ADVANCING WATER RESILIENT STRATEGIES - SUPPORTING ADOPTION OF CLIMATE-SMART FARMING PRACTICES BY SMALL AND MID-SCALE UNDERSERVED PRODUCERS ON THE WEST COAST

As drought and climate change intensify conflicts over water along the West Coast, collaboration on climate smart agricultural solutions across state boundaries has been limited. The partners on the proposed project have heard clearly (via surveys, listening sessions, and one-on-one interviews), that landscape-scale implementation of water resilient strategies on working lands will require integrated regional partnerships. These partnerships will help small and mid-scale (USDA, 2021) underserved producers, communities, and agricultural professionals connect across state boundaries, access resources, and learn from one another.The goal of this project, a collaboration between the American Farmland Trust, Northwest Climate Hub, California Climate Hub, Oregon State University, the Dry Farming Institute, and Oregon Climate and Agriculture Network, is to build stronger regional networks of agricultural organizations and peer-to-peer producer communities of practice working within and across Washington, Oregon, and California to advance landscape level agricultural and food system resilience to drought and climate instability. The project supports this overarching goal by orienting around five central and overlapping objectives:Objective I: Better integrate research, education, and outreach conducted around water resilience/climate smart farming practices in California, Oregon, and Washington through a newly formed Water Resilience Coordinator position.Objective II: Build the capacity of 150+ agricultural professionals from CA, OR, and WA to support growers in transitioning to water resilient strategies through participation in regional training and a newly formed online community of practice.Objective III: Highlight regionally appropriate examples of water resilient strategies and provide an opportunity for experiential learning for 300+ farmers through participation in 12 hands-on demonstration projects and local case studies in CA, OR, and WA.Objective IV: Increase knowledge, access to resources, and confidence related to climate change and water-resilience building practices for 360+ beginning, small scale, and women producers.Objective V: Amplify the project's impact and engage a broader audience of stakeholders through storytelling, case studies, and producer highlights.