Bridging the Divide: Challenges and Opportunities for Public Sector Agricultural Professionals Working with Amish and Mennonite Producers on Conservation

Brock, Caroline; Ulrich‐Schad, Jessica D.; Prokopy, Linda Stalker

doi:10.1007/s00267-018-0998-5

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…These studies clarified that because nonoperating landowners tend to rely less on income from the land compared with producers, conservation practice adoption is less risky for them; therefore, financial incentives were less important. Second, one study showed that charging, not giving, money promoted adoption among Plain Sect farmers in the United States, who generally do not accept government money (Brock et al., 2018). This study documented making horse‐drawn no‐till drill available for Plain Sect farmers to rent, rather than buy from a retailer, helped to promote adoption and avoid direct government payments.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing intervention effectiveness at promoting voluntary conservation practice adoption in agrienvironments

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Wainger

2023

Conservation Biology

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Although implementing conservation practices on private farms and forests can produce substantial environmental benefits, these practices are not being adopted widely enough to result in measurable improvements at regional scales. Researchers have investigated the production and program factors influencing producer choices to voluntarily adopt these practices. However, the findings of reviews are inconsistent, raising questions about review methods, including the omission of relevant variables. Further, applying lessons from past work to promote adoption is difficult because many reviews investigated dispositional or demographic variables that practitioners and policy makers cannot directly observe or influence. We conducted a new review of 146 empirical studies that tested the effects of different interventions (e.g., financial incentives, outreach events, and nudges) on increasing the likelihood of producers adopting conservation practices. We conducted a metaregression of quantitative studies from diverse disciplines that filtered studies by quality (i.e., use of randomization and clear analysis reporting). We synthesized these results with a thematic analysis of qualitative studies on producer perspectives about conservation practices. Financial incentives had the strongest evidence of increasing producers’ likelihood of adopting conservation practices (odds ratio 1.86, p < 0.05). However, this effect was only apparent after filtering by study quality, which also improved model fit and identified significant regional differences (odds ratio –1.69, p < 0.01). The thematic review of qualitative studies revealed that peer groups may be successful in reinforcing adoption behaviors due to homophily effects and that financial incentives not only offset implementation costs but also mitigated perceived risks of adoption. Given the problems we encountered in testing hypotheses about the magnitude of variability explained by intervention types and practice characteristics, we recommend additional experimental and longitudinal work that accounts for financial incentives and pairs qualitative and quantitative data to clarify relationships between program design and practice adoption rates.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing intervention effectiveness at promoting voluntary conservation practice adoption in agrienvironments

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Wainger

2023

Conservation Biology

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“…We found that organic farmers rely more on organic industry veterinarians when they are just converting, but it would be interesting to track organic farms throughout the transition process to document how their animal health concerns and practices evolve (Bennedsgaard et al, 2003). Tailoring veterinary outreach to address cultural and religious sensitivities can also be important in this research area, given that many of the producers were Amish, where relationships and in-person interactions can be even more important (Brock et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing organic dairy herd health: Current roles and possible future roles for veterinarians with organic dairy clientele

Brock

Pempek

Jackson-Smith

et al. 2022

Journal of Dairy Science

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This study aimed to understand the veterinary-client relationship and perspectives in organic dairy production systems. Twenty-three organic dairy producers and 12 veterinarians were interviewed using semistructured, one-on-one interviews. Consultation with local veterinarians was typically infrequent, as there was greater reliance on other producers and organic industry professionals for advice on dairy herd health management, perhaps due to a shared focus on organic farming principles. Organic producers generally consulted local veterinarians most frequently to develop vaccine protocols, address animal health emergencies, and gain reproductive services. Common reasons organic producers cited for not regularly consulting a local veterinarian included the cost of veterinary services and a perception that local veterinarians have limited experience with organic systems and products. Some producers also expressed the idea that infrequent veterinarian usage is indicative of a healthy herd. Meanwhile, local veterinarians reported that organic dairy producers often delayed consulting them about individual cases until animal health problems were severe. Local veterinarians also identified challenges in servicing organic herds, such as the lack of standardized regulations between different organic certifiers and limited safety and efficacy data for many herd health products used by organic producers. In addition, their formal training generally did not include organic herd health strategies. Organic dairy clients were typically a small fraction of the overall workload for local veterinarians, which precluded their ability to accumulate experience. In contrast, a handful of specialized veterinarians in the organic milk processing industry work more frequently with organic producers and have published most of the available resource materials on organic dairy herd health. Veterinary-client partnerships could be improved through more open communication and discussion of the challenges identified in this study and through participatory research and outreach engagement that includes local veterinarians, organic certifiers, organic industry veterinarians, and producers.

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“…Given the significant number of Amish organic corn farmers in these states, organic farming outreach programs should consider ways to adapt content to the unique cultural and religious beliefs of this population, and modes of dissemination should focus on or include printed products and in-person farmer meetings [51]. While national studies suggest that organic farmers had higher levels of formal education than conventional farmers [7], Amish producers traditionally prefer experiential and home-based learning, have lower levels of formal schooling, and English is typically their second language [52].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It also would be helpful to work with local leaders within the community to help distribute written materials and/or to organize workshops. Additionally, conservation tillage and soil health research and outreach efforts should be adapted to farmers who rely on horse-drawn implements [51].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic Corn Production Practices and Profitability in the Eastern U.S. Corn Belt

et al. 2021

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Efforts to assess and improve the sustainability performance of the growing organic farming sector depend on an accurate understanding of farm structure and management practices. To contribute to the dearth of literature in this area, we conducted a survey of over 850 certified organic corn growers in four states (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) in the spring of 2018. Findings show that most organic corn growers in this region had diversified livestock operations (mostly dairy) on relatively small farms (10–100 ha), which contrasts with trends of specialization and growth in farm size. More than half were dairy farmers, and nearly two-thirds farmed with horses (likely Amish). Soil fertility and health were managed by the use of manure, cover crops, forages, and a variety of other soil amendments. Organic corn growers relied heavily on moldboard plow tillage. All producers had positive net returns to labor and management in 2017, though net returns varied widely across operations. The results have implications for assessing the sustainability of organic farming systems, and for designing scientific research and extension/outreach programs to ensure they address the needs of the diverse organic farming population in this region.

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Bridging the Divide: Challenges and Opportunities for Public Sector Agricultural Professionals Working with Amish and Mennonite Producers on Conservation

Cited by 14 publications

References 37 publications

Assessing intervention effectiveness at promoting voluntary conservation practice adoption in agrienvironments

Assessing intervention effectiveness at promoting voluntary conservation practice adoption in agrienvironments

Managing organic dairy herd health: Current roles and possible future roles for veterinarians with organic dairy clientele

Organic Corn Production Practices and Profitability in the Eastern U.S. Corn Belt

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