Source: UNIV OF WISCONSIN submitted to NRP
GRASSLAND 2.0-AGROECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION TO PERENNIAL GRASSLAND AGRICULTURE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1019756
Grant No.
2019-68012-29852
Cumulative Award Amt.
$9,999,999.00
Proposal No.
2018-09009
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2019
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2025
Grant Year
2019
Program Code
[A9201]- Sustainable Agricultural Systems
Recipient Organization
UNIV OF WISCONSIN
21 N PARK ST STE 6401
MADISON,WI 53715-1218
Performing Department
AGRONOMY-GEN
Non Technical Summary
Milk and beef production in the US are dominated by confined cattle fed corn, soybean, and alfalfa. In the North Central Region, these crops cover ~75% of agricultural landscapes and cause significant environmental degradation with excess soil and nutrient losses polluting water bodies, greenhouse gasses destabilizing the climate, and loss of biodiversity. Meanwhile, economic stability is low in these sectors resulting in dramatic losses of farms. We propose a sustainable agricultural system based on restoring much of the ecosystem structure and function of the native prairie. This vision of agriculture replaces most of the annual crops in the North Central US with perennial grasslands supporting livestock production whose agroecological metrics are superior profitability, nutrient and water efficiency, and yield stability. To achieve this vision, we will develop an Agroecological Transformation Plan that anticipates impediments to change, innovates to surmount resistance, and maps pathways to what we call Grassland 2.0. Our Plan aims to catalyze change by fostering engagement in local watersheds of southern Wisconsin, expanding lessons learned to the four-state Driftless Area, and to the North Central Region. Our Plan will emerge from a stakeholder process aimed at developing greater supply and demand for grass-fed products, technical and financial tools for grass-based enterprises, decision-support tools to aid in stakeholder planning, innovative policy incentives to enable transitions, and educational content geared to empowering citizens. This project addresses the RFA's A9201 priority areas by 1) addressing total factor productivity, 2) improving water and nitrogen use efficiency, and 3) stabilizing yields in the face of stressors.
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
13101991070100%
Knowledge Area
131 - Alternative Uses of Land;

Subject Of Investigation
0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
Our goal is to transform agriculture of the North Central Region from grain-based to perennial grass-based livestock production.Objective 1. Develop Agroecological Transformation Plan for Grassland 2.0Objective 2. Cultivate Grassland 2.0 by stimulating demand for grass-fed productsObjective 3. Develop support tools for grassland farmersObjective 4. Develop support tools for Grassland 2.0 stakeholdersObjective 5. Develop governance models to incentivize the Grassland 2.0 transitionObjective 6. Propagate Grassland 2.0 within and beyond WisconsinObjective 7. Educate citizens to stimulate innovation for Grassland 2.0Objective 8. Evaluate the efficacy of Grassland 2.0
Project Methods
Our methods include stakeholder engagement, decision-support tool development, development of outreach materials, and development of curriculum. Stakeholder engagement will happen at several levels: expert (meta-stakeholder), local (Yahara River watershed), regional (Driftless Area), and multi-state (NC Region). These efforts will produce key input and feedback on development of decision support tools geared toward helping land-use decision makers make change on the landscape towards perennial grasslands. These tools will require improved data, which will be generated by field experiments and modeling. In addition to decision support tools, we will develop programs focused on effecting and incentivizing change in the realms of social sciences, economics, financing, and policy. These programs will be informed by our iterative stakeholder engagement. From these efforts, we will develop Learning Hubs, from which will emerge extension materials (written, oral, video) appropriate to particular sectors of the livestock industry as well as conservationists, land managers, and other agency personnel. Likewise, we will develop educational materials that will be built into our development of a new Agroecosystems major in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Our evaluation efforts are explicitly developed in two of our overall Project Objectives. In Objective 1, we will perform Developmental evaluation of transformative change, which will provide an assessment of the efficacy of our project in achieving our goals and outcomes. In Objective 8, we will perform Programmatic evaluation to determine whether we are meeting our project's internal milestones, deadlines, hand-offs, etc.

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The focus of the Grassland 2.0 SAS-CAP project is to facilitate a re-imagining of our physical as well as sociological landscapes through the lens of the perennial grasslands that used to exist across much of our region. The earlier years of the project were more heavily focused on engaging new communities, and the latter years of the project were focused on deepening engagement with these target audiences. With these thoughts in mind, the following are new groups that were engaged during the fifth year of our project: SE Minnesota farmers UW WiSys team SSWIG Agriculture and Human Values conference attendees Savor the River Valley farming community Dairy Strong Conference, Dairy Business Association attendees Nationally-focused Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship workshop Dairy nutritionists Rural Sociologists (Rural Sociology Conference) Coon Creek Watershed Meat supply chain development organization in SW Wisconsin Monroe County Climate Task Force Milwaukee River Watershed group Wisconsin Grazing Coalition Wisconsin Land + Water Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin IASNR Conference Attendees Clean Lakes Alliance Wisconsin Dairy Farmworker Alliance Midwest Collaborative for Equity, Research, and Food Justice (M-CERF) Regenerative Poultry Convergence Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The establishment of the Grassland 2.0 Academy is a bright example of how we are helping institutionalize grassland agriculture. A key impediment to transformational change in our agroecosystems that emerged from our community driven collaborative landscape design process within our learning hubs is the need for more skilled technical service providers around the state to assist with transitions to grass-based farming approaches. The Grassland 2.0 Academy partnership between Grassland 2.0 and Wisconsin NRCS (along with GrassWorks and UW-Madison Division of Extension) is training technical service providers not only in the how of managed grazing, but also the why of grassland agriculture. Grounded in the place-making framework of Grassland 2.0, the Academy is connecting grazing technical support with the values of individual farmers and their communities. The Academy is helping recruit a new generation of agroecological professionals with exciting ideas about how farming can improve their ecosystems, communities, and individual health and well-being. In its first year, the program helped produce > 40 new grazing plans from new plan writers -a testament to the demand for grazing assistance and for the role of institutional support to grow grassland agriculture. Along with local, state, federal, and NGO partners, Grassland 2.0 Academy is comprised of a research-based curriculum of hands-on, web-based, and classroom and field-based educational opportunity in the art and science of grassland ecology, including beginning through advanced managed grazing principles, techniques, and application. Instruction is provided by agency staff, university faculty and extension specialists, and experienced farmers. The primary audience continues to be technical service providers and farmers, but will grow to include agricultural consultants, extension agents, watershed planners, and policy makers/implementers to build the professional capacity of Wisconsin's agricultural sector to support genuinely regenerative agriculture. Year 1 of the Grassland 2.0 Academy was a huge success! We began by convening a 2-day planning and scoping retreat in Door County summer 2022 that included prospective instructors and other experts. At this retreat, we co-developed a framework for Academy modules. Next, our core team met in fall-winter 2023 to map out the initial Grassland 2.0 Academy curriculum, which used the retreat framework as a starting point, but converged on a flow that first addressed the lack of technical service support in the state - a problem we have heard over and over in Grassland 2.0 Learning Hubs. This work included compiling past educational materials, slide decks, notes, etc. and building them into a coherent curriculum for our first offering, which was focused on helping USDA NRCS personnel attain Job Class III Approval. We called this course Grassland 2.0 Foundations. This course was delivered mostly online (13 virtual modules) and two field days, concluding in September 2023 with a 3-day retreat where participants collaborated to develop grazing plans considered acceptable for Job Class III Approval. To date 91 individuals have finished our Foundations course. Evaluation of the Foundations module provided a lot of important feedback, but the most important findings was that of the 20 responding, they generally feel more comfortable writing a grazing plan now than they did when they started the Academy. Perhaps more important was a comment from one individual: I joined the Academy for professional development reasons, but little did I know that I would get so much more than that. The Academy community was as influential in my spiritual growth as it was for my professional growth. October 2023, we initiated a second module focused on Job Class IV Approval called Grassland 2.0 Four Seasons, because this level of NRCS approval allows grazing planning for the challenging winter season. 43 have finished our advanced Four Seasons course, with another 37 currently enrolled. Additional training and professional development opportunities from the Grassland 2.0 project are listed below: SmartScape decision support tool demonstration video GrazeScape decision support tool demonstration video Dairy heifer grazing workshops (2) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During the reporting window, the majority of efforts to disseminate the resources, findings, and messaging of the Grassland 2.0 project have come in the way of public meetings as well as online, or virtual sessions. A more thorough list of the most noteworthy events can be found within the Products and Other Products sections of the reporting form. As our decision support tools developed, along with the emerging key focuses of our learning hubs, our efforts to disseminate project materials were focused on convergences between these two - namely out dairy heifer compass tool, and our Scape tools (SmartScape and GrazeScape). Workshops, community meetings, were held to demonstrate these tools for farmers, conservation professionals, NGO staff, agricultural lenders and other interested individuals. Finally, the Grassland 2.0 Academy continues to be an impactful venue for the relaying Grassland 2.0 findings and messaging to conservation professionals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting window, our final reporting window for this project, we will be focused on further empowerment of our learning hub local leadership to continue the collaborative landscape design process in furtherance of their desired agroecological transformations. This empowerment and process-based approach was chosen in order to have an enduring impact on agroecological transformation despite limited-term resources. Within our no-cost extension period, we'll also be focusing on improving meta-model update processes for our decision support tools - GrazeScape & SmartScape - as well as explore expanding tool coverage from Wisconsin to Minnesota in collaboration with the SnapPlus team. Finally, we'll be focusing on securing additional funding to continue and expand the work initiated by this grant. Other remaining projects include: Wisconsin dairy survey (Jeremy Foltz & Chuck Nicholson, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, UW-Madison): Data interpretation and analysis of a survey of more than 1,000 dairy farmers on farming and grazing practices and attitudes toward environmentally friendly agriculture. We are in the process of producing journal articles and outreach documents on the characteristics and contributions of grazing farms in WI and exit decisions of grazing farms over the last decade. We will further analyze the data to determine the types of economic incentives that would increase the number of grazing farms. Agroecological Transformation Plan (Randy Jackson, Department of Plant & Agroecosystem Sciences, UW-Madison): The individual Learning Hub Agroecological Transformation Plans (ATP) will be used to craft an overall ATP for Wisconsin (our main project deliverable). Supply-chain development (Nicholas Jordan, Department of Agronomy & Crop Sciences, University of Minnesota): Supply-chain work in the Cloverbelt Learning Hub includes working with organizations who are part of USDA Climate-Smart Ag projects developing carbon accounting schemes with local farmers. We will continue making these connections to build grazing of dairy heifers into their bigger Climate-Smart Ag portfolios.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have divided our accomplishments into some key activities as well as the activities occurring within our developed learning hubs. Key Activities: Most notably in terms of capturing the accomplishments of the Grassland 2.0 project, during the reporting window, the project's evaluation team conducted a Most Significant Change evaluative exercise which elucidated the aspects of the team's work that have been most impactful over the course of the grant period. The executive summary of this evaluative exercise will be emailed to NIFA Program Contact, Amy Ganguli for reference (file name: Grassland2.0_MostSignificantChange_21Nov2024.pdf). Based on dairy farmer survey results, Rissman testified for informational purposes on a Wisconsin bill that would incentivize farmers to transition to grass-based operations. This testimony was in the Assembly Agriculture Committee in November 2023 and the Senate Agriculture Committee in January 2024. Many meta-stakeholder partners also testified on this bill. Finished many updates and revisions to the Scape Tools (GrazeScape and SmartScape) in response to user feedback including the addition of a phosphorus delivery factor in SmartScape and accounting for cover crops in the nitrate leaching potential estimation. The back-end of the tools were also substantially improved to improve and increase the speed of performance including a migration over to Amazon Web Services. Learning Hubs: Ridge & Valley The Ridge and Valley Learning Hub is in Southwestern Wisconsin (Vernon, Monroe, and Crawford Counties). The Ridge and Valley hub gets its name because of its sharp topography of ridge tops that descend into valleys, in the valleys are streams that support a trout fishery. There has been a long history of conducting conservation agriculture in the Ridge and Valley to maintain soil health in this sharp sloping landscape. 90 years ago, Aldo Leopold and the CCC worked with area farmers to develop agricultural practices that would mitigate the impacts of devastating erosion events. At this juncture flooding is an acute threat for the communities of the Ridge and Valley. With minimal water infiltration, which is attributed to agricultural land management, there are surges in stream levels during major rain events. These rain events are becoming increasingly severe as the impacts of climate change heighten. The flood events have become so intense that the localized dam system has become overwhelmed, in some instances causing dam failure. Following dam failures in 2018 US Army Corp of Engineers assess the dam removal is necessary for public safety. The flood events coupled with dam removal have local community members focused on exploring ways that their land management practices could be used to increase water infiltration and limit the surging flood events that occur during major rain events. Cloverbelt The Cloverbelt Learning Hub is in North Central Wisconsin (Marathon, Wood, Clark Counties). The name Cloverbelt comes from the region's history as a major dairy producer. Decades ago fields of green clover were planted throughout the landscape to support the area's milking herd. Today much of the Clover has been replaced by Corn fields and many of the small dairies have been consolidated into much larger dairies. This transition has come at an immense cost to the local farming economy and ecological functioning. Through the processes of CLD community members have identified the amount of nonpoint source pollution in the Big Eau Pleine Reservoir as a major concern. To mitigate that pollution there is a major focus, specifically in the Fenwood Creek sub watershed to promote the practice of dairy heifer grazing which is a profitable and ecological friendly agronomic practice. Community members have identified that one of the primary barriers to increasing the amount of dairy heifer grazing is developing a supply chain between local dairy farms and would-be contract graziers. Driftless The Driftless learning hub is in Southwestern Wisconsin (Sauk, Iowa, Greene, Lafayette, and Grant County). The Driftles gets its name because of its unique topography which was caused by the passing over glaciers during the last ice age. This unglaciated area has left the landscapes with sharp slopes which are prone to soil erosion if not properly managed. Community members in the Driftless Learning Hub are adjacent to the expanding urban area of Madison, WI. That expansion has been identified as a double-edged sword. Madison has a robust local food scene, supporting one of the largest farmers markets in the United States, which could offer farmers a potential to directly market their products. Madison however also presents a through because as the city sprawls the price of agricultural land is perpetually being driven up. High land prices are making it harder to facilitate the acquisition or passing down of new farms. To move forward farmers in the area want to explore if there is a way to develop a farming system that is economically profitable and ecologically sustainable. Pine River The Pine River Learning Hub is located in central Minnesota (Crow Wing and Cass Counties). The Pine River flows through an agricultural area of ranches and farms and then finishes in the Whitefish chain of Lakes, which is a major destination for summertime lakes tourism. While the lakes of the region have high water quality, community members report seeing algae blooms in the southern regions of Minnesota and they worry that they will be next if they do not address their land management practices. With that in mind the people in the Pine River Learning Hub are exploring ways to develop responsible agricultural production that supports profitable farms and a robust tourism industry. A primary focus of the people in the Pine River Learning Hub is developing a farm to lake ground beef supply chain which is supported by the local community college and the Minnesota Farmers Union. The proposed plan is to have farmers and ranchers in the area produce beef in a responsible fashion, then have that meat processed locally and sold directly to lake users who are direct beneficiaries of the best management practices carried out by area farmers. Red Cedar River The Red Cedar River Learning Hub, located in northwestern WIsconsin, continues to develop in large part due to additional funding secured by Grassland 2.0 PIs Drs. Strauser and Raff through USDA SARE. This hub has developed a white paper outlining the potential pathways for agroecological transformation in this region, as well as potential impediments. Additionally, through collaboration with researchers at UW-Stout, undergraduate students through the 2024 LAKES REU Student Researchers program conducted community interviews aimed at furthering the collaborative landscape design process for this region. Green Lake The Green Lake Learning Hub, located in east-central Wisconsin, continues to explore funding opportunities for the development of this hub. Led by the Green Lake Association, and the Foxhead Ag Consulting Group, this hub is committed to preserving the water quality of Green Lake, the deepest inland lake in the state. Weighing the pros and cons of landscape level change as a means of water quality maintenance is being contrasted with more engineering heavy approaches to remove excess nutrients before entry into Green Lake.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Bell MM, Strauser J, Fochesatto A, Lloyd S, Lowe E, Martinez-Motta G, Jordan N, Wepking C. 2023. More than a sheen of green: Organizing agroecological transformation  Lessons from the Grassland 2.0 project. Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Burlington, VT. 04 Aug 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Strauser J. 2023. Moving beyond production: Community narratives for good farming. Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Burlington, VT.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Becker A, Strauser J, Ruark M, Horowitz L, Brossard D, Jackson RD. 2023. Finding common ground: Uncovering opportunities for sustainable agricultural transitions in the Midwest. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting 7 Aug 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Lloyd S, Schank A. 2024. Creating a Win-Win: Grazing Heifers for Economic and Ecological Returns. Dairy Business Association: Dairy Strong Conference 2024. 17 Jan 2024.
