Climate change poses both risks and opportunities for Northeast growers.

A trend toward shorter, milder winters leads to longer growing seasons and potential for new crops and varieties for local markets. However, these seasonal shifts may also benefit many insect pests and be harmful for some pollinator species. Researchers from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) are looking at ways that growers might adapt to and take advantage of current and expected climate conditions. Check out the research taking place at this New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station farm.

The Northeastern Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (NERA) represents and promotes the research efforts of regional Land-grant universities and organizations.

NERA and its component Land Grant Universities are key Northeast Climate Hub partners.  They significantly contribute to the Hub mission of aiding the region’s farmers and foresters to confidently make climate-informed decisions.

The “Select Precipitation Variable’ dropdown control allows you to plot three variables: An average of the cumulative precipitation for the 5 nearest Mesonet stations calculated for the current year (plotted in white) and for each of the past 10 years.

The USDA Forest Service has published a new report, Mid-Atlantic Forest Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment and Synthesis: A report from the Mid-Atlantic Climate Change Response Framework Project.

This report summarizes how climate change is already affecting the forests across the Mid-Atlantic region, including increasing damage from heavy precipitation events, extreme heat, and salt water intrusion.

What do Vermonters who make a living from the land think about agroforestry?

The climate in the Northeast U.S. has been changing. Winters have been getting warmer and heavy rainstorms are becoming much more common. See what these changes mean to agriculture in the Northeast.

Many farmers are feeling that seasons have shifted, and weather station data shows this to be true.  The latest climate models suggest that these changes are likely to continue. But there are many actions farmers and forest landowners in the Northeast can take to lessen the impact – or even take advantage of - these climate trends.