Decision Support to Quantify GHG Mitigation and Ecosystem Services from Organic Producation Systems

DECISION SUPPORT TO QUANTIFY GHG MITIGATION AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES FROM ORGANIC PRODUCATION SYSTEMS

Sponsoring Institution

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Project Status

COMPLETE

Funding Source

OTHER GRANTS

Reporting Frequency

Annual

Accession No.

1010372

Grant No.

2016-51106-25712

Cumulative Award Amt.

$499,990.00

Proposal No.

2016-06180

Multistate No.

(N/A)

Project Start Date

Sep 1, 2016

Project End Date

Aug 31, 2021

Grant Year

2016

Program Code

[112.E]- Organic Transitions

Recipient Organization
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
FORT COLLINS,CO 80523

Performing Department
Soil and Crop Science

Non Technical Summary
As organic foods have gained broad consumer support and organic food vendors have increasingly adopted sustainability metrics to quantify the relative impact of different production systems and supply chains on environmental services, we need improved, data-driven decision support tools that include common organic management practices. This project will improvetechnologies and tools to document and optimize the environmental services and climate change mitigation ability of organic farming systems. We will improve two online decision support systems (COMET-Farm and the Cool Farm Tool) for quantifying the impacts of land use and management practices on soil C and GHG emissions from agricultural systems at the farm-scale. We will improve the capacity of multiple stakeholder groups, including organic farmers, buyers, and students to understand and evaluate organic management practice impacts by: 1) Synthesizing and integrating data on cover crops, organic amendments and management intensive grazing into COMET-Farm and the Cool Farm Tool; 2) Engaging diverse stakeholder groups to assess, refine, and test improved decision support systems that reflect realistic organic management practices; and 3) Developing learning modules that integrate GHG decision support systems into undergraduate curriculum. This project will leverage existing stakeholder networks and extensive modeling and software infrastructure. These improved decision support systems will enable the industry to deliver improved storytelling about organic beyond the label and help to identify opportunity areas for working with farmers to improve both productivity and profitability as well as deliver on corporate commitments to meet GHG reduction goals.

Animal Health Component

70%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

10%

Applied

70%

Developmental

20%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
102	0430	1070	50%
102	0110	1070	25%
102	2410	1070	25%

Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships;

Subject Of Investigation
0110 - Soil; 0430 - Climate; 2410 - Cross-commodity research--multiple crops;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;

Keywords

mgmt intensive grazing

organic amendments

Goals / Objectives
Our long-term goal is to provide decision support tools that support organic producers in optimizing the environmental services provided by organic farming systems and inform supply chain valuation programs that reward producers for good stewardship.We will achieve our long-term goal through the following specific objectives and expected outcomes:Objective 1: (Research) Improve the capacity of existing decision support systems (COMET-Farm and the Cool Farm Tool) to provide full GHG accounting and evaluation of key management options in organic systems, with an emphasis on inclusion into the tools of: crop rotations with cover crops and use of organic amendments for crop production, and inclusion of management intensive grazing for organic dairy and beef production.Objective 2: (Outreach/Extension) - Assess, refine, test and deliver user-friendly decision support systems, developed in close collaboration with stakeholders, that reflect realistic organic management practices and can be used to evaluate organic production system effects on soil C and GHG emissions.Objective 3: (Education) - Develop online learning modules that integrate GHG decision support systems into undergraduate and graduate curriculum.

