Allerton Project: social science

Social science at the Allerton Project

It is important to understand how farmers think about their natural environment. © Peter Thompson/GWCT

BACKGROUND Hosting visits from around 3,000 agricultural professionals each year provides a great opportunity to get their feedback on the research at the Allerton Project at Loddington, and to apply their knowledge and values to guide our future research. So we have been adopting a structured approach to this process. We also increasingly involve local farmers and other interested parties in the work we do. This ensures that our research is relevant to them, increasing the chances of adoption on farm and in policy. Here we summarise the findings of Susanne Jarratt and Stephen Jones, two recent PhD students, from Nottingham University and the Allerton Project. They represent examples of how social science can help to guide both policy and practice.

Farmers’ environmental learning through Stewardship Susanne Jarratt interviewed 43 East of England farmers about their varying involvement in agri-environment schemes from the Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme (one of the earliest schemes), through to those with the most recent Environmental Stewardship scheme agreements. She was interested in how farmers develop their environmental knowledge and values through a ‘career’ of involvement in such schemes.

Susanne identified two career pathways. There was one in which payments for wildlife conservation were the primary incentive, and one in which such payments provided an opportunity for farmers with a pre-existing interest in wildlife to start or develop existing wildlife conservation activity.

Farmers progressed along these career pathways from a basic level of knowledge to more advanced activity, sometimes developing considerable interest in individual species (especially where farmers had a pre-existing interest in wildlife), and encouraging neighbouring farmers to carry out similar management. Along the way, farmers were influenced by contingencies such as succession or the introduction of new schemes. Trusted advisors also played a major part. Farmers on both career pathways therefore accumulate knowledge and ownership of wildlife conservation and other environmental management through their active involvement in agrienvironment schemes and can be supported through improvements to the schemes and advice provision.

Characterisation of soil by farmers Stephen Jones interviewed 20 East Midlands farmers about their soils, analysed soil samples and discussed the results with the farmers. Most fundamentally, he considered with them what makes ‘good’ and ‘bad’ soils. Where farmers considered a soil in an abstract sense, characterisation was dominated by aspects which change over time because of land use or management, mainly physical structure and organic matter. Where farmers spoke about their own farm and were asked about their ‘good’ and ‘bad’ soil, they were more likely to discuss inherent characteristics of their soil such as texture. See Figure 1 where farmers were asked to score the importance of soil to various functions defined by researchers.

These judgements are subject to complexities that can make identifying a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ soil a challenge. In wet years, faster draining ‘lighter’ soils might be ‘good’ because they allow the water to drain away and prevent waterlogging and compaction, but the same soil in a dry period will become ‘bad’ because it will not retain the water, causing crops to suffer. There was also a tension between ‘good’ soils that were easier to work

5

Median level of importance (± 1 se)

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Water regulation – Water filtering – Air filtering – Support plant growth – Nutrient provision – Provide a habitat – flooding diffuse pollution climate change yield yield and crop quality biodiversity

but had lower moisture retention capacity, and soils on which it was hard to establish a seedbed, but which might perform better in a dry year. A further complexity was associated with trying to reconcile farmers’ practice-based views with how their soil had been categorised scientifically within the Agricultural Land Classification, because soil management practice can override the inherent physical characteristics that are normally measured.

These studies highlight the importance of understanding how farmers think about their natural environment, whether this comprises habitats managed for wildlife or the soils on which farm businesses depend. Knowledge of how farmers relate to these natural resources is going to be key to the delivery of public benefits through the new Environmental Land Management system.

Figure 1 Farmers’ scoring of the importance of soil to various functions defined by researchers, based on a 5-point score where 1 = not important, and 5 = very important

KEY FINDINGS Social science complements the natural science activities of the

Allerton Project. Farmers develop knowledge and ownership of environmental management through involvement in agrienvironment schemes. Farmers’ characterisation of soils is influenced by physical conditions and their practical implications. Research results can help inform the engagement of farmers in new environmental land management.

Chris Stoate Susanne Jarratt Stephen Jones