Recognizing dynamic agricultural identities in changing rural landscapes and their impact on conservation practices

Property ownership in rural areas has become increasingly complex, characterized by a mix of new and longterm residents with a range of production, protection, and consumptive values, thus contributing to increased diversity of land uses and management practices among rural landowners. Here we assess a multidimensional construct designed to reflect the variation in occupational identity held by rural landowners-the Farmer Collective Occupational Identity Construct (FCOIC), a scale first developed in Australia but not yet applied in the United States (US). We surveyed landowners in Ohio, and using factor analysis and correlations between the FCOIC and conservation practices, we found that the FCOIC behaves similarly in the US as in Australia and that the scale is correlated with some conservation practices. Some farm-focused conservation practices are relevant for all rural landowners, so we propose the importance of targeting efforts to promote these practices to the diverse sets of rural landowners.