Barnyards and Birkenstocks

Why Farmers and Environmentalists Need Each Other

Don Stuart

• Publisher: Washington State University Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781636820736
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Environment & Energy Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Rural America is struggling. The average farmer is now 57 years old. Family agriculture is gradually fading, and prime farmland is often converted into environmentally harmful applications. But food cultivation has ecological consequences, too. Farms consume 80 percent of the nation's water. Although they often prevent sprawling development, improve water quality, or provide wildlife habitat, they also pollute rivers, drain wetlands, or emit destructive greenhouse gasses.

Don Stuart believes two dangerous trends--the loss of farms and damage to ecosystems--are connected, and that a major cause is the political deadlock between farmers and environmental activists. He offers a radical proposal: collaboration. To promote empathy and point out the costs of continued political impasse, he presents opposing perspectives. Topics include incentives, regulations, government spending, environmental markets, growth management, climate change, public lands grazing, and the federal farm bill. Drawing from multiple case studies and a lifetime spent settling conflicts, the author identifies characteristics of successful community programs to suggest a model for a prosperous, healthy future.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acronyms
• Introduction: The Cherry Valley Dairy
• 1. The Farm–Environmental Paradox
• 2. Farmland—Why We Lose It and Where It Goes
• 3. Agriculture’s Environmental Risks
• 4. Opportunities Lost When Farms Disappear
• 5. Voluntary Incentives—Pro and Con
• 6. Regulations—Pro and Con
• 7. Choosing Between Incentives and Regulations
• 8. Taxes and Government Spending
• 9. Environmental Markets
• 10. Local Food, Consumer Influence, and Farmer Privacy
• 11. Choosing Between Zoning and Conservation Easements
• 12. Climate Change
• 13. Livestock, the Public Lands, and the Environment
• 14. The Federal Farm Bill
• 15. Tools for Dialogue—the Common Ground
• 16. Two Visions for the Future of Agriculture and the Environment
• Notes
• About the Author
• Index