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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2021

Margaret Beetstra Open the ORCID record for Margaret Beetstra [Opens in a new window] ,
Robyn Wilson  and
Eric Toman
Margaret Beetstra*
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Robyn Wilson
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Eric Toman
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Columbus, Ohio, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Margaret Beetstra, E-mail: beetstra.2@osu.edu
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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.

Keywords

conservationcover cropsfinancesperceived benefitsresourcesseasonalitytime
Type
Preliminary Report
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , June 2022 , pp. 187 - 197
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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