A Dryland Cropping Revolution? Linking an Emerging Soil Health Paradigm with Shifting Social Fields among Wheat Growers of the High Plains

Abstract

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Landscape-scale cropping changes in the High Plains: economic and environmental implications

“…First, no-till or some degree of reduced tillage is usually a prerequisite for cropping system intensification, and the trends in cropping system intensification mirror increasing acreage under no-till and reduced till in the region [35]. Second, transitions to continuous cropping have been linked to the emerging soil health movement, which has been effective in disseminating stories of intensified and diversified dryland farmers who have been able to increase yields while using fewer chemical inputs [36]. Third, crop genetic improvements have created more economically viable choices for dryland farmers in the High Plains.…”

“…These large subregional increases in pea adoption, as well as sorghum and millet, are underlying the trend toward increasing intensity in the broader High Plains region. Still, there are many barriers-social, economic, political, and environmental-that are likely to impede intensification to some degree [36,38]. Examples include the perceived economic risks associated with intensification due to lower wheat yields, and crop insurance policy which does not allow continuous cropping in some counties [36].…”

“…Still, there are many barriers-social, economic, political, and environmental-that are likely to impede intensification to some degree [36,38]. Examples include the perceived economic risks associated with intensification due to lower wheat yields, and crop insurance policy which does not allow continuous cropping in some counties [36]. To assess the extent to which farmers are able to overcome these barriers, the simple procedure developed in this study for measuring cropping system intensity can track the progress of the transformations moving forward by annually tracking cropping patterns.…”

Agroecological Transitions: A Mathematical Perspective on a Transdisciplinary Problem

“…This search revealed 9 papers, only 2 of which actually described agricultural transitions, which we included ( Table 2) (Musshoff and Hirschauer, 2008;Riley, 2016). We conclude that the lack of Guthman, 1998;Bouahom et al, 2004;Pearson, 2007;DeLonge et al, 2016;Liu and Liu, 2016;Rosenzweig et al, 2019;Swagemakers et al, 2019 Europe (Hill and MacRae, 1992;Meares, 1997;Peter et al, 2000;Saugeres, 2002;Zaal and Oostendorp, 2002;Carolan, 2005;González and Nigh, 2005;Hall and Mogyorody, 2007;Pearson, 2007;Musshoff and Hirschauer, 2008;Cranfield et al, 2010;Lamine, 2011;Marini et al, 2011;Sutherland et al, 2012;Bhandari, 2013;Chantre and Cardona, 2014;Patil et al, 2014;Calo and De Master, 2016;Descheemaeker et al, 2016;Liu and Liu, 2016;Long et al, 2016;Riley, 2016;Salvini et al, 2016;Šumane et al, 2018;Chieco et al, 2019;Osuna et al, 2019;Rosenzweig et al, 2019;Schaffer et al, 2019;Swagemakers et al, 2019;…”

Removing Barriers and Creating Opportunities for Climate-Resilient Agriculture by Optimizing Federal Crop Insurance

“…This practice thus protects soil from erosion, increases soil carbon, and leads to greater overall yield and income (Peterson et al 2020;Rosenzweig, Fonte, and Schipanski 2018). The adoption of more frequent and diverse cropping practices, however, has been hindered by FCIP policy that requires fallow prior to sowing wheat to insure the crop (Rosenzweig, Carolan, and Schipanski 2019).…”