Background: Sustainable agriculture emphasizes on agricultural performance with minimal impact on the environment. Since agriculture is one of the obvious manipulations of human in nature, ethical orientation to the environment among workforce employed in the agricultural sector could be a decisive factor in their behavior in the natural environment. This paper examines environmental ethics of agricultural extension workers who seen as the main actors in training of farmers in the rural areas.

Methods: Descriptive research based on correlation was used to study the environmental ethics of agricultural extension agents. Using random sampling, a sample consisted of 77 agricultural extension agents out of total 88 agricultural extension agents in Jihad-e-Agriculture offices in Golestan province was selected. Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire that included questions to measure environmental ethics. The obtained data were analyzed with SPSS software. Statistics such as descriptive statistics, correlation coefficient and t-test were used.

Results: Environmental ethics of agricultural extension agents can be assessed in appropriate condition. Also, environmental ethics is independent of their age and the years of work experience. Environmental ethics dimensions namely theocentric, ecocentric and anthropocentric orientations are weighted and important respectively.

Conclusion: Golestan province agricultural extension agents have a good ethics in explaining the behavior with the natural environment. Because there is no correlation between anthropocentric dimension with ecocentric and theocentric dimensions, and also because there is a significant positive relationship between ecocentric and theocentric dimensions, the primary focus of the trainers of agricultural extension agents should be on increase in ecocentric and theocentric dimensions instead of decreasing anthropocentric one.