RESEARCH NETWORKING TO EVALUATE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Although it is widely recognized by researchers who study agricultural production systems that evaluating the sustainability of these systems is vital, few studies of this nature have been published. One difficulty may be in defining what constitutes sustainability and how it should be measured, while another may be in networking with the necessary multi-disciplinary research team to carry out this type of study. Nevertheless, the study of agricultural production systems is important to the sustainability of farms, rural communities, and society because these studies compare actual farming systems, revealing their strengths and weaknesses. Using the recent study on the sustainability of organic, integrated, and conventional apple production systems in Washington State, USA, as an example, we will address the following critical questions about evaluating sustainability and how research networking fits into this scientific approach: What constitutes a whole system’s approach to studying sustainability in horticultural production systems? What are the characteristics of a successful study of horticultural production systems? Why aren't more studies of horticultural production systems performed or reported in the literature? What are the future directions of research on horticultural production systems? INTRODUCTION Although it is now widely recognized by researchers who study agricultural production systems that it is vital to evaluate the sustainability of these systems, few studies of this nature have been published. In order to evaluate the sustainability of agricultural production systems, however, it is first necessary to realistically represent the selected production systems, whether they be organic, integrated, conventional, biodynamic, or some other type, as farmers would experience them. Second, it is necessary to determine which indicators of sustainability are to be measured; but this first requires a clear definition of sustainability. Finally, it is necessary to network with the essential personnel that represent the scientific disciplines required to carry out the study. Using our experience in conducting a study comparing organic, conventional, and integrated apple production systems in Washington State, USA, we will explain how research networking can be used to successfully evaluate the sustainability of horticultural production systems. AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY AND SYSTEM’S RESEARCH Agricultural sustainability is defined by the U.S. Dept. Agr. in terms of economic viability, ecological health, and social equity (USDA-CREES, 2002). Reganold et al. (1990) stated that for a farm to be sustainable in the long term, it must produce adequate yields of high quality, be profitable, protect the environment, conserve resources (i.e., soil, water, genetic, and energy resources), and be socially responsible. A different approach to defining agricultural sustainability was recently presented by Tilman et al. (2002). They defined “sustainable agriculture as practices that meet current and future societal needs for food and fiber, for ecosystem services, and for healthy lives, and that do so by maximizing the net benefit to society when all costs and benefits of the practices are Proc. XXVI IHC – Sustainability of Horticultural Systems Eds. L. Bertschinger and J.D. Anderson Acta Hort. 638, ISHS 2004 Publication supported by Can. Int. Dev. Agency (CIDA) 360 considered.” A key element of this definition is the inclusion of “ecosystem services”, for example, the value attributable to improved soil quality for reducing soil erosion, preventing groundwater pollution, and providing water and nutrients more efficiently to the crop. This broader definition of agricultural sustainability requires a fuller accounting of all the benefits and costs of both conventional and alternative agricultural production systems, which then becomes the basis for future agricultural policy and practice (Tilman