Source: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS submitted to NRP
MULTIFACETED PATHWAYS TO CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE THROUGH INTEGRATED PARTICIPATORY PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1028000
Grant No.
2022-68017-36358
Cumulative Award Amt.
$1,500,000.00
Proposal No.
2021-11191
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jan 1, 2022
Project End Date
Dec 31, 2026
Grant Year
2022
Program Code
[A1721]- Extension, Education & USDA Climate Hubs Partnership
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS
410 MRAK HALL
DAVIS,CA 95616-8671
Performing Department
Office of the President
Non Technical Summary
California is the largest and the most diverse agricultural economy in the nation with revenue exceeding $50 billion, which is larger than the combined agricultural economy of the other 10 western states. Despite that, state is highly vulnerable to impacts of climate change. Farmers and ranchers, including socially disadvantaged are under constant pressure to adjust to uncertain weather and climate events to minimize risks, but often have limited access to technical assistance and fewer resources to adapt to climate change. Similarly, technical service providers are often asked questions on climate change, weather variability, and local implications, but have no to very limited training on climate change. In addition, students, our next generation of climate-ready workforce, lack educational training climate and agriculture nexus along with practical learning experiences.The overarching goal of this integrated proposal is to develop multifaceted pathways to climate-smart agriculture through stakeholders needs assessments; climate-smart agriculture trainings for technical service providers; regional workshops for farmers and ranchers; and student education with Extension service-learning opportunities. Participatory program development and delivery through extensive network of stakeholders, collaborators, and supporters are at the core of this integrated proposal. Proposed goals and objectives are clearly in-line with several program priority areas consistent with the USDA California Climate Hub priorities: stakeholders needs, priorities, preferred methods of learning; serve as a "climate clearinghouse" for region-specific stakeholder needs; providing training for technical service providers and Extension; targeted programming for underserved and underrepresented groups; and providing formal education with extension service-learning component.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2030420207040%
2050430308030%
9030799302030%
Knowledge Area
205 - Plant Management Systems; 203 - Plant Biological Efficiency and Abiotic Stresses Affecting Plants; 903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
0420 - Weather; 0430 - Climate; 0799 - Rangelands and grasslands, general;

Field Of Science
2070 - Meteorology and climatology; 3020 - Education; 3080 - Sociology;
Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal of this proposal is to develop robust multifaceted pathways to climate smart agriculture by integrated extension and education participatory program development and delivery to enhance agricultural resilience to climate change. The multifaceted pathways to climate-smart agriculture will include four interlinked and complementary components; 1) Stakeholder needs assessments on how producers and other agricultural stakeholders perceive climate and agricultural interactions and their resource and program needs which will guide 2) training for technical service providers to engage in climate-smart agriculture conversations with stakeholders with science-based information. In addition, information from the needs assessment will guide 3) development of regional workshops for farmers and ranchers for advancing climate-smart agriculture. Information learned and resources developed during the first three steps will provide invaluable information for 4) building a climate-ready workforce through experiential education for undergraduate and community college students with extension service-learning opportunities. Through integration of these interlinked components and formative evaluation design, we propose to create a robust multifaceted pathway to climate-smart agriculture.
Project Methods
This ambitious goal will only be possible to accomplish through strong collaborations from disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary leading scientists and experts from local, state, and federal agencies, California Climate Hub and universities that broadly span the biophysical and social sciences in agriculture and the environment.Needs assessment is the first step in program planning, development, and evaluation. We will conduct statewide survey, focus groups and phone interviews of broad range of agricultural stakeholders to document their perspectives, experience, and knowledge on climate change and needs for tools, resources, and extension programs.Second step would be to provide trainings for Technical Service Providers: We will organize training events during the project for local, state, federal, and university based technical service providers during years. This process will involve synthesis of existing information on training needs, compiling resources, and soliciting participates from various agencies for the trainings. We will conduct process evaluation of the training and suitability of the compiled climate change and agricultural resources throughout the term of the project. The first set of evaluations will occur on-site at each of the annual training events, respectively. This post-event survey will capture short-term outcomes from attending the training.In parallel to the second step, we also plan to organize series of regional climate-smart agriculture workshops for farmers and ranchers. Out of total workshops, half of the workshops will be specifically focused on socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, respectively. Workshop content and program structure may vary by region and will be based on the outcomes from the needs assessments. We have identified 5 regional leads (county based Cooperative Extension Academics) for the farming workshops and 5 regional leads for the ranching workshops. These regional leads will work closely with the task leads to coordinate planning and execution of the workshops. In addition to tapping into county-based Extension's trusted network of farmers and ranchers, we will work with extensive number of collaborators who will provide their support and assistance in farmers and ranchers recruitments. Some of the regional leads have Spanish and Hmong staff who will assist during workshops for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. Additionally, we have budgeted support to provide Spanish translation during some workshops. This structure will provide opportunities for networking and co-learning among all producers, as well as reserve space specifically for socially disadvantaged and limited resource producers to focus on issues relevant to their needs. We will conduct on-site evaluations at each of the regional workshops through post event survey, to evaluate participant knowledge gain and perception change. We will also gather feedback on the overall workshop format, topics covered, speakers' qualities, etc. and incorporate constructive feedback to improve subsequent workshop events. Through this formative evaluation, we will continuously and systematically customize workshop content, format, and knowledge delivery mechanisms based on the stakeholder needs, priorities, and feedback.We will provide formal education opportunity to University of California undergraduates as well as California Community College students through three venues 1) UC Merced Summer Institute on Climate and Agriculture certificate course 2) UC Davis credit-based course in Climate Change and Agriculture and 3) Certificate course for Community College students, professionals and non-degree seeking students. Once graduate from these courses, select students will be able to engage in Extension service-learning opportunity through competitive paid summer internship.

