Lawrence M Busch - Science, Agriculture, And The Politics Of Research

Science, Agriculture, and the Politics of Research

Rural Society in the U.S.: Issues for the 1980s, edited by Don A. Dillman and Daryl J. Hobbs

Industrialization of U.S. Agriculture: An Interpretive Atlas, Howard F. Gregor

Energy Analysis and Agriculture: An Application to U.S. Corn Production , Vaclav Smil, Paul Nachman, and Thomas V. Long II

The Myth of the Family Farm: Agribusiness Dominance of U.S. Agriculture, Ingolf Vogeler

Science, Politics, and the Agricultural Revolution in Asia, edited by Robert S. Anderson, Paul R. Brass, Edwin Levy and Barrie M. Morrison

Science, Technology, and the Issues of the Eighties: Policy Outlook, edited by Albert H. Teich and Ray Thornton for the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Genetic Technology: A New Frontier, Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress

Future Dimensions of World Food and Population, edited by Richard G. Woods

Animal Agriculture: Research to Meet Human Needs in the 21st Century, edited by Wilson G. Pond, Robert A. Merkel, Lon D. McGilliard, and V. James Rhodes

Pest Control: Cultural and Environmental Aspects, edited by David Pimentel and John H. Perkins

World Food, Pest Losses, and the Environment, edited by David Pimentel

Research in the Age of the Steady-State University, edited by Don I. Phillips and Benjamin S. P. Shen

Agriculture as a Producer and Consumer of Energy, edited by William Lockeretz

World Soybean Research Conference II, Proceedings, edited by Frederick T. Corbin

The Social Context of Soviet Science , edited by Linda L. Lubrano and Susan Gross Solomon

Farming Systems Research and Development: Guidelines for Developing Countries. W. W. Shaner, P. F. Philipp, and W. R. Schmehl

Agroclimate Information for Development: Reviving the Green Revolution, edited by David F. Cusack

Available in hardcover and paperback.

Lawrence Busch and William B. Lacy

Although the U.S. agricultural research system is highly esteemed and used as a model for national programs in many developing countries, surprisingly little is known about its operation, which has been publicly funded for nearly a century. This book describes the structure of that system and examines the many factors that influence the choices of research problems by agricultural scientists working within it.

The authors show how the research system has evolved through a complex set of negotiations into its present form. They then examine how individuals, organizations, and disciplines influence scientists' decisions about what to study, as well as their perceptions of research goals and beneficiaries. Drawing throughout on a wealth of primary documents, in-depth interviews, a national survey of over 1,400 practicing scientists, a survey of editors of science journals, and government statistical series, Drs. Busch and Lacy conclude by delineating the key issues that scientists, administrators, and policymakers must address as the public agricultural research system prepares to enter its second century.

Lawrence Busch and William B. Lacy are associate professors of sociology at the University of Kentucky, with appointments in both the College of Agriculture and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Westview Special Studies in Agriculture Science and Policy

Rural Studies Series of the Rural Sociological Society

Lawrence Busch and William B. Lacy

To our children Lisa, Rachel, Donovan, and Kristin

First published 1983 by Westview Press

Published 2019 by Routledge
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Copyright 1983 by Taylor & Francis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Busch, Lawrence.
Science, agriculture, and the politics of research.
(Westview special studies in agriculture science and policy) (Rural studies series,
sponsored by the Rural Sociological Society)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Agricultural researchUnited States. 2. AgriculturistsUnited States. 3.
Agricultural researchGovernment policyUnited States. I. Lacy, William B.,
1942- II. Title. III. Series.
S541.B87 1983 630'.72073 82-15923

ISBN 13: 978-0-367-28671-2 (hbk)

Many friends, colleagues, and research staff members have directly and indirectly contributed to this book. It is impossible to acknowledge the contribution of each. Still, we would like to recognize several persons as well as institutions that have been particularly helpful. Research funds were provided by the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station and by the Ford Foundation. John Myers of the Current Research Information System provided us with a computer tape listing current projects. Carolyn Sachs was extremely helpful in coordinating the mail survey of scientists. Christian Ritter, Lisa Slatin, and Bobbie Sparks assisted in coding the data. Ann Stockham developed the index and also organized the data. Janet Baynham, Sue Lewis, and Greg Taylor aided in the voluminous computer programming and statistical analysis. Rosemary Cheek typed most of the manuscript. Marlene Pettit, Michael Claycomb, Deborah Wheeler, and Penny Hogue also assisted in the typing. Janice Taylor aided in the manuscript typing and ran interference on much of the administrative detail.

Nancy Welt helped us to locate a large number of obscure documents and to assemble the tables in the text. Librarians at the University of Kentucky libraries were especially helpful. In particular, Toni Powell of the Agricultural Library and Sandy Gilchrist of the Margaret I. King Library helped us to unearth various documents.

David Brown, Mike Brazzel, Fred Buttel, James Christenson, C. Milton Coughenour, Reed Hertford, Mark Lancelle, Kenneth Pigg, David Pimentel, Vernon Ruttan, Ann Stockham, Louis Swanson, Sylvan Wittwer, Jane Wolfson, and James Zuiches read significant sections of the manuscript and provided helpful comments. Donald DeLuca pointed out several potential methodological problems. In addition, participants at a workship held at the Ford Foundation in 1980, as well as several members of the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy and the Northeast Experiment Station Directors' Association, provided useful feedback on some of our preliminary research findings. Finally, our wives, Karen and Laura, critiqued and judiciously edited the manuscript and contributed significantly by tolerating us throughout this process.