KindHarvest summary: The Nature Conservancy’s Farmer Advocates for Conservation programme trained Ohio farmers to explain the practices they use and the results they observe. The premise is simple: growers often want to hear from peers who understand local soils, equipment, weather and business pressures.
Farmer-to-farmer learning
The programme began in 2020 in watersheds within the Western Lake Erie Basin, where farm management affects water quality. Participants developed a vision for their farms, improved their communication skills and planned outreach suited to their strengths. They were paid for training and outreach time.
A practical example
Farmer advocate Jeff Duling used no-till, cover crops and drainage improvements while continuing to focus on profitability. He encouraged growers to start with their own goals and inspect their soil, including signs of biological activity such as earthworms, rather than adopting a practice because of a general claim.
Reach and limits
The first 15 advocates reported reaching 1,077 farmers face to face and more through articles, videos and social media. Eighteen trained farmers managed about 22,000 acres by the time of the report. Behaviour change can still take years, making long-term evaluation more useful than counting contacts alone.
Source and credit
This KindHarvest Team news brief is based on reporting by Sarah Donaldson for Farm and Dairy, published 25 May 2022. Read the full Farm and Dairy article.