Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Short-Term Outcomes

• As part of a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) On-Farm Conservation Innovation Grant, 15 producers continue to participate in the Utah Soil Health Network On-Farm Soil Health Demonstration Project (‘trial’) to represent the geographic and agricultural diversity of the state of Utah. For participating they are receiving annual incentive payments, and are expected to keep records, maintain test plots, and implement various practices on their farm/ranch. Each program participant will have on-farm/ranch trials implemented (e.g., cover crops, no-till, and integrated grazing along with conventional strips) from which soil, crop, and water samples will be drawn. Participants are also working with soil planners, USU Extension agents, and crop advisors to develop a soil health plan for the five-year project and technical assistance will be provided throughout. Each year my team is either interviewing or surveying trial participants on their experience with the project and implementing the various soil health practices.
• Data from the IFRLP and INRS surveys as well as syntheses of data from other research, disseminated through journal articles, extension reported, and extension presentations, have been used by multiple stakeholders to inform their outreach with their farmer audiences.
• An on-going program evaluation of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy shows that Academy alumni have emerged as leaders in their communities and with the knowledge and skills to drive innovative approaches to water management in Nebraska.
• Greater landowner contacts with conservation professionals to support land management decision making.
• Improved data on farmer adoption of conservation practices from 2023 Ohio Farm Poll used to benchmark and inform state agency and nonprofit conservation programs targeting key Ohio farmer constituencies. Led to more efficient implementation of programs.

Outputs (Products delivered by research: reports, data, information, observations, publications, patents)

• Burbach, M.: The Pre/Post assessment of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy showed that participants’ leadership skills increased significantly over the course of the year, according to both the participants and their raters. Alumni have gone on to be a Special Advisor to the Secretary of the USDA, the State Executive Director of the USDA for Nebraska, Assistant State Conservationist (USDA) for Nebraska, NRD General Managers, NRD Assistant General Managers, Irrigation District General Managers, and city council members, among others.
• Bjorklund, E., MSc Earth Sciences (graduated 2024): Rethinking Water Conflict and Cooperation: A re-analysis of interviews in Montana and an example study from the Big Hole River Watershed
• Fochesatto, A., A.R. Rissman, and Y. Lu. 2023. Wisconsin dairy farmer perspectives on water quality. Online survey results brief.
• Rissman, A.R.: Creation of webpage for landowners in Wisconsin: https://naturalresources.extension.wisc.edu/landsteward/
• Yoder, L. 18 reports to farmers regarding their field-scale tile drainage.
• Genskow, K and J. Parr. 2024. Scoping Recommendations for Social Indicator Data for Nutrient Reduction in the Mississippi River Basin. A project report to USEPA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension, Natural Resources Institute. 28 pages.
• Christianson, C., M. Cardiff, K. Genskow, B. Shaw. 2023. Rural Resident Perceptions of Wisconsin’s Waters: Survey Results Summary Report. UW-Madison. Department of Geosciences. 22 pages.
• Parr, J. and K. Genskow. 2023. A state-level watershed management framework for natural infrastructure implementation. A report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension, Natural Resources Institute. 74 pages.
• Genskow, multiple contributors: Phosphorus: Lessons from 10+ years of numeric standards for Wisconsin’s waters. Report, Policy Agenda, and Research Agenda: https://pconference.wordpress.com/register/