Project Methods
ApproachWe will assemble, through the end of the first year of the project, all relevant literature from field studies for each of cover crop practices on GHG and soil C, in a comprehensive database. In some cases we anticipate the need to query authors directly for additional details about the study, which are not always included in journal publications. We will also work with our stakeholder community to seek out information that may be in the 'gray literature' - i.e., in internal reports, in non-indexed journals or as yet unpublished form, that are not readily accessible through standard searches of referred journals.To improve the capacity of tools to estimate organic amendment impacts on GHG and soil C, we will leverage existing databases on manure and compost nutrient content and integrate new data quantifying GHG emission impacts of manure management practices.We will compile available data on intensive grazing systems,pasture productivity and plant dynamics as well as field measurement of soil C and GHG fluxes as a function of grazing system, in our data collection.Data obtained from the literature search will be archived in a MS-Access® database along with ancillary data on location, source reference, etc. If sufficient studies are available to directly estimate climate-zone specific soil C stock change factors for one or more of the practice types, we will fit the data using linear mixed-effect models. The model will include fixed effects for climate, soil depth, soil type and time and random effects for site and site-by-time interactions to account for dependence among observations from repeated measures at a site. Empirical factors derived from the analysis will be incorporated into the Cool Farm Tool.Because different cover crop types, different organic amendments and different pasture systems vary in their responses, the same field experimental data needed to develop empirical modelsis needed to parameterize and validate the DayCent model for the new practices. We will employ standard techniques of splitting the field study data sets of soil GHG responses to management practices, using a portion for parameterization and calibration and reserving the remaining studies for independent validation, computing standard model comparison metrics for model evaluation and iterative model refinement.Once the model performance has been optimized for each of the practices, revised parameter files and practice-specific databases and the updated DayCent webservice module will be integrated into the backend of the COMET-Farm system and Cool Farm Tool.We will gap-fill the emission and stock change database needed in the Cool Farm Tool for the new practices, by conducting a meta-model analysis using DayCent. The newly parameterized DayCent that is embedded within COMET-Farm will be used to simulate a large number of instances of each of the organic practices for randomly selected locations in the US, stratified by the major climate regions represented in the Cool Farm Tool and for soil types categorized by major texture types: coarse (e.g. sand, sandy loam), medium (e.g., loam, silt loam) and heavy (e.g., clays, clay loam, silty clay loam). Then the model results are treated as 'observations' that can be analyzed and aggregated into appropriately scaled stock change and emission factors using a modified version of the linear mixed effect model.The stock change and emission factors derived from the meta-model analysis will then be incorporated into the factor database that is used for GHG calculations in the Cool Farm Tool.The GUIswill be changed to allow users to specify cover cropping and double cropping more easily and to enable multi-year scenario planning to allow comparing alternative rotations. Multiple organic matter addition options will be added and capabilities to enable users to connect residue handling to compost production and utilization for life cycle accounting. Our stakeholder group will help inform the changes to the GUI to ensure usability while meeting the requirements for user inputs to drive the revised soil C and GHG emission algorithms.In year 1, we will host three stakeholder workshops co-located with regional organic farming conferences and near key supply chain stakeholders. These 1-day workshops will engage buyers and suppliers throughout the supply chain in discussions about effective uses of GHG quantification for encouraging, motivating and rewarding good practices and solicit input from stakeholders on the key organic practices to integrate into the decision support tools.We will collect and summarize case studies documenting benefits to farmers and other supply chain stakeholders. We will build understanding of these benefits received and anticipated over the course of the two years through stakeholder interviews in year 3 and in quantification of benefits from agronomic practices as modeled in the tools.In year 3, a subset of stakeholders from the year 1 workshops will be invited to a workshop to test and provide feedback on the decision support tools with the revised practices integrated. In advance of the workshop, we will provide instructions and support to participants to input their production or supply chain practices into both tools. During the workshop, we will solicit input on the user interface of the tools, the management menu options, as well as providing information on the science behind the estimates and the relative uncertainties of different estimates. Stakeholder feedback will be utilized to further improve and refine the management options and the user interface of both tools.We will utilize existing resources as well as input from stakeholder meetings to define and prioritize student learning outcomes related to GHG emissions and mitigation in organic agriculture. We will then utilize backwards design to create teaching materials that help students work towards being able to accomplish the stated learning outcomes. Modules will be structured in two ways: 1) they will consist of specific case studies that allow students to examine scenarios at a specific farm, based on inputs provided by growers at stakeholder workshops; or 2) allow students to use tools for a place-based exploration of farming in their community. Both approaches have strengths and tradeoffs. With specific case studies, students will be able to learn about an operation in depth, using existing data to form conclusions, but such examples may not be directly relevant to student experiences. To students in the semi-arid High Plains, for example, the production challenges of New England are downright foreign, and vice versa. Specific farm case studies may allow remote exploration of a new place. In contrast, a place-based approach that could allow students to enter their home town and zip code into COMET-Farm as a starting point, would allow students a thorough exploration of scenarios relevant to their area, but would require more instructor involvement and background knowledge of regional farming systems to thoroughly guide student work. Therefore, learning modules will include a combination of these approaches, to give students the breadth and depth necessary to be able to understand and apply their skills in this area and provide support to instructors. Scenarios explored in these modules will meet National Organic Program requirements as well as practices cost-shared by NRCS. All courses will utilize student evaluations and formative assessments to measure success in meeting the stated student learning outcomes.

Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience: Our target audiences include organic producers and ranchers, organic grower certification organizations, resource conservation agencies, organic food companies, students, the general public, researchers and extension personnel. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two PhD students received mentoring and professional development through this project during this final reporting period. This project expanded faculty and research scientist professional networks, including linkages across the Cool Farm Alliance, through our project advisory board to private sector partners, National Resource Inventory staff and partners, FFAR OpenTEAM partners, and other colleagues. More than 90 undergraduate students received training in how to use freely available online decision support tools to simulate greenhouse gas emissions associated with different agricultural management practices. Student reflections highlighted the following areas of learning: 1)11 students specifically mentioned something to the effect of 'small changes can have big impacts', and a majority of students talked about specific choices of on farm practices that contribute to lower carbon emissions (18 of 30); 2) 14 of 30 students became more aware that there are a large range of variables that play into carbon emissions and that each operation is different. Also realizing that there are benefits and downsides to the variety of different methods that are used to manage agricultural emissions. Students reflected on positive changes and impact over time from conservation management practices.; 3) Many students commented on how management practice changes can lead to multiple benefits, including healthier soils, reducing carbon emissions, and a healthier environment as a whole. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated via research publications, presentations at scientific meetings, presentations at stakeholder meetings such as the Cool Farm Alliance annual meeting, and in the classroom via the outlined teaching activities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. Research-based tool development Cover crop improvements in COMET-Farm The final publication documenting the calibration and validation process for improving the DayCENT model's capacity to simulate soil carbon changes for cropping systems that include different cover crop species was completed. In addition, through a new collaboration inspired by this project, a nationwide simulation of cover scenarios using DayCENT was completed and these data are currently being analyzed. Cover crop integration into Cool Farm Tool The dataset from the previously reported cover crop meta-analysis published from this project was used to develop regression equations to generate a proposed revision to the Cool Farm Tool cover crop module. During this final reporting period, additional regression testing and data analysis was done to determine best fit and evaluate this new model relative to the existing Cool Farm Tool methodology. This new model significantly improved upon the existing Cool Farm Tool methodology for estimating the greenhouse gas changes associated with cover crop practices. In addition, a new framework was developed for quantifying soil carbon in the Cool Farm Tool based on IPCC 2019. This new framework was designed such that when it comes to cover cropping in temperate climates, the new models developed based on regression equations from the meta-analysis dataset can be utilized. The revised methodology has been proposed and approved by the Cool Farm Alliance methods committee It has now been submitted to a stakeholder review processes that will run to mid-September 2021. Improving knowledge of the effects of organic amendments and grazing systems on soil carbon changes A 3-year field study evaluating the short and longer-term effects of compost additions to irrigated, improved pastures and non-irrigated semi-native pasture was completed. We found that the application of organic nitrogen in the form of compost increased plant production and soil carbon and nitrogen in surface soils in the irrigated, but not the dryland semi-native pasture. Aboveground biomass increased approximately 40% under the organic amendment in the improved pasture, while belowground biomass only differed between treatments in the first experimental year. In the improved pasture, soil organic carbon stocks increased by 1.3 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 after accounting for the C supplied by the organic amendment. Soil inorganic carbon was highly variable in both experiments contributing to about half or more of total soil carbon at depth. This variability reduced our capacity to detect total soil C stock changes under the organic amendment below 10 cm, demonstrating the importance of considering soil inorganic carbon in carbon stock change estimates under improved soil management practices in semi-arid systems. Objective 2. Stakeholder outreach The revised Cool Farm Tool methodology and research results were presented at the 2021 Annual Conference of the Cool Farm Alliance. Over 250 people, from 122 companies, academic and non-profit organizations attended this meeting, held virtually on April 28. In addition, over the course of the last year Cool Farm Alliance added 42 new members growing from 77 to118 members and partners. The growth and reach of the Cool Farm Alliance provide an indication of the scale of potential impact from this work. We continued to partner with Stonyfield Farms to develop case studies of organic dairy systems and improve the utility of the COMET-Farm Tool for simulating these complex systems. Objective 3. Education The Cool Farm Alliance launched a newCool Farm Tool E-learning Coursewith updated video tutorials and user manuals forCrops, Beef, Dairy and Biodiversity, as well as guidance and resources for companies and farmers on how to get started and for creating sustainable action plans. We completed and published a manuscript outlining case study examples using COMET-Farm, COMET-Planner and the Cool Farm Tool for undergraduate agriculture courses. These case studies integrate learning about agricultural best management practices with the implications of these practices on climate change mitigation and greenhouse gas emissions. The use of these decision-support tools designed for farmer and industry/supply chain use allows students to represent the specificity of agricultural management practices, compare across management scenarios over realistic spatial and temporal scales, and make predictions on the impact of these practices.This information was tested in one undergraduate course at the University of Wyoming with 45 students and one course at Colorado State University with 45 students, shared through a seminar at the University of Northern Colorado, and is currently being integrated into a webpage that is near completion.

