Bright leaf and red clay: Family farming and soil conservation in Piedmont North Carolin

This study examines the relationship between family farming and the practice of soil conservation through a two-part research effort. First, open-ended ethnographic interviews were conducted with fourteen farm managers in the northern Piedmont region of North Carolina. These farm managers were from two groups: (a) Century farm managers, whose families have farmed the same soil for 150 to 250 years, and (b) Conservationist farmers, who have won awards from conservation agencies and their peers for their conservation activities. Second, a survey questionnaire on farm management and soil conservation was administered to larger samples of Century and Conservationist farmers, as well as to a control group of farm managers. In both parts of the research, the responses of the separate sample groups were compared to determine the differences and similarities in their level of conservation activity, the types of conservation activities they engage in, the sources of their concern for conservation, and the role of conservation in their farm management styles.;The major results of this comparison showed that the Century farmers are active conservationists, but rely more heavily on continued use of older conservation methods that require high capital expenditure but low levels of management. The selection of these measures is in contrast to the newer, management-intensive methods adopted more frequently by Conservationist farmers. The Century farmers are also more constrained in their decisions about conservation by concern for the continuity of their farms than are the Conservationist farmers, resulting in their adopting a more conservative farm management strategy. The Century farmers' traced the source of their conservation activities to their socialization in farming and farm living, while the Conservationists relied more heavily on the advice of conservation experts in guiding their conservation planning and investment. Finally, this project underscores the importance of combining methodological perspectives in forming a more complete and meaningful picture of the factors influencing conservation activities.