Signals for Land Stewards: Final Report

Signals are information from the environment that either enable or prevent a farmer from moving along a constructive change process, whether they are at the beginning of that process or further along their journey. Signals that aren’t considered relevant are ‘noise’.

Signals can come from on- or off-farm. Examples of external, off-farm signals are regulations, market prices, climatic conditions, opinions of community including other farmers, rural professionals such as advisors, bankers, accountants, and scientists. Examples of on-farm signals include succession, animal behaviour, plant condition, and soil erosion.

This research project found that signals are more likely to instigate or facilitate change if they:

• Come from a trusted source
• Are clear, have consistent messaging, and enable autonomy of choice
• Take into account the farm context (resource constraints)
• Link to a farmer’s values, goals and drivers

This report outlines a new framework to influence constructive practice change associated with environmental outcomes, particularly water quality.

The target audience for this report is advisors who design and implement extension programmes, and junior advisors. This is because identifying which signals will be influential is likely to be part of an experienced advisor’s skill set, however for junior advisors, more guidance is required.