Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, 1 Military Road, Lismore, NSW, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, 1 Military Road, Lismore, NSW, Australia.
J Environ Manage. 2023 Dec 1;347:119063. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119063. Epub 2023 Oct 5.
Regenerative agriculture is an alternative approach to farming that has been gaining traction and interest among farmers due to its potential to reduce input costs, improve soil health, and increase the resilience of farming systems. This paper undertakes a practice-based analysis of farmers, applying a lens of regenerative agriculture. Surveys were developed as a part of a broader project using an established methodological framework. Topics were developed and adapted with input from local stakeholders before being mailed out to three farming regions across Australia (the Western Australian Wheatbelt, the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and Central West New South Wales). The research clustered farmers into two groups: those who are using best-practices that fall inside the scope of regenerative agriculture, and those who are not. The similarities and differences in farmer attributes, as well as self-reported knowledge levels and information sources used by each group are explored. Results indicate that a belief in anthropogenic climate change may be one of the primary divides between the two groups, and therefore a possible driver of best-practice implementation. The findings provide insight into perceptions of regenerative agriculture for Australian farmers, and may assist with knowledge dissemination amongst those managing our environment.
再生农业是一种替代农业的方法，由于其具有降低投入成本、改善土壤健康和提高农业系统弹性的潜力，在农民中越来越受到关注。本文应用再生农业的视角，对农民进行了基于实践的分析。调查是作为一个更广泛项目的一部分开发的，该项目使用了一个既定的方法论框架。在将调查邮寄给澳大利亚三个农业区（西澳大利亚小麦带、南澳大利亚的艾尔半岛和新南威尔士州中西部）之前，先由当地利益相关者提出主题，并对其进行开发和调整。该研究将农民分为两组：一组是使用属于再生农业范畴的最佳实践的农民，另一组则不是。本文探讨了两组农民在属性、自我报告的知识水平和使用的信息来源方面的异同。研究结果表明，对人为气候变化的信念可能是两组之间的主要分歧之一，也是最佳实践实施的一个潜在驱动因素。这些发现为澳大利亚农民对再生农业的看法提供了一些见解，并可能有助于在管理我们环境的人群中传播知识。
