Proceedings from the Agricultural Climate Adaptation Research Workshop

Follow the links below to view the full presentations and download the Applied Research Sessions Program Guide for abstracts and speaker biographies. 

APPLIED RESEARCH SESSIONS

RESEARCH POSTERS

• Examining soil quality in the Fraser River delta following 3-year grassland set-asides, Teresa Porter, UBC
• Climate Change Adaptation Pathways: Supporting Sustainable Local Food in B.C., Anna Stemberger, BC Ministry of Agriculture
• The Effects of 3,4-Dimethylpyrazole Phosphate Nitrification Inhibitor on Nitrification and Denitrification Microbial Genes Abundances and Nitrous Oxide Emissions, Katherine Faye Jansen, UBC, Okanagan
• Determining the effect of agro-thermal heat treatment on vine performance and crown gall disease in grapevines, Portiaa McGonigal, UBC, Okanagan
• Consequences of Elevated Carbon Dioxide on Plant-insect Interactions, Jimmy Kyu Baik, UBC
• Influence of Postharvest Deficit Irrigation on Sweet Cherry Cold Hardiness, Elizabeth Houghton, UBC, Okanagan and AAFC SuRDC
• Greenhouse gas exchange above potato and pea crops in the Lower Fraser Valley, Delta, BC, Ningyu Quan, UBC
• Agricultural field and landscape scale assessment of changes in soil organic carbon in the Lower Fraser Valley for enhanced climate change adaptation and mitigation, Lyndsey Dowell, UBC

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH SESSIONS

8:30 am
Welcome & introduction to the ACARN network, Dr. Sean Smukler, ACARN Chair

8:45 – 10:15 am
Session 1: Agricultural extension – better utilizing existing resources & networks to support climate adaptation

Climate change presents unprecedented challenges for the B.C. agriculture sector making investment in research and extension increasingly critical. This session will provide an introduction to some of the agricultural extension resources that exist in the province and highlight B.C. Ministry of Agriculture programs. The break out sessions will give participants a chance to contribute to strategies to make the most of existing resources and identify opportunities for improved extension initiatives, including how ACARN can play a stronger role in extension

Framing presentations: 

• Applying extension resources to support climate adaptation in BC agriculture (S. MacKinnon, ACARN) 
• Ministry of Agriculture knowledge transfer initiatives (Jason Lussier, Ministry of Agriculture)

Break out sessions:

• Mapping BC’s extension initiatives
• Building the BC Food Web
• Researcher perspectives on extensions needs & current extension deliverables
• AAFC Living Labs for knowledge and technology transfer
• We wish ACARN could…? Idea generation for how ACARN can support extension collaboration

10:30 – 12:15 pm
Session 2: Improving data sharing and data access

This session will explore initiatives and opportunities to improve the baseline data that is needed to support adaptation to climate change in the BC agriculture sector. The presenters will share current projects underway to improve data access and data sharing as well as highlight existing gaps. Following the presentations a series of break out sessions will provide space for discussion on specific data needs and opportunities for collaboration.   

Framing presentations:

• The value of collaboration & ACARN’s data sharing infrastructure (Sean Smukler, UBC)
• Cross-agency collaboration through the Climate Related Monitoring Program (Ted Weick, B.C. Ministry of Environment)  
• Data gaps & agricultural adaptation (Emily MacNair, Climate Action Initiative)

Break out sessions:

• Strategies to improve data sharing and data access
• Agricultural weather data sharing 
• Soils data sharing 
• Forage data sharing  
• Pest data sharing 
• Remote monitoring possibilities
• Water-related data needs and data sharing

12:15 – 1:15 pm
Lunch presentation

• Provincial Government Climate Risk Assessment & Adaptation Strategy (Anna Stemberger, B.C. Ministry of Agriculture)

1:15 – 3:15 pm
Session 3: Integrating across data sets & disciplines to better guide agricultural adaptation

This session will set the stage for discussing future directions for collaborative research to support agricultural adaptation in BC. The first two presenters will provide examples of tools that have been developed through collaboration and integration of climate data with agricultural information to guide decision making. The next two presenters will discuss cross-cutting issues related to water management and social benefits.  Following the presentations you will have a chance to discuss research priorities and opportunities in break out sessions focused on specific aspects of agriculture adaptation. 

Framing presentations:

• The Northwest ClimateToolbox (Katherine Hegewisch, U. of Idaho)
• The BC Decision Aid System for Integrated Pest Management (Molly Thurston,  Claremont Ranch Organics)
• Water research priorities to support agricultural adaptation (Natalya Melnychuk, Ministry of Agriculture)
• Who cares about what? Social benefits of farm-scale restoration and adaptation projects (John Janmaat, UBCO)

Break out sessions:

• Discussion on collaborative research, future tools & directions 
• Future crop suitability modelling in BC 
• Applying a multi-loop learning approach in assessing agricultural climate capability in a non-stationary climate
• Water research priorities for agricultural adaptation 
• Building community support for agricultural adaptation

3:15 – 3:30 pm
Wrap up & closing, Dr. Sean Smukler, ACARN Chair