John A Cro
Biographic Data
| ID | 199752 |
|---|---|
| NAME | John A Cro |
| GIVEN NAMES | John A |
| FAMILY NAME | Cro |
| SIGNATURE | CRO J A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh |
| ORCID | 0009-0007-3372-7862 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 68 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1986 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Amish Land Ownership within Wisconsin
Rapid growth of Amish settlement within Wisconsin over the past 60 years has brought 200,000 acres of land under Amish ownership. This paper studies patterns of Amish landownership within 27 settlements, representing 71 percent of Wisconsin's Amish church districts, and illustrates differing average land ownership per household and degrees of land dispersal and concentration among the settlements. Average household land ownership ranged from 27.7…
Old Order Dairy Farmers in Wisconsin
Dairying among Wisconsin’s Amish and Old Order Mennonite farmers expanded through 2017, and by early 2018 Amish farms contained 12.9 percent of the state’s total dairy herds of cows, goats, and sheep. Old Order Mennonite herds comprised 5.0 percent. Faced with a variety of challenges, Wisconsin lost 198 Amish herds between April 2018 and July 2020, yet its number of Old Order Mennonite herds grew. Together, these groups operated over half of the …
Continuity and Change: Amish Dairy Farming in Wisconsin Over The Past Decade
Changes in Amish dairy farming in Wisconsin over the past decade are seen in their growing numbers, the increased percentage of dairy farms that are Amish operated in the state, and the decreased share of the Amish population that is engaged in dairying. Use of technology in the Amish barn and fields represents both continuity and change. Among those Amish dairy farmers who utilize ten‐gallon milk cans to store and ship their milk, little change …
Disaster devastation of US communities: Long-term demographic consequences
This paper describes demographic changes resulting from devastating natural disasters in which at least half of the community's structures suffered major damage or total destruction. Considering 92 US communities that suffered disasters (mainly from hurricanes, river flooding, and tornadoes) between 1992 and 2008, locations that were already experiencing declining populations before their disaster were most likely to experience large post-disaste…
Changing Patterns of Cheese Manufacturing in America's Dairyland
Wisconsin has lost nearly 2,700 cheese factories since its peak in 1922. In this essay I review the changing spatial distribution of Wisconsin's cheese factories, both over the past three-quarters of a century and over the past twenty years. A century ago the crossroads cheese factory was a prominent part of the rural landscape, particularly in those portions of the state that were too distant from the Chicago and Milwaukee markets for shipment o…
Teaching hazards by geographers: A decade of change
This paper reviews the status of college-level hazards courses and updates the findings of a survey conducted a decade earlier. The surveys sought information regarding hazards courses taught by geographers throughout the United States and Canada. Instructors were asked whether they emphasize physical or social aspects of hazards, what specific physical hazards and human response topics are considered, and what hazards models or paradigms are dis…
Restructuring America's Dairy Farms
As the number of American dairy farms rapidly declines, the character and spatial distribution of the remaining farms is undergoing fundamental change. Concentrating on an examination of both the smallest commercial farms (with 10–49 cows) and the largest dairy operations (with at least 500 cows), this study shows that megadairies are spreading from California into Idaho and America's traditional dairy belt, while Amish farmers are growing in pro…
Expansion of Amish Dairy Fanning in Wisconsin
Amish farmers now manage over 5% of Wisconsin's dairy herds. In contrast with the steady declines in the total number of dairy farmers, the number of Amish dairymen in Wisconsin has increased by 80% since 1989. Drawing upon Dairy Producer License data, a recently published Amish directory, and surveys of local agricultural officials and Amish ministers, this paper examines the current status and distribution of Amish dairy farming in Wisconsin an…
Amish Surnames, Settlement Patterns, and Migration
Distinctive surnames typically associated with Amish populations provide a useful means to identify group members. Utilizing listings of Wisconsin's licensed dairy producers between 1989 and 2001, growth and decline of various settlements of Amish dairymen are mapped and described. Overall, growth far exceeded decline, with the number of identified Amish surnamed dairy farmers increasing by nearly three-quarters. The examination of the spatial di…
Megacities and small towns: Different perspectives on hazard vulnerability
