Sponsor
Funding for this research was provided by USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) grant 1002477 “Integrating Human Behavioral and Agronomic Practices to Improve Food Security by Reducing the Risk and Consequences of Herbicide-Resistant Weeds.”
Published In
Ecological Economics
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2019
Subjects
Ecosystem services, Herbicide resistance -- Management, Herbicide-resistant crops, Farmers -- Attitudes, Cooperation
Abstract
Dramatic growth in herbicide-resistant (HR) weeds in the United States threatens farm profitability and may undercut environmentally beneficial farming practices. When HR weeds move across farm boundaries due to ecological processes or human action, a common pool resource challenge emerges, requiring farmer cooperation to manage such weeds effectively. We investigate the scope for cooperative management using responses to a national survey on HR weed issues to test a recursive model of three preconditions for collective action: (1) concern about HR weeds migrating from nearby lands; (2) communication with neighbors about HR weeds; and (3) belief that cooperation is necessary for effective resistance management. Results suggest that farmers who relied more on Extension educators regarding weed management, were more likely to satisfy each precondition. Further, concern about weeds resistant to multiple herbicides as well as concern about HR weed mobility positively influence concern about migration and views toward cooperation. Farmer time constraints and “technooptimism” (a belief that herbicide discoveries will solve resistance problems) detract from the perceived need for cooperative approaches. A different set of factors significantly affect each precondition, suggesting heterogeneity in the underlying casual mechanisms. The findings can help tailor collective action to different socio-ecological settings experiencing HR weed resistance issues.
Rights
© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.11.023
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/27329
Citation Details
David E. Ervin, Elise H. Breshears, George B. Frisvold, Terrance Hurley, Katherine E. Dentzman, Jeffrey L. Gunsolus, Raymond A. Jussaume, Micheal D.K. Owen, Jason K. Norsworthy, Mustofa Mahmud Al Mamun, Wesley Everman, (2019). Farmer Attitudes Toward Cooperative Approaches to Herbicide Resistance Management: A Common Pool Ecosystem Service Challenge, Ecological Economics, Volume 157, Pages 237-245.
Included in
Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Food Science Commons, Weed Science Commons