Towards Multifunctional Agricultural Landscapes for the Upper Midwest Region of the USA

This chapter proposes an integrative and heuristic strategy - a 'theory of change' - to address interlocking challenges of climate change and sustainable management of agriculture and bioresources. It aims to increase the multifunctionality of agriculture in the Upper Midwest region of the USA by pursuing change at three distinct levels of integration. The chapter first describes the central system level, which addresses development of new economic opportunities and related systems of management and policy, for farmers of multifunctional agroecosystems. Next, it portrays a pivotal subsystem of the enterprise development model, agroecological partnerships, that produce knowledge needed for multifunctional agriculture (MFA). Third, the chapter describes how social values shape the supersystem of public opinion and policy. The chapter finally presents a case study - the Koda Energy Fuelshed project - which outlines the challenges in realizing the potential of MFA.