Category: Climate Learning Network

i-Three Issue Corps: No-till as an Adaptation to Weather Variability

Post author By Tyler Williams
Post date November 3, 2016

The Northern Plains region is not a stranger to extreme weather and too much rain or too little rain is often a problem when managing crop land. In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains and thousands of miles away from any ocean, the Northern Plains can have some of the most extreme weather in North America.

Average precipitation ranges from less than 10 inches in western Wyoming and Montana to over 35 inches in southeast Nebraska. It is obvious that we can have highly variable year-to-year precipitation, but there is some concern that there will be an increase in this variability moving forward. How can a farmer prepare for this year-to-year variability? No-till management may be one answer for adapting to the impact the highly variable and highly destructive weather can have on crop production.

No-till uses a systems approach to crop production where crops are grown with minimal soil disturbance and the soil is kept covered with crop residue to conserve soil and water. Continuous no-till and crop rotation, intensity, and diversity are keys to making no-till successful and building the soil system while minimizing potential issues.

No-till is not a one-year management plan. It is continuously planting crops, every ear, without tillage to get the full benefits. Management of residue, nutrients, pests, equipment and other factors must be a part of the no-till systems approach.

For no-till, the major advantages are soil moisture conservation, erosion control, minimum fuel and labor costs, and builds soil structure and health. Some disadvantages are increased dependence on herbicides, no incorporation of fertilizer or excess residue, and slow soil warming on poorly drained soils. The advantages or disadvantages may be more or less important to each individual operation, thus play a large role in the adoption of no-till.

As a part of the i-Three Corps project, we visited Murdoch Enterprises, a long-term, no-till farming operation located in south central Nebraska. Marlin Murdoch, co-owner and operator, has been no-till farming since the mid-80s and credits no-till for their farming success during the wet and the dry years.

“As long as you keep the residue out there it seems like that helps alleviate the real extremes of being too wet or too dry…the residue is the key to any extremes that are out there.” – Marlin Murdoch, co-owner of Murdoch Enterprises

Marlin farms in an area of the state that is mostly limit-irrigated, where they are limited to 45” of irrigation water over five years (avg. 9 inches per year). In many years, this is not enough water to grow high yielding crops, or even grow a crop at all, so practices must be used to take advantage of every drop.

Marlin mentions there are multiple benefits to maintaining residue on your field. “No-till can be such an advantage because it keeps the residue on top and keeps the sun from baking the ground, causing the moisture that we do have to evaporate….. it is always better to keep the ground cooler and that residue can do that.”

No-till also protects the soil from erosion. Thunderstorms are a common site during the growing season in south central Nebraska and with that comes very heavy rainfall. The enhanced soil structure and surface residue from no-till protects the top soil from water erosion, crusting from raindrop impact and allows better infiltration.

Marlin mentions the benefits can be more than economical or environmental: “We spend less time out there for operations over the field, so it gives time to be with the family.”

The extreme weather in the Plains can’t be beaten, but management strategies can be adopted to minimize the impact of these variables and create a more economically stable operation.

Tags climate, crops, erosion, no-till, Soil, weather

Citizen Science Climate Climate Learning Network i-Three Corps Information

i-Three Issue Corps – Climate Literacy for Youth

Post author By John A. (Tony) Cook
Post date September 21, 2016

Climate Literacy for Youth is a collaborative effort between Auburn University and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension to extend online learning for youth on the topic of climate science. Through an ongoing USDA NIFA grant, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension has developed an online learning module focused on climate science for youth audiences. In partnership with the For Youth, For Life Learning Network based at Auburn University, the course was to be be modified for greater youth appeal and aligned with a digital form of recognizing learning achievement. A collection of youth oriented content pages on the topic of Climate Literacy are being developed via eXtension as well. While the project has experience some delays, the project team is committed to its completion and making the learning resource available.

Climate forcing illustration — Natural Climate Forcing

Climate Literacy for Youth extends online learning for youth on the topic of climate science through interactive learning modules presented through an online course. The core collection of youth oriented content pages on climate science on the www.extension.org website allows for deeper learning during or following the course. Based on an existing online course developed at Texas A&M University, the project modified and enhanced the course presentation to have greater appeal and flexibility for a youth audience. In collaboration with eXtension’s For Youth, For Life Learning Network (FYFLnet) based at Auburn University, the team also identified and created original youth oriented content pages to expand on specific climate issues. In addition, the FYFLnet intends to work within the Auburn University Outreach LMS (AU Catalog) to provide an easily accessed open online course consistent with the original Climate Science content. The course will feature multiple modules based on original course layout in a manner to enable easy transition from one module to another. With the integration of digital badges in the AU Catalog LMS there will be an option to recognize learning achievement in the Climate Science course with a digital badge to be awarded upon completion of the course.

Weather conditions — Climate Literacy – Weather Conditions

The Climate Science course was developed as a part of an existing project targeted for youth audience. One goal of this collaboration is to extend the course to youth in 4-H programs in Texas and Alabama. It will also integrate in the www.extension.org environment making it available nationally and globally. The learning objective of the course is to improve youth understanding of and appreciation for climate science (literacy) to inform decisions in the larger conversation on climate. This project will keep that objective with a focus on engaging a broader youth audience through collaboration.

