This paper examines farmers' opinions about eight relatively new technologies. Data from a statewide sample of Iowa farmers provide the basis for examining the correlates of support for new technology. Evidence from a series of statewide surveys indicates that farmers are becoming concerned about environmental problems associated with conventional agricultural practices and are interested in alternative production systems. The data show that some new technologies are widely supported among farmers; in other cases farmers expressed considerable hesitancy or opposition to them. This paper draws on previous adoption research to examine the differential support of these technologies among farmers. From this earlier research two sets of variables, personal characteristics and farm characteristics, have been found to be important predictors of farmers' opinions about new technology. The analysis from new data shown here finds generally weak relationships between personal and farm characteristics with level of support for new technologies. Given the generally weak relationships between personal and farm characteristics and support for new technology, the paper argues that other factors need to be included in future research on the adoption of new technology.

A few farmers in the Midwest produce corn (Zea mays L.) commercially by using organic methods, i.e., use no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Studies have been conducted previously on organic vs. conventional fields to compare yield, soil properties, stalk lodging and rot, and crude protein. However, pith cell death in stalk internodes, an important trait related to stalk lodging and stalk rot, has not been studied previously under organic and conventional management systems. Fertility differences exist between organically-managed and conventionally-managed fields which can influence pith cell death and related traits. This study was conducted to compare pith cell death in corn stalks on matched pairs of organic and conventional fields (2 in Illinois, 2 in Iowa, and 1 in Minnesota). For the four lowermost consecutive internodes above the brace roots examined in this study, there was no consistent pattern for pith cell death differences among pairs. In three of five pairs, the second internode pith cell death was higher on organic fields than on conventional fields. The same pattern was observed for the third stalk internode. Numbers of European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner) were less in the stalks on organic plots, a plausible cause for greater stalk lodging and rot resistance on organically-managed fields. Further study of pith cell death and stalk rot relationship under organic and conventional managements is needed to elucidate fertility relations and other unique factors at work on organic and conventional fields. It appears that while there are some factors that affect pith cell death, stalk rot, and stalk lodging similarly, there may be other factors that affect these three traits differentially.

A 294-acre Pennsylvania crop and livestock farm was modeled under alternative management practices using linear programming. The management practices included conventional, organic, and no-till production, with and without the use of overseeding and cover crops. For each of the management practices, soil erosion was estimated using the Universal Soil Loss Equation. Profitability was compared across the options with and without constraints on soil erosion. Prior to constraining soil erosion, no-till was found to be the most profitable option. The conventional option was next most profitable, followed closely by the organic option. The use of cover crops or overseeding was found to be unprofitable when high levels of soil erosion were allowed. When soil erosion was constrained, the relative profitability of the options changed. It was found that practices that can control erosion with the least reduction in the intensity of rotation, such as planting cover crops, overseeding and no-till, are the most profitable options when soil is constrained to below 5 tons per acre. No-till remained the most profitable option at low levels of soil erosion. The economic advantage of conventional over organic production diminished as soil erosion was constrained. Below 5 tons per acre of soil erosion, the organic system became more profitable than the conventional system. It was found that use of overseeding or cover crops makes a more profitable rotation possible at low levels of soil erosion.

In much of the developing world, the high cost of purchased feeds makes meat and milk too expensive to be consumed by the producers' own families. A fish pond integrated with livestock or crop production provides an important source of animal protein for home consumption or sale. This protein involves almost no cash costs, since the needed nutrients and energy are supplied by crop residues, green manure, livestock manure and sunlight. Conversion of manure into animal flesh is possible because the anoxic sediments support a microbial flora similar to that of the rumen. Although integrated fish farming has been practiced for thousands of years in China, it has not yet been successfully adapted to all regions for which it potentially is applicable. A program in Wuxi, China brings together students and scientists from all over the world who are working towards that goal.

“Sustainable agriculture” means many things to different people in agriculture. At least three different definitions of sustainability are available: sustainability as food sufficiency; sustainability as stewardship; and sustainability as community. Since increased human populations will cause demands for food to continue to grow in the foreseeable future, agricultural sustainability needs to be assessed in ways that will incorporate competing definitions. We suggest that analyzing agriculture as a hierarchical system is the appropriate way to incorporate different concepts of sustainability. Using this concept, we propose a hierarchical definition of sustainability. Agronomic sustainability refers to the ability of a tract of land to maintain productivity over a long period of time. Microeconomic sustainability is dependent on the ability of the farm, as the basic economic unit, to stay in business. Ecological sustainability depends on the maintenance of life-support systems provided by non-agricultural and non-industrial segments of a region. Macroeconomic sustainability is controlled by factors such as fiscal policies and interest rates which determine the viability of national agriculture systems. In our view, there are critical constraints to sustainability at different scales of the agricultural hierarchy. We propose that agronomic constraints are most important at the field scale; microeconomic constraints are dominant at the farm scale; ecological constraints override at the watershed or landscape scale; and macroeconomic constraints are foremost at the regional and national scale. In this paper, we describe the actions of these critical constraints, discuss interactions among various hierarchical levels, and propose ways that agricultural researchers and policy makers can integrate the various views of sustainability.

