”We Do It for Other Reasons. It’s Conservation, It’s the Right Thing to Do”: Centering Farmer Perspectives in Agricultural Policy Reform for Climate Resilience

Tackling the climate crisis requires cross-sector collaboration that centers the voices of those disproportionately impacted. Farmers, often excluded from climate justice discussions, are vulnerable to disruptions yet essential to mitigation. US agriculture also significantly contributes to climate change, yet systemic factors complicate transitions to sustainable practices. This case study uses a participatory, systems-based qualitative design to examine how entrenched agricultural systems constrain farmers’ capacity to respond to the climate crisis. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and collaborative model-building sessions with farmers (n = 13) and rural mental health providers (n = 14). Findings reveal that while farmers possess deep intergenerational ties to the land, current market structures and agricultural policy disincentivize conservation, pressuring producers to prioritize short-term survival over sustainability. Furthermore, an emphasis on unfettered production fosters fragmentation and undermines collective resilience. By integrating these findings into the Grand Challenges for Social Work framework, specifically Creating Social Responses to a Changing Environment, this research argues for climate strategies that align with farmers’ lived realities. Moving toward systemic reform that centers farmers’ perspectives can ensure that adaptation and mitigation strategies are not only environmentally effective but also socially and economically just.