Barnyards and Birkenstocks: Why Farmers and Environmentalists Need Each Other

Don’s new book takes on the most contentious issues farmers and environmentalists face with one another. It addresses those issues in language each side can understand and written from each side’s own particular point of view. It shows how, with respect to each of those issues, it is in the best self-interest of each of these parties to cooperate. And it helps each side better understand the other side’s point of view. It also provides specific suggestions for what first steps farmers and environmentalists can take to make a practical and realistic start at working together for their common good and describe a vision for the future in which both succeed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction: The Cherry Valley Dairy

1.  The Farm – Environmental Paradox

2.  Farmland – Why We Lose It and Where It Goes

3.  Agriculture’s Environmental Risks

4.  Opportunities Lost When Farms Disappear

5.  Voluntary Incentives – Pro and Con

6.  Regulations – Pro and Con

7.  Choosing Between Incentives and Regulations

8.  Taxes and Government Spending

9.  Environmental Markets

10.  Local Food, Consumer Influence, and Farmer Privacy

11.  Choosing Between Zoning and Conservation Easements

12.  Climate Change

13.  Livestock, the Public Lands, and the Environment

14.  The Federal Farm Bill

15.  Tools for Dialogue – the Common Ground

16.  Two Visions for the Future of Agriculture and the Environment