Con#icts over farming practices in Canada: the role of interactive con#ict resolution approaches

An increasing number of articles in professional and scienti"c journals, as well as in the public press, give evidence to a rising number of con#icts that exist in rural communities. These con#icts arise from changes in farming practices, the increasing number of large-scale production units, resource use, and demographics. Fair, e!ective and e$cient approaches to resolve these con#icts are of increasing interest and importance. An interactive con#ict resolution (ICR) approach that focuses on communication and positive social interactions may be a preferred approach for resolving con#icts. The role of ICR approaches in addressing con#icts arising from farming and agri-business practices is presented and discussed in this paper. The paper posits that ICR approaches are e$cient from an economic as well as a social perspective and that they provide the greatest potential to realize socially optimal outcomes from a both a theoretical and practical perspective.