America's Changing Farmscape: A Study of Agricultural Tourism in Michigan*

Agricultural tourism incorporates visits to farms for the purposes of on‐site retail purchases, enjoyment, and education. Long popular in the European Union (EU), agritourism is gaining popularity throughout the United States. Interest has grown as a result of stagnant grain prices, rising farm costs, and growing international competition. For rural areas seeking new economic options, the potential of these operations to generate new sources of income through sales and horizontal linkages to other tourism‐based activities has sparked interest beyond the farm gate. This article, based on a survey and a statistical analysis of 300 agritourism operations in Michigan, summarizes factors associated with successful operations.     

America's Changing Farmscape: A Study of Agricultural Tourism in Michigan*

Abstract

Agricultural tourism incorporates visits to farms for the purposes of on-site retail purchases, enjoyment, and education. Long popular in the European Union (EU), agritourism is gaining popularity throughout the United States. Interest has grown as a result of stagnant grain prices, rising farm costs, and growing international competition. For rural areas seeking new economic options, the potential of these operations to generate new sources of income through sales and horizontal linkages to other tourism-based activities has sparked interest beyond the farm gate. This article, based on a survey and a statistical analysis of 300 agritourism operations in Michigan, summarizes factors associated with successful operations.     

Female Farmers in Canada, 1971–1986*

The discussion of agricultural restructuring has often failed to include farm women, particularly those who own and operate their own enterprises. Accordingly, this research presents an overview of Canadian female farm operators, who are a growing component of the farm operator population. Using previously untabulated data from the 1971, 1981, and 1986 censuses of agriculture and population, the study draws comparisons to male farmers in Canada and female farmers in the United States. The census data show that the socioeconomic and farming profile of Canadian female farmers differs from that of their male colleagues, and that the differences in certain key characteristics (such as farm size, sales, and commodity type) are becoming more noticeable over time. This raises questions about whether female operators are in danger of becoming marginalized from mainstream production, and whether their needs as a minority group among agricultural producers are being recognized.     

SMALL‐SCALE INDUSTRY AS A SPONGE? EMPIRICAL SURVEY IN THE CENTRAL REGION,GHANA

It has been posited that small‐scale industry – businesses with less than 30 workers – provides a large share of employment and income in Ghana. This paper examines the proposition that while such enterprises in the informal sector are said to act as a sponge to soak up surplus labour in marginal activities, they are unprofitable. Using data from a survey in 1998 of 175 micro and small‐scale enterprises in the Central Region of Ghana, the paper also confirms problematic aspects of employment in this sector including the lack of formal contracts, irregular pay, low remuneration, non‐existent social protection and only marginal employment growth. The implication is that the small‐scale industry sector is not economically sustainable in its present form in Ghana.     

Aquaculture and the Postproductive Transition on the Maine Coast

Aquaculture is the global food system's fastest growing sector. The postproductive transition—the shift away from commodity production toward more consumption‐oriented land uses—is common in many coastal areas as well. This paper examines the intersection of these trends in a U.S. state, Maine, with expanding aquaculture and extensive coastal, rural economic and demographic change. It examines interactions between coastal landowners and aquaculture farmers at aquaculture lease hearings in the state's three main aquaculture regions. Landowners are often uncertain about aquaculture because it is new and unfamiliar. Farmers use lease hearings to educate coastal landowners about farm operations, and farmers respond to concerns by altering their operations to fit landowners’ priorities. However, comparative analysis of the three regions reveals divergent histories and geographies leading to different levels of conflict. This study shows the value of applying rural postproductive transition theory to coastal regions and aquaculture development.     

新疆农业主导产业的定量选择及其分析

在新疆农业产业化的进程中,为了将农业资源优势转化为经济优势,需要正确地选择农业主导产业来促进新疆农业资源的优化配置和农业产业化的发展。基于相关的统计数据,运用灰色聚类法对新疆农业主导产业进行量化分析,以量化分析的结果为基础,结合新疆农业的实际情况对农业主导产业作进一步的分析。用定量与定性相结合的方法分析出现阶段新疆农业主导产业是棉花种植业、农产品加工业和林果业;农业优势产业为畜牧业和糖料种植业;农业一般产业为粮食种植业、油料种植业、水产业和家禽养殖业。     

