Farmers' Social Capital in Agricultural Decision‐Making☆.

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Title: Farmers' Social Capital in Agricultural Decision‐Making.
Authors: Lai, Jennifer1 (AUTHOR) jclai@uvm.edu, Beethem, Kristina2 (AUTHOR), Marquart‐Pyatt, Sandra T.2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Rural Sociology. Jun2025, Vol. 90 Issue 2, p216-241. 26p.
Subject Terms: *Social norms, *Scholarly method, Agricultural conservation, Organic farming, Social influence, Social capital
Abstract: Reducing tillage is a key goal for conservation and regenerative agriculture, yet research has struggled to identify ways to increase the use of the practice among farmers. Recent scholarship has identified social capital as an important piece of the adoption puzzle. However, the ways in which farmers' social capital influences conservation practice use are seldom identified or explored. In this study, we tested the effects of three measures of social capital on the adoption of no‐till among 1,523 row crop farmers in the United States Corn Belt. Specifically, we operationalized the extent to which farmers' social networks, network trust, and community conservation norms affect intra‐individual processes and thus influence farmers' decisions regarding adoption. Our results identified key mechanisms for the promotion of conservation practices through social capital. Subjective conservation norms emerged as a main pathway through which farmers' social capital influenced their use of no‐till, indicating that networks, network trust, and community norms can increase adoption through affective paths. We conclude that academic research and policy experts should continue to situate farmers as social actors and pay heed to the norms and cultural expectations surrounding agricultural conservation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Rural Sociology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Farmers' Social Capital in Agricultural Decision‐Making<superscript>☆</superscript>.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lai%2C+Jennifer%22">Lai, Jennifer</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> jclai@uvm.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Beethem%2C+Kristina%22">Beethem, Kristina</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marquart‐Pyatt%2C+Sandra+T%2E%22">Marquart‐Pyatt, Sandra T.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Rural+Sociology%22">Rural Sociology</searchLink>. Jun2025, Vol. 90 Issue 2, p216-241. 26p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+norms%22">Social norms</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scholarly+method%22">Scholarly method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Agricultural+conservation%22">Agricultural conservation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Organic+farming%22">Organic farming</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+influence%22">Social influence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+capital%22">Social capital</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Reducing tillage is a key goal for conservation and regenerative agriculture, yet research has struggled to identify ways to increase the use of the practice among farmers. Recent scholarship has identified social capital as an important piece of the adoption puzzle. However, the ways in which farmers' social capital influences conservation practice use are seldom identified or explored. In this study, we tested the effects of three measures of social capital on the adoption of no‐till among 1,523 row crop farmers in the United States Corn Belt. Specifically, we operationalized the extent to which farmers' social networks, network trust, and community conservation norms affect intra‐individual processes and thus influence farmers' decisions regarding adoption. Our results identified key mechanisms for the promotion of conservation practices through social capital. Subjective conservation norms emerged as a main pathway through which farmers' social capital influenced their use of no‐till, indicating that networks, network trust, and community norms can increase adoption through affective paths. We conclude that academic research and policy experts should continue to situate farmers as social actors and pay heed to the norms and cultural expectations surrounding agricultural conservation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Rural Sociology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1111/ruso.70000
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 26
        StartPage: 216
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Social norms
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Scholarly method
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Agricultural conservation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Organic farming
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social influence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social capital
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Farmers' Social Capital in Agricultural Decision‐Making☆.
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            NameFull: Lai, Jennifer
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            NameFull: Beethem, Kristina
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            NameFull: Marquart‐Pyatt, Sandra T.
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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            – TitleFull: Rural Sociology
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