A strategy for small farm development in the Third World is suggested, emphasizing preservation of traditional farming systems while maintaining biological and genetic diversity. Basing agricultural development on indigenous knowledge, technology, and social organization can provide important guidelines for the design of cropping systems that allow low-income farmers to produce subsistence and cash crops with minimal dependence on external inputs. Suggested alternative agricultural strategies are based on diverse farming systems that achieve moderate to high levels of productivity by manipulating and exploiting resources that are internal to the farm. The resulting systems are more sustainable and economical, thus increasing the equity of the system. Several rural development programs in Third World countries, especially in Latin America, that incorporate these agroecological principles are discussed. In contrast to approaches that have been transferred from the United States without necessarily being suited to the circumstances of small farmers, and which require the purchase of expensive external inputs, these programs include sustainability, stability, and equity as goals, along with increased production. Rural development strategies based on peasant systems that are biologically and economically stable are proving to be a viable survival alternative for a great portion of the impoverished rural population in the Third World.

In areas where farmland is under heavy development pressure but where farms are too small to compete in major marketing channels with larger farms in other regions, producers must use channels that capitalize on their proximity to consumers. This advantage is greatest for fresh fruits and vegetables, provided farmers understand their urban customers' purchasing preferences. This study interviewed more than 600 customers at farmers' markets and supermarkets in six urban and suburban communities in eastern Massachusetts and at agricultural fairs. Respondents were asked about their reasons for purchasing fruits and vegetables at various sites, about their preferences, if any, for produce grown locally, and about changes that might cause them to purchase more local produce. The results suggest that for local origin to be taken into account by consumers, the produce should be sold in a locally oriented environment, e.g., a farmers' market. Although the particular supermarkets in this study featured locally grown produce in their advertising, this seems to have had little effect on consumers' buying. Conversely, consumers' highly favorable opinion of farmers' markets involved several factors besides the localness of the produce in a purely geographic sense. These included the pleasant environment, the (presumed) short time since the produce was picked, and the opportunity to purchase directly from the producer in a face-to-face transaction.

The process of microbial decomposition of cellulose is important in many agricultural situations. Study of the nature of the process, however, has been slowed by the inadequacy of methods of measurement. A highly sensitive alkali-swelling technique originally devised for detection and measurement of damage in raw cotton fibers in the field before harvest was later found to be useful also for basic studies of the process of cellulose decomposition by microorganisms and their cellulose enzymes. A weighed sample of cotton fiber is swollen in an 18% solution of sodium hydroxide, centrifugea free of interfibrillar solution, and then reweighed to determine the amount of alkali absorbed. The percentage weight increase is termed the fiber's “alkali-centrifuge value” or “AC value”. This test is applied before and after exposure of a test sample of fiber to growing microorganisms or to solutions of their cellulose enzymes. The cellulose enzyme complex measured in this fashion has been termed “the swelling factor” or “S factor”. Data reported here illustrate the use of the test in measuring effects on cotton fiber of microorganisms and associated S factor. The basic swelling measurement is simple to perform, involves only standard laboratory equipment, is adaptable to a wide range of fiber sample sizes, is inexpensive, and is capable of yielding highly reproducible results. The method can be easily and beneficially applied by scientists in both developed countries and in developing countries, since expensive and sophisticated laboratory equipment is not required.

The Food Security Act of 1985 in odible land. The sodbuster provision will protect reserve acreage from future exploitation. Bid procedures should provide the most cost effective way to move the largest acreage into the reserve. Buying land to place it into the reserve will not be possible if the restrictions in thelaw are properly enforced.

Basic microbiological information is presented which is relevant to an understanding of the decomposition of crop residues in conservation and conventional tillage practices. Little has been known about the role in crop residue decomposition of microbial populations that grow on dead leaves and stems of crop plants standing in the field after maturation. Even the identity of such organisms has not been thoroughly defined. Dead leaves and stems were collected from corn and from other field crop, garden, and native plants standing during weathering after maturation in fields at Beltsville, Md., and at seven other U.S. locations in the fall of 1984 and the spring of 1985. Certain “field fungi” from the genera Alternaria, Cladosporium, Fusarium, and Helminthosporium (Bipolaris) occurred as a common population growing on samples from most locations in spite of major differences in temperature and precipitation during the weathering. All fungi observed are known from the literature to be able to decompose native cellulose in pure culture. Some can grow on plant waxes. They grow poorly, if at all, in the absence of oxygen. All grow best in the presence of free water; none are true xerophytes, although some can resist wetting-drying cycles. They are mesophiles and exhibit most rapid growth at about 25–28 C. Some can survive over winter in plant tissues in cold climates. Probable relevance of these characteristics to residue decomposition in field situations is discussed.