Innovation Guided by Culture

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Innovation Guided by Culture

• Lessons from the Amish

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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
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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.

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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.
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Approach

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

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

FARM 1
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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

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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

MAIN HOUSE
HOUSE FOR GRANDPARENTS AND UNMARRIED SIBLINGS
GRANPAS WOODSHOP
HOUSE FOR NON-FARMING BROTHER
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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)
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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

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Amish Corn Yields1996
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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
_____________________________________________
_______
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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
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1995 Whole Farm Nutrient Budgets in Lbs
New
Order Amish Farm Inputs
Outputs I/O I - O
(per Acre) N Feed 512
MilkLivestock1967 1.35 971 (8)
Fertilizer 486 Crops
820 N Fixation 2760 Total 2787
Total 3758 P Feed 114
MilkLivestock344 0.67 -116
(-1)
Fertilizer 216 Crops
152 Total 330 Total
496 K Feed 233 MilkLivestock435
1.14 77 (-64) Fertilizer 405
Crops 126 Total 638 Total
561
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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
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DRAWING BY ELSIE KLINE
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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.

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Amish Farm EconomicsExpense Allocation
Non Amish Farms
Amish Farm1
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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
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FARM 1 CORN SILO FILLING RING
FARM 2
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OAT THRESHING RINGS
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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 and an important way indigenous farming
  knowledge is passed on

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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