Longitudinal Effects of Adopting Sustainable Farming and Ranching Production Methods on Latino Producers in Missouri

This research documents changes in the perceptions of Latino farmers and ranchers as well as changes in their skill levels and knowledge base for practicing sustainable agriculture. We plan to compare changes from one... [ view full abstract ]

This research documents changes in the perceptions of Latino farmers and ranchers as well as changes in their skill levels and knowledge base for practicing sustainable agriculture. We plan to compare changes from one production cycle in time 1 to another production cycle in time 2. Two sets of data (n=100) are collected from the same sample of producers. The findings and discussion of this research are analyzed to assess the effects of our workshops on awareness, skills and knowledge of sustainable farming and ranching production methods before and after attending in-class training and on-farm demonstrations of sustainable practices. The expected results of this study suggest (ho) positive effects on producers who adopt sustainable production methods after their involvement with in-class training and on-farm demonstrations. We are also evaluating the significant effects that demographic and sociological factors have on the choice of production system a farmer or rancher might choose. On the other hand, a control group of farmers from this sample suggests a negative effect on adopting sustainable production methods and that new and beginning producers may be highly influenced to follow conventional production methods. A producers’ agroecological literacy and agribusiness strategies will need to continue being implemented and monitored while documenting and validating their transition from unsustainable production methods to other more environmentally-friendly production system such as agroecology and organic agriculture.