Presentations

• Burbach, M., Eaton, W., Bennett, D., Koebele, E., Hansen, K., & Lewis, M. A Comparison of Upper and Lower Colorado River Basin Agricultural Producers' Attitudes Toward River Management. Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting July 25th, 2024.
• Burbach, M., Eaton, W., Bennett, D., Koebele, E., Hansen, K., & Lewis, M. Discerning differences in attitudes toward river management between agricultural producers in the upper and lower Colorado River basin. 2024 IASNR Conference, Cairns, QLD, Australia, June 23-27, 2024.
• Burbach, M. TAPS: An innovative and interactive real-world farm management competition promoting knowledge sharing between diverse stakeholders. Panel - Stakeholder Engagement and Knowledge Integration within Water Systems, 2024 IASNR Conference, Cairns, QLD, Australia, June 23-27, 2024.
• Burbach, M. Boundary Spanning Skills for Effective Stakeholder Engagement. Nebraska State Irrigation Association, Kearney, NE, March 22, 2024.
• Burbach, M. Behavioral Impacts of TAPS on Participants. TAPS Collaboration Meeting, February 13, 2024.
• Burbach, M. Nebraska’s local, integrated approach to water management in the Platte River Basin. Nebraska On Tap (podcast), Middle Republican NRD, January 30, 2024.
• Burbach, M. Longitudinal assessment of an integrated approach to large-scale common-pool water resource management (Podcast). December 13, 2023.
• Burbach, M. Personal Empowerment - Engaging Your Leadership Capacity. Nebraska State Irrigation Association, Nebraska Water Leaders Academy, November 16, 2023.
• Burbach, M. Niobrara National Wild & Scenic River – Outstandingly Remarkable Values. Nebraska Water Leaders Academy, September 14, 2023.
• Burbach, M. Experiential Learning Exercises to Prepare Future Environmental Leaders for Best Practices Associated with Collaborative Governance. Collaborative Governance Retreat, Jackson Hole, WY, August 1, 2023.
• Church, S.P. (2023). “Climate change and conservation adoption: What do we know? What do we need to know?” Invited speaker for the USDA Northern Plains Climate Hub. Billings, MT, March 14, 2023.
• Haigh, T., Kluck, D., Todey, D., Nowatzke, L. (2024) Delivering & Evaluating Climate Services: The North Central Climate and Drought Webinar Series. Weather, Climate, and Society.
• Radulski, B., S.P. Church, J. Tan*, N. Babin. (2024). “Outcomes of agricultural climate change mitigation efforts: A case of power relations in shaping California Department of Food and Agriculture Climate-Smart Agriculture programs.” International Association for Society and Natural Resources Conference. June 23-27, 2024. Cairns, Australia.
• Rhode, E.S., S.P. Church, J. McEvoy, T. Haigh. (2024). “Ecological drought knowledge and knowledge sharing among decision makers.” International Association for Society and Natural Resources Conference. June 23-27, 2024. Cairns, Australia and 86th Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society. July 24-28. Madison, WI.
• Yoder, L. The role of social norms on cover crop adoption. International Association of Society and Natural Resources. Portland, ME. June 13, 2023.
• Yoder, L. Watershed-scale cooperation challenge. Collective Action in Agroecosystems Working Group. International Association of the Study of the Commons—Center for Behavior, Institutions, and the Environment. Tempe, AZ. March 9, 2023.

Reports and Fact Sheets

• Chavez, A., Hayes, M. J., Burbach, M. E., Durr, M. E. (2024). Towards usable science: A case study with the Santee Sioux Nation. Available at SSRN. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4632812
• Burbach, M.E., & Joeckel, R.M. (2023). 2023 Nebraska Water Leaders Academy – Final report. School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Open-File Report 247.
• Young, A.R., & Burbach, M.E. (2023). USGS National Ground-Water Monitoring Network Cooperative Agreement: Final Technical Report. USGS Award # G22AC00130-00.
• Bennett, D.E., Lewis, M., Mahowald, H., Collins, M., Brammer, T., Flint, H.B., Thorsness, L., Eaton, W., Hansen, K., Burbach, M., & Koebele, E.. (2023). Preferences for addressing water shortages among Colorado River Basin agricultural water users. The Ruckelshaus Institute, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming.
• Burbach, M.E., & Corman, J.R. (compilers). (2023). Australia: Managing Diverse Ecosystems (A Storybook of Student Research). University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
• Babin, N., Tan, J., Radulski, B., and S.P. Church (2024). Evaluation of the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Climate-Smart Incentive Programs. California Polytechnic State University.
• Church, S.P. and McEvoy, J. (2024). A Systematic literature review of nature-based water storage infrastructure: MSU S&C Report. Department of Earth Sciences. Bozeman: Montana State University.
• Boone, M., S.P. Church. (2023). Boosting Resilience: Exploring a Research Collaborative’s Role in Natural Hazard Adaptation. For the Natural Hazards Center Quick Response Research Award. People Places Water Lab. Bozeman: Montana State University.
• Rhodes, E.S., B.G. Radulski, J. McEvoy, S.P. Church, and T. Haigh (2023). Preliminary Report on Interviews Data: Connecting Ecological Drought Monitoring Tools with Natural Resource Stakeholders in Montana. NOAA NIDIS Coping with Ecological Drought Grant #NA22OAR4310223. Bozeman: Montana State University.

