Progress report for SNE24-008-NH
Project Information
- The project will support organizations with a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities in responding to an agricultural emergency, and work through and document lessons learned from previous severe weather events.
- This project aims to equip 20 agriculture service providers (extension, non-profits, state agency) with enhanced knowledge and skills in responding to climate-related disasters, including extreme weather, infectious zoonic disease, and economic relief tools. Participants will be charged with considering how new resources or processes can be made more equitable. Program participants will learn where, when, and how to access climate readiness tools that they can use to support agriculture businesses preparing for or dealing with a disaster.
- 20 ASPs will work with 1 farm each to teach and inform them about the disaster management manual and how they can use it as a tool on their farm.
- Historically excluded (BIPOC) farmers (4) will be invited to participate in large group conversations around disaster response, and their voices will be amplified and supported during these conversations and trainings.
- 20 BIPOC farmers will receive direct education on risk management and climate change (how NH extreme weather will affect their farm) to improve the sustainability of their farms.
Community Engagement
Problem/Opportunity: The Northeast faces agricultural sustainability challenges due to its vulnerability to extreme weather events. Farmers in NH face significant challenges related to climate variability, including inadequate disaster response infrastructure, and limited and inequitable access to resources. Through 15 key informant interviews over two months with stakeholders including farmers, lenders, government agencies, and service providers, it is evident that there is a pressing need for improved disaster preparedness and better communication channels for disseminating critical information to farmers and gardeners throughout an emergency. This problem is not only hindering the resilience of individual farms but the sustainability of agriculture in the region.
This proposal follows one of NH's worst growing seasons (the wettest1 and the warmest2 season in NH’s recorded history), marked by significant crop losses due to multiple extreme weather events. As a result of these climate extremes, many service providers had to assume new technical assistance roles, such as flood food safety or how to manage soil deposits from rivers or assessing and reporting damage to state and federal agencies. This puts new work onto already taxed service providers who have not before received training in disaster management or response. UNH Extension was tasked with authoring two reports summarizing the weather's severe impact3, highlighting the urgent need for action.
- https://www.nhpr.org/environment/2023-09-22/when-it-rained-it-poured-2023-was-nhs-wettest-summer-yet
- https://www.wmur.com/article/concord-new-hampshire-weather-2023-warmest-year/46266681
- https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2024/03/extension-support-leads-crop-aid-nh-farmers
Importance to Sustainable Agriculture: Addressing these challenges is crucial for sustainable agriculture, promoting environmentally sound, profitable, and socially responsible practices. By bolstering disaster response and climate readiness, farmers can mitigate risks, protect resources, and sustain their economic viability. Moreover, fostering communication and collaboration among service providers and farmers cultivates a supportive environment for adopting sustainable practices in the face of climate-related challenges. We intentionally engage with and include the participation of historically excluded farmers of color by addressing their explicit needs in the method of their choosing. We frequently see BIPOC farms, small acreage or limited-resourced farms excluded from crop relief programs. To address this we will be working directly with these growers to address their disaster management questions through training and farm tours. This underscores the Northeast SARE mission “to advance the whole of American agriculture”.
Project Team Background and Expertise: The project team comprises individuals with diverse backgrounds and extensive experience in agriculture, disaster management, and communication. To expand our reach and scope, we interviewed people beyond our existing network (snowball method) during the key-informant interview process. Dr. Crawford and Dr. Johnecheck have extensive knowledge of Emergency Support Functions and understand how emergency response fits into an organizational structure to provide support, resources, and services that are most needed to save lives, and protect property and the environment. Mr. Munene is experienced working with BIPOC and new-American farmers and has his own small farm. These skills paired with the teams' knowledge of relief programs and disaster management best practices for crops, livestock and infrastructure will be essential to advancing the sustainability for New Hampshire farmers.
Project Benefits for Service Providers: The proposed project aims to equip service providers with new tools, knowledge, and skills to better serve farmers in addressing climate-related challenges and disaster preparedness. An online survey of 18 extension-based ASPs showed very low or medium skill/knowledge level on 17 disaster readiness skills. Of the 18 respondents, each person had skill in one of the 17 areas, showcasing major knowledge gaps in agriculture disaster management.
