2008 Joint Annual Meeting (5-9 Oct. 2008): The Effects of Farmer Attitudes and Management Practices on Soil Quality: a Study in Cherokee County, Iowa.

Soils are the base upon which we build our cities, grow our food, and obtain raw materials. The quality of this substance, and forces that affect it, should therefore be of concern to all of us. Laboratory and field assessments of this soil quality, however, can be time consuming. This study seeks to relate soil quality indicators to farmer responses as an additional way of assessing soil quality. Farmer interviews were conducted to document recent practices on the farm as well as farmer attitudes about farming. To obtain soil quality measures, both the Natural Resource Conservation Service's field soil quality kit and laboratory tests were employed. Sites from the eastern half of Cherokee County, Iowa, were selected. Key considerations of this study include farmer practices of renting versus owning land as well as organic or synthetic nitrogen application. Additional farmer data, including attitudes about farming, are also used in this analysis.