Progress 01/01/24 to 12/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:[x] Farmers [x] Ranchers [x] Natural Resource Managers [ ] Policy Makers [x] Research Community [x] Science Communicators [x] Educators Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Vikram Koundinya and Samuel Ikendi attended and presented at The American Evaluation Association Conference/workshops - October 20-26, 2024. Portland, Oregon. Prakash Jha, the Project Scientist attended the Labor and Automation in California Agriculture project annual meeting at UC Davis, California, October 25, 2024. Samuel Ikendi and Prakash Jha attended the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR): Regional Academic Meeting, May 30-31, 2024, in Stockton, California. Samuel Ikendi attended and presented at the National American Association for Agricultural Education Conference/workshops - May 20-232, 2024. Manhattan Kansas. Vikram Koundinya, Samuel Ikendi, and Namah Taku-Forchu attended and presented at The Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education Conference, April 22-25, 2024. Orlando, Florida. Prakash Jha, the Project Scientist presented climate change impact on insect-pests for high value specialty crops of California virtually, through Zoom, at the Specialty Crop technical committee meeting of the California Specialty Crops Council. February 21, 2024. Prakash Jha, the Project Scientist attended the Plant and Soil Conference at Double Tree Fresno on 6-7 February 2024. Tapan Pathak, Samuel Ikendi, and Prakash Jha attended the World Ag Expo. February 14, 2024, at the International Agri-Center, Tulare California. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Information related to climate change and climate smart agriculture was widely distributed to farmers, ranchers, technical service providers, academics, and agencies by project personnel: Product Type: Students Educational Workshop. Description: Tapan Pathak (UCANR, UC Merced), Prakash Jha (UCANR, UC Merced), Karina Diaz Rios (UCANR, UC Merced), Sarah-Mae Nelson (UCANR), Safeeq Khan (UCANR, UC Merced), Srabani Das (UCANR, UC Merced), Ernesto Solano (UC Merced), Leslie Roche (UCANR, UC Davis), Tracy Schohr (UCANR), Andy Lyons (UCANR, UC Berkley), Jhalendra Rijal (UCANR), Cindy Lashbrook (Riverdance Farm), Daniel Royer (UC Merced Smart Farm), Emily Waring (UC Merced Smart Farm), Anna Alvarado (UC Merced Smart Farm), Sarah Kurtz (UC Merced), and Kimber Mooreland (USDA California Climate Hub, UC Davis) presented in a one-week interactive workshop for UC Merced Undergraduates to learn about climate and agricultural sciences and uncover actionable solutions. UC Merced, California, 12 participants, March 22-28th, 2024. Product Type: Workshop. Description: Tapan Pathak (UCANR, UC Merced), Stan Tanaka (Rio Farms), Stephanie Tillman (Land IQ), Ben Faber (UCANR), Andre Biscaro (UCANR), Jaime Whiteford (RCD), Daniele Zaccaria (UCANR, UC Davis), and Mark Battany (UCANR) presented in a workshop on "Adapting fruit, vegetable, and berry production practices in Ventura county to changing and variable climate". Ventura, California, 63 participants, March 5th, 2024. Product Type: Workshop. Tapan Pathak (UCANR, UC Merced), Daniel Hasegawa (USDA-ARS), Stephanie Tillman (Land IQ), Eric Brennan (USDA-ARS), Michael Cahn (UCANR), Daniele Zaccaria (UCANR), and Larry Bettiga (UCANR) presented in a workshop on "Adapting vegetable, berry, and grapevine production practices in the Central Coast to changing and variable climate". Salinas, California, 64 participants, March 6th, 2024. Product Type: Workshop. Description: Tapan Pathak (UCANR, UC Merced), Yamnah Sargent (USDA - NRCS), Stephanie Tillman (Land IQ), Jhalendra Rijal (UCANR), Sebastian Saa (Almond Board of California), Stephen Vasquez (California Pistachio Research Board), Margaret Smither-Kopperl (USDA-NRCS), Daniele Zaccaria (UCANR, UC Davis), Mohammad Yaghmour (UCANR), Sandipa Gautam (UCANR), Mark Battany (UCANR), and Brent Holtz (UCANR) presented in a workshop on "Adapting fruit and nut production practices in the San Joaquin Valley to changing and variable climate". Tulare, California, 68 participants, March 7th, 2024. Product Type: Workshop. Description: Tapan Pathak (UCANR, UC Merced), Prakash Jha (UCANR, UC Merced), Kimber Mooreland (USDA California Climate Hub, UC Davis), Steve Ostoja (USDA California Climate Hub, UC Davis), Lauren Parker (USDA California Climate Hub, UC Davis), and Karen Lowell (USDA, NRCS) presented in a workshops for technical service providers on "Managing agriculture under climate and weather extreme". Davis, California, 17 participants, May 2nd, 2024 and Salinas, California, 12 participants, October 16th, 2024. Tapan Pathak gave a presentation "Climate change impacts on insect pests for high value specialty crops in California" at the Entomology Society of America Pacific Branch Meeting in Waikoloa, HI, April 6, 2024. Tapan Pathak gave a presentation " Challenges Due to Climate Change and Tools and Resources to Manage Risks in Agriculture" at the Irrigation Water Management workshop in Holtville, CA. Tapan Pathak gave a presentation "Impacts of Climate Change on CA agriculture and Tools and Resources for Managing Risks" at the CA Irrigation Institute in Sacramento, CA. Samuel Ikendi presented a poster: Pathways to climate smart agriculture in the San Diego region of California at the National Association for American Agricultural Education Conference: Manhattan, Kansas, May 20-23, 2024. Samuel Ikendi, Namah Taku-Forchu, and Vikram Koundinya presented a paper: Experiences, interests, and need for information on climate adaptation practices among stakeholders in California at the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education Conference: Orlando, Florida, April 22-25, 2025. Samuel Ikendi, Namah Taku-Forchu, and Vikram Koundinya presented a poster: Current state, and future potential of using climate decision support tools for agricultural decision-making in California at the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education Conference: Orlando, Florida, April 22-25, 2025. Co-PI Leslie Roche and Regional Leads Grace Woodmansee and Tracy Schohr organized an irrigated pasture field day on August 21st, 2024, in Sierra Valley. Leslie provided an overview of the project and updates of the ranchers survey results and future plans for ranchers workshops and field days. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?There are several objectives to accomplish overarching goals for 2025. Based on the data analyzed from the survey of farmers, ranchers, and technical service providers, and the focus group discussions of farmers and ranchers. We will continue to prioritize the needs of the different groups; design extension education programs and conduct regional workshops across the state. We will also continue to present stakeholders needs assessment results in various conferences and meetings nationally and internationally and write manuscripts to share with the scholarly audience. The project team also made additional effort to conduct surveys among the small scale farmers in Central Coast specifically the Asian farmers in Gilroy, San Martin, Morgan Hill, and Hollister. Lauren Pong, a GrizzlyCorps Small Farms Program Fellow is taking lead in collecting the data mainly in-person through Chinese language since October with support from Aparna Gazula and Lucy Diekmann (Lauren's immediate supervisor), Samuel Ikendi, Vikram Koundinya, and Tapan Pathak (Project Director). Data from this additional survey will be analyzed and used to design extension programs for this specific group. Regional workshops for technical service providers; PI