Designing an Agroecological Transformation in East-Central Wisconsin using Collaborative Landscape Design

Commodities

Practices

Title: Designing an agroecological transformation in east-central Wisconsin using Collaborative Landscape Design

Problem: Agricultural systems in the North Central U.S. must contend with water quality challenges, high farmer debt loads, concentrated market pressures, and growing development pressures. Most agricultural conservation programs encourage action on the individual level without addressing overlapping economic, operational, and resource management factors that inhibit change. Sustainability transitions are more effective when they account for these broader systems at play and develop collective action to effect change at a higher level. Rather than changing farmers' behaviors, we must change the structure of the places in which they operate - including interpersonal, financial, and land stewardship contexts.

Approach: We will use a method called Collaborative Landscape Design (CLD) to support farmers and their communities in re-shaping their regional agricultural system to address sustainable agriculture goals. Working in east-central Wisconsin (Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Washington County), we will bring individuals with a range of perspectives together to explore goals for a more sustainable agricultural system, discuss barriers to those goals, and create new partnerships to overcome barriers. CLD uses a relational place-making framework to explicitly address conflicting interests and non-local forces impacting the regional agricultural system. Using our previous interview results in the region as a springboard, we will organize annual workshops, focus groups, and working groups to define shared sustainable agriculture goals and develop pathways to meet those goals.

Briefly, our research asks:

1. What are the competing and shared narratives shaping the socio-ecological landscape?
2. How do relational place-making processes inhibit sustainable agriculture transitions?
3. Are there opportunities for intentional place-making for sustainable agriculture?

Abbreviated learning outcomes:

1. Greater local awareness of varied sustainable agriculture goals.
2. North Central organizations learn about novel and successful collaborations.
3. Researchers learn about relational place-making for sustainability transitions.

Abbreviated action outcomes:

1. Working groups build pathways to meet sustainable agriculture goals.
2. Regional organizations overcome conflict and collaboratively define shared goals.
3. North Central region researchers use relational place-making frameworks to address sustainable agriculture challenges.

Relevance of outcomes to farmers:

These outcomes provide holistic pathways to meet regional sustainability goals in east-central Wisconsin and offer successful examples for researchers and organizations across the North Central Region to do the same. Establishing new collaborations between individuals and organizations more effectively overcomes financial, interpersonal, knowledge, and time limitations to sustainability transitions.

Learning outcomes:

1. Individuals in the local area are more aware of the multiple goals related to sustainable agriculture.
2. Regional organizations aware of new collaboration opportunities that can help meet specific sustainable agriculture goals.
3. Researchers improve understanding of relational place-making in agriculture research.

Action outcomes:

1. Working groups build actionable pathways toward sustainable agriculture goals.
2. Regional organizations overcome conflict and collaboratively address shared goals.
3. Researchers use relational place-making framework to address sustainable agriculture challenges.

Long-term: east-central Wisconsin farmers and supporting individuals use CLD for adaptive approach to more sustainable agriculture in the region.