STAKEHOLDERS INFORMATION NEEDS

The communication of information is critical to an effective response to the potential impacts of climate change in the Great Plains. Decisions about mitigation and a daptation will rely fundamentally on technical, scientific, practical, legal, and political inf ormation. Individuals at all levels within the region and from all sectors will require ef fective, credible and relevant information in order to make sound long-term decisions. As we deve lop a regional process of assessing and responding to climate change, we identify the key questions for understanding present information systems better and creating effective one s in the future: For whom is what information important? What sources of public and private infor mation are relied upon? What are the current and potential global to national to local link ages in information transfer? What institutions and processes encourage or discourage th e transfer of "useful" and "usable" information?

It is essential that there be a dialogue between users of information an d suppliers of information. Information transfer will be effective if there is a two-way flow so that both needs and useful information can be communicated effectively. There has been a cut back of on-farm demonstrations. The farmers and ranchers in our group see this as a ser ious gap in information transfer. This highlights the importance of understanding the linka ges between users and suppliers of information.

There is a need to develop collaborative links and databases relevant to climate change within and between agricultural research site networks, federally-funded long-te rm ecological research, data centers, and private sector data generators. This development wi ll provide important information of climate, land, water, and biotic changes important to v arious stakeholder groups. The formation of "farmer information cooperatives" to share available production data, harvest information and pest outbreak data for the region needs to be encouraged. The shared information will provide a better mechanism to prepare c limate change impacts.

There is a variety of media and mechanisms through which information tec hnology transfer can happen: The world-wide web, educational organizations, extension a gents, chemical companies, agri-businesses, NRCS, and farm journals. This information should be credible, relevant, effective and usable. Climate change information should be responsibly and widely disseminated. Although the scientific community has discussed climate ch ange for more than a century, the general public lacks basic knowledge of climate change. To better educate all age levels and social groups, more information could be made availab le through a wide variety of periodicals, localized conferences, and electronic communication . A credible information clearinghouse is necessary to distribute information responsibly.

Understanding the relatively positive and negative impacts of temperatur e and precipitation changes on agricultural, social, and environmental resources at lo cal, regional, and global scales will assist policy decisions. Numerous impacts, both positive and negative have been identified that could result from various types and degrees of climate change. A continually improving understanding of these impacts is needed to define the rel ative balance between negative and positive impacts and among respective stakeholders. Contin ued focused studies are needed to identify all stakeholders, understand the net effects amon g them from climate change, and consider ways of adjusting equity among those positively and negatively impacted.

Data Needs

Research should focus on the need for useful, credible, effective and we ll-disseminated information. How can this be achieved? First, by finding the appropriate backg round information; second, identifying key players; third, physically demonstrating su ccessful strategies to the agricultural community (e.g. conducting the studies in the far mers fields, not in the laboratory); and finally, make information available in readily usable fo rms (by packaging information in forms that are user-friendly to the agricultural commun ity). In short, we need to move from passive to more active research and dissemination of inform ation.

Another important consideration is to establish from the outset, what ea ch informational message is trying to convey. A message should be able to get the attention of f armers and/or ranchers; e.g., a statement such as "climate variation is happening and may wors en, and in short, may impact the farmer's bottom line." By opening a dialogue with the agr icultural community and forming a partnership in these discussions we can attempt to help agriculture remain economically viable.

Drought is a stress/condition that characterizes the region and water is the main limiting factor for plant production. In addition to the low average precipitation, the high variability in precipitation is a major concern which has led farmers to adopt wheat-fallow as a 'hedging' strategy. Severe weather, particularly hail, is a major risk factor for crop pr oducers.

Currently, extreme climatic variation together with limitations of long- term weather forecasting severely limit the effective application of management practices. A ny increase in climatic variability would further impact crop, livestock, and economic manageme nt. Meaningful seasonal weather forecasts would greatly benefit the effectiveness of management planning. These forecasts could be beneficial for developing cropping plans, co mputing fertilization rates, crop seeding rates, etc. For longer range planning, inter- annual predictions would assist such activities as allocating multi-year water supplies, managing l ivestock herd sizes, etc. Achievement of such advances in long-range forecasting would requir e the continuation and expansion of both computer modeling and empirical analyses.