Changing fertilizer management practices in sugarcane production: cane grower survey insights
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
Improved fertilizer management practice in sugarcane production is a key component in plans to improve Great Barrier Reef (GBR) water quality. Research focused on understanding wider systemic factors that drive behavioral change in agriculture is currently limited, with the domi-nant focus on individual farmer and psychosocial factors. Adopting a wider systems perspective, this study examines farming behavior change and the role of supporting services among 238 sugarcane growers (74,597 hectares) in Queensland’s Wet Tropics region who completed surveys reporting on changes in the method they used to calculate fertilizer application rates, along with information on their farm business, socio-demographics and self-reported importance ratings on a variety of topics. Informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior., ssurvey data are analyzed us-ing regression models to identify factors influencing the change from traditional to improved practice, and early adoption of improved practice. Results indicate growers were less likely to change fertilizer practice if they regarded maintaining good relationships with other local growers as being extremely important, had off-farm income, or had not attended a govern-ment-funded fertilizer management workshop in the five years preceding the survey. Similar drivers acted to promote or delay early adoption of improved practice. Results demonstrate the influence of government-funded services to support practice change.
Journal
Land
Publication Name
N/A
Volume
10
ISBN/ISSN
2073-445X
Edition
N/A
Issue
2
Pages Count
18
Location
N/A
Publisher
MDPI
Publisher Url
N/A
Publisher Location
N/A
Publish Date
N/A
Url
N/A
Date
N/A
EISSN
N/A
DOI
10.3390/land10020098