Research Webinar: Farmers’ Attitudes Towards Government Agencies and Conservation Programs in Vermont’s Lake Champlain Basin

In this research webinar, we are joined by Kate Longfield, MS student in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Longfield interviewed a random sample of eighteen dairy, livestock, crop, and vegetable farmers from within Vermont’s Lake Champlain Basin. The study investigated farmers’ attitudes towards the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM), as well as the agencies' conservation programs. It also explored farmers' trust in these state and federal agricultural agencies. The study compared the farmers’ agency trust ratings to their attitudes towards government conservation programs, to determine whether farmers with higher trust in government agencies would be more likely to feel positively towards government conservation programs.