Energy Conservation in Amish Agriculture

Paoletti

Agricultural Ecology and Environment

1989

Stinner, D.H., Paoletti, M.G. and Stinner, B.R., 1989. In search of traditional farm widom for a more sustainable agriculture: a study of Amish farming and society. Agric. Ecosystems Environ., 27: 77-90.A religious society with a strong emphasis on family and community ties, the Amish are an agrarian people who have a long history of using less energy-intensive, albeit productive, agricul tural methods. The low-input farming systems practiced today by Amish farmers have developed over 300 years and have sustained the Amish as one of the most persistent and successful subcul tures in North America. Strict socio-religious rules control Amish farming practices. As a result, Amish agriculture depends on traditional elements, such as horse farming and hand labor, and therefore contrasts starkly with conventional high-input agriculture. However, contemporary Amish agriculture is a blend of old practices with new ideas, similar in many respects to the low-input sustainable practices that agricultural researchers are currently experimenting with and design ing. The long continuous history of low-input sustainable production on many Amish farms offers researchers an unique opportunity to study the biological control of insect pests and diseases and nutrient cycling, which contribute to sustainability. Important to the success of the Amish as a traditional farming subculture is the extremely tight coupling of social and technological phenom ena within their society. This observation has significant implications for the development of lowinput sustainable agriculture for the larger society in which conventional agriculture often decou ples farming technology from a strong cultural base.

Section: Efficiency Of Amish Agriculturementioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Efficiency Of Amish Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

In Search of Traditional Farm Wisdom For a More Sustainable Agriculture: A Study of Amish Farming and Society

Paoletti

Agricultural Ecology and Environment

1989

“…Likewise, certain Swiss-German emigrants, settling in preindustrial America as the Amish and continuing to the present day as a society practicing draft-animal agriculture, also provide a reasonable model of mixed agriculture and lessons for the Third World. Unlike the situation in the Third World countries today, energy inputs per calorie of food are lower in Amish agriculture than in the agriculture of mechanized neighbors (16). The Amish, however, are a small, strongly work-oriented society existing within the larger highly technological society; they utilize to varying extents current scientific information and farming methods and depend upon established markets to sell their produce.…”

Section: Preindustrial Modelsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Animals as an Energy Source in Third World Agriculture

Ward

Sutherland

1980

Science

Agricultural development programs have so far been largely unable to meet the food needs of the world's poorest. Increased food production can be achieved only from more intensive agriculture, which requires greater energy inputs per farm worker. Problems of technological infrastructure and escalating oil prices appear to preclude the spread of mechanization to Third World agriculture at this time. Efficient utilization of grazing animals in specific integrated farming systems could not only increase energy inputs through draft and transportation but also increase the yield of high-grade products and by-products from the renewable energy of biomass. An approach to development based on animal agriculture systems is suggested that might initiate a self-sustaining, more productive agriculture requiring only small inputs of fossil-fuel energy.

“…The Amish agricultural model best fits a horse-scaled farm (Bender 2001;Craumer 1979;Cross 2007;Luthy 1994), which ranges from approximately 80 to 130 acres. Specifically, areas of moderate topography (versus level terrain) or poor drainage favor small, intensive operations over industrial ones and horse power over large, selfpropelled machinery (Johnson, Stoltzfus, and Craumer 1977;Lamme and McDonald 1984). Ideal areas also host infrastructure to support small-scale dairy farming (e.g., Wisconsin [Brock and Barham 2015;Cross 2004a] and New York [Johnson-Weiner 2010]).…”

Section: Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

What Kinds of Places Attract and Sustain Amish Populations?

Anderson

Kenda

2015

Rural Sociology

The Amish are one of the fastest growing ethnoreligious groups in rural America. They are not only growing in historic settlements but are also starting new settlements. This study synthesizes and tests hypotheses about Amish migration destinations and settlement sustainability. Specifically, hypotheses address factors related to population, agriculture, and proximity to other Amish. Findings suggest that the locations Amish settle have several defining characteristics including: low population density, nonmetropolitan county designation, context conducive to small-scale farming (e.g., low farm acreage price, moderately rolling hills), vicinity to a small commercial center, low to negative population growth, and proximity to an existing Amish settlement. Some characteristics are showing increasing flexibility, such as a small-scale farming context and proximity to a commercial center. Conversely, settling in areas with a growing population or at a distance from another Amish settlement contributes to a higher likelihood of community dissolution.