Transcript Shifting Intermediaries: Using CCF to Understand the

Stephen Gasteyer, Department of Sociology
Michigan State University
Nicole Wall, National Drought Mitigation
Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
 Goal of this talk
• A) To help place the actions of Land Grant
Institutions both within the context of the
emergence of irrigated agriculture in the US
High Plains;
• B) And to highlight how different information
flows and differing conditions have impacted the
role of Land Grant institutions in addressing
constraints to irrigated farming and community
development in this region.
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Estimated groundwater
depletion in the United
States during 1900–2008
totals approximately 1,000
cubic kilometers (km3).
The rate of groundwater
depletion has increased
markedly since about 1950,
Maximum rates
occurring during the
most recent period (2000–
2008) -- depletion rate
averaged almost 25 km3 per
year (compared to 9.2 km3
per year averaged over the
1900–2008 timeframe).
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Increasing concerns about global water scarcity
are related to concerns about global
agricultural production and food security.
Arjen Hoekstra and Mesfin Mekonnen, PNAS Early Edition
(2012)
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Ogallala-High Plains aquifer
complex: one of the largest
contiguous aquifer systems in
the world.
Covers more than 450,000 km2
of 8 states including South
Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska,
Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma,
Texas, and New Mexico
Productive irrigated
agriculture
• Corn, Beans, Wheat, Rice,
Cotton, Livestock (Sorghum,
Milo, Dry Beans)
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Unsustainable path, drawn
down by over 300 cubic km
since the 1930s (USGS).
4 phases of capitalism
(Urry 2012)
Groundwater
Development
Governance System
1800-WWII
Liberal Capitalism
Individual settlement of
Western plains,
allotments
Individual Farmers (with
state research – private
sector development)
1930-1990
State Capitalism
Development of Dam
and Reservoir system;
Dispersion of Pivot
Irrigation
Development of state and
regional systems for water
management
1970s-2008 Unorganized
(neoliberal) Capitalism
Pivot Development 
Increasing recognition
of scarcity –
conservation technology
Growth of decentralized
management districts
2000-? New Millennium
Resource Capitalism
Conservation
technology based
explicitly on tracking
water availability
Increasing water markets,
litigation, water use
restricted
 1880s:
Expansion of settlement, efforts to
implement surface water irrigation
 1935: Flood  Flood Control Dams
 1942: Republican River Compact
 1959: Republican River Compact
Administration (RRCA)
 1998: Kansas vs. Nebraska and Colorado
 2002: Special Master’s Ruling, Settlement
and MODFLOW model
 2010: Kansas vs. Nebraska (again)
 2013: Special Master’s ruling
 1880s-early
1990s
 Cultural capital – Values -- maximized yield
 Social capital – subbasin relationships --
exclusive use of water system – increasing
bonding social capital; diminishing bridging
social capital
 Political capital – incentivizing yield
 Natural – Financial- Built capital -- Extractive
use to mitigate climate variability to maximize
yield – with emphasis on mitigating soil loss
 Human capital – manage systems…
understand commodity markets
 1998s
- 2010
 Cultural
capital – Values – maximized water
use efficiency
 Social capital – subbasin relationshipsfarmers-legislature/-- greater bonding
diminishing bridging social capital
 Political capital – incentivizing yield—but
greater emphasis on litigation-modeling
 Natural – Financial- Built capital –
Investments to mitigate water scarcity
 Human capital – manage systems…
understand commodity markets…
understand climate variation – and litigation
PUBLIC
PRIVATE
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Social Capital – individual
interactions
Financial - Built capital –
implements, irrigation
technology, seeds, inputs
to individual farmers…
Natural – application of
water to change
grasslands to corn-beef
land…
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Political Capital – Advocacy to
incentivizing production
agriculture – irrigated cornsoybeans-livestock
Cultural capital – feeding the world
Natural-Built-Financial – investment
in production – Information and
demonstrations about tools and
technologies to maximize
development
Social – Organization to promote
production
Human – knowledge of ever more
sophisticated production structures
PRIVATE
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Social capital – Human
Capital -- meetings with
farmers and community
leaders to discuss new
technologies and
applications
Built capital – dominance in
local ownership in
production structures.
PUBLIC
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Political Capital – Advocacy to
incentivize production
agriculture – irrigated cornsoybeans-livestock
Cultural capital – feeding the
world through efficient
resources
Natural-Built-Financial –
investment in production –
delivery of tools, information
about tools
Social – Facilitating discussion
about water use efficiency and
sustainability
Human – knowledge of ever
more sophisticated production
structures; information about
climate variability over time
 Multiple
institutions are now involved in
encouraging “mitigated” productivity
 State Water Offices, Land Grant
Universities & Centers(such UNL, MSU, &
NDMC) and various grants through
NOAA, NSF, USDA (SARE), and others
 Institutes such as the Water for Food and
outside private industry efforts
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Range and Irrigation Experts to
Discuss Managing Extreme
and Extended Drought at Jan. 9
Kansas Workshop
Dec 19, 2013
More than fifteen experts in the
fields of irrigation, range
management, climatology, and
drought planning are scheduled
to speak at a one-day workshop
Jan. 9 in Garden City, Kan., on
managing drought on the farm
and ranch. Producers can register
now for the free workshop, which
will be held at the 4-H building
on the Finney County fairgrounds.
Registration and coffee begin at 8
a.m.
Read more »
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Republican River Basin Water Sustainability Task Force Facilitation
The PPC will be facilitating meetings of the 26 member Republican River Basin
Sustainability Task Force, preparing the first drafts of the required reports on behalf of
the task force, and otherwise generally assist the task force as needed. The purposes of
the task force as established by LB 1057 (2010), are to define water sustainability,
develop and recommend a plan to reach water sustainability in the basin, and develop
and recommend a plan to help avoid a water shortage in the basin. The task force is to
produce a preliminary report to the Governor and Legislature on or before May 15, 2011
and a final report on or before May 15, 2012.
Key Partners
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Law
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, National Drought Mitigation Center
Funding
Nebraska Department of Natural Resources
In The News
Public Policy Center to facilitate Republican River task force. (2010-09-14). Offce of
University Communications.
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The Robert B. Daugherty
Water for Food Institute at
the University of Nebraska is
a research, policy analysis
and education institute
committed to helping the
world efficiently use its
limited freshwater resources,
with a particular focus on
ensuring the food supply for
current and future
generations.
Two Issues of Note:
1) The institute as a Public Private partnership
2) A move toward international
connections in addressing ag.
development questions
 Can
CCF help us understand the role of
the government in addressing a
changing socio-hydrologic system?
 Change from government as conveyance
system for technology
 Built capital  telecommunication
technology allows for private role
  government as information filter;
process facilitator.
 Through
the 1970s, the Land Grant
played a key role in facilitating the
diffusion of technologies that enabled
vastly improving agricultural production.
 Focus on built, financial, and human
capital made sense given the cultural
capital that favored production
 Over
time, private sector entities
assumed the role of delivering
technologies, but with growing concerns
about system viability,
 The Land Grant role has evolved to now
• A) Provide more communal and less individual
technologies aimed to help farmers and others
mitigate constraints on production
• B) Facilitate transition toward sustainability