A similar online survey to beginner farmers in NH with 33-responses showed that while the majority of beginner farmers were making ‘a little’ to ‘a lot’ of changes to their production practices to mitigate the effects of climate change, 91% still needed more education on managing production risk, and 55% wanted more education on managing price or market risks associated with climate change. When asked if they had an existing plan to prepare for crop loss or participated in crop insurance, only one responded yes. When asked to assess preparedness on a 5-point scale (not ready at all to extremely ready) majority of respondents reported ‘not at all ready’, to ‘somewhat ready’.
Through targeted training sessions, workshops, and informational resources, service providers will gain a deeper understanding of effective disaster response protocols, available funding opportunities, and communication strategies tailored to the needs of farmers. By enhancing their capacity in these areas, service providers will be better equipped to support farmers in implementing sustainable practices, accessing critical resources, and navigating challenges posed by climate variability.
This project team is uniquely poised to conduct this project as they have extensive experience in disaster response but in a siloed manner. This is the first time that these groups and individuals will be brought together to strategically address climate change and disaster response. The needs assessment showed that established response committees (ie: drought management taskforce, ESF11) only meet in the event of disaster, or in the case of drought when certain drought levels have been met. Given the nature of retirements, job changes, many enter these committees without background knowledge in the midst of an emergency. Many of these committee lists have contact names of retired individuals. Furthermore, when building out relief and response programs during an event, there has not historically been time or attention on meeting underserved audiences, including small acreage farmers, or non-English speaking farmers. Working proactively with and in these communities we intend to include the needs of these communities. We know from events in 2023, growers continue to rely on Cooperative Extension for technical support and crop loss reporting to state and federal partners. The two largest and most influential growers' associations and the NH Commissioner of Agriculture approached Extension to conduct crop loss surveys because of our relationships and trust with farmers.
Finally, during our needs assessment, we learned that there was deep interest in more overt collaboration between state agencies and Cooperative Extension. Key informant interviews with NH Department of Environmental Services, Water Division, NH Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian and Director of Development, the State’s Climatologist, and NRCS State Resource Conservationist have all revealed a keen interest in forging tighter partnerships in disaster management.
Project Team
Olivia Saunders is a UNH Extension Field Specialist with a focus on Fruit and Vegetable Production and serves as the NH SARE PDP Coordinator. She spearheaded efforts to aid NH farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic and has significant expertise in farmer mental health. Olivia's work centers on Climate Resilience, and she's eager to expand into disaster management. Olivia spent the last 3 years developing a network of NH Agriculture Service providers and will continue to grow the network through the lens of disaster management and response.
Jeremy Delisle, UNH Extension Field Specialist, specializes in Fruit and Vegetable Production. He played a crucial role in the drought management task force and led the 20203 crop loss report. Jeremy is deeply connected within extension networks and is highly respected among farmers. His input will shape summit agendas and goals, and he'll contribute to course development and recruitment.
Dr. Wendy Jonecheck, a UNH Extension Food Safety State Specialist, brings over two decades of experience in evaluating food safety risks nationwide. She's skilled in risk management and will provide essential technical expertise in emergency support functions and mitigating food safety risks. Dr. Jonecheck will assist in organizing summit agendas and developing risk management modules for courses.
Dr. Sarah Allen, specializing in Dairy Production at UNH Extension's Durham Campus, is renowned for her work with livestock and leadership in improving information flow on animal management and disease. She'll offer insights into summit agendas and goals, contribute to course design, and aid in recruitment, particularly regarding carcass management and disease prevention.
Dr. Mary Stampone, an associate professor and New Hampshire State Climatologist, brings extensive research experience in climate assessment, as lead author on the NH climate assessment. Dr. Stampone will assist in recruiting and supporting a graduate student for this project. She will also provide education at the summit event and with the course modules.
Cara Cargill, an Agricultural Mediator with NH Agriculture Mediation Program, will help design summit agendas to foster productive conversations and achieve performance targets. She'll also facilitate summit events in collaboration with the project team.
Anthony Munene, from the American Farmland Trust, specializes in Urban Agriculture and Small Farms Outreach. With experience supporting immigrant farmers and running his own farm, Anthony will aid in recruiting underserved community farmers and participate in the summit. He'll also assist in organizing training for BPOC farmers on disaster preparedness.