The vulnerability of megacities to hazards was highlighted during the recent International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, yet in many respects residents of small cities and rural communities are more vulnerable to disasters. Small cities and towns, deprived of the political and economic influence of megacities, lack the potential to suffer catastrophic losses that would seriously impact the global economy. Megacities, however, have greate…
Change in America's Dairyland
A traveler in Wisconsin today will pass numerous abandoned barns. Some of them, bereft of their cows, have been consigned to various alternate uses; others, with sagging walls or collapsed roofs, have lost all utility. That numerous Wisconsin farmers have ceased to milk cows is clear. Many of the remaining dairy farmers are housing and feeding their herds indoors rather than in pastures and, increasingly, are storing silage in huge, plastic-sheat…
Hazards courses in North American geography programs
Natural hazards courses are now taught in over forty percent of the geography departments of North American colleges and universities. Tremendous variation in course content and orientation exists, with lower level hazards courses typically emphasizing physical manifestations of hazards, while upper level and graduate courses are more likely to study human aspects of hazards, including various models of human responses to them. Course instructors…
Ethnicity and Farm Entry Behavior
The persistence of ethnic traits in both the visible agricultural landscape and the practices of established farmers in the United States has been well documented but not unchallenged. One limitation of most studies is that they have focused on relatively special populations of farmers who could be expected to have unusually strong ethnic identity. It has not been clear that ethnic background could serve as a useful variable in explaining variati…
Agroclimatic Hazards and Dairy Farming in Wisconsin
Recent experiences of Wisconsin dairy farmers with flooding and drought, among other climatic hazards, have resulted in substantial crop losses for a farming population that is already declining because of various economic circumstances. The salience of agroclimatic hazards and responses of dairy farmers to them may well determine long-term viability of family farm. Twothirds of farmers surveyed believed that climate is changing, and one-third pe…
Natural Hazards: An Integrative Framework for Research and Planning
Comprehensive Emergency Management: Evacuating Threatened Populations
Comprehensive Emergency Management: Evacuating Threatened Populations
Restructuring America's Dairy Farms
As the number of American dairy farms rapidly declines, the character and spatial distribution of the remaining farms is undergoing fundamental change. Concentrating on an examination of both the smallest commercial farms (with 10–49 cows) and the largest dairy operations (with at least 500 cows), this study shows that megadairies are spreading from California into Idaho and America's traditional dairy belt, while Amish farmers are growing in pro…
Megacities and small towns: Different perspectives on hazard vulnerability
The vulnerability of megacities to hazards was highlighted during the recent International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, yet in many respects residents of small cities and rural communities are more vulnerable to disasters. Small cities and towns, deprived of the political and economic influence of megacities, lack the potential to suffer catastrophic losses that would seriously impact the global economy. Megacities, however, have greate…
Expansion of Amish Dairy Fanning in Wisconsin
Amish farmers now manage over 5% of Wisconsin's dairy herds. In contrast with the steady declines in the total number of dairy farmers, the number of Amish dairymen in Wisconsin has increased by 80% since 1989. Drawing upon Dairy Producer License data, a recently published Amish directory, and surveys of local agricultural officials and Amish ministers, this paper examines the current status and distribution of Amish dairy farming in Wisconsin an…
Amish Surnames, Settlement Patterns, and Migration
Distinctive surnames typically associated with Amish populations provide a useful means to identify group members. Utilizing listings of Wisconsin's licensed dairy producers between 1989 and 2001, growth and decline of various settlements of Amish dairymen are mapped and described. Overall, growth far exceeded decline, with the number of identified Amish surnamed dairy farmers increasing by nearly three-quarters. The examination of the spatial di…
Continuity and Change: Amish Dairy Farming in Wisconsin Over The Past Decade
Changes in Amish dairy farming in Wisconsin over the past decade are seen in their growing numbers, the increased percentage of dairy farms that are Amish operated in the state, and the decreased share of the Amish population that is engaged in dairying. Use of technology in the Amish barn and fields represents both continuity and change. Among those Amish dairy farmers who utilize ten‐gallon milk cans to store and ship their milk, little change …
Ethnicity and Farm Entry Behavior
