#DIVERSECORNBELT: RESILIENT INTENSIFICATION THROUGH DIVERSITY IN MIDWESTERN AGRICULTURE

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: NEW
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1027512
• Grant No.: 2021-68012-35896
• Project No.: IND90003152G
• Proposal No.: 2021-05680
• Program Code: A9201
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2021
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2026
• Grant Year: 2021

Project Director
Prokopy, L.

Recipient Organization
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
WEST LAFAYETTE,IN 47907

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
For decades, the dominant paradigm in Midwestern agriculture has been the necessity of the corn-soybean rotation; as illustrated by decreased farmer economic optimism, declining rural communities, and degraded environments, this paradigm is no longer working.Our interdisciplinary and cross-organizational team will engage stakeholders across the value chain to generate evidence-based visions and frameworks to diversify the dominant corn-soybean system. The transformed system will be capable of overcoming persistent market and policy barriers to support a transition to resilient intensification and a more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable system.These changes will be enabled byadvancing several dimensions of diversity- at the farm, landscape, and market level while ensuring the needs of diverse people along the value chain are met.Informed by stakeholders through coproduction sessions, visioning, surveys and interviews, the team will advance understanding of environmental costs and benefits of diversified systems through on-farm research and will research economic and social barriers to change along the agricultural value chain (Objective 1). The team will model air, water, and economic outcomes of baseline and diversified systems (Objective 2). Modeling results and scenario development will guide place-based visioning sessions (Objective 3). The team will identify institutional barriers (Objectives 1-3) and generate policy guidance (Objective 4). #DiverseCornBelt's Extension program will support farm-level actors and markets in transitioning (Objective 5) and will engage the future workforce through educational modules and immersive learning experiences (Objective 6).

Animal Health Component

0%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
131	2410	1070	20%
131	2410	1130	10%
601	2410	3010	10%
131	2410	3080	20%
131	2410	3111	10%
112	2410	2050	10%
101	2410	2061	10%
603	2410	3010	10%

Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 603 - Market Economics; 112 - Watershed Protection and Management; 101 - Appraisal of Soil Resources; 131 - Alternative Uses of Land;

Subject Of Investigation
2410 - Cross-commodity research--multiple crops;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology; 3111 - Landscape architecture; 2050 - Hydrology; 1070 - Ecology; 2061 - Pedology; 3010 - Economics; 3080 - Sociology;

Keywords

corn belt

agricultural value chain

coproduction

diversification

markets

paradigm

scenarios

Goals / Objectives
The core goal of this Purdue University-led SAS project, #DiverseCornBelt: Resilient Intensification through Diversity in Midwestern Agriculture, is to diversify the farms, landscapes, and markets of the Corn Belt. Our hypothesis is that diversifying crop production and markets will generate a suite of economic, social, and ecosystem services that benefit more people than provided by the current system of predominantly corn-soybean rotations and confined livestock. Diversifying both farming and farmers in the U.S.requires systematic analysis and assessment of pathways towards resilient intensification at farm, landscape, and market levels.Our team will implement a transdisciplinary integrated approach to coproduce new scientifically and ethically sound visions through objectives that cuts across research, Extension, and education.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.Objective 2: Model economic and ecosystem (air, water) 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.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.Objective 4: Develop and disseminate policy guidance to achieve resilient intensification through diversified farms, landscapes, and markets.Objective 5: Engage with diverse stakeholders through Extension to support farm diversification and market development.Objective 6: Create, pilot, and publish educational materials to foster a workforce prepared to respond to emerging challenges and support a diversified landscape.

