Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs Target Audience:DCB target audiences include: Farmers; agricultural advisors; landowners; food, fiber, biomass retailers; Land Grant University Extension; policy makers/funders; students; educators; researchers. To broadly reach our target audience DCB published two press releases to the media. Upon receiving the grant, DCB published a press release through Purdue University "Purdue awarded $10 million for #DiverseCornBelt project". This press release achieved 25 media placements and reached a total audience of 439,355. To recruit participants and raise awareness of the project, DCB published the press release "Diverse Corn Belt Project Seeks Farmer Input". This press release achieved 19 mentions in conventional and social media and generated 1.41 million impressions. DCB also broadly promoted project activities and concepts through two radio interviews and one podcasts. WGLT: (https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2022-08-22/diverse-corn-belt-project-will-explore-agronomic-and-economic-benefits-of-transformed-crop-rotations) FarmWeek: https://www.farmweeknow.com/eedition/page-a14/page_6d5e Purdue Ag Week, The Future of Ag podcast - Regenerative Agriculture and Diverse Corn Belt - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sustainability-and-regerative-ag-with-michael/id1561692455?i=1000552005331 To target Cooperative Extension, an overview of DCB was shared with the Purdue Extension's Agriculture and Natural Resources team and Diversified Food and Farming Systems team in February, 2022. To target students, DCB team members have supported four undergraduate mentees and have done one guest lecture in an undergraduate class. Changes/Problems:The following changes have occurred Evaluator change: Our project evaluator has changed from Bets McNie to Jean Eells. Citing unforeseen circumstances, Bets stepped down as DCB's evaluator and we have recruited Dr. Jean Eells of E Resources Group to fill the role. Dr. Eells brings a strong evaluation skill set as well as a contextual knowledge of the current agricultural landscape. Stakeholder coordinator hire: A portion of salary designated for extension efforts has been reassigned to support a stakeholder coordinator working on a number of different objectives and reporting to the project PD. The individual had specific skills and experience relevant for this project but the position had not been included in the budget. Their presence on the DCB team is integral to accomplishing short and long-term goals. Co-PD change: Mike Komp left the position of Executive Director of Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) in August 2022. Ryan Heiniger joined CTIC as Executive Director in November and assumed Komp's role on the DCB project. Co-DP addition: Dr. Shadi Atallah has joined the DCB team as a Co-PI from University of Illinois. Dr. Atallah will lead the development of an agent-based model (ABM) of a #DiverseCornBelt. The ABM will feature farmer-agents making decisions to adopt alternative farming systems. Adoption decisions will be based on a choice experiment survey with farmers in the Corn Belt in which farmers will be asked to make hypothetical farming system adoption decisions as a function of market characteristics, adoption by neighbors, and interventions by Extension, and policy. We will use the ABM to model the causes and effects of farming system diversification from the farm to the landscape level and the associated economics environmental, and social outcomes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?DCB team has shared information and results at a total of 10 presentations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To address objective 1 in year 2, DCB will launch and begin analyzing surveys developed in year 1 (farmers, retailers, and buyers), continue gathering data from participants via interviews and focus groups, and convene DCB's Reimagining Agricultural Diversity (RAD) teams, our long-term stakeholder engagement and visioning group of diverse stakeholders. We will also begin data collection for our on-farm research. To address objective 2 goals, DCB team will continue modeling efforts related to economic and ecosystem impacts of diverse landscape scenarios across the Corn Belt. Objective 3 will not begin until year 3 but the DCB team will continue gathering data and recruiting participants who will contribute to the stakeholder-informed visioning sessions Objective 4 will not occur until year 5 but the DCB team will continue exploring policy opportunities and alternatives through engagement efforts in year 2 of the project. DCB will also continue networking efforts with policy advocates and planning strategies for developing policies that support a more resilient agriculture future in the Corn Belt. To address objective 5 goals in year 2, the DCB team will continue developing relationships with key organizations and stakeholders across the ag value chain to support farm diversification and market development. We will use these relationships to leverage the efforts of our team and support development of organizations who can extend the reach of DCB findings. To accomplish objective 6 goals in year 2 the DCB team will continue development and testing of learning modules for secondary and undergraduate levels. These learning modules will be adaptable and accessible to large learning communities and will prepare the next generation of farmers and ag stakeholders to address emerging challenges and support a more diversified landscape.
