USDA Regional Climate Hubs – Partnering to bring information and tools to managers of working lands

Abstract:

In February 2014, USDA announced the location of seven Regional Hubs for Risk Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change (Climate Hubs) and three “Sub Hubs”. The mission of these Climate Hubs is to develop and deliver science-based region-specific information and technologies to agricultural and natural resource managers that enable climate-smart decision-making and to direct land managers to USDA programs that can assist them in implementing those decisions. This mission is similar to that of Cooperative Extension and the Agricultural Experiment Stations (both of which benefit from USDA funding); therefore it is crucial that we partner with Land Grant Universities in order to achieve this mission. As USDA stands up these Climate Hubs we are working closely with USDA agencies, Land Grant Universities, other federal climate science programs, and other partners to determine how best to provide usable information and tools to farmers, ranchers and forest land managers to enable them to make climate-smart decisions.