11 pages, Existing research and practice related to digital agriculture technology adoption is largely focused on large-scale producers. In this paper, we describe a case of adopting an advanced soil monitoring system in a community-based agricultural organization. We provide guidance for Extension professionals seeking to implement or promote digital agriculture technology adoption on: selecting appropriate technology, incorporating new technology into existing practices, harnessing local technology champions, and avoiding data-driven mission creep.
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Open AccessArticle
Decoding the Secrets of Agricultural Light, Heat, and Water Resources in Beijing Under Climate Change: Spatio-Temporal Variations on a Small Scale and Future Prospects
by Hongrun Liu 1ORCID,Yanan Tian 1,He Zhao 1,Song Liu 1,Ning Zhu 2,Yanfang Wang 1,Wei Li 1,Dan Sun 1,Tianqun Wang 1,Lifeng Li 2,Shangjun Wu 1,Fudong Wang 1 andXihong Lei 1,*
1
Beijing Agricultural Technology Extension Station, Beijing 100029, China
2
Beijing Changping District Agricultural Technology Extension Station, Beijing 102299, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agriculture 2025, 15(4), 371; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15040371 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 22 December 2024 / Revised: 1 February 2025 / Accepted: 6 February 2025 / Published: 10 February 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Ecosystem, Environment and Climate Change in Agriculture)
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Abstract
As an international metropolis, Beijing still plays a key role in the development of national agricultural production technology despite its small regional scale. Climate change has a great impact on agricultural production. Previous studies often focus on a single short-term meteorological factor and lack a more systematic analysis of climate resources in Beijing. Based on the daily temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, wind speed and sunshine hours of 17 meteorological stations in Beijing in the past 42 years, this study analyzed the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of agro-climatic resources and predicted the future climate change trend under different climate scenarios. The climate resource tendency rate is calculated on a time scale of every ten years (10a). The results showed that (1) the light resources are decreasing at a rate of 44.9~156.3 MJ m−2 10 a−1, and the downward trends in light resources in the northeastern plain areas as well as in June and July are more significant; (2) the thermal resources are increasing at a rate of 34.2~176.4 °C·d 10 a−1, and the upward trends in thermal resources in the southeastern plain areas and in March are more remarkable; (3) the water resources represented by the soil humidity index are changing at a rate of −1.6~6.1% 10 a−1. The situation is complex, and the fluctuations of water resources in the central and western regions as well as in July, August and September are more significant; and (4) compared with the low-emission “dual carbon” scenario, the decrease in water volume and the overall increase in temperature in the high-carbon scenario are larger, and this trend is particularly obvious in the long run. This study provides a basis for Beijing’s agricultural layout and response to climate change, and its methods and results are also valuable for other regions to promote green, high-quality and sustainable agricultural development.
14 pages, One of the tools middle school SBAE teachers can use to deliver the total program is research-based SAEs, for which students can receive recognition through the FFA Agriscience Fair. This study examined why middle school SBAE teachers implemented the FFA Agriscience Fair into their programs. This study built on previous literature in this area, but with a specific focus on middle school programs. Using a qualitative case study, seven teachers that had various levels of use with Agriscience Fair were interviewed. Teachers were categorized into their levels of use for this innovation and spanned across multiple levels. Major themes from the interviews emerged that found the Agriscience Fair award area was a tool that teachers used to help strengthen their program by enriching the program offering and providing hands-on learning for students. Themes of teachers learning to figure out the complex rules of the competition to be successful as well as using relationships to help students be successful emerged. Recommendations were made to make the award area more intuitive, especially for teachers who are newer to the implementation including providing examples of manuscripts and presentation materials, providing lesson planning resources, and professional development.
