Agricultural Advisors' Use of Climate Information and Beliefs about Climate Change Impacts.

Formal and informal advisors are an important part of the agricultural community, but little is known about their use of climate information and concerns for potential climate change impacts.  We have conducted a unique survey of agricultural advisors as part of a USDA-NIFA funded project, entitled Useful to Usable (U2U), focused on improving climate resources for corn producers in the 12-state Midwestern region of the United States.  We define agricultural advisors to include people who guide farmers on crop-related decisions and those who provide agriculture-related services and products.  Understanding how advisors integrate climate knowledge and information into the advice they provide to farmers will assist us in developing targeted climate-based decision support tools, resource materials, and training protocols.  

An electronic survey was distributed to over 6,000 agricultural advisors in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Nebraska in early 2012.  Advisor groups sampled within the four states were crop consultants, bankers, lawyers, agro-business retailers, crop/farm associations, conservation groups, and government agencies.  Extension personnel were also included, and due to their accessibility and prominent role in agricultural management about 1,000 agents were surveyed across entire 12-state U2U study area.  Advisors answered questions about their interactions with members of the agricultural community, the application and value of climate information, concerns and beliefs about climate change, and trusted information sources. Results from this novel survey effort will be presented.