Students in colleges of agriculture will face a dynamically changing workplace. In order to learn the skills needed to succeed in such an environment, students must be cognitively engaged in the college classroom. Engagement with instructional content is a precursor to learning, and teachers in colleges of agriculture must shift towards using more…

Participation in urban agriculture is growing throughout the United States; however, potential soil contaminants in urban environments present challenges. Individuals in direct contact with urban soil should be aware of urban soil quality and soil contamination issues to minimize environmental and human health risks. The study reported here…

The study applies situated learning and communities of practice concepts to an ethnographic study of volunteer farm work. In contrast to a traditional conceptualization of education "for" leisure, participation in farm work activities is understood as a form of education taking place "in" a leisure context. Analysis reveals…

Purpose: Farmer-to-farmer extension offers a potentially low-cost and wide-reach alternative in supporting agricultural innovation. Various approaches are being promoted but information on their impact and sustainability is sparse. This study examines experiences of Self Help Africa and partners in Ghana, Uganda and Malawi. It asks: What is good…

Many scholars assume that industry meddles in scientific research in order to defend their products. But this article shows that industry meddling in science can have a variety of consequences. American food manufacturers long denied that trans fats were associated with disease. Academic scientists, government scientists, and activists in fact…

Volunteers can be an important resource of many nonprofit organizations. The ability to meet the mission, goals and objectives of nonprofit organizations often depends upon the effectiveness of volunteer involvement in direct service delivery or indirect program support. Volunteer involvement utilizes financial and non-financial resources of an…

This article looks at the costs and benefits of producing organic milk. To be organic, dairy farmers must use organic fertilizer and organic pesticides, and the cows are not given supplemental hormones or antibiotics--that is, the milk must be produced without chemicals, hormones, or antibiotics (Hannon 2009). The organic versus nonorganic world…

This article presents the author's rejoinder to Joachim Singelmann's presidential address on "From Central Planning to Markets." Joachim Singelmann in his presidential address challenged the received wisdom: socialism was doomed to fail; during the market transition all of its basic institutions had to be abolished and replaced by the…

Using interviews and participant observation at Pacific Northwest sustainable farming operations, this article analyzes the complex ways that class privileges and labor practices impact the social sustainability of sustainable agriculture. While the farmers in this study were highly aware of and reflexive about the class politics of sustainable…

This article deals with how diversification and transformation of farming into tourism may influence the social identity of farmers. Based on a study of 19 farms run by couples engaged with agritourism, it shows how the development of tourism on the farms can be understood in a perspective of repeasantization; and how the couples draw on their…

This article uses the evolving understandings of commercial organic agriculture within two research programmes in New Zealand to address three problematic claims and associated framings that have underpinned analysis of the political economy of commercial organic agriculture. These three framings are: 1) that recent commercial developments in…

This paper reports on an experiment linking science with people. Taking as a paradigm the holistic scientific approach fostered by agroecology, we present a methodological proposal for the implementation of participatory action research in rural areas. Our aims were various: to solve a specific problem, i.e. the exclusion of small- and…

This paper draws on a case study of a new Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) scheme in the north of England to draw attention to some of the ethical issues encountered when using a participatory action research approach to animating CSA. Both CSA and participatory action research have been associated with the concept of "caring…

The apprenticeship movement is reshaping skills, policies, and programs in the United States at a critical moment in our country's history. This reader offers a chorus of voices emanating from different countries and populations, echoing commitment to bright, sustainable workforce futures through a well-crafted approach to this talent development…

Long-term impacts of an urban farming youth internship were evaluated in Brooklyn, New York. Alumni surveyed 1 to 9 years after program completion were enrolled in college or graduate school at higher rates than their peers and reported connections to the environment and healthy eating. Participants reported learning job skills through the…