Written by Molly Monahan, WSU NWREC Mount Vernon, February 03, 2026
A research team composed of WSU soil scientist Gabe LaHue, WSU rural sociologist Jessica Goldberger, WSDA soil scientist Dani Gelardi, and graduate student Molly Monahan are conducting a study of farmer decision-making around 1) compost utilization and 2) participation in government incentive programs for carbon-rich soil amendments (compost, biochar, etc.).
We are interested in learning about:
- The factors that farmers consider when deciding whether to use compost or participate in incentive programs.
- The challenges and successes farmers have experienced with compost use and incentive program participation.
- The barriers that limit farmers’ access to compost use or incentive programs, to inform strategies for improving access to both practices.
We are actively seeking farmers around Washington State who are willing to participate in an interview on these topics. You do not need to apply compost or have participated in an incentive program to be eligible – we are also interested in interviewing farmers who do not use compost and farmers who have not participated in incentive programs! The interview will take about one hour and can be conducted in-person or over a phone/video call at the preference of the interviewee. Participation in this project is entirely voluntary and optional, and interview data will be anonymized for confidentiality. Interviewees can choose not to answer specific questions or to terminate the interview at any time. Interviewees will be compensated for their time with a $30 Visa gift card and declining to answer questions or terminating participation will not affect this compensation.
If you choose to participate in this study, you would be contributing to greater understanding of farmer priorities around compost use and incentive program participation, and how these practices work (or don’t work) for different farms and farmers. This understanding will help inform strategies to increase access to both compost use and government program participation for farmers who are interested in these practices.
If you are interested in participating, or have any questions about the study, please contact Molly Monahan at molly.monahan@wsu.edu.
Thank you so much!
Contact
Molly Monahan
Graduate Student, WSU NWREC Mount Vernon
molly.monahan@wsu.edu
Funding and acknowledgements
This work is supported by the BIOAg Grant Program of WSU CSANR (Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources).
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