Publications

Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: McClelland, S.C., Paustian, K., Williams, S., and Schipanski, M.E. (2021). Modeling cover crop biomass production and related emissions to improve farm-scale decision-support tools. Agricultural Systems, 191, p.103151.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jabbour, R., McClelland, S.C. and Schipanski, M.E. (2021). Use of decision-support tools by students to link crop management practices with greenhouse gas emissions: A case study. Natural Sciences Education, p.e20063.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Hughes H., S. McClelland, J. Hillier, M. Schipanski, K. Paustian. Cover crop impacts on soil carbon storage: Parameterising relationships for decision support tools. EuroSoil 2021. O014 H. Hughes1,*, S. McClelland2, J. Hillier1, M. Schipanski2, K. Paustian2

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience: Our target audiences include organic producers and ranchers, organic grower certification organizations, resource conservation agencies, organic food companies, students, the general public, researchers and extension personnel. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate student received science communication and leadership training through the School for Global and Environmental Sustainability Leadership Fellows program. Undergraduate students received training and assisted with field-based research and soil analyses. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have continued to contribute to a new learning community of research, extension, and natural resource personnel interested in compost and grazing effects on grasslands of the Western U.S. Research results were presented at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During this final reporting period, we will finalize publications, complete improvements to the Cool Farm Tool, and leverage our work to support broader collaborations.The Cool Farm Tool revised methodology for estimating cover crop impacts on soil carbon based on our team's research will be proposed to the Cool Farm Alliance and will hopefully be adopted. Manuscripts from the organic amendments and grazing field studies will be submitted. We will convene our advisory board for one final meeting to solicit input for the best ways to share our findings and to increase the longevity and impact of our work. We will continue collaborations with Stonyfield Farms and OpenTEAM to ensure that the GHG tools include management options realistic for organic dairy systems. We will collaborate with colleagues who conduct the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory to evaluate the potential impact of different cover crop scenarios on soil carbon stock changes.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. Research-based tool development Cover crops A cover crop meta-analysis that analyzed how different management and environmental factors affect soil carbon changes was published. The DayCent model was calibrated and validated using a broader cover crop dataset and for the introduction of an additional cover crop species, sunn hemp. This will improve the capacity of COMET-Farm to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon changes associated with cover crop practices. This model improvement and analysis was submitted for publication.The meta- analysis dataset was used to develop regression equations to generate a proposed revision to the Cool Farm Tool cover crop module with expected completion in spring 2021. Organic amendments and management intensive grazing systems We completed a 3-year field-based research study to evaluate the effects of compost additions on pasture productivity and soil carbon dynamics. Objective 2: Stakeholder Outreach We collaborated with Stonyfield Farms and OpenTEAM partners to collect organic dairy farm management practice data across a range of farms during the 2020 field season. Objective 3: Curriculum Development The COMET-Farm tool has been used within the curriculum of several undergraduate courses at CSU and the University of Wyoming. Dr. Jabbour developed similar teaching modules using the Cool Farm Tool and submitted a manuscript for publication to highlight how these online tools and different case studies can be integrated into agricultural courses. This is particularly timely and relevant given the high demand for online teaching resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Publications

Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: McClelland, S.C., Paustian, K., Schipanski, M.E. 2020. Management of cover crops in temperate climates influences soil organic carbon stocks: a meta-analysis. Ecological Applications. doi:10.1002/eap.2278
Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2020 Citation: McClelland, S.C., K. Paustian, S. Williams, M.E. Schipanski. (submitted) Modeling cover crop biomass production and related emissions to improve farm-scale decision-support tools. Agricultural Systems
Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jabbour, R., S.C. McClelland, M.E. Schipanski. (submitted) Use of decision-support tools by students to link crop management practices with greenhouse gas emissions: A case study. Natural Sciences Education
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: McClelland, S.C., M. Schipanski. Above and belowground community responses to infrequent compost applications in semi-native and improved pastures. Ecology Society of America annual meeting. August 6-9, 2020.

Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences include organic producers and ranchers, organic grower certification organizations, resource conservation agencies, organic food companies, students, the general public, researchers and extension personnel. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We mentored a secondundergraduate intern who conducted an independent research project to evaluate the effects of compost additions on soil nitrogen dynamics in rangelands. The graduate student participated in the UN COP climate change meetings in Spain in 2019, receiving training in science communication and international climate change science policy. Another undergraduate student completed a research internship assisting with the grazing system literature review database development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our team continues to present lectures and workshops to share our research results and broader summaries of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture at multiple conferences and stakeholder events. In addition, our field research activities have catalyzed a new learning community of research, extension, and natural resource personnel interested in compost and grazing effects on grasslands of the Western U.S. See below for specific outreach presentation details. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have developed multiple partnerships to leverage our project funds through collaborations during this final reporting period. We are collaborating with partners who are conducting a systematic literature review of organic amendments. We are developing a data sharing agreement that will allow us to utilize this shared dataset to extend their analysis of the factors influencing organic amendment effects on soil carbon dynamics that will inform decision support tool improvements. We are also collaborating with Stonyfield Farm that is collecting organic dairy farm management data as part of a FFAR-funded project to inform learning module case studies and to develop more user-friendly input options for COMET-Farm to better reflect these typical operations. In addition, we are utilizing our cover crop meta-analysis results to inform scenario analysis of cover crop potential impacts on U.S. agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. Research-based tool development Cover crops (estimated 95% completion) A cover crop meta-analysis study that estimates how cover crop management, climate, and soil type factors affect soil organic carbon was completed and submitted for publication. The meta-analysis dataset was used to calibrate and validate the DayCent model which informs COMET-Farm and this research is being prepared for publication. In addition, the meta-analysis dataset has been used to develop regression equations to generate a proposed revision to the Cool Farm Tool cover crop module. The updated cover crops integrated into DayCent were also used as part of the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, to determine model performance and bias. This is the first time cover crops have been including in this annual national inventory, which is then reported to the International Panel on Climate Change. Organic amendments and management intensive grazing systems (estimated 70% completion) We have continued field-based research to evaluate the effects of compost additions on pasture productivity and soil carbon dynamics. We have collected two years of field data from both an irrigated and non-irrigated, semi-native grassland system. An undergraduate student continues to assist with the compilation of data from 244 published grazing studies from which we intend to generate a systematic review. We are classifying grazing systems into management categories to define typical management practices within each category to inform tool user interface options. Objective 2: Stakeholder Outreach We held stakeholder listening sessions with key stakeholder groups, including representatives of the Cool Farm Alliance, Carbon Cycle, Stonyfield Farms, the Nature Conservancy, and Organic Valley. The cover crop meta-analysis results have been presented to many audiences, including scientific and non-scientific audiences. We convened our advisory board to share our results and solicit feedback, which primarily includes representatives from major national organic organizations and companies. See future work for more details on how the feedback and new collaborations from these sessions is informing our work. Objective 3: Curriculum Development The COMET-Farm tool has been used within the curriculum of several undergraduate courses at CSU and the University of Wyoming. This learning module examines climate change through the lens of agriculture. It includes performance expectations aligned with learning objective concepts and skills. In addition to piloting the module Dr. Jabbour sought feedback on this project from USDA Northern Plains Climate Hub Director Dannele Peck in a series of brainstorming meetings given the hubs' focus on education on climate variability and agriculture, to avoid re-inventing the wheel.

