SWCS Annual Conference: July 26, 2016Jennifer Filipiak, Associate Midwest Director

American Farmland TrustDr. Angie Carter, Fellow Assistant Professor of Sociology,

Augustana College

Using face-face interviews to design outreach & communication in two new

MRBI watersheds in Illinois

Saving the land that sustains us

Protecting farm and ranch land Promoting sound farming practices Keeping farmers on the land

Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction

Strategy

HUC8 watersheds by yield (lbs/ac/yr)

Blue = Nitrate concern

Green = Phosphorus concern

Springfield

St. Louis

Upper MacoupinCreek

Chicago

Vermilion Headwaters

Vermilion Headwaters Watershed

Watershed characteristics:• 254,319 acres • ~420 producers• 93% row crops

Upper Macoupin CreekWatershed characteristics:

• 67,842 acres • ~308 producers• 60% row crops• 22% forested

Goal: Establish conservation participation baselineHow many farmers have already adopted conservation practices?What kinds of practices?Who has adopted conservation practices?

Rogers’ (2013) Diffusion of Innovation theory

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

What drives adoption?Previous

conservation implementationPerceived

cost Social networks

Information access Land tenure

relationships

Size of farm/acres

farmed

Environmental awareness/

responsibility

Vermilion Headwaters

Upper Macoupin Creek

Previous conservation

implementation

Environmental awareness/responsibilityQuestion % Strongly

disagree or disagree

%Neutral

% Agree or strongly agree

(Vermilion/Macoupin)It is my personal responsibility to help protect water quality

00

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

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”?

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 of The profitability of farming has been good so I’m not

taking land out of production.

I don’t need to I 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

Where do they fall on the innovation curve?

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)

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

Saving the Land that Sustains UsSaving the Land that Sustains Us©AgrenTools.com

Upper Macoupin CreekMacoupin County SWCDIllinois Stewardship AllianceNRCSBlackburn CollegeUMC Steering Committee

Vermilion HeadwatersCTICLivingston County SWCDFord County SWCDNRCSVH Steering Committee

www.farmland.org