Decision case studies are an excellent way for educators to engage learners, whether they are students or farmers, on the topic of transitioning to organic farming. Not all case studies are decision case studies. What differentiates decision case studies from descriptive case studies is the requirement that a decision be made, through discussion questions and instructor-led discussions with the students. Decision case studies have an open-ended structure; good ones will have several plausible conclusions. Our decision case studies are based on real-life stories of farmers in the Upper Midwest, making them more compelling than other learning tools. We have developed a lesson outline for educators to use in classrooms or workshops.
List of decision case studies
- Cover crop conundrum by Jill Sackett Eberhart
- Fighting fire (blight) with...organic fire? by Michelle Miller
- Cash flow crunch by Gigi DiGiacomo
- Sharing a fenceline: Keeping the peace when pesticide drifts by Constance Carlson and Kristine Moncada
- Will changing the rotation change it all? by Jill Sackett Eberhart
- Managing weeds organically: Do we have to use plastic? by Jennifer Nelson
- Finding fertility without livestock by Constance Carlson
- Marketing transitional grains by Gigi DiGiacomo
- Should we transition our orchard to organic? by Michelle Miller
- Saying "yes" to raising organic soybeans by Jill Sackett Eberhart
- Should I become an organic farmer? by Harriet Behar and Jody Padgham
- Too late to transition? by Constance Carlson
- Transitioning on rented land by Gigi DiGiacomo
- Should we transition our livestock to organic? by Jill Sackett Eberhart and Constance Carlson
- Marketing poultry without a processor by Michelle Miller