Final report for ENC22-217
Project Information
This project will design accessible introductory Continuous Living Cover (CLC) training materials that meet current professional development needs of early career conservation and technical advisors. This self-paced, online training will explain CLC strategies and benefits and how they integrate with NRCS soil health principles. Learners will gain confidence communicating CLC practices to farmers and identifying CLC resources. Trainings will be hosted on an accessible platform, such as the Green Lands Blue Waters (GLBW) website and the Regenerative Ag Idea Network (REGAIN) platform, and will be compatible with the NRCS AgLearn Learning Management System, a potential future host to maximize availability to key audiences. During the project 24-40 advisors will pilot the training; delivery partners will identify plans to train at least 100 additional the following year; and the training will be promoted to reach several hundred more.
GLBW will partner with University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension's Conservation Professional Training Program (CPTP) to design curriculum; seek review feedback from subject matter experts and delivery channel partners; produce a series of video modules; assist with pilots; make the training available online; and promote it widely through extensive networks. Outputs include the CLC 101 training, a CLC Resources Toolkit and Champions List, a robust promotions plan, commitments from delivery channel partners for future training, and plans for hosting the training on AgLearn in the future. Ultimately, this training will help new advisors encourage and support farmers in the adoption of CLC practices, resulting in positive environmental, social, and economic outcomes.
Output 1: CLC 101 self-paced training developed. The first output will be a self-paced, online training with video modules and companion resources designed to introduce advisors to the basic terminology and concepts of Continuous Living Cover. Training will frame CLC as a broad, flexible approach to agriculture that protects soil and water health and also provides economic opportunity to farmers and benefits to farming communities.
Proposed training content outline:
- Understand what Continuous Living Cover is and why it’s important
- CLC and the four principles for maintaining and improving soil health
- Key basic research-based supporting material for each principle
- Success stories of how farmers have integrated practices into row crop systems
- What CLC looks like on farm
- Cover crops and rotations - cover crops, small grains, diverse rotations, winter annuals
- Buffers, prairie strips, and wind breaks
- Incorporating perennials - grains, forage, biomass
- Agroforestry and silvopasture
- Integrating livestock
- Sources of information to support conversations with farmers
- Economics
- Practices
- Troubleshooting issues
- Sources of further information
Output 2: CLC Resources Toolkit
The toolkit will summarize all resources mentioned in the training, organized for easy reference. It will also be shared as a stand-alone resource.
Output 3: CLC Champions Network resource developed
The CLC Champions Network resource will list CLC farmer and practitioner experts across the Upper Midwest who have volunteered to be identified as resources for ongoing CLC presentations, training, or on-farm visits.
Output 4: Easily accessible hosting platform for CLC 101 training
An online platform will be developed for all curriculum and supplemental resources.
Output 5: Four pilot trainings completed; 24-40 early career conservation professionals trained in CLC
Each delivery partner will engage a cohort of 6-10 early career staff members to pilot the training and provide feedback prior to broad public outreach of the new CLC 101 curriculum. The training will provide staff with a new way of thinking about land use with many examples, as well as the technical and training resources to support them in learning more and helping farmers to implement these practices.
Output 6: Pilot phase evaluation summary
Summary will include improvement suggestions and information on interest in future CLC-related training.
Output 7: Broad public CLC 101 curriculum outreach and promotions plan developed and implemented
GLBW promotions will include a press release shared via Morning Ag Clips in six states and other platforms that GLBW frequently uses, as well as CPTP’s email contact list of over 1,000 conservation professionals including agency staff and private sector consultants; promotions via GLBW newsletter [1,300 subscribers] and social media [16K+ Facebook, 270K Twitter impressions annually]; and direct outreach to our partner cohort working on increasing CLC training for advisors [50+ key leaders representing nonprofits, researchers, agency staff].
Output 8: Scoping done for incorporation of the CLC 101 training on NRCS AgLearn Learning Management System
Introductory conversations with NRCS Soil Health Division to develop a project plan and budget for incorporating the training on their national AgLearn Learning Management System. A plan for seeking additional funding to implement in AgLearn will be drafted.
