Location: Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center
2024 Annual Report
Objectives
Objective 1: Enable climate-smart decision-making by developing science-based, region-specific information, tools and technologies for agricultural and natural resource managers, and provide assistance where possible to enhance adoption and implementation of the same. The work will be conducted as the Southern Plains USDA Climate Change Hub and will be coordinated with NRCS, FS, and other USDA and non-USDA organizations in accordance with guidance found in the USDA Climate Change Hubs Charter, and Terms of Reference.
Objective 2: Provide capacity to expand and enhance the hub’s climate-science, social-science, and economic-science resources and tools via enhanced collaboration with ARS research teams and other research partners to ensure impactful integration of ARS research outcomes from across the region into Hub outreach assets.
Approach
The climate hubs relate directly to the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Research National Program (NP216) Action Plan (2018-2022), Component 3. Achieving Agroecosystem Potential and these problem statements: Problem Statement 3a. Sustaining Intensified Production; Problem Statement 3b. Enhancing ecosystem services; and Problem Statement 3c. Enabling decision support for sustainability.
Progress Report
Effort invested in 2023 in establishing regional and national partnerships resulted in several new initiatives in the areas of research, technology/tool-development, and outreach. A number of these projects will allow the Southern Plains Climate Hub to significantly increase its output of science-grounded deliverables.
The Southern Plains Climate Hub (SPCH) recruited three postdoctoral fellows, each housed at a partner university. Fellows are working on 1) a Climate Hubs-Long Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network collaboration project focusing on grazing land management and soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics (Kansas State University (KSU) and Oklahoma State University (OSU) Fellows); and 2) the development of a system dynamics model to assess climate vulnerabilities of beef and wheat production in the Southern Plains (Texas A&M Kingsville Fellow). A recently signed agreement with Texas A&M University (TAMU) will fund an additional Fellow, housed at College Station, Texas. This individual will focus on climate-smart agriculture practices in the region, supporting a collaborative Climate Mitigation Education project funded by Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Two Professional MS-level Climate Hub Fellows housed at OSU and TAMU and funded through an Extension-Climate Hubs Partnership Agriculture and Food Research Initiative of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (AFRI NIFA) grant will be completing summer internships at the SPCH. They will develop outreach materials focusing on rangeland wildfire mitigation and recovery.
The SPCH expanded an existing agreement with KSU to fund a senior scientist who will assist the Hub with partnerships and deliverables associated with climate adaptation of irrigation agriculture in the Southern Ogallala Aquifer Region. Climate Hub staff organized two science symposia at national meetings (Animal Science and Rangeland Science society annual conferences) and co-authored five peer-reviewed journal papers and seven conference abstracts during this year. The SPCH partnered with two successful USDA NIFA grant proposals that are expected to boost its ability to 1) understand drought adaptation needs and strategies of tribal partners; and 2) help expand the use OpenET for decision support of irrigated agriculture in the Southern Plains. The SPCH has selected a candidate to do a 120-day detail in the position Science Coordinator. This individual is expected to help accelerate SPCH’s agency in reach capabilities and coordinate the Hub’s participation in extramurally funded projects with regional partners.
Through a collaboration with the LTAR (see above) Network Grazing Land Working Group, the SPCH led the organization of an online webinar series focused on Grazing Land Management and Soil carbon. The series of 11 webinars will be held throughout the second half of 2024 and will seek to provide an update regarding the knowns and unknowns about the influence of management on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in grazing lands of the continental United States. The emphasis will be on practical applications and the goal is to inform the on-going climate smart grazing debate.
The SPCH is leading a Climate Hubs-Farm Service Agency (FSA) collaboration project with the support of the Southwest Climate Hub and the USDA ARS Jornada Experimental range. The first phase of this project, which is almost complete, involves developing an in-facing tool that will streamline FSA’s weekly designation of emergency haying and grazing of lands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. The second phase, which will begin this fall, will seek to use the Rangeland Analysis Platform to support eligibility designation decisions when reductions in forage production are not accurately reflected by the Drought Monitor. This tool is expected to be an out-facing application available to both FSA field staff and producers.
