USDA: Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change

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Vilsack Announces USDA Measures to Mitigate Risk Related to Climate Change

On June 5, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Vilsack outlined a vision for how the USDA plans to partner with farmers to deal with environmental challenges related to climate change. Vilsack announced several measures the USDA will take to help producers adapt to climate-related risks.

These measures include:

–       The establishment of seven regional climate hubs, which will “serve as a source of regional data and information for hazard and adaptation planning in the agriculture and forest sectors”;

–       The release of the “Caboron Management and Evaluation Tool,” also known as COMET-FARM, which is designed to help producers calculate how land management decision impact energy use and carbon emissions;

–       The online release of data collected under the Rapid Carbon Assessment, which developed quantitative estimates of amounts and distribution of carbon stocks for U.S. soils under various land covers; and

–       Updated cover cropping guidelines.

An expanded account of the USDA announcement was reported in the DTN Progressive Farmer here.