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New Resource for Understanding How the Climate is Changing: USDA Releases Climate Quick Reference Guides


One challenge with our changing climate is understanding how that change can differ depending on location. 

In the United States, some parts of the country are experiencing more frequent and intense rainfall, while other parts are seeing more prolonged or flash drought. Some areas are warming rapidly like the Northeast, while others have experienced slower warming rates such as the Southeast. America’s agricultural producers, forest owners, and their service providers need to be able to access usable climate information and data that is location specific. As a result, the USDA Climate Hubs, in partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) teamed up to create Climate Quick Reference Guides. 

These guides give a snapshot of how the climate is changing in any U.S. state or county utilizing data prepared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Northeast Regional Climate Center.

  • How might these guides be used? For example, knowing that… since 1950, there has been a 302% increase in the number of 2-inch extreme precipitation events in a 24-hour period in Vermont, a dairy farmer may decide to plant cover crops (NRCS Conservation Practice Standard (CPS) 340 Cover Crops) in the fall rather than have bare soil over the winter to prevent soil erosion; 
  • winters have warmed 4-5 degrees Fahrenheit in Maine since 1970, an organic vegetable farmer may choose to expand their season with high tunnels (CPS 325 High Tunnel) and amend the soil with biochar (NRCS CPS 336 Soil Carbon Amendment) to sequester carbon;
  • there has been a 24% increase in rainfall in New York since 1950, a corn and soybean farmer may decide to transition to a no-till cropping system (NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 329 Residue and Tillage Management, No-Till) to reduce compaction and increase organic matter so more water can infiltrate into the ground, therefore reducing run-off;
  • well managed pastures will do better in a climate with varying precipitation, a livestock farmer in Pennsylvania (which is seeing both an increase in rainfall although the number one reason for crop loss is drought) may switch from confined feeding and convert crop fields into a rotational grazing system (NRCS CPS 528 Prescribed Grazing);
  • the Chesapeake Bay is the 3rd most vulnerable area to sea-level rise in the US which has risen 12-14 inches since 1880, a Maryland crop farmer may switch to roller crimping cover crops to keep soils covered to lock in moisture and prevent soil erosion. 

With this information, producers can go to their local NRCS office and apply for funding for practices that can help them adapt to and/or help mitigate these changes in climate.  

USDA is making more than $3 billion in funding available for agricultural producers and forest landowners nationwide to participate in voluntary conservation programs and adopt climate-smart practices in fiscal year 2024 as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. Understanding how the climate is changing in a location is crucial for farming and forestry operations. It is not our grandparents’ weather, therefore we cannot manage land the same way they did.  Knowing the changes will help farmers and forest owners make the best decisions to change practices to be profitable in the future.

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