Pathak, Co-PI Ostoja, Kimber Mooreland, Prakash Jha, and Samuel Ikendi will lead 02 workshops. This effort will include compiling the resources needed, soliciting participants from various organizations, and hosting the event. PI Pathak, co-PI Roche, co-PI Zaccaria, Samuel Ikendi, Aparna Gazula, and Ruth Dahlquist-Willard will lead organizing 08 regional climate-smart agriculture workshops for conventional farmers (04), underrepresented farmers (02) ranchers (02) during 2025 based on the needs and priorities identified in the needs assessments. We will organize these regional workshops in partnership and collaboration with county Cooperative Extension offices, NRCS and USFS regional offices, and support organizations collaborating on this proposal. PI Pathak, Samuel Ikendi, Karina Diaz Rios, and Prakash Jha will organize the one student workshop climate-Agriculture Science for UC Merced undergraduate and Merced College students between March 21, 24-27, 2025. Co-PI Mark Cooper based at UC Davis will offer the course titled "Science and Society: Climate Change and Agriculture" in the Spring 2025 quarter. The course will be cross-listed in Community and Regional Development and Animal Science, and be open to enrollment from students majoring in Animal Science, Community and Regional Development, International Agricultural Development, Sustainable Environmental Design, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, or by permission from the instructor. Conference Presentation: Samuel Ikendi and Vikram Koundinya will present results of the needs assessment of ranchers and results of the workshop evaluation for technical service providers at the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education conference to be held in Inverness, Scottland, April 14-17, 2025. Titles are as follows: Ikendi, S., Roche, L., Woodmansee, G., Schohr, T., Koundinya, V., Pinzon, N., Parker, L., Cooper, M., Zaccaria, D., Ostoja, S., & Pathak, T. (2025, April 14-17). Climate change experiences and extension education needs among ranchers in northern California (Paper abstract for presentation). Ikendi, S., Mooreland, K., Parker, L., Ostoja, S., Koundinya, V., & Pathak, T. (2025, April 14-17). Enhancing the capacity of extension technical service providers to address climate change concerns in California (Paper abstract for presentation). Ikendi, S., Lyons, A., Pathak, T., & Hartin, J. (2025, April 14-17). Advancing decision support for climate adaptation in agriculture and natural resources in California (Poster abstract for presentation).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The major accomplishment during the third year (2024) of the project was to address the climate-related educational needs arising out of the needs assessment conducted in the second year (2023) with farmers, ranchers, and technical service providers. This was followed by designing and implementing the extension education at regional levels. Secondly, implement the student education on climate and agriculture science. Thirdly, use the needs assessment and workshop evaluation data to develop peer-reviewed conference abstracts for presentation at the conference, and write manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals. The outcome of the three major activities is described as follows. A total of eight workshops were conducted. 1) Ventura County workshop under the title "Adapting fruit, vegetable, and berry production practices in Ventura County to changing and variable climate", March 5th, 2024. A total of 63 growers participated, with 08 guest speakers. This workshop covered topics on climate change trends and impacts; integrated pest management; CDFA Climate-Smart Ag Web Repository; and decision support tools for managing risks in agriculture. Five regional case studies on adaptation strategies were covered including heat and frost mitigation; tools for assessing water stress; cover cropping strategies; winter cover crops on radiation balance in tree crops; and managing spray drift risks. Also, a one-hour roundtable discussion with growers was organized focusing on production challenges resulting from climate change and variability. 2) Monterey County workshop under the title "Adapting vegetable, berry, and grapevine production practices in the Central Coast to changing and variable climate", March 6th, 2024. A total of 64 growers participated, with 11 guest speakers. This workshop covered topics on climate change trends and impacts; integrated pest management; CDFA Climate-Smart Ag Web Repository; and decision support tools for managing risks in agriculture. Also, five regional case studies on adaptation strategies were covered including rootstocks and varieties for resilient wine grapes, low biomass cover for protecting water quality, cover crops for climate smart agriculture, weather and climate effects on berry production, and evapotranspiration and water productivity in wine grapes. A one-hour roundtable discussion with growers focusing on production challenges resulting from climate change and variability. 3) Tulare County workshop under the title "Adapting fruit and nut production practices in the San Joaquin Valley to changing and variable climate", March 7th, 2024. A total of 68 growers participated, with 13 guest speakers. This workshop covered topics on climate change trends and impacts; integrated pest management; CDFA Climate-Smart Ag Web Repository; decision support tools for managing risks in agriculture; financial incentives in climate risk management; and managing spray drift risks. Also, five regional case studies on adaptation strategies were covered including almond rootstocks; effect of winter cover crops on nut production; drought-resistant cover crops; citrus pests; and whole orchard recycling. A one-hour roundtable discussion with representatives from the Almond Board of California and California Pistachio Research Board was organized focusing on major fruit/nut production and quality challenges. 4) Two workshops were conducted for Technical Service Providers under the theme "Managing agriculture under climate and weather extreme". The first was on May 2nd in Davis with 17 participants and the second was on October 16th in Salinas with 12 participants. The topics covered in these workshops include foundational climate knowledge for California; and an introduction to the adaptation workbook. The adaptation workbook is built in five practical learning steps that include 1) Define the management goals and objectives; 2) Assess climate impact and vulnerabilities using Cal-Adapt for identified participants' scenarios; 3) Re-evaluate goals and objectives given projected impacts and vulnerabilities; 4) Identify adaptation strategies, approaches, and practices; and 5) Introduction to Monitoring and Evaluation of the approaches. TSPs were asked for feedback on tools presented, and one wrote "The workshop workbook provided concrete strategies and associated conservation management practices that addressed specific climate change impacts which was extremely helpful." Another participant wrote "I feel that Cal-Adapt and CalAgroClimate help me more. They seem to be more adaptable to the field and are more user-friendly." 5) An irrigated pasture field day was organized on August 21st, 2024, in Sierra Valley. This event was designed for irrigated pasture managers looking to enhance productivity and forage quality. The interactive field tour covered a variety of topics important to climate smart best management practices for pastures. The event drew 09 producers who manage over 10,000 acres of irrigated pasture, at the end of the session 100% of producers noted they had learned new information and practices to utilize in their operation. Additionally, two ranchers invited UCCE staff out for pasture site visits to learn more information and participate in soil sampling to learn more about pasture fertility and varieties that can enhance forage production and promote water efficiency. Furthermore, these two ranchers were new clientele to participate in UCCE projects and the workshop provided a conduit to engage them on an important topic. 