What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? Integrated Pest Management

July 31, 2017Climate Column

By Adam Pauley, NFU Intern Here on the Climate Column, we’ve been talking about how milder winters due to climate change are contributing to greater pest pressures. Farmers are turning new agricultural methods to mitigate pests without exacerbating other environmental concerns. We’ve discussed a few methods already, including intercropping and crop rotation. Another option is integrated … Read More

What Should Farmers Know About Climate Change? Irrigation Water Management

June 26, 2017Blog, Climate Column

By Skylar Schneider, Executive Assistant, National Farmers Union Climate change presents a multitude of challenges for farmers, as extreme temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns can negatively impact crops. In order to prepare for these extreme conditions, such as drought, farmers can adopt energy-conserving practices. For example, water is a valuable natural resource that is absolutely … Read More

What Should Farmers Know About Climate Change? Livestock & Carbon Sequestration

June 19, 2017Climate Column

By Jonathan Reinbold, Sustainability, Research & Grant Manager at Organic Valley Here’s an interesting paradox: livestock is both a major contributor to and a solution for excess carbon in the atmosphere, which is intensifying climate change. The most conservative estimates suggest that raising livestock accounts for nearly 15% of global greenhouse gases emitted each year; the … Read More

What Should Farmers Know About Climate Change? Livestock & Carbon Sequestration

June 19, 2017Climate Column

By Jonathan Reinbold, Sustainability, Research & Grant Manager at Organic Valley Here’s an interesting paradox: livestock is both a major contributor to and a solution for excess carbon in the atmosphere, which is intensifying climate change. The most conservative estimates suggest that raising livestock accounts for nearly 15% of global greenhouse gases emitted each year; the … Read More

What Can Farmers and Ranchers Do About Climate Change? Market Access for Pastured Meat

June 12, 2017Climate Column

By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy The Climate Column has covered a number of grazing practices that encourage soil health, such as prescribed grazing and rotational grazing. These practices store atmospheric carbon in the soil while protecting forage from the increasingly volatile precipitation patterns driven by climate change, allowing producers to both mitigate … Read More

What Do Farmers Need to Know About Climate Change? Nitrogen Management Pilot Project

June 5, 2017Climate Column

By Robert Parkhurst, Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Markets Director at Environmental Defense Fund With international trade pressures, low commodity prices, and unpredictable weather patterns, it’s a tough time for agriculture right now. But farmers are now and have always been innovative and resilient – and very resourceful. That’s why a new opportunity might be of interest to … Read More

What Do Farmers Need to Know About Climate Change? Federal Support for Climate Research

May 30, 2017Climate Column

By Hannah Packman, NFU Communications Coordinator Climate science, a multidisciplinary field that addresses the causes and effects of climate change, predicts future trends, and establishes mitigation and adaptation practices, is increasingly vital as extreme temperatures and erratic weather become more common. We all benefit from climate change research, but it is particularly critical for family … Read More

What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? Methane Digesters

May 22, 2017Climate Column

By Rori Cowan, Senior Program Associate at the American Carbon Registry Agricultural carbon offsets have been a hot topic in both the environmental and agricultural worlds in the last decade in the fight to mitigate climate change. While there have been substantial hurdles to implementation, such as prohibitive monitoring requirements, there have also been significant … Read More

What Do Farmers Need to Know About Climate Change? Diversified Crop Rotation

May 15, 2017Climate Column

By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy Last week, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) published a study, “Rotating Crops, Turning Profits: How Diversified Farming Systems Can Help Farmers While Protecting Soil and Preventing Pollution.” It focuses on the environmental benefits, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased soil organic matter, of … Read More

What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? Rotational Grazing

May 8, 2017Climate Column

By Hannah Packman, NFU Communications Coordinator Last month on the Climate Column, we introduced the idea of prescribed grazing, a conservation practice in which the frequency and intensity of grazing, as well as the density and placement of livestock, are regulated with a specific goal in mind. Prescribed grazing can be carried out in a … Read More

