By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy, and Jake Stukenberg, NFU Intern
Here on the Climate Column, we have discussed the impacts climate change will have on your farm as well as management decisions you can make to cope with these changes. Longtime Climate Leaders know that there are many climate impacts as well as mitigation and adaption practices to track. Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Northwest Climate Hub has a tool that can help.
Oregon State University developed AgBiz Logic, a tool to help farmers anticipate environmental impacts in the business decision making processes, down to the farm level. In addition to supporting budget design and monitoring cash flow, the software tracks practices with potential environmental impacts, like tillage and nutrient applications, giving farmers a means to measure environmental performance.
The tool supports farmers in adaption too, using “downscaled farm-level information to project yield and production inputs that change over time due to climate change.” It can help a farmer navigate the changing climate in their specific location by providing advice on management decisions and by tracking profitability as changes take place on the farm.
Registration is free, and the tool can import much of the data from existing record documents. Interested producers can learn more from USDA’s Northwest Climate Hub.
Would this be useful on your farm? Why or why not? If you have any questions, drop them in the comments section below.
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