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Evaluation of farmers' perceptions of soil quality indicators

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

Mark A. Liebig  and
John W. Doran
Mark A. Liebig
Affiliation:
Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Agronomy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583 ([email protected])
John W. Doran
Affiliation:
Soil Scientist, USDA-ARS, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583 ([email protected]).
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Abstract

Understanding farmers' knowledge of soil quality and health is essential to ensure transfer of appropriate technology for on-farm assessments. The objective of this study was to evaluate farmers' knowledge of soil quality by comparing their perceptions of soil conditions for “good” and “problem” soils on their farms with values of soil quality indicators as determined by established assessment protocol. Twenty-four conventional and organic farmers throughout eastern Nebraska were paired within regions of similar climate, topography, and soil type and their perceptions of soil quality indicators were queried using a written questionnaire. Questionnaire data were compared directly to values of soil quality indicators and perception accuracy indices were calculated. Overall, perception accuracy of soil quality indicators did not differ between conventional and organic farmers. Farmers' perceptions of soil quality indicators tended to be more accurate for “good” soils as compared to “problem” soils. Indicators that were incorrectly estimated at a frequency greater than 33% included available nitrogen and phosphorus, soil color, degree of compaction, and infiltration rate. Despite this, farmers' perceptions were correct or nearly-correct over 75% of the time for the majority of indicators evaluated in the study. Evaluation of social and managerial factors indicated that perception accuracy of soil quality indicators declined as the time of on-farm tenure increased. Results from this study indicate that agriculturists should seek out farmers' knowledge of soil characteristics as a first iteration to pointscale evaluation of soil quality.

Keywords

farmer knowledgepoint-scale evaluation
Type
Articles
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , March 1999 , pp. 11 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

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