What Do Farmers Need To Know About Climate Change? Conservation Planning

May 1, 2017Climate Column

By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy Over the past several months, the Climate Column has featured many conservation practices, like installing filter strips or planting cover crops, that help mitigate climate change and build an operation’s climate resilience. For many producers, it may not be immediately clear which practices would be most beneficial for their … Read More

What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? Soil Health Champions Network

April 24, 2017Climate Column

By Beth Mason, NACD North Central Region Representative  In 2014, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) began a three-year project to increase the adoption of soil health practices across the United States. The project consists of two initiatives – one focused on quantifying the monetary benefits of using soil health practices, and the other on … Read More

What Do Farmers Need to Know About Climate Change? Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

April 17, 2017Climate Column

By Tom Driscoll, Director of Conservation Policy and NFU Foundation As discussed in previous Climate Column articles, specific practices, like no-till farming and planting cover crops, allow farmers to mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, in many instances, simply keeping land in production will secure important climate benefits. The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Agricultural … Read More

What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? Prescribed Grazing

April 10, 2017Climate Column

By Hannah Packman, NFU Communications Coordinator Here on the Climate Column, we have covered a number of conservation practices, many of which are specific either to cropland, such as alley cropping, or to livestock, such as waste management. One approach that incorporates both livestock and land is prescribed grazing, which, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural … Read More

What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? Riparian Forest Buffers

April 3, 2017Climate Column

By Hannah Packman, NFU Communications Coordinator Several weeks ago, the Climate Column introduced filter strips, also known as buffer strips, which are areas of vegetation planted between cropland and surface water to obstruct the passage of sediment and pollutants into environmentally sensitive areas. One subcategory of filter strips are riparian forest buffers, described by the National … Read More

What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? Dynamic Cropping Systems: Tom Trantham’s Story

March 27, 2017Climate Column

By Laura Lengnick, founder of Cultivating Resilience, LLC This story is excerpted from Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate (New Society Publishers, 2015). Resilient Agriculture explores climate risk, resilience, and the future of food through the adaptation stories of 25 award-winning sustainable farmers and ranchers growing fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and livestock across America. … Read More

What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? Dynamic Cropping Systems: Gabe Brown’s Story

March 21, 2017Climate Column

By Laura Lengnick, founder of Cultivating Resilience, LLC This story is excerpted from Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate (New Society Publishers, 2015).  Resilient Agriculture explores climate risk, resilience, and the future of food through the adaptation stories of 25 award-winning sustainable farmers and ranchers growing fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and livestock across America. … Read More

What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? Dynamic Cropping Systems: Russ Zenner’s Story

March 13, 2017Climate Column

By Laura Lengnick, founder of Cultivating Resilience, LLC This story is excerpted from Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate (New Society Publishers, 2015).  Resilient Agriculture explores climate risk, resilience, and the future of food through the adaptation stories of 25 award-winning sustainable farmers and ranchers growing fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and livestock across America. … Read More

What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? Dynamic Cropping Systems: Nash Huber’s Story

February 27, 2017Climate Column

By Laura Lengnick, founder of Cultivating Resilience, LLC This story is excerpted from Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate (New Society Publishers, 2015).  Resilient Agriculture explores climate risk, resilience, and the future of food through the adaptation stories of 25 award-winning sustainable farmers and ranchers growing fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and livestock across … Read More

What Can Farmers Do About Climate Change? Dynamic Cropping Systems

February 21, 2017Climate Column

By Laura Lengnick, founder of Cultivating Resilience, LLC Some of America’s forward-thinking farmers and ranchers are innovating more flexible crop rotations that allow them to fine-tune crop choices in response to increasing weather variability.  This kind of crop rotation strategy is called “dynamic cropping.”  Dynamic cropping is an ecologically-based management strategy that optimizes production through the … Read More

What Do Farmers Need to Know About Climate Change? Developing Protocols for Environmental Markets

February 13, 2017Climate Column

By Kristen Ford, Program Manager for Farmer Veteran Coalition Relatively few range or pasture land projects are producing marketable greenhouse gas (GHG) credits, and producer awareness of environmental markets is extremely low. Through a U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG), Farmer Veteran Coalition, a national nonprofit organization that … Read More