Understanding perennial wheat adoption as a transformative technology: evidence from the literature and farmers

Abstract

Perennial grain crops are an example of a 'transformative technology,' in which the functionality and science of the technology differ in a fundamental manner from conventional grain crops. A review of the literature indicates that the motivation for farmer adoption of transformative technologies is complex and poorly understood. At the same time, many studies have found concern and awareness about environmental issues to be significantly and positively correlated with the adoption of no-till agriculture, organic farming and agroforestry. Building on these insights, we conducted an ex ante study of perennial wheat adoption among 11 farmers from Michigan and Ohio. Perennial wheat is not yet commercially available, so a semi-structured interview format was chosen to allow for in-depth discussions of the crop's potential characteristics and uses. Consistent with the literature on transformative technology adoption, farmers who approached us to learn more about perennial grains described soil and environmental quality as their primary motivations for doing so. Farmers suggested a total of ten different uses for perennial wheat, only one of which was mentioned specifically by interviewers. This diversity of proposed uses implied a wide range of criteria for adoption. A striking result was that the ability of perennial wheat to compete with annual wheat on the basis of yield, a focus of researchers, was brought up by only one of the interviewees, as many farmers proposed perennial wheat as a means of solving a problem for which no other crop provided an adequate solution, often by planting perennial wheat on an under-used or marginal area of the farm. This is suggestive that interacting with farmers could alter priorities in perennial grain improvement, as has occurred in other radically transformative agriculture technologies.

Farmer perspectives and experiences introducing the novel perennial grain Kernza intermediate wheatgrass in the US Midwest

“…Consistently, among all farmer participants, the theme emerged that grain yield matters. This finding is contrasting to the results of Adebiyi et al (2015) and Marquardt et al (2016) who found that perennial grain yield was of low importance to farmers interviewed. Yield matters particularly to farmers in regions where corn/soy cropping systems are dominant and productive.…”

“…'honestly, it's going in areas that are not of prime production for us, so it's a small part of the operation, a part of the operation that we are willing to sacrifice to experimentation' reflects the general sentiment of interviewed farmers about their decision-making process on Kernza location on their farms. This was consistent with expectations from annual grain farmers reported by Adebiyi et al (2015) that said they would plant perennial grains on under-utilized or marginal fields.…”

“…This demonstrates Kernza's potential dual-use in a single growing season and Kernza's possibly higher accessibility to farmers as a traditional forage crop over as a grain crop. This was also consistent with the expectations from annual grain farmers who emphasized the dual grain-forage potential value of perennial grains (Adebiyi et al, 2015). Growers' interest in Kernza for pasture or forage varied in whether their farm had livestock, the local supply of forage in their region and their perception of Kernza's forage quality.…”

Synthesizing Conservation Motivations and Barriers: What Have We Learned from Qualitative Studies of Farmers’ Behaviors in the United States?

“…Both erosion reduction and on-farm benefits are related to farm characteristics (Table 7). The soil health theme was discussed in relation to practices like perennials, organic practice in general, cover crops, no-till, and rotational grazing (Adebiyi, Schmitt, and Snapp 2016;Bossange et al 2016;Brummel and Nelson 2014;Ulrich-Schad, Brock, and Prokopy 2017). The third most frequently coded benefit theme was off-farm benefits (n ¼ 11).…”

Estimating demand for perennial pigeon pea in Malawi using choice experiments

“…Since perennial crops yield less than annual crops, efforts to develop perennial wheat have focused on improved grain yield (Cox et al, 2006, Jaikumar et al, 2012, Hayes et al, 2012). However, Adebiyi et al (2015) found that farmers in Michigan who experimented with perennial wheat described soil and environmental quality as their primary motivations for doing so. An emphasis on yield in a low-input, low-output developing country environment may not capture the tradeoffs perceived by farmers or the broader ecological benefits.…”