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An assessment of SARE-funcled farmer research on sustainable agriculture in the north central U.S.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

Margaret M. Kroma  and
Cornelia Butler Flora
Margaret M. Kroma*
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850
Cornelia Butler Flora
Affiliation:
Professor of Sociology and Director, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011.
*
Corresponding author is M.M. Kroma (mmk26@cor nell.edu).
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Abstract

Emergent research shows how some farmer groups in the United States are gaining visibility as a critical knowledge community, making important contributions to the ecological health and overall sustainability of the natural resource base. This study focuses on funded farmer research projects in the north central region, to analyze the process and outcome of local inquiry embodied in the discursive contents of reports to a funding agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. The analyses suggest that farmers' locality-specific agricultural practices may constitute a reflective and learning community, generating local knowledge keenly attuned to an underlying value system that supports actions towards sustainability.

Keywords

alternative agriculturelearning communitieslocal knowledgeon-farm researchsocial networks
Type
Articles
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , June 2001 , pp. 73 - 80
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2001

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