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CHAPTER
9
Agriculture: A System,
a Science, or a Commodity?
Norman R Scott and Brian F. Chabot
Although past agricultural policy focused on production and farm
commodities, it is clear that future agricultural policy will be driven
by environmental issues, rural development, food safety, energy,
information technologies, and global competition. This chapter has
two basic objectives. The first is to ask the following question:
What is agriculture and what must colleges of agriculture become,
especially relative to undergraduate education through the limos
and Into the twenty-first century? The second, more significant
objective is to show that we must place much greater emphasis on
our perceptions of the colleges of agriculture of the future.
What is Agriculture?
In the beginning, agriculture simply meant farming. Agriculture
was a word that "educated people" used to refer to farming. The
food distribution system was rudimentary, value-added processing
occurred in the home, and farm implements were produced by a
blacksmith rather than an agricultural Implement industry.
Agriculture is defined as the art or science of cultivating the land;
the production of crops and livestock on a farm; farming. As we
view agriculture today, we see it as a system of farmers and
agribusinesses that supply production resources (machinery' fertil-
izer, money, etc.) or that process and distribute products from the
farm. Consumers, as individuals who purchase agricultural prod-
ucts, thereby influence what is produced and are an integral part of
the system. Community services surrounding farm families and
agricultural industries are a key part of the system.
The publicts consciousness and concern for the environment has
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
moved it to one of the higher national priorities. The publicts con-
cerns about food safety with respect to pesticides; a growing con-
cern for the quality of groundwater and surface water resources;
increasing attention to global climate change; and the Issues of
economics, energy, and biotechnology illustrate the heightened public
consciousness. Environmentalists and animal rights activists are
vocal parts of the system. In the cover story of the September 26,
1988, issue of Fortune magazine, which focused on managing for
the 1990S, the following question was posed: What issue will grab
people the most? "Despite mounting distress about AIDS, drug
abuse, and the homeless, some observers think that the number
one issue will be environmental protection. We will be obsessed
with water in the cots" (Kupfer' 1988:45).
Building upon the statement of John Muir, that "everything is
hitched to everything else in the universe" (Muir, 191 1 :s3), the bound-
aries of any system are more difficult to define. The point is that
the agricultural system is much larger than it used to be and in-
creasingly is more tightly interwoven into the full fabric of society.
Thus, for the purposes of this chapter, we define agriculture as the
activity of mankind that produces healthful and nutritious foods,
industrial feedstocks, and renewable fuels while enhancing and main-
taining the quality of the environment; energy, raw materials, and
food are undeniably necessary for a stable society.
Roles of Colleges of Agriculture
Because colleges of agriculture playocl a lead role in creating the
complex and diverse food and agricultural system that we have
today, it is not surprising that colleges of agriculture today are far
different from their humble beginnings approximately 1 2S years ago.
At their inception, a mere handful of faculty focused their efforts on
training young men in the practical arts and emerging science of
farming. Research to solve the problems of the farm soon fol-
lowed. Later still, an active extension responsibility was added to
the duties of the faculty. This evolution of function paralleled an
evolution of the kinds of courses that were offered and the subjects
that were researched. The early history of Cornell University, which
probably parallels that of other land-grant institutions, documents a
struggle to find individuals capable of teaching agricultural sub-
jects. Those hired as faculty tended to be trained in the classical
subjects of chemistry and biology, but with a bent toward agricul-
ture. Practical agricultural training was initially handled by success-
ful local farmers interested in the future of the new college a rever-
sal of todays extension process. Todays agriculture faculty at
Cornell University comprises more than 450 people (including many
from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Veteri
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AGRICULTURE: SYSTEM, SCIENCE, OR COMMODITY
nary Medicine, and College of Human Ecology). The faculty~s ex-
pertise captures the complexity of contemporary agricultural sys-
tems and rural Issues, with a range of course offerings so vast as
to be inconceivable to those early pioneers on a fledgilng faculty.
