Perceived Benefit and Cost Perception Gaps between Adopters and Non-Adopters of In-Field Conservation Practices of Agricultural Producers

Calder McCollum, Jason Bergtold, Jeffery Williams, Amer Al-Sudani and Elizabeth Canales
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Calder McCollum: Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Jeffery Williams: Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Amer Al-Sudani: National Center for Alluvial Aquifer Research, Delta Research and Extension Center, Mississippi State University, Stoneville, MS 38776, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-19

Abstract: Farmers’ willingness to adopt conservation practices is influenced by their perceptions of the practices. Differences in perceptions point toward potential educational and outreach strategies that may be employed to promote adoption. The purpose of this study was to assess perception gaps between adopters and non-adopters for continuous no-tillage, conservation crop rotations, cover crops, and variable-rate application of inputs. Using primary survey data from Kansas agricultural producers, we evaluated differences in perceptions regarding economic, agronomic, environmental, and management outcomes through descriptive statistic and mean separation tests. Practice adoption ranged from 29% for variable-rate application of inputs to 69% for conservation crop rotations. On average, adopters perceived increases in crop yields and net returns for each practice compared to non-adopters. Perceptions about other factors varied by practice, but perceived benefits tended to be higher for adopters. Similarly, perceived disadvantages from adoption (e.g., higher cost, increased management needs) tended to be lower among adopters. Overall, both adopters and non-adopters perceived environmental benefits from adopting conservation practices. Our findings point toward potential outreach strategies to promote conservation adoption, such as extension and outreach that share more relevant and localized economic information and build upon joint perceptions of environmental benefits of practices.

Keywords: adoption; conservation crop rotation; cover crops; farmer; Kansas; management; no-tillage; variable-rate application (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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