Agriculture in a Changing Climate Across Scales

World-wide, agriculture is affected by a complex web of interactions among weather and climate, land use, environmental health, and economic and social processes. Our society is facing many challenges related to sustainability, food security, and weather and climate risk management. Extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, extreme heat events affect not only agricultural productivity but the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers in the United States and across the world.  Addressing these complex and challenging problems requires an integrated, interdisciplinary research as well as broad participation of researchers and decision-makers, especially from traditionally underrepresented populations and communities. 

The USDA/NCAR-sponsored 4-day workshop will provide an opportunity for the participants to embrace an interdisciplinary approach to these scientific and societal challenges by offering the variety of daily sessions focused on topics ranging from fundamental climate science to vulnerability of agroecosystems and farm communities. The workshop will focus on topics of weather and climate-related impacts, vulnerability, and decision-making across spatial scales with an emphasis on the agricultural sector in the U.S. With the help of geospatial technologies (i.e., GIS and remote sensing).The participants will learn how to integrate spatial information about weather, climate change, agriculture, and society in a meaningful and innovative way.

The workshop agenda will include instructions on integration of climate and weather science and data with traditional GIS data and spatial analysis methods to facilitate interdisciplinary research and build capacity for decision-making. Presentations, panel discussions, and hands-on GIS training exercises will be conducted. The participants will gain knowledge of a broader framework for research, and several research tools and data sources that they can incorporate into specific projects at their home institutions as well as in their communities. The workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to share their knowledge and experience and will promote collaborations among the participants and NCAR/UCAR researchers.

Because the problems of climate change adaptation, preparedness for weather extremes and developing sustainable agricultural practices affect every community in this country, it is especially important that representatives from all communities are engaged in the sciences and decision-making. We invite students and early career faculty who are interested in applying interdisciplinary methods and GIS technology to addressing impacts of weather and climate on agricultural systems and rural communities. Students and early-career faculty from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges, and Hispanic-Serving institutions are encouraged to apply.