To promote the long-term sustainability and productivity of U.S. corn-based cropping systems against recent climate trends and future uncertainty.

Project Objectives:

• Develop standardized methodologies and perform baseline monitoring of carbon, nitrogen and water footprints at agricultural test sites across the Midwest.
  
• Evaluate how crop management practices impact carbon, nitrogen and water footprints at test sites.
  
• Apply models to research data and climate scenarios to identify impacts and outcomes that could affect the sustainability and economic vitality of corn-based cropping systems.
  
• Gain knowledge of farmer beliefs and concerns about climate change, attitudes toward adaptative and mitigative strategies and practices, and decision support needs to inform the development of tools and practices that support long-term sustainability of crop production.
  
• Promote extension, outreach and stakeholder learning and participation across all aspects of the program.
  
• Train the next generation of scientists, develop science education curricula and promote learning opportunities for high school teachers and students.
  

Published: August 4, 2014

Printable handout pdf >> Climate Change Beliefs, Concerns and Support for Adaptation and Mitigation among Corn Belt Farmers Fact Sheet (Acrobat (PDF) 889kB Oct8 15)

Agriculture is both vulnerable to global climate change and a significant source of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) that are driving climate shifts. Because climate change-related threats to agriculture also represent threats to society, calls for adaptation and mitigation are increasingly common. Natural hazards research finds that adaptation and mitigation behavior depends in large part on perceptions of the risks associated with a given natural hazard, and perceived risk is mediated by beliefs about the existence of the hazard and its characteristics. However, although beliefs form the cognitive basis for behavior, they may not be accurate or scientifically based. Public understanding and risk perceptions regarding climate change are particularly unsettled, with beliefs about the phenomenon varying widely among different population segments. This presentation presents preliminary data on climate change beliefs, perceived risks, and support for adaptation and mitigation from a survey of 4,778 corn farmers with a minimum of 80 acres of corn and $100,000 of gross farm income from 22 HUC 6 watersheds spanning 11 Corn Belt states (Figure 1).

Results show that 66 percent of the farmers in the sample believe climate change is occurring. Eight percent believe climate change is occurring and caused mostly by human activities, 33 percent believe climate change is due equally to human and natural causes, and 25 percent attribute it mostly to natural causes. Thirty-one percent believe there is not enough evidence to determine whether climate change is occurring, and four percent do not believe it is happening. Comparisons by climate change belief structure indicate that farmers who believe climate change is occurring and attributable at least in part to humans tended to express higher levels of concern about climate-related risks to agriculture, such as more frequent drought, more frequent extreme precipitation, and increased pest and disease pressure. Likewise, farmers who believe climate change is happening and due to human activity expressed higher levels of support for societal, organizational, and individual adaptation and mitigation actions (Figure 2).

Context for use:

The CSCAP project's multi-pronged approach utilizes place-based education at multiple levels (9-12, undergraduate, graduate, extension and stakeholders) to increase learning and foster a new generation of scientists, farmers, entrepreneurs and citizens.

1 The Climate and Corn-based Cropping Systems Coordinated Agricultural Project (CSCAP) farmer survey was a collaborative effort between social scientists from CSCAP and the USDA NIFA-funded Useful-to-Useable (U2U) project. CSCAP Co-PIs included John Tyndall, Tricia Knoot, and Lois Wright Morton. U2U collaborators. For more information, contact:Dr. J. Gordon Arbuckle, Jr., Assistant Professor, Iowa State University, arbuckle@iastate.edu, 515-294-1497

Project web site and e-mail: sustainablecorn.org | info@sustainablecorn.orgThis presentation was given at the Climate and Corn-based Cropping Systems CoordinatedAgricultural Project (CSCAP) 2012 Annual Meeting. This handout and supplemental video are approved for use in research, education, and extension outlets.

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