AGRICULTURE AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Farmers and our food system are increasingly vulnerable to new challenges from extreme weather caused by climate change. Droughts, heat waves, cold snaps, floods, fires, and severe storms can all do significant damage to crops grown outdoors at the mercy of the elements. Warming temperatures also enable invasive pests to move into new areas and crop and livestock diseases to spread more easily. Furthermore, extreme weather can disrupt food supply chains by damaging processing, storage, and transportation infrastructure.

 

Agricultural researchers are helping the industry solve these challenges by developing new climate-smart agricultural tools. Today, farmers are adapting to climate change with new seed varieties designed for changing weather patterns, precision farming technology to increase soil health, and improved conservation practices to improve water retainment, land fertility, and erosion control. These practices and others like them can help farmers secure strong harvests, even in difficult weather years.