Discussion paper providing a description of the broad context within which the farmers and ranchers of Alberta make decisions. It is written for those who may have limited familiarity with the agriculture industry and the relationships between that industry and other sectors of the economy. Aspects covered include: factors affecting farm decison making, such as commodity pricing, natural resources, government policies and programs, and weather; impacts of decisions on type of farming; methods of increasing farm income by organic farming, increasing land, mining the existing land base, and increasing inputs; and relationships with other resources users, such as the urban sector, wetlands, coal sector, fish and wildlife, forestry, and oil and gas.

Planning for the use of rural lands in the developed countries of the world has become an increasingly contentious process as resources become more limited and conflicting needs grow stronger. The critical questions are "Which is more important—agriculture, livestock production, recreation, industry, or urban housing?" and "Who decides priorities and responsibilities for use?" The capacity of the land to meet all of the demands placed upon it, without serious environmental disruption, has become a major concern for all. Recognizing the exigencies of the situation, the contributors define and evaluate the theoretical and methodological frameworks within which rural land-use problems can be analyzed. In , the discussions focus on the identification and characterization of resources and competing users of rural lands, stressing that a careful articulation of the problem is essential to effective planning. is aimed at developing appropriate information bases useful in planning for the problems related to the management of these rural lands. The discussion of policy options for rural resource use in builds upon the material in the previous two sections to provide a framework for an analysis of rural resource use.