The emerging small-scale cattle farming sector in Uzbekistan: Highly integrated with crop production but suffering from low productivity

Even two decades after independence in 1991, the agricultural sector of Uzbekistan remains regulated by the government, prescribing the number of cattle head per agricultural area or imposing mandatory cash crops. The policy makers are insufficiently informed about the bottlenecks in the different livestock production units and base their policies mainly on general knowledge. This study analyzed the two major cattle farm types in the Khorezm province, 56 medium-scale farms (LS; on average 22 ha) and 80 household farms (HH; on average 0.2 ha). While LS farms produced more metabolizable energy and crude protein than required by their own ruminant livestock, the feeds produced by HH farms covered only a third of the requirements. Despite their limited farm size, the HH farmers took an active part in the commercial farming sector, for example, through the purchase of inputs for cattle and crop production, and product sales. The HH farms generated higher relative crop yields than their LS counterparts, while cattle productivity of both was comparable, albeit low. The present findings can be considered as a benchmark for monitoring developments in the cattle sector and as a source of information for directing improvements in feed supply, cattle health and husbandry.     

RESTRUCTURING AMERICA'S DAIRY FARMS*

ABSTRACT. As the number of American dairy farms rapidly declines, the character and spatial distribution of the remaining farms is undergoing fundamental change. Concentrating on an examination of both the smallest commercial farms (with 10–49 cows) and the largest dairy operations (with at least 500 cows), this study shows that megadairies are spreading from California into Idaho and America's traditional dairy belt, while Amish farmers are growing in prominence among those milking fewer than fifty cows. Although the greatest proportional declines in dairy farms have been among the smaller operations, average farm size throughout much of the nation remains well below 100 cows. Within a decade Amish farmers may operate one‐fifth of the nation's dairy farms as they expand across the traditional dairy belt, and 500‐cow dairies in the Midwest will outnumber those in California.     

京津冀地区乡村振兴地域模式研究——基于乡村非农就业与农民增收的空间效应

探讨乡村非农就业与农民增收、农业农村发展之间的辩证关系,构建乡村振兴地域模式,对有序推进城镇化,实现农民生活富裕与乡村振兴具有重要意义。将京津冀地区划分为京津近郊区（I）、冀东北地区（II）、冀中平原区（III）、冀西太行山区（IV）、坝上地区（V）五类地域类型,采用2000—2016年京津冀县域面板数据,应用空间回归模型测算了京津冀地区乡村非农就业对农民增收的空间效应,提炼了京津冀地区乡村振兴地域模式。结果表明：① 京津冀地区及五类地域类型区乡村就业非农化率与农民收入持续增长,2000—2016年,京津冀地区农村居民人均纯收入由2486元增至11920元,乡村就业非农化率由38.9%增至57.5%,五类地域类型区乡村就业非农化率排序依次为：I>III>II>IV>V,农村居民人均纯收入排序依次为：I>II>III>IV>V;② 京津冀地区乡村就业非农化率每提高1个单位,农民收入增长9.215个单位,I、II、III、V区就业非农化对农民收入的弹性系数分别为29.986、-23.605、-10.388、9.951,IV区两者之间关系不显著;③ 依据不同地域类型乡村非农就业与农民增收的特征、机理与未来发展趋势,提炼了京津冀地区乡村振兴的四种地域模式,即就业平稳型+农工商主导、兼业型+现代农业主导、就业输出型+复合型特色农业主导、就业输出型+生态农旅主导。     

When Fields Revert to Forest: Development and Spontaneous Reforestation in Post‐War Puerto Rico

During the past 50 years forests have recolonized extensive areas of Puerto Rico. Between 1950 and 1990 forest cover increased from 9% to 37% of the island's land area. In proportional terms more land has reverted to forest in Puerto Rico than anywhere else on earth during the second half of the twentieth century. This paper explores the geography of this process by matching changes in land cover with the characteristics of the land and communities in Puerto Rico. The reversion of agricultural lands to forest occurred most frequently in humid, upland, coffee‐growing regions characterized by heavy out‐migration and populations of smallholders who earned some of their income from off‐farm sources. These findings suggest that changes in non‐farm labor markets, as well as changes in the political economy of agriculture, have important impacts on the prospects for converting agricultural lands into forests.     

