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Systems Research for Agriculture

Additional Resources

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Laurie E. Drinkwater, Diana Friedman, Louise Buck | 2016 | 96 pages
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Conclusion | Chapter One

Chapter One

  • Agricultural Systems: Agroecology and Rural Innovation for Development. 2008. Snapp, S., and B. Pound, eds. Elsevier: Burlington, MA. Geared more toward international agricultural development, this book covers a wide range of topics related to ecological applications that support agricultural sustainability and stakeholder participation in problem-solving and innovation.
  • The Ecological Knowledge System. 1998. Roling, N.G., and J. Jiggins. In Facilitating Sustainable Agriculture, ed. N.G. Roling, and M.A. Wagemakers, pp. 283–311. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. This chapter outlines a rationale and framework for understanding the policy, institutional, and behavioral changes necessary for transition to sustainable agriculture. The method emphasizes that ecologically sound agriculture requires change not only at the farm level but also at higher agroecosystem levels such as watersheds and landscapes, and that interactive learning among stakeholders fosters the required innovation.
  • Ecology in Agriculture. 1997. Jackson, L.E., ed. Academic Press: San Diego, CA. A compilation of chapters by various authors provides examples of the application of ecological theory to agricultural systems. Ecophysiology and population and community ecology are discussed by several authors with distinct perspectives on these fields and their application to agriculture.
  • Farmer First: Farmer Innovation and Agricultural Research. 1989. Chambers, R., A. Pacey, and L.A. Thrupp, eds. Intermediate Technology Publications: London. A landmark publication that documents and characterizes farmers’ capacities for innovation and their potential for assuming leadership roles in agricultural research in small farming systems throughout the world.
  • The Farming Systems Research and Extension Approach to Small Farmer Development. 1990. Baker, D., and D. Norman. In Agroecology and Small Farm Development, ed. M. Altieri and S. Hecht, pp. 91–104. CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL. This chapter provides a detailed review of the farming systems research (FSR) approach and an assessment of its contribution to understanding and advancing small farmer development strategies throughout the world. It includes examples of FS projects and programs and highlights factors that limit the potential of this approach.
  • The Farming Systems Trial: The First Fifteen Years. 1999. Peterson, C., L.E. Drinkwater, and P. Wagoner. Rodale Institute: Kutztown, PA. An interpretive overview of the cropping systems experiment at Rodale Institute, including its design and a survey of results.
  • Field Crop Ecology: Managing Biological Processes for Productivity and Environmental Quality. 1998. Cavigelli, M.A., S.R. Deming, L.K. Probyn, and R.R. Harwood, eds. Michigan State University Bulletin E-2646: East Lansing, MI. This extension bulletin gives a nice overview of applied ecology in a production context.
  • Implementation of long-term agricultural systems studies: challenges and opportunities. 2002. Barbercheck, M.E., M. Bell, C. Brownie, N.G. Creamer, S. Hu, L. Kin, H.M. Linker, F.J. Louws, M. Marra, J.P. Mueller, C.W. Raczkowski, D. Susko, and M.G. Wagger. HortTechnology 12: 362–368. An overview of how the systems experiment at North Carolina State was established.
  • Michigan Field Crop Pest Ecology and Management. 2000. Cavigelli, M.A., S.R. Deming, L.K. Probyn, and D.R. Mutch, eds. Michigan State University Bulletin E-2704: East Lansing, MI. Follows the previous bulletin and focuses on pest management in field crops.
  • Organic Farming: The Ecological System. 2009. Francis, C., ed. American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America: Madison, WI. This book includes chapters that explicitly discuss the role of ecological processes in organic farming systems.
  • Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology. 2002. Chapin, F.S., III, R.A. Matson, and H.A. Mooney. Springer-Verlag: New York, NY.

Chapter Two

Collaborative Culture

  • Explicit knowledge structures as a tool for overcoming obstacles to interdisciplinary research. 2005. Boulton, A.J., D. Panizzon, and J. Prior. Conservation Biology 19: Article 6. This paper provides detailed information with examples for using knowledge structures to foster interdisciplinary communication.
  • How to Make Collaboration Work: Powerful Ways to Build Consensus, Solve Problems, and Make Decisions. 2002. Straus, D. Berret-Koehler Publishers: San Francisco, CA. This concise, inspired, and easy-to-read book is well organized and clearly explains the principles and practices that support collaboration, as well as its benefits. The book is divided into three parts: (1) Fundamentals of human problem solving, (2) Principles of collaboration, and (3) Putting it all together.
  • Interdisciplinary research: Maintaining the constructive impulse in a culture of criticism. 1999. Pickett, S.T.A., W. R. Burch Jr., and J.M. Grove. Ecosystems 2: 302–307. A short essay highlighting some of the challenges faced in planning synthetic interdisciplinary projects. The authors give some useful advice.
  • Making Collaboration Work. 2000. Wondolleck, J.M., and S.L. Yaffee. Island Press: Washington, DC. This book on collaboration in natural resource management focuses on how to extend decision-making to broad groups of stakeholders. It may be especially useful in thinking about how to engage different demographics in a research program to help ensure long-term support and impact.
  • Practicing interdisciplinarity. 2005. Lele, S., and R.B. Norgaard. BioScience 55: 967–975. Excellent review article that identifies barriers to collaboration across the biophysical–social science divide and provides some possible solutions to overcoming these challenges. Clear and insightful treatment of the subject.

