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

Abstract

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.

Staying Put

“…Local knowledge and wisdom is gained through years and years of experience and familiarity, that which cannot be learned in a short time frame within institutions. In a study conducted by Ehrenfeld on Amish farming practices (in Stinner, Paoletti, and Stinner 1989), he argues that conventional agriculture has generalized the technology of farming, minimizing the significance of the relationship between farmers and their particular land. Ehrenfeld concludes that designers of sustainable agriculture should “make systematic efforts to rediscover traditional farm wisdom” (in Stinner et al 1989:88).…”

An expert guide to understanding grower decisions related to fresh fruit and vegetable contamination prevention and control

“…Many of these communities rely on strong social ties and pooled resources that provide them with unique production, distribution and marketing opportunities; attributes that make them well adjusted to small scale, local production. Among Amish growers, a community focused lifestyle, farm size, and equipment and labor sharing (threshing circles, equipment sharing) has enabled them to persist despite modernization pressures in agriculture (Stinner, Paoletti, & Stinner, 1989). Netting found similar relationships among residents of the Swiss alpine community of Törbel and many historical and contemporary Chinese communities (Netting, 1993).…”

Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World

“…The absence of literature may also be due to the complexity and subtleties involved with decisions like organic adoption. There is some research comparing sustainability outcomes of Amish farming practices (Stinner et al 1989) with other types of (Hostetler 1993;Dilly 1994). The Amish have chosen to respond to the tension of being Christ's example in a corrupt world with a removed lifestyle approach.…”