significantly fewer Californian thistle per m 2 on CM than on organic or IM farms and cover of all herbaceous weeds averaged 5.0, 5.6 and 2.1 on organic, IM and CM farms, respectively. Weed infestation varied enormously by region and between individual farms, so the statistical power of the comparisons was relatively low. Until further research is reported, the authors caution against general and unquantified assertions that the sustainability of organic pastoral farming is, or is not, compromised by weed infestations.

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“…An important subgroup of 'green conventional' farmers identified in national survey responses (Fairweather et al 2009c) were represented in the ARGOS qualitative data by farmers and orchardists expressing such an orientation by prioritising a specific set of environmental outcomes: bird biodiversity as an indicator of orchard health or the overall amenity value of trees and other features like wetlands as hunting resources in their farmscapes . The members of the non-organic panels were also more likely to refer to a need to balance environmental concerns with economic viability and practicality.…”

Section: Positioning Towards Nature/environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Put simply, how do 'organic', 'conventional' and 'integrated' operate as social practices once we cease to conceptualise them as simple, categorical, and somehow determinative? Fairweather et al (2009c) identified a group of 'green' conventional farmers in New Zealand thus undermining a comfortable use of the category 'conventional' to describe the environmental practice of many producers. Similarly, Campbell et al (2009) in reviewing preliminary data from across the ARGOS project argued for the need to move beyond the organic/conventional binary.…”

Section: Beyond Categories Of Organic and Conventional Social Practicmentioning

confidence: 99%

The social practice of sustainable agriculture under audit discipline: Initial insights from the ARGOS project in New Zealand

Campbell

Rosin

Hunt

et al. 2012

Journal of Rural Studies

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One of the most interesting recent developments in global agri-food systems has been the rapid emergence and elaboration of market audit systems claiming environmental qualities or sustainability. In New Zealand, as a strongly export-oriented, high-value food producer, these environmental market audit systems have emerged as an important pathway for producers to potentially move towards more sustainable production. There have, however, been only sporadic and fractured attempts to study the emerging social practice of sustainable agriculture -particularly in terms of the emergence of new audit disciplines in farming. The ARGOS project in New Zealand was established in 2003 as a longitudinal matched panel study of over 100 farms and orchards using different market audit systems (e.g., organic, integrated or GLOBALG.A.P.). This article reports on the results of social research into the social practice of sustainable agriculture in farm households within the ARGOS projects between [2003][2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009]. Results drawn from multiple social research instruments deployed over six years provide an unparalleled level of empirical data on the social practice of sustainable agriculture under audit disciplines. Using 12 criteria identified in prior literature as contributing a significant social dynamic around sustainable agriculture practices in other contexts, the analysis demonstrated that 9 of these 12 dimensions did demonstrate differences in social practices emerging between (or co-constituting) organic, integrated, or conventional audit disciplines. These differences clustered into three main areas: 1) social and learning/knowledge networks and expertise, 2) key elements of farmer subjectivity -particularly in relation to subjective positioning towards the environment and nature, and 3) the role and importance of environmental dynamics within farm management practices and systems. The findings of the project provide a strong challenge to some older framings of the social practice of sustainable agriculture: particularly those that rely on paradigm-driven evaluation of social motivations, strong determinism of sustainable practice driven by coherent farmer identity, or deploying overly categorical interpretations of what it means to be 'organic' or 'conventional'. The complex patterning of the ARGOS data can only be understood if the social practice of organic, integrated or (even more loosely) conventional production is understood as being co-produced by four dynamics: subjectivity/identity, audit disciplines, industry cultures/structure and time. This reframing of how we might research the social practice of sustainable agriculture opens up important new opportunities for understanding the emergence and impact of new audit disciplines in agriculture.

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Are Conventional Farmers Conventional? Analysis of the Environmental Orientations of Conventional New Zealand Farmers*

Cited by 41 publications

References 33 publications

Scotland’s Food and Drink Policy Discussion: Sustainability Issues in the Food Supply Chain

Scotland’s Food and Drink Policy Discussion: Sustainability Issues in the Food Supply Chain

Abundance and diversity of herbaceous weeds in sheep/beef pastures, South Island, New Zealand

The social practice of sustainable agriculture under audit discipline: Initial insights from the ARGOS project in New Zealand

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