Progress report for WPDP25-017
Project Information
Rangeland Extension professionals are tasked with providing science-based practical information to producers and rural communities to support sustainable agriculture. However, these natural resources experts rarely, if ever, receive professional development on how to efficiently and effectively communicate their knowledge to stakeholders. Without such training, rangeland professionals may miss opportunities to engage with producers to promote profitability, good stewardship, and quality of life through sustainable land management practices, especially as the 2026 International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) approaches. This two-year project will expand and reinforce communication knowledge and skills for rangeland professionals and producers. In a train-the-trainer approach, rangeland professionals from Arizona, Washington, the Rangelands Partnership (RP), and the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance will work together to expand on a previous Western SARE project and accomplish the following objectives: (1) enhance and broaden the understanding of communication strategies among a group of producers and RP members through interactive virtual workshops led by a marketing expert, (2) create outreach materials (factsheets, journal article) to share key learnings with other rangeland professionals and producers, (3) develop digital media (Art of Range podcasts, self-paced learning modules, webpage content) that will incorporate factsheets to improve communication skills across the broader rangeland community, and (4) widely market the educational resources to reach multiple rangeland audiences. All project materials will be integrated into RP’s Rangelands Gateway and IYRP’s Outreach Resources webpages to increase learning opportunities and expand access to a broader audience. The RP, a collaborative group of rangeland professionals, agricultural librarians, and technology experts from 19 land-grant universities, is uniquely equipped to facilitate a train-the-trainer communication program for diverse audiences. Communication professional development will empower voices for sustainable agriculture at a time when the IYRP will shine a bright and rare spotlight on rangelands and producers in the west, North America, and the world.
Multiple professional development opportunities will focus on expanding the communication knowledge, skills, and technical capacity of rangeland professionals and producers to increase the visibility of sustainable management principles and systems. Using a train-the-trainer approach, rangeland professionals from Arizona, Washington, the Rangelands Partnership (RP), and AVCA ranchers will achieve the following objective:
By the end of the project, participants will increase their knowledge, skills, and technical capacity to effectively and efficiently communicate with ranchers and the public, while promoting the sustainability of the nation’s natural resources.
The Western SARE Survey and Evaluation Tool will measure success by documenting changes in knowledge, skills, and technical capacity of participants in the communication workshop series, listeners of the Art of Range podcasts, and those who access the learning modules and webpage resources.
The multidisciplinary project team has the knowledge and experience to achieve this objective including expertise in both communication and outreach. PI Dalke has developed a wide variety of online resources and has led multiple collaborative projects. Co-PI Audoin has a robust outreach program, including a project to improve the visibility of sustainable rangeland systems during the IYRP. Major contributors also include King (rancher, AVCA Executive Director), Hudson (creator and host of Art of Range podcast, Board of Directors member for the Society for Range Management (SRM)), and Leroux-Miller (founder of Nonprofit Marketing Guide). Together, this team will identify communication trends, participate in communication workshops, create outreach materials (factsheets, journal article), develop digital media (podcasts, self-paced learning modules, webpage), leverage communication skills to disseminate educational materials, and support the overall project.
Rangeland Extension professionals, as subject matter experts, provide agricultural producers with practical, research-based knowledge to promote environmental sustainability, improve quality of life, and strengthen economic resilience. However, they often lack communication training despite being responsible for creating their own outreach materials. This prompted the 2021 Western SARE project Increasing the Online Communication Toolbox for Sustainable Rangeland Management: A Train-the-Trainer Program (WPDP21-026). The introductory online communication training increased the visibility of rangeland content by highlighting the importance of recognizing the target audience, refining messages, and delivering content (Dalke et al., 2022). However, participants also voiced the need for continuing education to effectively and efficiently communicate their knowledge to producers. To document the need, 17 rangeland professionals from ten land-grant universities were asked if they would benefit from communication training and 100% said yes (unpublished data, 2024). This demonstrates an ongoing critical need for communication training. Without this opportunity, rangeland professionals may be unable to translate rangeland science to on-the-ground practices or may fail to adequately respond to inquiries from ranchers and the public, resulting in potentially unsustainable rangeland management.
Communication training is particularly important as the 2026 International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) approaches. As the IYRP nears, rangeland professionals and producers will be increasingly asked to raise awareness locally about the importance of healthy, well managed rangelands and the benefits of sustainable pastoralism (O’Rourke et al., 2021). Delivering these messages in an engaging, efficient, and effective way will be a communication challenge without reinforcing and expanding the communication knowledge and skills of rangeland professionals and producers.
Using a train-the-trainer approach, this professional development opportunity will focus on increasing knowledge and capacity for rangeland professionals to provide further training and information to other rangeland professionals and producers. The project will provide multiple creative and innovative educational opportunities, including:
- communication workshops,
- outreach materials (factsheets, journal article),
- digital media (Art of Range podcasts, self-paced learning modules, webpages), and
- distribution to the broader rangeland community.
The workshops will reinforce previously learned materials, but primarily focus on expanding into topics that were not previously covered (e.g., digital storytelling, infographics/visual communication, interactive engagement). The marketing expert will educate and train rangeland professionals and producers through a series of interactive workshops that will give them the opportunity to educate and train other rangeland professionals and producers. This communication training gives them the skills they need to conduct targeted educational programs and activities in sustainable rangeland principles and systems.
