The U.S. Department of Agriculture鈥檚 recently released 2017 Census of Agriculture data show the amount of land in the largest federal conservation programs has decreased nationwide and in many Midwest and Plains states. But that doesn鈥檛 mean farmers are ignoring soil health, nutrient runoff or erosion problems.
The census asks about federal conservation and wetlands programs, which Michigan State University researcher Adam Reimer said typically refers to land retirements 鈥� taking marginal lands out of production in exchange for money. The largest one, the Conservation Reserve Program, doesn鈥檛 allow as many acres now as it did before the 2014 farm bill.
鈥淭he program actually shrunk in size,鈥� Reimer said. 鈥淪o (the decrease) reflects a change in congressional priorities more than reflecting any sort of farmer desire to engage in programs.鈥�
Looking deeper into the census, Reimer said, shows farmers are using more cover crops and tilling less, both of which have environmental benefits..
鈥淎 lot of farmers have adopted these conservation practices probably outside of programs, reflecting kind of an increased awareness that these are good for production as well as protecting environmental quality off-farm,鈥� Reimer said.
That鈥檚 what 500 conventional farmers in Iowa told researchers from Iowa State University鈥檚 Ivy College of Business. Professor Priyanka Jayashankar looked at farmers鈥� adoption of so-called 鈥渋nternet of things鈥� (IoT) technologies that use big data, such as precision agriculture and GPS field mapping.
鈥淪ome of these applications have a direct benefit in terms of sustainable agriculture practices,鈥� Jayashankar said. 鈥淪o for instance, there are some tools, IoT tools, which enable farmers not to overuse pesticides or fertilizers. And this definitely has an impact on environmental stewardship.鈥�
Jayashankar and her colleagues were particularly interested in how farmers weigh the risk and value of new technologies, especially when it comes to sharing data gathered on their farms with the companies that make the technology. The researchers have also how trust develops between farmers and those companies.
鈥淲hat we feel could be a potential game-changer going forward would be co-creation,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ecause farmers are not just passive recipients of that technology service, but they鈥檙e actually generating the data and they鈥檙e also making things work on the ground.鈥�
Reimer noted it can take years 鈥攅ven decades 鈥� to measure the impacts of farmers鈥� conservation decisions.
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