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
In our first year the Diverse Corn Belt team has made considerable progress establishing a foundation for project success. Progress includes administrative accomplishments, stakeholder engagement, and cross-project collaborations. DCB has hired two key positions (Project Manager and Regenerative Ag Coordinator), recruited five graduate students, one post-doc, and established project infrastructure enabling multi-institution and interdisciplinary data sharing, communication, and research. We have convened two in-person All Team meetings (project kick-off meeting in January 2022, and annual meeting in June 2022), and established sub-teams working on project objectives. Both full-team and sub-teams meet monthly (virtual) to discuss progress, updates, and needs. To promote DCB to stakeholders across the Corn Belt we have developed a DCB brand that includes a logo, website, and presentation templates. The website includes key DCB information and updates, and will house DCB products and information throughout the life of the project. DCB has conducted 11 farmer focus groups to understand baseline conditions of attitudes towards diversification and to establish a foundation for knowledge, attitude, and behavior change in the coming four years. Objective 1: Coproduce research and advance market development along the agricultural value chain to identify and address social, economic, agronomic, and environmental barriers to the adoption of diverse sustainable agricultural systems. To address objective 1 the DCB team conducted 11 focus groups in IN (7), IL (2), IA (1) with 53 participants. Participants included diversified farmers (66%), not diversified farmers (19%), and non-farmers (15%).Non farmers included consultants, advisors, lenders, and educators. The focus groups gathered information from about their farming operation, perceptions of agricultural diversification, and what is working and not working withing the current system. Findings highlighted social, economic, agronomic, and environmental barriers and opportunities for a more diversified agriculture system. The focus groups also helped DCB identify farmer cooperators interested in participating in future DCB activities, specifically DCB's Reimagining Agricultural Diversity (RAD) teams, a long-term stakeholder engagement and visioning group. The DCB team is developing field work protocols for biophysical data collection and recruiting participants for on-farm data collection. This work will characterize the conditions and extent to which a diversified system impacts indicators of biophysical sustainably, compared to non-diversified system. Biophysical measures include soil health, insect biodiversity, and water quality. To explore market development across the agricultural value chain, DCB is developing surveys for produce growers, retailers, and buyers. To inform survey development, the DCB team is interviewing key market players and conducting a literature review focused on market standards and preferences related to regenerative farming products. The team is also conducting case studies of diverse products to understand how markets develop and perspectives of growers, buyers, and consumers. To further understand farmer perceptions of opportunities and barriers to a more diverse agricultural system, DCB is developing a farmer survey that will be administered to diversified and non-diversified farmers across the Corn Belt. Data from this survey will inform objectives 1, 2, and 3. Objective 2: Model economic and ecosystem impacts of diverse landscape scenarios across the agricultural value chain to develop evidence-based policy recommendations, quantify sustainability metrics and establish conditions required for economic vitality. DCB has identified three watersheds to assess the impacts of diverse cropping systems in the Corn Belt (Middle Des Moines in Iowa, Middle Wabash in Indiana, andEmbarras in Illinois). The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) ecohydrological model will simulate cropping systems and management practices that represent both traditional row crop production versus alternative cropping methods. A SWAT model has already been constructed for the Des Moines River Basin forIowa Urban FEWS, an NSF-funded project. This SWAT model will be leveraged for future DCB cropping system simulations and other relevant analyses. Considerable testing of the model has already occurred. Additional testing and scenario analyses will be conducted within the NSF project that will provide a firm foundation for DCB applications. The DCB team is also developing a spatial and temporal analysis of farm crop and land cover diversity at USDA's Economic Research Service using restricted USDA administrative data. This analysis combines land parcel boundaries with the same operator to increase our understanding of where crop diversity exists and does not exist in today's landscape. This analysis also identifies biophysical or socio-economic factors correlated with both diversity and lack of diversity. This analysis helps DCB identify a baseline of where diversity already exists on the landscape and will be able to speak to common conditions enabling or disabling diversification across the Corn Belt. Objective 3: Design stakeholder-informed alternative production systems by conducting visioning sessions at the local, state, and national levels that allow participants to consider ethical choices and sustainability outcomes. Although objective 3 is planned to occur in years 4 and 5 of the project, the DCB team is conducting key research in objectives 1 and 2 to inform the development of future scenarios of alternative production systems. Objective 4: Develop and disseminate policy guidance to achieve resilient intensification through diversified farms, landscapes, and markets. While objective 4 is planned to occur in year 5 of the project, the DCB team has been exploring policy opportunities and alternatives through the coproduction efforts occurring in objective 1. We are also networking with policy advocates and planning a strategy to develop effective policy guidance to support a more diverse and resilient agriculture future for the Corn Belt. Objective 5: Engage with diverse stakeholders through Extension to support farm diversification and market development. The DCB team has been developing relationships with stakeholders across the agricultural value chain by introducing the project and project concepts in the study region and nationally. Objective 6: Create, pilot, and publish educational materials to foster a workforce prepared to respond to emerging challenges and support a diversified landscape. The DCB education team has been developing teaching education modules at the high school and college level. This curriculum will support the development of a workforce prepared to address emerging social and agricultural challenges and support more diverse agricultural landscape. This team meets monthly to discuss pedagogy for learning modules and convened a day-long in-person meeting with the Univ of MN's Center for Educational Innovation to identify student learning outcomes and establish a framework for DCB learning modules.
Publications
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
www.DiverseCornBelt.org
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Prokopy, Linda. May 2022. Understanding Adoption of Agricultural Conservation Practices. Soil Health Nexus Digital Caf�.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Prokopy, Linda. April 2022. Engaging Farmers in Sustainability Initiatives. Managing the Global Commons: Sustainable Agriculture
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Prokopy, L. #DiverseCornBelt: Imagining a Pathway to a Resilient Future. 2022 Soil and Water Conservation Society National Conference, Denver, Co. July 31, 2022
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Practical Farmers of Iowa, Oat variety trial report, October 2022 https://practicalfarmers.org/research/oat-variety-trial-2022/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Practical Farmers of Iowa, Cereal rye variety trial report, October 2022
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Prokopy, Linda. February 2022. #DiverseCornBelt. Trust in Food Symposium, virtual
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Secci, S. Economic & Land Use Policies to Limit Nutrient Pollution: Perspectives from the Great Lakes and Beyond. Alliance for the Great Lakes, April 4, 2022, virtual event.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Secci, S. Cows, Climate and Culture Wars: Putting Bad Policy Out to Pasture. Center for Biological Diversity, April 7, 2022, virtual event.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
ODonnell, M. Overview of Diverse Corn Belt. Midwest Sustainable Ag Working Group network, April 11, 2022, virtual event.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Prokopy, Linda. July 2022. Engaging Farmers in Sustainability Initiatives: Focus on the Corn Belt. Regenerative Agriculture Group at Google. Online.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Prokopy, Linda. June 2022. The Social Dimension of Agricultural Conservation. NRCS Soil Health Training
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Arbuckle, J.G. Social Science Research Informing Promotion of Soil Health Practices. Bi-State Soil Health Workshop, December 8, 2021. (17)
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