Miller, Amelia (author), Warnick, Brian K. (author), Spielmaker, Debra M. (author), Pate, Michael L. (author), Judd-Murray, Rose (author), and Longhurst, Max L. (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2025-01-17
Published:
USA: American Association for Agricultural Education
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 209 Document Number: D13469
16 pages, It is commonly held that parents have a profound impact on child development. Decades of research investigated the ways parents, the community, and school staff interact to foster student learning during kindergarten through twelfth grade education. Agriculture provides for daily needs through the growth, harvest, and processing of food, fiber, fuel, and forestry products. This research sought to understand the level of importance parents place on their children learning about agriculture in school. A 26-question survey was distributed to a nationally representative sample of parents having at least one child in K-12 education within the United States. Results of this study indicate parents found it important, even very important, for students to learn about many agricultural topics in school. Factors historically associated with parent perceptions and support of student learning proved to not significantly impact this indicated level of importance. Therefore, further research is needed to understand what impacts parents’ value of their students learning about agricultural topics in school. The conclusions of this study are of primary importance to entities conducting agricultural education outreach such as Agriculture in the Classroom programs, Extension, Career and Technical Education, agricultural industry organizations, and others interested in agricultural literacy.
16 pages, Background
An estimated 140 million people in Africa face acute malnutrition. By impacting agricultural production, climate change is likely to further decrease food consumption, particularly in sub-Saharan African states. Against this backdrop, various actors have called for more attention to alternative farming and food systems based on traditional agricultural knowledge capable of ensuring access to sufficient, nutritious, and safe food. So far, however, we have limited systematic evidence on which traditional agricultural practices may promote the food resilience of households exposed to extreme climatic conditions. Focusing on the most prevalent traditional diversification practices in Tanzania, this study assesses the extent to which crop diversification, annual crop intercropping, crop-tree intercropping, crop-livestock integration, and the cultivation of traditional crops increase the food availability and dietary diversity of smallholders facing extreme weather events in Tanzania.
Methods
We combine temperature and rain data with information on farming practices and food consumption information provided by the Living Standards Measurement Study–Integrated Surveys on Agriculture for more than 25,000 Tanzanian households nationwide. We rely on a matched differences-in-differences approach to account for selection bias and allow for causal inference.
Results
Our matching models consistently show that the planting of traditional crops (in particular sorghum) promotes dietary diversity and reduces the need for food rationing in households experiencing climate shocks. In contrast, households relying on maize cultivation show less dietary diversity and increased food rationing behavior. In addition, we find that—under extreme weather conditions—crop diversification furthers households’ dietary diversity, and crop-livestock integration, as well as crop-tree intercropping, seem to reduce households’ need to ration food.
Conclusion and policy recommendation
This study has important implications for policymakers. In light of climate change and weather variability, it underscores the need to better integrate indigenous knowledge into farming systems. Our results call for greater dissemination of traditional diversification strategies and more reliance on indigenous, drought-tolerant crops. Traditional farming practices can function as a safety net, protecting smallholders in Tanzania against the detrimental consequences of weather shocks.
22 pages, The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements in the use of deep learning (DL) in the agricultural sector. The author conducted a review of studies published between 2016 and 2022 to highlight the various applications of DL in agriculture, which include counting fruits, managing water, crop management, soil management, weed detection, seed classification, yield prediction, disease detection, and harvesting. The author found that DL’s ability to learn from large datasets has great promise for the transformation of the agriculture industry, but there are challenges, such as the difficulty of compiling datasets, the cost of computational power, and the shortage of DL experts. The author aimed to address these challenges by presenting his survey as a resource for future research and development regarding the use of DL in agriculture.
2pgs, For farmers, filling out the USDA’s Census of Agriculture before the February 6 deadline is more than a legal obligation. It’s a way to keep watch over our farmlands and help bring about necessary changes.
21 pages, Climate change continues to impact the livelihoods of smallholder farmers due to low adaptive capacity. In South Africa, the challenge is exacerbated by water scarcity and shortened crop-growing seasons. Climate-smart irrigation innovative technologies (CSIT) enhance smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate change. However, there is still a limited level of effective adoption and usage of these technologies in smallholder communities. This study investigated the barriers affecting the adoption of CSIT in rural areas of the Vhembe and Capricorn districts in Limpopo Province, South Africa. We explored the farmers’ socioeconomic factors extracted from farmers’ perceptions of CSIT-specific attributes. A multi-stage randomized sampling technique was used to select 100 smallholder farmers (SHF). Data analyzed by descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequency distribution are presented in graphs and tables. According to the findings, insufficient communication channels, a lack of financial availability, unstable land tenure systems, and insufficient training are the main obstacles to implementing CSIT. There is a need for policy and decision-makers to improve the communication channels for disseminating agro-meteorological information to the intended beneficiaries.
