Desire and Values Driving Change

By Marlyn McInnerney

Understanding the motivations of many producers who have been implementing climate-smart production strategies to prepare for and cope with a range of extreme climate events, was one of the purposes of the Women for Food and Fibre projects.

The women were chosen because they and their families are already utilising climate smart practices, which one way or another involve processes such as carbon capture.

‘…increasing soil carbon can have profound effects on soil quality and agri-ecosystem productivity. 

Soil carbon plays an important role in maintaining soil structure, improving soil-water retention, fostering healthy soil microbial communities, and providing fertility for crops’ (Vershuuren J. 2017, p. 11).

The discussions within six workshops as well as 16 interviews – hear more in our podcasts which you’ll find published here on our website –provided many pointers to the “Why” of their innovative and workable production methods.

Generational change

First, there was the generational change factor. One of the older participants, and organiser of several workshops, said that she noticed a change in attitude amongst the younger generation. In her day, she said, although they managed drought as best they could when it was happening, they didn’t really organise every aspect of their operations to strategically prepare for drought, the way the younger people are doing now. 

“The young women we met…were all focused on that more holistic sustainable approach to ag. And I think that they’re building and expanding foundations [for] what will ensure future resilience.”

This was an interesting observation and the question that falls out of that is – Why? What stimulated the younger generation (women and their partners in their 30s, 40s and 50s) to make this conceptual and operational change?

Academic literature suggests that this sort of paradigm shift often emerges ‘…from traumatic experiences such as extreme weather, financial hardship, family changes or unexpected regulatory changes’ (Alexanderson et al. 2024, p 2). We did find that many of the women we talked with pinpointed the experience of extreme drought itself as a trigger for change. As one Balonne grazier in her 40’s stated: 

“…10 to 12 years ago, we had built up our herd, and due to the drought, we had to sell them. Thus, stimulated by long droughts, [we] wanted to prepare for them”.

Taking action

Another Balonne women talked about how the “last drought took over our property”. They had to completely destock and forego cropping as well. A Murweh woman in her 30s said in response to the question of why they changed their practices: “Droughts, desire not to go back”.

What did these families do to change their situations? Many of them sought information and joined peer learning groups, such as KLR Marketing School, RCS – Grazing for Profit, and the Lachlan Hughes Foundation Experience. Others looked to neighbours and online information, including social media. It is now recognised that key sources of information for farmers are other farmers, consultants and increasingly, the use of social media networks and messaging apps (Alexanderson et al., 2024, p.3). The participants had learned from some of these sources and now were being encouraged through the WFFF project to share their own lived examples of sustainable production strategies with other people through their stories and a range of avenues, including social media.

Leading with values

Thus, we found that the participants had been stimulated by traumatic events such as drought, and they learned how to make the necessary changes through a range of learning opportunities and seeking information from neighbours and media. There was one other major incentive: Values. Gosnell et al. (2019) assert that many producers experience ‘epiphanies’ when they focus on “aligning values and subjective feelings with practice”. 

In our conversations with the women, oft repeated motivations for using climate-smart practices, included “love of the land”, maintaining healthy soils and pastures, and, as a young Paroo woman in her 30s said, to “leave the land healthy and sustainable for our kids”. Wanting to pass on the property in good shape for the offspring is a strong priority, which shapes many of the decisions these farm families are making every day.

Thus, we found that once people experience a traumatic event such as a prolonged drought, and then understand, through research, from talking with their neighbours, following ag-media and social media, and getting involved in learning groups, that good sustainable practices increase the health of soils, which aligns with their values of love of the land, desire for healthy soils and their ambition to pass on healthy land to their children, their motivation soars