How farmer networks unlock sustainable agriculture. Julie Cook - Kitchener - Nov 2, 2026 13:24 pm "Early on a Tuesday morning in Boone, Iowa, while the corn fields are still wet with dew, the coffee counter at a local Casey's gas station hums with conversation. Loitering near the cash register, John chats up his neighbours while his truck finishes filling with diesel. He's been coming here for coffee and a doughnut a couple of times a week for years. His neighbours are exchanging notes on the weather, chatting about what they're trying on their fields this season, and discussing the problems they're dealing with. Occasionally, John drives away having added a thing or two to his mental list of ideas to try on the farm next season." This is a common scene in the American Midwest, with farmers having deep-rooted networks of trust based on regularly talking to and learning from each other. The organization Ideas42 recognized that these networks hold enormous potential, but that they are currently inconsistent and slow. Ideas42 partnered with the Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) to see if there was a way that they could take these networks to scale by encouraging more adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. Together, they developed digital reminders to see if they could increase enrolment in PFI's cover crop cost-share program. They developed two email reminders and one text message reminder that highlighted the easy steps farmers could take to refer their peers. Ideas42 and PFI discovered that although information sharing increased through these digital reminders, it did not equate to increased program enrolment. Why would that be? Ideas42 speculated that getting a referral once from another farmer was not enough to facilitate action. They also speculated that their outreach method (i.e., digital reminders) did not line up with how referrals usually happen. Referral conversations are generally informal, in-person, and occur spontaneously. They further noted that these farmers may not be able to refer their peers via email or text message. As one farmer stated, "I wouldn't have an email for any [other farmer] but one or two." Through this process, Ideas42 and PFI learned that when it comes to sustainable agriculture, the most innovative solution might not be creating new channels but rather amplifying the ones that already work.