Soil conservation as a goal among farmers: Results of a survey and cluster analysis

Using data from a survey of farmers in southern Illinois, cluster analysis was performed to group farmers into classes based on the nature of their farming operations; 264 farmers were studied and grouped into 20 classes. Among other data studied, information was acquired on farmers' goals and their rank ordering of those goals. Farmers' selection of goals and their ranking varied significantly by class. The frequency of farmers selecting soil conservation as a goal and its rank ordering varied with the type of farm and farm size. Soil conservation was chosen as the first goal by only 1.8% of the sample population. Given the importance of soil conservation in an area characterized by highly erodible soils, the results were interpreted in terms of the need to develop proactive conservation policies under the Conservation Title of the 1985 Food Security Act.