April 8, 2013

Climate change is both global and local, with implications for world trade as well as regional agriculture. Are you familiar with the terms, the trends, and the climate tools available to help you make better informed decisions?

These were among the topics featured in a two-day, regional sustainable agriculture and climate change conference held in Nebraska City earlier this year.

The conference was made possible through a grant from the Professional Development section of the North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education USDA program. UNL Extension Educator and grant recipient Tapan Pathak collaborated with Julie Doll, outreach and education coordinator at the Michigan State University Kellogg Biological Center, on the project, “Ensuring Sustainable Agriculture in the Face of Changing Climate.” This grant received special recognition from NCR-SARE as the Paula Ford Professional Development Program Proposal of the Year.

The project was to provide regionally tailored information on sustainable agriculture and climate change to extension educators and NRCS personnel across the 12-state North Central Region. Workshops were held in Nebraska and Michigan.

Select Conference Presentations

Four of the featured presentations from the Nebraska workshop were recorded and are now available online.

• The Climate Changers: Natural Variability and the Effects of Human Actions with Ken Hubbard, UNL professor and climatologist with the High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC). He addresses climate change basics, trends, and projections at the global and regional levels. He also looks at potential effects on agriculture.
   
• Effective Use of Climate Outlooks for Agricultural Decision Making with Al Dutcher, Nebraska state climatologist. He provides information on how to access and interpret climate outlooks from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and use them in the agricultural decision-making process.
   
• Soil Health — the Key to Regional Climate Adaptation with Corey Brubaker, NRCS state conservationist in Nebraska. He references a recent USDA report on the harmful effects climate change could have on agriculture and discusses the importance of improving soil health and adapting other practices to help mitigate some of the effects of this shift.
   
• Dealing with the Uncertainties of Climate Models with Guillermo Baigorria, crop modeler in the UNL School of Natural Resources. He provides information to help understand the uncertainty in climate models. He describes how climate models work and the different types of uncertainties associated with climate projects, addressing how they can still be incorporated into decision support tools.

Tapan Pathak
UNL Extension Educator