Perceptions and use of cover crops among early adopters: Findings from a national survey

Dunn, Michael; Ulrich‐Schad, Jessica D.; Prokopy, Linda Stalker; Myers, Robert L.; Watts, Chad R.; Scanlon, Karen

doi:10.2489/jswc.71.1.29

Cited by 118 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The use of a cover crop does, however, require a farmer to work against dominant practices for the region and can carry an economic cost for farmers who adopt them (Bergtold et al, 2012). First, a farmer must alter their management practices in the fall and in the spring in order to successfully integrate the cover crop with their cash crop system (see Table 1); this can discourage farmers from continuing to utilize cover crops over multiple seasons (Dunn et al, 2016). Next, seeding and terminating cover crops represent additional direct management costs without predictable yield benefits (unlike, e.g, the direct benefits to yield associated with nitrogen fertilizer application) (Bergtold et al, 2012).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…production practices common in the region). These norms tend to be selfreinforcing, ultimately framing what farmers may consider to be potential opportunities or reasonable changes to their current production systems (Nerbonne and Lentz, 2003;Carolan, 2006), which may also disproportionately affect farmers who rent from landlords who are not as supportive of cover crop integration (Dunn et al, 2016).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To better understand the adoption and sustained use of cover crops, there have been increasing numbers of social science research papers (Singer et al, 2007;Bergtold et al, 2012;Reimer et al, 2012;O'Connell et al, 2014;Arbuckle and Roesch-McNally, 2015;Dunn et al, 2016) focusing on predicting the use and adoption of cover crops by examining the dynamics and characteristics of farmers and their operations. There is, however, a broader need to understand the specific ways that cover crop adoption occurs in agriculturally intensive regions such as Iowa (Carlson and Stockwell, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The trouble with cover crops: Farmers’ experiences with overcoming barriers to adoption

Roesch‐McNally

Basche

Arbuckle

et al. 2017

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

188

135

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Cover crops are known to promote many aspects of soil and water quality, yet estimates find that in 2012 only 2.3% of the total agricultural lands in the Midwestern USA were using cover crops. Focus groups were conducted across the Corn Belt state of Iowa to better understand how farmers confront barriers to cover crop adoption in highly intensive agricultural production systems. Although much prior research has focused on analyzing factors that help predict cover crop use on farms, there is limited research on how farmers navigate and overcome field-level (e.g. proper planting of a cover crop) and structural barriers (e.g. market forces) associated with the use of cover crops. The results from the analysis of these conversations suggest that there is a complex dialectical relationship between farmers' individual management decisions and the broader agricultural context in the region that constrains their decisions. Farmers in these focus groups shared how they navigate complex management decisions within a generally homogenized agricultural and economic landscape that makes cover crop integration challenging. Many who joined the focus groups have found ways to overcome barriers and successfully integrate cover crops into their cropping systems. This is illustrated through farmers' descriptions of their 'whole system' approach to cover crops management, where they described how they prioritize the success of their cover crops by focusing on multiple aspects of management, including changes they have made to nutrient application and modifications to equipment. These producers also engage with farmer networks to gain strategies for overcoming management challenges associated with cover crops. Although many participants had successfully planted cover crops, they tended to believe that greater economic incentives and/or more diverse crop and livestock markets would be needed to spur more widespread adoption of the practice. Our results further illustrate how structural and field-level barriers constrain individual actions, as it is not simply the basic agronomic considerations (such as seeding and terminating cover crops) that pose a challenge to their use, but also the broader economic and market drivers that exist in agriculturally intensive systems. Our study provides evidence that reducing structural barriers to adoption may be necessary to increase the use of this conservation practice to reduce environmental impacts associated with intensive agricultural production.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The trouble with cover crops: Farmers’ experiences with overcoming barriers to adoption

Roesch‐McNally

Basche

Arbuckle

et al. 2017

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

188

135

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…As the knowledge of cover crop species and their suitable management may be long to master and because this practice also involves supplementary costs and long-term economic returns, vinegrowers may be discouraged to adopt it (Dunn et al, 2016). Methods for evaluating the achievement of services in cropping systems, and for designing agroecosystems providing targeted services have recently been proposed in the scientific literature (Gaba et al, 2015;Rapidel et al, 2015;Schipanski et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of service crops for the provision of ecosystem services in vineyards: A review