Team Building

  • The Art and Science of Leadership. 1997. Clark, D. www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leader.html. A comprehensive leadership guide that covers all the basics including theory and practice. Highly recommended!
  • The Complete Facilitator’s Handbook. 1999. Heron, J. Kogan Page: London. This heavily referenced, well-indexed 400-page volume will interest those who aim to become proficient in the theory and practice of facilitation and would be a useful reference for anyone wanting to enhance their skills.
  • Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, Third Edition. 2014. Kaner, S., L. Lind, C. Toldi, S. Fisk, and D. Berger. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA. This is the most useful book on facilitation that we have come across. We highly recommend that you secure a copy, read it through, and keep it close by for easy reference.
  • Groups That Work (and Those That Don’t): Creating Conditions for Effective Teamwork. 1990. Hackman, J.R. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco: CA. This is a rich and authoritative work, though not a quick and easy read. Think of it more as a text or reference book, for those who want to understand team building in some depth. We highly recommend the introductory chapter, “Work teams in organizations: An orienting framework,” for gaining a fundamental understanding of what a work team is and what it can do.
  • Teamwork: What Must Go Right, What Can Go Wrong. 1989. Larson, C.E., and F.M.J. LaFasto. Sage Publications: London. This research-based yet highly accessible work elaborates eight characteristics that explain how and why effective teams develop. It provides a useful reference for those designing, managing, and participating in teams.
  • When Teams Work Best. 2001. LaFasto, F.M.J., and C.E. Larson. Sage Publications: London. This practical guide to success in collaborative teamwork is an exceptionally user-friendly resource that provides a one-page “snapshot” of points to remember about each topic addressed. It is alive with case studies and simple graphics that add context to the concepts

Chapter Three

  • Amish Dedication to Farming and Adoption of Organic Dairy Systems. Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World. 2014. Brock, C., and B. Barham. The International Library of Environmental, Agricultural, and Food Ethics. Vol. 22.
  • Comparative study of organic and conventional tomato production systems: An approach to on-farm research. 1991. Shennan, C., L.E. Drinkwater, A.H.C. van Bruggen, D.K. Letourneau, and F. Workneh. In Alternative Agriculture, part 2, ed. J.P. Madden, pp. 109–132. National Academy Press: Washington, DC. Describes how a multidisciplinary team handled the experimental design for a study comparing distinct management systems.
  • Farm structural change of a different kind: Alternative dairy farms in Wisconsin: graziers, organic and Amish. 2009. Brock, C., and B. Barham. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 24(1): 25–37.
  • Landscape-level variation in soil resources and microbial properties in a no-till corn field. 2005. Cavigelli, M.A., L.L. Lengnick, J.S. Buyer, D. Fravel, Z. Handoo, G. McCarty, P. Millner, L. Sikora, S. Wright, B. Vinyard, and M. Rabenhorst. Applied Soil Ecology 29: 99–123. Provides an excellent example of how to conduct a spatial analysis in preparation for laying out a large cropping systems experiment.
  • Methods in Ecosystem Science. 2000. Sala, O.E., R.B. Jackson, H.A Mooney, and R.W. Howarth. Springer-Verlag: New York, NY. Covers techniques commonly used to study carbon and energy dynamics as well as nutrient and water dynamics at the ecosystem scale, and gives examples of how to design manipulative ecosystem experiments. Detailed information about various methods will help researchers choose those most appropriate for their particular studies.
  • ‘Milk is milk’: Organic dairy adoption decisions and bounded rationality. 2013. Brock, C., and B. Barham. Sustainability 5(12): 5416–5441.
  • Writing Successful Science Proposals. 2000. Friedland, A.J., and C.L. Folt. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT. Does not explicitly address collaborative work but does contain abundant useful information for proposal writing.