Through this process, universities In the United States evolved
away from providing a limited classical education for a privileged
few to serving the aspirations and needs of society as a whole.
Certain of these needs are of paramount importance because they
deal with the fundamental resources upon which our civilization is
built. Primary resource areas are food, energy, environment, and
economics. Many other program areas are crucially important to
the educational and research roles that universities play. However,
those universities that aspire to serve national needs must have
well-developed programs in most or all of these fundamental re-
source areas. It is within this larger context that our vision for the
role of colleges of agriculture is presented.
In order to gain some perspective as to how others view the role
of colleges of agriculture, we did a quick survey of deans and
directors of Cornellts College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, ask-
lng them what they regarded as the mission of the college. Here
are the replies:
o to conduct programs in research, extension, and instruction to
meet the needs of the people of New York State as a land-grant
college;
· to generate knowledge and transmit that knowledge to clients
in the state, nation, and world and to produce young men and
women for leadership positions;
· research and education;
· to educate students, to create new knowledge, and to dissemi
nate knowledge to various publics;
· to be the number one land-grant college; and
· to support (sustain) the agricultural industry of New York and
the people it serves
As can be seen from these responses, present leaders of Cornellts
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences tend to view its mission in
broad terms. It is not until priority programs are defined that the
college begins to distinguish itself from other colleges at the univer-
sity. This larger world view has developed with time, because the
perceived mission of the college at its founding was focused on
agriculture in a less ambiguous way.
Given that the agricultural system has grown more complex, what,
then, do we view as the role of colleges of agriculture?
First, it needs to be emphasized that training of undergraduates
is only one of the roles of colleges of agriculture. Even if there
were no undergraduate students, research and extension needs
would argue for the continued existence of faculty in colleges of
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
agriculture. Colleges of agriculture can expect to continue to pro-
vide the research base for farmers, packers, shippers, wholesalers,
retailers, bankers, rural schools, community planners, and the many
other professions that relate to modern agriculture.
Second, colleges of agriculture should draw on the wealth of
scientific expertise to address the more general issues now facing
society. For example, expertise in farm finance is easily extended
in the curriculum as accounting, business management, and private
entrepreneurship. A program in communications for extension pro-
fessionals can produce courses in scientific writing, speaking, video
production, and more. Basic biological sciences faculty in produc-
tion agriculture departments can contribute to a general biology
curriculum for the university as a whole. Faculty with expertise in
water~uality management or energy use on the farm can contrib-
ute to larger programs on environmental issues or energy policy.
This line of thinking extends to many other areas. Faculty in col-
leges of agriculture have special expertise that can relate to the
more general interests of the current students. Stability of enroll-
ment within Cornell~s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has
come entirely through reframing the roles of individual faculty and
groups of faculty.
Along these lines, colleges of agriculture have much to contrib-
ute to what we suggest are the fundamental and enduring resource
issues faced by our society: food, energy, environment, and eco-
nomics. Drawing on a long history of involvement and a significant
depth of expertise, colleges of agriculture will be among the stron-
gest players in these areas. Some colleges have already made this
transition.
Third, colleges of agriculture should accept the responsibility for
providing a general education in agriculture for nonagricultural stu-
dents. Gould Coleman, an historian at Cornell, relates the following
about George Stanton Gould, a charter member of Cornell~s faculty.
Gould viewed agriculture as a framework within which a vast part
of mants knowledge could be fitted. He believed that no man could
be educated without some exposure to agriculture, and from this
perspective, he gave a series of lectures on agriculture at large to
the entire senior class of the university. The inspiration for these
views has been lost in the current curriculum. we do not have
such a course today, but there is not a better time or a greater need
for one. Beyond this, who is better positioned to teach courses in
issues of food safety, nutrition, and the environment? This pro-
vides a base for what we contend to be a role for colleges of
agriculture In the future.
These suggestions presuppose that the need to educate stu-
dents to be farmers will continue to diminish. we simply have
become too good at increasing the production efficiency of farms.
