Co-produced agricultural research can provide value for communities while building trust and public support for science

Authors: Duff, Alison; Wilmer, Hailey; REYNOLDS, JULES - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: Agricultural & Environmental Letters
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/4/2025
Publication Date: 12/24/2025
Citation: Duff, A., Wilmer, H.N., Reynolds, J.M. 2025. Co-produced agricultural research can provide value for communities while building trust and public support for science. Agricultural & Environmental Letters. https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.70053.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.70053

Interpretive Summary: Farms and ranches face risks from extreme weather, unpredictable markets, and changing agricultural communities. New solutions are needed to ensure the long-term economic, social, and environmental health of our agricultural communities, and their ability to continue to produce the food, feed, fiber, fuel, and natural resources that people need. Co-production is a research process that includes farmers, ranchers, and other community members as co-leaders in research decision-making. Farmers and ranchers join scientists in identifying research priorities, ensuring that the solutions developed will be appropriate to their communities and production systems. Co-production is more resource-intensive for scientists than traditional research, as research teams must spend time building trust with agricultural communities, exchanging practitioner and scientific expertise, and interacting regularly to ensure project success. However, co-production has the potential to develop innovations that would not have been possible without producer input, and makes science available as a problem-solving tool to agricultural communities. We provide an introduction to co-production by sharing three U.S. case studies, as well as an introduction to best practices that have been recommended for scientists interested in using co-production methods in their own research.

Technical Abstract: Agricultural systems are vulnerable to extreme weather, market volatility, and changing socio-cultural contexts. Despite efforts to create transformational solutions in agriculture to ensure economic, social, and environmental viability, we often witness a disconnect between research findings and real-world experience. Co-production is a collaborative process that engages farmers, ranchers, and other community members as equals in research design and implementation, incorporates diverse knowledges, and includes community members as research decision-makers. While co-production requires more time, trust, and institutional support, it offers greater research impact and increased public support for science as a problem-solving tool. We share three case studies from our own research programs, and an introduction to the literature featuring best practices, to illustrate possibilities for integrating co-production in research programs.