Social benchmarking for natural resource management: 2019 North central victoria REPORT TO THE NORTH CENTRAL CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY ALLAN CURTIS AND HANABETH LUKE WITH SIMON MCDONALD AND SIMON CURTIS RESEARCH COMMISSIONED BY: SOIL COOPERATIVE RESEARCH CENTRE AND THE NORTH CENTRAL CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY All rights reserved. The contents of this publication are copyright in all countries subscribing to the Berne Convention. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, in existence or to be invented, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the authors, except where permitted by law. Curtis, A., & Luke, H. (2019). Social benchmarking for natural resource management: 2019 North Central Victoria. Southern Cross University, NSW, 2480. ISBN 978-1-64826-349-1 Cover photos: Cover photos supplied by the North Central Catchment Management Authority. Contact Details Professor Allan Curtis Email: [email protected] Dr Hanabeth Luke Email: [email protected] Disclaimer The views expressed in this report are solely the authors’, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Southern Cross University, the North Central Catchment Management Authority, the Soil Cooperative Research Centre or the people consulted during the research project. 2 | NORTH CENTRAL REGION SOCIAL BENCHMARKING SURVEY TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9 THE CONTEXT 9 A DESCRIPTION OF THE SOCIAL AND FARMING STRUCTURE 11 TOWARDS MULTI-FUNCTIONAL LANDSCAPES 12 A USEFUL TYPOLOGY OF PROPERTY OWNERS BASED ON FARMER IDENTITY 13 UTILITY OF THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 16 TRUST AND TRUSTWORTHINESS 18 BELIEF IN CLIMATE CHANGE 19 1. INTRODUCTION 21 2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 26 2.1 LAY DEFINITIONS OF KEY CONCEPTS 26 2.2 RESPONDING TO COMPLEXITY 26 2.3 BEST-PRACTICE NRM AND RESPONDING TO UNCERTAINTY 27 2.4 VALUES AND BELIEFS: DIFFICULT TO CHANGE BUT IMPORTANT FOR 27 EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT 2.5 EXTENT OF FARMER IDENTITY: THE BASIS FOR A USEFUL LANDOWNER TYPOLOGY 28 2.6 EFFECTIVE NRM INTERVENTIONS/ENGAGEMENT 30 3. DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION 31 3.1. DATA ANALYSIS 31 3.2 PRESENTATION OF RESULTS 32 4. IMPORTANCE OF ISSUES AFFECTING THE DISTRICT AND PROPERTY 34 4.1 INTRODUCTION 34 4.2 KEY FINDINGS 34 5. LONG-TERM PLANS FOR YOUR PROPERTY 44 5.1 INTRODUCTION 44 5.2 KEY FINDINGS 44 3 | NORTH CENTRAL REGION SOCIAL BENCHMARKING SURVEY TABLE OF CONTENTS 6. VALUES: HELD AND ATTACHED 49 6.1 INTRODUCTION 49 6.2 KEY FINDINGS FOR ATTACHED VALUES 49 6.3 KEY FINDING FOR HELD VALUES 55 7. BELIEFS, PERSONAL NORMS AND ATTITUDES 59 7.1 INTRODUCTION 59 7.2 KEY FINDINGS: BELIEFS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE 59 7.3 KEY FINDINGS: BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES ABOUT NRM POLICY, PLANS AND PRACTICES 63 8. FARMER IDENTITY 73 8.1 INTRODUCTION 73 8.2 KEY FINDINGS 73 9. RISK AND TRUST 80 9.1 INTRODUCTION 80 9.2 KEY FINDINGS: TRUST, TRUSTWORTHINESS AND PREDISPOSITION TO TRUST 80 9.3 KEY FINDINGS: PREDISPOSITION TO ACCEPT RISK AND IDENTIFYING AS 84 AN EARLY ADOPTER 10. ENGAGEMENT IN PLATFORMS AND PROCESSES 86 10.1 INTRODUCTION 86 10.2 KEY FINDINGS 86 11. SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 88 11.1 INTRODUCTION 88 11.2 KEY FINDINGS 88 12. KNOWLEDGE ABOUT NRM 91 12.1 INTRODUCTION 91 12.2 KEY FINDINGS 91 13. LAND USE AND ENTERPRISE MIX 97 13.1 INTRODUCTION 97 13.2 KEY FINDINGS 97 4 | NORTH CENTRAL REGION SOCIAL BENCHMARKING SURVEY TABLE OF CONTENTS 14. IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST-PRACTICE NRM 99 14.1 INTRODUCTION 99 14.2 KEY FINDINGS 100 14.3 MODELLING BEST-PRACTICE IMPLEMENTATION 102 15. BACKGROUND PERSONAL AND FARMING ATTRIBUTES 107 15.1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 107 16. LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROFILES 109 16.1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 109 17. OTHER COMMENTS 113 17.1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 113 REFERENCES 114 THE 2019 SURVEY INSTRUMENT 116 MAPS MAP A: FARMER IDENTITY COHORTS BY LGA 15 MAP 1: NORTH CENTRAL CMA REGION, VICTORIA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS 25 MAP 2: FARMER IDENTITY COHORTS BY LGA 76 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE A: APPLYING THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK USING 2019 SURVEY DATA 17 FIGURE B. BELIEFS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE 20 FIGURE 1: TOP 10 ISSUES AT DISTRICT SCALE 39 FIGURE 2: ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES AT THE PROPERTY SCALE 39 FIGURE 3: SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN IMPORTANCE OF PROPERTY SCALE ISSUES BY 42 FARMER IDENTITY FIGURE 4: SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN VALUES ATTACHED TO THE PROPERTY BY 53 FARMER IDENTITY FIGURE 5: BELIEFS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE 62 FIGURE 6: BELIEFS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE BY FARMER IDENTITY 63 FIGURE 7: CONFIDENCE IN BEST-PRACTICE NRM 70 5 | NORTH CENTRAL REGION SOCIAL BENCHMARKING SURVEY TABLE OF CONTENTS FIGURE 8: TRUST IN THE NORTH CENTRAL CMA AND ASSESSMENTS OF 84 NORTH CENTRAL CMA TRUSTWORTHINESS FIGURE 9: SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 90 FIGURE 10: SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FARMER IDENTITY COHORTS AND 95 SELF-ASSESSED KNOWLEDGE OF NRM LIST OF TABLES TABLE A: REGIONAL PROFILE: KEY PROPERTY AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES 11 TABLE B: VALUES ATTACHED TO PROPERTY 12 TABLE C: SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES ACROSS FOUR FARMER IDENTITY COHORTS BY 14 KEY PROPERTY AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES TABLE 1: SURVEY RESPONSE RATES BY LGA 22 TABLE 2: ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES AT THE DISTRICT SCALE 37 TABLE 3: ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES AT THE PROPERTY SCALE 38 TABLE 4: SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN IMPORTANCE OF DISTRICT SCALE ISSUES BY 40 FARMER IDENTITY TABLE 5: SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN IMPORTANCE OF PROPERTY SCALE ISSUES BY 41 FARMER IDENTITY TABLE 6: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ASSESSMENTS OF ISSUES AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 43 BEST-PRACTICE OVER FULL-PERIOD OF MANAGEMENT TABLE 7: LONG-TERM PLANS 46 TABLE 8: SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN LIKELIHOOD OF LONG-TERM PLANS BY FARMER IDENTITY 47 TABLE 9: FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN PROPERTY SUCCESSION BY FARMER IDENTITY 48 TABLE 10: STAGE IN PLANNING PROPERTY SUCCESSION BY FARMER IDENTITY 48 TABLE 11: VALUES ATTACHED TO PROPERTY 51 TABLE 12: SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN VALUES ATTACHED TO THE PROPERTY BY 52 FARMER IDENTITY TABLE 13: SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ATTACHED VALUES AND IMPLEMENTATION 54 OF BEST-PRACTICE NRM TABLE 14: VALUES THAT GUIDE YOUR LIFE 57 TABLE 15: VALUES THAT GUIDE YOUR LIFE BY FARMER IDENTITY 58 TABLE 16: BELIEFS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE 61 TABLE 17: SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN BELIEFS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE BY FARMER IDENTITY 62 TABLE 18: BELIEFS, PERSONAL NORMS AND ATTITUDES ABOUT NRM POLICY AND MANAGEMENT 66 TABLE 19: SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN BELIEFS, PERSONAL NORMS AND ATTITUDES 67 ABOUT NRM POLICY AND MANAGEMENT BY FARMER IDENTITY TABLE 20: CONFIDENCE IN BEST-PRACTICE NRM 69 TABLE 21: CONFIDENCE IN BEST-PRACTICE NRM BY FARMER IDENTITY 71 6 | NORTH CENTRAL REGION SOCIAL BENCHMARKING SURVEY TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE 