Dueling conservation perspectives: governance strategies and knowledge networks for agricultural conservation on the Delmarva Peninsula
Date
2018
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Since the 1930’s, and the extensive soil loss during the Dust Bowl, the United States government has enacted several laws in hopes of increasing farmer knowledge of conservation oriented management practices. In the United States, agricultural best management practices (BMPs) are the primary mechanism used by the state to increase water quality and soil health. These practices are defined at the national level, but ultimately are enacted, through assistance and guidance from the state level, at the farm level. I used these ubiquitous practices as way to ask farmers, and those working in close association with them, questions about the governance strategies that have motivated their BMP use and the information sources and knowledge networks that contributed to their conservation decision-making. Methods included semi-structured interviews (n = 30) and participant observation of agricultural information sessions and workshops, promotional events and tours. Results from this investigation were divided into two subsequent chapters - one on governance strategies, which uses the theoretical framework of governmentality as a lens; and the other on agricultural knowledge, which is supported by the social production of scientific knowledge literature. The chapter on governance strategies focuses on the four dominant narratives about state methods used to turn farmers into environmental subjects according to the farmers and state actors interviewed. These methods included: the use of relationships with members of the farming community; conservation oriented education through a series of information sessions, meeting and workshops; incentives to offset the cost of BMP implementation coupled with emphasis on the long-term benefits of their use; and social pressure from people and groups in the surrounding area. These strategies were not used in isolation but rather in tandem to successfully create environmental subjects - farmers were convinced of the relevance of BMPs or were forced into implementing them by regulation. In the following chapter about agricultural knowledge the types and valuation of knowledges contributing to agricultural knowledge and knowledge networks were discussed. According to the literature the main types of knowledge used in reference to agriculture are scientific and local, which includes experiential, knowledge. Scientific knowledge is the purview of Extension, but also a variety of commercial and specialized sources, and, while it is valued by interviewees, farmers would rather choose the time and place where it is attained rather than be mandated to attend educational sessions. Local knowledge on the peninsula is a result of the accretion of experiential knowledge which adapts modern scientific techniques to the local context. Local knowledge is highly valued by both state actors and farmers with interviewees indicating that experience augments the relatability of state personnel and enhances their ability to transfer scientific knowledge while observation of other farmers’ operations and experimentation ranked high on the list of information sources for farmers. These scientific and local knowledge sources come together in a network of heterogeneous actors whose combined efforts contribute to the production of agricultural knowledge for conservation to fulfill the goal of sustainability for soil and water resources. The final chapter is a conclusion which ties together all previous chapters and offers potential uses for this research and future directions.
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Keywords
Biological sciences, Agriculture, Best management practices, Conservation, Delmarva Peninsula, Governmentality, Knowledge