The Cows Are Calling: Motivations for Management-Intensive Grazing Practices among Beef Farmers in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the most controversial industries in the world. The population is growing and the need for food is too. But the strain that agricultural production puts on the environment, and the imbalance between industrial production and small-scale farming puts the future of these practices into question. Beef production is problematic in terms of its energy use and emissions, extensive land use, and neoliberal markets, but alternatives in beef production have been growing slowly around the world, with producers turning towards lower impact practices and methods to raise their cattle. This thesis uses interviews and participant observation to explore the motivations of farmers in Alberta, Canada who use an alternative practice in beef production called management-intensive grazing. Adopting Van der Ploeg’s concept of repeasantization, I unpack the contextual influences, implications, and values underlying these farmers’ use of management-intensive grazing. I argue that by adopting this practice, these farmers engage in strategies of diversification and co-production to increase the autonomy and the resilience of their farms. In doing so, these farmers defy conventional agricultural practice and engage in a process of repeasantization.