To learn more about the Animal Agriculture in a Changing Environment please visit the website at this link: http://animalagclimatechange.org/.

Tags 4-H, climate, Climate Change, climate literacy, climate science, youth

Climate Climate Learning Network i-Three Corps Innovation

i-Three Issue Corps – As if you were there: Farm Tour 360

Post author By Jennifer Volk
Post date July 22, 2016

Last week, our project officially moved from the planning phase to the implementation phase as our entire project team assembled in Smyrna, Delaware to pilot our first site!

Our Project

Our goal is to share stories of agriculture and forestry climate adaptation and mitigation practices in use across the northeast region using several forms of media – including 360 degree photos and videos! We aim to share one story per Land Grant University in the Northeast Climate Hub region plus 3-6 forestry focused adaptation highlights. Our northeast region covers 12 states from Maine to West Virginia, out to New York and Pennsylvania, and includes the District of Columbia too. Ultimately, our photos will be shared online using RoundMe, a platform that allows users to move through our demonstrations sites from one 360 degree image to the next and interact with the images by clicking on informational icons that will feature embedded still photos, videos, and links to additional materials like fact sheets. And, we hope to connect our demonstration stories from across the northeast using the ESRI Story Map platform. Shane Brandt from the University of New Hampshire and one of the i-Three key informants has been incredibly helpful answering our many questions about story mapping!

Going Virtual!

Originally, this project started off much simpler but we decided to up our game and utilize 360 degree camera technology to really give our viewers the feeling of virtually being on the farm or in the forest looking at the climate practices in use at each site.

Our production team reviewing the 360 photos taken at the DSU Smyrna Outreach & Research Center: John Gattuso, Gattuso Media Design; Karrah Kwasnik, Digital Content Manager for the Northeast Climate Hub through the University of New Hampshire; and Jackie Arpie, Extension Scholar with the University of Delaware.

We purchased a couple of virtual kits, each consisting of a 360 degree camera, a tripod, and a tablet to remotely operate the camera and view our photos in the field. But, this technology is so new and cutting edge, that even the experienced photographers on our team are novices with this equipment! So, we decided that before sending our three production teams out in different directions to gather data, we needed to all come together in one place to test our cameras, discuss strategy, and decide on standards for data collection, processing, and sharing. Our partners and colleagues at Delaware State University Cooperative Extension graciously agreed to be our guinea pig and allowed us to work our bugs out at their Smyrna Outreach & Research Center – which is chock full of climate adaptation and mitigation practices!

Our Pilot Experience

While out in the field, we decided to do a number of tests to see what camera settings give the best images. For example, we tried adjusting the height of the camera to see how that affected the captured image. We found that extending the tripod all the way up is great for field shots and that if we lower the tripod all the way to the ground you end up seeing more of it in the final photo. We also played with the exposure options but it turns out that the “auto” option on the camera is doing a pretty good job and we may not need to play much with the exposure timing. But, for future shoots, we decided we should bring a blanket to drape over both the tablet and the photographer’s head (or find a dark spot on site) so that the first few images can be more accurately checked because it is hard to view them on a backlit screen in daylight.

We also learned from our pilot experience that preparation is going to be very important for effectively and efficiently documenting the other sites that will require us to travel and won’t be so easy for us to revisit if we miss anything. So, we have drafted a set of storyboarding questions for the site managers to answer before our visits. This will help us learn about the site itself and the people working there; the climate adaptation and mitigation practices in use there; the environmental, economic, and social benefits of those practices to growers; and the challenges for implementing these practices in the real world. We hope that having this information before we arrive will help us plan our photo shoots so that we can walk away with all of the images to build our virtual story back in the office later.

Finally, we were again reminded that farmers are dealing with weather variability every day and don’t necessarily classify the things they do to deal with those conditions as climate adaptation strategies. So, it is important that when talking to site managers that we ask specifically how they are dealing with warmer temperatures and/or heat waves, heavy rain events and/or drought conditions, and what practices they feel are helping them be sustainable and resistant to changing weather conditions. Climate connections are everywhere and we can’t wait to tell those stories virtually!

Tags 360 video, Asifyouwerethere, climatehubs, FarmTour360, University of Delaware

Climate Learning Network Extension i-Three Corps Impact

i-Three Issue Corps – How do we get things done in Extension? We “Borrow, Adapt, Adopt”

Post author By Alicia Betancourt
Post date June 20, 2016

All extension agents are familiar with the method of finding the best practices, adapting and adopting them to work in our communities. This is an efficient way to provide proven projects and methods with limited resources. While the idea of ‘Borrow, Adapt, Adopt’ may not be anything new, using it as a formal project method is.