Training workshops for elementary, middle, and high school teachers were expanded in 2024. The SPCH partnered with BlueStem Agri-Learning Center to hold a very well received two-day event in El Reno, Oklahoma, that focused on fire and water in a changing climate. Teachers from different locations across Oklahoma received hands-on training, demonstrations, and materials (including lesson plans) to take back to their classrooms. Post-workshop surveys were very complimentary of the organization and content shared at this event. A second workshop will be held in late July, 2024 in Amarillo, Texas in partnership with Asombro Institute for Science Education targeting K-12 teachers from the Texas Panhandle. The topics addressed in this two-day event will be ‘The Science of Ranching” and “Connecting to Climate: Global to Local’. This training was designed to meet Texas’ new TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) standards. Registration slots for this event had to be expanded due to the large interest it generated among the K-12 community. The SPCH’s K-12 program continues to grow and is perhaps its most impactful climate literacy effort to date.
Outreach to tribal partners in 2023 resulted in one completed rainwater harvest system installed by the Alabama Coushatta Tribe of Texas. The system will allow the tribe to harvest and store 65,000 gallons of rainwater which will be used for wildfire mitigation, irrigation of a community garden, and dust abatement in an arena adjacent to the Veteran’s Pavilion. This building, used for community events, will serve as the rainwater collection structure. The cost of materials for this project was funded through a grant awarded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Southern Plains Region (BIA) and the labor was furnished by Alabama-Coushatta Wildland Fire Fighting Crew Tribal members. Currently, the water storage facility has collected 50% capacity (32,500 gallons) from recent rainfall events. Education and demonstration of assembly and installation of smaller-scale systems for household rainfall harvest were provided as part of this program. A second project with the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma is nearing completion and includes a 40,000-gallon rainwater harvesting system being installed at a newly developed youth camp and will use the Youth Dining Hall as the collection surface. Harvested rainwater will be used for fire safety, irrigation, and youth education regarding water conservation. Funding for this project was also furnished by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Southern Plains Region and designed by SPCH Texas NRCS Detailee. SPCH’s tribal rainwater harvest project was selected to be highlighted in an Environmental Justice scorecard submitted by the Office of the Secretary to the White House.
The SPCH continued to expand its outreach to historically underserved farmers and ranchers of Oklahoma by expanding its partnership with Langston University, Oklahoma State University, and a minority-owned outreach contractor. A daylong workshop on sustainable farming and living in a changing climate was held in Jones, Oklahoma, which focused on climate smart small-scale horticulture. The activity offered a hands-on workshop on food canning and preservation techniques led by a Home Economics specialist from Langston University. A second workshop targeting small farmers from Historically Black Towns of Oklahoma will be held in Clearview, Oklahoma before the end of July. Feedback received from stakeholders attending these events is being used to develop targeted outreach materials that will be used at these and other events. A second Extension-Climate Hubs Partnership AFRI NIFA grant allowed the SPCH to recruit a horticulture Extension Educator from Langston University to take part in the Climate Analogs Academy led by Washington State University. This NIFA-funded project helps promote dialogue and knowledge exchange between farmers and extension specialists in counties that have current day climates similar to those projected to occur under climate change in counties considered analogs. This program is aimed at increasing climate adaptation capabilities of specialty crop growers. In the Southern Plains, the project will benefit underserved producers, mostly Black watermelon farmers.
The Hub Newsletter and Website were totally revamped to better serve our stakeholders and improve the SPCH’s ability to serve its role as a Hub for information needed to support climate-informed decision making. The new platform used to publish and send out the newsletter has given Hub staff the ability to monitor readership and topic interest more closely. The SPCH also redesigned its booth and implemented a strategy to use this tool to reach key regional audiences in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Setting up the booth at regional meetings and events allowed SPCH staff to reach over 300 stakeholders involving one-on-one conversations, issue polling participation, and fact sheet distribution.
