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Innovation Guided by Culture

Innovation Guided by Culture. Lessons from the Amish. SARE supported research project Integrating Quality of Life, Economic and Environmental Issues: Agroecosystem Analysis of Amish Farming Investigators Deborah Stinner, anthropological ag. ecologist

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Innovation Guided by Culture

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  1. Innovation Guided by Culture Lessons from the Amish

  2. SARE supported research project Integrating Quality of Life, Economic and Environmental Issues: Agroecosystem Analysis of Amish Farming Investigators Deborah Stinner, anthropological ag. ecologist Richard Moore, ecological ag. anthropologist Benjamin Stinner, agricultural ecologist Fred Hitzhusen, ag. resource economist

  3. Why Study Amish Agriculture? • Interesting culture and OARDC is located very close to the largest Amish settlement in the world. • The Amish worldview is inherently more holistic than ours. We might be able to learn some fundamental principles of sustainability. • Well managed Amish farms with a long history can serve as valuable reference points for important agroecological processes.

  4. Objectives 1. Determine quality of life and community values for case study Amish families. 2. Analyze the economic efficiency of Amish agriculture with particular emphasis on economic benefits of community. 3. Evaluate nutrient cycling efficiency of case study Amish farms. 4. Facilitate discussion on what we learn from the Amish to help mainstream farm families be more sustainable.

  5. Approach • Three case study families in three different church communities in Holmes County, OH • Ecosystem perspective and methods, ecologically • Participatory research, anthropologically

  6. RESEARCH LOCATION: KILLBUCK WATERSHED, HOLMES COUNTY, OHIO FARMS #1 AND #2 FARM #3 STATE OF OHIO KILLBUCK WATERSHED

  7. FARM 1: NEW ORDER AMISH • 3 DAUGHTERS • 2 SONS • GRANDMOTHER • 120 ACRES • 70 AC TILLABLE • 15 AC PASTURE • 35 AC WOODS • 50 JERSEY COWS • 20 HOGS • 150 CHICKENS • 6 DRAFT HORSES • 5 YEAR ROTATION • HAY • CORN • CORN SILAGE • OATS • WHEAT • ROTATIONAL • GRAZING USED • MILKING MACHINE FARM #1

  8. FARM 2: OLD ORDER AMISH • 1 SON • 2 DAUGHTERS • GRANDPARENTS • FATHER HELPS • MILK BY HAND • 86 ACRES • 62 TILLABLE • 20 PASTURE • 4 WOODS • 7 HOLSTEIN COWS • 53 BABY CALVES • 17 HOGS • 10 CHICKENS • 5 SHEEP • 7 DRAFT HORSES • 7 HIGHLANDERS • 4 YEAR ROTATION: • HAY • CORN • OATS/BARLEY • HAY

  9. FARM 3: OLD ORDER AMISH • 3 CHILDREN, • 2 UNMARRIED SISTERS, • GRANDFATHER HAS • WOODWORKING • BUSINESS ON FARM • 82 ACRES • 70 AC TILLABLE • 9 AC PASTURE • 3 AC WOODS • 21 HOLSTEIN COWS • MILKING MACHINES • 8 HOGS • 15 CHICKENS • 8 DRAFT HORSES • ROTATIONAL • GRAZING • 5 YEAR ROTATION: • HAY • CORN • CORN SILAGE • OATS/SPELTS • HAY MAIN HOUSE HOUSE FOR GRANDPARENTS AND UNMARRIED SIBLINGS GRANPA’S WOODSHOP HOUSE FOR NON-FARMING BROTHER

  10. THE AMISH CHURCH GROUPS The primary unit of Amish society is an extended family, which usually includes three generations. Groups of families are tightly connected as parts of Amish church communities or Gemeinde. Church services are held in homes and barns which limits size to 20-40 households, beyond which church fissioning occurs. ZONE 1: SPLINTERED ZONE 2: CONTIGUOUS FARM 1 (PURPLE CHURCH GROUP) FARM 2 (GREEN CHURCH GROUP) FARM 3 (YELLOW CHURCH GROUP (BEFORE 1995 SPLIT)

