71st SWCS International Annual Conference July 24-27, 2016 Louisville, KY

1. SWCS Annual Conference: July 26, 2016
Jennifer Filipiak, Associate Midwest Director
American Farmland Trust
Dr. Angie Carter, Fellow Assistant Professor of Sociology,
Augustana College
Using face-face interviews to design
outreach & communication in two new
MRBI watersheds in Illinois

2. Saving the land that sustains us
 Protecting farm and ranch land
 Promoting sound farming practices
 Keeping farmers on the land

3. Illinois Nutrient
Loss Reduction
Strategy
HUC8 watersheds by yield
(lbs/ac/yr)
Blue = Nitrate concern
Green = Phosphorus concern
Springfield
St. Louis
Upper
Macoupin
Creek
Chicago
Vermilion
Headwaters

4. Vermilion Headwaters Watershed
Watershed characteristics:
• 254,319 acres
• ~420 producers
• 93% row crops

5. Upper Macoupin Creek
Watershed characteristics:
• 67,842 acres
• ~308 producers
• 60% row crops
• 22% forested

6. Goal: Establish conservation participation baseline
How many farmers have already adopted conservation practices?
What kinds of practices?
Who has adopted conservation practices?
Rogers’ (2013) Diffusion of Innovation theory

7. Methods
• Worked with FSA to create watershed specific
lists
• Sent letters, followed by calls, then interviews.
• Interviewers: Livingston SWCD, Ford SWCD;
Macoupin SWCD (retired)
• Shared prelim. results with watersheds
• 116 interviews complete (28%) in VH
• 76 interviews complete (25%) in UM

8. What drives adoption?
Previous
conservation
implementationPerceived
cost Social
networks
Information
access
Land tenure
relationships
Size of
farm/acres
farmed
Environmental
awareness/
responsibility

9. Vermilion Headwaters
Upper Macoupin Creek
Previous
conservation
implementation

10. Environmental awareness/responsibility
Question % Strongly
disagree or
disagree
%
Neutral
% Agree or
strongly
agree
(Vermilion/Macoupin)
It is my personal responsibility to help
protect water quality
0
0
10%
4%
91%
96%
I would be willing to pay more to
improve water quality (e.g. local taxes)
23%
24%
53%
47%
24%
27%
I would be willing to change
management practices to improve WQ
1%
1%
32%
26%
68%
73%
Environmental
awareness/
responsibility

11. 81% (Vermilion) and 53% (Macoupin) of farmers
interviewed were doing some type of
conservation beyond nutrient management
(almost all are splitting N application somehow)
91% (Vermilion) and 96% (Macoupin) agree they
have responsibility to help with water quality
Why is there a water quality
problem?
Have we reached the “tipping
point”?

12. I do everything I
can to keep nitrates
out of the water
leaving my farm
I’m not pro or
against cover crops
– let the neighbors
try it for 5 years and
see
I leave
residue so I
don’t see
black snow
The profitability ofThe profitability of
farming has been
good so I’m not
taking land out of
production.
I don’t need toI don’t need to
use cover crops,
I have good soil
– Pella and
Bryce.
My biggest concern
is keeping our farm
better than when we
started farming
Innovator? Early majority? Non adopter?
Social
networks

13. Where do they fall on the innovation curve?

14. Survey bias and unknowns…
• Presenting our best selves (bias)
• Land tenure/size of farm (bias)
• Proximity – more likely to talk to farmers
visiting the office (bias)
• Right practice in the right place at the right
time… (unknown)

15. Quantitative plus qualitative: storytelling, listening
sessions:
Learning about and accepting the multiple realities of
understanding the world.
Social networks:
What already exists?
The message and the messenger –
tailored to the audience:
Ag advisors, farm managers, tenants,
landlords/ladies, owner-operators
Recommendations & next steps
©J Eells, E Resources Group
We also need to become innovators!
Next step: Targeted communications

16. Saving the Land that Sustains UsSaving the Land that Sustains Us
©AgrenTools.com
Upper Macoupin Creek
Macoupin County SWCD
Illinois Stewardship Alliance
NRCS
Blackburn College
UMC Steering Committee
Vermilion Headwaters
CTIC
Livingston County SWCD
Ford County SWCD
NRCS
VH Steering Committee
www.farmland.org