Garcia

Celette

Gary

et al. 2018

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

178

116

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Service crops are crops grown with the aim of providing non-marketed ecosystem services, i.e. differing from food, fiber and fuel production. Vineyard soils face various agronomic issues such as poor organic carbon levels, erosion, fertility losses, and numerous studies have highlighted the ability of service crops to address these issues. In addition to their ability to increase soil organic matter and fertility, and reduce runoff and erosion processes, service crops provide a large variety of ecosystem services in vineyards such as weed control, pest and disease regulation, water supply, water purification, improvement of field trafficability and maintenance of soil biodiversity. However, associating service crops with grapevines may also generate disservices and impair grape production: competition for soil resources with the grapevine is often highlighted to reject such association. Consequently, vinegrowers have to find a balance between services and disservices, depending on local soil and climate conditions, on their objectives of grape production and on the nature and temporality of the ecosystem services they expect during the grapevine cycle. This study proposes a review of the services and disservices provided by service crops in vineyards, and a framework for their management. Vinegrowers' production objectives and pedoclimatic constraints form the preliminary stage to consider before defining a strategy of service crop management. This strategy assembles management options such as the choice of species, its spatial distribution within the vineyard, the timing of its installation, maintenance and destruction. These management options, defined for both annual and long-term time scales, form action levers which may impact cropping system functioning. Finally, we underline the importance of implementing an adaptive strategy at the seasonal time scale. Such tactical management allows adapting the cropping system to observed climate and state of the biophysical system during the grapevine cycle, in order to provide targeted services and achieve satisfactory production objectives.

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“…Even for basic environmental best management practices (such as reduced tillage and nutrient management), which often represent non-systemic change, important determinants of farmer adoption have included both financial capacity and connections to knowledge sharing networks (Prokopy et al 2008;Baumgart-Getz et al 2012). The literature on cover crops, another basic best management practice, suggests that early adopters require significant trial and error and that it is the operations with a track record of higher levels of crop and livestock diversity that are more likely to adopt the practice (Dunn et al 2016;Arbuckle and Roesch-McNally 2015;Singer et al 2007). Further, surveys and interviews with Nebraska farmers and ranchers indicated that many hoped to adopt more sustainable practices to reduce drought risks but were limited by the need to maximize production to maintain cash flow (Knutson et al 2011).…”

Section: Marcia Delonge and Andrea Baschementioning

confidence: 99%

Leveraging agroecology for solutions in food, energy, and water

DeLonge

Basche

2017

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

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IntroductionNew impetus for interdisciplinary research on food, energy, and water systems is emerging, driven by an increasing recognition that focus on gains in one specific area can inadvertently lead to losses in others, as well as by concerns about population growth, climate change, water resources, and deficiencies of the current food and agricultural system. As this research area develops, the scientific community can work to identify the most critical questions, tools, and approaches to cost-effectively uncover sustainable solutions. In this article, we propose that the field of agroecology is poised to effectively address these challenges, but we also highlight several obstacles that may need to be overcome to enable broader application of agroecological solutions.A commonly used definition of agroecology is that it is "the science of applying ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable food systems" (Gliessman, 2014), and many authors have stressed the importance of defining agroecology more broadly as jointly a science, practice and social movement (Sevilla Guzmán et al. 2013). While definitions of agroecology vary (Montenegro de Wit and Iles 2016), we have interpreted that a core feature is that it entails a systems -based study of the agricultural system -from crop production to product use -and draws on the biophysical and social sciences to develop ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable agricultural practices. It is noteworthy that agroecology is often defined in terms of food systems, but that the field includes tools and perspectives that are highly relevant to agricultural systems more broadly, which are tightly linked to water and energy systems.Agroecology involves a multi-disciplinary, and often a transdisciplinary, approach that can lead to solutions that serve the public good by simultaneously fostering food system productivity and resilience, reducing energy consumption and supporting bioenergy production, as well as conserving water resources (Kremen and Miles, 2012; Ponisio et al., 2015; Gliessman, 2014; Schipanski COMMENTARYLeveraging agroecology for solutions in food, energy, and water Marcia DeLonge and Andrea BascheGlobal agriculture is facing growing challenges at the nexus of interconnected food, energy and water systems, including but not limited to persistent food insecurity and diet-related diseases; growing demands for energy and consequences for climate change; and declining water resources, water pollution, floods and droughts. Further, soil degradation and biodiversity loss are both triggers for and consequences of these problems. In this commentary, we argue that expanding agroecological principles, tools, and technologies and enhancing biological diversity can address these challenges and achieve better socioeconomic outcomes. Agroecology is often described as multi-or transdiscplinary, and applies ecological principles to the design and management of agricultural systems through scientific research, practice and collective ...

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Perceptions and use of cover crops among early adopters: Findings from a national survey

Cited by 118 publications

References 36 publications

The trouble with cover crops: Farmers’ experiences with overcoming barriers to adoption

The trouble with cover crops: Farmers’ experiences with overcoming barriers to adoption

Management of service crops for the provision of ecosystem services in vineyards: A review

Leveraging agroecology for solutions in food, energy, and water

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