  • Type: Other Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Paine L. 2024. Building a better beef herd. Heart of Wisconsin Grazing Conference. 4 Apr 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Paine L. 2024. Back to Basics: 5 principles for managed grazing success. GrassWorks Grazing Conference, 2 Feb 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Munsch J, Schank A. 2024. Tools for improving the sustainability of grassland agriculture. GrassWorks Grazing Conference. 3 Feb 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Cavadini J, Paine L. 2024. Management Decisions for Season-Long Grazing. Marbleseed Conference, 24 Feb 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Paine L. 2024. Taking your Pasture Management Skills to the Next Level. Heart of Wisconsin Grazing Conference, 5 Apr 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Becker A, Strauser J, Ruark M, Brossard D, Jackson RD. 2024. Characterizing the good farmer and what it means for transformational landscape change. Annual meeting of the International Association for Society and Natural Resources. Cairns, Queensland, Australia. 24 Jun 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Strauser J, Gratton C, Jackson RD. 2024. Transforming agricultural landscapes: A case of regional place-making. Annual meeting of the International Association for Society and Natural Resources. Cairns, Queensland, Australia, 25 June 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Strauser J, Martinez-Motta G, Schank A, Lloyd S, Gratton C, Jordan NR, Booth EG, Cavadini J, Bembeneck B, Oehmichen M, Heidenreich K, Redetzke M, Daigle P, Jackson RD. 2024. Pursuing multifunctional socioecological transformations through a place-based approach: A case study of dairy heifer grazing in the Cloverbelt of Wisconsin. Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Madison, WI. 25 July 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Becker-Steele A, Strauser J, Brossard D, Ruark M, Jackson RD. 2024. Reimagining agricultural landscapes: Exploring tensions between the good farmer: and farmers goals for agriculture and their communities. Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Madison, WI, 25 July 2024.�
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Fochesatto, A. 2024, June 26. Feathers of Change in Equitable Value Chains: A Case Study on Poultry-centered Regenerative Agriculture. Presented at the Midwest Collaborative for Equity, Research, and Food Justice (M-CERF).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Fochesatto, A. Feathers of Change in Equitable Value Chains: Creating Shared Ownership and Control through Regenerative Poultry. Agriculture and Human Values Conference. Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York. 05 June 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Fochesatto, Ana, Louis Kemp, Stephanie Coffman, Chris Coffman, Rodrigo Cala, Cliff Martin. (2024, March). Farmer Learning Circle Report and Farmer Panel. Regenerative Poultry Convergence. Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Fochesatto, Ana, Adena Rissman, Yu Lu. 2024, January. 2023 Wisconsin Dairy Farmer Survey: Perspectives on Labor and Social Policy. Wisconsin Farmworker Coalition Dairy Worker Subcommittee.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Booth, Eric, Adena Rissman. 2024, March 8. Investigating alignment of agricultural land management policies and standards with water quality outcomes  lessons from data, models, and interviews. Wisconsin Land & Water Conference, Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association. Green Bay, WI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Booth, Eric. 2023, November 8. Overcoming Barriers to Local Water Quality Progress. Clean Lakes 101, Clean Lakes Alliance, Madison, WI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Rissman, A. 2024. Lessons from private land conservation in the United States: ecological and just transitions to land conservation. CATIE: Centro Agron�mico Tropical de Investigaci�n y Ense�anza, Turrialba, Costa Rica.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Rissman, Adena R., Ana Fochesatto, Erin Lowe. 2024. Ecological and just transitions in grassland agriculture. Rural Sociological Society. Madison, Wisconsin, USA. July 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Bocsi, Tierney, Ryan Hellenbrand, Catie DeMets, Diane Mayerfeld, Tony Johnson, Adena R. Rissman. Rural landowner stewardship decisions and perspectives in the context of their life courses and life transitions. Rural Sociological Society. July, 2024. Madison, WI.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Brathal, B., C Cumming, T Daun, L Johnson, T Lee, J Lideen, T Quinn, J Sippl, S Sippl, B Sorge, J Strauser, D Zerr. Constructing a Sustainable Agroecological Landscape Through Place-Making: The Preliminary Case Study of the Red Cedar Learning Hub. White Paper.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson RD, Stier J. 2023. Soil C change over 14 years in grasslands sown into a highly disturbed soil. Proceedings of the XXV International Grasslands Congress https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/XXV_IGC_2023/Ecology/39/
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Young EO, Sherman JF, Bembeneck BR, Jackson RD, Cavadini JS, Akins MS. 2023. Influence of stocking method on surface runoff and nutrient loss in an Upper Midwest grazing system. Nitrogen 4:350368. https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen4040025
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Raffeld A, Bradford MA, Jackson RD, Rath D, Sanford GR, Tautges N, Oldfield EE. 2024. The importance of accounting method and sampling depth to estimate changes in soil carbon stocks. Carbon Balance and Management 19: 2 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-024-00249-1
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Jackson RD. 2024. Americas Dairy Grassland  Wisconsin milk production that regenerates people and land. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 48: 898915 https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2024.2344027�
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Gratton C, Strauser J, Jordan N, Jackson RD, 2024. Agroecological innovation to scale livestock agriculture for positive economic, environmental, and social outcomes. Environmental� Research: Food Systems 1: 013001 https://doi.org/10.1088/2976-601X/ad382f
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Dietz CL, Ruark MD, Jackson RD, Sanford GR. 2024. Soil carbon maintained by perennial grasslands but lost in field crop systems over 30 years in a temperate Mollisol according to longitudinal, compaction-corrected, full-soil profile analysis Communications Earth & Environment ??5:360 https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01500-w
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Von Haden AC, Sanford GR, Cates AM, Jackson RD. 2024. Paired resampling to detect field-level soil organic carbon change. Comment on Testing the feasibility of quantifying change in agricultural soil carbon stocks through empirical sampling by Bradford et al. Geoderma https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.116959
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Winsten JR. 2024. Low-overhead dairy grazing: A specific solution to a vexing problem. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 79:27A-31A.
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Strauser, J., Stewart, W.P. Moving beyond production: community narratives for good farming. Agriculture and Human Values. 41, 11951210 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-024-10550-x
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Lowe EB, Fochesatto A and Rissman AR (2023) Managed grazing and agroecological transformation in the Midwestern United States. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 7:1096230. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2023.1096230


Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:The focus of the Grassland 2.0 SAS-CAP project is to facilitate a re-imagining of our physical as well as sociological landscapes through the lens of the perennial grasslands that used to exist across much of our region. Additionally - a particularly notable accomplishment related to reaching target audiences - the Grassland 2.0 project launched the Grassland 2.0 Academy as both a response to a need stated by Learning Hub communities (a need for more conservation professionals capable of assisting with managed grazing planning) as well as a need stated by USDA-NRCS (more grazing plans requested than grazing planners to write them). During the reporting window the Grassland 2.0 Academy offered the course Foundations. With this goal in mind, the following are groups that were engaged with during the fourth year of our project: Academia and Extension: UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Science - Center for Water Policy French Academy of Agriculture (Andre Pfimlin) Department of Agri-Food Economics and Consumer Science - University of Larval, Quebec Canada (Guy Debailleul) Agri-Food and Bioscience Institute - Belfast Northern Ireland (Conor Holohan) Soil Health and Agroecological Living Lab - UW-Madison SAS-CAP Community of Practice International Grassland Congress UW-Madison Extension University of Illinois Extension Green Lands Blue Waters - University of Minnesota Forever Green Initiative - University of Minnesota Milwaukee Area Technical College (Jack Kaestner) University of Wisconsin-Madison: Diverse Perennial Forages SAS-CAP (Valentin Picasso, Carol Williams) Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems Agribusiness, Industry Groups, and Financial Institutions Kikkoman Wisconsin Grassfed Beef Coop (Rod Ofte) Ag Source Laboratories Nofence Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Shortlane Ag Supply (Matt Oehmicen) Organic Valley Grazing Groups and Producer Networks Flynn Creek Farm River Country Grazing Golden Sands RC&D G-team Wisconsin Grassfed Beef Council Participants in Grassland 2.0 Academy: Foundations course (included conservation professionals across federal, state and county governments as well as NGOs and other conservation-focused groups) Gwenyn Hill Farm Conservation Stewardship and Nonprofit Groups Xerces Society (Micah Kloppenburg) Savanna Institute (Nate Lawrence and others) Wallace Center - Pasture Project (Jon Winsten and others) Wisconsin Association of Professional Agricultural Consultants The Nature Conservancy Coon Creek Community Watershed Council Sand County Foundation Marbleseed Glacierland RC&D Golden Sands RC&D River Country RC&D Valley Stewardship Network Foxhead Regenerative Agriculture Project Eau Pleine Partnership for Integrated Conservation Happy Dancing Turtle Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition Food System 6 Croatan Institute Government Agencies and Policymakers Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection (and DATCP Land and Water Conservation Board) Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Advisory Council Forest County Potawatomi - Bodwewadmi Ktegan Farm Oneida - Uhelaku Teken, Kahulahele Farmstead Menominee - Menikanaehkem Sokaogon Chippewa Burnett County Land and Water Conservation Department (Wisconsin) Buffalo County Land Conservation Department (Wisconsin) Clark County Land Conservation Department (Wisconsin) Green Lake County Land Conservation Department (Wisconsin) Adams County Land and Water (Wisconsin) Marathon County Conservation, Planning and Zoning (Wisconsin) Sauk County Conservation (Wisconsin) Dane County Land and Water Resources Department (Wisconsin) Lincoln County Land Services Department (Wisconsin) Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources USDA-NRCS Wisconsin Land and Water Crow Wing County Soil and Water Conservation District (Minnesota) Cass County Soil and Water Conservation District (Minnesota) Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District Communications, Arts, and Other Groups Sinsinawa Dominicans White Oak Savanna Webers Processing Plant - Cuba City Wormfarm Institute Whitefish Area Property Owners Association Artisan Grain Collaborative Cedar Grove Cheese Cates Family Farm Uplands Cheese and Dairy Rosy Lane Holsteins LLC Changes/Problems:In addition to some turnover in personnel, an emerging problem has been navigating internal university financial bureaucracy in order to support the work of collaborators that have emerged through the efforts of the project. Specifically, the local leadership of our learning hubs have been difficult to financially support, which was a contributing factor in the decision to put one learning hub on hold indefinitely (Embarrass, Illinios). Because these individual groups were not written into the grant itself, it was much more difficult for us to provide funding. However, as the project workflow involved seeking groups interested in leading learning hubs, and seeing what emerged, it's difficult to find an approach that would better serve these local community organizations. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training and professional development for this project came in two main forms - workshops and training focused on our decision support tools (GrazeScape, SmartScape, Heifer Grazing Compass and Beef Grazing Compass) as well as the Grassland 2.0 Academy. Workshops and training based on our decision support tools included training for conservation professionals, those working in the financial sector - specifically agricultural lenders, farmers, and community members. These workshops are described below: Gratton C, Schenk L, Steussy-Williams A, Lloyd S. Marathon County decision support tool demonstration workshop. 11 April 2023. Gratton C, Booth E, Anderas C, Krome M, Munsch J. Fennimore grazing decision support tool demonstration workshop. 10 January 2023. Gratton C, Booth E, Anderas C, Krome M, Munsch J. Viroqua grazing decision support tool demonstration workshop. 17 January 2023. Gratton C, Strauser J, Schenk L. GrazeScape and Compass tool - Save Soil, Make Money Workshop with Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Driftless Learning Hub. 21 March 2023. Booth E, Schank L, Anderas C, Munsch J. GrazeScape and Compass tool - Save Soil, Make Money Workshop with Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Baraboo WI. 22 May 2023. Booth E, Schank L, Anderas C, Steussy-Williams A. GrazeScape and Compass tool - Save Soil, Make Money Workshop with Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Spring Green, WI. 06 April 2023. Steussy-Williams A, Gratton C, Schenk L. Booth demonstration of GrazeScape and SmartScape decision support tools for Fenwood Creek community group. 11 April 2023. Strauser J, Steussy-Williams A, Keady M, Martinez-Motta G, Jackson R, Becker A, Schank L, Paine L. Decision support tool demonstration at McFarlane Manufacturing Ag Days. Sauk City, WI. 16 March 2023. The Grassland 2.0 project launched the Grassland 2.0 Academy as both a response to a need stated by Learning Hub communities (a need for more conservation professionals capable of assisting with managed grazing planning) as well as a need stated by USDA-NRCS (more grazing plans requested than grazing planners to write them). During the reporting window the Grassland 2.0 Academy offered the course Foundations. Foundations is focused on providing an opportunity for conservation professionals to deepen or revisit the fundamentals of managed grazing planning. Within the reporting period the Academy Foundations course offered 13 webinars and 2 field days. The course had 69 participants from around the state of Wisconsin. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A good deal of the effort to distribute and circulate Grassland 2.0 activities to interested parties has been detailed within the Products and Other Products section of the reporting form. We were also engaged with a number of community events ranging in involvement from being present to hosting events. During this reporting window, a great deal of our external communication was focused on demonstration and familiarizing relevant parties with the various decision support tools that have been developed by the Grassland 2.0 team. These included the Heifer Grazing Compass, Beef Grazing Compass, GrazeScape and SmartScape. These tools were demonstrated to farmers, conservation professionals, NGO staff, agricultural lenders and other relevant parties. Additionally - as mentioned previously but also relevant here - during the Grassland 2.0 Academy was funded, developed, and initial course offering was launched during this reporting window. This has provided an additional venue for the relaying of Grassland 2.0 findings and messaging to conservation professionals. While conservation professionals are the only audience for the time being, a collaboration is currently underway to expand our course offerings to include farmers, and hopefully more relevant audiences soon after. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?As we enter the final period of the project, the majority of our focus will be on both tying up loose threads and continuing to coalesce the mission of collaborative landscape design within our developed learning hubs as well as our developing learning hubs. Knowing that this project was a 5-year term, the goal from the beginning was to create the blueprint for lasting agroecological change on the landscape of the upper-midwest. Our approach to turning our term-limited project into a lasting impact was to provide local communities with the tools to empower themselves, and to demonstrate this approach for other interested communities. Lastly, as the Grassland 2.0 project was intended to facilitate a movement toward agroecological transformation, stressing to relevant parties that while the project is limited by it's five-year term, the project team is continuing to seek additional funding to support the ongoing efforts that we helped initiate.