United States agricultural stakeholder views and decisions on climate change

Abstract

Climate change poses unprecedented challenges to agricultural production globally and in the United States; it is both vulnerable to the impacts of a changing climate and a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Because farmers need to quickly adapt to reduce their risks and emissions, there is a pressing need to better understand the process by which they make decisions. This complex decision‐making process includes many factors, such as farmers’ beliefs; knowledge and capacity to make changes; the information they receive from Extension, industry, and social networks (e.g., family and peers); economics and regulations; and farm‐scale and environmental issues (including personal experience with extreme weather). This study assesses the published literature on U.S. agricultural stakeholder views and decisions on climate change, focusing on farmers and ranchers from different regions. We identify key themes that emerge from the literature on how stakeholder views about extreme weather and climate change relate to decisions about adaptation and mitigation practices. This review finds that although the majority of U.S. farmers believe the climate is changing, many remain skeptical of the issue and uncertain about the anthropogenic causes of climate change. Farmers’ climate change mitigation and adaptation decisions also vary widely and are often correlated with belief or other factors such as personal experience with extreme weather, costs of change, or fear of regulation. We conclude with the implications of the research, including the importance of understanding farmers’ view and actions and issue framing, and implications for researchers, Extension and policy makers, both nationally and globally. WIREs Clim Change 2017, 8:e469. doi: 10.1002/wcc.469 This article is categorized under: Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Perceptions of Climate Change

Seeing is not always believing: crop loss and climate change perceptions among farm advisors

“…In the social sciences, most literature explores farmer perceptions of climate change and behaviors (e.g. (Prokopy et al 2015b, Chatrchyan et al 2017), particularly through farmer surveys (Davidson 2016). More recently however, researchers have acknowledged the important role that farmer networks can play in affecting adoption of practices and influencing behaviors (Lubell et al 2014).…”

“…Existing work on farmer and farm advisor perceptions largely focuses on perceptions of climate change (i.e. see (Chatrchyan et al 2017) for a review of recent studies) without exploring these perceptions against historical climate data or weather and climate-induced impacts (Niles and Mueller 2016). Scholars have debated the relationship between climate change beliefs among the general public and observed historical climate and weather changes.…”

Sustainability and Disaster Planning: What Are the Connections?

“…Passage of disaster planning measures may only become politically feasible following an incident (Næss et al ), and many disaster plans remain unimplemented (Lyles, Berke, and Smith ). In rural areas, personal experience with weather extremes, such as drought, wildfires, changes in length of growing season, and flooding, are important drivers of perceptions, but may not shift opinions enough to cause action on topics such as climate change (Chatrchyan et al ; Millar, Boon, and King ; Takahashi et al ), especially when the rural discourse emphasizes a balance between economy and environment as well as questioning the impact of local action (Kessler, Parkins, and Huddart Kennedy ). Most communities that do take climate adaptation action only adopt policies that have an immediate benefit in other ways (Abunnasr, Hamin, and Brabec ).…”

Ecosystem services and multifunctional agriculture: Unravelling informal stakeholders' perceptions and water governance in three European irrigation systems

“…Designed in 1220, this canal runs 61 km through 69 municipalities and distributes water through four secondary canals. The Patto per l'Acqua (water alliance), In this study, we define key stakeholder as group of citizens potentially affected by, or having a vested interest, in an issue, program, action, or decision leading to an action (Chatrchyan et al, 2017). The multifunctional nature of the canal is based on ensuring the socioeconomic demands as shifts occurs from historical water uses (drainage and irrigation) to new water demands (hydroelectric use, ecological functions, sport fishing, biking and hiking, or recreation and educational activities).…”

“…In this study, we define key stakeholder as group of citizens potentially affected by, or having a vested interest, in an issue, program, action, or decision leading to an action (Chatrchyan et al, 2017). The distinction between public participation and stakeholder engagement is increasingly reflected in the academic literature where stakeholders represent entities that are clearly differentiated from the citizenry or general public.…”