Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T03:27:28.505Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Risk and risk management in organic agriculture: Views of organic farmers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2007

James Hanson ,
Robert Dismukes ,
William Chambers ,
Catherine Greene  and
Amy Kremen
James Hanson*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.
Robert Dismukes
Affiliation:
Markets and Trade Economics Division, Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, USA.
William Chambers
Affiliation:
Markets and Trade Economics Division, Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, USA.
Catherine Greene
Affiliation:
Resource Economics Division, Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, USA.
Amy Kremen
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In a series of focus groups during 2001 and 2002, organic farmers from different regions of the United States identified a wide range of risks to their operations. The focus groups were facilitated by the University of Maryland in cooperation with a research team from USDA's Economic Research Service, to explore the risks faced by organic farmers, how they are managed, and needs for risk management assistance. Contamination of organic production from genetically modified organisms was seen as a major risk, particularly by grain, soybean and cotton farmers. Focus-group participants producing grains and cotton—many of whom knew about and had obtained crop insurance—raised concerns about coverage offered, including the need for insurance to reflect the higher prices received for organic crops. Most fruit and vegetable producers participating in the focus groups had little knowledge of crop insurance. When provided with basic information about crop insurance, operators of small fruit and vegetable farms were skeptical about its usefulness for their type of operation.

Keywords

focus groupsorganic farmingcrop insuranceorganic certificationgenetically modified organisms
Type
Research Article
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , December 2004 , pp. 218 - 227
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. NIOSH Safety and Health Topic: Pesticide Illness and Injury Surveillance. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pesticides/ (verified 25 May 2004).Google Scholar
2Harwood, J.Heifner, R.Coble, K.Perry, J. and Somwaru, A. 1999. Managing risk in farming: Concepts, research, and analysis. Agricultural Economic Report No. 774, March. Markets and Trade Economics Division and Resource Economics Division, Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
3Duram, L.A. 1999. Factors in organic farmers’ decision making: Diversity, challenge, and obstacles. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 14:2–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4Norman, D.Bloomquist, L.Janke, R.Freyenberger, S.Jost, J.Schurle, B. and Kok, H. 2000. The meaning of sustainable agriculture: Reflections of some Kansas practitioners. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 15:129–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5Organic Farming Research Foundation. 1999. Final results of the third biennial (1997) national organic farmers’ survey. Organic Farming Research Foundation, Santa Cruz, California.Google Scholar
6Organic Farming Research Foundation. 2003. Fourth National (2001) organic farmers’ survey: Sustaining organic farms in a changing organic marketplace. Organic Farming Research Foundation, Santa Cruz, California.Google Scholar
7 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. NIOSH Safety and Health Topic: Pesticide Illness and Injury Surveillance. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pesticides/ (verified 25 May 2004).Google Scholar
8Blair, A. and Zahm, S.H. 1991. Cancer among farmers. Occupational Medicine: State of the Art Reviews 6(3) July–September. Handley and Belfus, Inc., Philadelphia, p. 335–354.Google ScholarPubMed
9Alavanja, M.C.R.Blair, A.McMaster, S.B. and Sandler, D.P. 1993. Agricultural health study: a prospective study of cancer and other diseases among men and women in agriculture. National Cancer Institute, US Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 25 October (revisions 16 December).Google Scholar
10Thrupp, L.A. 2002. Fruits of Progress: Growing Sustainable Farming and Food Systems. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
11Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. 2001. The New American Farmer: Profiles of Agricultural Innovation. Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, USDA. p. 159. Website http://www.sare.org/naf/index.htm (verified 25 May 2004).Google Scholar
12Greene, C. and Kremen, A. 2003. U.S. Organic Farming in 2000–2001: Adoption of Certified Systems. Agriculture Information Bulletin 780. Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
13Dobbs, T.L.Shane, R.C. and Feuz, D.M. 2000. Lessons learned from the Upper Midwest organic marketing project. American Journal of Alterative Agriculture 15:119–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14Hanson, J.C.Johnson, D.M.Peters, S.E. and Janke, R.R. 1990. The profitability of sustainable agriculture on a representative grain farm in the Mid-Atlantic Region, 1981–89. Northeastern Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 19:90–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15Diebel, P.L.Williams, J.R. and Llewelyn, R.V. 1995. An economic comparison of conventional and alternative cropping systems for a representative Northeast Kansas farm. Review of Agricultural Economics 17:323–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16Risk Management Agency, USDA. 2004. Common Crop Insurance Basic Provisions. Available at http://www.rma. usda.gov/FTP/Policies/2004/ra/pdf/04BRBASI.pdf (verified 25 May 2004).Google Scholar
17Edmunds, H. 1999. The Focus Group Research Handbook. American Marketing Association, NTC Business Books, Lincolnwood, Illinois.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18Risk Management Agency, USDA. 2003. A Risk Management Agency Fact Sheet: Adjusted Gross Revenue. Program Aid Number 1667–06. Available at http://www.rma.usda.gov/pubs/2003/PAN-166-06rev.pdf (verified 25 May 2004).Google Scholar