This commentary argues for strengthening the dialogue between the social and natural sciences as part of a more comprehensive sustainable approach to ecological farming practices that go beyond a focus on specific labels and certifications. It nuances the approach provided by Home et al. in their study of Swiss farms converting to organic agriculture, in emphasizing the need to deepen the study of such farming practices by including a broad vision of global value chains and a pragmatic approach to innovation and the different stakeholders involved. Ultimately, it calls for a more complex approach to eco-agriculture in its widest sense, that goes beyond dichotomies about conversion, certification and labeling. This would provide alternatives for researchers and other actors to move forward in theory and practice.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can increase plant nutrient uptake and chemical defense production, both of which can improve plants’ ability to resist insect herbivory. Cover crops—non-commercial species planted in between cash crops in a crop rotation—can naturally alter both soil nutrients and AMF. We tested whether different cover crop species alter AMF colonization, plant nutrient status and plant–insect interactions in a subsequent maize crop. Cover crop species were either non-mycorrhizal, non-leguminous (canola, forage radish), mycorrhizal non-leguminous (cereal rye, oats), mycorrhizal leguminous (clover, pea) or absent (fallow). We measured the cascading consequences of cover crop treatment on maize root AMF colonization, maize growth and performance of an herbivorous insect (European corn borer) feeding on the maize. Maize AMF colonization was greater in plots previously planted with mycorrhizal (rye, oats) than non-mycorrhizal (canola, radish) cover crops or no cover crop (fallow). AMF colonization was linked to increased plant phosphorous and nitrogen, and maize growth increased with low plant N:P. Induced jasmonic acid pathway plant defenses increased with increasing maize growth and AMF colonization. European corn borer survivorship decreased with lower plant N:P, and insect development rate decreased with increased induced plant defenses. Our data describe a cascade in which cover crop species selection can increase or decrease mycorrhizal colonization of subsequent maize crop roots, which in turn impacts phosphorus uptake and may affect herbivory resistance in the maize. These results suggest that farmers could select cover crop species to manage nutrient uptake and pest resistance, in order to amend or limit fertilizer and pesticide use.

Pollinator declines coupled with increasing demand for insect pollinated crops have the potential to cause future pollinator shortages for our most nutritious and valuable crops. Ensuring adequate crop pollination may necessitate a shift in pollination management, from one that primarily relies on the managed European honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) to one that integrates alternative pollinators. While a growing body of scientific evidence supports significant contributions made by naturally occurring, native bees for crop pollination, translating research to practice requires buy-in from growers. The intention of agricultural extension is to address grower needs and concerns; however, few studies have assessed grower knowledge, perceptions and attitudes about native pollinators. Here we present findings from questionnaire-based surveys of over 600 apple growers in New York State and Pennsylvania, coupled with ecological data from bee surveys. This hybrid sociological and biological survey allows us to compare grower knowledge and perceptions to an actual pollinator census. While up to 93% of respondents highly valued importance of native bees, 20% growers did not know how much native bees actually contribute to their orchard pollination. Despite the uncertainty, a majority of growers were open to relying on native bees (up to 60% in NY and 67% in PA) and to making low-cost changes to their farm's management that would benefit native pollinators (up to 68 in NY and 85% in PA). Growers consistently underestimated bee diversity, but their estimates corresponded to major bee groups identifiable by lay persons, indicating accurate local knowledge about native bees. Grower reliance on honeybees increased with farm size; because native bee abundance did not measurably decrease with farm size, renting honeybees may be motivated by risk avoidance rather than grower perception of lower native bee activity. Demonstrated effectiveness of native pollinators and clear guidelines for their management were the most important factors influencing grower decision to actively manage orchards for native bees. Our results highlight a pressing need for an active and research-based extension program to support diversification of pollination strategies in the region.

The plethora of alternative food labels emerging in the marketplace reflects consumer interest in informed and sustainable purchasing. However, consumers’ preferences vary with respect to the sustainability metrics represented by labeling programs. The goal of this project was to characterize public university students’ perceptions of product parameters commonly represented by food labels for produce (e.g., cost, taste, certified organic, locally grown). A consumer survey (n = 338) was conducted at two university dining halls, located in close proximity to major residence hall communities which house approximately 2600 students. Culinary, health and cost attributes (taste, nutritional value, price and appearance) were ranked as more influential in determining purchasing decisions than sustainability attributes related to production and sourcing. While sustainability values were not as influential in driving purchasing behaviors as compared with product attributes, they were important to approximately 50% of the survey respondents. By identifying the sustainability values of students and their willingness to pay more for specific types of sustainable food, results from this study can inform efforts to align priorities of campus dining services with the values of their student patrons, as well as identify educational opportunities around agriculture and food production.