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Evolution of the project has driven activity and focus to the learning hubs. Objective teams respond to the community-led discussions within each learning hub. Accordingly, we've organized accomplishments by learning hub. Additional accomplishments are noted below. Ridge & Valley Drawing upon community interviews and focus groups it has become apparent that a leading community concern in the Ridge and Valley LH is persistent flooding. Notably flooding has caused dam failures in 2018, threatening lives and causing millions of dollars worth of damage to property and infrastructure. To mitigate the impact of these flooding events community members are rallying behind the need to improve land management to increase water infiltration to reduce risk. A host of community led watershed groups formed what is called the Hill Country Alliance. Working in conjunction this group we have engaged community members with SmartScape™ a landscape level modeling tool developed by the Grassland 2.0 project to create scenarios and dialogue on potential land use configurations that work toward attain shared land use goals. Wisconsin Meadows Beef Co-op, Organic Valley, and Westby Creamy were all interested in engaging to explore the development of agricultural supply chains that would support farmers as they make agronomic shifts to practices such as well-managed rotational grazing that have potential to dramatically increase water infiltration. Cloverbelt Community members expressed a need to decrease nonpoint source pollution into Fenwood Creek, a subwatershed of the Big Eau Pleine Reservoir. The need to decrease nonpoint source phosphorus pollution is driven by recent toxic algae blooms and fish kills in the Big Eau Pleine Reservoir. Aware that agricultural practices will need to change to reach their goals, community members have identified dairy heifer grazing as a way to reduce pollution while at the same time improving animal performance and the profitability of local dairy farms. To help community members map out this opportunity our team drafted a report that highlights the economic, supply chain, and ecological considerations that such a transition would entail. That report has been shared with local community members and the county planning and zoning staff. Following those conversations, it was assessed that the biggest barrier to taking advantage of this opportunity was connecting dairy farms with potential contract graziers in the Fenwood Creek Watershed. There are active planning processes occurring right now to work toward making these connections and highlighting the merits of dairy heifer grazing. Driftless The Driftless LH is close to metropolitan areas, increasing land-use pressure and "bidding wars" have caused land access issues. Community members expressed that it increases the risk to try no innovative practices that are conservation minded when land prices are so high. With that community members identified that a key area of focus needs to be using internally developed decision support tools such as SmartScape™, GrazeScape™, and the compass tools to model the effectiveness of potential practices such as well-managed rotational grazing before implementing them in practice. In addition to these mapping exercises, there has been a critical push around developing markets that provide premium pricing for premium products. The intent of that effort would be to reward farmers for practices that provide food that is nutritious and also stewards the land. By developing these premium markets, it can help farmers justify implementing conservation practices on highly priced agricultural land. Additionally, the conversation in the Driftless is growing to include communities across the state line in Jo Daviess County, Illinois. Likewise farmers to the east in Green County, WI have expressed interest in joining the Driftless LH. Embarras The Embarras LH is located in a landscape that is all but void of livestock. The Grassland 2.0 team was aware that the simplified agricultural landscape would present challenges - however learning from a diversity of landscapes and agroecological starting points was deemed to be of high value. As this hub evolved many of our contacts took positions elsewhere and created a high degree of turnover. That was further exacerbated by bureaucratic processes at UW-Madison slowing down the distribution of community facilitation funds which increased stress on local community members. In February 2023, it was decided to suspend this LH and revisit at a later date. Pine River The Pine River LH is in a lake-rich region that is economically dependent on tourism. Aware of the positive impacts of lakes-based tourism, community members want to ensure that agricultural practices support water quality objectives. Complicating this effort is a notable urban-rural divide between people who are largely coming from Minneapolis/St. Paul to enjoy the lakes and the residents who live in the Pine River area year-round. Aware of these social divides, farmers' economic needs, and the desire for high water quality, community members have been working toward developing a localized grass-fed beef supply chain. Central Lakes College, the local grocery store, and various farmers and lake groups have been partnered in this beef supply chain effort. The main premise is that lake users would purchase beef in this local supply chain which is designed to reward farmers for adopting agricultural practices that will reduce runoff and improve water quality. More than the ecological benefits, the localized supply chain offers and opportunity to bring people together and bridge the tensions that persist from an urban-rural divide. Red Cedar River The Red Cedar River is a chronically impaired waterway, the primary source of pollution is from nonpoint source agricultural runoff. Community members are frustrated about the contaminated waterways that plague their communities and have reached out to Grassland 2.0 for years with the intention of starting a Learning Hub. In 2022, Drs. Strauser and Raff attained funding from USDA SARE to advance the efforts of this LH. At this juncture community members are wanting to draft a white paper that characterizes the problem they face. One critical area of focus that community members want to pursue is developing a localized beef supply chain that is designed to support area farmers for practices that reduce nonpoint source pollution. Green Lake Green Lake is the deepest inland lake in Wisconsin and is of immense value for recreation. Over the years community members have become concerned about an increasing amount of phosphorus in the lake which is largely coming from nonpoint source agricultural pollution. Of additional concern is the amount of farm consolidation and the decreasing number of small family farms. The Green Lake LH is still nascent but meaningful conversations are being had between the Green Lakes Association, Foxhead Ag Consulting Group, and the county of Green Lake. Additional Accomplishments: Launched SmartScape and GrazeScape decision support tools. These tools facilitated visioning and planning around different agricultural futures. Conducted a mail survey of dairy farmers from January to March 2023. We surveyed all 6000 dairy farmers in Wisconsin with one of three survey instruments including topics on grazing practices, environmental and labor values and policy support. Gathered partner feedback on state policy briefs related to grasslands and managed grazing. Convened policy and governance regular team meetings with UW and partner organizations to build bridges and identify policy gaps for grass-based agriculture. Launched the Just Transitions report and research briefs, webpage, and webinar in February 2023. Hosted three Digital Dialogues led by Mae Davenport, Elena Bennett, and Dan Williams. Digital Dialogues are public webinars.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Wepking C, Mackin HC, Raff Z, Shrestha D, Orfanou A, Booth EG, Kucharik CJ, Gratton C, Jackson RD. 2022. Perennial grassland agriculture restores critical ecosystem functions in Americas Dairyland. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 6:1010280. doi:10.3389/fsufs.2022.1010280
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Augarten A, Malone L, Richardson G, Jackson RD, Wattiaux M, Conley S, Radatz A, Cooley E, Ruark MD. 2023. Cropping systems with perennial vegetation and livestock integration promote soil health. Agricultural & Environmental Letters 8:20100 doi: 10.1002/ael2.20100
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Rissman A, Fochesatto A, Lowe E, Lu Y, Hirsch R, Jackson RD. 2023. Grasslands and managed grazing policy review: trends and options from the Midwestern United States. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7:1010441 doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2023.1010441
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson RD, Stier J. 2023. Soil C change over 14 years in grasslands sown into a highly disturbed soil. Proceedings of the XXV International Grasslands Congress, in press.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Wepking C, Paine L. Getting beyond yield: a broader view of agriculture. Heart of Wisconsin Grazing Conference. 04 April 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Wepking C, Paine L. Getting beyond yield: a broader view of agriculture. Sauk County Grazing Conference. 19 Jan 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Wepking C. Livestock antibiotics, microbial communities and soil function. Golden Sands RC&D - Winter Microbial Workshop. 08 Dec 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson R, Paine L, Wepking C, Orfanou A, Dietz C, Nova C, Mackin H. Exciting New Research from Grassland 2.0! GrassWorks Annual Conference 2023. 03 Feb 2023
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Paine L, Ofte R. Building a better beef herd. GrassWorks Annual Conference 2023. 03 Feb 2023
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Winsten J, Tomandl III J. Large-Herd, Low-Overhead Dairy Grazing: Financial Considerations. GrassWorks Annual Conference 2023. 03 Feb 2023.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Huggins C. Onto Greener Pastures with Rotational Grazing of Cover Crops. Masters Thesis - UW-Madison Agroecology. 2023.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Becker B. Perennial Agriculture & Landscape Transformation in the Upper Midwest. Masters Thesis. Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies - UW-Madison.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fochesatto L, Lowe E. Just Transitions to Managed Livestock Grazing - Grassland 2.0: Summary of Recommendations on Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Report. https://grasslandag.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/323/2023/01/CSP-and-EQIP-brief_final.pdf. 2023.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fochesatto L, Lowe E. Just Transitions to Managed Livestock Grazing - Grassland 2.0: Summary of NRCS Technical Support Recommendations. Report. https://grasslandag.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/323/2023/01/NRCS-brief_final.pdf. 2023.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fochesatto L, Lowe E. Just Transitions to Managed Livestock Grazing - Grassland 2.0: Recommendations for Policies and Programs. Report. https://grasslandag.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/323/2023/03/Recommendations-for-policy-advocates_final.pdf. 2023.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fochesatto L, Lowe E. Just Transitions to Managed Livestock Grazing - Grassland 2.0: Summary of Recommendations for Agricultural Educators. Report. https://grasslandag.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/323/2023/01/Education-brief_final.pdf. 2023.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fochesatto L, Lowe E. Just Transitions to Managed Livestock Grazing - Grassland 2.0: Summary of Recommendations for Extension Professionals. Report. https://grasslandag.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/323/2023/01/Extension-brief_final-.pdf. 2023.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fochesatto L, Lowe E. Just Transitions to Managed Livestock Grazing - Grassland 2.0: Summary of Recommendations for Universities. Report. https://grasslandag.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/323/2023/01/Universities-brief_final.pdf. 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fochesatto A, Rissman AR,Lowe E. Just Transitions in Animal Agriculture: Vision from the Upper Midwest. Conference of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS) and the Agriculture, Food & Human Values Society (AFHVS). May 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fochesatto, A, Rissman AR, Lowe E. Just Transitions in Animal Agriculture: Vision from the Upper Midwest. Annual Meeting for the Society of Applied Anthropology. March 2023
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fochesatto A, Lowe E. Just Transitions to Managed Livestock Grazing - Grassland 2.0. https://grasslandag.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/323/2023/02/Just-Transitions-Report_final.pdf. Feb 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fochesatto A, Lowe E, Rissman AR, Engaging Community Members in Just Transitions to Grass-based Agriculture. Water@UW's Spring Symposium. Watershed Connections: Engaging Communities in Water Research. April 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Rissman, AR, Fochesatto, A, and Lowe E. The policy and politics of private land conservation: ecological and just transitions to grassland agriculture. International Association on Society and Natural Resources (IASNR). June, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Olson, M, Booth EG, Rissman AR. Fishable, Swimmable, Drinkable Waters: Perceptions of Water Quality Policy and Institutional Fit in Northeastern Wisconsin. Undergraduate Research Symposium. April, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Richardson B, Booth EG, Rissman AR. Association Between Policy and Practice Implementation and Water Quality in the Northeast Lakeshore Region of Wisconsin. Undergraduate Research Symposium. April, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Felch K, Lu Y, Fochesatto A, Rissman AR. Finding Common Grass: Comparative Grassland-Based Agricultural Policies in Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri. Undergraduate Research Symposium. April, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson RD. 2023. Collaborative Landscape Design for agriculture that provides for farmers, communities, and the public good, American Forage & Grassland Council annual meeting, Winston-Salem, NC 11 Feb 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson R. Are there ag systems that build soil C? International Grassland Congress, Lexington, KY. 16 May 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Stork P, Booth E, Schank A, Gratton C, Strauser J, Munsch J, Jackson R. Living without the dams. Coon Creek Community Watershed Council meeting. 1 Jun 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson RD. 2023. Grassland 2.0. Wisconsin Phosphorous Conference - UW-Milwaukee Center for Water Policy. Monona Terrace, Madison, WI. 7 Feb 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson RD. 2023. Grassland 2.0. Wisconsin Grass-fed Beef Cooperative annual meeting, Wisconsin Dells, WI 11 Feb 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Dietz C, Sanford GR, Jackson RD. 2023. Soil C change in restored prairie of southern Wisconsin, Society for Range Management annual meeting, Boise, ID 11 Feb 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson RD. 2023. Climate-smart ag and healthy soil comes from agroecosystems that regenerate soil C over time. SoilCon - Washington Soil Health Initiative. 14 Feb 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson R (2023) Tapping our agricultural imagination to transform agriculture, State of Wisconsin Geological Survey, Madison, WI, 16 Feb 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson R. Tapping our agricultural imagination to transform agriculture, Wisconsin Association of Professional Agricultural Consultants, Madison, WI, 10 Mar 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson R, Gratton C. Faculty Panel. UW-Madison Agroecology Symposium, Madison, WI, 12 Apr 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson R. Collaborative Landscape Design for transformative change, UW-France Agroecology Summit. Madison, WI. 22 Jun 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jackson R. Ecosystem functions of prairie are goalposts for agriculture. North American Prairie Conference. Altoona, IA. 28 Jun 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Rissman AR. Farm Policy: Past-Present-Future. Grassworks Grazing Conference. February 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Rissman AR, Booth EG. How, where and when policies address agricultural nutrient management: improving institutional fit. Wisconsin Phosphorus Conference. UW-Milwaukee Center for Water Policy. Madison, WI. February 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Rissman AR, Fochesatto A, Lowe E. 2022. Grasslands and managed grazing policy: lessons for just transitions. International Association on Society and Natural Resources (IASNR). October, 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Gratton C, Jackson R, Bell M. Grassland 2.0. Agroecological Transitions for Territorial Food Systems 2nd annual meeting. Bari, Italy. Sept 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Davenport M, Seekamp E, Flint C, Strauser J, Wintinok-Huber R. Best practices in deliberative science from environmental social scientists. International Association for Society and Natural Resources (IASNR) Conference, Portland, ME. June 12, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Strauser J, Stewart WP. Landscape performance: Farmer interactions across spatial scales. International Association for Society and Natural Resources (IASNR) Conference. Portland, ME. June 14, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Augarten A, Ruark MD, Jackson R, & Wattiaux M. What Influences Biological Soil Health in Wisconsin Pastures? ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD. Nov 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Jackson R. Grazed Grasslands for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD. Nov 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Orfanou A, Sanford G, Jackson R, Kucharik C. Validating Agro-IBIS for Winter Cereal Cover Crops to Explore Their Effect in Traditional Cropping Systems. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD. 2022.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Rissman A, Fochesatto A, Bouressa R, Jackson R. Grassland 2.0. Wisconsin NRCS State Technical Committee. 20 July 2023
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Steussy-Williams A. Pine River community begins to reimagine landscape: Grassland 2.0 conducts Visions for Pine River event. Article for Whitefish Area Property Owner's Association (wapoa.org) and Echo Journal. 30 June 2023.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Steussy-Williams A. Calculate heifer-grazing success. Agri-View. 04 April 2023.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Steussy-Williams A. Envision ag possibilities in grassland. Agri-View. 24 Nov 2022.


Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:As the Grassland 2.0 project seeks to understand the factors required to facilitate broadscale agroecological transformations, engaging a wide target audience is critical. The following organizations were engaged with during the third year of the Grassland 2.0 project: Academia and extension: University of Wisconsin-Madison Diverse Perennial Forages SAS-CAP (Valentin Picasso, Carol Williams) FEWscapes (Eric Booth, Jenny Seifert) UW School for Workers UW Center for Cooperatives UW School of Education Division of Extension - Grant County, Marathon County, Wood County Marshfield Ag Research Station Division of Extension Grazing Specialist (Jason Cavadini) State University of New York - ESF Kansas State University - Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation SW Technical College Teasgasc/University College Dublin (Conor Holohan) Milwaukee Area Technical College (Jack Kaestner) Purdue University (Linda Prokopy - #DiverseCornbelt SAS-CAP) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Businesses: Supply Chain businesses in the Learning Hubs: cheese processors, meat processors, crop consultants, seed salespeople, livestock sales, larger brand actors etc. Cedar Grove Cheese New Horizons Agriculture LLC (Case Dorresteijn) Financial institutions: Compeer Financial Forward Bank (Colby, WI) Ag Country Farm Credit Grazing groups and producer networks: Crow Wing Forage Council WI Meat Goat Association Uplands Farmer-led Watershed Group GrassWorks Kickapoo Grazing Initiative Good Meat Project - Grassfed Working Groups (James O'Donnell) Bad Axe Farmer-led Watershed Group Sauk County Soil & Water Improvement Group EPPIC Producer Led Watershed Group Tainter Creek Farmer-led Watershed Group Upper Sugar River Farmer-led Watershed Group Conservation stewardship and nonprofit groups: Happy Dancing Turtle Michael Fields Agricultural Institute River Alliance Clean Wisconsin Audubon - Conservation Ranching program Croatan Institute Pheasants Forever (Josh Bendorf) Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Marathon County Chamber of Commerce Sand County Foundation American Farmland Trust Green Lands Blue Waters RE-AMP Network (Erica Flores) Gathering Waters (Mike Carlson, Charlie Carlin) Valley Stewardship Network Wallace Center Government agencies and policymakers: USDA - NIFA SAS Evaluation Program directors group Soil and Water Conservation Districts: Crow Wing, Cass (MN) Wisconsin DNR (Mary C. Anderson) USDA - NRCS Marathon County WI DATCP Sauk County Conservation WI Office of Rural Prosperity Village of Edgar Wastewater Treatment Village of Marathon Wastewater Treatment Marathon County Conservation, Planning and Zoning USDA NRCS Grazing Specialist Adam Abel Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Advisory Council Communications, arts, and other groups: Wormfarm Institute Whitefish Area Property Owners Association Artisan Grain Collaborative Changes/Problems: Reflections: What things went well this year? What are we proud of as a group? What do we think other projects could learn from the work that we've done? Collaborative Landscape Design process is working, albeit slowly. We always knew this process would be a slow-walking, trust-building, recursive exercise. The main tension point comes from folks who are steeped in 'working furiously to make things happen' becoming antsy about the deliberative, recursive nature of the conversation. The main role of Grassland 2.0 personnel is to continue bringing groups back to the framework, grounding conversations in the process, and shining light on the big picture grassland when the hard work is down in the sward. The Just Transitions workshops felt like a pivotal moment for building conversations about intersectional issues in agricultural transformation, and getting the group to think about how issues like healthcare and retirement income are systematically linked to issues of land tenure and access for farmers. It seemed like they generated lots of new connections and raised overall awareness of the connections between historical systems of oppression and current barriers to grazing and land stewardship. Our team's development of working versions of our three decision-support tools, SmartScapeTM and GrazeScape (https://scapetools.wei.wisc.edu/) and the Heifer Grazing compass tool (https://cias.wisc.edu/our-work/farming-systems/farm-viability/heifer-grazing-compass/), have been significant accomplishments this year. These tools have helped fuel active conversations within a collaborative and co-exploration framework about the current and future potential of grazing cattle on the landscape, taking into account both economic and environmental outcomes. They have served as "boundary objects" and created opportunities for collaborative problem solving and questioning of what is possible in agriculture, and why or why not. These conversations will be critical for developing local and regional agricultural transformation plans (ATPs). Challenges: What were our struggles this year? What unexpected obstacles came up? Staffing challenges - UW-Madison Research and Sponsored Programs Office - staffing issues led to drastically delayed subaward approval and distribution of funds. Major Changes: What changes in activities, personnel, or plans came up this year? Rebecca Power (Objective 6 lead) moved on to a new position, but we gained Alex Steussy-Williams and John Strauser as additions to the project team and key players in communications and learning hub development! Joe Bonnell filling role of Objective 6 lead. Brad Barham (Objective 3 lead) retired, but his work developing a survey of dairy producers in WI picked up by Jeremy Foltz and Chuck Nicholson. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Skills and professional development- Evaluation team attended the American Evaluation Association's annual meeting to learn about new evaluation tools. Project team members attended a cross-program meeting organized by the Sustainable Agriculture Systems Program. Met project leads, project managers, outreach coordinators, educators, communications specialists and students from other SAS projects; discussed potential synergies and collaborations. Met with USDA-NIFA staff. Policy Team helped to organize and attended the CALS Native Nations workshop on August 23, 2021 to learn about the main issues affecting tribal sovereignty and how to better support indigenous food systems. Supply-Chain development team engaged with a graphic artist, learning techniques for collaborating with arts and humanities practitioners to summarize community views Management Team members John Strauser and Carl Wepking mentored and advised a masters student (Benjamin Becker) as he completed his thesis in Professional Environmental Conservation through the Nelson Institute at UW-Madison. Supply chain development team continued to work with #DairyTogether on markets for products from grazing herds. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Much of the effort to disseminate Grassland 2.0 efforts has been reported within the Products and Other Products sections of the annual reporting. The Grassland 2.0 team also sought to improve networking by attending numerous community engagement efforts around the upper-Midwest: Aug 06, 2021 Meta-Lab Meetings Hosted 18 meetings between 06 Aug 2021 - 08 July 2022. Aug 13, 2021 Vernon County Field Day Attended by Jackson and others. Aug 21, 2021 Cass County Harvest Dinner Attended the annual Cass County, MN Harvest Dinner, a consumer facing gathering of farmers and lake property owners on a beef ranch Aug 21, 2021 Whitefish Area Property Owners Association Annual Meeting Attended and had an informational table at the event Association meeting at Jenkins, MN with Pine River Learning Hub partners Sept 8, 2021 Regenerative Grazing Field Day Gays, IL field day hosted by Embarras Learning Hub partners Sept 12, 2021 Tainter Creek Farmer-Led Watershed Council hosting Stanley Trimble Historical Agriculture and Soil Erosion in the Upper-Mississippi Valley Hill Country. Sept 14, 2021 Lake Redstone Farmer led watershed field day Presented on managed grazing Sept 25-26, 2021 Fermentation Fest: Grassland Edition Worked with Wormfarm Institute and Sauk County Conservation to host a 2-day festival on grassland regenerative agriculture, featuring collaborative and interactive art installations, talks, musical performances and local food. Sept 25, 2021 Graze and Grain: Fermentation fest: Grassland Edition A panel discussion with LeZaks D, Wepking J, Hartman A, Jackson R. Sept 27-Oct 2, 2021 World Dairy Expo Shared a booth with GrassWorks and Dane County Land Conservation Oct. 20, 2021 Fall Metastakeholder Meeting (virtual) Project team shared a policy summary Adena Rissman's team has put together and an outreach report. Also, engaged Metastakeholders in a discussion on the following questions: 1) In your view, what would be some good lasting outcomes or ongoing activities that should come out of the GL2.0 project (beyond its 5 year lifespan)? 2) Who should we engage in this effort? (agencies, organizations, thought leaders), 3) How should we engage non-profit, agency, private sector partners to carry out these goals? Nov 03, 2021 Cloverbelt Stakeholder Meeting Cloverbelt Learning Hub workshop with local stakeholders - rich picture feedback. Nov 19, 2021 All-Partner Meeting Hosted a networking event for 22 organizations at the Lussier Center in Madison to discuss shared organizational activities, priorities, needs, and intended applications for the ATP. Dec 9, 2021 EPPIC Farmer workshop Annual winter workshop for farmers of the EPPIC Farmer Led Watershed. Dec 17, 2021 NRCS hosted grazing tour in northeastern Wisconsin Grassland 2.0 team members toured a heifer grazing operation south of Sturgeon Bay, WI. Tour led by Adam Abel of USDA-NRCS. Jan. 26, 2022 Just Transitions Workshop #1 Convened a diverse group of 25 community members leading nonprofits, farms, Tribal organizations, and educational institutions across the Midwest region to discuss and build collective power around a just transition in grass-based agriculture. The first workshop of the three-part series focused on "Visioning a Just Transition." Jan 28, 2022 Kickoff - Crow Wing / Pine River Learning Hub Co-hosted learning hub kickoff event with Happy Dancing Turtle. Feb 09, 2022 All-Learning Hub meeting Grassland 2.0 hosted a meeting for cross-learning hub engagement. Feb. 10, 2022 Just Transitions Workshop #2 In the second workshop researchers presented preliminary interview findings on needs and opportunities for transitioning to grass-based agriculture. Workshop participants analyzed and discussed these data to identify the main actions with the most potential for justice. Mar 2, 2022 Just Transitions Workshop #3 In the third workshop, participants used the visions and actions identified in workshop 1 and 2 to build collective power and organize the group and their connections around actions that will lead to effective systems change. The research team incorporated many of the recommendations into papers, reports, and subsequent collaborations. Mar 03, 2022 Embarras Learning Hub Kickoff Co-hosted Learning Hub kickoff meeting with local partners in Matoon, IL. Mar 08 2022 Peninsular Pride board meeting Grassland 2.0 attended a Peninsular Pride board meeting. Mar 10, 2022 Common Ground event-EPPIC FL Watershed group Attended consumer/community building event hosted by EPPIC/Cloverbelt Learning Hub (Randy, John, Laura, Gabriela...others?) 18 - 21 March 2022 Minnesota Bison Growers Association Annual Conference Attended Minnesota Bison Growers Association annual meeting in Baldwin, WI. Mar 22, 2022 Cloverbelt Learning Hub meeting Co-hosted event with local Cloverbelt Learning Hub focused on exploring future scenarios as well as decision support tools. Mar 23, 2022 Metastakeholder meeting (in person) GrazeScape demo, input on Match Made in Heaven project, discussion on how to engage farmers in change. April 7, 2022 Grasslands and the Farm Bill Workshop Brought together conservation and agricultural groups in WI to discuss policy issues at the intersection of grazing agriculture, and wildlife and water conservation. April 19, 2022 Kickapoo Grazing Initiative pasture walk Attended and shared results from pasture and soil health research project (Abigail Augarten) May 11, 2022 SmartScape Demo Modeling team presented SmartScape to WDNR (Andrew Craig) and Joe Bonnell to elicit feedback on technical aspects and usability. We discussed potential applications for WDNR nutrient management and TMDL planning. May 21, 2022 Sauk County Grazing Workshop Had an informational booth at Greg Judy workshop in Baraboo (100 + attendees) (Laura) May 28 2022 Cherie Nolden Pasture Walk Attended a pasture walk focused on minimal-handling goat production on rough landscapes. Jun 28, 2022 All Team Meeting Event for connecting Grassland 2.0 team, as well as local LH partners. June 30 2022 Meat Processing Bottlenecks Meeting Co-hosted (along with Michael Fields Ag Institute) a meeting of local stakeholders to explore bottlenecks to local meat processing in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. July 12, 2022 Walton Foundation Virtual Presentation Lowe, E, Fochesatto, A., Rissman, A. Expanding Perennially-based Animal Agriculture in the Midwest US: Opportunities for a Just Transition July 14, 2022 Sauk County Pasture Walk Attended and shared results from pasture and soil health research project (Abigail Augarten) July 20, 2022 SmartScape Demo Presented SmartScape to Wisconsin Center for Education Research (UW-Madison School of Education) iPlan creators to discuss similarities and synergies between projects. July 21, 2022 Pasture walk at Gwenyn Hill Attended a pasture walk at Gwenyn Hill farm in Waukesha, WI. Jul 25-27, 2022 Grassland Academy Retreat Strategic planning event for development of Grassland Academy, in conjunction with the NRCS and other partners. Approx. 30 people attended. Held in Sturgeon Bay, WI. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Goals and Upcoming Plans for Year 4- Activities goals: Evaluation team plans to transition to outcomes-focused evaluation activities to document the impact of the project activities from these first few years. These include coordinating with Learning Hubs and objective teams to track how their work has evolved and how they've connected with new audiences, using tools such as ripple effects mapping or most significant change exercises. Supply Chain Development Team: Continue to build out supply chain opportunities for dairy heifer grazing and for grass-fed meat supply chains in the two pilot areas (the Cloverbelt and the panDriftless). Explore opportunities for "bird-friendly" beef. ATP team will begin meeting every 2 weeks to build out the ATP. CLD team will continue meeting every 2 weeks to reflect on and plan for conversations and activities in each LH. Meta-stakeholder team will meet 2-3 times to hear about and reflect upon activities, research, engagement, and education efforts. Communications team building a vision video, several smaller videos, social media campaign, and website update. Management team will meet every 2 months to explore continued build out of the Grassland 2.0 project and movement. Particularly important, we now have a network of networks emerging from our collaboration on an unsuccessful Climate-Smart Commodities proposal that engaged organizations from our Learning Hubs, potential new LHs, agency staff, NGOs, and the private sector. We will convene several workshops exploring how to continue building this coalition. Skills and professional development Evaluation team will attend the American Evaluation Association's annual meeting to learn about new evaluation tools and approaches (November 2022). Learning Hub Goals and Upcoming Plans- Ridge & Valley Learning Hub- Identify pathways to change coming from the October community forum Mini-science series that is being hosted in collaboration with local community member and UW-Madison Address beef and dairy supply chain needs Decision support tools used to inform pathways to change Cloverbelt Learning Hub- Have farmers visit farms that are already grazing dairy heifers Continue to identify opportunities for perennial agriculture Address beef and dairy supply chain needs Decision support tools used to inform pathways to change Driftless Learning Hub- Have community forum to synthesize Rich Picture Development Identify pathways to change coming from December Rich Picture Development meeting In response to priority actions identified, supported a grant writer to work with the local group to to put together and submit a DATCP grant proposal centered on improving meat processing in the region. Address beef and dairy supply chain needs Provide support to local DATCP grant submission Decision support tools used to inform pathways to change Embarras Learning Hub- Carry out interviews and focus groups that are fundamental to Rich Picture Development Build a grazier network Identify needs for graziers in the region, Identify what is appealing about grazing in central IL Pine River Learning Hub- Carry out interviews and focus groups that are fundamental to Rich Picture Development Identify supply chains for farmers in the Learning Hub Address local beef supply chain Identify ways Grassland 2.0 can support the local 1W1P goals. Decision support tools used to inform pathways to change