The role of sub‐national government and the private sector in future spatial data infrastructures

A Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) facilitates and coordinates the exchange and sharing of spatial data between stakeholders in the spatial data community. With this objective in mind, countries throughout the world are developing SDIs to manage and utilize their spatial data assets more effectively. These countries are developing SDIs to assist in various kinds of decision‐making at different levels of government jurisdictions that have an important impact within their national boundaries. However, current research shows that SDI is understood and described differently by stakeholders from different disciplines and different jurisdictional levels. Therefore, in many cases, SDI initiatives remain very much an innovation, even among practitioners. There are still uncertainties regarding the benefits and identities of SDIs, particularly in connection with how they evolve over time to meet user needs. This paper reviews and assesses the development of SDIs throughout the world over the past 15 years and the leadership role of national governments in SDI creation. This assessment is based on the SDI activities of various jurisdictions including Asia‐Pacific, Australia, North America, and Europe, and research into the worldwide effects of spatial information clearing houses. This assessment includes a discussion on emerging trends in SDI development, with particular reference to the increasingly important role played by sub‐national governments and the private sector within the framework of SDI development. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for future SDI development, including the delivery of a virtual world that has a particular focus on facilitating decision‐making at a community level within a national context.     

Alternative and Virtual Rurality: Agriculture and The Countryside as Embodied in American Imagination

Affection for agrarian livelihoods and rural and small‐town environments has long been held by residents in many of the world's “more developed” countries. Although the rural proportion of the U.S. population has shrunk to a minority over the last century, fondness for rurality continues to manifest itself in a number of ways. Attachment to the rural ideal or rural idyll can be considered as attachment to the idea of a type of place, rather than specific place attachment. Based on literature, field observation, computer searches, and data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture, connections to idea(l)s of rurality apparent in popular culture are identified and illustrated. These include rural and agricultural tourism, small‐scale farming and large‐lot rural subdivisions, urban agriculture, farmers’ markets and community‐supported agriculture, creation of housing developments around farm activities, and rural‐named housing and business developments. Idealized relationships with rurality call upon health and well‐being, connecting to nature, aesthetics, privacy, and respect and nostalgia for rural livelihoods.     

江苏凤凰岛湿地公园主题旅游项目策划浅析

湿地保护和旅游需要共存共发展。凤凰岛湿地公园旅游项目策划充分考虑湿地的自然资源、人文历史优势、农业产业现状以及独特的区位优势,将湿地公园旅游策划为三大主题群,并将保护、恢复、宣传、教育等贯穿到旅游行为当中,使得湿地旅游质朴化,实现旅游与保护融合发展。     

Evaluating the impact of an agricultural land‐use change adaptation strategy on household crop production in semi‐arid Ghana

In this study, the Land Use Dynamic Simulator model was applied to investigate the impact of farm credit as an adaptation strategy to cope with effects of climate variability on agricultural land‐use change and crop production in the Vea watershed in Ghana. The authors identified the determinants of crop choices within the landscape (e.g., farm household and biophysical characteristics of farm plot). The crop choice sub‐model was then linked to the crop yield sub‐model to determine the yields of selected crops. In adapting to the impacts of climate variability, the maize credit adoption sub‐model under the maize cultivation credit scenario was integrated into decision‐making. This was simulated for a 20‐year period, and compared with the business‐as‐usual scenario. Under the simulated maize credit scenario, maize adopters increased from about 20 per cent to about 50 per cent and the area allocated for maize cultivation significantly increased by about 266 per cent. Consequently, the average annual aggregated household crop yield increased by 6.3 per cent higher than in the business‐as‐usual scenario. This simulation study shows that access to maize credit can significantly influence agricultural land‐use change and food availability in the study area. However, although access to farm credit may translate into food availability, the sustainability of this strategy is questionable.     

Regulating Land Use Conflict on the Urban Fringe: Two contrasting case studies from the Australian poultry industry

Land use conflict involving farm externalities represents an increasing policy concern in Australia as agricultural activities intensify and as the nation's metropolitan areas continue to expand outwards. A review of the rural-urban fringe literature reveals a noticeable absence of research exploring the intensity of conflict experienced by farmers. Similarly, inadequate attention has been given to the policies adopted by government to manage conflict. This article contrasts the regulatory system that has been implemented to manage conflict involving poultry farming on the metropolitan fringe of two Australian state capitals: Perth, Western Australia and Sydney, New South Wales. Spatial variation in the nature of government intervention is uncovered. In the discussion that follows reasons are identified to help explain such variation including state ideology, metropolitan growth, industry activism, geographical constraints and farm characteristics. It is concluded that where agricultural industries experience internal political divisions and a geographically dispersed membership it becomes more difficult to influence government policy.     

