Rue Genger, a scientist in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, received USDA-NIFA funding for their project Developing research and extension collaborations to support climate adaptation by Midwest organic vegetable producers through NIFA’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative. It was among 24 projects sharing more than $50 million in funding.

Project summary (from CRIS website): Organic vegetable growers are uniquely susceptible to the projected impacts of climate change. Across the Upper Midwest, models predict higher annual temperatures with shorter, warmer winters, more hot days (over 95° F) and extended hot spells. Projections also show increased winter, spring and fall precipitation, greater frequency of extreme rainfall events and more dry spells during the summer. These changes can mean shifting planting and harvest windows, more dangerous conditions for outdoor field work, an increased need for irrigation or artificial drainage, increased insect and disease pressure, and reduced produce quality and marketability. The emphasis on soil health and systems diversity in organic agriculture is likely to provide some inherent resilience. However, most organic vegetable growers manage a diverse crop portfolio, leading to frequent and intensive tillage, undermining resilience to unpredictable precipitation. Organic vegetable growers need support to develop effective tools and strategies for climate resilience.Adapting our regional food system to the effects of climate change is an inherently complex problem, involving a wide network of stakeholders including growers, Extension professionals, researchers, regulatory agencies, grower organizations, private companies, and nonprofits. Many groups are still assessing stakeholder needs and defining their roles in this work. The critical next step is to weave these various networks together to facilitate regional coordination. Managing the impacts of complex issues like climate change cannot be achieved solely through traditional research and extension approaches. Instead, these goals must be achieved through creating and applying agroecological knowledge throughout webs of partnerships in which the ways of knowing and experiences of growers, scientists, organizations, industry leaders, and public officials are upheld and utilized. By drawing on principles from social network analysis and “network weaving”, we hope to share knowledge and work together productively to facilitate more effective groups and collaborations, ultimately better identifying the research and extension needs related to climate resilience for Midwest organic vegetable farms.Through this planning proposal, we aim to: define climate resilience-related research priorities for Midwest organic vegetable growers; focus and strengthen efforts of individuals, organizations, and existing groups engaged in climate resilience outreach and education; learn from one another about best practices for climate adaptation outreach and building research networks with meaningful grower participation; and coordinate our efforts to use funding resources and expertise more effectively.We will coordinate a series of structured meetings to assess research, extension and outreach needs and efforts across the Midwest region on climate adaptation for organic vegetable producers, identifying priorities for future collaborative work. Based on findings from surveys, polls and facilitated discussions coordinated around these meetings, we will develop and publish two peer-reviewed papers outlining research, education and extension priorities to support organic growers in developing climate resilient diversified food production systems. Finally, we will develop and submit an Integrated Project proposal to the USDA NIFA OREI program in 2024 to pursue the research, education and extension priorities that emerge from this planning project.