The attitude of grassland farmers towards nature conservation and agri-environment measures—A survey-based analysis

•A positive attitude of farmers toward nature conservation does not necessarily result in a participation in AEM.•The farmers’ attitude towards AEM and their actual participation in AEM is influenced by farm parameters in combination with personality traits of each farmer.•Farmers of different farmi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Land use policy Vol. 59; pp. 528 - 535
Main Authors:	Hammes, V., Eggers, M., Isselstein, J., Kayser, M.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 31-12-2016 Elsevier Science Ltd
Subjects:	Agri-environment measures (AEM) Agricultural policy Agricultural practices Agricultural production Agronomy Attitudes Biodiversity Climate Conservation Farmers Farmers’ attitude Farming Farming styles Farms Grassland farming Grassland management Grasslands Implementation Land use Modernization Natural environment Nature conservation Respondents Farming styles Farmers’ attitude Agri-environment measures (AEM) Grassland farming Nature conservation
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Summary:	•A positive attitude of farmers toward nature conservation does not necessarily result in a participation in AEM.•The farmers’ attitude towards AEM and their actual participation in AEM is influenced by farm parameters in combination with personality traits of each farmer.•Farmers of different farming styles have different reasons for not adopting AEM.•The farming style approach can help to improve our understanding of the farmers’ decision-making process concerning AEM participation. Grasslands have a multi-layer protection function for nature, biodiversity and climate. These functions can be fostered by an adapted management on grassland farms. Promoting nature protection alongside agricultural production is an aim of European agricultural policy. However, a number of studies indicate that existing Agri-environment measures (AEM) are not as effective as assumed, mainly because they are not sufficiently used by farmers. We investigated the view of grassland farmers on nature conservation and on existing AEM in four distinct regions on a west to east gradient in the North German Plain. We conducted a survey on 82 grassland farms inquiring basic farm data and asking questions on general agricultural issues and nature protection. The results indicate that the majority of all respondents is generally interested in nature conservation and believes it to be of concern for every farmer. In contrast, only a minority of grassland farmers is using the existing AEM to the full extend on their own farm. By applying the concept of farming styles, we classified farmers into four groups, namely Traditionalist, Idealist, Modernist, and Yield Optimizer. These farming styles groups differ in farm and management parameters, general attitudes towards agricultural issues, farming objectives and economic success. We found that in our survey the farming styles groups differ in their attitude towards nature conservation. However, they do not differ in the adoption of AEM and have different reasons for not taking part. We state that for a better implementation of AEM into agricultural practice a better communication, which is adapted to the different ways that farmers manage their farm and think and feel, is needed. Consequently, AEM need to be revised as well.
ISSN:	0264-8377 1873-5754
DOI:	10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.09.023