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Conservation Effects Assessment Program (CEAP) in Eagle Creek, Indiana
The first project I worked on in my doctoral program, this project included an interdisciplinary team of researchers assessing the impact of conservation practice adoption on watershed-scale water quality. For my part, I worked primarily on analyzing a previous graduate student's interview data. The graduate student had interviewed farmers about their use of conservation practices, motivations for adopting, and what barriers exist to further adoption. I focused on how practice characteristics are an important consideration for farmers when making decisions (not all practices are alike) and how different attitudes toward conservation and farming impact conservation behaviors (not all farmers are alike). In addition, through this project I explored horse and stable owner conservation activities. Implementation of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program My dissertation research was an outgrowth of my previous research on farmer conservation practice adoption. A number of programs exist at the federal and state levels that incentivize farmer conservation behaviors, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), administered by NRCS. EQIP provides cost-share and technical assistance to farmers to adopt conservation practices. Despite being a federal program, EQIP varies in implementation from state to state. I explored differences in implementation through secondary data analysis, interviews with NRCS personnel, and interviews with farmers. EQIP is crafted to meet local conditions, allowing NRCS to base program priorities on resource concerns at the state and local level. National Agricultural and Rural Development Policy Center After completing my PhD, I held a postdoc position with NARDeP, a joint effort of the Regional Rural Development Centers, funded by USDA. As a postdoc, I analyzed current public policy issues, including agricultural conservation programs, water, nutrition, and rural development issues. In addition to writing academic publications, I wrote policy papers and briefs aimed at policy makers and other interested stakeholders. The publications are available at the NARDeP website: http://www.nardep.info/ Coupled Natural-Human Systems of Nitrogen Management I am currently a postdoc research associate at the Kellogg Biological Station in west Michigan, where I am working on a coupled systems project exploring nitrogen management in corn agriculture. I help to coordinate the activities of an interdisciplinary team that includes geochemists, sociologists, and economists. I also have been coordinating surveys of corn growers and interviewing producers in Michigan. |