Adam Reimer

Farmer Participation in U.S. Farm Bill Conservation Programs

AbstractConservation policy in agricultural systems in the United States relies primarily on voluntary action by farmers. Federal conservation programs, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, offer incentives, both financial and technical, to farmers in exchange for adoption of conservation practices. Understanding motivations for (as well as barriers to) participation in voluntary programs is important for the design of future policy and effective outreach. While a significant literature has explored motivations and barriers to conservation practice adoption and participation in single programs, few studies in the U.S. context have explored general participation by farmers in one place and time. A mixed-methods research approach was utilized to explore farmer participation in all U.S. Farm Bill programs in Indiana. Current and past program engagement was high, with nearly half of survey respondents reporting participation in at least one program. Most participants had experience with the Conservation Reserve Program, with much lower participation rates in other programs. Most interview participants who had experience in programs were motivated by the environmental benefits of practices, with incentives primarily serving to reduce the financial and technical barriers to practice adoption. The current policy arrangement, which offers multiple policy approaches to conservation, offers farmers with different needs and motivations a menu of options. However, evidence suggests that the complexity of the system may be a barrier that prevents participation by farmers with scarce time or resources. Outreach efforts should focus on increasing awareness of program options, while future policy must balance flexibility of programs with complexity.

People, place, behavior, and context: A research agenda for expanding our understanding of what motivates farmers' conservation behaviors

Social scientists have explored why farmers engage in conservation activities for a number of decades, yet there is still a large degree of unexplained variation and a lack of understanding about the factors that contribute to, or inhibit, farmer conservation. Our goal with this article is to outline an agenda for future social science research exploring conservation behaviors in agricultural systems. We believe that greater reflection on what avenues need further exploration will lead to improved scientific understanding and ultimately greater uptake in conservation by farmers. Environmentally relevant farmer behaviors, often conceptualized as best management practices (BMPs) or conservation practices, are complex and context specific, making the adoption or use of these practices difficult to measure or predict. Additionally, farmers are a highly diverse group with differing resource endowments and exposures to risk; production needs, tenure arrangements, and ownership goals; environmental motives; personalities; proclivities for engaging in government conservation programs; and social networks. Subsequently, as indicated by earlier reviews of this literature, there are few variables that consistently explain adoption decisions. In addition to high variability in determinants of behavior, physical and temporal variation in the characteristics of the practices themselves complicate research efforts. Farm and farmer-level factors are not…

Farmers and conservation programs: Explaining differences in Environmental Quality Incentives Program applications between states

Despite its economic and social benefits, agriculture is now a leading source of water pollution in the United States. While significant research effort has attempted to understand adoption of conservation practices on agricultural lands, relatively little research has explored the operation of specific agri-environmental policies in the United States. This research attempts to gain an understanding of how differing agricultural and sociopolitical contexts across the United States influence attempted participation in national agricultural conservation programs. Application rates in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) differ across the 50 states, indicating potentially important differences in state setting that influence behavior of individual farm operators. A variety of agricultural and sociopolitical measures were included in a fractional logit model to assess factors contributing to varying rates of application to EQIP. Significant explanatory variables included high sales farm prevalence, tenancy rates, and views on federal environmental spending. There also appears to be a large regional effect, with states in the Southeast, Mountain West, and Northeast having higher application rates than those in the Corn Belt. The results of this analysis indicate that certain types of farmers are more likely to seek participation in this large agricultural conservation program. Further research is needed to assess the role of government agencies (federal, state, and local) in influencing participation rates and what role individual political opinion may play in decisions related to federal cost share programs.

Environmental attitudes and drift reduction behavior among commercial pesticide applicators in a U.S. agricultural landscape

Pesticide drift is a significant environmental problem in rural regions, and can result in losses to certain non-target crops and livestock, water and air pollution, and threats to human health. While state agencies seek to control the harmful effects of pesticides through licensing and certificate programs, the adoption rates of drift-reducing practices by commercial applicators remain highly variable. In order to effectively target outreach efforts to commercial applicators, managers need to better understand current use patterns and the motivations behind the adoption and non-adoption of preferred practices. Using a web and mail survey, this study explored environmental attitudes, awareness and concern for pesticide drift, and current practice adoption for drift reduction by commercial pesticide applicators in Indiana. Researchers surveyed three distinct applicator types: industrial weed management (utility right-of-way), agriculture, and aerial (which are mostly spraying in an agricultural setting). Overall, applicators exhibited positive environmental attitudes, but low concern for pesticide drift in the geographic areas where they operate. Adoption rates for several drift reduction technologies were high, particularly for equipment and spray modifications such as low-drift spray nozzles (88%) and increased spray droplet size (92%). Applicators were less familiar with specialty equipment (such as band sprayers, 13% adoption rate) and methods for identifying sensitive sites such as bee colonies and organic crops. Among the three groups, industrial weed management applicators had the lowest adoption rates. Applicators were motivated to adopt drift-reduction practices by the desire to be a good neighbor and a desire to be a good land steward. There is potential for use of more innovative, voluntary approaches to raise awareness of sites sensitive to pesticide drift in rural landscapes.

Comparing Random Sample Q and R Methods for Understanding Natural Resource Attitudes

This study collects data on community views of the Wabash River in north-central Indiana using 36 representative statements. The statements were incorporated into two different formats: (1) a standard survey, or Likert-type, instrument and (2) a Q-methodology instrument for mailed distribution to two separate random samples of community residents, which allowed for comparing the results of these methodologies. The data were analyzed using factor analysis techniques. The analysis revealed that under identical sampling conditions, the results of Q and R methodologies are similar. Additional discussion focuses on the similarities and differences of these results and how Q methodology can contribute to our understanding of community attitudes toward natural resources.