Publications

Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: McClelland, S.C., Paustian, K., Schipanski, M.E. Management of cover crops influences soil organic carbon stocks A meta-analysis. American Society of Agronomy. San Antonio, TX. November 10-13, 2019.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2020 Citation: McClelland, S.C., Paustian, K., Schipanski, M.E. (submitted). Management of cover crops influences soil organic carbon stocks A meta-analysis. Ecological Applications.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: McClelland, S.C., Conant, R., Haddix, M., Schipanski, M.E. Ecosystem productivity and carbon storage under infrequent organic matter amendments. Front Range Student Ecology Symposium. Fort Collins, CO. February 27-28, 2019.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: McClelland, S.C., Conant, R., Haddix, M., Schipanksi, M.E. Soil health impacts of infrequent compost application in an irrigated perennial pasture system. Soil Science Society of America. San Diego, CA. January 6-9, 2019.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jackman, J., McClelland, S.C., Schipanski, M.E. Impact of compost soil amendment on nitrogen availability in grazed perennial grassland. Soil Science Society of America. San Diego, CA. January 6-9, 2019.

Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience: Our target audiences include organic producers and ranchers, organic grower certification organizations, resource conservation agencies, organic food companies, students, the general public, researchers and extension personnel. Changes/Problems:Due to the delay in funding and the decision to hire a PhD student rather than a postdoc, the project deliverables are delayed by about 6-9 months. The overall objectives will still be met on this delayed timeline. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?An undergraduate intern conducted an independent research project to evaluate the effects of compost additions on soil nitrogen dynamics in rangelands. The graduate student completed teaching assistant training and is receiving mentoring in teaching and research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our team has presented lectures and workshops related to greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture at multiple conferences and stakeholder events. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will complete the cover crop synthesis and integration into COMET-Farm during the next reporting period. This will then be used to inform improvements in the Cool Farm Tool. The organic amendments and management intensive grazing literature syntheses will be completed and integration into the tools will be initiated. Stakeholder workshops will be held that, in conjunction with input from our stakeholder advisory board, will inform user interface development and identify tool improvement priorities to improve adoption and usability for organic producers and food companies. The plan for hosting stakeholder workshops was amended and two in-person workshops will be facilitated this winter 2019 for 10-15 organic crop consultants and a session at the Cool Farm Alliance Annual General Assembly in March 2019 for 10- 15 participants. COMET-Farm will likely do a similar workshop with either the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) staff or other COMET-Farm stakeholders. The curriculum modules will be developed based on scenarios using improved COMET-Farm and Cool Farm Tool interfaces.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. Research-based tool development Cover crops (estimated 75% completion - on schedule) During this reporting period, the literature/data search has been completed for Cover Crops. The graduate student with the aid of two undergraduate students has entered ~100 papers into the database. Cover crop studies have been used to calibrate and validate the DayCent model which informs COMET-Farm. Options on the graphical user interface to include cover crops is now fully operational in the development version of COMET-Farm, including species selection, planting and termination dates, and other management options (fertilization, irrigation, amendments, tillage). Work is ongoing with model parameterizations and testing for grass/forb/legume mixtures as well as specific cover crops including cereal rye, sun hemp, brassicas (canola, carinata), sudan grass, clover, vetch pea and radish. Organic amendments (estimated 65% completion) Major improvement in the DayCent model operating within COMET-Farm has been to partition total N in organic amendments (e.g., manure, compost) into both organic and inorganic (i.e., mineral N forms) as a function of different types (e.g., sources, waste handling procedures) of organic amendments. This change gives a better representation of short term crop responses to N availability vs larger term feedbacks on soil processes. Testing of the new algorithm is ongoing with published datasets. We also have a new collaboration (with outside support) with UC-Berkeley to obtain some new (unpublished) data sets on compost addition to pastures to test the system with. We are only marginally behind the original planned schedule. Management intensive grazing systems (estimated 50% completion) The literature search for Management Intensive Grazing, completed in fall 2017, yielded 200-300 papers of which 100-150 were relevant. Field data is being collected from on-farm research focused on the interaction of management intensive grazing and organic amendment additions to irrigated and non-irrigated grasslands. Objective 2: Stakeholder Outreach A workshop was hosted at Expo East in Baltimore, MD on September 14, 2017. Initial findings from the meta-analysis and CoolFarm Tool mock-ups of potential interface changes to cover crop and grazing modules for feedback were shared during the workshop. The team also presented at several other conferences and workshops. Objective 3: Curriculum Development The Climate Change module introduces concepts related to climate change and agriculture and was piloted on three undergraduate agriculture students at the University of Wyoming, and feedback was sought from these students to improve the clarity of the module. This objective was scheduled for completion in project years 2 and 3.

