Habitus and Interest in Agroforestry Practices in Missouri

This study analyzes the factors driving interest in two agroforestry practices, riparian buffers and forest farming. Because agroforestry is outside main stream commodity production in US agriculture, the purpose is to evaluate a framework to understand attitudes. The framework incorporates Pierre Bourdieu's notions of "habitus" and "field" along with individual economic and demographic characteristics of farm operators' traditionally used in adoption studies. Four attitudes are analyzed: disengagers, conservatives, lifestyle, and accumulators. A Logit regression measures the effects of respondents' attitudes, and other internal and external factors to assess interest in each practice. The data used is from a household survey of 364 farm-operators from the Fox Wyaconda watershed in northeast Missouri and Scott County in southeast Missouri gathered in 1999. Findings show that a conservative or a lifestyle attitude, are significant, with high probability of being interested in riparian buffers. Those with an accumulator or a lifestyle attitude have a significant and high probability of being interested in forest farming. Other variables also significant in riparian buffer interest are knowledge of agroforestry, and interest in alternative farming practices, and especially having perceptions of erosion problems. In forest farming, a high value of farm and assets has a negative effect, while belonging to informal groups has a positive effect pointing to characteristics that do not belong to traditional farmers.adoption, attitudes, forest farming, habitus, interest, riparian, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Non-operator and farm operator landowner interest in agroforestry in Missouri

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (May 20, 2007)Includes bibliographical references.Vita.Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2006.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Agriculture economics.Farmers are increasingly conflicted between maintaining the integrity of the land and trying to succeed in a competitive market place. Agroforestry may offer opportunities, but awareness of the various practices is very limited, and little is known of what motivates their interest. Five practices are modeled using Logit regressions pooling two data sets of non-operator landowners and farm operators from two regions in Missouri. Attitudinal, structural, and physical characteristics are modeled. Lifestyle attitude increases the likelihood of interest in all practices, excluding windbreaks. A conservative attitude lowers the likelihood of interest in all except windbreaks. Accumulator attitude was not significant. Own knowledge of the practice increases the likelihood of interest overall. Physical characteristics increased likelihood in alley cropping, windbreaks, silvopasture and forest farming. Age decreased it in alley cropping, windbreaks, and forest farming. Education was positive only in silvopasture. Advice was positive in all except riparian buffers and silvopasture

Habitus and Interest in Agroforestry Practices in Missouri

This study analyzes the factors driving interest in two agroforestry practices, riparian buffers and forest farming. Because agroforestry is outside main stream commodity production in US agriculture, the purpose is to evaluate a framework to understand attitudes. The framework incorporates Pierre Bourdieu's notions of "habitus" and "field" along with individual economic and demographic characteristics of farm operators' traditionally used in adoption studies. Four attitudes are analyzed: disengagers, conservatives, lifestyle, and accumulators. A Logit regression measures the effects of respondents' attitudes, and other internal and external factors to assess interest in each practice. The data used is from a household survey of 364 farm-operators from the Fox Wyaconda watershed in northeast Missouri and Scott County in southeast Missouri gathered in 1999. Findings show that a conservative or a lifestyle attitude, are significant, with high probability of being interested in riparian buffers. Those with an accumulator or a lifestyle attitude have a significant and high probability of being interested in forest farming. Other variables also significant in riparian buffer interest are knowledge of agroforestry, and interest in alternative farming practices, and especially having perceptions of erosion problems. In forest farming, a high value of farm and assets has a negative effect, while belonging to informal groups has a positive effect pointing to characteristics that do not belong to traditional farmers