Advanced Training in Sustainable Production Systems in the Northern Great Plains

Advanced Training in Sustainable Production Systems in the Northern Great Plains

Summary

Two Professional Development meetings were held in 2006. The first, held in June at the Antelope Research Field Station, focused on providing participants with further livestock, natural resources, and economics training. The training also emphasized use of the “Balanced Scorecard” with producers. The second meeting was held in December near Pierre, SD. Each IRM teach gave a presentation to the entire group on the livestock operation they worked with, described the management problems/issues, and provided the business/management plan developed by the team. Learning sessions on personality profiles and Study Circles were also provided. The “Balanced Scorecard” was published in September.

Objectives/Performance Targets

1. Teach community-based ag advisors (CBAA, mostly Extension Educators and NRCS employees from SD and ND) about the components of livestock production systems and teach them to better understand the complexity of these systems and the need for a systems approach to solving producer problems.

2. CBAA understand adult education concepts, information dissemination, and enhance presentation skills.

3. CBAA incorporate knowledge of production systems into their programming efforts.

4. Experienced CBAA assume the roles of teacher, coach, and mentor to those just starting in the training.

5. CBAA develop a network of people to serve as their coaches, mentors, and IRM team members.

6. IRM teams identify and work with a producer in their region to help solve problems and develop a management plan using the concepts from their training.

7. CBAA encourage/invite new participants to continually strengthen the teams.

8. CBAA, Specialists and producers work together to develop a long-term feedback mechanism to monitor success of educational efforts.

Accomplishments/Milestones

• 28 CBAA and Specialists participated at the Antelope training in June.

• Participants were given hands-on training concerning livestock allocation and diet quality (led by CBAA), plant ID, ecological sites (CBAA-led) and rangeland monitoring.

• The original seven IRM teams were reorganized into five due to loss of members from some of the teams (largely due to job changes) and withdrawal of 2 producer cooperators. The final five IRM teams then included a sufficient number of members with the necessary background to continue evaluation of the five cooperator operations.

• Progress reports were given by five re-organized IRM teams, with follow-up suggestions made by team mentors.

• Evening sessions focused on the “Balanced Scorecard” and team building exercises. These sessions were led by CBAA, practicing the teach-coach-mentor concept.

• Extension Circular 922 jointly published by South Dakota State University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville titled “Using the Balanced Scorecard for Ranch Planning and Management: Setting Strategy and Measuring Performance”, and authored by Barry H. Dunn (original co-director of this NCR SARE PDP project), Roger N. Gates, Jack Davis (an original trainee in our previous PDP project), and Agustin Arzeno.

• 33 CBAA and Specialists participated at the SARE PDP wrap-up at Cheyenne Ridge, near Pierre, SD in December.

• Five IRM teams delivered their final ranch business plans via 30 minute presentations, followed by Q&A.

• Teams discussed what worked and what didn’t.

• Two trainings were led by guest speakers, focusing on understanding how personalities influence communication and interaction and Study Circles, a technique to engage stakeholders in creative problem solving . These two sessions were particularly beneficial to participants- offering new perspectives on how to deal with different types of personalities; and how to create a mediated, constructive discussion.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

For the participants, the final two trainings were a culmination of two years of learning IRM concepts, working regionally with other CBAA, and developing a trusting relationship with cooperating producers. Evaluations after the trainings revealed that a majority of participants found the trainings to be beneficial in understanding complex systems. More than 50% of the participants agreed they would continue working with their producers, or create a new IRM team within a smaller radius of their hometown. Geography was the major hindrance to continuing with the current IRM teams. Many participants also expressed they would contact other CBAA or Specialists with future questions. All participants were given the opportunity to distribute Balanced Scorecards to producers within their field education units, and more than 150 scorecards were distributed to producers at their request. An additional 450 copies have been distributed at the request of producers, agricultural advisors and bankers.