The Potential for Conservation Tillage Adoption in the San Joaquin Valley, California: A Qualitative Study of Farmer Perspectives and Opportunities for Extension.
Conservation tillage (CT) systems have a number of potential benefits including lower crop production costs and the ability to reduce soil erosion that have made them common in several regions of the world. Although CT systems have been researched and successfully implemented on some farms in Califo...
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doaj-8ddce92525ba44dfb051ff19baba6b542020-11-25T00:42:28ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-011112e016761210.1371/journal.pone.0167612The Potential for Conservation Tillage Adoption in the San Joaquin Valley, California: A Qualitative Study of Farmer Perspectives and Opportunities for Extension.Anne V BossangeKandace M KnudsonAnil ShresthaRonald HarbenJeffrey P MitchellConservation tillage (CT) systems have a number of potential benefits including lower crop production costs and the ability to reduce soil erosion that have made them common in several regions of the world. Although CT systems have been researched and successfully implemented on some farms in California's San Joaquin Valley (SJV), overall adoption is low and the reasons for the region's comparatively low rates of adoption are not known. In 2011, we conducted written surveys and interviews with SJV farmers to identify characteristics of farmers who adopt or do not adopt CT, to determine reasons for non-adoption of CT, and to learn how successful CT adoption takes place in the SJV. We found that a universally acceptable definition of CT needs to be developed in order for effective research, outreach and communication on CT. Our research, which examined CT adoption within the expected progression of the diffusion of innovation model, suggested that larger and less diverse farms were more likely to use CT. Most farmers expressed transition to CT as a continuous learning process. Further, we conclude that gaining meaningful experience with CT practices by researchers in the local context is also a large component of successful adoption.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5132313?pdf=render |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Anne V Bossange Kandace M Knudson Anil Shrestha Ronald Harben Jeffrey P Mitchell |
spellingShingle |
Anne V Bossange Kandace M Knudson Anil Shrestha Ronald Harben Jeffrey P Mitchell The Potential for Conservation Tillage Adoption in the San Joaquin Valley, California: A Qualitative Study of Farmer Perspectives and Opportunities for Extension. PLoS ONE |
author_facet |
Anne V Bossange Kandace M Knudson Anil Shrestha Ronald Harben Jeffrey P Mitchell |
author_sort |
Anne V Bossange |
title |
The Potential for Conservation Tillage Adoption in the San Joaquin Valley, California: A Qualitative Study of Farmer Perspectives and Opportunities for Extension. |
title_short |
The Potential for Conservation Tillage Adoption in the San Joaquin Valley, California: A Qualitative Study of Farmer Perspectives and Opportunities for Extension. |
title_full |
The Potential for Conservation Tillage Adoption in the San Joaquin Valley, California: A Qualitative Study of Farmer Perspectives and Opportunities for Extension. |
title_fullStr |
The Potential for Conservation Tillage Adoption in the San Joaquin Valley, California: A Qualitative Study of Farmer Perspectives and Opportunities for Extension. |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Potential for Conservation Tillage Adoption in the San Joaquin Valley, California: A Qualitative Study of Farmer Perspectives and Opportunities for Extension. |
title_sort |
potential for conservation tillage adoption in the san joaquin valley, california: a qualitative study of farmer perspectives and opportunities for extension. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
series |
PLoS ONE |
issn |
1932-6203 |
publishDate |
2016-01-01 |
description |
Conservation tillage (CT) systems have a number of potential benefits including lower crop production costs and the ability to reduce soil erosion that have made them common in several regions of the world. Although CT systems have been researched and successfully implemented on some farms in California's San Joaquin Valley (SJV), overall adoption is low and the reasons for the region's comparatively low rates of adoption are not known. In 2011, we conducted written surveys and interviews with SJV farmers to identify characteristics of farmers who adopt or do not adopt CT, to determine reasons for non-adoption of CT, and to learn how successful CT adoption takes place in the SJV. We found that a universally acceptable definition of CT needs to be developed in order for effective research, outreach and communication on CT. Our research, which examined CT adoption within the expected progression of the diffusion of innovation model, suggested that larger and less diverse farms were more likely to use CT. Most farmers expressed transition to CT as a continuous learning process. Further, we conclude that gaining meaningful experience with CT practices by researchers in the local context is also a large component of successful adoption. |
url |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5132313?pdf=render |
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