TY - JOUR
T1 - Farmers, information, and nutrient management in the US Midwest
AU - Houser, M.
AU - Marquart-Pyatt, S. T.
AU - Denny, R. C.H.
AU - Reimer, A.
AU - Stuart, D.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems program under Grant 1313677, with additional support from NSF’s Kellogg Biological Station Long Term Ecological Research Site (NSF grant no. DEB 1027253) and the Environmental Resilience Institute, funded by Indiana University’s Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge initiative.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems program under Grant 1313677, with additional support from NSF's Kellogg Biological Station Long Term Ecological Research Site (NSF grant no. DEB 1027253) and the Environmental Resilience Institute, funded by Indiana University's Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge initiative.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Soil Conservation Society of America. All rights reserved.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - In an age of increasingly available options, which sources of information about nutrient management do farmers use to guide their management decisions and why? Recent work reveals emerging shifts in how farmers access information about technology and practices related to their operation. In this study, we use survey data gathered in 2014 in the US Corn Belt to examine the information sources that farmers use, the likely influence those sources will have on their nitrogen (N) fertilizer decisions, and whether some information sources are held in higher regard than others.We explore the factors shaping whether farmers use multiple information sources as well as their consultation of particular ones. Our empirical analysis reveals that most farmers in our sample use multiple information sources and that the number of sources used varies by having attended college and farm size. Just over three sources are used on average among the full sample, with those reporting having some college using more than three and large operators using four sources. Farmers' perception of these sources differs in the degree to which they perceive the importance of recommendations to influence management practice decisions. Among our sample, fertilizer dealers, crop consultants, seed suppliers, and university extension are greatly valued and influential sources. Finally, education and years in farming shape the selection of multiple information sources or the intensity of information gathering, and along with these factors, attitudes and values influence the importance farmers place on various sources for N recommendations.
AB - In an age of increasingly available options, which sources of information about nutrient management do farmers use to guide their management decisions and why? Recent work reveals emerging shifts in how farmers access information about technology and practices related to their operation. In this study, we use survey data gathered in 2014 in the US Corn Belt to examine the information sources that farmers use, the likely influence those sources will have on their nitrogen (N) fertilizer decisions, and whether some information sources are held in higher regard than others.We explore the factors shaping whether farmers use multiple information sources as well as their consultation of particular ones. Our empirical analysis reveals that most farmers in our sample use multiple information sources and that the number of sources used varies by having attended college and farm size. Just over three sources are used on average among the full sample, with those reporting having some college using more than three and large operators using four sources. Farmers' perception of these sources differs in the degree to which they perceive the importance of recommendations to influence management practice decisions. Among our sample, fertilizer dealers, crop consultants, seed suppliers, and university extension are greatly valued and influential sources. Finally, education and years in farming shape the selection of multiple information sources or the intensity of information gathering, and along with these factors, attitudes and values influence the importance farmers place on various sources for N recommendations.
KW - Corn agriculture
KW - Farmer decision-making
KW - Information sources
KW - Nitrogen fertilizer
KW - Structural-equation modeling
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U2 - 10.2489/jswc.74.3.269
DO - 10.2489/jswc.74.3.269
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85068908213
SN - 0022-4561
VL - 74
SP - 269
EP - 280
JO - Journal of Soils and Water Conservation
JF - Journal of Soils and Water Conservation
IS - 3
ER -