Why farmers adopt (or do not adopt) soil and water conservation practices: Results from a meta-analysis of adoption research from 1982-2017

Since the 1980s, when concern about U.S. agriculture’s environmental impacts led to increases in USDA, Land Grant University Extension, and NGO involvement in policy and programming to promote soil and water conservation... [ view full abstract ]

Since the 1980s, when concern about U.S. agriculture’s environmental impacts led to increases in USDA, Land Grant University Extension, and NGO involvement in policy and programming to promote soil and water conservation best management practices, several hundred articles examining farmer adoption of such practices have been published. This presentation will share results from a review and meta-analysis of 35 years (1982-2017) of quantitative and qualitative social science research papers that have examined determinants of and barriers to adoption of soil and water conservation practices. All U.S. studies found in the peer-reviewed literature, theses/dissertations, and grey literature since the early 1980s were reviewed for potential inclusion in this meta-analysis and review. Papers were identified through database literature searches and snowball sampling from the reference sections of each reviewed paper. We will briefly outline the study methodology, give an overview of findings by type of practice (e.g., management, structural) and type of predictor variable (e.g., attitudes, identity), and discuss implications for conservation outreach and future adoption studies.