Ecological and Social Drivers and Impacts of Farm Diversification in Northern and Central Ohio

Drawing on the concept of farm diversification as a holistic and/or alternative farming method that brings both social and ecological benefits to the food systems and on Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital and Sutherland et al.’s theory of the ‘triggering change’ cycle, this study delves into the concept of farm diversification as an ideal possible solution to the social and ecological problems within today’s industrial food systems in the U.S. This study aim to explore farmers’ motivations towards diversification as well as the impacts of farm diversification on farmers’ attitudes towards ecological concerns. The data for this study was collected from 33 farmers in Northern and Central Ohio by conducting interviews. The results show that diversified farmers’ interpret farm diversification as consisting of crop and income diversification. The results also show the predominance of farmers’ lifestyle driver, farmers’ ecological awareness, and perceived farmland improvement. These findings provide ample evidence of drivers and impacts of farm diversification that had an influence on farmers’ decision to diversify