Evaluating the Social Dimensions of Expanding the STAR Program Across Colorado

In recognition of the economic and environmental importance of soil health to agriculture production, the Colorado State Legislature created the Colorado Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources (STAR) program to promote increased soil health across agricultural lands. The program promotes soil health through programmatic interventions, such as financial and technical assistance, facilitated peer-to-peer learning networks, and a novel soil health rating system. Despite programs like STAR, producers face an array of social and material obstacles that make agricultural transitions challenging. The purpose of this research is to understand what factors either promote or prohibit Colorado agriculture producers to transition operations to support soil health. Further, the study aims to evaluate the STAR program’s ability to mobilize, or fail to mobilize, resources producers need to transition operations. This research is informed by the Community Capitals Framework (CCF), a theoretical frame designed to evaluate how programs, or investments, impact and interact with existing community resources, or capitals, to enable community development and change. To assess community capitals among Colorado agriculture communities, this study employs a mixed-method approach with interviews, focus groups, and surveys as primary data collection tools. Participants will be recruited from four geographic regions, Eastern Colorado, San Luis Valley, Northwest Colorado, and the Front Range, to represent diverse characteristics of agricultural production and communities in Colorado. Research procedures will be conducted twice throughout a four-year period. There are many obstacles that make agricultural transitions challenging, this research seeks to identify those obstacles, understand the strengths and weaknesses of the STAR program, and identify additional areas where programs and investments may institute durable change.