22: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CONFIDENCE IN BEST-PRACTICES AND 72 IMPLEMENTATION OVER FULL-PERIOD OF MANAGEMENT TABLE 23: DISTRIBUTION OF FOUR FARMER IDENTITY COHORTS BY LGA 77 TABLE 24: IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST-PRACTICE NRM FOR FULL-PERIOD OF 78 MANAGEMENT BY FARMER TABLE 25: SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES ACROSS FOUR FARMER IDENTITY COHORTS BY 79 KEY PROPERTY AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES IDENTITY TABLE 26: TRUST IN THE NORTH CENTRAL CMA AND ASSESSMENTS OF 83 NORTH CENTRAL CMA TRUSTWORTHINESS, 2019 AND 2014 TABLE 27: PREDISPOSITION TO ACCEPT RISK, 2019 AND 2014 85 TABLE 28: ENGAGEMENT IN PLATFORMS AND PROCESSES LEADING TO LEARNING AND ACTION 87 TABLE 29: SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INTERMEDIATE NRM OUTCOMES 87 AND ENGAGEMENT IN LANDCARE, COMMODITY AND SOIL HEALTH GROUPS TABLE 30: SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 89 TABLE 31: SELF-ASSESSED KNOWLEDGE OF NRM 93 TABLE 32: SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FARMER IDENTITY COHORTS AND 94 SELF-ASSESSED KNOWLEDGE OF NRM TABLE 33: SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH SELF-ASSESSED KNOWLEDGE AND 96 IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST-PRACTICE NRM TABLE 34: LAND USE AND ENTERPRISE MIX 98 TABLE 35: IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST-PRACTICE NRM OVER FULL PERIOD OF MANAGEMENT 101 TABLE 36: REGIONAL PROFILE: KEY PROPERTY AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES 108 7 | NORTH CENTRAL REGION SOCIAL BENCHMARKING SURVEY SOCIAL BENCHING MARKING FOR NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: 2019 NORTH CENTRAL VICTORIA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research has been a partnership between the North Central Catchment Management Authority (North Central CMA), Southern Cross University (SCU), Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Soil Cooperative Research Centre (Soil CRC). The authors thank Rohan Hogan and James Shaddick as the North Central CMA project managers for this project and their valuable contributions to the research process. We also thank Catherine Allan (CSU) and Michael Crawford (Soil CRC) for their comments on draft survey instruments. Local governments also provided valuable support in preparing the property data sets used to develop the survey mailing list: Ballarat, Buloke, Campaspe, Central Goldfields, Gannawarra, Greater Bendigo, Hepburn, Loddon, Macedon Ranges, Mitchell, Mount Alexander, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees and Swan Hill. Staff at the Mt Alexander coordinated the mail out process for their Shire and we thank them for their willingness to implement our survey process. This report includes summaries for each Shire. Finally we would like to thank all the landholders who took the time to complete the survey. A summary of this report will be prepared and distributed by the North Central CMA in 2020. LIST OF ACRONYMS CMA – Catchment Management Authority SCU – Southern Cross University CSU – Charles Sturt University GIS – Geographic Information System LGA – Local Government Area North Central CMA – North Central Catchment Management Authority NRM – Natural Resource Management RCS – Regional Catchment Strategy Soil CRC – Soil Cooperative Research Centre VFF – Victorian Farmers’ Federation 8 | NORTH CENTRAL REGION SOCIAL BENCHMARKING SURVEY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE CONTEXT This research employed a survey of rural property owners to inform the North Central CMA Board and staff as they develop, implement and evaluate the 2020-2026 North Central Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS). In broad terms, each of Victoria’s 10 NRM regions will develop an RCS that identifies regional NRM priorities and describes strategies to achieve those objectives.