White mold caused by the fungus, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a devastating disease of soybean (Glycine max) and other leguminous crops, including dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Previous research has demonstrated that no-till planting soybean into rolled–crimped cereal rye residue can enhance weed management, improve soil health and reduce labor requirements in organic production. However, there are limited data on the effects of cereal rye residue on white mold suppression in no-till planted soybean and dry bean. Two field trials were conducted in 2016–2017 (Year 1) and repeated in 2017–2018 (Year 2) to evaluate the potential of cereal rye cover crop residue to suppress white mold in these crops. In each trial (soybean and dry bean), the experimental design was a randomized complete block with two treatments: (1) rolled–crimped cereal rye residue and (2) no cover crop control. Treatment effects on plant population, biomass and yield components varied between the main crops. Compared with the control treatment, cereal rye residue reduced the incidence of white mold in soybean in both years and in dry bean in Year 2. The reduction in white mold in cereal rye residue plots was due to a combination of (1) decreased sclerotial germination (no stipes formed) and (2) increased nonfunctional sclerotial germination defined here as sclerotia that germinated but produced stipes without the expanded cup where asci containing ascospores are formed. Weed density and biomass were lower in cereal rye residue plots in soybean and dry bean, except in Year 1 in soybean when weed biomass was low in both treatments. Our findings indicate that cereal rye residue could help organic and conventional farmers manage white mold in no-till planted soybean and dry bean. Germination of sclerotia resulting in nonfunctional apothecia could potentially exhaust soilborne inoculum in the upper soil profile and reduce infections in subsequent crops.

We conducted a 3-yr cropping systems experiment in central Pennsylvania, USA, to determine the effects of initial cover crop species, tillage and resulting environmental variables on the activity–density (A–D), species richness, community composition and guild composition of carabid beetles (Carabidae: Coleoptera) during the transition from conventional to organic production. We compared four systems in a factorial combination of a mixed perennial sod (timothy, Phleum pratense L.) and legumes (red clover, Trifolium pratense L.) or annual cereal grain (cereal rye, Secale cereale L.) followed by a legume (hairy vetch, Vicia villosa Roth) as initial cover crops, and soil management using full tillage (moldboard plow) or reduced tillage (chisel plow) implemented in soybeans followed by maize in the subsequent year. The experiment was established twice, first in autumn 2003 (S1) and again in autumn 2004 (S2) in an adjacent field, in a randomized complete-block design with four replicates in each Start. We collected a total of 2181 adult carabid beetles. Approximately 65% of the carabid beetles collected were from six species. Indicator Species Analysis showed that several carabid species were indicative of treatment, e.g., Poecilus chalcites was a strong indicator for treatments with an initial cereal rye cover crop. Eleven environmental variables explained variation in carabid A–D, richness and the A–D of species categorized by size class and dominant trophic behavior, respectively, but varied in significance and direction among guilds. Soil moisture was a significant effect for total carabid A–D in both S1 and S2. Redundancy analyses revealed some similar and some idiosyncratic responses among informative species for the cover crop×tillage treatments through the 3-yr rotation. The most consistent factors that distinguished species assemblages among years and treatments were the number and intensity of soil disturbances and perennial weed density. The consistent occurrence of soil disturbance indicators in multivariate analyses suggests that future studies that aim to compare the effects of nominal soil management treatments on carabid beetles and other soil-associated arthropods should quantify frequency and intensity of disturbance associated with crop management practices.

The Onondaga County Agriculture Council was created in 2012 to promote and support the county's farms, improve the connections between the county's urban core of Syracuse and the surrounding agricultural areas, and to develop policy to support agricultural production and food system development. In short, the purpose of the Council is to strengthen the Onondaga County food system. This goal, however, is ambiguous and Council members recognized a limited understanding of the current structure and function of the Central New York (CNY) food system. As such, the Council provided support for FoodPlanCNY, a project designed to identify food system assets and opportunities to strengthen the economic opportunities, public health outcomes and environmental sustainability of the CNY food system. This paper reports preliminary findings from this initial effort to engage participatory food system planning in CNY.

