TRACTOR SEAT VIEW
Farm drivers forSustainable agriculture
Varel G. Bailey
Farmer attitude
• LISA• Confusion Subsistence vs. Sustainable• Spectrum Do-gooders >>>>>Pro ag
Internal Drivers
• Management (labor)• Location (land)• Finance
(capital)
External Drivers
• Economics• Government• Technology• Society• Weather
Matrix
• Mgt Loci $$• ____________________________________• Economics• Government• Technology• Society• Weather
Sustainability
• Mgt Loci $$• Economics Job 1 L’Lord Risk• Government Game pgm One size NIFA?• Zero risk 1Size-all Leverage• Hassle tax Corp l’ld Patents• Technology Change Biologic Change $• Society King mk’r Polarize Food $• Weather Crisis mode Adaptable Impact
Incrementalism
• Goals change faster than technology• Goals change faster than adoption
Farm bill
• Current farm legislation drives production to marginal (risky) production areas
Biological Patents
• Biological patents drive agricultural management and structure toward vertical integration, oligopoly, and “corporate mentality”
Technology
• “Disruptive innovation” is likely the only “top-down” change likely to have a significant impact on sustainability
Societal Expectation
• Create the German “Isle of Happiness”
Sustainable Agriculture
• The shock absorber for the swinging pendulum