What are the barriers to adopting carbon farming practices?

In many environmental and conservation policy contexts, gaps are observed between policy objectives and implementation outcomes. Carbon farming policies are designed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, but policy success depends on the participation of land managers and their adoption of alternative land management practices. We surveyed Western Australian farmers to gauge their knowledge of carbon farming, their current adoption of carbon farming practices, and identified the drivers and barriers to adoption. Drivers for adoption included knowledge and perception of co-benefits (for yield, productivity, and the environment); beliefs and attitudes about climate change and its causes. Key barriers to the adopting carbon farming practices included policy and political uncertainty, and on-farm characteristics. We conclude that, to increase participation, the productivity benefits of carbon farming practices must be actively promoted and practices must be easy to integrate into existing farming systems.