Tags Borrow Adapt Adopt, climate, Climate Change, eXtension, i-Three Corps, i-Three Corps Climate, impact, innovation, Rapid Solutions

Citizen Science Climate Learning Network i-Three Corps

i-Three Issue Corps – Citizen Science: Capturing Variability of Precipitation

Post author By Brad Bauer
Post date May 27, 2016

Agriculture producers rely on the weather to bring them a good year for their livestock and crops. However, as we all know, the weather can be a puzzle. Precipitation is an important part of this puzzle and unfortunately can be very unpredictable in certain communities. Having a good sense of the precipitation within their community can help a producer with land management decisions. This information can be particularly important with changing weather and extreme weather events.

Through CoCoRaHS, also known as Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, citizen science can improve our understanding of precipitation. The CoCoRaHS network includes all 50 states and citizen scientists including agriculture producers and general community members. By using low-cost measurement tools and utilizing an interactive website and mobile application, CoCoRaHS gathers localized and timely recordings of precipitation. Agriculture producers, natural resource managers, educators, and researchers use this information.

Through our i-Three Issue Corps project we recently had the pleasure of filming our interview of two CoCoRaHS citizen scientists who also use the data. We hoped to better understand why they volunteer and how the process works through the recorded interviews, and to share with potential citizen scientists and data users. Expect these videos to be available this summer.

CoCoRaHS users include a rancher in Southwest Montana. Rain gauges are nothing new to ranchers. Comparing precipitation amount from field to field has been part of a way of life for a long time. As such, the rancher decided to participate in CoCoRaHS to help his neighborhood gain an understanding of the localized precipitation to better plan livestock management. The CoCoRaHS network provides the rancher an understanding of not only the precipitation information for their ranch, but how the precipitation looks across the region.

CoCoRaHS volunteer, Byron Martinell, shows University of Wyoming Extension Videographer, David Keto, how he checks the rain gauge. © Brad Bauer

Catherine Cain, owner of Southwest Montana Native Landscapes, LLC, is also a CoCoRaHS citizen scientist and data user in southwest Montana. She uses the information from the CoCoRaHS network to help her customers select which varieties of native plants will work best in their personal garden. The information has helped the nursery better serve their clients.

University of Wyoming Extension Videographer David Keto captures citizen scientist Catherine Cain checking her CoCoRaHS rain gauge. © Brad Bauer

Consider joining the CoCoRaHS network. As a CoCoRaHS volunteer you can have the feeling that you have made an important contribution that helps others. A dense network of CoCoRaHS volunteers is important for monitoring drought and flood conditions because of variable rainfall patterns. By providing your daily observation, you help to fill in a piece of the weather puzzle that affects many across your area in one-way or another. Join your friends and neighbors – it is easy to join!

Additional climate related information from Extension and partners can be found at:

MSU Climate Science Team http://cms.msuextension.org/climate/

USDA Northern Plains Regional Climate Hub http://www.climatehubs.oce.usda.gov/northernplains

High Plains Regional Climate Center http://www.hprcc.unl.edu

Tags Brad Bauer, Citizen Science, climate, CoCoRaHS, i-Three Issue Corps, Montana, volunteer, weather

Climate Learning Network Extension Information

Climate Learning Network Quarterly Update

Post author By Daniel Geller
Post date October 12, 2015

The Climate Learning Network (CLN) has been hard at work for the last quarter and has made great progress towards its goals and deliverables this quarter. Main efforts included the delivery of 4 webinars covering climate communication, vulnerability assessments and agricultural adaptation practices. The information from these webinars will be used to develop eLearning modules to provide Extension Agents and Agriculture and Forestry Professionals with greater knowledge in these areas.

Progress on specific CLN deliverables includes:

Continued develop of stakeholder database (3000+ contacts).
Beginning development of the Extension climate tools database.
Beginning Extension needs assessment survey development
Delivering 4 webinars that can be accessed at climatewebinars.net
1. Webinar #1: Communicating Climate Change Impacts and Options to a Disbelieving Audience – Part 1 (Steve McNulty) August 6, 2015.
2. Webinar #2: Communicating Climate Change Impacts and Options to a Disbelieving Audience – Part 1 (Steve McNulty) September 3, 2015.
3. Webinar #3: Vulnerability Assessments (Chris Swanston) September 15, 2015.
4. Webinar #4: Agricultural Adaptation (Mark Risse, Brenda Ortiz, Clyde Fraisse) September 17, 2015.

CLN leadership also worked with the eXtension innovation team to identify innovative methods for reaching Extension Agents. This exercise will be used to inspire efforts at the upcoming eXtension Annual Conference in March. The CLN also continued its collaborative work with the Climate, Forestry and Woodlands Community of Practice.

CLN leadership also took to the road presenting our efforts to several stakeholder groups including Georgia ANREP, The North Carolina Agriculture and Forestry Adaptation Summit, the Southern Extension Directors and the Southern ANR Program Leaders.

Immediate Plans for the CLN include 2 more webinars: October 15 (Stories from the Field – Laura Lengnick) and November 19 (Forest Adaptation – Mark Megalos, Eric Taylor). Progress toward deliverables will also continue including work on eLearning modules, stakeholder database, Extension climate tools database and distribution of the needs assessment survey. CLN will also be represented at the Northeastern Climate Hub Partners Meeting in Annapolis, MD.