Dr. Stephen Crawford, the State Veterinarian at NH Department of Agriculture Markets and Food, holds various roles in emergency response, including membership in Emergency Support Function 11. He'll support summit agenda development, recruit participants from state agencies, and provide input on course topics. Additionally, Dr. Crawford will help establish connections with homeland security personnel in NH for training modules.
Educational Approach
Recruitment for this project will build upon the groundwork laid by the previous State Program, SNE21-008-NH. The project will launch during the final network meeting in fall 2024, seeking a new cohort of participants and leveraging an existing email network of 76 individuals.
The project will unfold in two phases. Phase one aims to establish a baseline understanding of the state's emergency preparedness. A summit will convene organization leaders, underserved farmers, and service providers in the first winter of the project to review past emergencies and identify areas for improvement. This work, including information & resource sharing, will inform phase two. Phase two will employ a structured approach, involving the recruitment of agricultural service providers for an online disaster preparedness course. PDP coordinator will utilize DEIJ funding for the direct education of historically underserved BIPOC farmers on disaster preparation and climate change. Farmer recruitment and support for this will be provided by a consultant with extensive experience serving immigrant farmers.
The bulk of the learning and education for this project will happen in phase two, which will include a short-course on disaster preparedness and response. A series of (~8) modules will be developed by the PDP coordinator and Project Team. DEIJ funds will be utilized to deliver lessons directly to BIPOC farmers through in-person education. These sessions aim to address the specific concerns of BIPOC farmers, particularly regarding preparation for extreme events and risk management.
We will use information from our state climatologist, interfaced with effective disaster response scenarios. We will begin by outlining the science of extreme events and their impact on plants, animals, workers and infectious diseases. Then we will address if/when an official state response is initiated (i.e. the drought management plan), and how farms and gardeners should take action. We will connect science with state and federal programs that ASPs are unaware of (demonstrated during needs assessment). We will include a module on communications following an event and work together as a network to identify ways in which we can better communicate as a cohesive community following a disaster event.
Learners will be asked to share their existing disaster-related mental models to facilitate meaningful learning that builds upon learners' prior knowledge and promotes conceptual change. Each module will include a webinar by content experts. The education process will be interactive, utilizing live polling, discussion groups, and additional reading materials. Microsoft Teams or similar platform will be used. Recorded webinars will be available for future reference. The course will include a ‘core’ curriculum which will be required by all participants, and a few ‘supplemental’ modules. Participants will opt into the supplemental classes as desired.
To connect the learning, each participant will be paired with a partner and tasked with creating a disaster management manual. Each group will select one chapter/topic in which to write. This approach is modeled of a previous NH SARE Grant, NENH14-001. The manual will be completed by a masters level graduate student with support from Mary Stampone, NH State Climatologist.
The program will extend into the field season with on-farm scenario planning training, allowing participants to observe conservation practices and emergency management plans in action. The final year of the project will conclude with a second round of learning modules to address remaining knowledge gaps.
To achieve our DEIJ goals and ensure this information is reaching immigrant farmers with limited English proficiency and different social networks we will offer direct education to these farmers. Support for curriculum design and participant recruitment will be provided by a project consultant familiar with this audience. Additionally, this consultant will serve on the project team and will provide advice and guidance so that new resources or processes are set up in a way that works for underserved, BIPOC and immigrant farmers.
Evaluation will be integral throughout the project, utilizing a skills and knowledge list developed during the needs assessment process. As a collective activity, participants will be asked to identify what a disaster-prepared farm and NH farming system looks like. This will be developed into a tool in which we will assess community-level knowledge gain. In year three participants will be asked to review the disaster-prepared community tool and discuss progress as a group, and respond to a questionnaire verifying how they used the information learned and potential impact with farm businesses. The pdp coordinator will conduct interviews to collect feedback. The PDP coordinator will use a similar approach for historically underserved farmers, tailoring to diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds with support from the project consultant.
Milestones
Year 1
- SEPTEMBER 2024 - Assemble Project Team, review the key informant interview summary from PDP coordinator, review team member strengths and experiences they will add to the project. Work up set of action goals for summit. Identify date, location and create agenda for summit.