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Agroecological Transformation Plan (ATP) significant scoping and scaffolding activities occurred; focus on collecting ideas and data that will shape the ATP. Meta-stakeholder team met twice to hear about research, engagement, and education activities and provide feedback and guidance. Evaluation team conducted document review, facilitated sense-making discussions with project management to distill ATP purposes, audiences, and uses. Outlined and planned ATP development. Policy team graduate student awarded summer CIAS grant ($2500); attended a half-day training at the Aldo Leopold Foundation, and presented to the CIAS board on "Barriers and Opportunities to Grass-based Agriculture in the Upper Midwest;" participated in American Farmland Trust's workshop on Midwest agricultural land protection, land access, and farm transfer policy; presented "Expanding Perennially-based Animal Agriculture in the Midwest US: Opportunities for a Just Transition" to the Walton Foundation; E. Lowe successfully defended her PhD dissertation. Education team hosted numerous zine workshops; launched a website to host their zines (https://gra-zine.com). Supply-Chain team collaborated with Learning hub team on a stakeholder visioning process, based on individual interviews, analysis of interview data, graphic expression of key themes, and several community meetings. Modeling team released beta version of SmartScape (includes models and data for the Cloverbelt and Ridge and Valley; models included: yield, soil loss, phosphorus loss, rain runoff from storms, honey bee toxicity and bird friendliness; released beta versions of GrazeScape. Updates included: Cloverbelt, North East and Uplands WI regions, ability to create fields with GIS files, along with other user interface enhancements. Learning Hub Accomplishments Collaborative Landscape Design (CLD) process is underway in each of our 5 Learning Hubs (see below). The CLD process has been focused on the initial step of 'Connecting People', which we lead with a process of 'Rich Picture Development' (RPD) in collaboration with local community partners. First, our LH steering committee identifies relevant stakeholders, then engage ~25 individuals in the community in a detailed interview focused on questions about 'The Story of Now', 'The Story of the Future', and 'Possible Pathways Forward'. Next, we engage artists to produce a visual representation of this rich picture, which is presented to community partners for discussion and refinement. Our modeling team then leads 'Envisioning Novel Landscapes' focused on producing socio-ecological representations of particular model watersheds in each LH. Meantime, significant aspects of the third step in CLD, 'Designing Supply Chains', are underway and are focused on 'dairy heifer grazing' in the Cloverbelt and 'reducing meat processing bottlenecks' in the Driftless, Ridge & Valley, and Pine River LHs. In the Embarras LH, the focus is exploring what's possible for perennial grasslands in a landscape that's lost most of its livestock and animal husbandry. The fourth element of CLD, 'Planning Farm Enterprises' is an ongoing effort of our modeling team to build GrazeScape and Compass Tools, designed to engage farmers in exploring what's possible on their land/farm enterprises. Finally, we develop the fifth element of CLD, 'Incentivizing & Managing Change' with a 2-yr cooperative agreement with USDA NRCS to begin build-out of the Grassland 2.0 Academy, which will help grow the pool of expert technical service providers in the upper-Midwest. Ridge & Valley 30July21: On-site meeting at Valley Stewardship Network office, Morning pasture walk, Eric Booth's flooding project and other related projects. Field season opportunities for engagement, engaging with other LH's 14Sept21: Kickapoo River Watershed Integrated Management Study, Sand County Foundation RCPP project, planning CLD process, updates on local activities. 19Oct21: RPD input on stakeholders, interview questionnaire, NRCS Plan EIS update. 16Nov21: Review of CLD process and draft timeline, update on farmer-led watershed groups and activities, update and timeline for interview process, updates on NRCS Plan EIS report and integrating work with NRCS and EPA projects, locally identified needs for resources/tools, info on WEDC Office of Rural Prosperity. 21Dec21: Finalizing a name for the LH, update on Farmer-led watershed program funding, update on interview process, report on Cloverbelt community discussion, follow up on communication needs, update/debrief on NRCS discussions. 18Jan22: Presentation on decision support tools, update on interview process, updates (new LH coordinator starting, cross-LH meeting planning, infographic project), update on NRCS dam project, update on Sand County Foundation RCPP. 15Mar22: Engaged Ridge and Valley Group about the Climate Smart Grant Proposal. Cissy Ma updated on integrated management study. Update on communications and infographic project. Update on Coon Creek Farm-led Watershed Group. 17Mar22: Event planning with the Coon Creek Watershed Group. Update on RPD. Modeling on local farms Cloverbelt 27Aug21: Steering team meeting in Stratford to review and discuss interview outcomes and RPD. 3Nov21: Local partner, interview process updates, planning for 12/3 in-person gathering to get feedback on RPD. 3Dec21, 22Mar22: Community meetings with Learning Hub collaborators and community members to discuss RPD "Story of Now" and "What the Future Could be" graphic illustrations. 10Jan22: Next steps timeline; GrazeScape scenario development; planning for large group meeting. 24May22: Review pathways to change, heifer grazing priority target. Driftless 7Sept21: Overview, review of shared goals for the Uplands LH; integrating subgroup projects with CLD process; initiate CLD process. 20Oct21: Formalizing Driftless LH steering team; focus on maintaining momentum; review CLD process, geography, identify stakeholders to interview for RPD, review interview questions. 17Nov21: Review of the visual framework and where the interviews are in the process, Review of interview questions/interview process, review interviewee prioritization for interviews. 16Dec21: Partner, interview updates; report on Cloverbelt community discussion, CLD timeline, engaging Grant County, Extension Knight Hollow survey summary, Planning partner organization presentations: understanding locally driven goals. 20Jan22: Identifying Grant County folks to participate, planning for cross-learning hub meeting, new LH coordinator starting, partner updates, discussion on RPD interview questions and interviewees, partner presentation-Iowa County Land Conservation. 17Feb22: DNR surface water grant for Knight Hollow River, interview update, Sauk County Land conservation presentation, Michael Fields Ag Institute Presentation. 17Mar22: Sauk County Pasture walks schedule, update on RPD, RCCP, Transition in Grant County conservationist office. 21April22: Planning to reach out to farmers, Meat processing is identified as a bottleneck to having more grass-fed beef 19May22: Results from the SWIGG study are shared, Update on RPD, Update on addressing the meat processing bottleneck 16June22: Updates regarding the meat processing bottleneck and RPD. Embarras 8Sept21: Attend Illinois Regenerative Ag Field Day in Gays, IL hosted by Embarras River group. 3Mar22: LH Kickoff Meeting 29Mar22: Review IEPA 319 grant; need for more scapes demos; climate smart grant proposal 26May22: Update findings from IEPA 319 grant; timeline/budget Pine River 21Aug21: Pine River Harvest Dinner and Lake Association meeting hosted by Pine River. Jan22: Plan Pine River LH Kickoff. 28Jan22: Pine River LH Kickoff. 6Apr22: Climate smart grant proposal and Pine River LH. 21Apr22: RPD question development 8Jun22: Stakeholder discussion for RPD; Connection with MN 1W1P.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: M Jordana Rivero, Alex C O Evans, Alexandre Berndt, Andrew Cartmill, Andrew Dowsey, Anne Farruggia, Catherine Mignolet, Daniel Enriquez-Hidalgo, Dave Chadwick, Davy I McCracken, Dennis Busch, Fabiana Pereyra, Graeme B Martin, Gregg R Sanford, Helen Sheridan, Iain Wright, Laurent Brunet, Mark C Eisler, Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos, Pablo Rovira, Paul Harris, Paul Murphy, A Prysor Williams, Randall D Jackson, Rui Machado, Suraj P.T., Thomas Puech, Tommy M Boland, Walter Ayala, Michael R F Lee, Taking the steps toward sustainable livestock: our multidisciplinary global farm platform journey, Animal Frontiers, Volume 11, Issue 5, October 2021, Pages 5258, https://doi.org/10.1093/af/vfab048
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Miller, Michelle. Identifying Critical Thresholds for Resilient Regional Food Flows: A Case Study From the U.S. Upper Midwest. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. October 2021. doi.10.3389/fsufs.2021.684159.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Miller, M. (2021). Big data, information asymmetry, and food supply chain management for resilience. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 11(1), 171182. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2021.111.017
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Yichao Rui, Randall D. Jackson, M. Francesca Cotrufo, Gregg R. Sanford, Brian J. Spiesman, Leonardo Deiss, Steven W. Culman, Chao Liang, Matthew D. Ruark. 2022. Persistent soil carbon enhanced in Mollisols by well-managed grasslands but not annual grain or dairy forage cropping systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2118931119
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Becker A, Horowitz L, Ruark MD, Jackson RD. 2022. Surface-soil carbon stocks greater under well-managed grazed pasture than row crops. Soil Science Society of America Journal doi: 10.1002/saj2.20388
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Agronomy Soils Field Day. Can we stop Carbon Loss from Soils by R. Jackson and G. Sanford.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Lake Redstone Farmer led watershed field day. Presented on managed grazing with farmer Bill Powers.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: R. Jackson. Well-Managed Grazed Perennial Grasslands for Profitable Farming, Soil Accumulation, Clean Water, and Biodiversity. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting. 08 Nov 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: A. Augarten, M. Ruark, R. Jackson, M. Wattiaux, J. Grace. The Influence of Inherent Soil Properties and Management on Soil Health Indicators of Wisconsin Pastures. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting. 09 Nov 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: A. Orfanou, G. Sanford, R. Jackson, C. Kucharik. Simulating and Predicting Winter Wheat Cover Crop Management Effects in a Maize-Soybean Rotation Using Agro-IBIS. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting. 10 Nov 2021.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Sanford GR, Jackson RD, Rui Y, Kucharik CJ. 2022. Land use-land cover gradient demonstrates the importance of perennial grasslands with intact soils for stabilizing soil carbon in the fertile Mollisols of the North Central US. Geoderma 418: 115854.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Jackson RD. 2022. Grazed perennial grasslands can match current beef production while contributing to climate mitigation and adaptation. Agricultural & Environmental Letters 7:20059 doi: 10.1002/ael2.20059
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2022 Citation: Wepking, C, J. M. Lucas, V. S. Boulos, M. S. Strickland, Antibiotic legacies shape the temperature response of soil microbial communities. Ecology.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Rui Y, Jackson RD, Cotrufo MF, Sanford GR, Spiesman BJ, Deiss L, Culman SW, Liang C, Ruark MD. 2022. Reply to Lajtha: Soil organic carbon stocks and persistence of surface 30-cm of Mollisols. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119: e2204142119
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Rui Y, Jackson RD, Cotrufo MF, Sanford GR, Spiesman BJ, Deiss L, Culman SW, Liang C, Ruark MD. 2022. Reply to Chen et al.: Soil organic carbon stocks and persistence of surface 30-cm of Mollisols. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119: e2204140119
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Jackson RD. 2022. Reply to Missing the grassland for the cows: scaling grass?finished beef production entails tradeoffsComment on Grazed perennial grasslands can match current beef production while contributing to climate mitigation and adaptation Agricultural & Environmental Letters, 00, e20082.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: C. Wepking. Paths Forward for Agriculture: Soil health and resilience. 09 Dec 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: R. Jackson. Wednesday Nite @ The Lab. Grassland 2.0: Restoring People & Prairie to Agriculture.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: R. Jackson. Wisconsin Agribusiness Classic. Carbon Farming OR Are there Cropping Systems that Build Soil Carbon? 13 January 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Grassland 2.0 team hosted workshops on GL2.0/Agroecological transformation, dairy heifer grazing compass at the annual GrassWorks Grazing Conference.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: A. Cates. Back to Basics Soil class. Crow Wing - Pine River Learning Hub. 28 Jan 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: A. Rissman. The Politics of Setting Goals and Measuring Outcomes for Land, Water, and Wildlife. UW-Madison Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies Lunch Seminar. 17 Feb 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: R. Jackson. Grassland 2.0 - restoring people and prairie to agriculture. Kiwanis Club of Madison West. 11 March 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: R. Jackson. UW-Madison Arboretum Luncheon-Lectures Series. Grassland 2.0: Restoring Prairie and People to Livestock Agriculture. 15 March 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: R. Jackson. Grassland 2.0: Restoring Grassland Agriculture. Wisconsin Public Television - University Place. 16 March 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: A. Fochesetto, E. Lowe, & A. Rissman. Community Perspectives on Just Transitions to Grass-based Agriculture. INFEWS Lightning Talks. 19 May 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: A. Fochesatto. D�a de la tierra. Earth Day at Nuestro Mundo Community School. 22 April 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Lowe, E, Fochesatto, A., Rissman, A. Expanding Perennially-based Animal Agriculture in the Midwest US: Opportunities for a Just Transition. Walton Foundation Virtual Presentation. 12 July 2022.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: C. Wepking. Medicating our soil microbiome: livestock antibiotics and ecosystem function. Small Batch Science at Brix Cider. 20 July 2022.


Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:Because this project seeks to understand agroecological transformation through broad collaborations, and with the input of entire communities (farmers, consumers, policymakers, processors, supply-chain linkages, etc.) our project has a wide target audience. In some ways, this audience is only constrained by the north-central United States geographic region. However, as similar conversations regarding agroecological transformation are bubbling up around the world this work has an audience beyond the upper-midwest as well. The following audiences were engaged during the second year of this project: Academic institutions: University of Minnesota University of Missouri Kansas State University Iowa State University University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Dan Cornelius, UW Madison Natural Capital Project / Stanford University UW-Marshfield Ag Research Station University of Kentucky Animal Science Harvard University University of Minnesota Forever Green Initiative Learning Network. University of Iowa Indiana University Highland Community College Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW University of Florida University of California, Riverside New Jersey Institute of Technology Oregon State University UMN Conservation UW-Platteville UW-River Falls Agricultural Education / Extension: Ruth McNair, Michelle Miller, Regina Hirsch all at CIAS, UW-Madison UW Extension (state level Program leaders) UW Extension Soil Health team UW Extension Grazing Team County Extension in Vernon, Iowa, Crawford, Dane, Fond du Lac Counties Cloverbelt Learning Hub Kickapoo Learning Hub Wisconsin Land and Water Kansas State University Research & Extension: Watershed Specialist staffers Nutrient and Pest Management Program Agricultural Businesses / Industries Deer Creek Cheese EggInnovations Shortlane Ag Supply Saxon Homestead Cheese Chaseburg Farmers Cooperative Kinnard Farms Cedar Grove Cheese Organic Valley Environmental conservation groups: Cait Williamson, Natural Resources Foundation Audubon Society Soil and Water Conservation Society Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin Fishers and Farmers Partnership for the Upper Mississippi River Basin Trout Unlimited Mississippi Valley Conservancy National Fish and Wildlife Foundation River Alliance of Wisconsin The Nature Conservancy SW Wisconsin Grasslands Network Valley Stewardship Network Audubon Society Clean Lakes Alliance Farmers / producer groups: Cherrie Nolden, Grazier Lake Redstone Farmer led Watershed group EPPIC Producer Led Watershed Group Individual farmers affiliated with EPPIC, Tainter Creek group, grazing networks, NRCS agents, Land and Water conservationists- and others through word of mouth Forage Council Cheney Lake Watershed Inc staff Ron Schoepp Tainter Creek Farmer-led Watershed Group Upper Sugar River Farmer-led Watershed Group Uplands Farmer-led Watershed Group Sauk County Soil & Water Improvement Group Coon Creek Community Watershed Group Bad Axe Farmer-led Watershed Group Yahara Pride Farmer-led Watershed Group NRCS Demo Farms Network Land Stewardship Project Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota Wisconsin Farmers Union Wisconsin Farm Bureau Dairy Together Practical Farmers of Iowa Financial institutions: Local farm credit and private banks Single Step Foundation The McConnell Foundation Government agencies: Mary Anderson - Wisconsin DNR Wisconsin County Land Conservation (Marathon, Monroe, LaCrosse, Vernon, Sauk, Juneau Counties) Champaign County IL Soil and Water Conservation District Crow Wing County Soil and Water Conservation District USDA - Dairy Forage Research Center USDA-NRCS- Crawford and Vernon Counties Adam Abel, and Michael Stanek at the NRCS. Soil and water conservation districts WI Office of Rural Prosperity Kansas Dept of Health & Environment's Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) framework for projects: specifically Cheney Lake Watershed Inc which partners with the City of Wichita NRCS - Vernon County Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection Wisconsin Department of Transportation Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Menominee Nation Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Department Oneida Nation farm group USDA - Economic Research Service USDA - Agricultural Marketing Service USDA - NIFA SAS evaluation program directors group Grazing groups / networks: GrassWorks Glacierland RC&D River Country RC&D Golden Sands RC&D Kickapoo Grazing Initiative Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition Kickapoo Grazing Initiative Central Wisconsin River Graziers G-team (GrassWorks network for interagency grazing professionals) Forage council in N Central MN Paul Daigle, Central Wisconsin River Graziers Illinois cross-agency grazing practitioners Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship Nonprofits: The Land Connection Environmental Defense Fund Grassfed Alliance Feeding America - Eastern Wisconsin Happy Dancing Turtle Policy makers / elected officials: Kelliann Blazek, Special Assistant to the President for Agriculture and Rural Policy Senator Tammy Baldwin State Representative Oldenburg US Representative Ron Kind (Tim Hundt from Ron Kind's office) Several Town Chairmen in Western WI WI DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski State Senator Brad Pfaff Representative Pocan U.S. House Agriculture Committee staff Other: Wisconsin Life (Wisconsin Public Radio) UW-Madison student radio station As seen in the reported products, we have also hosted and led a number of listening sessions, discussions, and forums at numerous conferences throughout the reporting period, as well as more standard presentations and webinars at events hosted by academic institutions, agencies, professional networks, farming organizations, and non-profits. Audiences have also been engaged via social media, our podcast, and youtube page (specifics reported within "Other Products"). Additionally, funding was secured to hold a series of workshops entitled "Greener Pastures'' exploring how storytelling and social sciences can play a role in agroecologcial transformation. Changes/Problems:Overall, there have been fewer challenges and problems than during the first year of the project. The largest problems involved staffing, turnover, and handoffs. In the case of the decision support tool team, the lead developer accepted a position elsewhere, and given that this individual's skill set was unique and not available elsewhere on the project, work on the decision support tool development stalled during the job posting and hiring process. Delays in visa status related to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented several graduate students from joining the project on schedule. Other ongoing COVID-19 related challenges continued, but were greatly reduced from the previous period (grad students, in-person communications and engagement). For example, proposed listening sessions have been more informal than previously envisioned. This year has continued to be challenging to engage with external groups as their activities have not returned to normal due to the pandemic. We continue to seek out events and activities in which we can foster discussions about the future of agriculture. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Within the Grassland 2.0 research team, individuals reported the following changes in their professional development and skills over the second year of the project: Facilitation and teaching: Strengthened conflict resolution skills. Gained additional experience delivering content remotely improving my supervising/mentoring skills through the hiring process of the two GrazeScape/SmartScape developers. Integrating humanistic perspectives into Learning Hubs work. Learning hub design and development Increased facilitation skills for online meetings, focus groups, and interviews, using interactive formats like Google jamboard, miro, and plectica to map out project logic and planning. Increased my project management skills Writing and communications: Writing USDA comment letters and policy briefs Learned how to podcast Video and podcast recording and editing Attended storytelling workshops Professional development: Completed 45 continuing education credits over the last two years to maintain Certified Crop Advisor/Professional Agronomist status Built evaluation planning and grant-writing skills, developing evaluation plans for four Grassland 2.0 related grants. Data analysis and research design: Expanded understanding of options for scenario planning. Added skills in data analysis using Excel Learned how to analyze soil carbon content and fractionate soil organic matter into particulate and mineral-associated organic matter pools. Conducted 40 interviews and began planning a participatory action research workshop Increased comfort with public data analysis on food movements. Developed web development, and GIS skill set Software and remote work sills: Learned how to use Adobe Photoshop, and how to make stop-motion film for a creative lecture on the Farm Bill. Upped Zoom skills and facilitation abilities Learned new web application software, including creating Shiny Apps, managing data work flows and scripts. Taken tutorials to improve skills on unix, fortran and R Refined modeling of pastures and grazed cover crops in the RUSLE2 model (the model estimating erosion in SnapPlus) In addition to these self-reported skills and the mentorship and training of 10 students and post-docs, the Grassland 2.0 team provided training opportunities at meetings and workshops. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Grassland 2.0 team coordinated and attended numerous meetings with partners to provide opportunities for input and share emerging learning from the project. These included a bi-monthly Meta-Lab meeting over Zoom, monthly meetings with Learning Hub partners in the Cloverbelt, Kickapoo, and Uplands Watershed groups, and a bi-monthly Collaborative Landscape Design meeting where partners provided input on the emerging processes and plans for the Learning Hub development. The group also attended professional conferences and meetings aimed at growers and agricultural professionals, including the Growing Stronger Conference, GrassWorks, the World Dairy Expo, and the All-Extension Virtual Meeting. See the "Products" table for more details. Our communications team created a dynamic project website with information on the project, our vision for agriculture, and how constituents can get involved. They also worked with university and partner media partners to earn a wealth of earned media on the project and our work to date. Original stories have appeared a number of outlets including but not limited to: Civil Eats Wisconsin State Journal - this story was picked up by the Associated Press and syndicated. It appeared in 15+ outlets including Star Tribune and the US News and World Report. Angus Journal Organic Broadcaster Baraboo News Republic Agri-View Holistic Management International Ag Matters Dairy Star Graze Magazine Wisconsin Agriculturalist Ag Funder News SW News 4u Spectrum News Lancaster Farming The Boscobel Dial Crawford County Independent and Kickapoo Scout Common Dreams We also published an op-ed in Wis Politics responding to Governor Evers' proposed budget and positioning agriculture for resilience in Wisconsin moving forward. In addition to these outlets, we started a monthly newsletter to over 600 individuals on the latest Grassland 2.0 events and news in March 2021. Published 18 blogs highlighting project work, project partners, and project events. We have had 6,000 users view the Grassland 2.0 website, 80% of which were new visitors. We also started a Grassland 2.0 Twitter profile and Facebook page and gained over 500 followers collectively. Project activity on Twitter generated 640 clicks to links on Grassland 2.0 and grazing and grassland news, research, and partners with an average engagement rate of 2.62%. Since starting our Facebook page in October 2020, we have reached over 2600 individuals with information on Grassland 2.0 and grassland and grazing news and events. We have also created a Grassland 2.0 factsheet and a catalog of resources to help individuals who want to get started with grazing. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Acroecological transformation planning: Develop a shared work plan for objective teams to define the key products, processes, and pathways to be included in the ATP, and to coordinate writing and data contributions to the ATPs. Continue developing pilot supply chain opportunities within learning hubs, including developing a robust set of options and connections for access to capital for those transitioning or adding grazing to their farm enterprise of helping to move grazing based products through the value chain. This work builds on and leverages other projects, including the Croatan Institute-led USDA project on agricultural finance tools. Continue quarterly meetings of the metastakeholder team, using those meetings to solicit feedback on specific aspects of the project, and broaden membership of the metastakeholder team to incorporate diverse perspectives. Data, models, and data collection instruments: Support the launch of the dairy farm survey through the survey center, and begin analysis as the results come in. Finish Dairy HeiferScape as an Excel-based document to be integrated into GrazeScape and build out training opportunities for service providers. Continue work on the Beef Grazing decision support tool based on the University of Kentucky models. This work will incorporate the impact of government incentive programs on establishment and operation of the grazing system, and aims to fully integrate HeiferScape within GrazeScape and build out other enterprise models. Release two new versions of SmartScape, developing and incorporating nitrogen models, biodiversity models, and economics modules to build SmartScape to a fully working app. Gather feedback on the best framing of pasture economic models and a rigorous accounting of revenue, cost and investment. Continue developing a model that uses landscape and climate to predict a grassland bird index and will continue developing the SnapPlus meta models to be able to be used across the state and include more management options. This work includes improving the phosphorus index (runoff P loss) model for pastures, particularly with respect to frozen soil runoff, developing methods for incorporating grazing density effects on soil and in nutrient management models. Explore the mechanism of soil carbon sequestration in pasture systems, aiming to publish my previous research on pasture management and soil carbon relationships, as well as pasture management and impacts to soil and water resources using Agro-IBIS. The Agro-IBIS simulation model will test different systems and get to a broader exploration of cover crops and understand how they work and can be beneficial in different case scenarios. Continue to implement the Collaborative Landscape Design workplan and data collection process in the Cloverbelt area, centered on the "rich picture" process with interviews continuing into the fall of 2021. Host meeting of Cloverbelt collaborators to continue to discuss data collected from interviews and identify themes and possible future scenarios. Weave local scenario development with interests and possibilities from non-local supply chain partners. Publications, communications, and educational outreach materials Continue to give presentations and provide educational opportunities to the general public, including contributing to planning and carrying out of the 2022 GrassWorks Conference. Coordinate with the communications team to continue producing podcast content; pitch to Wisconsin Public Radio, try to collaborate with the University of Wisconsin-Madison student radio station, continue producing videos for YouTube channel, and create more zines, including a Breaking Up Big Ag series about agribusiness consolidation. Continue Greener Pastures workshops to listen to and learn from different perspectives of agriculture in Kickapoo region and continue exploring artist in residence opportunities for the project. Continue developing curriculum for Agroecology courses 103, 701, and a video-based, farmer-led agronomy course. Submit several manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication, including masters theses on soil carbon, pasture management, nutrient and climate modeling results, and cover crops. Learning hubs and collaboration opportunities: Continue to collaborate with the WormFarm Institute and their annual Fermentation Fest for a Grassland Edition, as well as their Farm-Art D-Tour to further grazing education and awareness. This project will also involve pasture walks, grazing demonstrations, and grass-fed tasing activities as well as panel discussions on diversifying agriculture. Work Collaborative Landscape Design team to identify when and how decision support tools (DSTs) can be used to advance conversations about the future of agriculture in a given region, using the "rich picture" process to visualize or model them within the DSTs. Coordinate with artists to transform model outputs and tradeoffs into user-friendly summaries and facilitate the collection of stakeholder input to the process. Share and solicit feedback on further developed versions of our DSTs The group will continue to work closely with the GrassWorks to resubmit our Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development grant proposal, as well as look for other funding opportunities to build capacity to provide grazing education within the state and region. We will also continue working with the Green Lands Blue Waters Perennial Forage Working Group as well as the Wisconsin Grazing Team. Investigate agritourism opportunities to support project goals. Project organization and evaluation: Continue semi-annual project sensemaking, including interviews and facilitated group discussion activities, data collection and analysis related to the project principles, and at least one meta-lab meeting. The evaluation team will work with the learning hubs to implement the draft evaluation plan developed in year 2, support work plan development, and help evaluate events with surveys and informal check-ins, and opportunities for cross-hub evaluation. Begin hosting data utilization meetings and share-outs from our reporting.