Chapter Four

  • Analysis of Ecological Communities. 2002. McCune, B., J.B. Grace, and D.L. Urban. MjM Software Design.
  • Applied Multivariate Statistical Analysis. 2002. Johnson, R.A., and D.W. Wichern. Prentice-Hall, Inc: Upper Saddle River, NJ.
  • Assessment of sampling stability in ecological applications of discriminant analysis. 1988. Williams, B.K., and K. Titus. Ecology 69: 1275–1285.
  • Canonical community ordination. Part I: Basic theory and linear methods. 1994. ter Braak, C.J.F. Ecoscience 1: 127–140.
  • Canonical correspondence analysis and related multivariate methods in aquatic ecology. 1995. ter Braak, C.J.F. Aquatic Sciences 57: 255–328.
  • Canonical correspondence analysis: a new eigenvector technique for multivariate direct gradient analysis. 1986. ter Braak, C.J.F. Ecology 67: 1167–1179.
  • Contingency-Table Analysis of Rain-Forest Vegetation. 1971. Hatheway, H.W. In Statistical Ecology. Vol. 3, eds. G.P. Patil, E.C. Pielou, and W.E. Waters. pp. 271–313. Pennsylvania State University Press: University Park, PA.
  • Detrended correspondence analysis: an improved ordination technique. 1980. Hill, M.O., and H.G. Gauch. Vegetation 42: 47–58.
  • Handbook of Ecological Indicators for Assessment of Ecosystem Health. 2nd Edition. 2009. Jørgensen, S., L. Xu, and R. Costanza, eds. Taylor & Francis, CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL.
  • Multivariate Analysis in Community Ecology. 1982. Gauch, H.G. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. A very well-written and easy to read text. Great introduction into multivariate methods in community ecology. Provides purposes of the described analyses, and examples and criteria for evaluation of the method.
  • Multivariate analysis in ecology and systematics: panacea or Pandora’s box. 1990. James, F.C., and C.E. McCulloch. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 21: 129–166. Excellent overview of some of the pitfalls of using multivariate methods inappropriately.
  • Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data using CANOCO. 2003. Leps, J., and P. Smilauer. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.
  • Multivariate Analysis (Probability and Mathematical Statistics). 1980. Marida, K., J.T. Kent, and S. Holmes. Academic Press: San Diego, CA.
  • Multivariate Statistical Methods: A Primer, Third Edition. 2004. Manly, B.F.J. Chapman and Hall/CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL. Helpful resource for those who have limited or no experience with multivariate statistics.
  • Multivariate Statistics for Wildlife and Ecology Research. 2002. McGarigal, K., S.A. Cushman, and S. Stafford. Springer-Verlag: New York, NY. Helpful resource for those who have limited or no experience with multivariate statistics.
  • Non-parametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. 1993. Clarke, K.R. Australian Journal of Ecology 18: 117–143.
  • An ordination of the upland forest communities in southern Wisconsin. 1957. Bray, J.R., and J.T. Curtis. Ecological Monographs 27: 325–349.
  • Principal Component Analysis, 2nd ed. 2002. Jolliffe, I.T. Springer-Verlag: New York, NY.
  • Putting things in even better order: the advantages of canonical correspondence analysis. 1993. Palmer, M.W. Ecology 74: 2215–2230. Reciprocal averaging: an eigenvector method of ordination. 1973. Hill, M.O. Journal of Ecology 61: 237–249.
  • Statistical Analysis of Regional Yield Trials: AMMI Analysis of Factorial Designs. 1992. Gauch, H.G. Elsevier Science Publishers: Amsterdam. Thorough and authoritative text on the AMMI model.

Chapter Five

  • Project Management Step-by-Step. 2002. Richman, L.L. Amacom: New York, NY. pp 21. Some useful ideas for planning and carrying out a complex project.
  • Project Management for the Technical Professional. 2001. Dobson, M.S.Project Management Institute. This book provides guidance to help technical professionals develop the necessary skills to succeed in leadership positions. Although the book is geared towards the business world, the first section provides a useful discussion of the difference between doing technical work and managing a technical project.
  • Visualizing Project Management, 2nd edition. 2000. Forsberg, K., H. Mooz, and H. Cotterman. Wiley and Sons, Inc.: Hoboken, NJ. Written by a trio of authors whose combined project management experience is unequaled in the field. The processes and techniques in this landmark book have been confirmed through the experiences of thousands of working project managers in a variety of corporations. The integrated approach presented in Visualizing Project Management is accessible and complete. This book gets very good reviews.

