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"Near-Organic" And "Mainstream" Crop-Livestock Production: South Dakota Case Study, Donald Taylor

Economics Research Reports

In this report, results are presented of a case study on alternative strategies for producing crops and beef cattle in South Dakota. The alternative production strategies are termed "nearorganic" and "mainstream." "Near-organic" producers were defined as farmers/ranchers1 expected to substantially meet standards of private "organic" certification authorities in raising crops and livestock, whereas "mainstream" producers were defined as those who generally follow practices recommended by the S.D. Cooperative Extension Service. Four matching pairs of near-organic and mainstream case study farmers from the following locations were selected for study: Morristown in the Northwest Region, Norris in the South Central Region, Roscoe-Eureka …