Index Geophysics

Climate change beliefs, risk perceptions, and adaptation behavior among Midwestern U.S. crop farmers

Global climate change presents unique challenges to the resilience of United States agriculture, and farmers and advisors must utilize effective adaptation strategies to be both economically and environmentally sustainable. This study addresses Midwestern U.S. crop farmers’ beliefs about climate change, perceived risks from weather and climate, and attitudes toward adaptation that influence their decisions to adopt adaptation strategies. Analyzing a 2012 survey of nearly 5000 corn farmers across 22 Midwestern U.S. Watersheds, we investigate the most common weather and climate risk management strategies, including purchasing additional crop insurance, implementing conservation practices, and adding new technology. U.S. farmers’ belief in anthropogenic climate change, perceptions of changing weather patterns, climate risks to their farm and attitudes toward adapting are analyzed. Farmers’ perceptions of risk to their own farm, attitudes toward innovation and adaptation attitudes were the most important determinants of adaptation. This study highlights the critical role of risk perceptions in adaptation attitudes as well as behaviors among agriculturalists. Finally, we discuss how these findings could be applied to increase uptake of adaptation strategies and thus resilience of U.S. agriculture to a changing climate.

Amber Saylor Mase

Benjamin M. Gramig

Linda Stalker Prokopy

Agriculture

Risk management

Climate change

Adaptation behavior

Meteorology. Climatology

QC851-999

Elsevier

2017-01-01T00:00:00Z

article

2212-0963

10.1016/j.crm.2016.11.004

https://doaj.org/article/bbf1b16126374ed5980464bd995f2ba0

Climate Risk Management, Vol 15, Iss C, Pp 8-17 (2017)

EN

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096316301097

https://doaj.org/toc/2212-0963

Journal Licence: CC BY-NC-ND