Motivations for maintaining crop diversity: Evidence from Vermont's seed systems

Crop diversity is fundamental to the sustainability of agricultural and ecological systems. However, there has been relatively little attention to crop diversity in the US, despite its continued decline. Moreover, most past research on crops in the US has principally focused on crops grown commercially, neglecting the crop diversity that occurs through non-commercial activities. In this paper, we explore the influence of various motivations on the decision to maintain crop diversity among commercial and non-commercial seed producers in the US state of Vermont. Drawing on an original online survey of seed producers (n = 151), we consider who is producing seed, the crop diversity these seed producers maintain, and their motivations for doing so. Findings suggest that seed producers maintain crop diversity for myriad reasons beyond profit accumulation, including environmental, social, and cultural motives - indicating that the avenues through which crop diversity conservation can be encouraged within the US are numerous. Our findings also suggest that motivations for crop diversification can be understood through a variety of theoretical lenses - many of which are not being widely considered by scholars - suggesting that research, policies, and programs focused on monetary incentives alone may miss important opportunities to encourage the maintenance of crop diversity.