TY - JOUR
T1 - Training future agriculture professionals in landowner–tenant conservation decision-making
AU - Basche, Andrea
AU - Carter, Angie
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful to the students who participated in the course and agreed to participate in the research. We especially thank the landowners and farmers who shared information and time with our class and collaborated with the co-authors in the development of the project. We would also like to thank Dr. Carol Speth for administering the initial survey and informed consent information to students. We additionally thank the Center for Rural Affairs for assisting in the recruitment of project partners as well as partners with the NRCS and other industry professionals who participated in the field trip and final student presentations. We acknowledge Gabrielle Roesch-McNally, Jean Eells, and Rebecca Christoffel for providing comments on earlier versions of this work. Finally, we thank the North Central SARE for their funding and support in this project.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. Natural Sciences Education published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC on behalf of American Society of Agronomy
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The landowner–tenant relationship is important to the implementation of conservation on agricultural lands. Women own or co-own a significant portion of U.S. farmland yet are underrepresented in conservation research. The next generation of agriculture professionals can benefit from first-hand experience in assisting women landowners and their tenants in navigating the complexities of conservation decision-making. This article analyzes undergraduate student perceptions of landowner–tenant relationships in conservation management through their engagement in case studies with women landowner–tenant pairs in the Western Corn Belt. Student groups were asked to complete a management improvement plan that both incorporated the agronomic and conservation goals discussed by the landowners and tenants, following a field trip and interviews with the landowners, tenants, and other key stakeholders. Assessment data included a quantitative survey of career goals and conservation attitudes, qualitative reflections at start and end of course, and autoethnographic observations. The case studies presented students with new knowledge challenging previously held assumptions, leading some students to reconsider landowner–tenant relationships and conservation decision-making. However, students returned to existing gendered norms and production-oriented stereotypes when applying this knowledge in real-world farm management plans. Although students gained firsthand valuable experience from the case studies, a one-semester case study was insufficient to significantly shift student perceptions. We recommend that more curricular experiences incorporate the complexities of agricultural decision-making to better equip future agricultural professionals with skills to ensure environmental and social sustainability outcomes.
AB - The landowner–tenant relationship is important to the implementation of conservation on agricultural lands. Women own or co-own a significant portion of U.S. farmland yet are underrepresented in conservation research. The next generation of agriculture professionals can benefit from first-hand experience in assisting women landowners and their tenants in navigating the complexities of conservation decision-making. This article analyzes undergraduate student perceptions of landowner–tenant relationships in conservation management through their engagement in case studies with women landowner–tenant pairs in the Western Corn Belt. Student groups were asked to complete a management improvement plan that both incorporated the agronomic and conservation goals discussed by the landowners and tenants, following a field trip and interviews with the landowners, tenants, and other key stakeholders. Assessment data included a quantitative survey of career goals and conservation attitudes, qualitative reflections at start and end of course, and autoethnographic observations. The case studies presented students with new knowledge challenging previously held assumptions, leading some students to reconsider landowner–tenant relationships and conservation decision-making. However, students returned to existing gendered norms and production-oriented stereotypes when applying this knowledge in real-world farm management plans. Although students gained firsthand valuable experience from the case studies, a one-semester case study was insufficient to significantly shift student perceptions. We recommend that more curricular experiences incorporate the complexities of agricultural decision-making to better equip future agricultural professionals with skills to ensure environmental and social sustainability outcomes.
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U2 - 10.1002/nse2.20035
DO - 10.1002/nse2.20035
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85118149258
VL - 50
JO - Natural Sciences Education
JF - Natural Sciences Education
SN - 2168-8273
IS - 1
M1 - e20035
ER -