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Educating NC farms on financial impacts of climate resilient practices

Vincent Gauthier and Mark Blevins

Summary

Changing weather associated with a changing climate presents a growing challenge to agriculture in North Carolina. However, the diversity in size, products, and soils of North Carolina farms are assets to help them build resilience to severe weather. Adopting climate resilient agricultural practices, including cover crops, conservation tillage, and high tunnels can help North Carolina farms respond effectively and recover quickly to severe weather events.

Understanding the financial impacts of adopting climate resilient practices on the farm can help farmers and ranchers in decision-making as they adjust their production systems to changing weather. To support farmers and ranchers understand the financial implications of climate resilient practices, North Carolina Agricultural and Technological University (NC A&T) Cooperative Extension and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) conducted financial analyses at three farms implementing these practices in North Carolina.

The two organizations partnered with three farmers operating small farms across the state to assess the financial costs and benefits climate resilient practices. The participating farmers were able to identify the dollar per acre value of their climate resilient practices and pinpoint opportunities for further improvement. The team highlighted the findings in educational case studies that cooperative extension agents shared with small farms across the state.

This session we will present the impact of educating farmers on the financial impacts of climate resilient practices. Attendees will learn:
• How climate resilient practices benefited financial performance on three small farms in North Carolina, and
• How integrating climate resilience into financial management can improve risk management.

Details

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