16pgs, Humanity's growing appetites for food and energy are placing unprecedented yield targets on our lands. Chasing those ever-expanding land intensification targets gave rise to monocultures and sharpened the divide between food and energy production groups. Here, we argue that this does not have to be a zero-sum game if food and energy can be co-generated in the same land. Co-generation can lead to sustainable intensification but requires a paradigm shift in the way we manage our resources, particularly light. Using an extended model of plant photosynthesis and transpiration, we demonstrate how plants react to different incident light spectra and show that manipulating light could be effective for boosting land and water efficiencies, thus potentially improving soil health. This knowledge can possibly unlock the real potential of promising modern agricultural technologies that target optimization of light allocations such as agrivoltaics. This study suggests that the blue part of the light spectrum is less efficient in terms of carbon assimilation and water use and could be more effectively used to produce solar energy, while the red part could efficiently produce biomass. A sensitivity analysis to the most important crop and environmental variables (irradiance, air temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration) shows that plant response to different light treatments is sensitive to environmental boundary conditions and is species-specific. Therefore, further research is necessary to assess which crops and climates are more suitable to optimize the proposed food-water-energy nexus.
15pgs, Agriculture is crucial in catering to the increasing demand for food and employment. Thus, adoption of novel technologies is important. Many scientists have developed different theories and models explaining the process of behavioral change relevant to adoption. They are either completely different, similar, or improvements of previously developed models. Therefore, compilation and summarization of these theories and models will support future studies and researchers. Thus, an analysis of literature on technology adoption was conducted. The review was prepared based on literature from various sources spanning around 50 years. The theories and models identified by different studies were compiled and analyzed in this review paper. Many theories and models in agricultural technology adoption such as transtheoretical model, theory of reasoned action, theory of interpersonal behavior, model for innovation-decision process, different versions of technology acceptance model, theory of planned behavior, theory of diffusion of innovation, task-technology fit, technology readiness, unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, expectancy livelihood model, social cognitive theory, and perceived characteristics of innovating theory were compiled. Each theory and model has its own uniqueness, which had explained different aspects of technology adoption process and factors determining the behavioral change. These theories and models included affecting factors such as technological, personal, social, and economical factors. In conclusion, it can be stated that, rather than having a single theory or a model, an integrated and amalgamated form will be more explanatory for technology adoption.
10 pages, The study sought to explore the extent to which agricultural policies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
countries incorporate Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and its impact on the efforts to document and share
agricultural IK through communication efforts. A qualitative content analysis of policy documents from seven SSA countries and eight key informant interviews with knowledge management officers from the seven countries was conducted. Purposive sampling was used to select the countries, determine
documents examined, and for the selection of key informants for the interviews. The results revealed that IK was not included in several SSA countries’ governmental agricultural policies. Activities aimed at capturing, documentation and sharing IK in SSA countries were not found despite the presence of evidence of its importance to agricultural research and development. These results provide insights on the need for researchers, communicators, educators, and decision-makers to consider incorporating IK into policy associated with agricultural information dissemination to improve technology generation and adoption
6 pages, In this time of information overload, successfully engaging farmers with compelling outreach materials is a major challenge for conservation programs and related research projects. One potential approach is targeting information to the recipient, e.g., local rather than regional soil and water conditions, when sending messages to farmers. Targeted information may increase engagement by making materials stand out as more relevant and useful; conversely, it may decrease engagement by making farmers wary of the program and how it is using the information. We tested the effect of targeted information on farmer engagement using a large, randomized controlled trial in Iowa. In partnership with Iowa State University, we sent 2,996 farmers a single mailing with information about erosion at the local watershed (targeted) or state (control) level and measured their responses to a two-minute survey. We found that targeted information increased relative response rates by 20%, from 13.8% to 16.4%. This level of increase is meaningful for practitioners, as well as statistically significant. Our findings show that targeted information can be an important tool for practitioners and researchers seeking to better connect with farmers who are inundated with marketing mail.
