Agriculture and Community Change at the RuralUrban Interface

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Agriculture and Community Change at the
Rural-Urban Interface

• Presentation to
• CURA Roundtable
• Columbus, OH
• February 15, 2002

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Introduction

• Jeff S. Sharp
• Joined OSU as Assistant Professor in 1998
• Research/Extension Appointment
• Position created as part of the college of FAESs
  growing emphasis on the ecological paradigm
• Research focus on community sociology, community
  development, rural-urban interface, and sociology
  of agriculture

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Outline of Presentation

• Ohio Township population trends, 1960 to 2000
• Introduction to the Exurban Change project
• Agricultural change at the rural-urban interface,
  the case of livestock production in the cornbelt,
  1978 to 1997

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The Exurban Change Project

• An ambitious research and extension project that
  compiles and analyzes various secondary data at
  the sub-county level to describe and characterize
  rural and exurban Ohio.
• Other team members Elena Irwin and Jason Reece
• website at http//aede.ag.ohio-state.edu/programs
  /exurbs/
• On-line resources include working papers related
  to R-U interface change township resource books
  township data and other related research
  findings and resources

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Ohio Township Population, 1960 to 2000
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Extracting Township Data
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Ohio 2000 Population by Township, Village, and
City
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EX-1 TOWNSHIP POPULATION CHANGE VS. CITIES AND
VILLAGES 1960-2000
Source U.S. Census Bureau, 1960, 1970, 1980,
1990, 2000 Decennial Census
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Township Population by Size
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Townships categorized by growth rates, 1960 to
2000
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Changes in Structure of Livestock Production

• Examine structural change (size) in livestock
  production (beef cows, cattle sold, milk cows,
  and hogs and pigs sold) by metropolitan character
• Analysis of counties comprising the Corn belt,
  Dairy belt, and Lower Great Lakes subregions
  (Bogue and Beale, 1961 Fuguitt and Beale, 1978)

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Agriculture at the R-U interface

• Topical concern about the impacts of nonfarm,
  rural population growth on agriculture
• Generally the focus is on the loss of farmland
• Also is the phenomenon of agricultural adaptation
  and persistence
• In Ohio, serious concern about the future of
  livestock agriculture

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Research Question

• In the case of livestock, are people and
  livestock inherently incompatible?
• If yes, then expect a steady decline in livestock
  production in proximity to large, nonfarm rural
  populations
• Could other factors contribute to the
  incompatibility of livestock and people?
• What has been the impact of recent structural
  changes (particularly scale) in livestock
  production?

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Possible Models of Exurban Agricultural Change

• Von Thünen Sinclair
• Impermanence Syndrome
• Bryant and Johnston Farm decision-making model

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Sinclair Model (1967)

• Land rents primary determining factor in
  organization of ag.
• High value, urban ag in or nearest urban core
• Vacant/grazing land near urban edge in
  anticipation of development

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Impermanence Syndrome (Berry, 1978)

• Hypothesis Accelerated agricultural decline near
  urban areas as agriculturalists disinvest in farm
  operation in anticipation of development
• Causes
• Land Rents
• Challenge of farming in urban environment
• Decreased political clout of farm operators

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Farm Decision Making Model
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Cornbelt Metropolitan Character
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Cornbelt Population Change by Metro Character,
1980 to 1997
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Change in Livestock Sales (000), 1978 to 1997
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Average Beef Cows per Farm, Median County, 1978
to 1997
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Average Cattle Sold per Farm, Median County, 1978
to 1997
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Average Milk Cows per Farm, Median County, 1978
to 1997
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Average Hogs Sold per Farm, Median County, 1978
to 1997
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Implications for Ohio Livestock

• Changes in rural-urban livestock production not
  simply a function of proximity, but also impacted
  by changes in production technologies within the
  particular sector of livestock production
• Question about long term implications of lagging
  scale changes in metro pork production
• Impermanence syndrome and potential future
  accelerated decline of urban ag?
• Concern about impact of changes in dairy
  production in NW Ohio and more urban influenced
  locales like Wayne county

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Other Current and Future Research

• Analysis of Census STF 3 data to develop typology
  of exurban and rural localities
• Case study research examining attitudes and
  relationships among farm and nonfarm residents of
  exurbia
• Statewide study of food, agriculture, and
  environmental attitudes of rural, exurban, and
  urban residents