Abstract
In the past few decades, farmers and researchers have firmly established that biologically diversified farming systems improve ecosystem services both on and off the farm, producing economic benefits for farmers and ecological benefits for surrounding landscapes. However, adoption of these practices has been slow, requiring a more nuanced examination of both barriers and opportunities to improve adoption rates. While previous research has demonstrated that both individual and structural factors shape farmers' decisions about whether to adopt diversification practices, this study aims to understand the interaction of these individual and structural factors, and how they relate to farm scale. Based on 20 interviews with organic lettuce growers on the Central Coast of California, as well as 8 interviews with technical assistance providers who work with these growers, we constructed a typology to help elucidate the distinct contexts that shape growers' decisions about diversification practices. This typology, which reflects the structural influence of land rent and supply chains, divides growers into three categories: limited resource, mid-scale diversified, or wholesale. In this economic context, limited resource and wholesale growers both experience significant barriers that constrain the adoption of diversification practices, while some mid-scale diversified growers have found a “sweet spot” for managing agroecosystems that can succeed in both economic and ecological terms. The key enabling factors that allow these farmers to choose diversification, however, are not directly related to their farm size, but have more to do with secure land tenure, adequate access to capital and resources, and buyers who share their values and are willing to pay a premium. By focusing on these key enabling factors with targeted policies, we believe it is possible to encourage diversification practices on farms at a variety of scales within California's Central Coast.
Highlights
2015) and reduced natural habitat for the region’s biodiversity, which includes a major migratory bird flyway and several federally and/or state-endangered species (Gennet et al., 2013)
Using the farm type classification that emerged from our interview data, we modeled crop diversity and weediness using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs), followed by Tukey post-hoc tests to compare differences between farm types
Among the farms in our study, mid-scale diversified farms clearly emerged as leaders in adoption of diversification practices, which resulted in higher levels of both planned diversity and unplanned diversity
Summary
2015) and reduced natural habitat for the region’s biodiversity, which includes a major migratory bird flyway and several federally and/or state-endangered species (Gennet et al., 2013). In the past few decades, farmers and researchers have firmly established that biologically diversified farming systems improve ecosystem services both on and off the farm, producing economic benefits for farmers and ecological benefits for surrounding landscapes (Tscharntke et al, 2005; Kremen and Miles, 2012; Tamburini et al, 2020) Such biologically diversified farms incorporate numerous types of planned biodiversity, including a wide variety of cash and cover crops as well as non-crop plants such as hedgerows or floral strips to support beneficial insects. Given the benefits of such practices—which we will refer to throughout the paper as “diversification” practices, though many of them are frequently referred to as regenerative or soil health practices— To understand this conundrum, researchers have turned to the extensive literature on farmer adoption of conservation practices. Recent reviews have generally found that there are no universal rules or characteristics that reliably predict adoption of diversification practices (Knowler and Bradshaw, 2007; Prokopy et al, 2008, 2019; Baumgart-Getz et al.,Syntax Error (72927): Bad LZW stream - unexpected code
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