Additional Readings on Social Science for Systems Research

  • Agrarian dreams: The Paradox of Organic Farming in California. 2004. Guthman, J. University of California Press: Berkeley, CA.
  • Agroecology: The Science of Sustainable Agriculture. 1995. Altieri, M.A. Westview Press: Boulder, CO.
  • Alternative Food Networks: Knowledge, Practice, and Politics. 2011. Goodman, D., E.M. DuPuis, and M. Goodman. Routledge: London and New York.
  • Are local food and the local food movement taking us where we want to go? Or are we hitching our wagons to the wrong stars? 2011. DeLind, L.B. Agriculture and Human Values 28: 273–283.
  • Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival. 2007. Jaffee, D. University of California Press: Berkeley, CA.
  • Civic Agriculture: Reconnecting Farm, Food, and Community. 2004. Lyson, T.A. Tufts University Press: Medford, MA.
  • Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty. 2008. Winne, M. Beacon Press: Boston, MA.
  • Coming into the foodshed. 1996. Kloppenburg, J., J. Hendrickson, and G.W. Stevenson. Agriculture and Human Values 13(3): 33–42.
  • Commodity Chains and Global Capitalism. 1994. Gereffi, G., and M. Korzeniewisz, eds. Greenwood Press: Westport, CT.
  • Cross Continental Food Chains. 2005. Fold, N., and B. Pritchard, eds. Routledge: New York, NY.
  • Development and Social Change. 1996. McMichael, P. Pine Forge Press: Thousand Oaks, CA.
  • Food and the Mid-Level Farm: Renewing an Agriculture of the Middle. 2008. Lyson, T.A., G.S. Stevenson, and R. Welsh, eds. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA.
  • Food for the Future: Conditions and Contradictions of Sustainability. 1993. Allen, P., ed. John Allen Press: New York, NY.
  • Food is Different: Why we Must get the WTO Out of Agriculture. 2006. Rosset, P. Zed Books: New York, NY.
  • Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. 2002. Nestle, M. University of California Press: Berkeley, CA.
  • Food Security, Sustainability and Nutrition. 2009. Lawrence, G., K. Lyons, and T.C. Wallington, eds. Earthscan: London.
  • Food Sovereignty: Reconnecting Food, Nature and Community. 2010. Wittman, H. K., A. Desmarais, and N. Wiebe, eds. Food First Books: Oakland, CA.
  • From Land to Mouth: Understanding the Food System. 1993. Kneen, B. University of Toronto Press: Toronto, Canada.
  • Hungry for Profit: The Agribusiness Threat to Farmers, Food, and the Environment. 2000. Magdoff, F., J.B. Foster, and F.H. Buttel, eds. Monthly Review Press: New York, NY.
  • La Via Campesina: Globalization and the Power of Peasants. 2007. Desmarais, A. A. Pluto Press: London.
  • Locality and Inequality: Farm and Industry Structure and Socioeconomic Conditions. 1990. Lobao, L. State University of New York Press: Albany, NY.
  • Locating food democracy: Theoretical and practical ingredients. 2008. Hassanein, N. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition 3(2): 286–308.
  • Mining for justice in the food system: Perceptions, practices, and possibilities. 2008. Allen, P. Agriculture and Human Values 25: 157–161.
  • Remaking the North American Food System: Strategies for Sustainability. 2007. Hinrichs, C.C., and T.A. Lyson, eds. University of Nebraska: Lincoln, NE.
  • Rights-based food systems and the goals of food systems reform. 2008. Anderson, M. Agriculture and Human Values 25: 593–608.
  • Social sustainability, farm labor, and organic agriculture: Findings of an exploratory analysis. 2006. Shreck, A., C. Getz, and G. Feenstra. Agriculture and Human Values 23: 439–449.
  • Stuffed and Starved. 2007. Patel, R. Portobello Books: London.
  • Sustainable agriculture in the United States: A critical examination of a contested process. 2010. Constance, D.H. Sustainability 2(1): 48–72.
  • Sustaining the Unsustainable: Agro-Food Systems and the Environment in the Modern World. 2006. Buttel, F.H. In Handbook of Rural Studies, ed. P. Cloke, T. Marsden, and P.H. Mooney. pp. 212–229. Sage Publications: London.
  • The Agrarian Vision: Sustainability and Environmental Ethics. 2010. Thompson, P. University of Kentucky Press: Lexington, KY.
  • The New Peasantries: Struggles for Autonomy and Sustainability in an Era of Empire and Globalization. 2009. Van der Ploeg, J.D. Earthscan: London and Sterling, VA.
  • The Violence of the Green Revolution: Third World Agriculture, Ecology, and Politics. 1992. Shiva, V. Zed Books: New York, NY.
  • Together at the Table: Sustainability and Sustenance in the American Agrifood System. 2004. Allen. P. Pennsylvania State University Press: University Park, PA.
  • Worlds of Food: Place, Power, and Provenance in the Food Chain. 2006. Morgan, K., T. Marsden, and J. Murdock. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.