The persistence of ethnic traits in both the visible agricultural landscape and the practices of established farmers in the United States has been well documented but not unchallenged. One limitation of most studies is that they have focused on relatively special populations of farmers who could be expected to have unusually strong ethnic identity. It has not been clear that ethnic background could serve as a useful variable in explaining variati…
Change in America's Dairyland
A traveler in Wisconsin today will pass numerous abandoned barns. Some of them, bereft of their cows, have been consigned to various alternate uses; others, with sagging walls or collapsed roofs, have lost all utility. That numerous Wisconsin farmers have ceased to milk cows is clear. Many of the remaining dairy farmers are housing and feeding their herds indoors rather than in pastures and, increasingly, are storing silage in huge, plastic-sheat…
Disaster devastation of US communities: Long-term demographic consequences
This paper describes demographic changes resulting from devastating natural disasters in which at least half of the community's structures suffered major damage or total destruction. Considering 92 US communities that suffered disasters (mainly from hurricanes, river flooding, and tornadoes) between 1992 and 2008, locations that were already experiencing declining populations before their disaster were most likely to experience large post-disaste…
Agroclimatic Hazards and Dairy Farming in Wisconsin
Recent experiences of Wisconsin dairy farmers with flooding and drought, among other climatic hazards, have resulted in substantial crop losses for a farming population that is already declining because of various economic circumstances. The salience of agroclimatic hazards and responses of dairy farmers to them may well determine long-term viability of family farm. Twothirds of farmers surveyed believed that climate is changing, and one-third pe…
Old Order Dairy Farmers in Wisconsin
Dairying among Wisconsin’s Amish and Old Order Mennonite farmers expanded through 2017, and by early 2018 Amish farms contained 12.9 percent of the state’s total dairy herds of cows, goats, and sheep. Old Order Mennonite herds comprised 5.0 percent. Faced with a variety of challenges, Wisconsin lost 198 Amish herds between April 2018 and July 2020, yet its number of Old Order Mennonite herds grew. Together, these groups operated over half of the …
Hazards courses in North American geography programs
Natural hazards courses are now taught in over forty percent of the geography departments of North American colleges and universities. Tremendous variation in course content and orientation exists, with lower level hazards courses typically emphasizing physical manifestations of hazards, while upper level and graduate courses are more likely to study human aspects of hazards, including various models of human responses to them. Course instructors…
Natural Hazards: An Integrative Framework for Research and Planning
Comprehensive Emergency Management: Evacuating Threatened Populations
Natural Hazards: An Integrative Framework for Research and Planning
Agroclimatic Hazards and Dairy Farming in Wisconsin
Recent experiences of Wisconsin dairy farmers with flooding and drought, among other climatic hazards, have resulted in substantial crop losses for a farming population that is already declining because of various economic circumstances. The salience of agroclimatic hazards and responses of dairy farmers to them may well determine long-term viability of family farm. Twothirds of farmers surveyed believed that climate is changing, and one-third pe…
Hazards courses in North American geography programs
Natural hazards courses are now taught in over forty percent of the geography departments of North American colleges and universities. Tremendous variation in course content and orientation exists, with lower level hazards courses typically emphasizing physical manifestations of hazards, while upper level and graduate courses are more likely to study human aspects of hazards, including various models of human responses to them. Course instructors…
Ethnicity and Farm Entry Behavior
The persistence of ethnic traits in both the visible agricultural landscape and the practices of established farmers in the United States has been well documented but not unchallenged. One limitation of most studies is that they have focused on relatively special populations of farmers who could be expected to have unusually strong ethnic identity. It has not been clear that ethnic background could serve as a useful variable in explaining variati…
Megacities and small towns: Different perspectives on hazard vulnerability
The vulnerability of megacities to hazards was highlighted during the recent International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, yet in many respects residents of small cities and rural communities are more vulnerable to disasters. Small cities and towns, deprived of the political and economic influence of megacities, lack the potential to suffer catastrophic losses that would seriously impact the global economy. Megacities, however, have greate…
Change in America's Dairyland
