Motivating conservation action in the Upper Midwest: Source attention, information seeking and sharing, and farmers' land management decisions
Abstract Adoption of on‐farm conservation strategies, such as edge‐of‐field practices, has the potential to reduce nutrient runoff, promote greater biodiversity, and improve water quality. To date, adoption rates among farmers are extremely low. Communication with farmers has been identified as a vi...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Conservation Science and Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13287 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1841545594441564160 |
|---|---|
| author | Dara M. Wald Miguel Diaz‐Manrique Laura Witzling Jaqueline Comito |
| author_facet | Dara M. Wald Miguel Diaz‐Manrique Laura Witzling Jaqueline Comito |
| author_sort | Dara M. Wald |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Adoption of on‐farm conservation strategies, such as edge‐of‐field practices, has the potential to reduce nutrient runoff, promote greater biodiversity, and improve water quality. To date, adoption rates among farmers are extremely low. Communication with farmers has been identified as a vital strategy to encourage the voluntary adoption of these practices and policies that promote on‐farm conservation. Yet little is known about which information sources shape farmers' concerns about conservation practices, perceptions of the risks and benefits of conservation practices, and ultimately, adoption behaviors. Using the Social Amplification of Risk Framework, the Risk Information Seeking and Processing Model, and a cross‐sectional survey, we examined farmers' concerns about nitrate loss and water quality, perceptions of the risks and benefits of conservation practices, attention to messages and information sources, and communication behaviors. We received N = 474 completed surveys. Attention to agricultural associations was associated with decreased concern about nitrates and diminished perceptions of the benefits of edge‐of‐field practices. Farmers paying greater attention to non‐agricultural and social media sources were more likely to share and seek information. Attention to interpersonal sources was associated with greater adoption behaviors. This work highlights the importance of farmers' social networks, exposure to multiple information sources, and the need to identify new strategies for engagement and direct communication with hard‐to‐reach audiences. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this work for conservation communication and land management practices to promote environmental health. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9421d0b0eedd4229b4ebd12f1127a992 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2578-4854 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Conservation Science and Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-9421d0b0eedd4229b4ebd12f1127a9922025-01-12T03:57:29ZengWileyConservation Science and Practice2578-48542025-01-0171n/an/a10.1111/csp2.13287Motivating conservation action in the Upper Midwest: Source attention, information seeking and sharing, and farmers' land management decisionsDara M. Wald0Miguel Diaz‐Manrique1Laura Witzling2Jaqueline Comito3School of Public and International Affairs Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia USASchool of Public and International Affairs Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia USAFormerly at the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication Iowa State University Ames Iowa USAIowa Learning Farms‐Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering Iowa State University Ames Iowa USAAbstract Adoption of on‐farm conservation strategies, such as edge‐of‐field practices, has the potential to reduce nutrient runoff, promote greater biodiversity, and improve water quality. To date, adoption rates among farmers are extremely low. Communication with farmers has been identified as a vital strategy to encourage the voluntary adoption of these practices and policies that promote on‐farm conservation. Yet little is known about which information sources shape farmers' concerns about conservation practices, perceptions of the risks and benefits of conservation practices, and ultimately, adoption behaviors. Using the Social Amplification of Risk Framework, the Risk Information Seeking and Processing Model, and a cross‐sectional survey, we examined farmers' concerns about nitrate loss and water quality, perceptions of the risks and benefits of conservation practices, attention to messages and information sources, and communication behaviors. We received N = 474 completed surveys. Attention to agricultural associations was associated with decreased concern about nitrates and diminished perceptions of the benefits of edge‐of‐field practices. Farmers paying greater attention to non‐agricultural and social media sources were more likely to share and seek information. Attention to interpersonal sources was associated with greater adoption behaviors. This work highlights the importance of farmers' social networks, exposure to multiple information sources, and the need to identify new strategies for engagement and direct communication with hard‐to‐reach audiences. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this work for conservation communication and land management practices to promote environmental health.https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13287audience segmentationbiological diversitycommunicationenvironmental behaviorland managersperceptions |
| spellingShingle | Dara M. Wald Miguel Diaz‐Manrique Laura Witzling Jaqueline Comito Motivating conservation action in the Upper Midwest: Source attention, information seeking and sharing, and farmers' land management decisions Conservation Science and Practice audience segmentation biological diversity communication environmental behavior land managers perceptions |
| title | Motivating conservation action in the Upper Midwest: Source attention, information seeking and sharing, and farmers' land management decisions |
| title_full | Motivating conservation action in the Upper Midwest: Source attention, information seeking and sharing, and farmers' land management decisions |
| title_fullStr | Motivating conservation action in the Upper Midwest: Source attention, information seeking and sharing, and farmers' land management decisions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Motivating conservation action in the Upper Midwest: Source attention, information seeking and sharing, and farmers' land management decisions |
| title_short | Motivating conservation action in the Upper Midwest: Source attention, information seeking and sharing, and farmers' land management decisions |
| title_sort | motivating conservation action in the upper midwest source attention information seeking and sharing and farmers land management decisions |
| topic | audience segmentation biological diversity communication environmental behavior land managers perceptions |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13287 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT daramwald motivatingconservationactionintheuppermidwestsourceattentioninformationseekingandsharingandfarmerslandmanagementdecisions AT migueldiazmanrique motivatingconservationactionintheuppermidwestsourceattentioninformationseekingandsharingandfarmerslandmanagementdecisions AT laurawitzling motivatingconservationactionintheuppermidwestsourceattentioninformationseekingandsharingandfarmerslandmanagementdecisions AT jaquelinecomito motivatingconservationactionintheuppermidwestsourceattentioninformationseekingandsharingandfarmerslandmanagementdecisions |