6) Part of our project goal is training community college and undergraduate students in climate-agriculture sciences. One workshop was organized between March 22-28 where 12 UC Merced undergraduate students participated with 20 guest speakers. The workshop included lectures on an introduction to climate change, climate science communication, water resources, regenerative agriculture, integrated pest management, small farms community education, livestock and rangeland management, use of data, tools, tech in ag decision, agrivoltaics research, food and nutrition science, and USDA California Climate Hub educational and research activities. Students participated in hands-on activities, specifically agrivoltaics model painting at UC Merced Smart Farm. Students also participated in 02 farm tours at UC Merced Smart Farm and Riverdance Farm where they learned the adaptation and stewardship activities on these farms. Also, students engaged in a team project and presented their case studies on re-representing climate change, a communication model we adapted from the Yale Climate Connections. 7) Similarly, to satisfy the tremendous student demand for a university course on climate science and agricultural sciences, a credit-based course titled "Science and Society: Climate Change and Agriculture" at UC Davis was modified to fill a critical gap for disparate majors and minors across the University of California system. This course examines issues of climate change and agriculture, with a specific focus on: the contribution of agriculture and food systems to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, the effects of climate change on agriculture and food systems, resilience and adaptation of existing and alternative agricultural systems under climate change, and the politics, policy, and social change associated with the dynamic and evolving relationship between climate change and agriculture. During the Spring 2024 quarter, 37 students enrolled. Transfer students: 30% (campus average 22%). Academically distressed students: 10% (campus average 5%). Students from PEER groups (Persons Excluded due to Ethnicity or Race): 48% (campus average 29%). 8) Field workshop for small scale grower was organized in Fresno, April 2024. Approximately 20 Hmong growers participated in the workshop to learn about climate smart ag practices.

Publications

  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Jha, P. K., & Pathak, T. B. (2024). Seasonal climate forecasts show skill in predicting winter chill for specialty crops in California. Communications Earth & Environment, 5(1), 485.
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Ikendi, S., Pinzon, N., Koundinya, V., Taku-Forchu, N, Roche, L., Ostoja, S., Parker, L., Zaccaria, D., Cooper, M., Diaz-Ramirez, J., Brodt, S., Battany, M., Rijal, J., & Pathak, T. (2024). Climate smart agriculture: Assessing needs and perceptions of Californias farmers. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 8, 1395547.
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Jha, P. K., Zhang, N., Rijal, J. P., Parker, L. E., Ostoja, S., & Pathak, T. B. (2024). Climate change impacts on insect pests for high value specialty crops in California. Science of the Total Environment, 906, 167605.
  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Pinz�n, N., Koundinya, V., Galt, R., Dowling, W., Boukloh, M., Taku-Forchu, N. C., Schohr, T., Roche, L. M., Ikendi, S., Cooper, M. H., Parker, L. E., & Pathak, T. B. AI-powered fraud and the erosion of online survey integrity: An analysis of 31 fraud detection strategies. Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Ikendi, S., Koundinya, V., Mosase, E. N., Holmquist, H., Spaniel, E. N., Zabronsky, H., Jha, P. K., Parker, L., Pinzon, N., Roche, L., Cooper, M., Zaccaria, D., Ostoja, S., & Pathak, T. (2024, May 2023). Pathways to climate smart agriculture in the San Diego region of California (Poster abstract pp. 481484 and presentation). National Association for American Agricultural Education Conference: Manhattan, Kansas.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Ikendi, S., Koundinya, V., Taku-Forchu, N. C., Pinzon, N., Parker, L., Roche, L., Cooper, M., Zaccaria, D., Ostoja, S., Diaz-Ramirez, J., Brodt, S., Battany, M., Rijal, J., & Pathak, T. (2024, April 2225). Current state, and future potential of using climate decision support tools for agricultural decision-making in California (Poster abstract pp. 631636 and presentation). Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education Conference: Orlando, Florida.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: PI Tapan Pathak and Patty Guerra wrote a blog How Climate Change Challenges, Transforms Agriculture. July 19, 2024. https://www.goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/58586-uc-merced-researchers-paper-highlights-how-climate-change-challenges-transforms-agriculture
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: PI Tapan Pathak, Samuel Ikendi, and Patty Guerra wrote a blog how climate change challenges, transforms agriculture. July 17, 2024. https://ucanr.edu/News/?routeName=newsstory&postnum=60239
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: PI Tapan Pathak and Patty Guerra wrote a blog Water risks to agriculture: Too little and too much March 18, 2024. https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=59213


Progress 01/01/23 to 12/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:[x] Farmers [x] Ranchers [x] Natural Resource Managers [ ] Policy Makers [x] Research Community [x] Science Communicators [x] Educators Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The P.I. Tapan Pathak attended the American Geographical Union Annual Meeting/workshops - December 11-15, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Project Co-PI Vikram Koundinya attended The National Association of Extension Program & Staff Development Professionals Conference/workshops. Salt Lake City, Utah. Conference/workshops - November 28-30, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Project Co-PI Vikram Koundinya, Academic Coordinator Samuel Ikendi, and a Postdoctoral Student Namah Taku-Forchu attended The American Evaluation Association Conference/workshops - October 9-14, 2023, in Indianapolis Indiana. The Academic Coordinator Samuel Ikendi and Project Team Member Natalia Pinzon attended an Online Data Visualization workshop. Which Viz Is It? Samuel and Natalia learnt about new visuals for survey data displays that tell a story so much better delivered by Evergreen Data Viz Academy. October 6, 2023. Project Team Member Caddie Bergren attended The western region of the American Association for Agricultural Education Conference/workshops - September 18-20, 2023, in Logan Utah. The P.I. Tapan Pathak attended the California Adaptation Forum - July 31, 2023, in San Diego, California. The P.I. Tapan Pathak, Samuel Ikendi, Project Assistant Prakash Jha attended the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) 2040: Growing Our Future Together, Aligning Strengths for California's Success. Statewide Conference, April 24-27, 2023. Fresno, California. During the conference, Tapan, Samuel, and Prakash attended presentations and break-out sessions that provided insights to understand research needs and priorities of farmers, ongoing research in the California and understand priority of the government institution and donors. The P.I. Tapan Pathak, Samuel Ikendi, Project Assistant Prakash Jha attended The Future of Agriculture in California Summit: What does the Central Valley look like in 2045? Hosted by The Maddy Institute, Climate Now, and the Livermore Lab Foundation. March 30, 2023, at California State University, Fresno California. Tapan Pathak, Samuel Ikendi, and Prakash Jha attended the World Ag Expo. February 14, 2023, at International Agri-Center, Tulare California. