Understanding scientists’ communication challenges at the intersection of climate and agriculture

Introduction The agricultural sector in the United States (U.S.) is facing threats from uncertainty and risk associated with climate change [1]. The implications of potential risk include reduced produc- tivity of crops and livestock, soil and water quality and quantity issues, increased pest and dis- ease issues, and economic hardship [2, 3]. While the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Six Assessment Report [4] details these potential risks associated with climate change, there remains debate around the existence of anthropogenic climate change in the U. S. [5]. Prior research indicates there is varying belief in anthropogenic climate change among stakeholders in the agricultural sector. In a study conducted in California, approximately half (54%) of surveyed producers (i.e., farmers) agreed the global climate is changing, with 35% believing human activities played a role in causing climate change [6]. In the Midwest, it was found that only 8% of producers believed climate change is mostly anthropogenic, with 33% believing it is equally human and naturally occurring, and 25% believing it is mostly naturally occurring [7]. Meanwhile, 5% of certified crop advisors/agricultural retailers believed climate change is mostly anthropogenic, with 34% believing it is equally human and naturally occur- ring, and 30% believing it is mostly naturally occurring [8], More recent research reflects changes in agricultural stakeholders’ beliefs about climate change. There is an increasing acknowledgement in the occurrence of climate change among producers in the U.S. [9–12],

which sometimes is associated with producer exposure to extreme weather events [9, 13, 14], although this is not always the case [10, 15]). This mismatch in producer and agricultural advi- sor climate change beliefs could create challenges in how to communicate climate science [8]. Moreover, producers who believe in anthropogenic climate change are more likely to support adaptive or mitigative farm practices [7]. All of these complexities feed into considerations of climate science communication. One cause of the gap between climate scientists’ understanding of, and stakeholders’ belief in, climate science is due to how the science is communicated [16]; poor communication strat- egies, particularly regarding risk communication, can lead to increased dispersal of climate change disinformation, which can influence disbelief in climate science [17]. Likewise, in the agricultural sector, scientists’ perceptions about their own communication roles and strategies may be impeding this sector’s ability to adapt to and/or mitigate the impacts of climate change because of their perceived role as objective scientists who present but do not interpret climate science information [18]. The agricultural sector is comprised of multiple stakeholder groups in addition to producers. How producers make decisions and find information is complex; for example, they use many sources of information for farm management decisions, including family, other producers, media sources, university and governmental sources, and crop advi-

sors [19, 20]. Considering the complexity of decision-making and multitude of information sources, we sought to answer the following questions: How do climate scientists communicate with agricultural stakeholder groups about climate science? What are climate scientists’ cur- rent challenges with climate change communication to different agricultural stakeholder groups? In this study, we conducted an exploratory study to examine scientists’ perspectives on their communication with five agricultural stakeholder groups: agribusiness, crop advisors, general public, crop/livestock producers (i.e., farmers), and policymakers. We used an online survey instrument to query scientists and professionals in the agroclimate field to evaluate if: (1) scientists participated in formal communication training, (2) scientists understood agricul- tural stakeholder groups’ perception of climate science, (3) scientist terminology use was framed based on target stakeholder group, and (4) there were different communication chal- lenges by stakeholder group. Broadly, our results show although it may not be their formal PLOS ONE Understanding scientists’ communication challenges at the intersection of climate and agriculture PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269927 August 2, 2022 2 / 22 and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.