Selecting performance indicators for farms and ranches engaged in collaborative agroecosystem research

Authors: Donovan, Megan; Spiegal, Sheri; Kaplan, Nicole; Archer, David; BEAN, ALYCIA - Washington State University; Beebout, Sarah; Bestelmeyer, Brandon; Clark, Patrick; DELONG, ALIA - Archbold Biological Station; Fortuna, Ann-Marie; Friedrichsen, Claire; Hoover, David; Huggins, David; Kleinman, Peter; McIntosh, Matthew; Renschler, Christian; RITTEN, JOHN - Colorado State University; Smith, Douglas; Webb, Nicholas; WULFHORST, J - University Of Idaho

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/7/2024
Publication Date: 6/20/2025
Citation: Donovan, M.E., Spiegal, S.A., Kaplan, N.E., Archer, D.W., Bean, A., Beebout, S.E., Bestelmeyer, B.T., Clark, P., DeLong, A., Fortuna, A., Friedrichsen, C.N., Hoover, D.L., Huggins, D.R., Kleinman, P.J., McIntosh, M.M., Renschler, C.S., Ritten, J., Smith, D.R., Webb, N.P., Wulfhorst, J.D. 2025. Selecting performance indicators for farms and ranches engaged in collaborative agroecosystem research. Journal of Environmental Quality. Article 70051. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.70051.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.70051

Interpretive Summary: The USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network (LTAR) is a group of agricultural scientists that have been working collectively to measure sustainability of agricultural systems. To this end, they developed a sustainability indicator framework to structure and guide this effort. The process of developing the framework involved multiple individual and group discussions and voting forms that spanned from 2020-2024. The framework changed considerably from its initial version to its current version throughout this process. The purpose is to standardize indicators for LTAR scientists to use in their own experiments and for widespread use by agricultural producers to monitor what they want to on their operations. Looking ahead, LTAR seeks to develop an online tool to achieve this purpose.

Technical Abstract: The current pace of change in climate and markets presents novel challenges to measuring agroecosystem sustainability. A universal framework to assess sustainability at the enterprise scale remains elusive. With its data science capacity and coordinated research on agricultural management, the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network (LTAR) is in a unique position to fill this gap. LTAR developed a sustainability indicator framework in 2020-2024 to enhance understanding about tradeoffs of farming and ranching approaches. The architecture of the framework consists of sustainability domains, attributes of a sustainable enterprise, indicators of the status of the attributes, and metrics to quantify each indicator. The initial effort was inspired by the need for common indicators for the diversity of LTAR sites, but the framework is intended for widespread use beyond LTAR. The first version (v2022) was developed via synthesis at national LTAR meetings. Early use revealed the need for more systematic indicator selection. We designed and implemented an iterative, collective decision-making protocol to reach consensus for v2024. A fourth Production domain emerged to join the existing Environmental, Social and Economic domains through this process. Refinements to the Economic domain distinguished attributes, indicators, and metrics from the new Production domain. The Social domain was overhauled with a focus on well-being. The major next step is to develop a data platform that allows users to provide their site-specific data and information and then set benchmarks of desired conditions for the indicators they want to monitor.