Sustainable agricultural practices in Minnesota

This study is an analysis of the sustainable agricultural practices of a convenience sample (n=101) of conventional family farmers in Minnesota, USA. The purpose of the research was to find out whether these farmers were using sustainable agricultural practices, and what practices; and if they were not, if they planned to implement any sustainable practice in the next three years and which specific practices. The research tool was a written questionnaire. The sustainable agricultural practices referred to in the written questionnaire were crop rotation, no tillage or minimum, plowing under cover crops, leaving residues in the field after harvest, use of composted plant materials or animal manure as a form of soil enrichment, use of agroforestry: the combined use of trees, crops and animals, use of natural predators, integrated pest management, water management techniques or others.