re: communication and SA

To: sanet-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: re: communication and SA
From: WLockeretz@infonet.tufts.edu
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 95 18:14:28 EDT
Kate Alexander recently inquired about "differing approaches to communication 
between Cooperative Extension and sustainable farmers," and asked about 
literature that might bear on her hypothesis that "the potential for mutally 
beneficial exchange of information between Cooperative Extension and 
sustainable farmers [may be] thwarted by ideological conflicts or 
institutional incompatibility." 

This subject has been covered in several issues of American Journal of 
Alternative Agriculture.  The entire Vol. 5 No. 4 (1990) was devoted to the 
theme "Learning from Each Other: New Models for Sustainable Agriculture 
Research and Information."  Several of the contributions directly treat the 
issues raised in her query.

More recently, two additional articles have appeared, and a third will be in 
the next issue, which will be in your mailboxes very soon:

"Farmer participation in research: A model for adaptive research and 
education" by John Gerber (Vol. 7, No. 3, 1992) discusses researcher-farmer 
communications barriers, and suggests a mode of research specifically 
intended to overcome them.

"Farmers' use of validity cues to evaluate reports of field-scale 
agricultural research," by Gerry Walter (Vol. 8, No. 3, 1993) reports on a 
study showing how farmers decide whether to accept the results of on-farm and 
farmer-directed research, a mode of research especially prevalent in 
sustainable agriculture.

"Minnesota extension agents' knowledge and views of alternative agriculture," 
by Deborah Paulson (Vol. 10, No. 3, 1995 [forthcoming]) discusses the extent 
to which extension agents do and do not accept the various goals of 
sustainable agriculture, and the need for further communication between 
farmers and agents to establish common ground.

All in all, anyone interested in this and a lot of other subjects could do 
worse than check out American Journal of Alternative Agriculture.

William Lockeretz

Conflict of Interest Disclosure Notice: W. Lockeretz is Editor, American 
Journal of Alternative Agriculture.