239
DOI: 10.1201/9780429440939-24
21
Intuitive Farming
Heart-Based Decisions for
Harmony in Agricultural
Ecosystems
Saskia G. von Diest
Stellenbosch University
INTRODUCTION: INTUITIVE COMMUNICATION AS AN AGE-OLD PRACTICE
Intuition is seen as a crucial component of decision-making in various fields, including psychology, business management, neuroscience and medicine. Most judgements and decisions rely on
intuition to some degree, often because of time constraints and the virtual impossibility of obtaining ‘ complete’ information ( Kahneman, 2003; Nuthall and Old, 2018). Over the last three decades,
agricultural science has also started paying attention to intuition, largely due to the growing awareness of different ‘ ways of knowing’ that exist in indigenous and traditional agricultural systems
( van Eijk, 1998). Yet the importance of farmer intuition remains peripheral to mainstream agricultural research, even though a review by von Diest et al. ( 2020) revealed that farmers in dairy,
stock cattle, vegetable and mixed farming systems across various countries often prefer an intuitive approach over formal management tools and concluded that enhancing farmer intuition may
improve decision-making.
Intuition allows access to tacit ( internal, informal) knowledge that is not available through analytical processes, and which can aid holistic decision-making ( Hogarth, 2010; Nonaka and van
Krogh, 2009). Decisions that are ‘ holistic’, from holos ( Greek) meaning ‘ whole’ ( Smuts, 1926)
consider more information or factors than using only rationale/ logic, offering a more complete perspective of the situation in question.
Intuition also informs interspecies communication ( two-way dialogue between humans and
other- than-humans) ( Erickson, 2011; Kieft, 2015; Kulick, 2017), which can bring additional,
potentially valuable information to decisions. Sometimes called intuitive communication, this has
received even less attention from agricultural science than intuition itself. While considered to be
CONTENTS
Introduction: Intuitive Communication as an Age-Old Practice .................................................... 239
Defining Intuitive Communication ................................................................................................240
Defining and Understanding Intuition ..................................................................................240
Intuitive or Interspecies Communication .............................................................................. 241
Applying Intuition in Farming ....................................................................................................... 241
Emerging Research on Intuitive Communication in Farming .............................................. 241
The Transformation of the Intuitive Farmer ......................................................................... 243
Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................244
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................244
References ...................................................................................................................................... 245
DOI: 10.1201/9780429440939-24
21
Intuitive Farming
Heart-Based Decisions for
Harmony in Agricultural
Ecosystems
Saskia G. von Diest
Stellenbosch University
INTRODUCTION: INTUITIVE COMMUNICATION AS AN AGE-OLD PRACTICE
Intuition is seen as a crucial component of decision-making in various fields, including psychology, business management, neuroscience and medicine. Most judgements and decisions rely on
intuition to some degree, often because of time constraints and the virtual impossibility of obtaining ‘ complete’ information ( Kahneman, 2003; Nuthall and Old, 2018). Over the last three decades,
agricultural science has also started paying attention to intuition, largely due to the growing awareness of different ‘ ways of knowing’ that exist in indigenous and traditional agricultural systems
( van Eijk, 1998). Yet the importance of farmer intuition remains peripheral to mainstream agricultural research, even though a review by von Diest et al. ( 2020) revealed that farmers in dairy,
stock cattle, vegetable and mixed farming systems across various countries often prefer an intuitive approach over formal management tools and concluded that enhancing farmer intuition may
improve decision-making.
Intuition allows access to tacit ( internal, informal) knowledge that is not available through analytical processes, and which can aid holistic decision-making ( Hogarth, 2010; Nonaka and van
Krogh, 2009). Decisions that are ‘ holistic’, from holos ( Greek) meaning ‘ whole’ ( Smuts, 1926)
consider more information or factors than using only rationale/ logic, offering a more complete perspective of the situation in question.
Intuition also informs interspecies communication ( two-way dialogue between humans and
other- than-humans) ( Erickson, 2011; Kieft, 2015; Kulick, 2017), which can bring additional,
potentially valuable information to decisions. Sometimes called intuitive communication, this has
received even less attention from agricultural science than intuition itself. While considered to be
CONTENTS
Introduction: Intuitive Communication as an Age-Old Practice .................................................... 239
Defining Intuitive Communication ................................................................................................240
Defining and Understanding Intuition ..................................................................................240
Intuitive or Interspecies Communication .............................................................................. 241
Applying Intuition in Farming ....................................................................................................... 241
Emerging Research on Intuitive Communication in Farming .............................................. 241
The Transformation of the Intuitive Farmer ......................................................................... 243
Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................244
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................244
References ...................................................................................................................................... 245