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Information related to climate change and climate smart agriculture was widely distributed to farmers, ranchers, technical service providers, academics, and agencies by project personnel: Caddie Bergren presented a poster: Communicating climate-smart agriculture to tree nut growers in the San Joaquin Valley of California at The Western Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education Conference. Logan, Utah, September 18, 2023. Samuel Ikendi, Namah Taku-Forchu, and Vikram Koundinya presented a poster: Collecting needs assessment data using participatory and culturally responsive strategies at the American Evaluation Association Conference. Indianapolis, Indiana, October 11, 2023. Vikram Koundinya presented a paper: Climate change related impacts and experiences among Hmong farmers in the San Joaquin valley, California at the National Association of Extension Program & Staff Development Professionals Conference. Salt Lake City, Utah, November 28, 2023. Tapan Pathak presented a poster: CalAgroClimate.Org-Web-based decision support system for managing agriculture under weather and climate risks at the American Geographical Union Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California, December 11, 2023. Tapan Pathak presented: CalAgroClimate.Org decision support tools for managing risks in agriculture in a session on "Advancing decision support for climate adaptation in agriculture and natural resources" during the California Adaptation Forum. San Diego, California, July 31, 2023. Co-PI Leslie Roche and Regional Leads Grace Woodmansee and Tracy Schohr; and PI Tapan and Academic Coordinator Samuel organized the first ranchers' FGD in July 2023 at UCCE Yreka, Siskiyou County where six ranchers attended including beginning, first-generation, and multigenerational ranchers. During the meeting, PI Tapan provided an overview of the project and Leslie provided updates on the ranchers survey. Additionally, in November, Leslie, and Regional Leads Grace Woodmansee, Tracy Schohr, and Dan Macon organized two FDGs with ranchers on November 29, 2023, where 13 ranchers participated during their California Cattlemen's Association Convention at Nugget Casino Resort, NV. Leslie provided an overview of the project and updates of the ranchers survey results and future plans for ranchers workshops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?There are several objectives to accomplish overarching goals for 2024. Based on the data analyzed from the survey of farmers, ranchers, and technical service providers; and the focus group discussions of farmers and ranchers. We will priotize the needs of the different groups; design extension education programs and conduct regional workshops across the state. We will also present stakeholders needs assessment results in various conferences and meetings nationally and internationally and write manuscripts to share with the scholarly audience. Regional workshops for technical service providers; PI Pathak, Co-PI Ostoja, and Parker and will lead 02 workshops. This effort will include compiling needed resources, soliciting participants from various organizations, and hosting the event. Training will be evaluated; co-PI Koundinya and Samuel Ikendi will supervise evaluation component. PI Pathak, co-PI Roche, co-PI Zaccaria, and Ruth Dahlquist-Willard will organize 08 regional climate-smart agriculture workshops for conventional farmers (04), underrepresented farmers (02) farmers and ranchers (02) during 2024 based on the needs and priorities identified in the needs assessments. Key personnel Ikendi will assist in coordinating these workshops. We will organize these regional workshops in partnership and collaboration with county Cooperative Extension offices, NRCS and USFS regional offices, and support organizations collaborating on this proposal. Workshops will be evaluated for knowledge gain through pre and post workshop assessments. Ikendi will lead the evaluation component under the supervision of project leadership. Conference Presentation: Samuel Ikendi, Vikram Koundinya, and Namah Taku-Forchu will present results of the needs assessment of farmers, ranchers and technical service providers at the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) conference to be held in Orlando Florida, April 22-25, 2024. Ikendi, S., Koundinya, V., Taku-Forchu, N, C., Pinzon, N. J., Roche, L. M., Ostoja, S. M., Parker, L. E., Zaccaria, D., Cooper, M. H., Diaz-Ramirez, J. N., Brodt, S., Battany, M., Rijal, J. P., Pathak, T. B. (2024, April 22-25). Experiences, interests, and need for information on climate adaptation practices among stakeholders in California (Accepted for Paper presentation). Ikendi, S., Koundinya, V., Taku-Forchu, N, C., Pinzon, N. J., Roche, L. M., Ostoja, S. M., Parker, L. E., Zaccaria, D., Cooper, M. H., Diaz-Ramirez, J. N., Brodt, S., Battany, M., Rijal, J. P., Pathak, T. B. (2024, April 22-25). Current state, and future potential of using climate decision support tools for agricultural decision-making in California (Accepted for Paper presentation).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Major goal during the second year of this project was to distribute the survey and conduct focus group discussions to assess farmers', ranchers', and technical service providers' (TSPs) perspectives, experience, and knowledge on climate change exposures, potential impacts, social vulnerabilities, and needs for tools, resources, and extension programs, including needs for field demonstration studies for implementing climate-smart agriculture practices. Secondly, analyze the data and share it with the wider audience through conferences and Journals; and use the data to support program design and development to facilitate the regional workshops to meet the needs of the stakeholders. To accomplish the needs assessment objective through surveys, the project team led by Vikram, Namah, Samuel, and Natalia distributed and monitored the survey through Qualtrics using 12,933 emails bought from Farm MarketID for farmers and ranchers, and 428 TSP emails extracted from their institutional websites. The team also leveraged Extension associations' trusted networks in California to distribute the survey using QR codes and anonymous links between February - April 2023. Five reminders to farmers/ranchers and four to TSPs were sent. Responses were cleaned of possible AI-generated responses and human fraud using the team's generated criteria (Pinzón et al., 2023). The final usable responses were farmers (n=341), ranchers (n=109), and TSPs (n=121). Similarly, the project team organized six focus group discussions (FGD) that included three for farmers (35 participants) and three for ranchers (19 participants) to understand their needs better. A concise version of the online survey questions was used for FGD guides and the project regional leads helped the project team in organizing, recruiting, and interviewing. Among the farmers included two FGDs with underrepresented