Many NGOs pride themselves with their ability to use grassroots participatory approaches when working with economically disadvantaged farmers. I asked whether current participatory approaches could be relied on to promote sustainable agriculture among subsistence farmers in Ghana's Upper-West Region. To ascertain this, I employed Arnstein's (2015) ladder of citizen participation as a theoretical basis. A two-phase exploratory sequential mixed method design was also used. Phase one consisted of a qualitative comparative analysis of the various participatory approaches of two purposively sampled NGOs using FGDs and in-depth interviews. In phase two, themes from phase one guided the formulation of a structured questionnaire, which ascertained the differences in grassroots participatory approaches between the two identified NGOs and how these differences influenced the likelihood of their respective beneficiary farmers adopting sustainable agronomic practices using chi-square and logistic regression. Findings show statistically significant associations between grassroots participation and farmers’ adoption of sustainable agronomic practices. The findings suggest that farmers who were engaged in higher levels of Arnstein's (2015) typology of participation were more likely to adopt sustainable agronomic practices than those who minimally participated. This suggests that development interventions can be most beneficial to the grassroots when intended beneficiaries fully participate in them.

High-residue cover crops can facilitate organic no-till vegetable production when cover crop biomass production is sufficient to suppress weeds (>8000 kg ha−1), and cash crop growth is not limited by soil temperature, nutrient availability, or cover crop regrowth. In cool climates, however, both cover crop biomass production and soil temperature can be limiting for organic no-till. In addition, successful termination of cover crops can be a challenge, particularly when cover crops are grown as mixtures. We tested whether reusable plastic tarps, an increasingly popular tool for small-scale vegetable farmers, could be used to augment organic no-till cover crop termination and weed suppression. We no-till transplanted cabbage into a winter rye (Secale cereale L.)-hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop mulch that was terminated with either a roller-crimper alone or a roller-crimper plus black or clear tarps. Tarps were applied for durations of 2, 4 and 5 weeks. Across tarp durations, black tarps increased the mean cabbage head weight by 58% compared with the no tarp treatment. This was likely due to a combination of improved weed suppression and nutrient availability. Although soil nutrients and biological activity were not directly measured, remaining cover crop mulch in the black tarp treatments was reduced by more than 1100 kg ha−1 when tarps were removed compared with clear and no tarp treatments. We interpret this as an indirect measurement of biological activity perhaps accelerated by lower daily soil temperature fluctuations and more constant volumetric water content under black tarps. The edges of both tarp types were held down, rather than buried, but moisture losses from the clear tarps were greater and this may have affected the efficacy of clear tarps. Plastic tarps effectively killed the vetch cover crop, whereas it readily regrew in the crimped but uncovered plots. However, emergence of large and smooth crabgrass (Digitaria spp.) appeared to be enhanced in the clear tarp treatment. Although this experiment was limited to a single site-year in New Hampshire, it shows that use of black tarps can overcome some of the obstacles to implementing cover crop-based no-till vegetable productions in northern climates.

This paper is an historical analysis of how global pressures and aspirations have affected US farm bill debates over time, from the first farm bill in 1933 to the current debates over a 2018 farm bill. It focuses in particular on how nationalist and patriotic arguments have been used to support the USA's desired place in global agricultural markets over time. For example, debates over the 2008 farm bill reflected strong international concerns around both trade and energy, with early discussion focusing on keeping the USA ‘competitive’ as an agricultural exporter alongside emerging agricultural powerhouses, and later debates focusing on increasing domestic bioenergy production to ‘protect’ the USA from what were seen as risky energy imports. In other words, debates over trade and energy in 2008 provide insight into how stakeholders positioned the USA with respect to the rest of the world and how that positioning changed over the course of debates. But such questions about the USA's global aspirations—whether to maximize US production for export or protect US agriculture from global rivals—have been part of the farm bill since its earliest days. This analysis will examine how concerns over such national agricultural prominence in a globalizing context have played into and influenced the contours of domestic farm policy over time, with implications for the 2018 farm bill debates.

Due to strong interest in local foods by US consumers, farmers are now marketing not only to traditional wholesale outlets but also via short supply chains to consumers, grocers, restaurants, schools and other local intermediaries. Our research questions are: (1) what farm and farmer characteristics predict farmers’ participation in various direct marketing channels, and (2) what farm and farmer characteristics predict farmers’ choice of a particular combination of direct marketing channels? This work is important because prior research suggests that while total direct sales via short supply chains continue to grow, direct-to-consumer sales (e.g. via farmers’ markets and Community Support Agriculture, or CSAs) are plateauing. Our work highlights key relationships and implies potential barriers and opportunities for farmers in this maturing local foods landscape. To answer our research questions empirically, we employ the 2015 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey, collected by USDA in 2016, and binomial and multinomial logit regressions. Our research yields a number of useful results. For example, we find evidence suggesting the existence of product-specific barriers to participation in certain channels; livestock producers are less likely than other farmers to sell directly to retailers, whereas vegetable farmers are less likely to sell to intermediaries. We also find that beginning farmers are more likely to sell directly to retailers, but less likely to sell to intermediaries than more established farmers, suggesting potential barriers and opportunities for entry into this channel for less experienced farmers. These insights suggest potential areas of attention for policymakers and other decisionmakers, as well as areas for future study.

