Diversifying high-input, monocropped landscapes like the US Corn Belt would provide both economic and ecosystem service benefits to the agricultural landscape. Decision support systems (DSS) and digital agriculture could help farmers decide if diversification is suitable for their operation. However, adoption of DSS by farmers remains low, likely due to lack of farmer engagement before and during the DSS development process. This study aimed to better understand the tasks, tools, and people involved in implementing farmland diversification with the goal to inform design of agricultural DSS. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 farmers who had diversified their corn/soybean cropland with government-supported conservation programs (e.g., CRP, wetlands) and alternative crops (e.g., small grains, pasture) in the past four years. Interview data was transcribed and then analyzed using affinity diagramming. Results show farmers needed DSS to layer multiple sources of data and observations over several years to identify field productivity trends and drivers; spatial orientation of practices to fit management and field constraints; matching operation goals to alternative practices; financial planning and market exploration; and information on promising emerging practices like subsidized pollinator habitat. However, the interviews also highlighted structural barriers to diversification that DSS cannot or can only partially address. These included social pressures; market access; crop insurance policy; and quality of relationships with governmental agencies. Results indicate better DSS design can empower individual farmers to diversify cropland, but structural interventions will be needed to successfully diversify the agricultural landscape and support economic and ecosystem health.

美国玉米种植带等高投入、单一作物景观的多样化将为农业景观提供经济和生态系统服务效益。决策支持系统（DSS）和数字农业可以帮助农民决定多样化是否适合他们的经营。然而，农民对 DSS 的采用率仍然很低，可能是因为在 DSS 开发过程之前和过程中缺乏农民的参与。本研究旨在更好地了解实施农田多样化所涉及的任务、工具和人员，目的是为农业 DSS 的设计提供信息。对 11 名农民进行了半结构化访谈，他们在过去四年中通过政府支持的保护计划（例如 CRP、湿地）和替代作物（例如小粒谷物​​、牧草）使玉米/大豆农田多样化。转录访谈数据，然后使用亲和图进行分析。结果表明，农民需要 DSS 来分层数年的多个数据源和观察结果，以确定田间生产力趋势和驱动因素；实践的空间定位以适应管理和现场限制；将运营目标与替代实践相匹配；财务规划和市场开拓；以及有关有前途的新兴做法的信息，例如补贴授粉媒介栖息地。然而，访谈也强调了 DSS 无法或只能部分解决的多元化结构性障碍。其中包括社会压力；市场准入；农作物保险单；以及与政府机构的关系质量。 结果表明，更好的 DSS 设计可以使农民个体实现农田多样化，但需要采取结构性干预措施才能成功实现农业景观多样化并支持经济和生态系统健康。