Farmers today face a complicated host of environmental, social and economic pressures: protecting water and air resources, mitigating greenhouse gases, conserving biodiversity and limiting soil erosion, all while trying to make a living. These challenges are linked, yet most agricultural research of the last 80 years has approached them from a reductionist standpoint. To build truly sustainable farming systems, agricultural research must embrace a multidimensional approach known as agricultural systems research.
Systems Research for Agriculture outlines both the theory and practice of agricultural systems research, helping agricultural professionals to study, understand and develop economically, socially and environmentally sustainable production systems. This handbook begins with a brief introduction to the theoretical basis for agricultural systems research. It then delivers guidance on how to form effective interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder teams, which include farmers and ranchers, and how to plan, implement and analyze systems experiments.
This handbook is essential reading for research coordinators and all other team members as they navigate the complexities of multifaceted systems projects.
Table of Contents
- About the Author
- About SARE
- Preface
- Introduction
- Chapter One: Introduction to Agricultural Systems and Agricultural Systems Research: A Paradigm Change
- Chapter Two: Collaboration, Decision-Making and Organizational Structure for Agricultural Systems Research
- Chapter Three: Planning Interdisciplinary Agricultural Systems Research
- SARE Case Study: Socioeconomic Analysis of Organic, Grass-Based and Conventional Dairy Farmers in Wisconsin: Using Quantitative and Qualitative Methods to Study Farmer Decision-Making
- References
- Financial Planning
- Design Considerations for Statistical Methods
- Experimental Design Using Existing Agricultural Systems
- Experimental Design Using Simulated Agricultural Systems
- Situating Experiments: Simulated and Existing Agricultural Systems
- Matching Experimental Design to Goals
- Defining the Project Scope
- Chapter Four: Analyzing the Performance and Sustainability of Agricultural Systems
- SARE Case Study: Using Life Cycle Assessment at the University of New Hampshire's Organic Dairy Research Farm
- References
- Using Indicators to Assess Agricultural Systems
- Natural Resource Accounting
- Other Mathematical Analyses: Structural Equation Modeling and Path Analysis
- Statistical and Mathematical Tools
- Chapter Five: Implementing a Systems Research Project: Troubleshooting and Putting it All Together
- Conclusion
- Additional Resources
- Index