Socio-Agroclimatology

The long-term resilience of rural farming communities in the U.S. is eroding. Rural populations are in decline, farmers aged 65 or older are the fastest growing demographic among U.S. farmers, and yield declines from climate change have already occurred and are expected to worsen. Nothing short of transformative adaptation of farming practices will reverse these trends, and achieving such lasting change is only possible through the convergence of security, equity, and sustainability paradigms. We propose a new, convergence approach of socio-agroclimatology to identify and catalyze interactions among deep leverage points for systemic change across social, agricultural, and climate systems. In the context of Alabama agriculture and Southeast regional climate, we will investigate the social processes that influence farmers’ choices to adopt (or not) climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices and the effects of those choices on land-atmosphere feedbacks. Participatory action research (PAR) experiments will explore the effectiveness of intentionally bridging farmer networks as a deep leverage point for scaling-up adoption of CSA practices. Potential thresholds in CSA adoption leading to beneficial climate feedbacks will be analyzed by advancing the understanding and modeling of land-atmosphere interactions and crop productivity. Guided by a Policy Advisory Board, this project will conduct a convergence assessment of current and proposed policy options and produce a Policy Playbook with actionable recommendations. Transdisciplinary convergence has already been achieved by co-developing the vision and research design of this proposal with community partners, which will be deepened and sustained through a series of self-reflexive practices and Team Science Workshops.
Are you a producer or producer-supporting stakeholder interested in participating?
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Great! Please use this link to leave your contact information so that we can follow-up with you:
https://universityofalabama.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aXDJmhrLBCMXnV4
Research Team
Nicholas R. Magliocca (PI, UA), Michelle Worosz (co-PI, Auburn University), Lee Ellenberg (co-PI, UA Huntsville), Eve Brantley (AU), Mukesh Kumar (UA), Vikalp Mishra (UAH), Udayshankar Nair (UAH), Wendiam Sawadgo (AU), Andre da Silva (AU), Andrew White (UAH), Ruchie Pathak (gradaute student, UA)
Community Partners
Andrew Williams and Darrell McGuire (Deep South Food Alliance), Stephanie Pearl and Arlo Pate (Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network), Olivia Cleveland
Policy Advisory Board
Bennett Bearden (Geological Survey of Alabama), Emma Busby (Schoolyard Roots), Olivia Cleveland (independent producer), Heather Elliott (University of Alabama), Darrell McGuire (Deep South Food Alliance), John Allen Nichols (Alabama Farmers Federation), Cindy Lowry (Alabama Rivers Alliance), Marie McGruder (McGruder Farms)
Funding: National Science Foundation GCR-2317819 (2023-2028).
Publications
Media Coverage
Nicholas R. Magliocca (PI, UA), Michelle Worosz (co-PI, Auburn University), Lee Ellenberg (co-PI, UA Huntsville), Eve Brantley (AU), Mukesh Kumar (UA), Vikalp Mishra (UAH), Udayshankar Nair (UAH), Wendiam Sawadgo (AU), Andre da Silva (AU), Andrew White (UAH), Ruchie Pathak (gradaute student, UA)
Community Partners
Andrew Williams and Darrell McGuire (Deep South Food Alliance), Stephanie Pearl and Arlo Pate (Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network), Olivia Cleveland
Policy Advisory Board
Bennett Bearden (Geological Survey of Alabama), Emma Busby (Schoolyard Roots), Olivia Cleveland (independent producer), Heather Elliott (University of Alabama), Darrell McGuire (Deep South Food Alliance), John Allen Nichols (Alabama Farmers Federation), Cindy Lowry (Alabama Rivers Alliance), Marie McGruder (McGruder Farms)
Funding: National Science Foundation GCR-2317819 (2023-2028).
Publications
Media Coverage
- Alabama Water Institute newsletter.