scholarly journals Spatially Mediated Peer Effects in the Adoption of Conservation Agriculture Practices

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Deepthi Kolady ◽  
Weiwei Zhang ◽  
Tong Wang ◽  
Jessica Ulrich-Schad
Keyword(s):  
Peer Effects ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Conservation Practices ◽  
Local Conservation ◽  
Specific Data ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Practice Adoption ◽  
Conservation Practice Adoption

Abstract This study uses location-specific data to investigate the role of spatially mediated peer effects in farmers’ adoption of conservation agriculture practices. The literature has shown that farmers trust other farmers and one way to increase conservation practice adoption is through identifying feasible conservation practices in neighboring fields. Estimating this effect can help improve our understanding of what influences the adoption and could play a role in improving federal and local conservation program design. The study finds that although spatial peer effects are important in the adoption of conservation tillage and diverse crop rotation, the scale of peer effects are not substantial.

scholarly journals Examining intensity of conservation practice adoption: Evidence from cover crop use on U.S. Midwest farms

Food Policy ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 102054
Author(s):  
Nathanael M. Thompson ◽  
Carson J. Reeling ◽  
Michelle R. Fleckenstein ◽  
Linda S. Prokopy ◽  
Shalamar D. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crop ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Practice Adoption ◽  
Conservation Practice Adoption

The influence of the seasons: how the agricultural calendar impacts farmer perceptions of cover crops

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Margaret Beetstra ◽  
Robyn Wilson ◽  
Eric Toman
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Practice Adoption ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Time Of Year ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Conservation Practice Adoption

Abstract Across the Midwest, substantial funding and personnel time have been allocated to encourage farmers to adopt a wide range of conservation practices but adoption rates for many of these practices remain low. Prior research focuses largely on the influence of individual-level factors (e.g., beliefs, attitudes) on conservation practice adoption rather than on contextual factors (e.g., seasons) that might also play a role. In the present study, we considered seasonal variation and its potential influence on farmer cover crop decision-making. We first established how farmer temporal and financial resources fluctuate across the year and then compared the annual agricultural decision and cover crop decision calendars. We also considered farmer cover crop perceptions and likely behaviors. To study this, we surveyed the same Midwestern farmers in the spring, summer and winter within a 12-month period. Results indicated that farmers were generally the least busy and the most financially comfortable in the winter months. Moreover, farmers perceived the benefits of cover crops differently throughout the year. These results indicate that seasonality can be a confounding factor which should be considered when designing and conducting research and farmer engagement. As researchers, it is our responsibility to understand the specific calendar experienced by our sample and how that may influence responses so we can examine theory-supported factors of interest rather than seasonality as a driver of farmer responses. As practitioners, it is important to use research findings to engage with farmers about conservation in a way that prioritizes communicating about the most salient aspects of the practice at the time of year when farmers will be most receptive.

scholarly journals The role of conservation agriculture in sustainable agriculture

2007 ◽  
Vol 363 (1491) ◽  
pp. 543-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter R Hobbs ◽  
Ken Sayre ◽  
Raj Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Cultivation System ◽  
Gangetic Plains ◽  
Minimal Impact ◽  
Northwest Mexico ◽  
No Till ◽  
Sustainable Cultivation

The paper focuses on conservation agriculture (CA), defined as minimal soil disturbance (no-till, NT) and permanent soil cover (mulch) combined with rotations, as a more sustainable cultivation system for the future. Cultivation and tillage play an important role in agriculture. The benefits of tillage in agriculture are explored before introducing conservation tillage (CT), a practice that was borne out of the American dust bowl of the 1930s. The paper then describes the benefits of CA, a suggested improvement on CT, where NT, mulch and rotations significantly improve soil properties and other biotic factors. The paper concludes that CA is a more sustainable and environmentally friendly management system for cultivating crops. Case studies from the rice–wheat areas of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia and the irrigated maize–wheat systems of Northwest Mexico are used to describe how CA practices have been used in these two environments to raise production sustainably and profitably. Benefits in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on global warming are also discussed. The paper concludes that agriculture in the next decade will have to sustainably produce more food from less land through more efficient use of natural resources and with minimal impact on the environment in order to meet growing population demands. Promoting and adopting CA management systems can help meet this goal.

An analysis of conservation practice adoption studies in agricultural human-natural systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 236 ◽  
pp. 490-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Landon Yoder ◽  
Adam S. Ward ◽  
Kajsa Dalrymple ◽  
Scott Spak ◽  
Rebecca Lave
Keyword(s):  
Adoption Studies ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Practice Adoption ◽  
Conservation Practice Adoption
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