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? This project reimagines North Central US agriculture, moving from reliance on commodity crops and confined livestock to a sustainable system based on the ecosystem function of prairies. This vision replaces most annual crops with perennial grasslands, supporting livestock production with improved farm profitability, nutrient and water efficiency, biodiversity and yield stability; all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, soil erosion and soil carbon. As we continue to work toward this vision, we will develop an Agroecological Transformation Plan that anticipates impediments, innovates to surmount resistance, and maps pathways to Grassland 2.0. The second year of activities have centered on solidifying partner relationships, and adapting activities according to their input. As we have implemented research and modeling initiatives, we have incorporated partner feedback calling for more capacity building, technical assistance, and regional coordination and shared learning. We established three Learning Hubs in WI and kick-off two more in MN and IL in 2022. We developed a Collaborative Landscape Design process to coordinate and plan activities. We've conducted >60 interviews to develop a "rich picture" of the changes that local organizations want to see in their communities, and are using that process to inform modeling, tool-building, and facilitation of new partnerships. We've connected with >900 people at >50 organizations across the Upper Midwest, and gave >35 public presentations and produced >20 peer-reviewed and popular press publications, as well as videos, podcasts, and self-published magazines to communicate our findings. We worked to increase our outreach capacity and deepen opportunities for arts and humanities to enable agricultural transformation, partnering with nonprofits to develop informative art installations and demonstrations, speaker series and workshops, and began piloting an artist-in-residence program. Continued progress towards the 8 objectives is below: Obj 1: Develop ATP Continued research on soil health, pasture management, and modeling including modifications in Agro-IBIS code. Developed scenarios for assessing the sensitivity of C, N, P and water dynamics along with corn and soybean yields to varying planting dates of winter cereal cover crops. Evaluating pasture soil health, engaging with the learning hubs and other partners at Land and Water Resources, Division of Extension, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and grazing networks to find producers interested in participating in meta-stakeholder activities to guide the project. Graduate student funding secured through a SARE grant. Collected soil samples at 99 pastures: analysis ongoing. Led a workshop series to explore how humanities can help further the goals of the Kickapoo. Funding through a Research Forward proposal on re-envisioning of the Wisconsin Idea through greater collaboration between arts, humanities, sciences, and practice. Engaged in a pilot project with artist Brenda Gratton to explore an artist-in-residence. Obj 2 & 3: Markets & Supply Chains Developed a draft statewide survey of dairy farmers, working with collaborators and dairy farmer partners to get feedback and pilot test the survey -- survey includes questions on land, nutrient management, profitability, livelihood, and policies related to dairy farming. Refined and developed a dairy heifer decision tool to assess financial outcomes of raising dairy heifers on pasture. This work will now be the foundation to extend type analysis to beef production and to other ruminant enterprises. This tool will be integrated with the GrazeScape farm planning tools (Obj. 4). Add a grazing "model farm" to their policy modeling effort, which resulted in a white paper and a farmer app that they can use to understand policy effects on farming. Collaborated on an ecosystem services metric to add to the Farm-2-Facts toolkit, Modeled perishable supply chains, especially meat and dairy; currently analyzing preliminary results. Obj 4: DSTs Ongoing development of the landscape modeling tool SmartScape, including developing user interface, logic flow for land use change decisions, and developed models from GrazeScape to be adapted and included in SmartScape. GrazeScape has gone through an update from a basic app to a fully developed modeling tool. Created a first round of snapPlus meta models to predict erosion and phosphorus loss based on soil and management, and Shiny Apps that showcase each model. SnapPlus meta-models will be going under the hood for SmartScape. Updated the front end code base, allowing for much easier updates and development in the future. Moved GrazeScape on a server for external access with authentication control. Made important connections with NRCS Grazing Specialists this year and is working on integrating their terminology and grazing planning resources into the tool. Obj 5: Policy Added key policy-related questions to the statewide dairy farm survey Developed the state policy inventory on grazing and perennial agriculture; identifying and synthesizing policy options and articulating them in the state policy profiles. Co-wrote an op-ed on state grazing policy proposals (published in WisPolitics) and contributed to public comments on state and federal policy, including a white paper on policy options, and a response on supply chains in response to the USDA's call for comments. Conducted 45 interviews to further understand land access and decision-making for farmers; this is the basis for a series of agricultural justice and equity workshops. Obj 6: Outreach Engaged >900 individuals last year. Developing a collection of fact sheets for the public (general information, managed grazing for consumers, ecosystem services) Continue Learning Hub development, developing a template for action on Collaborative Landscape Design in the Learning Hub using a "rich-picture" interview process. Initial meetings with local partners Collaborative Learning Design meetings to outline potential scenario exercises. Continued planning the collaborative landscape design process with larger team and find where Grazescape and Smartscape need to be integrated into this ongoing work. Obj 7: Education Developed a series of zines focused on barriers to grazing, and the ecological benefits of perennial grassland agriculture. Five zines on land access were completed and published. GrassCast podcast released 3 new episodes. Developed curriculum for Agroecology 103 & 701 and continued to develop a new undergrad major in CALS, Agricultural Ecosystems, featuring lessons from Grassland 2.0. Supported the Farm-Art D'Tour, a free self-guided tour through working farmlands punctuated by large-scale artwork, local food markets, and educational Field Notes. Estimated 22,000 individuals participated. Obj 8: Evaluation Documented the evolution of the project and ran several data collection activities related to project development, including work planning, document review, interviews with objective teams. Conducted a team-function survey in Aug 2020 and provided evaluation recommendations to the management team to improve team function. Held a sensemaking session on emerging themes from the team function survey and document reviews with the management team and conducted interviews to discuss project progress, tensions, and goals with management team leads. The team also participated in Learning Hubs meetings and developed an evaluation plan and key indicators for the Hubs. Developed a project principles postcard to present the core values of the project and facilitated the development of simple rules for effective teamwork. Supported the planning and facilitation of several large, multi-team meetings in person and online, including two all-team meetings (one virtual; one in-person) Supported and led evaluation proposals for funding.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: LeZaks, D. 2020. Barriers For U.S. Farmers and Ranchers To Adopt Regenerative Ag Practices: Key Levers & Opportunities. Sustainable Ag and Food Systems Funders. 13 July 2020.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Campbell, TA, Booth EG, Jackson RD, Gratton C, Kucharik CJ. 2021. Agricultural landscape transformation needed to meet water quality goals in the Yahara River watershed of southern Wisconsin. Ecosystems. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-021-00668-y
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Sanford, G. R., R. D. Jackson, E. G. Booth, J. L. Hedtcke, and V. Picasso. 2021. Perenniality and diversity drive output stability and resilience in a 26-year cropping systems experiment. Field Crops Research. 263. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2021.108071
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Reynolds J, Bell MM, Grace J, Gratton C, Jackson RD, Keeley KO, Mayerfeld D. 2021. An agroecological vision of perennial agriculture. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems doi:10.1080/21683565.2021.1918313
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: M Jordana Rivero, Alex C O Evans, Alexandre Berndt, Andrew Cartmill, Andrew Dowsey, Anne Farruggia, Catherine Mignolet, Daniel Enriquez-Hidalgo, Dave Chadwick, Davy I McCracken, Dennis Busch, Fabiana Pereyra, Graeme B Martin, Gregg R Sanford, Helen Sheridan, Iain Wright, Laurent Brunet, Mark C Eisler, Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos, Pablo Rovira, Paul Harris, Paul Murphy, A Prysor Williams, Randall D Jackson, Rui Machado, Suraj P.T., Thomas Puech, Tommy M Boland, Walter Ayala, Michael R F Lee. 2021. Taking the steps towards sustainable livestock: our multidisciplinary global farm platform journey. Animal Frontiers. In press.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Wepking, C. 2020. Time for a Change: Antibiotics and Agroecological Transformation. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting. Ignite Talk. 3 Aug - 6 Aug 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Booth, EG. 2020. Investigating Paths to Increased Flood Resilience in the Coon Creek Watershed. Monroe County Climate Change Task Force Meeting.02 Sept 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jackson RD. 2020. Can we save family farming with agricultural innovation? Center for Culture, History, and Environment Colloquium. 23 Sep 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jackson RD. 2020. Can managed grazing improve soil health and water quality in the Driftless Area? Kickapoo Valley Reserve Dialogue Series. 26 Sep 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Paine LK. 2020. Reimagining Midwestern Agriculture. Wisconsin Grazing Team (G-Team) virtual meeting. 29 Sep 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Aubrey Striet-Krug. 2020. Collaborative Land Restoration for Resilience - Plenary Panel. Regenerate 2020. 09 November 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Booth, Kucharik. Drilling Down to the Sub-County: The Importance of Spatial Scale for Phosphorus Mass Balance Outcomes. November 2020. Tri-Societies Meeting.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jackson, Randy, Claudio Gratton, and Rebecca Power. Exploring the Collaborative Landscape Design process with Grassland 2.0. Savanna Institute Perennial Farm Gathering, 08 December 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Paine, Laura, Randy Jackson. Carbon Sequestration Potential of Working Grasslands. Presentation for Extension North Central Water Network The Current webinar series, 09 December 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Rissman, AR, Erin Green, Ana Fochesatto, Tony Johnson, Erin Lowe, Diane Mayerfeld, Tierney Bocsi, Michaela Lubbers, Brian Ohm, Shelby Weidenkopf. 2021. Developing channels for pro-active landowner engagement. Driftless Southwest Grasslands workshop. 8 January, 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD. 2021. Grassland 2.0. Joint Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources-Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection, 26 Jan 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD, LeZaks D, Heisler Wodill D. 2021. Pennsylvania Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) - Get em out on grass! Grassland 2.0 panel, 1 Feb 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Gratton, C. 2021. A Grassland 2.0 Moving towards sustainable agricultural landscapes requires upending the current paradigm. Ohio State University, Dept. of Entomology. 4 Feb 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Gratton, C. 2021. A Grassland 2.0 Moving towards sustainable agricultural landscapes requires upending the current paradigm. Texas A&M University, Ecology and Evolution Program. 8 Feb 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD. 2021. Were all grassland ecologists! Department of Agronomy Research Colloquium. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 18 Feb 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD. 2021. Soil carbon and yield stability tradeoffs over 30 years of long-term cropping systems research. University of Minnesota Applied Plant Sciences seminar, 22 Feb 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD, Sanford GR, Ruark MR, Cates AM, Becker A, Rui Y, LeZaks D. 2021. Can we stabilize soil carbon with regenerative agriculture? Growing Stronger annual conference, 25 Feb 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Paine L. et al. 2021. What are the impediments to Grassland 2.0? Growing Stronger annual conference, 26 Feb 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: LeZaks D, and Lloyd S. 2021 Pathways to growing the grassfed livestock sector. Grassworks Virtual series. 10 March 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD. 2021. Restoring prairie and people to agriculture. Environmental Law & Policy Centers (ELPC) 6th Annual Great Lakes Science-Policy Confluence Conferen�ce, Impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations on the Great Lakes, 8 Apr 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD. 2021. Grassland 2.0 soils research. G-team meeting, 20 Apr 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Booth EG, Krome M. 2021. Water, Water Everywhere: Farming and Local Community Resilience in the Face of Climate Challenges. Boyer Colloquium at Highland Community College, Freeport, IL. 20 Apr 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Rissman, AR, A Fochesatto, E Lowe. Justice in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus. Nelson Institute Earth Day Conference. 22 April 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD. 2021. Whats regenerative agriculture? REGAIN. 26 May 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD. 2021. Soil carbon in agricultural soils. NRCS Soil Health meeting. 7 Jun 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD. 2021. Can we design and promote agriculture that cares for people? UCOWR conference. 8 Jun 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Fochesatto, A, E Lowe, AR Rissman. 2021. Mobilizing a Just Transition in Grass-based Agriculture: From Soil Health to Decolonization. Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Joint Annual Conference. 12 June 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Rissman, AR, S Gillon, CD Rittenhouse. Rethinking adaptive management: toward values, norms, governance, and framing. International Association for Society and Natural Resources. June 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Fochesatto, A, E Lowe, AR Rissman. 2021. Mobilizing a Just Transition in Grass-based Agriculture: From Soil Health to Decolonization. International Association for Society and Natural Resources. 22 June 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD. 2021. Well managed grazed perennial grassland for profitable farming, soil accumulation, clean water, and biodiversity, Annual Soil & Water Conservation Society meetings. 28 Jul 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Grace J, Wepking C, Paine L. 2021. Grassland 2.0: A Perennial Vision for Midwestern Agriculture. North American Agroforestry Conference. 29 June 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD, Sanford GR. 2021. Soil C at the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial. Organic Field Day, Arlington Ag Research Station. 24 Aug 2021.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Jackson RD, Sanford GR. 2021. Can we stop soil C loss from cropping systems?. Agronomy/Soils Field Day, Arlington Ag Research Station. 25 Aug 2021.
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Paine, L. Grassland 2.0 Learning Hubs Engage Rural Communities on their Turf. Grassland 2.0 blog. April 28, 2021.
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Paine, L. Reimagining Midwestern Agriculture. Grassland 2.0 blog. April 16, 2021.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Hemberger, J., Crossley, M. S., & Gratton, C. (2021). Historical decrease in agricultural landscape diversity is associated with shifts in bumble bee species occurrence. Ecology Letters, 24(9), 18001813. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13786
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2021 Citation: Spratt, E., J. Jordan, J. Winsten, P. Huff, C. van Schaik, J. Grimsbo Jewett, M. Filbert, J. Luhman, E. Meier, and L. Paine. 2021. Accelerating regenerative grazing to tackle farm, environmental, and societal challenges in the upper Midwest. J. Soil and Water Cons. 76(1): 15A-23A. doi:10.2489/jswc.2021.1209A
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2021 Citation: Becker, A. E. (2021). Pastures with managed grazing have more surface soil carbon than row crops [Unpublished masters thesis]. University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2021 Citation: Blant, C. (2021). Connected Consciousness: Movement-Advancing Education in Farmers Cooperatives. [Unpublished masters thesis]. University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Rissman, A., E. Green and C. Widmann 2020. Managed Grazing and Grassland: Policy Trends and Opportunities for Renewal in Wisconsin. Policy Brief.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Paine L, Jackson RD. Positioning agriculture for resilience in a post-pandemic Wisconsin. WisPolitics op-ed. 26 Feb 2021.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Landis, G. Principles-focused Evaluation for Agricultural Transformation. AEA365 Blog: A Tip-A-Day for Evaluators. American Evaluation Association. Blog post. 23 April 2021.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Haan NL, Iuliano BG, Gratton C, Landis DA. 2021. Designing agricultural landscapes for arthropod-based ecosystem services in North America. Future of Agricultural Landscapes, Part II. Volume 64, Pages 191-250. ISBN: 1780128229798. Elsevier Science.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Wattiaux, M., Miller, M., Lloyd, S., Lukszys, P., Rissman, A., Enstad, N., Jackson, R. Comments regarding the Executive Order 140147 on Americas Supply Chains'' specifically for the Production of Agricultural Commodities and Food Products. Docket Number AMS-TM-21-034. June 20, 2021.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Nicholson, C., Stephenson, M. 2021. Analyses of Proposed Alternative Growth Management Programs for the US Dairy Industry. 27 Aug 2021.
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Paine, L. Where do plant-based milk substitutes fit into the Grassland 2.0 vision? Grassland 2.0 blog. July 16 2021.


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

Outputs
Target Audience:This project aims to explore agroecological transformation through broad, cross-sector collaborations and engagement (farmers, consumers, policymakers, processors, supply-chain linkages, etc.) therefore our project has a wide target audience, perhaps only constrained by the north-central United States geographic region. With these thoughts in mind, in the first year of the project we have engaged with the following target audiences (individuals, groups and communities): Farming networks: GrassWorks Iowa County Uplands Watershed Group Upper Sugar River Watershed Lower Sugar River Watershed Association Tainter Creek / Kickapoo Valley Watershed groups South-East Yahara Watershed Pecatonica Pride Watershed Group Bayfield-Ashland (informal group) Practical Farmers of Iowa Wisconsin Farmers Union Upper Apple River Watershed Alliance Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation National Farmers Organization National Family Farm Organization Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota Crow Wing River Basin Forage Council Central Wisconsin River Graziers Lowery Creek Watershed Initiative Foxhead Regenerative Agriculture Project Dairy Together Farms and farmers: Rosebud Economic Development Corporation - Wolakota Buffalo Range Oneida Nation Farms Rosy Lane Holsteins LLC Highland Spring Farm Numerous individual farmers (Jason Gruenefeld, Jordan Matthews*, Scott Mericka*, Dick Cates*, Eric Cates*, Bryce and Kalena Riemer*, Lois and Sandi Schwert, Greg Galbraith, Jacob Marty, Tucker Gretebeck, Bert Paris*, Jim Munsch) (* denotes member of our meta-stakeholder advisory team) Academic Institutions and Organizations: University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Wisconsin-Marshfield University of Wisconsin-River Falls University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Culture History and the Environment University of Wisconsin Center for Dairy Profitability University of Minnesota University of Minnesota-Regional Sustainable Development Partnership Green Lands Blue Waters (University of Minnesota) Iowa State University American University Penn State University University of California-Berkeley Cornell University University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University of Missouri Michigan State University Ohio State University Purdue University Kansas State University University of Nebraska South Dakota State University North Dakota State University Agricultural businesses: General Mills Organic Valley Barry Callebaut Cedar Grove Cheese Danone Decatur Dairy Wisconsin Meadows Grassfed Beef Cooperative Uplands Cheese Company Non-governmental, or non-profit organizations Southwest Wisconsin Grassland Network Driftless Area Land Conservancy Kickapoo Valley Reserve Valley Stewardship Network The Prairie Enthusiasts Pheasants Forever Savannah Institute Wisconsin Wetlands Association Clean Lakes Alliance The Nature Conservancy Minnesota Environmental Partnership Kidlinks World Incorporated Happy Dancing Turtle Land Stewardship Project Wormfarm Institute Pasture Project at the Wallace Center Winrock International Farm Commons Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment OpenTEAM Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Pipeline Foods Financial institutions: Compeer Financial Croatan Institute Local, state, federal, and international governmental agencieso or offices: United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Marketing Service United States Department of Agriculture - Agriculture Research Service United States Department of Agriculture - Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education US Fish and Wildlife Service - Migratory Bird Program Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection Wisconsin Economics Development Corporation Dane County Land Conservation (WI) Dane County Land and Water Resources Department (WI) Sauk County Land Resources & Environment Department (WI) Iowa County Land Conservation Department (WI) Hennepin County Land and Water Department (MN) Marathon County Conservation Planning Zoning Department (WI) Marathon County Conservation, Planning and Zoning (WI) Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District (WI) Monroe County (WI) Vernon County (WI) Senator Tammy Baldwin's Office Congressman Ron Kind's Office Teagsac Individuals: Marie Raboin* (Dane County Land & Water Resources Department; meta-stakeholder) Rod Ofte* (Wisconsin Meadows Grassfed Beef Cooperative; meta-stakeholder) Joe Tomandl III (Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship) George Boody (Land Stewardship Project) Steve Stettler (Decatur Dairy) Bill Stewart (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) John Strauser (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) Mark Stephenson (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Trisha