The present international scenario recognizes organic agriculture as an innovative solution to reduce agrochemicals and practices that degrade the agroecosystem. Yet, the shift from an already well-established agricultural model to a relatively new one is a challenging task and requires further scientific support. This work investigated the influence of transitional management – TM (from conventional to organic agriculture) on the soil fungal community under citrus, in dry and rainy periods. From 2012 to 2015 on, an area in Mogi Guaçú, SP, Brazil was selected, and two treatments were installed: a conventional management (CM) system based on farming practices with agrochemicals and fertilizers use, and another, transition management (TM) based on a 25% reduction per year of the chemical substances used in CM, with soil conditioner bokashi introduced. The performance of the transition system was evaluated in the context of soil fertility and diversity index of fungal taxa, by plate culture isolation, through the richness of Margalef (Dmg), diversity of Shannon (H′) and reverse Simpson (D). Differences in the occurrence and frequency of Paecilomyces, greater under CM and Penicillium, greater under TM, highlighted the influence of the management system employed. Richness and diversity indices were higher under TM. Principal component analysis revealed that 49.9% of the differences in fungal diversity was due to the management system. Only 16.5% was a result of the season of sampling. Four years of reduction/replacement of chemical practices in TM was sufficient to modify and favor some soil fungal taxa and consequently their activity. This research brings promising results to organic agriculture initiatives with relevant results for a tropical climate area.

A sustainable practice for weed control and crop protection is the incorporation of green manures with phytotoxic potential. It is gaining attention as a way to reduce the use of synthetic herbicides in agriculture and so pot experiments and field trials were conducted to explore the possible use of residues of Acacia species to alleviate weed emergence. We assessed, under greenhouse conditions, the herbicidal effect of phytotoxic manures from Acacia dealbata and Acacia longifolia applied to soil at different doses (1.5 and 3% w/w) on maize growth, some accompanying weeds, and the physiological profile of soil microbes. Applied at a higher dose, A. dealbata residues reduced the emergence of dicotyledons in the short-term (P < 0.05) and, after 30 days, there was a decrease in total weed emergence (P < 0.005) and a mild effect on weed composition, while total weed biomass remained unaffected. Regardless of the inclusion of Acacia residues, the physiological profile of the soil bacterial community did not show significant alterations. Additionally, we tested A. dealbata residues as a mulch or a green manure at the field scale. Although the effects of manures were site-dependent and affected monocot and dicot weeds differentially, dicots were more sensitive. The herbicide potential of acacia residues was only evident for dicots at sites with low-weed density in the seed bank. Nevertheless, due to the absence of phytotoxic effects on maize and minor modifications in the functional profile of bacterial communities, residues of acacia could be used as a complementary tool used together with other practices to reduce the reliance on synthetic herbicides in maize-based cropping systems.

As the 2018 farm bill approaches, some important trends have emerged regarding the policy preferences of different commodity producers. While some farm organizations like the American Farm Bureau advocate for expanding free trade, other groups argue for more trade protections and even greater support from the federal government. This paper examines the global context that shapes such divergent policy positions. I argue that global demand has expanded for particular commodities (especially, feed grains and meat), leading producers of those commodities to push for free trade and weaker political regulations of agriculture. At the same time, however, greater liberalization over the past 25 years has contributed to greater competition for some commodities, such as wheat. Liberalization in the world economy has also contributed to greater market instability, especially in terms of prices and production. This instability and increased competition have pushed some commodity producers to favor national regulations and trade protections for agriculture. Focusing corn, soybeans and wheat, I argue that these three aspects of the global context—global demand, international competition and price instability—shape the policy preferences of US producers regarding the 2018 farm bill. I draw on statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture and Food and Agriculture Organization to illustrate these aspects of the global context.

Farmers, particularly small farmers, are on the frontlines of climate change. In Oregon's Southern Willamette Valley, a needs assessment was conducted of small farmers in 2017, where questions related to climate change risks, attitudes toward adaptation and climate beliefs were assessed. Out of all the respondents (n = 123), the majority (70%) believe that climate change is occurring, and is caused mostly by human activities. The majority (58%) also strongly agree with the statement that they will have to change practices to cope with increasing climate variability in order to ensure the long-term success of their operation. Another 52% of these respondents indicated that they have already taken action to respond to climate change on their farms. However, only 32% of respondents agreed with the statement that they have the knowledge and skills to deal with weather-related threats to their operation. While this work is preliminary and not comprehensive, our findings suggest that these small farmers are concerned about climate change, readily accept the science as compared to other farmer groups in the USA, and are looking for additional tools and resource to increase their confidence in responding to the challenges they will face as a consequence of climate change.

