Building resilience on the farm: agricultural adaptation case studies
Demonstrations and case studies are effective resources for achieving producer buy-in of new and existing management strategies that reduce the risks from climate variability and change. The USDA Southeast Climate Hub co-produced two case studies that walk agricultural producers through the process of assessing their land’s vulnerability to climate change and variability, and implementing strategies that reduce risk and maintain productivity.
Climate change and variability are impacting agricultural producers throughout the southeastern United States, and negatively impacting yield and productivity. While adaptation resources are available to help producers build resilience to threats and reduce risk, achieving producer buy-in to implement these strategies can be challenging without providing training and demonstrating their ecological and monetary benefits. The Adaptation Workbook, developed by the Northern Forests and Midwest Climate Hubs, is an effective tool for walking producers through the process of assessing their land’s vulnerability to climate change and variability, and then implementing practices that reduce risk and maintain or improve profitability. However, demonstrating the utility of the workbook in the Southeast U.S. has not been well documented. Therefore, the USDA Southeast Climate Hub co-produced two agricultural adaptation case studies for a corn, soybean, and rice farm in Arkansas and a poultry and beef farm in Mississippi. These case studies demonstrate how producers in the Southeast can use the workbook to assess their farm’s vulnerability and implement management strategies that increase resilience to climate change and variability. This work aligns with USDA Strategic Goal 1.2 to lead efforts to adapt to the consequences of climate change in agriculture and forestry.
