Farmers may have to learn new ways of doing things. Many of the new recommended farming strategies require much greater knowledge about cropping systems and about the chemicals that are used in modern agriculture. This classification is similar to 'complexity'. It relates however, to the knowledge base of the individual farmer rather than to an objective measure of complexity. Farmers would not be unique in attempting to minimize the amount of knowledge needed in order to conduct their operations.
Many innovations reduce farmers' flexibility.
Farmers like flexibility because it means that they can change commodities in responses to prices and climatic conditions. Perennial pastures lock farmers into grazing. Zero-tillage systems with chemical control of weeds restrict the range of crops that can be grown and the rotations of those crops. Farmers are quite likely to resist the adoption of new technology that restricts their flexibility. In a situation of fluctuating market prices, farmers are acting rationally by wanting to maintain flexibility.