The agriculture and timber industries are expected to be particularly vulnerable to climate change. Unfortunately, farmers and forest landowners are also among the populations most likely to have doubts about anthropogenic climate change. The Cooperative Extension Service, the mandated outreach arm of land grant universities, specializes in providing these individuals with science-based information. The concept of “homophily,” or associating with others who think similarly, can present a challenge to encouraging Extension agents to teach stakeholders about climate change, particularly because many agents are embedded in the communities they serve. This same idea, however, presents an opportunity, as Extension agents are already trusted educators, which is critical to breaking the cycle of selected beliefs and confirmation bias. Therefore, this study investigated Extension professionals' perception of anthropogenic climate change and the implications for developing a training program to deliver critical information about this threat to farmers and forest landowners.
The study surveyed Extension professionals in eight southern states, namely Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. The survey was distributed to over four thousand Extension professionals, including faculty, staff, and administrators, and two-thirds responded (n=2758). The questionnaire included items from the Six Americas Scale, which groups respondents into a category based on their view of climate change. Ranging from least to most affected by anthropogenic climate change, the groups are Dismissive, Doubtful, Disengaged, Cautious, Concerned, and Alarmed. The questionnaire also included two open-ended questions and two questions related to climate change skepticism. Responses were statistically analyzed.
Surprisingly, when categorized using the Six Americas Scale, Extension agents' views of climate change closely mirrored the general public. This finding is unexpected because Extension professionals are highly-educated science communicators, many of whom are faculty at a university. The Extension service has many program areas, such as agriculture, 4-H, natural resources, forestry, and community and economic development. The authors found that the primary program area is strongly correlated with the Six Americas grouping. For instance, agriculture agents tended to be more Dismissive and Doubtful, while those working in natural resources were more likely to be Concerned or Alarmed.
Institutional support was also key: if an Extension profession felt more supported by their institution, they were more likely to be Concerned or Alarmed. When asked about limitations to providing climate change education to their audience, lack of audience interest, lack of applied information, and conflicting information emerged as important barriers. In the open-ended survey questions, Dismissive and Doubtful respondents explained that they did not feel they lacked information about anthropogenic climate change; other common responses related to concerns about their colleagues' opinion.
The authors recommend a mandatory, tailored professional development program for Extension agents; a voluntary, one-size-fits-all program would not capture those who are more skeptical of anthropogenic climate change or respond to the particular needs of a program. In addition, using the idea of homophily, the authors suggest relying on Concerned or Alarmed Extension professionals in a given program area as leaders in any professional development program. Reframing climate change as changing weather patterns, as well as presenting successful examples from other states, might engage Dismissive and Doubtful professionals. Institutional support might also provide crucial support to cultural change within the Cooperative Extension Service.
While the findings are generalizable to all Extension professionals in the eight study states, they cannot be applied to all US Extension agents. In addition, the recommendations of this study have not been applied nor their effectiveness measured. Moreover, significant resources will be needed to develop and deliver a tailored professional development program.
The Bottom Line
Because they are respected science communicators in their community, the Cooperative Extension Service is well-positioned to help particularly vulnerable stakeholders, such as farmers and forest landowners, face the threat from climate change. This study surveyed Extension professionals to gauge their opinion of anthropogenic climate change and willingness to educate their audience on that topic. Surprisingly, Extension professionals' opinion of anthropogenic climate change closely mirrored that of the general public. Extension agents' primary program area and perception of institutional support were also linked with their attitude towards climate change. The authors recommend that a professional development program leverage homophily, the idea that people tend to associate with others who think like them, to cultivate leaders among Extension professionals and teach them to deliver climate change education customized to stakeholders' perceptions.