The Potential for Rural Heritage Tourism in the Clarence Valley of Northern New South Wales

In the past, heritage tourism has been associated with urban sites but there is now an acceptance of the application of this concept to rural areas. In the Clarence Valley in northern New South Wales there is potential for an extension of agritourism associated with working dairy farms to include safari tours to clusters of dairy heritage sites which are scattered throughout the area. Remnants of the old dairy industry, which began in the Clarence River Valley of New South Wales in the late nineteenth century, are scattered throughout the landscape. Over 300 dairy milking bails remain—ghosts of the former thriving industry when over 2000 dairy farms were operating. Concrete foundations of some creameries built in the 1890s can still be found, and three factory buildings still stand. These relics are disappearing quite rapidly and if the importance of the industry is to be recognised by future generations then it seems that some heritage conservation is overdue. At the same time, in order to survive in a post-deregulated economic environment, the remaining 10 dairy farmers in the Clarence Valley are diversifying their activities, with one form of pluriactivity being agritourism. Currently few of these farmers have entered this field but most of them see its potential to broaden their income base. Associated with agritourism at the farm level, the local government authorities see heritage tourism as a way of increasing employment in the region.     

Multifunctionality of farm households in Greece

Multifunctionality is today a keyword to understand rural areas in Europe. Depending on the context, it may refer to farm households, areas, or the agricultural sector. For farm households, it can be defined as their capacity to respond adequately to societal and consumer demands through the provisioning of a variety of goods, services, and non-market functions. These farm household practices are often categorized as ‘deepening’, ‘broadening’, or ‘regrounding’. In the article, the multifunctional practices of farm households in Greece are discussed within this conceptual framework with the presentation of specific examples that are derived from fieldwork. The case studies represent different spatial units and practices, covering deepening (organic farming, integrated management), broadening (agrotourism, short food supply chains), and regrounding (pluriactivity) practices of Greek farm households. The most important findings link multifunctionality mostly to pluriactivity, with complex and diverse strategies. Finally, some of the most important activities are not practised by farm households but by upstream actors.     

经济欠发达山区农业旅游发展研究——以广东梅州市为例

农业旅游是指以农业资源、农村景观为旅游资源,通过以旅游内涵为主题的策划和开发,把农艺展示、田园风光观赏、民俗体验、旅游休闲、度假娱乐融为一体的旅游方式。梅州地处广东省东北部山区,是经济欠地达地区。梅州市农业旅游是在农业庄园的基础上、在"三高"农业观光旅游成功案例的示范和带动下发展起来的,它经历了雏形阶段——兴起阶段——蓬勃发展三个阶段,已经发展成为梅州市旅游业的支柱和品牌。分析梅州市农业旅游发展现状,总结农业旅游发展特征,剖析其发展存在问题,探讨促进其农业旅游健康、持续发展的对策,对经济欠发达山区"三高"农业和旅游业可持续发展具有积极的意义。     

Promoting indigenous entrepreneurship through small-scale contract farming: The poultry sector in Sarawak, Malaysia

Studies have consistently shown that in the relatively unregulated environments of the global economic periphery contract farming has led to highly regressive socioeconomic outcomes. Contract farming is not inherently regressive for the small farm sector however. In the state of Sarawak, Malaysia, contract farming is used as part of an affirmative action programme that trains indigenous smallholders in commercial poultry production. The public sector quasi-market constructed by state purchasers and subsidiary suppliers is one that recognizes the smallholders' limited access to collateral and technical skills and their need to supplement rather than totally replace the incomes already derived from diverse agricultural and off-farm sources. The state-administered contract scheme is part of a broader national goal to eradicate poverty, raise rural incomes and ultimately, develop indigenous entrepreneurship. In the shorter and medium term, as the paper shows, the small-scale public contract scheme, which itself operates within the protected domestic poultry sector in Sarawak, is more likely to support disadvantaged 'bumiputra minorities' than produce a pool of competitive entrepreneurs.