Barriers to Adoption of Prairie Strips: Farmer Perspectives

Title: Barriers to Adoption of Prairie Strips: Farmer Perspectives

Agriculture is a primary land use in the Midwest, United States and Michigan benefits from a diverse fruit and crop industry. To maintain productivity, Michigan farmers employ agricultural management practices, including synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and tillage for weed and pest management. However, intensive agriculture has led to a decline in wildlife habitat and biological diversity. One potential solution is the establishment of prairie strips, or perennial prairie plantings within row-crop agriculture that enhance ecosystem services such as soil health, pest predation, and pollination. Prairie strips uniquely benefit both the farming community and agricultural systems by reducing the need for intensive agricultural practices, while providing necessary habitat for ecosystem health and resiliency.

However, adoption among farmers in Michigan remains low. I proposed community engaged research project to address the question: What are the opportunities and barriers to adoption of prairie strips in Michigan? I collaborated with Conservation Districts and the Michigan Farm Bureau in three Michigan counties to host interviews and focus groups. By partnering with local organizations for this community engaged project, we targeted conservation-oriented farmers and utilized a “place-based” approach for discussion and data collection. Interviews and focus groups took place throughout fall 2024 and spring 2025, based on farmer availability. The development, implementation, and evaluation of the interviews and focus groups included input from partnering Conservation Districts and the Michigan Farm Bureau to better reflect the priorities within their districts. I worked with MSU-Extension MiSTRIPS and other MSU students and faculty to carry out presentations and group facilitation. Summary and analysis of these discussions will be published and presented to Conservation Districts, Michigan Farm Bureau, MSU Extension, and participating farmers.

Over the course of three focus-groups, both online and in-person, a diverse set of farmers including livestock, crop, and fruit or vegetable farmers participated in the discussion, interviews, and survey questions. Although a majority of farmers (>70%) had heard of prairie strips or plantings and many expressed interest, the issue remains that farmers need government or local support for both the establishment and maintenance of conservation practices. The focus groups further served to introduce Conservation Districts as a supporting partner for material, equipment, funding, or knowledge on conservation and farming practices in their districts.

This community-engaged research project will benefit both the farming community and the academic community. Through this project and after, I hope to better understand what continues to encourage or prevent farmers from adoption of conservation practices such as prairie plantings or strips. While the qualitative analysis of this project will inform the academic community on next steps, the results will also be shared with local farming communities to support the Conservation District's efforts to increase sustainable agricultural practices within their districts. 

By engaging directly with farmers, this project aimed to improve a) the understanding of the opportunities and barriers to adoption of prairie strips in Michigan on the part of MSU researchers and extension; and b) the access to knowledge and resources on prairie strips as a conservation practice on Michigan farms on the part of participating farmers. Through a series of interviews and focus groups, farmers discussed prairie strips and gained access to a community of conservation-oriented farmers and programs with similar goals. By collaborating with MiSTRIPS, farmer participants also gained access to a larger conservation network.

The long term, sustainable outcomes of this project will include the change in Michigan’s agricultural landscape to include both more conservation-oriented farmers and diversity in farming practices. By engaging with farmers directly to identify opportunities and addressing place-based barriers to adoption of prairie strips, this project will lead to an increase in the number of Michigan farms and acreage enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) of the US Farm Bill, in particular CRP-43 which provides monetary incentives for farmers converting previously arable land to prairie strips. Presenting my research at Conservation District and Farm Bureau meetings, as well as farmer education days held by partnering organizations will continue to facilitate trust and partnerships between MSU researchers, MSU-extension, Conservation Districts, and participating farmers. Lastly, to adapt for an inconsistent climatic and economic future, this project aimed to facilitate the adoption of a “resilient mindset” through place-based, regenerative agricultural management on Michigan farms.