communities of Hmong farmers in Merced County with 04 farmers and Fresno County with 14 farmers in March 2023 and with 17 farmers (majorly fruits) in the San Diego region in July 2023. The three FGD ranchers included one from Northern California with 06 ranchers including first and multi-generational and limited resource ranchers at Yreka, Siskiyou County in July 2023. Also completed two FGDs with 13 ranchers during the California Cattlemen's Association Convention, November 29, 2023, at Nugget Casino Resort, 1100 Nugget Ave, Sparks, NV 89431. Samuel, Namah, Vikram, and Natalia led the analysis of the needs assessment survey to identify the major needs of farmers, ranchers, and TSPs. During data collection and cleaning, we identified suspicious AI-powered and fraudulent human responses among the farmers' and ranchers' surveys that mostly originated from QR codes and anonymous links shared on social media platforms. We generated a manuscript relating to data cleaning "Pinzón et al. AI-powered fraud and the erosion of online survey integrity: An analysis of 31 fraud detection strategies." Under review in the American Journal of Evaluation. Additionally, a farmers' manuscript was also submitted and is under review in the Regional Environmental Change under the title "Ikendi et al. Climate-smart agriculture: Assessing needs and perceptions of California's farmers." In December 2023, two needs assessment abstracts were accepted for presentation at the AIAEE in Orlando Florida, April 22-25. 1) Ikendi et al. Experiences, interests, and need for information on climate adaptation practices among stakeholders in California and 2) Ikendi et al. Current state, and future potential of using climate decision support tools for agricultural decision-making in California. Data from FGD was also analyzed and synchronized with the survey data to support the development of comprehensive programs to deliver extension education to stakeholders. The FGD with Hmong farmers has been shared in the NAEPSD conference (2023, November 28-30) in Salt Lake City, Utah, titled Taku-Forchu el. 2023 "Climate change related impacts and experiences among Hmong farmers in the San Joaquin Valley, California." A corresponding manuscript is under preparation as a mixed methods paper triangulating survey results of underrepresented farmers and the FGD data. In March 2023, through rapid appraisal of the incoming data from farmers, ranchers, and TSPs, during our weekly meetings, the team identified the key needs of the farmers and organized the first regional, community-specific workshop. The assessment of the workshop provided a glimpse of the knowledge change, and how we need to deliver workshops by adopting narrative communication strategies between climate and agriculture scientists with non-science audiences mostly farmers and ranchers. Results of the workshop were shared in the Western Region of AAAE (2023, September 18-20) in Logan, Utah under the title: Ikendi et al. (2023). Communicating climate-smart agriculture to tree nut growers in the San Joaquin Valley of California. A subsequent manuscript is being prepared.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jagannathan, K., Pathak, T. B., & Doll, D. (2023). Are long-term climate projections useful for on-farm adaptation decisions? Frontiers in Climate, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.1005104
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Jha, P. K., Zhang, N., Rijal, J. P., Parker, L. E., Ostoja, S., & Pathak, T. B. (2023). Climate change impacts on insect pests for high value specialty crops in California. Science of the Total Environment, 906, 167605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167605
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Devon J., Parker L.E., Pathak, T. B., Crothers, L., and Ostoja, S. (2023). Technical assistance providers identify climate change adaptation practices and barriers to adoption among California agricultural producers. Sustainability 15(7), 5973. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075973
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Eriksson, M., Safeeq, M., Padilla, L., Pathak, T., O'Geen, T., Egoh, B., Lugg, J., & Bales, R. (2023). Drivers of social acceptance of natural-resource management: A comparison of the public and professionals in California. Journal of Environmental Management, 345, 118605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118605
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Johnson, D., Almaraz, M., Rudnick, J., Parker, L. E., Ostoja, S. M., & Khalsa, S. D. S. (2023). Farmer adoption of climate-smart practices is driven by farm characteristics, information sources, and practice benefits and challenges. Sustainability, 15(10), 8083. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108083
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Zakowski, E., Parker, L. E., Johnson, D., Aguirre, J., & Ostoja, S. M. (2023). California wine grape growers need support to manage risks from wildfire and smoke. California Agriculture, 77(2). https://doi.org/10.3733/ca.2023a0006
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2024 Citation: Ikendi, S., Pinzon, N. J., Koundinya, V., Taku-Forchu, N, C., Roche, L. M., Ostoja, S. M., Parker, L. E., Zaccaria, D., Cooper, M. H., Diaz-Ramirez, J. N., Brodt, S., Battany, M., Rijal, J. P., Pathak, T. B. Climate smart agriculture: Assessing needs and perceptions of Californias farmers. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2024 Citation: Pinz�n, N., Koundinya, V., Galt, R., Dowling, W., Boukloh, M., Taku-Forchu, N. C., Schohr, T., Roche, L. M., Ikendi, S., Cooper, M. H., Parker, L. E., & Pathak, T. B. AI-powered fraud and the erosion of online survey integrity: An analysis of 31 fraud detection strategies. American Journal of Evaluation.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Ikendi, S., Koundinya, V., Bergren, C., Taku-Forchu, N. C., Parker, L., Pinzon, N., Roche, L., Cooper, M., Zaccaria, D., Ostoja, S., & Pathak, T. (2023, September 1820). Communicating climate-smart agriculture to tree nut growers in the San Joaquin Valley of California (Poster abstract and presentation). Western Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education Conference. Logan, Utah. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374153295
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Koundinya, V., Taku-Forchu, N., Pinzon, N., Parker, L., Cooper, M., Ostoja, S., Roche, L., Ikendi, S., & Pathak, T. (2023, October 914). Collecting needs assessment data using participatory and culturally responsive strategies (Poster abstract and presentation). American Evaluation Association Conference. Indianapolis, Indiana. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374842286
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Taku-Forchu, N., Ikendi, S., Koundinya, V., Dahlquist-Willard, R. M., Thaoxaochay, L., Vong, M., Parker, L., Bergren, C., Pinzon, N., Roche, L., Cooper, M., Zaccaria, D., Ostoja, S., & Pathak, T. (2023, November 2830). Climate change related impacts and experiences among Hmong farmers in the San Joaquin valley, California (Paper abstract and presentation). National Association of Extension Program & Staff Development Professionals Conference. Salt Lake City, Utah.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Pathak, T. B., Ostoja, S., Jha, P. K., Parker, L., Feirer, S., & Johnson, R. (2023, December 1115). CalAgroClimate. orgWeb-based decision support system for managing agriculture under weather and climate risks (Poster presentation). American Geographical Union Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California.


