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Iowa's farmlands, celebrated for their remarkable agricultural productivity, are facing pressing environmental challenges, including soil erosion, waterway nitrogen pollution, and vulnerability to extreme weather events. These issues imperil the state's agricultural sector's long-term sustainability and economic stability. Despite substantial investments from governmental and non-governmental entities to encourage conservation practice use, adoption rates remain persistently low. In this report, we use quantitative, qualitative, and social network analysis on a sample of 38 farmers to understand how social networks shape their adoption of conservation practices. We analyze data through a systems framework and compare counties with high- and low-adoption of conservation practices to assess influences from the individual farmer level to the broader societal context. We conclude with a discussion of strategic implications to promote conservation adoption.
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Farmers' Social Capital in Agricultural Decision‐Making ☆
Abstract Reducing tillage is a key goal for conservation and regenerative agriculture, yet research has struggled to identify ways to increase the use of the practice among farmers. Recent scholarship has identified social capital as an important piece of the adoption puzzle. However, the ways in which farmers' social capital influences conservation practice use are seldom identified or explored. In this study, we tested the effects of three measures of social capital on the adoption of no‐till among 1,523 row crop farmers in the United States Corn Belt. Specifically, we operationalized the extent to which farmers' social networks, network trust, and community conservation norms affect intra‐individual processes and thus influence farmers' decisions regarding adoption. Our results identified key mechanisms for the promotion of conservation practices through social capital. Subjective conservation norms emerged as a main pathway through which farmers' social capital influenced their use of no‐till, indicating that networks, network trust, and community norms can increase adoption through affective paths. We conclude that academic research and policy experts should continue to situate farmers as social actors and pay heed to the norms and cultural expectations surrounding agricultural conservation practices.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2224712
- PAR ID:
- 10577103
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Rural Sociology
- Volume:
- 90
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0036-0112
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 216-241
- Size(s):
- p. 216-241
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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