Promoting Cover Crop Adoption to Improve Water Quality in Agricultural Landscapes
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Date
2018-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Nutrient loading and associated algal blooms resulting from agricultural runoff are a pressing environmental concern for the Great Lakes. Cover crops are an important Best Management Practice (BMP) useful for reducing nutrient runoff while providing a wide variety of other on-farm benefits. 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted to learn more about the motivations, benefits, and constraints associated with cover crop adoption among different types of farmers. Three distinct groups of farmers were identified within the sample, sharing certain characteristics: 1) enthusiastic (or early) adopters, 2) new (or middle) adopters, and 3) tentative (or late) and non-adopters. Middle and tentative/non-adopters lacked awareness of the diverse potential benefits of cover crops relative to enthusiastic or early adopters. As a result, emphasizing these benefits may be critical to decreasing skepticism toward cover crops as an effective and economic management tool and promoting future adoption. Demonstration farms are a popular outreach tool used to provide such information about BMPs. Pre- and post-surveys were also conducted at the Blanchard Valley and Seneca County Demonstration Farms to determine the impact of the events on farmer knowledge, beliefs and concerns. Preliminary results indicate that the demonstration farms significantly improved the participants' confidence in their ability to implement cover crops but had no significant impact on farmer knowledge. These results provide evidence that current outreach and communication efforts are having a positive effect, but continued effectiveness will hinge on providing concrete examples of long-term economic benefits and diverse on-farm benefits, such as resiliency and livestock opportunities.
Description
Third Place Winner in 15th Annual CFAES Research Forum
Keywords
water quality, cover crops, sustainable agriculture, best management practice, efficacy, mental models