Agricultural Advisors: A Receptive Audience for Weather and Climate Information?

Abstract

As the climate in the midwestern United States becomes increasingly variable because of global climate change, it is critical to provide tools to the agricultural community to ensure adaptability and profitability of agricultural cropping systems. When used by farmers and their advisors, agricultural decision support tools can reduce uncertainty and risks in the planning, operation, and management decisions of the farm enterprise. Agricultural advisors have historically played a key role in providing information and guidance in these decisions. However, little is known about what these advisors know or think about weather and climate information and their willingness to incorporate this type of information into their advice to farmers. In this exploratory study, a diverse set of professionals who advise corn growers, including government, nonprofit, for-profit, and agricultural extension personnel, were surveyed in four states in the midwestern Corn Belt. Results from the survey indicate that advisors are more influenced by current weather conditions and 1-7-day forecasts than longer-term climate outlooks. Advisors predominantly consider historical weather trends and/ or forecasts in their advice to farmers on short-term operational decisions versus longer-term tactical and strategic decisions. The main conclusion from this analysis is that opportunities exist to further engage the advisor community on weather and climate issues and, through them, the farmers who are managing the land. Keywords

Climate-smart agriculture global research agenda: scientific basis for action

“…These farmers obtained much of their information through social networks that included professional advisors. A survey of corn grower advisors, including government, nonprofit, for-profit and agricultural extension personnel, found that advisors are more influenced by current weather conditions and 1-to 7-day forecasts than by longer-term climate outlooks [139]. The advice given to farmers has been based predominately on historical weather trends and focused on short-term operational decisions rather than on long-term strategies.…”

Agricultural Stakeholder Views on Climate Change: Implications for Conducting Research and Outreach

“…Each of these surveys was conducted before the 2012 drought that impacted the Midwestern United States. The surveys reported numerous topics that are addressed elsewhere (see, e.g., Arbuckle et al 2013a;Prokopy et al 2013); the purpose of this research is to compare answers to a common question about climate change beliefs among agricultural stakeholder groups. In each survey we measured beliefs about climate change using a five-point question first used in the 2011 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll (Arbuckle et al 2011) (see Table 1 for question wording and answer options).…”

“…Finally, financial advice on issues such as crop insurance, marketing, and long-term investments is primarily provided by agricultural bankers. Collectively these advisors tend to have a short time horizon and focus on short-term weather forecasts in their work (Prokopy et al 2013). An online survey of about 1,600 private and public agricultural advisors was conducted in 2012 in four states (Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Nebraska) in the Midwestern United States.…”

“…The needs of different stakeholders are also not identical (Morss et al 2005), but farmers and advisors are by necessity very focused on short-term weather, in-season decisions, and managing immediate risks (Prokopy et al 2013). Translating existing climate information into formats relevant to farmers' decisions can increase the uptake of information (Hansen et al 2004;McCown et al 2012).…”

Using a team survey to improve team communication for enhanced delivery of agro-climate decision support tools

“…Objective 2 is led by social scientists who have conducted surveys of agricultural producers and their advisors (Arbuckle et al, 2013;Prokopy et al, 2013). This group has also conducted focus groups of both producers and advisors as tools are being developed to ensure their usefulness and usability.…”