Cooperators
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Education
A self-paced, online training with video modules and companion resources - called CLC 101 - is being designed to provide accessible, introductory Continuous Living Cover (CLC) training materials that meet current professional development needs of early career conservation and technical advisors. CLC 101 is based on a conceptual approach to sustainable agriculture: keeping the ground covered year-round through a variety of stackable, flexible strategies. Even for those with extensive experience in agriculture, this new framework could be useful to help improve the sustainability of operations they advise. After establishing that concept, we provide detailed but approachable information on what these strategies are, the benefits they provide, and how they can be implemented. Through the course, we emphasize the availability of many types of technical and informational resources to support trainees in actually getting these practices into place on farms. All resources, including websites, farmer-serving nonprofits, relevant agencies, funding opportunities, and more, are collected in an extensive CLC Resource List, which is linked throughout the course. The educational approach could be summarized even more briefly as follows: introduce a high-level conceptual shift in how to look at sustainable agriculture; provide the basic information and follow up resources needed to shift practices on the ground.
Education & Outreach Initiatives
Provide technical services providers working in agricultural conservation with a framework for an approach to regenerative agriculture, inform them of methods to achieve CLC, and provide them with concrete resources to help farmers implement these practices.
Continuous Living Cover (CLC) is a flexible set of strategies that provides a conceptually simple, yet in practice, complex and adaptive approach to agriculture that restores and maintains ecosystem services. CLC 101 is an online, introductory training course aimed at early career agricultural conservation professionals and technical advisors.
The course begins by presenting CLC as a framework for thinking about how to implement regenerative and sustainable agriculture. The main content starts with a module on basic soil health to ensure that trainees have the background to understand why these practices are so significant for soil health. Then, we describe five CLC strategies in detail, with an example crop for each. The third module covers the wide range of benefits that CLC provides. Finally, the fourth module addresses implementation, providing extensive resources, tips on how to talk to farmers, and ways to address barriers. The summary module reiterates the key points from each of the preceding modules and highlights the resource list so trainees can find more information.
Learning outcomes:
- Define the term “continuous living cover” (CLC) in plain language
- Explain the basic physical makeup of soil and why CLC impacts it
- Recognize that CLC strategies can be used to achieve the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) soil health principles
- Describe the five CLC strategies of agroforestry, perennial grains, perennial biomass, perennial forage and managed grazing, and CLC with annuals
- Explain the benefits of CLC on agricultural landscapes
- Recognize that CLC strategies fit into NRCS practice standards for addressing resource concerns
Impact: This course will support early-career technical service providers by training them to:
- Identify potential opportunities to use CLC practices in various farming scenarios
- Recognize that implementation of CLC will be different for each farm site
- Identify factors that make implementation different for each site
- Locate sources for additional assistance and decision-making
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Learning Outcomes
Project Outcomes
Outcomes
- The primary outcome of this project was the creation of the CLC 101 course and accompanying Resource List and Champions List (see below for list of products).
- Note that the purpose of this grant was to design/create and launch the course; objectives of this grant did not include course delivery. While ensuring broad engagement of the course is obviously a priority for GLBW, we focused on content development and review - a time-intensive process - and launch of the course within the timeframe of the grant, knowing that promotion and ensuring engagement and use would extend beyond this project in an ongoing way.
- The outcome of the curriculum review aspect of the project was refining, expanding, and improving the accuracy and relevance of the course content by consulting with farmers, researchers, and nonprofit staff who have expertise in the topic areas. Significant revisions were made based on expert feedback, for example, making on-farm examples more realistic, adding information about specific cover crops, and noting important planting considerations for biomass crops.
- The outcome of the piloting process was refining the course based on target audience feedback, including clarifying certain concepts and adding more specific information in some areas. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the relevance and level of detail; thus, the piloting process confirmed that the course and accompanying resources were useful for the intended early-career service provider audience. This was a valuable step before investing time and resources in widely promoting the course. Additionally, the piloting process established a range of times needed to complete the course, so we could more accurately describe it in promotional materials.
