Call to the post: an analysis of Montgomery County equine operators’ motivation for adoption of conservation practices

Master of Science - Agricultural Education and Communication === Department of Communications and Agricultural Education === Lauri M. Baker === The equine industry is an established part of Maryland Agriculture; the most recent equine census placed 79,100 equines valued at approximately $714 million...

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Main Author: Ingram, Shelly V.
Language:en_US
Published: Kansas State University 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2097/38241
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spelling ndltd-KSU-oai-krex.k-state.edu-2097-382412018-07-26T03:50:13Z Call to the post: an analysis of Montgomery County equine operators’ motivation for adoption of conservation practices Ingram, Shelly V. Equine Best management practices Decomposed theory of planned behavior Communication Conservation Cost-share Master of Science - Agricultural Education and Communication Department of Communications and Agricultural Education Lauri M. Baker The equine industry is an established part of Maryland Agriculture; the most recent equine census placed 79,100 equines valued at approximately $714 million in the state, with approximately ten percent of those animals housed in Montgomery County. But, equine operators are a unique demographic in the agricultural realm. They are not managing their lands to produce food or fiber and often are employed in other professions unrelated to agriculture. Unlike other agricultural operators, they are often unaware of conservation terms or practices and programs available to help implement these practices on their land. The basic objective of this study was to explore the level of understanding equine operators in Montgomery County, Maryland have of conservation best management practices (BMPs), associated cost-share programs, industry regulations and the aspects and methods of communication that influence them in gaining awareness of and the adoption of these practices on their properties. The study applied the tenets of the decomposed theory of planned behavior (DTPB), which combines the theory of planned behavior (TPB), diffusion of innovation theory (DOI) and economic constraint theory gathered through semi-structured qualitative interviews with participants, selected using purposive and snowball sampling. Utilizing the grounded theory method to discover emerging patterns in the data resulting from these interviews aided in identifying the most effective means of educating equine operators regarding BMPs and increasing the adoption of these practices on equine properties within the County. Equine operators in the study were found to use a variety of informational sources, had a high level of adaptation of the BMPs they used and overall saw their role as land stewards as an important aspect of their environmental actions. 2017-11-17T19:07:32Z 2017-11-17T19:07:32Z 2017-12-01 2017 December Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/2097/38241 en_US Kansas State University
collection NDLTD
language en_US
sources NDLTD
topic Equine
Best management practices
Decomposed theory of planned behavior
Communication
Conservation
Cost-share
spellingShingle Equine
Best management practices
Decomposed theory of planned behavior
Communication
Conservation
Cost-share
Ingram, Shelly V.
Call to the post: an analysis of Montgomery County equine operators’ motivation for adoption of conservation practices
description Master of Science - Agricultural Education and Communication === Department of Communications and Agricultural Education === Lauri M. Baker === The equine industry is an established part of Maryland Agriculture; the most recent equine census placed 79,100 equines valued at approximately $714 million in the state, with approximately ten percent of those animals housed in Montgomery County. But, equine operators are a unique demographic in the agricultural realm. They are not managing their lands to produce food or fiber and often are employed in other professions unrelated to agriculture. Unlike other agricultural operators, they are often unaware of conservation terms or practices and programs available to help implement these practices on their land. The basic objective of this study was to explore the level of understanding equine operators in Montgomery County, Maryland have of conservation best management practices (BMPs), associated cost-share programs, industry regulations and the aspects and methods of communication that influence them in gaining awareness of and the adoption of these practices on their properties. The study applied the tenets of the decomposed theory of planned behavior (DTPB), which combines the theory of planned behavior (TPB), diffusion of innovation theory (DOI) and economic constraint theory gathered through semi-structured qualitative interviews with participants, selected using purposive and snowball sampling. Utilizing the grounded theory method to discover emerging patterns in the data resulting from these interviews aided in identifying the most effective means of educating equine operators regarding BMPs and increasing the adoption of these practices on equine properties within the County. Equine operators in the study were found to use a variety of informational sources, had a high level of adaptation of the BMPs they used and overall saw their role as land stewards as an important aspect of their environmental actions.
author Ingram, Shelly V.
author_facet Ingram, Shelly V.
author_sort Ingram, Shelly V.
title Call to the post: an analysis of Montgomery County equine operators’ motivation for adoption of conservation practices
title_short Call to the post: an analysis of Montgomery County equine operators’ motivation for adoption of conservation practices
title_full Call to the post: an analysis of Montgomery County equine operators’ motivation for adoption of conservation practices
title_fullStr Call to the post: an analysis of Montgomery County equine operators’ motivation for adoption of conservation practices
title_full_unstemmed Call to the post: an analysis of Montgomery County equine operators’ motivation for adoption of conservation practices
title_sort call to the post: an analysis of montgomery county equine operators’ motivation for adoption of conservation practices
publisher Kansas State University
publishDate 2017
url http://hdl.handle.net/2097/38241
work_keys_str_mv AT ingramshellyv calltothepostananalysisofmontgomerycountyequineoperatorsmotivationforadoptionofconservationpractices
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