Are fencelines sites of engagement or avoidance in farmer adoption of alternative practices?

Kate Sherren (), H. M. Tuihedur Rahman, Brooke McWherter and Seonaid MacDonell
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Kate Sherren: Dalhousie University
H. M. Tuihedur Rahman: University of Saskatchewan
Brooke McWherter: Dalhousie University
Seonaid MacDonell: Dalhousie University

Agriculture and Human Values, 2023, vol. 40, issue 3, No 37, 1359-1365

Abstract: Abstract Understanding what factors can positively or negatively affect farmers’ decisions to adopt new practices is of particular importance to agricultural researchers and practitioners. Few studies in adoption research have examined the role that fenceline neighbours can play in influencing the decisions of their neighbours to adopt new practices, especially in North America. Prior research on adoption suggests that there are spatial effects that exist in adoption decisions, such as the uptake of new farming practices. For example, previous qualitative research with farmers has suggested that fenceline neighbours are influential but can have both positive and negative effects on adoption decisions. A standardized way of understanding fenceline neighbour influences is lacking. Our study presents a novel question set to examine fenceline neighbour dynamics and discusses its application in a survey examining the alternative practice adoption of adaptive multi-paddock grazing (AMP) by Canadian beef farmers. Our study highlights both the utility of our question set and how our question set can be used to provide new insights into local farmer social dynamics (e.g., how farmers engage with their neighbours and what factors influence engagement) and their influence on decisions to adopt. Specifically, our results identified two types of fenceline neighbour behaviors—engagers, and avoiders—and AMP farmers were more likely to be involved in engaged behaviors. Overall, we provide a question set that can be further integrated with trust, risk, and normative theoretical lenses to examine the role of fenceline neighbour dynamics in agricultural adoption and other contexts and call for more landholder research that examines neighbour-to-neighbour effects.

Keywords: Adaptive multi-paddock grazing; Beef cattle; Diffusion of innovation; Holistic management; Landholder survey; Neighbour; Property boundaries; Regenerative ranching; Rotational grazing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s10460-023-10426-6

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