FACTORS AFFECTING FARMERS USE AND REJECTION OF BANDED PESTICIDE APPLICATIONS

This article addresses farmers' decisions to try using banded herbicid e applications as well as factors that affect whether or not trial att empts are then extended to regular wage. The data is drawn from a tota l of 722 person-to-person interviews held in 16 Missouri counties, inc luding 75 longer semi-structured interviews within three watersheds. T he group of farmers who have tried banding operate significantly large r corn and soybean acreages, and have statistically higher levels of g ross sales, education, Knowledge of pesticides, and ability to apply t heir own chemicals. Logistic regression analysis suggests college educ ation, certification as a private applicator, and gross sales as the t hree variables most likely to predict experimentation. Maintenance of the practice following initial use, however, is negatively related to farm size, and positively related only to gross sales and certificatio n. Logistic regression analysis suggests only gross sales as significa ntly increasing the odd of adoption. The qualitative research reveals that obstacles with adoption for trial users center largely around dif ficulties of locating custom applicators for banding, the time and lab or required for cultivation, and the ripple effects of banding-related tasks on other aspects of operator farming systems. In essence, bandi ng satisfies farmers' desires to reduce pesticide we and protect water quality, but as a practice it is very difficult to incorporate into i ndividual farming systems.