Wagner (University of Wisconsin-Extension) Rachel Rushmann (Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection) Logan Peterman* (Organic Valley) Kara Kasten-Olsen* (Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection) Jeffrey Swenson (Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection) Bob Wills* (Cedar Grove Cheese Incorporated) Brian Pillsbury* (USDA - NRCS) Martin Griffin* (Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District) (* denotes member of our meta-stakeholder advisory team) We have also taken actions to engage the general public (at a national scale) with an article published in the digital magazine Aeon. Among these groups, networks and organizations are the Rosebud Sioux tribe in South Dakota, and the Oneida Nation in the Fox River Valley of Wisconsin, which are indigenous groups that have been socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged. Additionally, during the spring 2020 semester Claudio Gratton led a graduate seminar on agroecosystem transitions at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Changes/Problems:Due to the severity of COVID-19, our most serious problems have stemmed from trying to adjust to this global pandemic. Specifically, because our project places an emphasis on community engagement, and rural community engagement especially, meeting virtually has been challenging. In depth description of complications due to COVID-19 are outlined below: Annual science meeting postponed 6 months (delays to programming; travel restrictions) Full-day meeting & workshop for ~80 project personnel Team-building presentations and exercises Cross-objective team collaboration and planning Re-scheduled for September 2020 and shifted to virtual space Objective teams affected- Obj. 0: Communications plan delayed Obj. 1: Meta-stakeholder team formation delayed Obj. 1: Statewide listening sessions delayed Obj. 3: Dairy survey delayed Obj. 4: Decision support tools & modeling delayed Obj. 6: Learning Hub design and establishment delayed Ireland trip postponed at least one year (delays to programming; travel restrictions) Collaboration between Teagasc and Grassland 2.0 to compare and contrast grassland agroecosystems and explore synergies in Data collection Citizen science Decision support tools and models Marketing and certification schemes Deferred hires (graduate students, post docs, etc; delays in hiring project staff) PI Jackson has had one grad student defer (12-month delay) Small to moderate delays (<2 weeks) in getting modeling postdoc posting approved. TBD if impact on hiring. Kalscheur (collaborator) delay in recruitment of graduate student (postponed ~1-year) Listening sessions (Policy team & ATP team; delays in programming; delays to human subjects studies) Foundational engagement with communities of Wisconsin and the North-Central Region In-person component is critical, and therefore unable to transition to virtual (trust building, idea generation) Around 6 sessions were postponed Specific Research Projects (delays in programming; travel restrictions) Soil carbon and grazing survey (PI Jackson's graduate student, Ashley Becker, has had work delayed; delays to human subjects studies) Stream monitoring in Kickapoo River Valley watershed (postponed due to multi-person field work logistics) Borghesi-Mellon Workshop (delays in programming; delays to human subjects studies) Plans for multiple workshops and engagement with communities in SW Wisconsin postponed Follow-up collection of oral histories around ag and grazing also postponed Learning Hub delays (delays in programming; travel restrictions) Delayed meetings with potential Learning Hubs due increased workload and decreased capacity of staff due to COVID-19 Inability to meet in person with potential Learning Hubs due to COVID-19 Transition from in person to virtual workspaces (unable to access necessary facilities) What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided numerous professional development and skill-building opportunities over the last year, especially during the transition to online collaboration and remote learning. Team members were trained on new software, organizational workflow tools, communication strategies, and methodologies for data collection, analysis, and visualization. These included: Different types of video conferencing software (WebEx, Zoom, Blackboard Collaborate) Applying project management approaches to a large, transdisciplinary group Website development and editing Developing models in Google Docs Systems mapping software including Plectica Group facilitation and interview techniques Graphical and statistical methods Transcript analysis with NVivo Communications and relationship-building skills Mapping and spatial analysis with QGIS Participatory Action Research methods and theoretical background Oral history collection and use Audio and video editing Holistic management training on participatory goal setting Logistical experience working with third-party contractors Soil sampling and processing methodologies How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The team has worked to engage communities of interest through the development of Learning Hubs, through large group meetings and communication with the meta-stakeholder advisory group, and through the development of communications tools including a website, podcast, and series of small-group presentations and listening sessions, many of which are highlighted in the products section. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Agroecological transformation planning: Continue development of ATP Conduct listening sessions with farming communities around Wisconsin to discuss areas of critical need, interest, and potential solutions in perennial agriculture. Critically, as this work was postponed due to COVID-19, these listening sessions need to occur in a manner which maintains the safety of all participants given the global pandemic. Compile and develop a variety of financial mechanisms that could be used on agroecological transitions that will reflect multiple transition pathways. Data, models, and data collection instruments: Develop a version of GrazeScape fully functional for the Tainter Creek Watershed Develop datasets for SmartScape at statewide scale Update dairy growth management policy model Add grazing to the dairy industry model Finalize Wisconsin Dairy Statewide Survey Link Wisconsin Dairy Statewide Survey to Penn State findings and COVID Rapid Response survey findings Process soil samples for soil organic matter and carbon. Determine bulk density of sampling locations. Analysis of deep carbon dynamics in perennial grasslands 30 additional stakeholder interviews Analyze interview transcripts Publications, communications, and outreach materials: Launch full project website outlining our vision and approach, stories of grassland leaders, grassland 2.0 news, and how people can get involved Launch media strategy and conduct targeted outreach to key media outlets on the Grassland 2.0 project Launch Grassland 2.0 news blog and social media account Design policy brief document publish the state policy profiles on the webpage Manuscript preparation and submission on SOC dynamics by agricultural land use and cover Finalize graduate student manuscript plans Finalize land tenure report Release silvopasture video series Develop oral history/public podcast component of our interviews Publish magazine article on grazing profitability Curricula and educational materials: Continue curriculum development for Agricultural Ecosystems major Continued course development in preparation for summer 2021 launch Offer online webinars addressing silvopasture and improved grazing management Learning hubs and collaboration opportunities: Apply for funds for an additional research project Learning Hubs and have plans for kickoff meetings Submit formal expression of interest for Kansas learning hub and have additional meetings with potential collaborators in Kansas watersheds Advance selection process for regional learning hubs outside Wisconsin Assess and support regional learning hubs applications especially those in Minnesota. Plan and deliver 2020 Perennial Farm Gathering Reach out to farmers and potential supply chain partners Identify locations for pilot supply-chain projects Form an informal steering and design group for pilot supply-chain projects continue to seek opportunities to engage arts/humanities/design disciplines Review government agencies and budgets for environmental practices related to grasslands Attend state NRCS technical committee meetings Submit SARE Research and Education pre-proposal for regional survey work Prepare to resubmit Beginner Farmer Research and Development Program proposal Begin work on Conservation Innovation Grant proposal Project organization and evaluation: Finalize the summative evaluation and data collection plans Establish instruments to support project documentation and reporting Develop a few evaluation tools (surveys and protocols) for individual project activities such as workshops, meetings, and user testing Finalize Grassland 2.0 internal project factsheet Create Grassland 2.0 PowerPoint and Factsheet templates for presentations and meetings Add members to meta-stakeholder advisory group to provide balance and diversity Build out work plans for learning hubs and supply chain pilot sites as they are finalized

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Milk and beef production in the US are industries dominated by confined cattle fed corn, soybean, and alfalfa. In the North Central US, these crops cover ~75% of the agricultural landscape. Small- to mid-sized farms, long considered the heart of America, are closing at unprecedented rates resulting in an exodus of people from rural communities that leaves behind a disaffected and underemployed populace. Meanwhile, annual row-crop agriculture and confined animal feeding operations are widely recognized as driving devastating floods, eutrophication of water bodies, greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change, and biodiversity loss, all while contributing to human illness and disease. The costs to society of this agricultural system are large and growing. We propose a sustainable agricultural system based on restoring much of the ecosystem structure and function of the native prairie. This vision of agriculture in 2050 replaces most of the annual crops in the North Central US with perennial grasslands supporting livestock production whose agroecological metrics are superior profitability, nutrient and water efficiency, and yield stability. This is an aspirational and ambitious goal whose scope matches the scope of the problems we face. Agricultural landscapes covered by perennial grasslands are our best hope for greenhouse gas abatement, regulation of water quality and quantity (e.g. flood abatement), stemming biodiversity loss, as well as improving general human health and well-being. Here, we propose the early steps towards this vision-landscape transformation to perennial grassland agriculture in a series of local, then regional, watersheds geared towards spread to the North Central US. In order to accomplish this work, we need to develop broad, cross-sector collaborations and engagement (farmers, consumers, policymakers, processors, supply-chain linkages, etc.), and develop both the tools and a framework for likely challenging conversations to take place regarding a shared vision for agriculture. The impact we've had over this first year, at a broad level has been in developing 1) relationships and trust with a wide range of stakeholders (see 'target audience' (Obj. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7); 2) the tools necessary to delve into specifics of various agricultural scenarios in a way that is backed by scientific research (Obj. 1,3,4); 3) a framework (Obj. 1, 2, 6, 7) in which these discussion can take place. Additionally, the project team developed systems for communication, organization, data collection, and evaluation (Obj. 8) over this first year in a wide variety of areas, that will reinforce and stabilize the work of this group over the next years of the project. Lastly, the group convened a team of meta-stakeholders (Obj. 1; see 'target audience') to act as an external advisory board for the group. This team will provide practical, real-world feedback on the activities and plans of the group. The project developed a communications plan (Obj. 1) with outlining communication goals and tactics, a brand strategy outlining our mission, vision, audiences, key messages, and unique value proposition. We created website splash-page inviting stakeholders to share their vision for a sustainable agricultural future and how we get there, drafted website content and visuals for full website launch and created website mock-up and prototype, created a logo and branding guidelines, and wrote up an internal project FAQ document with talking points for project staff on questions regarding our project and our goals. We worked with a videographer to create a farmer profile of one of our meta-stakeholders, highlighting his story and his reasons for choosing managed grazing and drafted media strategy outlining our project press release. The team developed a plan for the selection of Learning Hubs and pilot Supply Chain Sites (Obj. 2, 6) and implementation, reaching out to potential host organizations, having outreach conversations with an enormous range of stakeholders working in different sectors and across different scales of agroecosystems in the North Central Region. The policy and governance team (Obj. 5) conducted key informant interviews, planned workshops for stakeholder mental models, and drafted policy papers and briefs. These included a report on "Governing the Transition to Grassland 2.0", state policy profiles for the North Central region on agencies, legislation, and funding about grazing and grasslands, and a letter to the Wisconsin Climate Change Task Force and a draft letter to the Blue Ribbon Commission on Rural Prosperity. The modeling teams (Obj. 3, 4) made significant progress on farm-level decision support tools, including predicting grass yield by landscape and grazing management practices, phosphorous loss across landscapes and agricultural practices, a Grassland yield model, a new proposed workflow and use experience for SmartScape, a survey of dairy farmers in Wisconsin in order to understand their agricultural practices and challenges they face, and exploring how financial tools facilitate agroecological transformation. These groups are also developing ideas for publications based on the models and tool development. Interviews, specifically oral histories from farmers and others involved in grazing, have also been collected and have started to disseminate as a podcast (GrassCast; Obj. 7). The podcast is to be launched -- and new episodes periodically released -- during the second year of this project and onward. This podcast is intended to use farmer testimonials in order to encourage debate and deliberation among both the farming community as well as society at large. The evaluation team (Obj. 8) gathered data from team members on the scope, goals, and activities of Grassland 2.0 to draft evaluation plans for the remainder of the project. This team facilitated a number of small-group meetings, helped develop key project organization tools including a set of shared principles and theory of change, drafted a survey for project management support and reporting, drafted a summative evaluation plan, and drafted a developmental evaluation plan. This team also submitted data collection plans for IRB approval to enable future publication.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jackson RD. 2019. Grassland 2.0-Regnerative agriculture. REAP business meeting, Madison, WI, 5 May 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Bell MM, Barham B, Blant C, Grace J, Gratton C, Landis G, Phillips M, Power R, Rissman A, Turnquist A, Jackson R. 2019. Grassland 2.0: Grounding Knowledge for Place-Based Action to Perennialize Agriculture . The XXVIII European Society for Rural Sociology Congress, Trondheim, Norway, 05 Jul 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jackson, RD. 2019. Extending the crop rotation. Practical Farmers of Iowa Small Grains Conference, Wisconsin Dells, WI. 15 Aug 2019
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Sanford, G, Maier, C, Jackson, RD. Conservation agriculture at WICST. Grassland Restoration Network Annual Conference. 20 Aug 2019
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jackson RD. 2019. Can we save dairy agriculture? US Dairy Forage Research Center. 11 Apr 2019.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Booth E, Kucharik C, Jackson RD. 2019. Nitrate contamination in groundwater and drinking water, Nelson Issue Brief 1: 1-4.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Gratton, C. 2019. Upending the paradigm: agriculture and the environment for a sustainable future. University of Wisconsin - Madison. Culture, History, and the Environment (CHE) symposium. Sept. 2019.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jackson RD, Isidore B, Cates RL. 2019. Are plant-soil dynamics in pastures managed organically different? A review. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 279: 53-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2019.04.005
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Gratton, C. 2019. Upending the paradigm: agriculture and the environment for a sustainable future. University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign. Department of Entomology. October. 2019
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Gratton, C. 2019. Upending the paradigm: agriculture and the environment for a sustainable future. Lawrence University. Department of Biology, October 2019
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Wepking, C. 2019. Agricultural decisions impact the environment, people and sustainability: antibiotics, biodiversity, and transformation. Green America Joint Agriculture Network Meeting. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 12 November 2019.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jackson RD, Paine LK, Wepking C. 2019. GrassLAND 2.0: envisioning and assessing regenerative agriculture scenarios with SmartScape". Green Lands Blue Waters Conference, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 20 Nov 2019.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Gratton, C, Jackson, RD. Grassland 2.0. Upper Sugar River Watershed Science on Tap. 21 Nov 2019
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Paine L. Grassland 2.0 Nutshell talk. Perennial Farm Conference - Savanna Institute Annual Gathering. 06 December 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2019 Citation: Booth EG, Lark T, Hendrick N, Smith A, Kucharik CJ, Gibbs HK. Water quality impacts of the renewable fuel standard. Annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, 9-13 December 2019, San Francisco CA.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Landis, G. 2020. Evaluating tools and tradeoffs for successful grazing partnerships on Wisconsin public grasslands. Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies PhD exit seminar. University of Wisconsin-Madison. 13 January. 2020
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Gratton, C. Upending the paradigm: agriculture and the environment for a sustainable future. Michigan State University. Department of Entomology, February 2019
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Kucharik CJ. Changing climate, extreme weather, and challenges to Midwest agriculture. Wisconsin Annual Cover Crop Conference, Stevens Point WI, 20 February 2020.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Gratton, C. and Kucharik, C. Envisioning a Sustainable Agricultural Future for Wisconsin.� Friends of Allen Centennial Gardens, February 22, 2020
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Paine, LK. Grazed grassland ecology principles. Columbia-Dodge-Sauk Counties Annual Grazing Conference. Portage, WI. 03 March 2020
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jackson, RD. Grassland 2.0. Columbia-Dodge-Sauk Counties Annual Grazing Conference. Portage, WI. 03 March 2020
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jackson RD, Laura K Paine, Claudio Gratton, Bradford L Barham, Gregg R Sanford, Eric Booth, Pamela Porter, Michael Bell, Jacob Grace, Alan Turnquist, Bert Paris, David LeZaks, Richard L Cates, Jr, Dennis Keeney, Curt Meine, Stephen R Carpenter, Laura L Jackson, Jason Cavadini, W Carter Johnson, Paul Daigle, William D Kolodziej, Julie E Doll, Rob Anex, Paul Johnson, Tom Kriegl. 2020. A vision for agriculture. Aeon. Edited by Brigid Hains. Published in association with the Center for Humans and Nature, an Aeon partner. Published online 18 March 2020.
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Nardi A. 2020. Preliminary Grassland 2.0 website (grasslandag.org).
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jackson, RD. Grasslands 2.0 Call to Action - Transforming Livestock Agriculture from Grain to Grass. Grassworks Grazing Conference - 2020. 24 January 2020
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Jackson RD. 2020. Soil nitrate leaching under grazed cool-season grass pastures of the North Central US. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10571