Getson, Jackie M. (author), Church, Sarah P. (author), Radulski, Brennan G. (author), Sjöstrand, Anders E. (author), Lu, Junyu (author), and Prokopy, Linda S. (author)
Format:
Journal Article
Publication Date:
2022-08-02
Published:
United States: PLOS One
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12709
22pgs, In the United States, a public debate remains about the existence and effects of anthropogenic climate change. This skepticism is present in the agricultural sector, rendering climate science communication challenging. Due to the polarization of climate change issues and the concurrent need for agricultural adaptation, we sought to examine how scientists communicate in this sector. A survey, administered to climate scientists and pertinent U.S. federal agency staff (response rate = 43%), was conducted to examine perspectives on communicating with five agricultural stakeholder groups: agribusinesses, crop advisors, general public, producers, and policymakers. We focused on three aspects of the communication process with these stakeholders to evaluate if scientists, as messengers, were following best practices–communicator training, knowledge of stakeholder, and terminology use. We found scientists valued communication training; however, the majority had not attended formal training. Scientists had different views on climate change than producers and crop advisors but understood their perspective and were deliberate with their communication with different audiences. This suggests stakeholder knowledge and terminology use do not hinder communication between scientist and stakeholder. We also highlight three communication challenges present across stakeholder groups–stakeholder knowledge, timescale, and scientific uncertainty–and others that were specific to each stakeholder group. Future research should support scientists by identifying and resolving barriers to training and effective communication strategies for each stakeholder group that addresses these challenges.
19 pages, In today’s globalized world, educators and employers generally agree on the necessity for undergraduate agricultural [ag] students to develop a sound understanding of global ag issues and policy. Because of this, many U.S. universities have promoted internationalizing curriculum and increased international study abroad experiences. However, few studies have examined the impact of international experiences on students’ knowledge and attitudes about international ag issues and policies. This study bridges this gap by identifying the relationship between student knowledge and attitude toward international ag issues and U.S. ag policy, and how international experience and demographic variables play a role in that relationship. Adapted from previous literature, an online survey was developed in 2019 among 196 undergraduate students in ag and non-ag fields to measure student knowledge (global aptitude assessment) and student attitude (attitude index score) towards the importance of global agricultural issues and policy. Results concluded that undergraduate students held a low level of knowledge about global ag issues and policy; in fact, ag students held lower average knowledge scores than non-agricultural students. This emphasizes the urgency for administrators to intentionally design and reevaluate our current curriculum to meet these knowledge gaps. Additionally, study abroad experiences did not contribute to students’ knowledge nor attitudes. The authors discuss several possibilities for such results and highlight the call to similarly reevaluate our study abroad curriculum to be more intentional in impacting student knowledge in global ag food systems and acknowledge differences in policy, getting students excited and interested in the global market.
14 pages, As agricultural conservation priorities evolve to address new complex social-ecological problems and emerging social priorities, new conservation incentive program participation and success can be enhanced by incorporating local stakeholder preferences into program design. Our research explores how farmers incorporate ecosystem services into management decisions, their willingness to participate in payment for ecosystem services programs, and factors beyond compensation level that would influence participation. We conducted three focus groups with 24 participants between January of 2019 and May of 2019 in Vermont. Our study revealed that a strong, intrinsic stewardship ethic motivates farmers to enhance ecosystem service provisioning from their farms, though financial pressures often limit decision-making. These results suggest that programs with sufficient levels of payment may attract participation, at least among some types of farmers, to enhance ecosystem services from farms in Vermont. However, farmers may be deterred from participating by perceived unfairness and distrust of the government based on previous experiences with regulations and conservation incentive structures. Farmers also expressed distrust of information about ecosystem services supply that conflicts with their perceptions of agroecosystem functioning, unless delivered by trusted individuals from the extension system. The delivery of context-specific information on how management changes impact ecosystem service performance from trusted sources could enhance farmers’ decisions, and would aptly complement payments. Additionally, farmers expressed a desire to see a program that both achieves additionality and rewards farms who have been stewards, goals that are potentially at odds. Our findings offer important insights for policy makers and program administrators who need to understand factors that will influence farmers’ willingness to participate in payment for ecosystem service programs and other conservation practice adoption initiatives, in Vermont and elsewhere.
