The pace of global change complicates the assessment of the outcomes of agricultural management, hindering decision‐making by producers, researchers, and consumers. The Long‐Term Agroecosystem Research Network (LTAR) is in a unique position to advance monitoring to inform decision‐making. Here, we describe how the network selected performance indicators designed to measure the trade‐offs from various farming and ranching approaches. Indicator selection was motivated by the need for common indicators that apply to the diversity of LTAR sites, but they are intended for widespread use by producers and other managers via the Agricultural Performance Indicator and Context Knowledge System (AgPICKS). An initial set of domains, attributes, and indicators was developed via synthesis of structured conversations at national LTAR meetings. Early use revealed the need for a systematically inclusive process toward improvement. We designed and implemented an iterative decision‐making protocol to reach a consensus for a new version. The indicator framework differs from others in its attention to production and social outcomes and its grounding in networked agricultural science. Next steps entail developing web tools and personnel for AgPICKS that use LTAR's data and knowledge ecosystem to guide users in setting benchmarks of the desired conditions for their prioritized indicators, collect data, and visualize data to assess how well their management meets their benchmarks, toward the accurate measurement of management outcomes in a changing world.

This study assessed the extant literature related to the use of high tunnels (HTs) in agricultural systems in the United States since the 2009 launch of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) High Tunnel Initiative. This NRCS program led to an increase in HT adoption nationwide. The literature searches were conducted using the Web of Science (WoS) database. The final sample was 133 peer-reviewed articles published between 2009 and February 2023. We used CiteSpace 6.2.R1 and Gephi 0.9.2 to conduct co-citation, co-author, co-institution, and clustering techniques. The findings showed that the peer-reviewed literature about HT use has increased since 2009, substantially rising between 2017 and 2021. Horticulture was the top subject category in the literature, and most articles were published in peer-reviewed journals of the American Society for Horticultural Science (i.e., HortTechnology and HortScience). The research field evolved from general HT practices, nutrient management, and plant pathology to focus on trials of specific crops and integrated pest management. The institutions with the most contributions to the HT literature were Kansas State University, the University of Florida, Michigan State University, Purdue University, and the University of Minnesota. The patterns of HT research revealed in this study offer a greater understanding of the current state of knowledge to inform the focus of future research.

Rapidly changing agricultural conditions need solutions to address complex decision‐making in an evolving socio‐ecological landscape. One way to accelerate the pace of solution development is by working directly with end users to design potential tools. The Long‐Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network has developed a performance‐based sustainability indicator system as one possible tool for producers, land managers, and other stakeholders to aid decision‐making. Two LTAR sites (in New Mexico and Florida) engaged with stakeholders to further develop the network‐level indicator framework to account for site‐level differences. We compared the sites’ engagement processes using a coproduction of knowledge framework to assess similarities and differences in outcomes. The New Mexico site used a less structured, dialogue‐based approach while the Florida site used a formalized social science methodology. We found that a structured engagement strategy that is exploratory allows for more creative insight from stakeholders. The strength of a dialogue‐based approach was identifying specific metrics that stakeholders find are feasible for data collection. Both approaches resulted in coproduced knowledge that increased relevancy of indicator frameworks at the local level. Maintaining an indicator framework that encourages common ground and is adaptable to different agroecosystem contexts is essential for continued usability. A variety of engagement strategies can strengthen the network‐level indicator framework. Without coproduction of knowledge, we could miss key indicators not considered by scientists and be less aware of the usability of the framework on the ground. Coproduction of knowledge between scientists and stakeholders can help identify areas to improve the indicator framework.

The sustainability of agricultural commodities produced in the Southern U.S. under irrigation is increasingly at risk due to erratic rainfall patterns, inadequate water supplies and compromised water quality. This study assessed the needs of crop growers in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Southern Region. The purpose was to identify growers’ critical water resource management concerns to identify research priorities from the perspective of growers in this region. To obtain this information, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to growers throughout the Southern Region in 2020. The final sample included 111 crop (row and specialty) production growers from the Southern Region. Overall, respondents named the water available to irrigate as the greatest water resource management priority. Within all the water availability priorities asked, respondents’ first choice was declining water supply in the future. Declining water supply and the cost of irrigating presently were the next most frequently named water availability priorities. Growers named both increasing the efficiency of irrigation and development of farming practices to improve soil moisture retention as the primary and secondary focus of future irrigation research, respectively. These results will aid in strengthening existing and developing new initiatives for water research and Extension in this region.

\papertype Original Article The pace of global change presents challenges for adequately assessing outcomes of agricultural management, hindering decision-making by producers, researchers, and consumers. The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network (LTAR) is in a unique position to advance monitoring to inform decision making. Here we describe how the network selected performance indicators designed to measure the tradeoffs from various farming and ranching approaches. Indicator selection was motivated by the need for common indicators that apply to the diversity of LTAR sites, but they are intended for widespread use by producers and other managers via the Agricultural Performance Indicator and Context Knowledge System (AgPICKS). An initial set of domains, attributes, and indicators was developed via synthesis of structured conversations at national LTAR meetings. Early use revealed the need for a systematically inclusive process toward improvement. We designed and implemented an iterative decision-making protocol to reach a consensus for a new version. The indicator framework differs from others in its attention to production and social outcomes and its grounding in networked agricultural science. Next steps entail developing web tools and personnel for AgPICKS that use LTAR’s data and knowledge ecosystem to guide users in setting benchmarks of the desired conditions for their prioritized indicators, collect data, and visualize data to assess how well their management meets their benchmarks, toward the accurate measurement of management outcomes in a changing world.