Top management challenges and concerns for agronomic crop production in California: Identifying critical issues for extension through needs assessment

Abstract

Agronomic cropping systems in many regions face growing economic and management challenges as well as new regulations designed to address negative environmental and social externalities. At the same time, public support for agricultural education and extension is decreasing. Hence, new approaches are necessary to understand the most pressing on-farm issues and help prioritize critical needs. With a diversity of agronomic crops and new regulations for water and nitrogen, California is an important case study for other regions. The objective of this study was to identify major grower and industry concerns, management challenges, and motivations in making management decisions. In 2020, 483 growers, consultants, and allied industry of agronomic crop production responded to an online survey. The crops most widely grown by respondents included rice (Oryza sativa L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and corn (Zea mays L.). Four out of the five top concerns were related to water. Weed control and irrigation/water management were primary management challenges, though differences occurred by crop and region. The highest priorities considered in grower management decision-making were water, profitability, and land stewardship. Crop rotation benefits were a primary reason for growing agronomic crops, with profitability and tradition ranking closely behind. This study highlights opportunities to guide research and extension efforts based on critical needs identified by growers and industry, while also informing larger policy and institutional decisions regarding new programs and funding to address key issues in agronomic crop production.

Setting research and extension priorities for agronomic crops in California

“…The online survey was conducted in 2020 using Qualtrics software (Qualtrics, Provo, Utah), as described in Kanter et al (2021). This previous paper contains the full methods and list of survey questions, but key steps are described here.…”

“…To ensure that research and extension efforts supporting agronomic crop production remain strong, University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) conducted an agronomy needs assessment in 2020 to understand key issues facing growers, consultants, and allied industry working in different crops and regions across the state. Stakeholder responses for several questions were previously summarized to evaluate top management challenges and factors influencing decision-making, as reported in another paper (Kanter et al 2021). However, a more specific question that remains for improving agricultural extension programs is to understand which topics are highest priority for stakeholders and how well UCCE is meeting current needs for these topics.…”

Effects of Genotype and Environment on Productivity and Quality in Californian Malting Barley

“…Mediterranean, semi-arid, and arid desert type climate profiles. Since malting barley is often grown as a rotation crop in a wide range of conditions (Kanter et al, 2021), it is critical to understand the impact of location on malting barley grain quality. Mediterranean climates are known for their temporal variability, driven by hot and dry summers and rainy winter spells with more frequent weather extremes (Nelsen and Lundy, 2020;Hochman et al, 2021).…”

Effects of genotype and environment on productivity and quality in Californian malting barley

“…These environments form part of the Central Valley and Imperial Valley of California with Mediterranean, semiarid, and arid desert type climate profiles. As malting barley is often grown as a rotation crop in a wide range of conditions (Kanter et al., 2021), it is critical to understand the impact of location on malting barley grain quality. Mediterranean climates are known for their temporal variability, driven by hot and dry summers and rainy winter spells with more frequent weather extremes (Hochman et al., 2021; Nelsen & Lundy, 2020).…”