If the price is right: farmer attitudes to producing environmental services

Landowners and conservation markets: Social benefits from two Australian government programs

“…Project benefits consistently mentioned by respondents included recognition of their conservation effort and alignment with farm conservation objectives, the provision of an additional revenue stream during droughts and other difficult economic times, new opportunities to learn about the local environment and greater opportunities to engage in social networks that support combining conservation management with farm production. The findings of this social profiling also confirm those reported elsewhere (Pasquini et al, 2009;Greiner and Gregg, 2011;Patrick et al, 2009), including for example that many land managers considered themselves already engaged in conservation, they generally held positive views about the benefits of conservation management on farmlands and motivations for involvement were not restricted to the financial benefits, with broader concern about maintaining and restoring native vegetation for future generations evident.…”

“…In the conceptual framework proposed by Greiner and Gregg (2011), farmer adoption of conservation practices is driven by a mix of external price and other incentives, their personal motivations and perceptions and the particular characteristics of conservation practices and farm-based constraints. While the relative importance of different elements varies in response to particular circumstances, other studies have revealed similar motivations and barriers (Ryan et al, 2003;Patrick et al, 2009;Pasquini et al, 2009). In a detailed Australian survey, Morrison et al (2008) reported that trust, social connectedness, business orientation and information-seeking were the largest and most consistent influences on landowner participation.…”