Socio-spatial information sources influencing farmers’ decision to use mechanical weeding in sugar beets

Farmers' decisions to adopt novel technologies are likely to be influenced by the behaviour of other farmers. Those effects are typically described as peer effects and are intensively studied. What remains unclear from the existing literature, however, is the general mechanism underlying those peer effects. Specifically, existing literature does not seem to clearly distinguish between 1) peer effects that result from information exchange, i.e. farmers talking to each other and 2) from the possibility of field observation, i.e. the possibility to observe the application of technology, the outcomes of the application, and the general state of the fields. We aim to study if information exchange and field observations are indeed two different mechanisms both leading to “peer effects”. Therefore, we extend the existing theoretical assumptions on social learning and empirically explore the relationship between the two sources, hypothesizing that each provides complementary information due to the different underlying mechanisms. To study those two mechanisms, we focus on the example of mechanical weeding in sugar beets in Germany. We conduct an online survey among sugar beet farmers on the use of mechanical weeding in early 2022. Distinguishing between information exchange and field observation as two different mechanisms that drive peer effects, and understanding how they relate to each other, is crucial for designing effective extension services and policies to promote the adoption of desired farming practices.