Like many other oceanic islands around the globe, environmental conditions, social circumstances and forces of globalization combine to challenge the sustainability of the Galapagos Archipelago of Ecuador. This paper describes a food-supply system in Galapagos that is mainly controlled by population growth, weak local agriculture, imports from mainland Ecuador and the influence of a growing tourism industry. We use system dynamics (SD) as a modeling technique in this paper to identify the main driving forces operating on the Galapagos food system to create a series of future scenarios and to examine the subsequent implications across the supply system structures. We model the supply side of the food system using secondary data collected from governmental and non-governmental sources. We find that the consumption profile of the local inhabitants of the Galapagos is on average higher than consumption in the Ecuadorian mainland. This fact, plus rapid growth of the local population fueled by the tourism industry, has created a decrease in per capita local food production and an increase on food import dependence that now, challenges the sustainability of the archipelago. Imports are the largest source of food in the archipelago. Approximately 75% of the agricultural food supply was transported from the mainland in 2017. Our model projects that this fraction will increase to 95% by 2037 with no changes in food policy. Moreover, any plan to increase tourism arrivals must be accompanied by a plan to address the subsistence needs of the new population that the tourism industry attracts. Policies to promote local agricultural growth should be central to the development strategy implemented in the Galapagos.

Evidence has been slowly accumulating that the urban home gardens of immigrants or transnational migrants in the USA conserve food plant diversity with roots in the developing world. Published species lists for home gardens indicate that, at least at the species level, this diversity is not novel but consists of widely grown, culturally important plant species that are also available through the horticultural trade. In 2018, we returned to the home garden of a Mexican-origin household in Chicago and confirmed the identity of a plant provisionally identified as Jaltomata darcyana during an earlier inventory of the garden. A recently named species of Central America, J. darcyana has not been previously recorded in cultivation. Collection of this species from a Chicago garden suggests that urban gardens may harbor other novel species awaiting documentation by urban ecologists and botanists.

This study, based on vegetable production fields, combined soil quality assessed by three approaches (qualitatively by farmers, semi-quantitatively by a researcher and quantitatively by laboratory analyses) with the aim of improving the integration of the different approaches. We interviewed 79 peri-urban vegetable growers in two communities within the Sunyani Municipality, Ghana. Eight of the farmers were selected to participate in the farmer-based assessment of soil quality. Further, visual evaluation of soil quality was conducted by the researcher, followed by laboratory analyses of soil properties to corroborate the farmers’ assessment of good and poor soils in their fields. Results showed that the farmers used locally-defined characteristics to describe the physical, biological and crop performance indicators of soil quality. There was, in general, limited use and understanding of soil chemical properties as indicators of soil quality. The farmers’ perception on soil quality of their fields largely influenced their decision on the type of crops they cultivate, and application regimes of mineral fertilizers. Results from the visual evaluation by the researcher agreed in some respects with the farmers’ assessment of soil quality of the good and poor soils in their respective farms. Laboratory analyses did not show specific trends for the content of chemical properties for neither good nor poor soils. The study highlighted that none of the approaches of soil quality assessment is necessarily superior in and of itself. We emphasized the need for integration to capitalize on the strengths of each approach, enhance mutual learning between farmers and soil scientists, build the capacity of farmers, and improve their decision on soil use for agricultural production.

Despite being generally accepted as a promising conservation practice to reduce nitrate pollution and promote soil sustainability, cover crop adoption in Midwestern US agriculture is low. Based on focus groups, surveys and partial budgets, we calculated the annual net returns to cover crop use for farmers in Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota; and elicited farmers’ perceptions about the pros and cons of incorporating cover crops to their row cropping systems. The novelty of our methodology resides in comparing each farmer's practices in the portion of their cropping system with cover crops (typically small), against their practices in the other portion of their cropping system without cover crops. The resulting comparisons, accounting for farmer heterogeneity, are more robust than the typical effects calculated by comparing indicators across cover crop users and unrelated non-adopters. Our results highlight the complicated nature of integrating cover crops into the crop production system and show that cover crops affect whole farm profitability through several channels besides establishment and termination costs. Despite farmers’ positive perceptions about cover crops and the availability of cost-share programs, calculated annual net returns to cover crops use were negative for most participants.