Environmental Initiative + Trust in Food
Environmental Initiative + Trust in Food
STEP 1
STEP 3

2

Understand Producers

Agricultural change is, at its heart, human change. Farmers and ranchers make decisions on behalf of the animals and acres under their care. Practice change follows a consideration process that includes becoming aware, understanding, seeing value, and becoming ready to take action.

In agriculture, farmers and ranchers are often homogenized, with broad presumptions made about their motivations and goals. However, farmers are individuals, and each have their own sets of core values, stressors, and life experiences that influence decision-making.

Nuanced differences in program positioning, like “Adopting no till will help you mitigate weather risks” vs. “Adopting no till will increase your profits” can have a significant effect on how a program opportunity resonates with a producer.

To achieve the goals in Step 1, conservation leaders need to understand the people who will make that possible.

What We Did

We started our effort by identifying the specific audience we were most interested in reaching — the beef ranchers in an area of high biological priority in North or South Dakota who feel capable of adopting a new practice and haven’t yet made the commitment.

To better understand these specific ranchers, we evaluated over 5,000 data points from a refined project area in the Eastern Missouri River Watershed and Drift Prairie region, including qualitative research and detail of their knowledge of sustainable agriculture practices, their operational challenges, the value they see (or don’t see) in conservation practices, and their inclination to take action.

We learned that ranchers in this portion of North and South Dakota:

  • Have potential to take action – they are curious, ready, and willing to invest in sustainable agriculture if there are demonstrable results.
  • Believe stewardship holds weight – they view themselves as stewards of their land and tie their reputation to their herd and natural resource health.
  • Understand sustainable practices – they have a strong understanding of pasture and enclosure management, and of soil health benefits of reducing tillage and maintaining soil cover.
  • Have tools but not time – they have access to the equipment, labor, and capital needed to implement practice changes but see time and regulation as hurdles.

These patterns allowed us to more deeply understand who we were designing outreach for and what might matter most to the audience.

Make it Happen

Download this worksheet to create your rancher persona. Understand the drivers, stressors, and values of the ranchers who will influence your outreach.

START STRATEGIZING

Data Collection Model

Collecting data from a wide array of sources is critical to reaching your outreach goals. Analyze and segment your insights to develop a persona, such as this Dakota rancher.

The data captured above is an average of records across the Eastern Missouri River Watershed and Drift Prairie region including Devil’s Lake Basin.
The data captured above is an average of records across the Eastern Missouri River Watershed and Drift Prairie region including Devil’s Lake Basin.
ranchers-step-2-3
The data captured above is an average of records across the Eastern Missouri River Watershed and Drift Prairie region including Devil’s Lake Basin.
ranchers-step-2-4
The data captured above is an average of records across the Eastern Missouri River Watershed and Drift Prairie region including Devil’s Lake Basin.
Trust in Food’s Human Dimensions of Change™ factor in how farmers think, feel, and act across psychological, social, and cultural considerations. These dimensions lay the groundwork to understand and inform an audience profile.
Trust in Food’s Human Dimensions of Change™ factor in how farmers think, feel, and act across psychological, social, and cultural considerations. These dimensions lay the groundwork to understand and inform an audience profile.
Trust in Food’s Human Dimensions of Change™ factor in how farmers think, feel, and act across psychological, social, and cultural considerations. These dimensions lay the groundwork to understand and inform an audience profile.
ranchers-step-2-8
Trust in Food’s Human Dimensions of Change™ factor in how farmers think, feel, and act across psychological, social, and cultural considerations. These dimensions lay the groundwork to understand and inform an audience profile.
ranchers-step-2-9
Trust in Food’s Human Dimensions of Change™ factor in how farmers think, feel, and act across psychological, social, and cultural considerations. These dimensions lay the groundwork to understand and inform an audience profile.
STEP 1
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2
3
4
5
STEP 3