The Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) LTER program has pioneered research in sustainable farming practices and conservation in agricultural landscapes for decades, yet many of these practices are underused on farms. We need a deeper understanding about the barriers faced by farmers when adopting conservation practices, and the stronger connections between existing research and farmer needs.
As part of the APEAL Public Engagement with Science (PES) Working Group, Dr. Liz Schultheis, the KBS LTER Outreach & Education Coordinator, along with partners at KBS and MSU Extension, hosted focus groups with agricultural professionals who work with farmers regularly, such as Extension Educators and Conservation Districts. Their goal was to understand where gaps between research and implementation occur and how they might work together to support farmers. The sessions revealed promising, immediate connections between research insights and on-the ground needs.
Strategic Partnerships for Engagement
Although the research coming out of the KBS LTER is highly relevant to farmers and conservationists, it isn’t always used to inform practice because, “we are not always telling the stories from our research in a way that reaches these audiences,” Liz explains. To better understand how, Liz turned to professionals who work closely with farmers every day – MSU Extension and Michigan Conservation Districts. KBS is also home to the sister program, Long-Term Agricultural Research program (LTAR), funded by the USDA, which emphasizes collaborative, farmer-focused research.
Together, the KBS LTER, KBS LTAR, MSU Extension set to take on this challenge. They agreed to host a series of focus groups to “pull together a lot of different groups who are working with farmers and synthesize all the questions that they’re hearing and all the areas of concern that might prevent farmers from adopting conservation practices.”
This strategy, she explained, draws on the “train the trainer” approach commonly used in education and outreach. By connecting with influential intermediary groups, KBS could expand the impact of its research through partners who already have deep connections with farmers.
This decision was practical as well as strategic. “We could get perspectives from a far greater range of farmers by working with those who connect with them every day. The focus groups and this collaboration helped us build strong relationships with a few people who are really embedded in the farmer community across Michigan.” Even connecting with just one person in the conservation district could open the door to reaching hundreds of farmers.
Listening and Connecting
Rather than expecting busy professionals to attend academic meetings, Schultheis brought the conversation to a place they already gathered – the annual Agricultural Corp Summit. The summit attracts a diverse array of agricultural professionals from across the country. The planning team also hired a facilitator to help them design an inclusive and effective session.
Schultheis knew that reciprocity was key for engaged participation. “Asking for people’s time is hard”, Schultheis reflected, “so we promised to share and synthesize any information that we got from the focus groups and share it back with them”. The offer peaked a lot of interest – each group was eager to contribute and learn what others were seeing on the ground. As she put it, “…a cross-group conversation was of interest to all of them. Extension wants to hear what conservation districts are thinking. Agricultural professionals at the crop summit want to hear what extension and conservation districts are dealing with. So everyone kind of agreed that, hearing across all these groups that work with farmers would be valuable.”
Participants were also compensated for their time, and for those who were unable to attend, Schultheis disseminated a survey to agricultural professionals in the region.
Early Outcomes
The focus groups revealed tangible connections between existing research and participant needs. “We found immediate connections to the research”, Schultheis recalled, “one product that’s already come out of this is a bulletin on no-till agriculture. We already had a lot of research on this topic, but the problem was that it wasn’t packaged in a way that was for the extension officers.” The bulletin was crafted by Christine Charles, a co-leader of the focus groups, and can be found here.
Another need that came out directly was that all participants had a desire to understand farmer decision-making better. The LTAR already had a robust dataset on this topic and Schultheis was able to point them to it. “These two resources already existed and it was immediately helpful for them”, she explained, “We just had to know what they needed and how they needed it.”
A New Model for Engagement
Through the Long-Term Panel Farmer Survey conducted by the KBS LTER, Schultheis learned that farmers are most likely to get messages on conservation practices from their farmer networks and trusted crop advisors, such as their seed dealers. For this reason, sharing research stories from the KBS LTER with trusted messengers may be a better approach than directly encouraging farmers to adopt conservation practices. KBS is now considering which audience and incentive structures will most benefit farmers and have the greatest impact on ecological health. KBS is excited to explore these possibilities.
So far, KBS has hosted two focus groups, distributed several surveys, and they plan to organize more. The insights gathered will be synthesized across groups to identify recurring themes and shared with all participants. “What is most exciting to me,” Schultheis reflects, “is that we’re not telling farmers what to do and what to adopt, but we’re listening to their concerns and needs and then trying to be responsive to that. The APEAL project has given us the chance to have the time to listen.” KBS LTER is already conducting valuable research and with the new insights from the focus groups, they can now guide their research program and communication to fit the needs of farmers and people working with them.
by Cristina Mancilla and Liz Schultheis