A traveler in Wisconsin today will pass numerous abandoned barns. Some of them, bereft of their cows, have been consigned to various alternate uses; others, with sagging walls or collapsed roofs, have lost all utility. That numerous Wisconsin farmers have ceased to milk cows is clear. Many of the remaining dairy farmers are housing and feeding their herds indoors rather than in pastures and, increasingly, are storing silage in huge, plastic-sheat…
Amish Surnames, Settlement Patterns, and Migration
Distinctive surnames typically associated with Amish populations provide a useful means to identify group members. Utilizing listings of Wisconsin's licensed dairy producers between 1989 and 2001, growth and decline of various settlements of Amish dairymen are mapped and described. Overall, growth far exceeded decline, with the number of identified Amish surnamed dairy farmers increasing by nearly three-quarters. The examination of the spatial di…
Expansion of Amish Dairy Fanning in Wisconsin
Amish farmers now manage over 5% of Wisconsin's dairy herds. In contrast with the steady declines in the total number of dairy farmers, the number of Amish dairymen in Wisconsin has increased by 80% since 1989. Drawing upon Dairy Producer License data, a recently published Amish directory, and surveys of local agricultural officials and Amish ministers, this paper examines the current status and distribution of Amish dairy farming in Wisconsin an…
Restructuring America's Dairy Farms
As the number of American dairy farms rapidly declines, the character and spatial distribution of the remaining farms is undergoing fundamental change. Concentrating on an examination of both the smallest commercial farms (with 10–49 cows) and the largest dairy operations (with at least 500 cows), this study shows that megadairies are spreading from California into Idaho and America's traditional dairy belt, while Amish farmers are growing in pro…
Teaching hazards by geographers: A decade of change
This paper reviews the status of college-level hazards courses and updates the findings of a survey conducted a decade earlier. The surveys sought information regarding hazards courses taught by geographers throughout the United States and Canada. Instructors were asked whether they emphasize physical or social aspects of hazards, what specific physical hazards and human response topics are considered, and what hazards models or paradigms are dis…
Changing Patterns of Cheese Manufacturing in America's Dairyland
Wisconsin has lost nearly 2,700 cheese factories since its peak in 1922. In this essay I review the changing spatial distribution of Wisconsin's cheese factories, both over the past three-quarters of a century and over the past twenty years. A century ago the crossroads cheese factory was a prominent part of the rural landscape, particularly in those portions of the state that were too distant from the Chicago and Milwaukee markets for shipment o…
Disaster devastation of US communities: Long-term demographic consequences
This paper describes demographic changes resulting from devastating natural disasters in which at least half of the community's structures suffered major damage or total destruction. Considering 92 US communities that suffered disasters (mainly from hurricanes, river flooding, and tornadoes) between 1992 and 2008, locations that were already experiencing declining populations before their disaster were most likely to experience large post-disaste…
Continuity and Change: Amish Dairy Farming in Wisconsin Over The Past Decade
Changes in Amish dairy farming in Wisconsin over the past decade are seen in their growing numbers, the increased percentage of dairy farms that are Amish operated in the state, and the decreased share of the Amish population that is engaged in dairying. Use of technology in the Amish barn and fields represents both continuity and change. Among those Amish dairy farmers who utilize ten‐gallon milk cans to store and ship their milk, little change …
Old Order Dairy Farmers in Wisconsin
Dairying among Wisconsin’s Amish and Old Order Mennonite farmers expanded through 2017, and by early 2018 Amish farms contained 12.9 percent of the state’s total dairy herds of cows, goats, and sheep. Old Order Mennonite herds comprised 5.0 percent. Faced with a variety of challenges, Wisconsin lost 198 Amish herds between April 2018 and July 2020, yet its number of Old Order Mennonite herds grew. Together, these groups operated over half of the …
Amish Land Ownership within Wisconsin
Rapid growth of Amish settlement within Wisconsin over the past 60 years has brought 200,000 acres of land under Amish ownership. This paper studies patterns of Amish landownership within 27 settlements, representing 71 percent of Wisconsin's Amish church districts, and illustrates differing average land ownership per household and degrees of land dispersal and concentration among the settlements. Average household land ownership ranged from 27.7…
Geography (16 works) · Archaeology (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Agricultural science (6 works) · Agriculture (6 works) · Agriculture and Farm Safety (6 works) · Economics (6 works) · Political science (6 works) · Socioeconomics (6 works) · Biology (5 works)