Publications

Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: McClelland, S. R. Conant, M. Haddix, M. Schipanski. Soil health impacts of infrequent compost application in irrigated perennial pasture system. Soil Science Society of America, January 7-10, 2019.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jackman, J. S. McClelland, M. Schipanski. Impact of compost soil amendment on nitrogen availability in grazed perennial grasslands Soil Science Society of America, January 7-10, 2019.

Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience:We have engaged food supply companies, organic producers, organic certifiers and other scientists during the first year of the project. Changes/Problems:We were delayed in hiring the proposed post-doctoral position and decided instead to staff the position with an excellent graduate student who had relevant literature synthesis experience and greenhous gas emissions knowledge. This has delayed our timeline by about 6 months from what was initially proposed. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The graduate student presented an overview of her research proposal at the CSU Graduate Student Showcase and is receiving training in model use and development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next year will be important for moving from the initial phase of the work that is focused on literature synthesis and integration into the decision support tools to increased stakeholder engagement in adapting tools to meet their needs. Our goal is to publish the results from the cover crop synthesis and complete the cover crop calibration and validation work in DayCent. In addition, we will hold at least one stakeholder workshop and we will begin the development of the online learning modules.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We hired a graduate student who started in June 2017 to initiate the literature review work required to improve the COMET-Farm and Cool Farm Tool to include key organic practices. A comprehensive literature review was completed for studies that included cover crops and greenhouse gas measurements and/or soil carbon measurements and/or basic cover crop growth dynamics. These studies have undergone an initial screening and the top priority papers have been entered into a database that can be used to calibrate and validate the DayCent model, which is the process-based model that informs COMET-Farm. In addition, the preliminary comprehensive literature review for studies focused on management intensive grazing was completed. Under Objective 2, we presented and led a stakeholder workshopat the Natural ProductsEXPO East in Baltimore, MD,to communicate the project goals and solicit feedback. Our team members also participated in a FFAR listening session to discuss opportunities to improve inter-operability acrossdecision support tools, including tools such as FarmOS and others. In terms of project management, we held monthly team conference calls and hosted 2 webinars for our advisory board that provided an introduction and overview of both decision support tools.

Publications

Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: D. Malin. Decision support tools: Measuring carbon in agricultural supply chains. Organic Agriculture: Climate Change Champion panel presentation. Natural Products Expo East. Baltimore, MD, September 15, 2017.