This research involves working directly with farmers to better understand the barriers to and opportunities for increasing tree cover on farms. Specifically, it aims to explore how and where trees fit with farmers’ values – that is, where things matter to them for social, cultural, or moral reasons.
The primary focus is on trees outside of woodland, including agroforestry, hedges, and in-field trees.
The research began in October 2021 and is scheduled to continue until March 2025.
Research objectives
- Develop a framework of farmers’ social and cultural values, outlining how these values might influence farmers’ attitudes to trees.
- Identify priority contexts (demographic, geographic, farm systems) where an understanding of social and cultural values could impact efforts to expand tree cover on agricultural land.
- Consider how policy design and communication with farmers could best support the aim of increasing tree cover by more closely aligning with farmers’ values.
- Explore the interaction between farmers’ values and behaviour to provide insights into how behaviour might change over time.
Findings and Recommendations
Based on research in 2022 including an evidence review, expert interviews, and interviews with 33 farmers we have identified seven ‘domains’ of value that are likely to impact farmers’ ability and willingness to grow trees.
These domains form the basis of our developing values framework and inform our other research activities. They are:
- the centrality of food production
- the farm business
- farm health concerns
- environmental values
- farming identity
- social influence
- relationship with the landscape
Latest updates
Values framework
We are continuing to develop a framework as a tool to help think through the values which may impact farmers’ willingness or ability to grow trees. We aim to publish this in an academic journal in 2024. In 2024-25, our focus will be on working with stakeholders to find the most effective ways to apply the framework.
Farmer survey
In late 2022, we completed a survey of farmers in England. The survey explored how important different values are to farmers, both in general and regarding growing trees. A highlights paper is available in the ‘Related content’ below, and we are working on an academic paper expanding the findings from this survey.
Dairy farmer focus
We have explored values in the context of dairy farming, producing a research report and an ‘in brief’.
Cereal/arable farmer focus
We are currently working on researching values in the context of cereal farming. This work is due to be completed in mid-2024.
Farmer journeys
We are doing in-depth, biographical research with a small number of farmers who have substantially increased the number of trees on their farms. This work explores how values and behaviour change over time. We published four case studies in late 2023 and are currently working on a further four case studies.
Funded by DEFRA under the Nature for Climate Fund in support of the England Tree Planting Programme
Forestry Commission
Natural England
