Organic farming can support soil microorganisms that promote plant defenses and reduce insect pests. But not all organic practices are equally beneficial for soil microbes, and it's important to understand farmer motivations in order to encourage the adoption of microbiome-supportive efforts. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Cornell University looks at how organic farmers' beliefs about the microbiome influence their soil management practices. The research is published in the journal Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. "There is very little research on what farmers think about the soil microbiome and what it means for which agricultural practices they adopt. In the long run, we want to understand organic farmers' incentives to adopt microbiome-friendly practices from an economic perspective," said co-author Shadi Atallah, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at Illinois. ....