Demonstrations

Farming, ranching, and forest management have always been accompanied by challenges associated with weather and climate extremes. Extended droughts, late season freezes, and extreme rainfalls are facts of life across the Nation, with attendant consequences for agricultural production systems.

As the global climate continues to warm, the impacts of weather and climatic extremes on the production of food and fiber will increase. It is therefore imperative that USDA help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners develop strategies to maintain the productivity and profitability necessary to stay on the land. As part of this effort, it is highly useful to provide real-world, first-hand demonstrations of production strategies that are resilient to future climate conditions, including how these strategies can be implemented as well as illustrations of what works and what doesn’t based on producer experiences. Demonstration efforts lead to management strategies that directly improve productivity and profitability, and can be focused on either adaptation or mitigation.

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Hill top view of McConnell Berry Farm

One third of all of our food comes from pollinated crops.  Because increasing temperatures impact both plants and the pollinators they rely on, climate change poses a dual threat to crop production. Shifts in dates when plants flower or pollinators are present could…

Blueberries, Pollinators, and Pests with WVU

scene from Sustainable Dairy Cropping at Penn State virtual tour

Warmer temperatures and longer growing seasons offer Pennsylvania dairy farmers the ability to plant more than one crop in a season. But increasing frequency of extreme rainfall presents new challenges. Double cropping with winter annuals can increase forage production and…

Sustainable Dairy Cropping at Penn State

Adaptation Resources for Agriculture

This series of case studies was developed using Adaptation Resources for Agriculture, a resource developed to provide a flexible, structured, and self-guided process to identify and assess climate change impacts, challenges, opportunities, and farm-level adaptation…

Adaptation Resources for Agriculture: Case Studies using the Adaptation Workbook

A newly constructed stream simulation culvert on the George Washington National Forest.

Extreme Precipitation and Trends There is clear evidence that precipitation in the Northeast is more intense than it was in the past. The increase in the Northeast has been greater than any other region in the U.S. (Figure 1). Between 1901 and 2014, total annual precipitation…

Storms and Stream-Crossings

Lakeshore

Taking action now can help forested watersheds prepare for and adapt to a changing climate. Forested watersheds improve water quality and enhance water storage, naturally regulate streamflows, reduce flood damages and stormwater runoff, replenish groundwater and provide a myriad…

Forested watersheds climate change adaptation

Sheep in pasture

Project Area Kelly and Deborah Kettner operate a diverse farm in the Southern High Plains Region of Texas (Lamb and Parmer Counties). The Southern High Plains is characterized by large areas of open plains on an elevated plateau at 4,600 ft in the northwest, gradually…

Kelly and Deborah Kettner Farm, TX Case Study

scene from yale-myers forest orchard virtual tour

As the climate changes, regions that were once too cold for some tree species to grow are now becoming suitable habitat. At the same time, other regions are becoming too warm for certain cold-hardy species to thrive. Many orchards and farms in the Northeast are coping with…

Yale-Myers Forest Orchard

Urban Forests

Lessons Learned from the Urban Forestry Climate Change Response Framework Project: Chicago Wilderness Overview Urban areas are already experiencing impacts of a changing climate including increased temperatures, flooding, and extreme storms. These impacts are projected to…

Lessons learned from Urban Forestry Vulnerability Assessment: Chicago

UVM research team at a cattle farm in Williston, VT

Research at dairy farms in Vermont shows how management practices can affect water quality, economics, and greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture is a common land use for the well-drained and productive soils of Vermont’s Winooski floodplain. Intense rain and flooding events are…

UVM Dairy Farming Research

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