  11. Quality of Life Values • integrity of family and church community • minimal materialism, self-sufficiency, • living a simple life of Christian faithfulness • farming preferred as means of support and raising a family, • living in a pastoral setting • shared labor with neighbors • love of creation • frugality

  12. Amish Corn Yields1996

  13. Soil Fertility on Amish Farms1996 Farm 1 Crop OM P1 K Mg Ca pH CEC % --------------ppm------------ ____________________________________________________ Hay1 2.1L 11L 80M 160VH 1162H 6.65 7.7 Hay2 2.6M 15M 63L 155VH 1233H 6.7 6.85 Hay4+ 2.35L 18M 78M 153VH 1203H 6.0 8.6 Corn1 2.1L 27M 137M 172VH 1133H 6.5 6.9 Corn2 2.55M 19M 96M 178VH 1183H 5.95 6.85 Oats 1.6L 16M 102M 158VH 1143H 6.4 6.9 Wheat 1.7L 20M 102M 136VH 1062H 6.5 7.0 Pasture 2.2L 12L 123M 116H 988M 5.7 6.8 ____________________________________________________

  14. Corn Enterprises on Amish Farms 1996 Farm Field LSNT ppm Stalk N % Yield Bu/A Plant 1 (NO) 1 17.68(2.78) 0.075(.044) 186.7(16.7) 5/30 1 3 24.27(1.92) 126(14) 6/17 1 8 34.07(1.31) 0.261(.026) 186.7(6.5) 5/24 __________________________________________________________ 2 (OO) 4 29.59(13.99) 0.023(.008) 178.8(9.7) 5/20 __________________________________________________________ 3 (OO) 14 21.83(1.83) 0.011 |98 5/12 3 15 26.98(3.07) 0.126(.027) 125.4(17.17) 5/15

  15. 1995 Whole Farm Nutrient Budgets in Lbs New Order Amish Farm Inputs Outputs I/O I - O (per Acre) N: Feed = 512 Milk+Livestock=1967 1.35 971 (8) |Fertilizer = 486 Crops = 820| N Fixation = 2760 Total = 2787 Total = 3758 P: Feed = 114 Milk+Livestock=344 0.67 -116 (-1) Fertilizer = 216 Crops = 152 Total = 330 Total = 496 K: Feed = 233 Milk+Livestock=435 1.14 77 (-64) Fertilizer = 405 Crops = 126 Total = 638 Total = 561

  16. Biodiversity on Amish Farms Birds on Farm 1 Habitat Number of Species _____________________________________________ Hayfields and Tilled Fields 12 Creek 6 Woods 41 Fencerows 17 Orchard 16 Buildings 25 Pond 2 Migrants/Fly Overs 50

  17. DRAWING BY ELSIE KLINE

  18. Economic Efficiency • For 1995-96, the three Amish farms kept an average of 47% of their gross income as cash profit compared to 23% for a group of five non-Amish grazing dairy farms. • In 1995 the New Order Amish farm netted as much cash profit from 27 cows as non-Amish dairy farms with up to 179 cows, and “I probably spent more time sitting on the front porch”, says the Amish farmer.

  19. Amish Farm EconomicsExpense Allocation Non Amish Farms Amish Farm1

  20. THRESHING AND SILO FILLING RINGS Shared labor is another principle of Amish sustainability. It saves money and is an important quality of life value. FARM 1 OAT THRESHING RING OF FARMS #1 AND #2 1 FARM # 1 CORN SILO FILLING RING FARM 2

  21. OAT THRESHING RINGS

  22. Elements of Economic Efficiency on Amish Farms • Free shared labor - lowers hired labor and machinery costs • Horse farming - requires much less expensive equipment than tractor farming • Minimal purchased feed costs - high ecological efficiency for whole farm • Minimal hired labor costs - usually a teenage boy andan important way indigenous farming knowledge is passed on

  23. Principles of Amish Sustainability • Strong cultural integrity • Interdependency and self-sufficiency • Spiritual optimism • Stewardship ethic • Industriousness and thriftiness • Control of technology • Think holistically • Small scale • Non-materialistic • Indigenous knowledge highly valued • Integration of home, family, farm/business • Teenage children home to learn and help

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