Preparing for a Changing Climate

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Climate Change, Agriculture, and Outreach
Challenges and Opportunities
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Extension Concerns

• Farmers are not interested
• Agriculture is a small part of the problem
• Farming will get blamed unfairly
• Insufficient data on possible impacts

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Extension Interest

• Agriculture will be affected
• Understanding needed despite uncertainty
• Many responses good management
• Innovations may increase profitability

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CAST Recommendations

• Increase carbon sequestration
• Reduce land clearing
• More use of bio-fuels
• Increase N use efficiency less N2O
• Increase manure mgmt less CH4

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One Size Fits All

• Slow global warming by reducing greenhouse gases
• 2) Build our capacity to cope and adapt

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Capture carbon in plants

• and release it?

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Legume N instead of fertilizer N
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Waste vegetable oil for fuel
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Burning waste vegetable oil
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GH heated with waste vegetable oil
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Making biodiesel on the farm
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Growing oil seed crops on the farm
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Making alcohol on the farm
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Grass pellets look promising
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on-farm wind power (net metering matters)
Butterworks Farm, Westfield, VT 35 kW generator
produces 3,000-3,500 kW / month in winter (60
of farms electricity, 15 in summer)
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Reducing tillage no-till
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Reducing tillage spader
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Food Distribution local less energy
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Irrigation is becoming essential
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Corn Earworm earlier?
Pest patterns have changed
Potato Leafhopper more frequent?
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perennial crops at risk hard to adapt
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Current and projectedrange of Sugar Maple
Based on projected doubling of CO2 by 2050 and
reduced precip.
From Margaret Davis, University of Minnesota
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Lets get it on the program!
Climate Change