Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Community Development and Applied Economics

First Advisor

Travis Reynolds

Abstract

Agriculture, particularly livestock and maple production, is at the core of Vermont’s identity, landscape, and economy. Although Vermont is famous for its unique small farms and exceptional maple syrup, more recently it has become known as one of the fastest-warming states in the United States, threatening the viability of the state’s vibrant agricultural sector. In addition to climate change, increasing farm consolidation, low farmgate prices, market competition, and changing consumer demands and lifestyles have begun to affect the viability of small and medium-scale livestock farms and maple operations. While numerous policies and programs seek to ensure the viability of these sectors, a frequently promoted strategy is for farmers to be entrepreneurial to adapt to changing environmental and market conditions. However, little is known about Vermont producers’ perspectives and intentions towards entrepreneurial behavior, what factors are associated with these behaviors, and what challenges they face that restrict engaging in these behaviors. This study explores the entrepreneurial behaviors of livestock and maple producers, the two most prominent agricultural sectors in Vermont, employing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Chapter 1 draws on qualitative data from 15 in-person interviews with Vermont livestock farmers and survey data from 28 respondents. I used a convergent parallel design mixed methods approach to integrate findings at the results stage. Farmers exhibit a myriad of entrepreneurial behaviors, that could be broadly classified into four main typologies as diversification entrepreneurs, eco-entrepreneurs, innovative entrepreneurs, and pluri-active entrepreneurs. Behaviors appear influenced by farmers’ attitudes such as being innovative and opportunistic, being resiliency focused, low growth minded, and/or efficiency focused. While being influenced by other farmers, family, customers, employees, and their community, these farmers also display high perceived behavioral control or self-efficacy. However, in some instances, entrepreneurial behaviors are challenged by concerns related to personal wellbeing, market challenges, climate change, and labor and housing that inhibit farmers’ adoption of approaches that might enhance the viability of their operations. For Chapter 2, I used panel data from 46 Vermont maple producers participating in the 2020 and 2023 Vermont Maple Producers Surveys to conduct a path analysis of technology adoption behavior as framed by the TPB. Perceived behavioral control has a significant mediating effect between producers’ climate change perceptions and their technology adoption behavior. Greater levels of concern over climate change had a significant negative association with perceived behavioral control, while perceived behavioral control had a significant positive association with technology adoption behavior. Favorable attitudes towards adopting technologies were significantly negatively associated with household income, and positively associated with concerns about market competition. Perceived behavioral control was positively associated with income from maple and with concerns around labor costs, and negatively associated with the scale of the maple operation. Further research may benefit in investigating other sustainable climate adaptation and mitigation strategies for maple producers that align with farmer motivations and resources.

Language

en

Number of Pages

160 p.

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