Can farmers map their farm system? Causal mapping and the sustainability of sheep/beef farms in New Zealand

Hunt, Lesley

doi:10.1007/s10460-009-9252-3

Cited by 39 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In cognitive mapping approaches, variables and relationships can have different meanings for different actors. This heterogeneity is seen as a limit of these approaches by Fairweather and Hunt (2011). They argued that the "causal map itself does not make fully clear what the farmers took to be the meaning of each factor to be" (p. 63, Fairweather and Hunt, 2011).…”

Section: The Quote-retrieving Module a Way To Explore The Diversity mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This heterogeneity is seen as a limit of these approaches by Fairweather and Hunt (2011). They argued that the "causal map itself does not make fully clear what the farmers took to be the meaning of each factor to be" (p. 63, Fairweather and Hunt, 2011). This assertion applies especially to cases where each ICM corresponds to a unique system, such as in a multiple locations study (e.g., in, Fairweather, 2010) or in the present study, where farmers describe their own farm systems.…”

Section: The Quote-retrieving Module a Way To Explore The Diversity mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ten studies have applied FCM to agricultural systems analysis (Table 1) in order to: (i) understand farmer perceptions about pesticides (Popper et al, 1996) on their own farms (Fairweather, 2010) or about environmental management measures (Ortolani et al, 2010); (ii) describe practices in agro-ecosystems (Isaac et al, 2009); (iii) assess the impact of agricultural systems on the environment (Özesmi and Özesmi, 2003) and crop yield (Papageorgiou et al, 2009;Papageorgiou, 2011) and the impact of policies on agricultural systems (Hukkinen, 1993;Newig et al, 2008);and (iv) evaluate the sustainability of agro-ecosystems (Rajaram and Das, 2010;Fairweather and Hunt, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development of a broadened cognitive mapping approach for analysing systems of practices in social–ecological systems

Vanwindekens

Stilmant

Baret

2013

Ecological Modelling

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Section: The Quote-retrieving Module a Way To Explore The Diversity mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Quote-retrieving Module a Way To Explore The Diversity mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development of a broadened cognitive mapping approach for analysing systems of practices in social–ecological systems

Vanwindekens

Stilmant

Baret

2013

Ecological Modelling

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“…We proposed also an orientation for or against sustainability (Table 2). In the sustainability indices [6,7] the parameters are considered as independent, although it is expected that several parameters are highly related, since farmers organize their actions with a general strategy including several parameters [12,13]. Thus, death rate of lambs is logically and negatively impacting on numerical productivity and gross margin; it is also related to death rate in ewes (Table 3) These relationships established by pairs of parameters may not imply a real relationship but may be based for example on a common association of two parameters with a third one.…”

Section: Values and Relationships Between Studied Farm Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability of Meat Sheep Production in Relation to Health and Reproduction Traits

Cabaret

Benoît

Laignel

2017

JDVAR

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Meat sheep production in most countries relies on grazing and profitability (gross margin per ewe and per year) is low. Profitability is in part based on the level of numeric productivity (number of lambs produced per ewe and per year). Numeric productivity depends on fecundity and survival rates of ewes and lambs. These survival rates are extremely variable from one farm to another. These variations are detrimental to sustainability of the farms. We will study the mortality rates of ewes and lambs and other health related traits, taken as indicator in meat sheep farms in different locations-plain or semi-mountain areas (34 farms) in relation to gross margin taken as an indicator of economical sustainability as well as other markers of sustainability. We constructed a method for evaluating sustainability based on the above mentioned parameters in the field of production, animal health, and economics. It was based on two step procedure: first, selection of farm parameters using clustering methods, second ranking farms on sustainability using principal component analysis with an orientation obtained by the incorporation in the analysis of two virtual farms (high and low sustainability) constructed on a choice of sustainability for each parameter. This choice of sustainability is flexible and dependant on the views of stakeholders and may modify the ranking of farms. The scale of sustainability we proposed was tested in relation to the management of the farm (organic or conventional) and location (plain or semi-mountain areas): the semi-mountain farms were more sustainable than plain farms and organic farms were often, but not always, more sustainable than conventional farms. The method can be easily applied to any animal production.

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“…Other semi-structured methods were used to gain insight into particular topics. One such method was causal mapping which was developed and applied in such a way as to allow the farmers to identify the important elements in their farm system, and to show how these elements causally interact (see Fairweather and Hunt 2009). Another similar method was farm sketch mapping in which farmers were asked to draw a map of their farm landscape.…”

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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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Can farmers map their farm system? Causal mapping and the sustainability of sheep/beef farms in New Zealand

Cited by 39 publications

References 23 publications

Development of a broadened cognitive mapping approach for analysing systems of practices in social–ecological systems

Development of a broadened cognitive mapping approach for analysing systems of practices in social–ecological systems

Sustainability of Meat Sheep Production in Relation to Health and Reproduction Traits

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

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