Farmers’ Cynicism Toward Nature and Distrust of the Government: Where Does that Leave Conservation Buffer Programs?

Farmers are commonly regarded as stewards of the land. Farmers have, however, become cynical toward nature (Meister, Hest, & Burnett, 2009) and distrustful of the government (Cantrill, 2003). This study examines whether or not that cynicism and distrust is reflected in U.S. farmers’ opinions of and future participation in conservation buffer programs, and if so, how these sentiments are manifested. Findings of this study suggest farmers expressed both cynicism and distrust about conservation buffer programs, perhaps suggesting the government is not doing well in communicating about its programs to constituents. Implications and future research are also presented.