Abstract
In 2004, the agricultural economies of many rural communities in the United States were impacted by the cessation of a price-support and supply-control program for tobacco production. Tobacco was not only an important livelihood, but also was central to social and cultural life. Using a social–ecological systems lens and the adaptive cycle metaphor, we examine the reorganization of agriculture in communities that previously produced tobacco under the program. Specifically, we seek to understand how transitional policy that provided financial support to tobacco farmers interacted with other social, cultural, physical and human capitals to condition system reorganization. We conducted semi-structured interviews with farmers, extension agents, and policy makers in Kentucky as well as examined trends in income and number of farmers before and after the transition as indicators of reorganization. We determined that the financial support was perceived as helpful in supporting the transition and that tobacco farmers reorganized their livelihoods primarily around existing, remnant assets and endogenous capacities. In addition, we determined that though the agricultural system may be reorganizing economically, it is not necessarily supportive of the same social bonds and values that co-existed with tobacco economy. Understanding agricultural economies as part of complex social–ecological systems that consist of interconnected values, identities, ecology and social ties is important for developing policies to support systems and communities through economic transitions.
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Notes
USDA NASS. 2002. 2002 Census of Agriculture State Profile, Kentucky. Available at: https://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/AgCensusImages/2002/01/17/counties/StateData.pdf; USDA NASS. 2007. 2007 Census of Agriculture State Profile, Kentucky. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2007/Online_Highlights/County_Profiles/Kentucky/cp99021.pdf; USDA NASS. 2012. 2012 Census of Agriculture State Profile, Kentucky. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2012/Online_Resources/County_Profiles/Kentucky/cp99021.pdf.
USDA NASS. 2014. Kentucky Equine Report. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kentucky/Publications/Kentucky_Equine_Report/Equine_Release_Final.pdf.
Farmer refers to principal operator or primary producer as defined by the census. If there is more than one operator reported on a farm, the principal operator/primary producer is the person that makes the most decisions for the farm. If decision-making is split equally between operators, then the person who works off farm the least is the principal.
A stripping room is a designated room in the tobacco barn that is used to strip the tobacco leaves off of the stalk once the crop has been hung and cured.
According to the U.S. Agricultural Census, beginning farmers are those that have ten or fewer years of experience.
Abbreviations
- SES:
-
Social–ecological systems
- NGO:
-
Non-governmental organization
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Acknowledgements
We are thankful for the support of the Neely Foundation which funded the fieldwork for this project. We also want thank Dr. Sechindra Vallury for his support in the creation of figures for this publication.
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Shelton, R.E., Eakin, H. Social and cultural bonds left to “the mercy of the winds:” an agricultural transition. Agric Hum Values 38, 693–708 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10178-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10178-7