Some claim that agricultural research, which is done principally at
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AGRICULTURE: SYSTEM, SCIENCE, OR COMMODITY?
the land-grant universities, has put farmers out of business. This is
a major issue in the debate over recombinant bovine somatotropin.
Whatever the cause, it seems inescapable that there will be fewer
farmers in the future. In response, the teaching capacity of depart-
ments of production agriculture needs to convert to other functions,
as described above, or be directed at new audiences.
However, this point raises an Issue that must be confronted: Are
colleges of agriculture, currently or as they are likely to be in the
future, attractive places for training future farmers? At a place like
Cornell, with its Ivy League Image, it is hard to imagine that peer
pressure and the structure of the curriculum are really conducive to
farm youth who wish to remain in farming. The most successful
farmers in the future are likely to be skilled businessmen with ad-
vanced educations and technical knowledge that colleges of agrl-
culture are in the best position to provide. Especially in the face of
increasing opportunities and the need to expand into nonagricultural
areas, we strongly urge these colleges to examine carefully the
kind of experience and educational environment being offered to
farm youth.
Can Undergraduate Enrollments be
Enhanced in Colleges of Agriculture?
We suggest that there are at least three ways to enhance under-
graduate enrollments in colleges of agriculture. First, expand the
range of course offerings in colleges of agriculture, especially in
those discipilnes that are part of the agricultural system but that are
pertinent to other elements of society, such as business manage-
ment; personal enterprise; communications; engineering; and the
biological, biomedical, and environmental sciences. Other options
include general agriculture and social issues courses dealing with,
for example, nutrition, food safety, and health. Many colleges have
already moved in this direction, some so substantially that agricul-
ture is now a minor theme.
The curriculum must address science-based agriculture. It must
recognize the entirety of the system and its complex interactions. It
must be exciting and relevant to the interests of society. It must
educate teachers, focus on the basics, identify the clients, and
maintain a strong commitment to service.
Second, the student body should be expanded to include those
other than the typical undergraduates. As the technology in agricul-
ture continues to Increase, there is a need for well-educated and
skilled agriculturalists. We need to reframe our concept of the
undergraduate, and undergraduates need not be limited to those
between the ages of 17 and 21.
Third, the attraction of minority students to colleges of agricul
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
ture must be enhanced. Despite substantial recruiting efforts at
Cornell, the proportion of minorities in the College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences is about 13 percent, compared with 24 percent in
the College of Arts and Sciences. There is a significant need to
communicate the changing image of agriculture to minority stu-
dents. We submit that, not only for minority students but for all
students, if agriculture is understood to be a science-based pro-
gram that focuses on the issues of biotechnology, environment,
energy, information technologies, rural communities, and econom-
ics, the best students will be attracted to our colleges.
Challenges for Graduates of
Colleges of Agriculture
The food and agricultural problems of today and through the
1990S require integrated multidisciplinary efforts. There is an ever-
increasing need to develop comprehensive systems that integrate
financial and marketing options, production technologies, and re-
source management practices that maintain a clean environment
and that are socially responsible. During the twentieth century,
agriculture was transformed from having an early focus on produc-
tion, which was further enhanced by mechanization, followed by
gains through chemical-based technological processes, which has
led to what Hardy (1988) calls the "era of biology." This era of
biology began in about 1950 and has grown to become the domi-
nant science of the 1990S and for the twenty-first century. Gradu-
ates of colleges of agriculture must deal with the new science,
which consists of biotechnology, information technologies (comput-
ing, robotics, microelectronics)' concerns for the environment, en-
ergy conservation and use, new materials (both food and nonfood
products)' trade and policy issues, and human capital. These are
great challenges indeed; and colleges of agriculture must prepare
students to address the challenges of change, conflict, communica-
tion, cooperation, competitiveness, and control.
Change
It has been said that there is nothing as constant as change. As
environmentally conscious farmers face the world today, they fully
recognize the challenges of change. The heightened concern for
food safety and groundwater quality is forcing a change from the
high dependence on chemicals that was so prevalent In the 1950s.
