Adaptive multi-paddock grazing and wellbeing: uptake, management practices and mindset among Canadian beef producers

Kate Sherren, Jenny Hodbod, Morgan MathisonSlee, Ellen Chappell, Meagan King

Résultat de recherche: Articleexamen par les pairs

14 Citations (Scopus)

Résumé

Adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing practices have been debated based on production, environmental and workload impacts, but farmer wellbeing is only beginning to be explored. A panel-based online survey of 200 Canadian beef producers was undertaken in early 2020 with a descriptive aim to explore the uptake, management, mindsets, and wellbeing implications associated with AMP grazing. AMP practices were more common than expected (29%) as well as distinct in grazing regime, featuring fast rotation, and long rests. AMP ranchers reported high physical wellbeing, as well as systems thinking, nontraditional values, a priority for enjoying life and tendency to use a wide range of modes to learn about grazing. Other dimensions of wellbeing, environmental motivations, and gender dimensions suggested by smaller-n studies were not associated with AMP grazing in this work. These insights are important as the federal government begins to promote AMP grazing and its variants as strategies to combat climate change. More nuanced understanding of adaptive grazing and its trajectory would be possible via consistent, longitudinal surveys with improved operationalization of wellbeing concepts, more detailed exploration of educational background, inclusion of religious beliefs, and elucidation of management characteristics beyond grazing regime variables.

Langue d'origineEnglish
JournalAgroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
DOI
Statut de publicationAccepted/In press - 2022

Note bibliographique

Funding Information:
Funding for this research came from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada via an Insight Grant (Sherren PI). Approval was granted by the Dalhousie Research Ethics board on January 28, 2020 (REB# 2020-5034). Thanks to Kate Stiefelmeyer at Kynetec for supporting the panel survey, and the 200 ranchers who responded to it. Thanks also to Ed Bork and Bryanne Lamoureux for talking through some of the interesting patterns that emerged, and anonymous reviewers for rich feedback.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Taylor & Francis.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Development
  • Agronomy and Crop Science

Empreinte numérique

Plonger dans les sujets de recherche 'Adaptive multi-paddock grazing and wellbeing: uptake, management practices and mindset among Canadian beef producers'. Ensemble, ils forment une empreinte numérique unique.

Citer