Products
- CLC Resource List July 2024
- CLC Champions List
- Course website on Green Lands Blue Waters' website: https://greenlandsbluewaters.org/continuous-living-cover-101-online-course/
- Course on Regenerative Ag Idea Network (REGAIN): https://regenerativeagideanetwork.org/courses/continuous-living-cover/
- Storyline version of the course: https://360.articulate.com/review/content/74942880-aba7-4a8c-8b36-06d4e8e42a83/review
- NOTE: This link is functional as of August 2024, but will not be permanently available once the course is moved to another host platform. We created versions of the course with the same content in two different instructional design software programs to maximize accessibility of the course through at least two host sites, REGAIN being one. The Storyline version is compatible with the USDA AgLearn platform. As we developed the course, we learned that it can be a rather circuitous path to get a course approved for AgLearn, and so we are exploring other host platforms at this time, including the Extension Foundation online campus. GLBW received funding from Builders Initiative to staff this work to find a second home for the course.
Course Launch
- Launched June 5, 2024, via Green Lands Blue Waters newsletter distribution list, the Forever Green listserv, direct emails to all project collaborators, a press release, and short blurbs in partner organization newsletters.
- The course launch was also highlighted as a part of the Mississippi River Network's River Days of Action; GLBW hosted a webinar on June 13 about the course. A recording is available here: https://youtu.be/7_qwo5W_I38
Course Engagement
- As of August 5, 2024 -
- 794 views of the course on the REGAIN site
- 34 people enrolled
- 4 people completed
- 15 have enrolled but not yet completed the course
- 15 are in progress
Feedback from Delivery Partner:
"It is a great training that goes well with our existing soil health and agroforestry efforts. People need to hear things “six times in six ways” to really remember it, so having something like this from a different 'voice' is great!"
Feedback comments from those piloting the course: (feedback was anonymous, but most piloters were county, state, and SWCD staff, as well as some nonprofit staff)
"I have referenced the CLC course in my crop diversification project as well referencing as a climate adaptation tool for farmers."
"Since regenerative practices and cover crops are a complete systems change for most farmers, it has helped me to give more details when needed to explain about using cover crops."
"Yes very useful. We often already have the background in soil health so although necessary, not the focus for me. I really liked the addressing questions and concerns example. It is hard to push these practices coming from someone without farm experience. So it helps having guidance and even the examples of what we can do to help farmers that are interested but need help."
"I think this information was quite useful for my current job and responsibilities. The real life examples, and examples of concerns farmers may have + the possible answers were especially helpful."
"I think the course information is incredibly useful for me for my current job. Some of the most useful parts would be the steps for each landowner (get to know them, assess and help with connecting to funding/assistance) as well as the considerations for each as well - meaning considering feasibility, markets, etc when developing a plan or options for the landowner."
"Yes useful, liked the scenarios at end with examples of where and how use it in a real situation."
"It is useful for very new people to the field of conservation, especially how to address the most commonly received questions and concerns from farm operators."
There is a major ongoing need for timely content creation and effective educational design. Feedback we received from course piloters confirmed the need for basic training on conservation agriculture for early career conservation professionals. At the same time, several expressed an interest in and need for a CLC "201" type course. For example, some noted that this was a good introductory level course; one piloter also said that it was too easy and that they would have liked more detail; another said that it was good overall, but that they would have liked more detail on soil health.
This need was echoed in several conversations we have had with TA providers and agency staff around other projects. For example, a Wisconsin DNR water quality specialist noted that many people in the agency don't know much about agriculture and aren't sure how to talk to farmers about practices that could help improve water quality. A staff member at a Midwest nonprofit also told us that technical service providers need follow up courses with more detail, such as details on how to establish an alley cropping system.
Support to carry out basic course updates would also be useful.