Russell, Kelli, Jean Ribert Francois, Madison Harris, and Mykel Taylor write in Southern Ag Today: Depending on their vantage point, people define “good farming” in a myriad of ways, from profitability and production yields to conservation and innovation. To better understand how Southern producers think about good farming, we surveyed farmers across Alabama about their perspectives on what it means to be a good farmer. Using data from the 2025 Alabama Farm Poll pilot, which included 321 Alabama growers, we show how producers rate aspects of being a “good farmer” across four categories: production and profitability, soil and environmental stewardship, technology and management, and community and long-term responsibility. The Alabama Farm Poll is a biennial producer survey conducted by Auburn University.
Survey respondents rated the importance of various practices and activities using a five-point scale ranging from “very important” to “not important at all” regarding being a good farmer. Figure 1 highlights the results from the survey. Notably, no producers viewed the protection of streams as “not important at all,” meaning that all producers viewed this practice at least slightly important to being a good farmer. Reducing soil erosion had the highest percentage of respondents (28%) rating it as “very important” to being a good farmer. Overall, more than 80% of all producers who responded to the survey rated reducing soil erosion as either very important or important.
Figure 1. Alabama farmers’ ratings of the importance of practices and activities to being a “good farmer.” Survey statements are shortened for presentation.
In contrast, producers placed relatively little emphasis on using modern equipment as a defining characteristic of good farming. Only 3% of producers surveyed rated it as “very important” and 13% rated it as “important.” This finding is notable, as many precision agriculture technologies aimed at supporting soil and environmental stewardship (practices that producers rated as important) require modern equipment. Future research in the Southern region should explore how producers consider equipment investments in relation to conservation decisions.
Russell, Kelli, Jean Ribert Francois, Madison Harris, and Mykel Taylor. “Defining a Good Farmer.” Southern Ag Today
