Integrating culture and community into environmental policy: Community tradition and farm size in conservation decision making

This article explores tradition, social scale, land use, as well as other complex smallholder characteristics to determine their role in the adoption of conservation agriculture in a particular watershed in Ohio, USA. The author hypothesized that farm scale and tradition are positive indicators of environmental concern and action and argues that local knowledge and perceptions can predict adoption of conservation practices and should be integrated into larger agencies that govern policies, practices, and consumption. Using surveys and interviews, the author found that education level, no-till use, and local agency trust are high predictors of adoption. He concludes with tradition that smallholder farmers gain knowledge from can lead to different conservation outcomes, something agencies should consider in conservation planning.