Manuscript draft on Q-Methodological study (Project SoilX)

Fostering the uptake of sustainable soil management practices requires a good understanding of farmers’ motivations and priorities. To comprehensively assess these priorities, we identify and describe archetypical viewpoints on soil management among European farmers. We analyse interviews conducted with 132 farmers from five case study regions using Q-Methodology, a mixed quantitative and qualitative method. We identify five archetypical viewpoints that are distinct in their focus on soil health, farm economics, social sustainability, traditional farming values, and risk avoidance, respectively. By comparing the results from three different analytical approaches, we find that these viewpoints are partly—but by no means fully—context-dependent. This implies that farmers’ needs do not only vary due to natural farming conditions and farm structural conditions, but also due to their subjective worldviews. Knowledge about these archetypical viewpoints can help policy makers and advisory services to support farmers in changing their soil management. Policies, information, or advice can be tailored to the needs of all viewpoints. We identify support measures that are potentially attractive for each of the archetypes in a series of workshops with farmers and other stakeholders. These include, among many others: a) information materials and practical advice for the soil health-focused farmers, b) financial support measures for economically-focused farmers, c) consumer education and support for on-farm experimentation for the social sustainability-focused farmers, d) education and support for farm succession for traditionally-minded farmers, and e) insurance instruments and investment support for risk-averse farmers.