Progress 01/01/22 to 12/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:[x] Farmers [x] Ranchers [x] Natural Resource Managers [x] Policy Makers [x] Research Community [x] Science Communicators [x] Educators Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Postdoctoral scholar Namah Taku-Forchu that was hired for the needs assessment component of the project had several opportunities for training and professional development. Namah attended The American Evaluation Association Conference/workshops - November 7-12, 2022, in New Orleans. Namah participated in training at The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) on 9-part Evaluation Capacity Building from October 11 to December 6, 2022. Namah completed American Evaluation Association eSTUDY 125: Using photography and poetry for data collection in evaluation - December 1 & 8, 2022, online. Namah also attended Greater Boston Evaluation Network - September 15, 2022, online. Project scientist Prakash Kumar Jha who was hired in 2022 attended California Climate and Agriculture Network Summit on Nov 14, 2022, at UC Davis. During the Summit, Prakash attended presentations and break-out sessions that provided insights to understand research needs and priorities of farmers, ongoing research in the Central Valley and understand priority of the government institution and donors. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Information related to climate change and climate smart agriculture was widely distributed to farmers, ranchers, technical service providers, academics, and agencies by project personnel: Pathak, Tapan B. (2022). Value of stakeholder inputs in developing web-based agro-climate tools for managing risks. IRSA 2022 XV World Congress of Rural Sociology. July 21. Pathak, T.B. Climate change impacts, tools, and resources for irrigated agriculture. International River Basin Foundation - Session: Application of advance techniques in water resource management. Sept 26th, 2022. 150 attendees. Pathak, T.B. How is climate change impacting our water supply, and are cities prepared for the future? Water Education for Latino Leaders - Southern California Conference. Pico Rivera, CA. June 11th, 2022. 150 participants. Pathak, T.B. Overview of the project - Multifaceted pathways to climate-smart agriculture through participatory program development and delivery. Climate smart agriculture educator training. Davis, CA. May 17th, 2022. 15 participants. In May 2023, project personnel Parker, Co-PI Ostoja, and PI Pathak organized hands-on workshop with Cooperative Extension and NRCS colleagues to gather expert feedback to improve CalAgroClimate system. Pathak, T.B. Climate change impacts on California agriculture; and Labor automation in California Agriculture guest lecture UC Merced. Merced CA. March 31st, 2022. 20 participants. Pathak, T.B. Climate Change and California Agriculture: Impacts, Resilience, and Participatory Program Development and Delivery. SNRI Symposium, Merced, CA. March 3rd, 2022. 50 participants. Pathak, T.B. Effect of climate change on agriculture and grape production in the San Joaquin Valley. 2022 San Joaquin Valley Grape Symposium. Jan 12th, 2022. 70 participants. What Fruit Growers Can Do to Start Off with Success in 2022. American Fruit Grower magazine. January 4th, 2022. https://www.growingproduce.com/fruits/what-fruit-growers-can-do-to-start-off-with-success-in-2022 On May 17, 2022, PI Pathak presented an overview of the project to the community education specialists working on climate smart agriculture area in Davis, CA. Pathak discussed collaboration and synergy by working together. Co-PI Roche organized Beginning & First Gen Rancher Planning Meeting on 18 April 2022 at The Center for Land-Based Learning, 40140 Best Ranch Rd, Woodland, CA. Rangeland focused regional leads and other colleagues attended the meeting. PI Pathak provided an overview of the project and team discussed timeline and deliverables with the team. Roche, L.M. Invited presentation. Linking science and management to support production-conservation outcomes on working rangelands. Agroforestry undergraduate course. Davis, Calif. 18 Nov 2022. 30 attendees. Roche, L.M. Practical On-ranch drought management strategies. CalCAN California Climate & Agriculture Summit. 14 Nov 2022. 50 attendees. Roche, L.M. Rangeland social-ecological systems: emphasizing the human dimensions. Extension, Outreach and Science Communication graduate course. Davis, Calif. 20 Apr 2022. 20 attendees. Roche, L.M. Building climate resilience across California's working rangelands. UC Davis Ag Expo. Davis, Calif. 26 Feb 2022. 30 attendees. Roche, L.M. Building climate resilience across California's working rangelands. Society for Range Management Annual Meeting - Virtual Symposium. 22 Feb 2022. 100 attendees. Roche, L.M. Climate-Smart agriculture research and extension. California Rangeland Conservation Coalition Summit. Virtual. 24 Jan 2022. 100 attendees. Following the USDA press release, information about the project launch, UC Merced, UC ANR, and UC Davis did a press release. KVPR- NPR station wrote a story detailing the scope of the project. Several other agriculture focused media covered the story. PI Pathak served on USDA California Climate Hub Steering Committee and provided inputs on Climate Hub goals, priorities, and deliverables. PI Pathak served on California Climate and Agriculture Network Science & Technical Advisory Council and California Alliance of Family Farmers-Wildfire Resilience Advisory Council and contributed his expertise for adaptation resource creation and policy recommendations. Both entities predominantly work for farmers of color, and other historically oppressed, immigrant, indigenous, and women farmers. Both these entities work with underserved farmers and ranchers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?There are several objectives to accomplish overarching goals for 2023. First, we distributed the final version of the survey to about 13,000 farmers, ranchers, and technical service providers in California. Once we gather enough responses, we will complete analyzing survey. We will also complete five focus groups across the state to document farmers' and ranchers' perspectives, experience, and knowledge on climate change and needs for tools, resources, and extension programs. Results from the survey, focus group, and informal interviews will be utilized in developing regional workshops and training for technical service providers. Synthesize information from these comprehensive stakeholders needs assessments will be turned in to several manuscripts. These results will serve as a guiding document for various support organizations, state and federal agencies including USDA Climate Hubs, and Cooperative Extension systems. We will also present stakeholders needs assessment results in various conferences and meetings nationally and internationally. Based on the needs assessment information obtained, we will organize one capacity building training in 2023 for technical service providers. PI Pathak, Co-PI Ostoja, and Parker and will lead this task. This effort will include compiling needed resources, soliciting participants from various organizations, and hosting the event. Training will be evaluated; co-PI Koundinya will supervise evaluation component. PI Pathak, co-PI Roche, and co-PI Zaccaria will organize 5 regional climate-smart agriculture workshops for farmers and ranchers during 2023 based on the needs and priorities identified in the needs assessments. Key personnel Ikendi will assist in coordinating these workshops. We will organize these regional workshops in partnership and collaboration with county Cooperative Extension offices, NRCS and USFS regional offices, and support organizations collaborating on this proposal. Workshops will be evaluated for knowledge gain through pre and post workshop assessments. Ikendi will lead the evaluation component under the supervision of project leadership.