Specific audiences for the professional development program include Arizona producers and rangeland professionals from Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota (see Letters of Support). Participants will gain the knowledge, skills, and technical capacity needed to efficiently and effectively communicate science-based information and serve as peer-to-peer trainers to the broader rangeland community, including the IYRP global network. Participants will also become a community of practice for developing engaging marketing strategies and outreach materials as the IYRP increases rangeland visibility across the west, North America, and the world.
Communication Workshops (6/1/2025-12/31/2025)
A needs assessment will help determine workshop topics. Twelve interactive virtual workshops will be held over six months. Participants will include AVCA ranchers and Western and Great Plains rangeland professionals who have committed to participate (see Letters of Support). Participants will become a community of practice and receive in-depth communication professional development to increase their knowledge of trends, skills to share sustainable rangeland information, and technical capacity to reach diverse audiences.
Outreach Materials (10/1/2025-6/30/2026)
The project team and community of practice will create 12 factsheets based on the workshops using newly learned knowledge and skills as well as prepare a journal article that focuses on communication best practices. The expected outcomes are to increase the broader rangeland community’s communication knowledge and skills and increase awareness of online resources.
Digital Media (1/1/2026-5/31/2027)
The team and marketing expert will produce three Art of Range podcasts and create a three-part learning module that will accompany outreach materials. All educational materials will be available on the RP’s Rangeland Gateway communication webpage and the North American IYRP Support Group webpage, thus ensuring information remains available beyond the project period. The expected outcomes are to increase the broader rangeland community’s communication knowledge, skills, and technical capacity and increase awareness of online resources.
Dissemination (1/1/2026-5/31/2027)
To reach the broader rangeland community and enhance learning opportunities, the team and community of practice will disseminate each individual educational product. We will target events and online communication channels including AVCA (meetings/annual reports/newsletters), RP (meetings/newsletters/social media/webpage), SRM (meetings/committees/newsletters/social media), ESA (meetings), North American IYRP Support Group (newsletters/webpage), and other sources identified by the community of practice. The distribution of educational products will increase the broader rangeland community’s communication knowledge, skills, and technical capacity and increase awareness of online resources.
Cooperators
- (Educator and Researcher)
- - Producer
Education
The goal of this two-year project is to expand rangeland professional’s knowledge, skills, and technical capacity to effectively and efficiently communicate with ranchers and the public. In a train-the-trainer approach, rangeland professionals from Arizona, Washington, the Rangelands Partnership (RP), and producers from the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance will work together to expand on a previous Western SARE project and accomplish the following objectives:
- Enhance and broaden the understanding of communication strategies among a group of producers and RP members through interactive 12-part virtual workshops led by a marketing expert (6/2025 to 12/2025),
- Create outreach materials (12 factsheets, one publication) to share key learnings with other rangeland professionals and producers (10/2025 to 6/2026),
- Develop digital media (3 Art of Range podcasts, one self-paced learning modules, webpage content) that will incorporate factsheets to improve communication skills across the broader rangeland community (1/2026 to 5/2027), and
- Widely market the educational resources to reach multiple rangeland audiences. All project materials will be integrated into webpages such as RP’s Rangelands Gateway (https://rangelandsgateway.org/communication) and IYRP’s Outreach Resources (https://www.iyrp.info/outreach-materials/322) to enhance learning opportunities and expand access to a broader audience (1/2026 to 5/2027). Knowledge will be shared via webpages and online communication as well as at natural resources conferences hosted by organizations such as the RP, Society for Range Management, and Ecological Society of America.
The RP, a collaborative group of rangeland professionals, agriculture librarians, and technology experts from 19 land-grant universities, is uniquely equipped to facilitate a train-the-trainer communication program for multiple audiences. Communication professional development will empower voices for sustainable agriculture at a time when the IYRP will shine a bright and rare spotlight on rangelands and producers in the west, North America, and the world.
Education & Outreach Initiatives
Expand the communication knowledge, skills, and technical capacity of rangeland professionals and producers so they can understand emerging trends, effectively share sustainable rangeland management information, and reach multiple audiences, increasing the visibility of sustainable management principles and systems.
A needs assessment will help determine workshop topics. Twelve interactive virtual workshops will be held between October 2025 and May 2026. Participants will include AVCA ranchers and Western and Great Plains rangeland professionals who have committed to participate. Participants will become a community of practice and receive in-depth communication professional development.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation summary:
Project Outcomes
The project is currently in the interactive virtual workshop phase. A needs assessment informed the selection of workshop topics to ensure alignment with participant priorities and communication challenges. To date, workshops have begun and include AVCA ranchers and rangeland professionals from the Western and Great Plains regions who committed to participate. Four of the twelve interactive virtual workshops have been completed and the remining eight are scheduled through May 2026. Factsheets are currently in development based on workshops.
Upon completion of the workshop series, participants are expected to demonstrate increased knowledge of effective communication strategies, including audience awareness, message framing, and the use of appropriate tools and platforms. Participants will develop practical skills to share sustainable rangeland information clearly and effectively with diverse audiences. The workshops will also foster a community of practice, strengthening peer learning, collaboration, and professional networks.
Learning and action outcomes, as well as broader impacts, will be assessed following completion of the workshops using the Western SARE Survey and Evaluation Tool.
Learning outcomes and project outcomes will be assessed using the the Western SARE Survey and Evaluation Tool upon completion of the virtual workshops and as the project continues.