"This dissertation is composed of 3 papers that investigate issues related to beginning and first-generation farmers' entry barriers, their motivations and learning processes, and the ideologies and values that have influenced their production and marketing practices. ... Typically, the most substantial barriers to beginning farmer entry are 1) capit al acquisition, 2) finding land, and 3) understanding farm business. This study explores the unique ways in which individual farmers deal with these barriers. It presents the stories of 4 successful first-generation farm families based on in-depth ethnographies, with specific focus on the motivations, learning processes, successes and struggles faced by each. It describes the evolution of organic ideology and values that have provided opportunities for these farmers to succeed, and offers suggestions for policies and programs that will support the entry, development, and sustainability of small-scale, organic first-generation farmers in the future. "--From abstract.
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