Accomplishments
1. Society for Range Management Symposium. ARS researchers at the Southern Plains Climate Hub (SPCH) in El Reno, Oklahoma, convened a symposium at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management titled “Climate Adaptation Strategies for Conservation of Ranching and Rangelands of the Great Plains and Southwest.” Researchers, extension specialists, and educators working on two large USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) funded Coordinated Agriculture Projects (CAP), The Prairie Project and the Sustainable Southwest Beef Coordinated Agriculture Project addressed a set of broadly shared stakeholder questions about conservation of rangelands in the face of climate change. Speakers from each team provided paired perspectives on challenges and climate adaptation solutions associated with stakeholder concerns about woody plant encroachment, fire, and grazing in the Great Plains and the Southwest. Approximately 80 land managers, students, scientists, and ranchers attended the symposium. A symposium synthesis paper is being prepared.
2. Rainwater harvesting tribal project. ARS researchers at the Southern Plains Climate Hub in El Reno, Oklahoma, collaborated with the Alabama Coushatta Tribe of Texas to install a rainwater harvest system at the Tribe’s Veteran’s Pavilion. The system will allow the tribe to harvest and store 65,000 gallons of rainwater which will be used for wildfire mitigation, irrigation of a community garden, and dust abatement in an arena adjacent to the Veteran’s Pavilion. This building, used for community events, will serve as the rainwater collection structure. The cost of materials for this project was funded through a grant awarded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Southern Plains Region (BIA) and the labor was furnished by Alabama-Coushatta Wildland Fire Fighting Crew Tribal members. The Southern Plains Climate Hub tribal rainwater harvest project was selected to be highlighted in an Environmental Justice scorecard submitted by the Office of the Secretary to the White House.
3. Workshops: Historically underserved farmers. The Southern Plains Climate Hub organized a daylong workshop on sustainable farming and living in a changing climate was held in Jones, Oklahoma. The event focused on climate smart small-scale horticulture. The activity offered a hands-on workshop on food canning and preservation techniques led by a Home Economics specialist from Langston University. Approximately 30 people were in attendance.
4. Workshops: K-12 teachers. The Southern Plains Climate Hub partnered with BlueStem Agri-Learning Center to hold a two-day event in El Reno, Oklahoma, that focused on fire and water in a changing climate. Teachers from different locations across Oklahoma received hands-on training, demonstrations, and materials (including lesson plans) to take back to their classrooms. Post-workshop surveys were very complimentary of the organization and content shared at this event. There were 20 teachers in attendance.
Review Publications
Nyamuryekung'E, S., Cox, A., Perea, A., Estell, R.E., Cibils, A.F., Holland, J.P., Waterhouse, T., Duff, G., Funk, M., McIntosh, M.M., Spiegal, S.A., Bestelmeyer, B.T., Utsumi, S. 2023. Behavioral adaptations of nursing Brangus cows to virtual fencing: Insights from a training deployment phase. Animals. 13(22). Article e3558. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13223558.
Nyamuryekung'E, S., Duff, G.C., Utsumi, S.A., Estell, R.E., McIntosh, M.M., Funk, M., Cox, A., Cao, H., Spiegal, S.A., Perea, A., Cibils, A.F. 2023. Real-time monitoring of grazing cattle using LORA-WAN sensors to improve precision in detecting animal welfare implications via daily distance walked metrics. Animals. 13(16). Article 2641. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13162641.
Continanza, G., Cibils, A.F., Petersen, M.K., Muscha, J.M., Roberts, A.J., Steele, C., Soto-Navarro, S., Steiner, R.L., Cao, H., Gong, Q. 2024. Effect of post-weaning development method on spring grazing patterns of rangeland beef heifers. Livestock Science. 286. Article 105523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2024.105523.