Activities (research activities to reveal new knowledge/develop new understanding)

• Arbuckle: Conducted analysis of data from two major farmer surveys, the Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll (IFRLP) farmer survey and the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (INRS) farmer survey. The two surveys of farmers have generated research-based information on farmers perspectives and behaviors relevant to nutrient loss reduction, including changes in awareness and/or use of soil and water conservation practices. Several extension reports and presentations on farmer perspectives on ongoing barriers to soil and water conservation in Iowa, conservation practice adoption motivations, conservation expenditures, and climate change and agriculture have been used by stakeholders to inform their work with farmers.
• Wardropper: 1. Conducted interviews with 40 farmers and policy actors to understand the opportunities for agroforestry expansion in Illinois. 2. Conducted interviews with 30 farmers to understand perspectives on carbon markets. 3. In process conducting interviews with demonstration farm leaders in Wisconsin to assess the effects of demo farm networks on conservation adoption. 4. Conducted spatial analysis of cover crop adoption in Wisconsin demo farm network areas. 5. Analyzed interviews and created mental models of groundwater data users in Kansas.
• Yoder: 1. Six focus group discussions with farmers, government officials, and practitioners in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa (2023). 2. Survey of farmers in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa on risk perceptions, cover crop adoption, and crop insurance discounts.
• Burbach evaluated the effect of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy in producing catalysts of change in water issues. 2. Dr. Burbach  investigated agricultural producers’ attitudes toward river management in the Colorado River Basin. 3. Dr. Burbach  also conducted a mixed-methods assessment of the effect of default options on the choice of electricity utility at grid parity.
• Church: 1. I am part of a team working on a NOAA grant that entails exploring how government land managers and decision-makers conceptualize ecological drought, what tools they use to monitor ecological drought, and whether/how they use local knowledge in decision making. In the past year, we conducted a survey, and we are planning focus groups to occur in 2025. Tonya Haigh, also in NC1190, is part of this team. 2. I am part of a team that completed work on a California Department of Food and Agriculture evaluation of their climate-smart agriculture programs including benefits and challenges of the program, and practice adoption and persistence metrics. Last year, this entailed conducting a survey. My PhD student is now conducting interviews to understand power dynamics of the program. Nick Babin, also in NC1190, is part of this team. 3. I am part of a team that is attempting to develop a module to add to existing wetland assessment tools to integrate social and cultural ecosystem services. We wrote a paper about the module, which tools are used the most, and which ecosystem services are valued by land managers. We wrote a grant to conduct workshops in California, Florida, and Montana to test this new module.
• Rissman: 1) Farmer survey and interviews - 8 states in North Central USA. 2) Parcel analysis of land transfer and parcelization in Wisconsin. 3) Dairy survey analysis and publication of survey brief. 4) Synthesis of grassland and managed grazing interviews and survey results. 5) Development of a workshop series and webpage for landowners getting started with stewardship. 6) Hosting regular forestry discussion group on emerging issues with stakeholders in Wisconsin. 7) Agroforestry interviews in the Great Lakes region. 8) Indigenous land stewardship course taught at UW-Madison.
• Kumar, K. and D. Jackson-Smith. “Credibility, Saliency, and Legitimacy Outcomes in Participatory Modeling. Poster presented at OSU Engaged Scholarship Symposium. November 2023.
• Jackson-Smith. “The Ohio Farm Poll: Unpacking the Diversity of Trends and Perspectives in Heterogenous Agricultural Landscapes.” Invited presentation at North Central Region Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) Webinar on “Data in the NC Region.” January 24, 2024. https://youtu.be/hjYiopNTYAU
• Jackson-Smith. “Environmental and Economic Tradeoffs Associated with Integrating Livestock into Cash Grain Cropping Systems: Lessons from Working Farms in Ohio.” Presentation at 2024 Conference of Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association. Co-presented with R. Haden. February 17, 2024.
• Genskow. Active research on farmer-led watershed groups.

Milestones (key intermediate targets for achieving/delivering outputs of project within set timeframe)

• Rissman: Survey farmers in the 8-state Midwest on conservation practices and policies. Survey dairy farmers in Wisconsin on water quality and labor issues. Interview farmers and woodland owners about agroforestry in the Great Lakes region