Not only have farmers faced pressures for change from the public
and its perceptions about the safety of pesticides but they have
also found that pests have developed a resistance to numerous
pesticides rendering them ineffective. In addition, there is another
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AGRICULTURE: SYSTEM, SCIENCE, OR COMMODITY?
challenge for change in the concept of sustainable agriculture as it
attempts to use integrated agroecosystem concepts to reduce the
use of chemicals.
Not only will farmers need to make changes but there must be
changes on the part of consumers as well if reduced amounts of
chemicals are to be used in agricultural production. Reduced pesti-
cide usage at least in the short run, until alternative practices are
more fully developed and proven is likely to result in more blem-
ishes on fruits and vegetables and increased amounts of insect
parts in food. Polls of a few years ago suggested that when con-
sumers were confronted with a choice between fruits and veg-
etables with blemishes but that were grown without the use of
pesticides and unblemished foods produced with pesticides, they
would choose the blemished products over the better-appearing
foods. More recent polls indicate that the choice of foods grown
without pesticides has eroded and that, because of price differ-
ences, consumers are not purchasing organically grown products
like they did earlier.
Conflict
We generally seek to move from conflict to convergence, and
there is a general perception that conflict is bad and destructive.
However, it has been said that creativity Is forged on the anvil of
conflict. There is much growth and understanding that can be devel-
oped from constructive conflict. Graduates must not decry the con-
flicts that will exist but must seek to develop processes by which
groups listen to one another and work toward common objectives.
communicatioDt
Too often, communication among industry, regulators, research-
ers, extenslonists, and farmers has been poor or nonexistent. Un-
fortunately, It is much easier to talk about communication than It Is
to develop mechanisms by which real communication can take
place between these groups, which have their own special inter-
ests. Communication of science to the general public is difficult at
best and is increasingly difficult when continually mixed messages
emanate from regulators, industry, and scientists. Graduates must
be able to cut through the "hype" and work toward a true dialogue
between concerned parties. AS succinctly stated by Barker (1990),
"all need to speak, all need to listen, all need to learn."
Cooperation
Cooperation and coordination must be developed among farm-
ers, state legislatures, departments of agriculture, departments of
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
health, departments of environmental protection, and educational
institutions to develop an agenda that addresses the numerous
agricultural issues. Graduates must work with all of these organiza-
tions to stress the concepts of agricultural and ecological literacy
so that future generations can understand the important role of
agriculture, economically and environmentally, in the United States.
Competitiveness
During the 1980S, as a result of global economic issues in combi-
nation with U.S. and foreign agricultural policies and programs, there
was a period of crisis for agriculture. Increased competitiveness
and enhanced profitability in the development of new technologies
that improve production efficiency and the quality of products must
be addressed to maintain the viability of U.S. agriculture. It is clear
that globalization not only exists in agriculture today but must also
be recognized as a principal driving force in the future. Graduates
must understand the nature of todays global markets and the inter-
nationalization that drives the food and agricultural system.
Control
The issue of control or regulation of agricultural practices is an
ever-increasing and potentially contentious issue. Who will control
the agricultural practices, and at what level is it necessary for con-
trol measures to be triggered? It is not unreasonable for the public
to be confused when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
identifies a chemical as a carcinogen and states that it must be
banned, but not for another several years. The concentration of
chemicals is a key element here. With modern instrumentation we
are able to measure ever smaller quantities of pesticides and chemicals
in our water and food than we could before these modern means
of measurement were available. This has led to a tendency to
consider the detection of a pesticide or a chemical as being a
problem when, in fact, the rational approach is to compare the
concentration against the threshold that has been established for
human consumption. The process is made ever more difficult by
the lack of good data about the toxicity of a pesticide or chemical
and the determination of how much gets into the food supply.
Graduates must be prepared to address these questions.