- NOVEMBER 2024 - Host a summit with organization & department leaders to review lessons learned from the response to past extreme weather and infectious disease events and work towards a more coordinated recovery effort. Identify disaster preparedness needs (or shortcomings) for minority farmers. Collaborate with BIPOC farmer consultant to support participation from historically underserved farmers.
- JANUARY 2025 - The Project Team works to craft a curriculum for disaster response short course and identifies educators for each module. The PDP coordinator will provide support in building the online structure for the course using Microsoft Teams or another appropriate platform.
- June 2025 – PDP coordinator works with BIPOC consultant to craft an in-season workshop series on disaster expectations and mitigation strategies. Consultant will aid in BIPOC farmer recruitment.
Year 2
- October 2025 – PDP coordinator works with BIPOC/Underserved farmer consultant for a follow up (post-season) workshop on disaster management.
- OCTOBER 2025 - PDP coordinator advertises the program and creates an online application portal for applicants.
- NOVEMBER 2025 - Participants notified about being accepted into the training program. Initial communication sent out to student participants about course expectations and time commitment. Participants are asked to identify learning goals for the course.
- January-February 2026 – PDP coordinator kicks off course. Final content to be determined by Project Team in year one but estimated 8 weeks of training. The initial proposal of. 1. Climate literacy, 2. Drought, 3. Flooding, 4. Recordkeeping 5. Infectious/zoonic disease, 6. Mortality composting and carcass management, 7. Public communications, 8. On farm-hands-scenario planning. The course will begin by asking learners to envision an effective, successful emergency response, and identify what knowledge gaps persist within our network of service providers. Progress will be measured against this tool.
- January 2026 – Participants will be paired in small groups of 2-3, to work together over upcoming year. Groups will identify opportunities, barriers, and learning needs of farmers they work with to develop Disaster Management and Response Manual for New Hampshire, with each team assigned one chapter/topic (an approach modeled off of NENH14-001)
- January 2026 – work with campus-based faculty, Dr. Stampone to identify and hire a graduate student to support PD project goals. The student will take the curriculum shell developed by the project team and reshape it into a Disaster Management and Response Manual for New Hampshire.
- MARCH 2026 - Participants collectively assess how prepared they feel to respond to a disaster, helping us to identify remaining learning goals for year three.
- APRIL 2026 - The Project Team meets to review the course successes and identify learning gaps. Information will be used to inform year three modules.
- May – September 2026 – PDP coordinator supports summer student in developing the emergency response manual. Works with extension’s Marketing and Communications Team to develop online webpage for content and printable materials.
- August 2026 – PDP coordinator hosts tabletop emergency exercise to simulate real life scenario planning activity with course participants. Participants work with one farm each on disaster planning and prevention.
Year 3
- October 2026 - PDP coordinator and project team develop learning modules for year 3. Shares dates for winter training with course participants.
- January 2027 – The remaining learning modules & classes are offered on the online platform. We will begin by linking content to learners’ prior learning modules and lived experiences.
- August 2027 – PDP coordinator interviews course participants to identify project successes and impact.
Performance Target Outcomes
SARE Outreach
Promote webinars and trainings scheduled by Northeast SARE to NH listserves, newsletters, and communication channels appropriate to NH Farmers.
Northeast SARE Grants program presentation at industry meetings, such as NH Farm and Forest, NOFA-NH Winter Conference, Granite State Grazers or NH Vegetable and Berry Growers Association Annual meeting.
Northeast SARE Grants program presentation at UNH Agriculture Nutrition & Food Systems Departmental Seminar, Durham, NH.
Participate in Northeast SARE grant review committees as needed by SARE.
Respond to questions and inquiries from farmers and agriculture professionals about SARE grants.
Share SARE activities (grant opportunities and funded projects) via UNH Extension Newsletters and Facebook pages (Production agriculture team), as well as Weekly Market Bulletin published by the NH Department of Agriculture Markets and Food.
Meet with new extension staff to familiarize them with SARE grant opportunities and resources.
Meet with NH Queer Farmers network to familiarize them with SARE grant opportunities and resources.
Work with UNH Marketing and Communications to develop small standalone pieces of media, pulled from the completed disaster preparedness manual. Share with SARE Outreach coordinator and via UNH social media platforms.