An audience focused approach to framing climate-change communication in agriculture

Master of ScienceDepartment of Communications and Agricultural EducationLauri M. BakerThe purpose of this study was to explore the frames and messages, issue salience, and communication preferences agricultural producers in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas use and accept related to climate change and the impacts of a changing climate. It was of additional interest to explore the climate-change beliefs and preferred agricultural media sources for climate and climate change information. Specific research objectives to guide the study were RO1: describe the level of issue salience agricultural producers have related to climate change; RO2: investigate frames and messages agricultural producers prefer in reference to the scientifically designated phenomena of climate change and impacts; and RO3: identify the agricultural media and information channels agricultural producers use for climate change. Based on findings in previous research, one hypothesis was developed: H1: agricultural producers in the Southern Plains Regional Climate Hub area will be located within the audience segment groups of the concerned and the cautious as identified in the Six America’s (2012) study. An Internet survey was distributed to producers in Kansas, which was open from March 3 to March 14, 2016, with 158 responses to the survey. Agenda-Setting Theory served as the basis for the study including the tenants of issue salience and framing in relation to climate change. The study found that the majority (n = 158, 64.92%) of producers believed that climate change was occurring, however, the causes were still contested. The study identified that higher levels of risk perception and education level were linked to belief in anthropogenic climate change (ACC). Primarily, the study found that loss framing was most effective in communicating the impacts of climate change. Terminology and distance framing were less important in message framing. Regional and university publications were cited most frequently by producers as sources of climate and climate-change information and overall use of agricultural media publications was linked to higher levels of belief in ACC. Users of business reports and TV had the highest mean climate-change belief; non-users had the lowest. Audience segments aligned with cautious and concerned Six America’s (2013) audience segment group, which indicated a shift towards accepting climate change among agricultural producers

Engaging in Conversations about Climate Change with Cattle Producers

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Cooperative Extension Service agents and United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) personnel used a dialogic model of communication in their interactions with cattle producers in the Southwest and Mountain West regarding the topic of climate change. Findings indicated that dialogic communication is being used, with a focus on discussing best management practices, avoiding the term “climate change,” and focusing on local data and weather events. The study suggests that Extension agents and NRCS personnel recognize the need to adapt their communication strategy and tactics to suit the cognitive needs and beliefs of the cattle producers with whom they converse. Additionally, findings suggest that climate change should be described in terms that are observable to cattle producers, such as weather events (drought or flooding), possibly minimizing the need to name such events as climate change

Cattle Producers and Climate Change Conversations: Assessing Workshop Effectiveness in Preparing Communicators to Discuss a Contentious Scientific Topic

Climate change and the resulting impacts on agriculture in the U.S., specifically cattle production, are of great concern to educators in Extension and other organizations. Extension has used a deficit model of communication to extend research information to audiences with the goal of changing behavior by simply providing information. Dialogic models that utilize two-way communication have proven to be more effective when communicating about contentious scientific issues. This study examined the effectiveness of a one-day workshop, focused on cattle production and climate change, on increasing attendees’ level of comfort when talking about climate change with their clientele. Attendees indicated the workshop increased their level of comfort in facilitating the application of research, hosting programs, and delivering presentations that cover the topic of climate change. Sessions that focused on climate data, trending data over time, and manipulations of data were most beneficial. Making workshop content personally relevant to the attendees’ professions increased their comfort with material and their ability to share knowledge with cattle producers. Delivery of the material was also a very important factor in preference for the sessions. Future workshops should incorporate dialogue training and role-play, so educators will feel more prepared to discuss climate change with their clientele

Communicating Climate Change: A Qualitative Study Exploring how Communicators and Educators are Approaching Climate-Change Discussions

The scientific community has come to the conclusion that the climate is changing, but the existence of climate change continues to be rejected or doubted, creating communication challenges for professionals. The purpose of this study was to determine how education and communication professionals involved in climate-change communication are framing the discussions about climate change with agricultural producers. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted to address terminology usage, challenges encountered, overcoming challenges, and utilization of social media when educating and communicating about climate change. Responses from professionals indicated: 1) they do not avoid using the term “climate change” but are concerned about jargon in materials; 2) the majority agreed the public believes climate change is happening; 3) not addressing the root causes of climate change; 4) framing messages; 5) addressing adaption options using local data; and 6) climate organizations are promoting materials on social media. This study recommends practitioners frame conversations depending on the audience and avoid using terminology that is not accepted by the target audience. Future research should investigate the effectiveness and uses of social media to engage desired audiences

Perceptions of Trust: Communicating Climate Change to Cattle Producers

The Cattle and Climate Conversations Workshop for Cooperative Extension and Natural Resources Conservation Service, the last activity funded through a multi-regional United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) grant, took place in October 2016 in Denver, Colorado, for Extension and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) representatives in the Southwest and Mountain West who work extensively with cattle producers. The purpose of this study was to identify how Extension agents and NRCS personnel in this workshop viewed the issue of “trust,” as it relates to communicating the topic of climate change to cattle producers. Three focus groups, comprised of 29 attendees of the workshop, were conducted simultaneously at the end of the conference. Specific themes about trust included the politically charged nature of climate change, climate change data manipulation, negativity of media surrounding climate change, weathercasters getting predictions wrong, agriculture getting a “black eye” with the public, and participants’ relationships with cattle producers. Findings indicate varying levels of distrust, related to sources of information and influence on the topic of climate change, greatly impact how and whether Extension Service and NRCS employees actually talk “climate change” to cattle producers. Based on the study’s findings, it is recommended that for Extension and NRCS employees to talk about controversial issues, like climate change, it is important to create relationships with clients. In addition, communication and education professionals working with cattle producers should avoid politicizing the topic of climate change if they want climate-related programs to be accepted