25 pages, Using linked data from multiple years of the U.S. Census of Agriculture, this study identifies farm and operator characteristics associated with beginning farm survival, growth, and success. Success is defined as continuing in business for 5 years without a decline in farm real estate asset value. The results indicate which types of beginning farms and farmers are likely to survive and grow—information which could be useful in targeting program resources. By identifying policy-amenable variables that correlate with both farm survival and business expansion, the results also suggest possible mechanisms for increasing the success of beginning farms.
20 pgs., Twelve U.S. states were tasked with developing nutrient reduction strategies to help address hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. To better understand the kinds of messages different stakeholders in these states are likely to encounter about such strategies, we conducted a content analysis focused on the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (INRS). We examined 483 articles in two agricultural and two non-agricultural news outlets. We found that agricultural news outlets more often led with agricultural themes and more often used agricultural representatives as sources. The non-agricultural news outlets more often quoted representatives of environmental groups. News articles infrequently led with science or health themes. The volume of coverage over time in three of the four news outlets appeared followed similar issue attention cycles. Differences among the outlets may lead to differences in stakeholders’ knowledge or views about the INRS and conservation, posing challenges to consensus-building.
5 PAGES., Released in late 2020, the Center Pivot Fertigation Calculator is designed to help producers make more precise fertilizer applications by assisting in calculating liquid fertilizer flow rate and injection pump settings needed to fertigate through a center pivot irrigation system. The Clemson Drip Fertigation Calculator is designed to help South Carolina vegetable producers make more precise fertilizer applications through drip irrigation systems.
After producers started using the center pivot and drip fertigation calculators, Zack Snipes, assistant program leader for the Clemson Cooperative Extension Service horticulture team and area horticulture agent, noted many were beginning to ask what they should do if using a greenhouse-grade solid fertilizer and putting it into a solution. In response, Rob Last, area horticulture agent, built a spreadsheet that became the basis for the Liquid Fertilizer Solution Calculator.
“We have created a system that provides quick calculations and is really easy to use,” Last said. “Anyone who has questions about these calculators can contact me or Zack and we’ll help them.”
23 pages; Scroll to very bottom of journal record for access to pdf., In parallel with the development of technology, there have been changes in information acquisition, communication, agricultural production and agricultural extension activities. In this context, it is important for producers to be able to carry out their plant production and animal production activities more consciously, easily or quickly. The rapid spread of smartphones and the smartphone applications developed accordingly, different applications developed by various institutions (such as public and private sector, unions and cooperatives) are a fairly new issue in terms of agricultural extension, agricultural production and digitalization in agriculture. Defining an innovation as an innovation and accepting it as the final result undoubtedly pass through some processes. In this study, the recognition of innovation is discussed. The aim of the study is examined in two ways. First, the current situation of smartphone applications in Turkey were analyzed. Which of these applications are used and which organizations serve the producers were obtained by conducting research on the internet and examining the secondary data. In the second part, which of these applications are known or used by the producers in Edirne Province Lalapaşa District were questioned on the basis of the producers. Online network was used as a method in the research. The presence of a group established by Lalapaşa producers, which is organized through Facebook, which is one of the social media channels, has made it easier to find out which smartphone applications are used. In order to determine which applications Lalapaşa producers use; 265 producers responded to the survey conducted over the group established on Facebook between January 23, 2020 and January 30, 2020. 428 people, including 392 men and 36 women, were producers in the group, and 61.92% of the producers participated in the survey. The research showed us the applications created by the public sector is more when it is compared the cooperative and private sector in Turkey. Among the applications of the public sector; it has been determined that Meteorological Condition Application, Land Registry Cadastre Parcel Query Application, and e-Goverment Application are used more than other applications.
