| This research described the attitudes of North Carolina Cooperative Extension professionals and determined no differences in attitudes based on position within the organization, length of time employed by the organization, and discipline in which professionals received their educational degrees. A mailed survey instrument was developed by the researcher and included questions focused on five categories used to define sustainable agriculture for the purpose of this study: organizational shared vision, systems thinking in research, education, and problem-solving on the farm, teamwork to include interdisciplinary projects and collaborations with organizations outside the university setting, grassroots involvement of farmers and rural farm communities, and knowledge of sustainable practices and technologies.; Data revealed NCCES professionals had a shared vision toward sustainable agriculture, however the vision had strengths and weaknesses. Although the concept of sustainable agriculture includes environmental, economic, and social components, NCCES professionals had strong support for the environmental aspect, were indecisive as to how environmental and economic strategies could be combined, and ambiguity existed in reference to social sciences involvement in agriculture. Data suggested that weaknesses in attitudes may result from lack of a clear definition. Throughout the study, participants questioned the meaning of sustainable agriculture. Confusion about the definition was one of the main barriers identified by participants that prevented NCCES from moving forward with sustainable agriculture. Important methodologies used in the development of sustainable agriculture: systems research, holistic problem solving, and community involvement in the research and education process were not identified by participants as strong components of the current sustainable agriculture program.; Overall, results revealed attitudes that supported sustainable agriculture, but actions did not strongly support attitudes. Attitudes revealed strong support for farmers involvement, but less support at the local rural community level. The social component of sustainability was not strongly endorsed and participants questioned the relevancy of addressing social issues in agriculture development. This study suggested the need for NCCES professionals to broaden their perspective of agriculture beyond the focus of their expertise, to acknowledge the complexities and magnitude of agriculture: a global and national perspective, degrees of sustainability such as organic and low-input production, and social impacts of agriculture. |
