Building Resources for Integrated Decision-making for aGricultural Engagement (BRIDGE)

Issue

Iowa’s water quality problems persist largely due to nonpoint source pollution from agricultural lands — a situation that requires better integrated watershed-to-farm collaboration to expand conservation practice adoption. Research demonstrates that GIS-based tools, such as the Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF), can be effective for engaging watershed planners and farm decision-makers. However, use of such tools has remained limited because researchers have neither sufficiently involved conservation professionals in devising a usable process nor widely engaged farm decision-makers in one-on-one interactions that support their autonomy as problem-solvers.

Objective

This project aims to create resources that bridge decision-making among researchers, conservation professionals and farmer/landowners by

• involving Extension and local conservation professionals as partners,
• integrating the ACPF with additional data layers to generate watershed- and field-level maps that identify the location for, and economics of, conservation practice adoption
• employing engagement strategies (based in cognitive science and storytelling) in one-on-one sessions with farm decision-makers that support their expertise as problem-solvers.

Approach

This project combines ACPF output with additional data layers detailing nitrogen load reduction and soil displacement with economics by employing the Overland Flow Element Tool (OFE), Financial and Nutrient Reduction Tool (FiNRT), and the Subfield Profitability Tool (SPT), as well as by incorporating additional relevant data, such as land tenancy, land value, factors tied to eligibility for NRCS cost-share and adjacency to other conservation parcels. Community leaders, researchers, and conservation professionals will use this integrated output to host over 20 one-on-one/small group sessions with farm decision-makers using field-specific and watershed maps within a storytelling-based engagement process. Data will be collected throughout the project to assess farmer and landowner engagement and develop best practices that support conservation professionals — aspects that will be used to refine project techniques for the participatory support matrix to be shared in other watershed contexts across the Midwest.