Abstract Type: Presentation as part of an organized session
Abstract TitleWellbeing, resilience, and regenerative grazing in the USA
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Abstract
Grazing management approaches exist on a continuum. At present, grazing management approaches that are highly adaptive and are hypothesized to support more resilient grazingland ecosystems. However, the impacts on social and economic sustainability (i.e., wellbeing) have rarely been studied. Anecdotally, producers report that their profitability and/or quality of life increased when they switched from grazing continuously to grazing adaptively. But, further research is needed to document socio-economic wellbeing in a robust manner. We also need to consider the other side of this relationship – how does wellbeing influence adoption of more adaptive grazing management approaches? While there is a growing literature documenting the ecological benefits, the majority of farmers and ranchers do not adopt these approaches. Why are some farmers and ranchers adopting an adaptive grazing management while others are not? Early data show the importance of values and worldviews, social networks, learning opportunities, and perceptions of required skills, resources, and costs. Our project ‘Metrics, Management and Monitoring: An Investigation of Rangeland and Pasture Soil Health and its Drivers’ (3M) is working with farms representing a variety of management approaches across Colorado/Wyoming, Michigan and Oklahoma/Texas (60 farms in total). We have conducted interviews, workshops, and surveys in parallel with the land monitoring to understand the impact of management on the social, psychological, and economic wellbeing of ranch families and their communities, as well as impacts on soil health and other ecosystem services. I present preliminary findings on both the research gaps outlined above to document the relationship between grazing management and wellbeing, which in turn will inform an analysis of the barriers and conduits to adoption of methods that maximize wellbeing and resilience.
Related Conference Topic Area
social impacts
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Presenter Information
First Name Jennifer |
Last Name Hodbod |
Affiliation University of Leeds |
Author(s) Information
Author | First Name | Last Name | Affiliation |
1 | Jennifer | Hodbod | University of Leeds |