obtained
by the application of the above methodology to
two farms in the Maremma Park (on the southern Tuscan
coast, in the Province of Grosseto) is provided.
The findings date back to the triennium 1987–1989.
Even if the methodology here proposed has still to
be perfected and empirically tested on a large number
of farms in different environments and management
conditions, it is already capable of yielding indicators
of some utility in categorizing farms according to their
sustainability.
These are two neighbouring farms, sharing the
same pedological and climatic conditions. They are
of similar size (21 and 22 ha of cultivated surface
area, CSA) but with profoundly different technological
and management styles, which have lasted for
more than a decade. One of the farms (farm H) is
market-oriented, more specialized and characterized
by higher 1 external input, with ‘high environmental
risk’ techniques (monoculture of cereals, exclusive
use of chemical fertilizers, etc.). The other (farm L)
is characterized by a lower input of external energy,
together with cow breeding, a prevalent use of organic
fertilizers, and a more varied crop rotation (Table 2).