INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WELLBEING AND GRAZING MANAGEMENT DECISIONS ON MICHIGAN’S PASTURE-BASED BEEF FARMS

Livestock producers around the world are concerned about land degradation and the increase in extreme weather events such as more frequent flooding and droughts, as well as current rates of biodiversity loss, soil erosion, and desertification. One suggested change that could improve grassland sustainability is the use of adaptive grazing management approaches, however the ramifications of using an adaptive grazing approach have been understudied from a social perspective. In this dissertation I used a social-ecological systems approach to investigate the relationship between grazing management style and farmer wellbeing in Michigan’s pasture-based beef farms. I created a novel theoretical framework which integrated the Theory of Planned Behavior with the Theory of Basic Human Values at an individual farm scale to understand why farmers manage their animals the way they do. Further,. I explored the relationship between management style and the physical, psychological, and social wellbeing of farmers to better understand if certain management practices result in higher farmer wellbeing. I investigated wellbeing from a benefits-challenges perspective to acknowledge there will always be tradeoffs in the system. This focus on wellbeing is necessary because farmers often suffer from higher-than-average rates of mental illness and are one of the top three occupations most likely to die by suicide. Thus, it is imperative we determine if there are any management techniques that bolster wellbeing.I used a sequential mixed methods approach by coupling an online survey with follow up interviews from a subsample of the participants to better understand the range of grazing management practices being used on Michigan’s pasture-based beef farms, particularly how perceptions of control, attitudes, norms, and values influence the farmer’s choice of grazing management behaviors. I found pasture-based beef farmers managed their grazing animals either rotationally or adaptively, and that my theoretical framework can explain why there are differences in what drives the adoption of different grazing management styles. If we want to understand the adoption of adaptive grazing management as a tool for grassland restoration it is important to know what management strategies are used on the ground. Farmers who were managing rotationally were more likely to be a generational, family farm and the adaptive farmers were more likely to be an independent startup farm. Additionally, there were differences in the role of diversification between the two groups, mainly, adaptive farmers are more confident in their ability to create a highly diversified farm than their rotational counterparts I also found that Michigan’s pasture-based beef farmers did not report the low levels of wellbeing I expected, rather farmers across the management spectrum have high physical and psychological wellbeing. The largest challenge to wellbeing was in the social dimension where many farmers expressed feeling isolated. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged farmers coped in ways that supported their wellbeing, including receiving financial support and spending additional time outdoors. These findings and my theoretical framework serve as an initial exploration into the wellbeing and management decisions of pasture-based beef farmers in Michigan that will hopefully be useful for future research on the wellbeing of farmers across the state and beyond.