The influence of basic beliefs and object-specific attitudes on behavioural intentions towards a rare and little-known amphibian

Abstract Context. Given the decline in amphibian populations worldwide, it is essential to build a better understanding of human behaviours that jeopardise their survival. Much of the literature regarding the social–psychological determinants of behaviours related to wildlife has focussed solely on general wildlife beliefs rather than specific attitudes towards a particular species. Aims. The goal of this study was to assess how individuals’ behavioural intentions towards a rare and little-known species, the hellbender salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), are influenced by their attitudes towards the animal and their more general beliefs about wildlife. Methods. Questionnaires were distributed to landowners in Missouri (n = 1 065) and Indiana (n = 1 378) in counties where the hellbender is known to exist. A multinomial logit regression model was used to assess the relationship between basic wildlife beliefs, species-specific attitudes and behavioural intentions towards the hellbender. Key results. The response rate was 36.6% in Missouri and 41.0% in Indiana. The more value individuals placed on non-hunting wildlife experiences, the less likely they were to say they would engage in a behaviour harmful to the animal (β = –0.47, P = 0.030). The more negative the attitudes towards the hellbender held by individuals, the less likely they were to say they would remove the hook (β = –0.55, P < 0.001), put the animal back (β = –0.77, P < 0.001), or call a resource professional (β = –0.33, P = 0.023). A comparison of the Akaike information criterion (AIC) scores and model log-likelihood values without (AIC = 2 858.36; LLV = –1 395.18) and with (AIC = 2 232.60; LLV = –1 077.30) the species-specific attitude measure showed that its inclusion improved the model. Conclusions. Positive attitudes towards the hellbender and mutualistic wildlife beliefs were related to non-detrimental behavioural intentions. However, attitudes towards the animal were found to be a stronger and more consistent predictor of behavioural intentions than basic wildlife beliefs. Implications. Efforts to conserve rare or little-known species should focus outreach strategies on developing positive attitudes towards these species, so as to achieve desired changes in behaviour.

Moving toward sustainable farming systems: Insights from private and public sector dialogues on nitrogen management

Agricultural systems face the challenge of increasing production to meet growing global demand for food while protecting the natural resource base in a changing climate. Major environmental challenges include rebuilding soil health after centuries of heavily extractive production systems, improving water and air quality, and contributing to climate change mitigation (Robertson 2015). These resource problems are diffuse and pervasive, resulting from the decisions of individual farmers who are struggling to balance production with environmental protection. Moreover, public policies in the United States promote large-scale monoculture production and heavy reliance on industrial inputs through direct subsidies and insurance options that limit farmer choices (Iles and Marsh 2012; Stuart and Gillon 2013). Meeting these challenges requires a multipronged and multilayered approach: actions by thousands of individual farmers supported by research into new approaches, education about emerging practices and technologies, and policies that promote sustainability. These types of challenges have been described as wicked problems (Batie 2008) because they are dynamic, complex, and occur in both technical and social dimensions as compared to problems with straightforward causes and effects that are largely solvable through technical solutions. In the agri-environmental context, wicked problems arise because farming is both an ecological and a socioeconomic process.

Conserving the Eastern Hellbender Salamander

Through a mail survey of 541 residents and riparian landowners in the area surrounding the Blue River watershed of southern Indiana, we examined perceptions and intended behaviors toward the eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis), an aquatic salamander experiencing drastic population declines due to anthropogenic causes. While anecdotal reports attribute hellbender mortality and removal to anglers and pet collectors, only 5% of respondents reported these negative behaviors. Misconceptions among anglers and the general public about the eastern hellbender were less prevalent than anticipated. Anglers, recreational boaters, riparian landowners, and respondents who were previously familiar with the hellbender displayed more positive attitudes toward the animal than other groupings of individuals. Data collected in this article shaped a detailed education and outreach campaign based on the principles of community-based social marketing.

The Impact of Federal and State Conservation Programs on Farmer Nitrogen Management

The U.S. federal government, as well as many state and local governments, operate a number of conservation programs aimed at ameliorating the environmental problems associated with agriculture. While motives and barriers to conservation program participation and adoption of conservation practices have been extensively studied, the direct impacts of programs on ongoing farm operations remains underexplored. To examine the effects of conservation programs on nitrogen management, an aspect of crop production with significant environmental impacts we conducted interviews with 154 corn producers in three Midwestern U.S. states with a range of program experiences. We found that programs shifted farmer N management behavior through three social processes: (1) engaging farmers in the conservation system by introducing them to the state and federal conservation agencies, (2) incentivizing trialing of specific N management practices, and (3) increasing practice adoption through continued program engagement. Working-lands programs were far more effective at shifting on-farm nutrient management practices than land retirement, certification, or outreach-based programs, though all programs had the indirect benefit of increasing farmer familiarity with conservation agencies and programs. Working-lands programs directly motivated practice adoption; including soil testing regimes, implementing nutrient management plans, and splitting nitrogen applications to improving availability; by reducing producer risk and providing technical assistance, especially whole-farm planning. The additional benefits of all programs were moderated by participant selection bias, in particular that program participants were more predisposed to conservation efforts by existing stewardship and innovation attitudes.