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Major goal during the first year of this project was to assess farmers', ranchers', and technical service providers' perspectives, experience, and knowledge on climate change exposures, potential impacts, social vulnerabilities, and needs for tools, resources, and extension programs, including needs for field demonstration studies for implementing climate-smart agriculture practices. Project PIs and key personnel met on first Tuesday of every month over Zoom to discuss project progress, activities, team updates, and timeline to ensure we are meeting the project goals. During the first year of the project, three academics were hired. USDA Climate Hub and UC Davis based Postdoctoral fellow Dr. Namah Taku-Forchu was hired for the needs assessment component of the project. Dr. Praksh Kumar Jha, UC ANR/UC Merced, was hired to conduct agriculture and climate research and translate into the project deliverables. Dr. Samuel Ikendi, UC ANR/UC Merced was hired as an Academic Coordinator to coordinate all project activities. Namah Chiamo Taku Epse Forchu was co-supervised by co-PI Koundinya and co-PI Ostoja. To accomplish the needs assessment objective, the comprehensive survey development was initiated with an in-depth review of secondary data. Namah reviewed existing research studies on climate change, adaptation practices, climate-smart agriculture practices, and other climate-related studies done in the USA and California and shared findings with project PIs. This process guided the initial thoughts and development of the first draft of the survey questions. Guiding questions about growers' perspectives were also gathered from Cooperative Extension colleagues working with growers and from project PIs experiences. Inputs from related existing studies, meetings, and conversations with experts in the field were utilized to develop the first draft of the survey questions. Project team met in-person in September 2022 at UC Davis to review the set of three surveys i) farmers ii. ranchers and iii. technical service providers. Through deliberated discussions during the half-day meeting, updated survey version was developed. These three surveys were sent to 19 people (all ten regional leads for the cropping system and ranchland, an education and training core team member, some UCANR specialist, and university professors) who served as the expert validation panel to review and provide feedback. The goal was for the experts to review the questions and tell us if the questions covered all the important points needed to serve the purpose of the survey (understand farmers', ranchers, and TSPs' concerns, perceptions, information, and resource needs related to climate change and adaptation) and do the questions appear like measuring what we intend to measure. The final version of the survey was built into Qualtrics. The surveys were piloted with some farmers, ranchers, and Technical Service Providers in the State of California to ensure the reliability of the survey instrument. The goal of the pilot test of these surveys was to ascertain if participants could understand the survey questions well without any confusion and if we should make any changes to the questions before sending them out to all the farmers, ranchers, and TSPs in California. We ran Cronbach Alpha to test for the internal consistency of all Likert Scale-type questions using SPSS software. PI Pathak co-authored a paper "Are long-term climate projections useful for on-farm adaptation decisions?" in journal Frontiers in Climate which was based on the interviews with almond growers and cooperative extension advisors working with almond growers. This study provided good resources on what almond farmers' needs are and how can be bridge the gap between farmers' information needs and scale of climate projections. We anticipate using the results from this work in extension workshop development. PI Pathak also co-authored several state agency reports related to climate indicators in agriculture, which will serve as resource for future trainings and workshops. Co-PI Ostoja, Parker, and PI Pathak submitted a manuscript "Technical assistance providers identify climate change adaptation practices and barriers to adoption among California agricultural producers". Once published, results from this work will provide useful insights on technical service providers' perceptions and needs. This information will later be utilized in developing professional development trainings. Co-PI Ostoja and Parker led the development of Adaptation resource workbook for California Specialty Crops - A Guide for Adaptation Planning. PI Pathak served as a contributing author. This comprehensive resource handbook will provide significant source of information for technical service providers curriculum needs.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Jagannathan, K., Pathak, T. B., & Doll, D. (2022). Are long-term climate projections useful for on-farm adaptation decisions? Frontiers in Climate, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.1005104
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Parker, Lauren E.; Zhang, Ning; Abatzoglou, John T.; Ostoja, Steven M.; Tapan B. Pathak 3, 6 (2022). Observed Changes in Agroclimate Metrics Relevant for Specialty Crop Production in California. Agronomy.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2022 Citation: Eriksson, Max; Safeeq, Mohammad; Pathak, Tapan; Egoh, Benis; Bales, Roger (2022). Using stakeholder-based fuzzy cognitive mapping to assess benefits of restoration in wildfire-vulnerable forests. Restoration Ecology. July 21.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Zhang, N., Parker, L., Pathak, T.B. (2022). Winter Chill. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA, 2022). Indicators of Climate Change in California, Fourth Edition, California Environmental Protection Agency, OEHHA. Accessed at: https://oehha.ca.gov/media/02winterchill.pdf
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Pathak, T.B. (2022). Fruit and Nut Maturation Time. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA, 2022). Indicators of Climate Change in California, Fourth Edition, California Environmental Protection Agency, OEHHA. Accessed at: https://oehha.ca.gov/media/04fruitnutmaturation.pdf
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Pathak, T.B., Zhang, N. (2022). Navel Orangeworm Abundance. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA, 2022). Indicators of Climate Change in California, Fourth Edition, California Environmental Protection Agency, OEHHA Accessed at: https://oehha.ca.gov/media/04norangeworm.pdf
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2022 Citation: Devon J., Parker L.E., Pathak, T.B., Crothers, L., and Ostoja, S. (2022). Technical assistance providers identify climate change adaptation practices and barriers to adoption among California agricultural producers
  • Type: Other Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2022 Citation: Lauren E. Parker, Devon Johnson, Tapan B. Pathak, Michael Wolff, Virginia Jameson, and Steven M. Ostoja. Adaptation resource workbook for California Specialty Crops  A Guide for Adaptation Planning. PI Pathak served as a contributing author.
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Pathak, T.B., Ostoja, S.M., Parker, L., Johnson, R., Feirer, S. CalAgroClimate  Decision Support Tool for Managing Risks in Agriculture. https://Calagroclimate.org