Civic Engagement on University Research Farms

University research farms are rarely cited as exemplars of "civic agriculture." This ethnographic study examines the nature of civic agriculture on the research farms of Michigan State University. Data collection included 36 semi-structured interviews with farm personnel and their community partners. The work suggests that civic engagement takes many different forms on these farms, manifesting itself in both collective and individual activities. Collective work occurs as public work, conducted by groups with diverse values and histories, as well as work undertaken by communities characterized by shared pasts and shared values. Individual civic activity is also common and provides a means for staff to combine their civic interests with their professional work. Civic agriculture activities often occur at the margins of the staffs' work, unbeknownst to the administration or the wider university community. These activities are consistent with the land-grant mission and should be encouraged and celebrated by the university, but not mandated. As with other forms of civic engagement, projects that are personally rewarding and professionally expansive are more likely to be sustained.