Project Methods
Task 1A: Engage with stakeholders We will convene multiple groups of stakeholders from across the agricultural value chain, with a minimum of two groups in each of IN, IL, and IA (I-states). These groups, Reimagining Agricultural Diversity Teams (RAD Teams), will use emerging techniques like horizon scanning and futures wheels to prioritize the sustainability metrics of importance to stakeholders.Task 1B: On-Farm Research Our on-farm research will collect data to compare conventional and diversified cropping systems in replicate watersheds throughout the I-states. Farmers, and thus sites, will be recruited in Y1 through a combined effort by the Extension and research teams that will integrate existing relationships with biophysical data (e.g., SSURGO soil maps). We will identify pairs of 'diversified' and 'conventional' farms in each watershed. To separate the two, a diversification index will be used to characterize farms with a scoring matrix based on a range of factors such as rotations, crop diversity, non-crop vegetation, and livestock integration. We will select farms that still cultivate corn and/or soybeans to generate a standardized baseline to compare with conventional systems. Each farm will be sampled up to 10 times annually in Y2-4. In addition to standard agronomic soil fertility measurements, we will measure the following soil health indicators: penetration resistance, bulk density, nitrogen mineralization rate, carbon mineralization rate, and aggregate stability. Insect community indicators measured will include: predator diversity and abundance, pest suppression, and pollinator diversity/abundance. Water quality measures taken will include: groundwater recharge, and water quality (N and P in groundwater). Last, we will collect crop growth data by: (1) quantifying canopy and residue cover using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and (2) using yield data reported from farmer participants..Task 1C: Identifying challenges and assessing readiness of the value chain We will use surveys, case studies, focus groups, and interviews to increase understanding of the barriers and motivations for (i) farmers to diversify and (ii) advisers to recommend diversification as a viable strategy.Task 2A: Farm-level economic modeling of diversification We will develop a flexible farm-level economic decision model to determine the conditions under which more diverse farms can be economically viable and what tradeoffs are necessary for farm operators to diversify their operations using extended rotations, grazed livestock, perennials, or new food crops. from alternative rotations and crops/land-uses, and explicit consideration of the cost- and risk-reducing role of federal policies in perpetuating the current paradigm. We will conduct this modeling in a stochastic setting to account for climate/weather variability and other infrequent environmental stresses that may have dramatic economic consequences.Task 2B: Diversification land use change (LUC) modeling The potential LUCs in our project could go beyond the production of food for local communities and include shifts from annual crop production to longer rotations and/or managed grazing, such as corn-soybean-oat/alfalfa-alfalfa rotations with and without cattle.Task 2C: Foodshed optimization. We will evaluate foodsheds in terms of the extent to which they address issues such as food security and sustainability, as well as social and environmental impacts of food systems.Task 2D: Hydrological modeling using SWAT.Task 2E: Air quality impacts We will conduct air quality modeling using reduced-complexity models.Task 3A: Develop preliminary landscape scenarios We will visualize landscape scenarios likely to be of interest to stakeholders. We anticipate scenarios will include: (1) a baseline corn-soybean rotation; (2) incremental diversification practices such as use and frequency of cover crops; (3) targeted perennialization, such as energy "crops", kernza, and forages with pastured livestock; (4) horticultural food crops and local foodsheds; and (5) policy-driven scenarios.Task 3B: Visioning sessions These meetings will occur with RAD Teams in each state and with decision makers at state and national levels and will generate visions for viable scenarios (or plausible futures) that maximize the sustainability outputs earlier prioritized by participants in each RAD Team.Task 4A: Outreach to Federal Decision-Makers We will generate a series of policy alternatives to be shared in-person with legislative and agency staff in two concurrent events in Washington, D.C.Task 4B: Outreach to State and Local Decision-Makers We will prepare state-specific topic briefs and policy papers adapted from the federal documents. Team members in each state will disseminate these through in-person meetings with key legislators and agencies, and at conferences and other appropriate venues.Task 5A: Engage with farmers and other farm-level decision-makers We will share research findings about: consumer demand that could be met through diversification; relationships between diversification, soil health, and sustainability; developing markets that support diversification; and what approaches to diversification are likely to be most profitable.Task 5B: Pilot markets and agricultural value chain dialogues Wwe will engage at least one food or beverage company to implement a pilot market to source sustainably produced crops from farms in the region. In addition, we will engage at least one of our existing food and beverage company partners to help expand their current pilot to build lasting market infrastructure and test consumer-facingTask 6A: Employ formal educational evaluation strategies to test and assess student learning outcomes In year one, UMN will host a mini-retreat to define student learning outcomes (SLOs) and design educational modules to meet them.Task 6B: Develop collections of learning modules to enhance agricultural sustainability education in secondary and undergraduate classrooms We will design modules for existing courses that are transferable and accessible to larger learning communities. These modules will be informed by the project's research objectives and latest findings and will consist of material for lectures as well as hands-on and active learning classrooms. Modules will be shared across the grant institutions where their efficacy and alignment with stated educational goals will be tested.Task 6C: Create an experiential multi-institutional field course to be taught over the summer session We will design a multi-institutional, 10-day summer travel course, the "Midwestern Sustainable Ag Tour."Year One Evaluation: The first year of evaluation will be designed to: assist the research team in clarifying research strategies; finalizing milestones; identifying communication processes; developing a framework for stakeholder engagement; and establishing research-team operations and responsibilities. Years Two, Three, and Four Evaluation: formative evaluation will be conducted through interviews (in person or virtually), surveys, and document analysis to compare projected milestones with results. Year Five Evaluation: A summative evaluation of the project will be conducted with an emphasis on research objectives, communication processes, stakeholder engagement, and research-team operations.Evaluation of Extension efforts: We will conduct pre- and post-surveys of collaborating farmers to assess knowledge gained, and views on benefits of and barriers to diversification.Evaluation of education efforts:" Evaluation efforts will focus on implementation, efficacy, and impact of the modules on SLOs.

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)