AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND WATER QUALITY IN SASKATCHEWAN: THE SOCIAL ECOLOGY OF RESOURCE MANAGEMENT A thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Sociology of Agriculture and Development in the Department of Sociology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By Randall Francis Kehrig Autumn 2002 © Copyright Randall Francis Kehrig, 2002. All rights reserved. i PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the college in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying, publication, or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of Sociology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A5 i ABSTRACT This thesis presents the results of exploratory sociological research designed to better understand how farmers select agricultural practices with the potential to effect water quality. The primary research methodology is a Rapid Rural Appraisal of thirty farms in five rural municipalities in Saskatchewan, Canada during the year 2000 growing season. The data establishes that a variety of economic, institutional, organizational, and social factors interact in dynamic ways to influence farmer resource management decisions and that the resulting agricultural practices have the potential for subtle and dramatic effects on water quality in Saskatchewan. Risk-mitigating farming methods known as “Best Management Practices” (BMPs) are interpreted by farmers in the field research as being both appropriate and problematic. Alternative initiatives and communication strategies are identified in the field data that offer support to production and productivity in the agriculture sector while also promoting water quality. The research suggests that measures such as providing accessible public water quality data, promoting water treatment for individual households, and educating rural women and youth about water quality issues may merit further investigation. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very grateful to Professor Dr. Michael Gertler of the Department of Sociology, University of Saskatchewan, for acting as supervisor on this research project. Thank you for your participation and guidance. A special thank you goes to Dr. Bernard Schissel of the Department of Sociology, Dr. Marie Boehm of Agriculture Canada and to Diane Martz of the Department of Geography at the University of Saskatchewan for sharing their time and ideas and for serving as members of my committee. A warm thank you is extended to Clint Hilliard and Darrel Corkell of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) for providing strategic support and funding from the Canada-Saskatchewan Agri-Food Innovation Fund (AFIF). Thank you to the farmers and other participants of this project who provided data, background information, and directions. Finally, thank you to Cindy and my family for their patience and support. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PERMISSION TO USE…………………………………………………………………….……….. i ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………………….ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………………….iii TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………………………..iv CHAPTER 1: THE SOCIOLOGY OF AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND WATER QUALITY 1.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….…1 1.2 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………………….…4 1.3 Research Objectives……………………………………………………………………..10 1.4 Summary……………………………………………………………………………………..11 CHAPTER 2: AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES AND THE CONTEXT OF FARMER DECISION MAKING 2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..13 2.2 Agricultural Practices, Water Quality, and Risks to Ecosystem Health…………………………………………………………………….14 2.3 Economic Factors………………………………………………………………………..18 2.4 Institutional, Organizational, and Social Factors……………………………22 2.5 Summary……………………………………………………………………………………32 CHAPTER 3: METHODS 3.1 The Research Problem…….……………………………………………………………33 3.2 Methodology………………………….……………………………………………………33 3.3 Variables……………………………………….……………………………………………35 3.4 Sampling……………………………………………….……………………………………36 3.5 Community Profiles………………………………………………………….………….37 3.6 Survey Instrument.…………………………………………………………………….. 38 3.7 The Interview Process.…………………………………………………………………40 3.8 The Case Study Format…………………………….………………………………….42 3.9 Summary………………………………………………………….………………………..44 iv CHAPTER 4: THE FIELD DATA 4.1 Introduction……..………………………………………………………………..……….45 4.2 Economic Factors………………………………………………………………………..47 4.3 Institutional Factors…………….………………………………………………………51 4.4 Organizational Factors………………………………………..…………………....…58 4.5 Social Factors……………………………………………………………………….…..…62 4.6 Environmental Concerns of Farmers……………………………………………..67 4.7 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………….71 CHAPTER 5: THE SOCIAL ECOLOGY OF RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 5.1 Introduction………….…………………………………………………………………….73 5.2 Summary of Key Findings…………………………………………………………….73 5.3 Avenues for Future Research.……………………………………………………….77 5.4 Summary…….…………………………………………..………………………………….78 CHAPTER 6: IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY 6.1 Introduction………….………………………………………….…………………….…..80 6.2 Suggestions For a More Sustainable Agriculture..….……………………….80 6.3 Conclusions…...……………………………………………..……………………………83 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………………88 APPENDIX Appendix A: Rural Municipality Map of Saskatchewan……………………………….96 Appendix B: Table 3.1 Community Profiles.……………………..………………………..97 Appendix C: Table 3.2 Farm Profiles………………………………...……….……………..98 Appendix D: Table 3.3 Best Management Practices in RMs…………………………99 Appendix E: Table 4.1 Characteristics of the Field Sample…………………………100 Appendix F: Table 4.2 Characteristics of the Field Sample Table (2)........……101 Appendix G: Table 4.3 Characteristics of the Field Sample (3)…..……………….102 Appendix H: RM Manager Interview Request Form………………………………….103 Appendix I: Case study consent form………………….……………………………………104 v Appendix J: Field Study Interview Questionnaire……………………………..………105 Appendix K: Appendix H: Tables 4.4 - 4.34 Case Studies……………………106-138 Appendix I: Figure 5.1 Influential Factors of Agricultural Practices Affecting Rural Water Quality………………………………………………………………………………..139 vi CHAPTER 1 THE SOCIOLOGY OF AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND WATER QUALITY 1.1 Introduction This thesis presents the results of exploratory sociological research designed to better understand how farmers select agricultural practices with the potential to effect water quality. The primary research methodology is a Rapid Rural Appraisal of thirty farms in five rural municipalities in Saskatchewan, Canada during the year 2000 growing season. The research identifies how farmers rely on varied information and underlying factors when they make resource management decisions. The term ‘agricultural practices’ refers here to a range of farming techniques that producers use for production in the agriculture industry. Agricultural practices can be simple or complex, traditional or recently developed. Agricultural practices can include both productive measures and risk-mitigating farming methods designed to protect the environment and human health. Agricultural practices scientifically certified and endorsed to increase production and productivity while limiting environmental risk are known in the agriculture industry as “Best Management Practices” or BMPs (Bailey and Waddell: 1978). Best Management Practices (BMPs) designed to protect rural water quality are the product of scientific research that purports to be value free. The prevailing hypothesis in BMP literature is that risk-mitigating factors transform 1 agrochemical farming and intensive livestock operations into environmentally and socially acceptable farming methods. Lockie (1997) suggests that management practices in agriculture are labeled ‘best’ because each represents the ‘best’ possible compromise between production of a particular commodity and the health of farmers and the environment. In any case, farmers are not adopting BMPs as widely as anticipated by government and industry. The primary and secondary data indicate that farmers sometimes adopt productive aspects of BMPs without implementing the risk-mitigating measures that make them safe. Degraded water quality is a potential risk in these situations. The term “social ecology” refers to how a critical examination of social, political and production trends can lead to a reconstructive ecological and ethical approach to society (Institute for Social Ecology: 2002). In this case, local agriculture, or the culture of growing food in Saskatchewan, is deconstructed to examine how current production strategies present risks to water quality in the environment. The research looks for links between the culture of farming and changes in local social and natural environments. The research also examines how the ‘agri-cultural’