National Facilitation of Extension Programming in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation for Animal Agriculture.

This USDA AFRI-funded project is building capacity to influence climate change-related decisions made by livestock and poultry producers and consumers of animal products across the U.S.  Project objectives are to:

1) Equip extension personnel and stakeholder representatives to assess stakeholder needs relative to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to deliver extension programs that target those needs;

2) Provide on-demand web access to science-based information, educational resources, and decision-support tools to stakeholder groups and the public on climate change related to animal agriculture; and

3) Coordinate efforts so information and resources are utilized optimally at the state, regional and national levels.

The Extension Climate Change Team [for Animal Agriculture] is working on national and regional scales to accomplish these objectives.  Team members are networking with each other to convey information – primarily via the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center – and are collaboratively developing extension/eXtension resources.  As a core project deliverable, the team is developing an on-line course curriculum for extension professionals that will help them engage livestock and poultry producers and deliver targeted information on climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.  Within each of five U.S. regions, project personnel are interacting with a working group of extension professionals to delineate their needs and barriers, and to assess approaches for successfully implementing extension programs in this topic area.  Additional collaborations are being formed (focus of separate presentation) to help achieve project objectives.