Agriculture: An Integrated System
There are agricultural sciences, but agriculture itself is not a sci-
ence. From our conceptual definition of agriculture and a consider-
ation of extensive discussions and ideas, we suggest that agricul-
ture is an integrated system. This system is conceptually illustrated
in Figure 9-1, which embodies the following concepts:
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AGRICULTURE: SYSTEM, SCIENCE, OR COMMODITY?
~Science)
~nsume)
Jam
-
(pplication:)
__~' ~'
"Markets)
Sclences Applications Markets
Mathemabcs Animal Production Agribusiness
Physical Sciences Animal Systems Chemicals
Geology Biotechnology Educationallnstitutions
Physics Business and Management Electrical and Electronic
Biological Sciences Energy Energy Companies
Basic Biology Environment (air, land, water) Farm Equipment
Biochemistry Food Processing Financiallnsbtutions
Ecology Forestry Food Companies and Equipment
Genetics Human Resources Government
Microbiology New Products Greenhouses and Nurseries
Physiology Non-Food Products Marine
Pest Management Ornamentals (turn
Engineering Sclences Plant Production Pharmaceuticals
Computing Plant Systems Production Agriculture
Electronics Safety (farming)
Transport Pro ses are
Matenals Waste Management Soil Management
Thermodynamics Space
Social Sciences Technology Transter
Communication (extension)
Economics Wastes
Psychology Water Management
Sociology
Statistics
Humanibes
Government
History
Linguistics
FIGURE 9-1 Agriculture as an integrated system.
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
SCIENCES
App `:a ~m
Markets
FIGURE ~2 Thin-lens model of agriculture as an integrated system.
CONSUMERS
· Basic sciences provide the fundamental basis on which knowl-
edge is applied.
· The application of scientific knowledge to the food and agricul-
tural system is the focus of colleges of agriculture as it is typically
played out through their respective departments.
· Markets represent areas of technology development where graduates
apply their professional expertise.
· The ultimate beneficiary of the products developed in the mar-
ketplace is the consumer.
we ask the reader to view this circular model as a conceptual
representation of agriculture as an integrated system and to try to
refrain from focusing on the specific details of or the entries miss-
ing from the diagram. The important point is that this model dls-
plays agriculture as a system in which the basic sciences are ap-
plled for the development of the markets that serve the needs of
consumers. Colleges of agriculture play that important role of con-
verting science into applications that are usable by the market seg-
ment. The double arrows suggest the feedback of markets on
applications and of consumers on markets. One might well debate
whether consumers have even a weak feedback on the sciences;
however, this weak feedback of consumers on the sciences pro-
vides a nice symmetry.
The thin-lens model illustrated in Figure 9-2 suggests that col-
leges of agriculture act like an optical device. The pair of thin
lenses (applications and markets) acts to focus the source (science)
on the focal point (consumers). At the same time, colleges of
agriculture transfer and transform fundamental knowledge to a form
that is usable by the market.
Figures 9-1 and 9-2 are presented in the spirit of this chapter,
which has sought to communicate fundamental concepts and serve
as a basis for discussion. In either model, colleges of agriculture
are critical elements in the transformation of scientific knowledge
for the benefit of society, and colleges of agriculture are key ele-
ments in the integrated system of agriculture.
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AGRICULTURE: SYSTEM, SCIENCE, OR COMMODITY?
References
Barker, R. 1990. Concluding remarks. Pp. 27-34 in Agricultural Biotech-
nology: Food Safety and Nutritional Quality for the Consumer. NABC
Report 2. Ithaca, N.Y.: National Agricultural Biotechnology Council,
Cornell University.
Hardy, R. W. F. 1988. Agricultural biotechnology and the environment.
Pp. 3~36 in Proceedings from the Governor's Conference on Agricul-
ture and the Environment: A Convergence of Interests. Department of
Agriculture and Markets and Department of Environmental Conserva-
tion, Albany, N.Y.
Kupfer, A. 1988. Managing now for the 199~s. Fortune 118(7):44-46.
Muir, J. 191 1. My First Summer in the Sierra. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
85
Representative terms from entire chapter:
production agriculture
