Sorrells. Patricia McGahey, May 1993 - THE INTRODUCTION OF WATER BUFFALOES TO THE UNITED STATES Abstract : This paper documents the history of the introduction of water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) to the United States, a project initiated in 1975 by scientists at the University of Florida. It details the efforts by faculty and one entrepreneur to overcome cultural. institutional, and regulatory resistance within the agricultural community to the introduction of a large, exotic domesticate that may be perceived as competing with traditional cattle. This effort culminated in the establishment of the American Water Buffalo Association in 1988 and the opening of a herd recordation book in 1992. This history also records the effects on the international agricultural community of US efforts to promote water buffaloes as a major component of sustainable agriculture. The two key elements in this American promotion have been (l) conservation of germ plasm through improved reproductive technology, the results of which have been shared with the international community, and (2) increased international cooperation in research and training with the US contributions being a major factor in the founding of the International Buffalo Federation in 1995. This organization now provides the major linkage for global water buffalo interests and coordinates those with international agricultural assistance. This history is analyzed using the micro-macro conceptual framework as developed by anthropologists. The micro- analysis examines the dynamics of institutional constraints, both local and national, encountered by the agricultural innovators. The macro- analysis places the water buffalo project within the larger international agricultural community where it has contributed to the development of reproductive biotechnology for water buffaloes and has promoted the international recognition of the animal's importance for sustainable world agriculture.