Survey of Missouri Landowners to Explore the Potential of Woody Perennials to Integrate Conservation and Production

Abstract

The state of Missouri, USA offers a unique opportunity for tree planting under several federal conservation programs. However, many landowners remain hesitant to enroll and take land out of agricultural production. This study explores the willingness of landowners to adopt agroforestry systems with food producing tree and shrub species through federal conservation program funding using mail and online surveys. Surveys followed the Dillman Tailored Design Method to collect data on landowners’ farm characteristics, production practices, and land management choices. Survey participants were sampled on a county basis within each of the six major geographic regions of the state. Twelve counties were randomly selected, and surveys were mailed to a proportional sampling of farm addresses gathered from each of the county tax assessor offices. The goal of the survey was to (1) identify landowners’ current land management practices and goals, (2) understand landowners’ perceptions of and preferences for different planting plans for their farm, and (3) capture landowners’ interest in participating in conservation programs to assist in the planting of trees and shrubs on their land. Our analysis of this survey found that landowners are receptive to agroforestry plantings, rating them higher on average than traditional agricultural land management practices. Landowner age, past participation in a conservation program, and presence of marginal land all had significant correlation with willingness to adopt agroforestry. The inclusion of technical assistance or federal conservation funding was found to increase the willingness of landowners to plant multifunctional agroforestry designs.