Alternative economic strategies and the technology treadmill: Beginning vegetable farmers in Iowa

This article describes the specialized technologies and nonmonetary economic strategies used by beginning vegetable farmers in Iowa alternative agriculture. Cochrane's model of the technology treadmill suggests that the newest wave of precision agriculture technology will soon become compulsory on large‐scale grain farms in Iowa, but these are not the only technologies driving Midwestern agriculture forward. Beginning farmers in Iowa alternative agriculture seek to establish profitable, small‐scale, direct‐market farms. In pursuit of these goals, many look to technological solutions, such as specialized cold‐storage systems, harvesters, and root washers. However, these technologies are often unaffordable for debt‐averse new farmers. To access these solutions, beginning farmers integrate their use of agricultural technologies into a range of alternative economic strategies, including bartering, equipment sharing, and reciprocal labor exchange. This article argues that these nonmonetary strategies effectively allow beginning farmers access to the efficiency benefits of technology while simultaneously providing a buffer to the classic treadmill effect of “get big or get out.”