International Rural Sociology Association - IRSA
Farms, mines and foreign ownership. A case for regulation in the national interest?
Michael Santhanam-Martin and Geoffrey Lawrence has written a discussion piece on food export and security.
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Joint farming ventures:
Dr Áine Macken-Walsh said the weakening of the farm family and the rise of the one-man farm posed a threat to the sustainability of rural areas.
Share farming and partnership may be the best way of addressing the loneliness and isolation associated with farming.
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UK report calls for rethink on farm veterinary service:
The veterinary profession needs to rethink its relationship with farmers and with the government, and play a more positive and central role in ensuring food safety according to a report authored by Philip Lowe.
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US rural sociologist expertise in law case on corporate farming:
North Dakota law prohibits corporations from farming, ranching, or owning or leasing farmland. North Dakota family-controlled corporations are exempt from the law. The law does allow nonprofit organizations to buy agricultural land for conservation purposes, but only after an extensive review process.
Rural social scientists have been called upon as expert witnesses to document the legitimate public purposes that corporate farming laws serve. Curtis Stofferahn draw upon existing research that documents the effects of industrialized farming on communities.
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Climate work needs social science:
In a letter published in the Guardian, Philip Lowe argues that natural sciences working alone cannot address the challenges of climate change.
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Increasing rural suicide rates in Ireland:
While EU incidence of suicide was falling, the Irish rate was increasing and there appears to be a very high level in rural areas. Maria Feeney will determine the breakdown between rural and other areas, and to find out exactly what this is and the reasons for it,
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