COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Without a sustained cold snap yet this winter, Ohio again is experiencing an unseasonable season.

And an agricultural researcher says these unconventional weather patterns and other impacts of climate change are threatening the future of the food system.

Soil scientist and educator Laura Lengnick, founder and principal consultant for Cultivating Resilience, explains that growers have experienced reduced yields in recent years because of heavy, flooding rains followed by increased dry spells. She says there are other, more subtle, effects on food production.

"Winters are warming, fruit trees are blooming earlier and then we're losing crops because we have a late freeze that kills the blossoms," she points out.

Lengnick says the good news is the growing interest in sustainable farming practices that can slow down climate change by trapping carbon.

"Midwest farmers are leading this change, actually, in agriculture, and that is really focusing in on building soil health," she states. "For example, no till, cover crops and more diversified cropping systems."

Lengnick will dive deeper into the agricultural solutions to climate change during her keynote address, "Climate Change, Resilience, and the Future of Food," at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association's annual conference on Feb. 14.

Lengnick notes that resilience is not just about bouncing back from climate impacts, but also reducing future risks.

"There's a lot we can learn from resilience thinking about how to change the way that we've organized our food system, so that when these disturbances happen, there's less damage or maybe even no damage so we never need to bounce back," she states.

Lengnick says our food choices also play a role in slowing down and reversing climate change.

"I urge consumers to look for and support products, farmers and products that are using these kinds of sustainable agriculture tools," she stresses. "It's a big shift and it's a way that we all can support a more resilient agriculture and food system."


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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Arkansas produces more rice than any other state, and a new grant will help farmers explore ways to transition the industry to organic.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture has received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to research what it would take to grow organic rice domestically.

Alvaro Durand-Morat, assistant professor of agricultural economics and agribusiness at the university, said only a handful of the 100 organic rice farmers in the country are based in Arkansas. One barrier to entry is the lack of information on how the organic rice market operates.

"It is such a small market that the fact that we do not find much public information may be a result of the structure of the market," Durand-Morat explained. "And therefore, our project is trying to overcome that, and make information available to everybody that might be considering it as an opportunity in the future."

He noted the U.S. is a net importer of organic rice, despite exporting almost half of the rice crop it produces every year.

The grant also includes a multistate outreach program to share the research findings with others across the country. Durand-Morat pointed out he sees the research as a chance for rice farmers, in Arkansas and beyond, to expand their business.

"We know that organic rice sells at a very high premium," Durand-Morat observed. "There is a large pool of rice farmers that, if the conditions are right -- if the market information is available, and they can actually plan ahead -- I think there's a great potential for many farmers in Arkansas to eventually embrace organic rice."

The university is collaborating with agriculture nonprofit The Organic Center and the University of California Cooperative Extension on the grant.

This summer, the University of Arkansas also received a $1 million grant from NASA to study greenhouse gases and rice cultivation. It is estimated rice production creates 8% of human-caused methane emissions globally.

EAST TROY, Wis. - Wisconsin farmers are looking ahead to the fall harvest, and those who use cover crops face a deadline to sign up for a research project to measure the effectiveness of this form of sustainable farming.

Cover crops are designed to prevent harmful runoff and improve soil health on the farm. Researchers with the University of Wisconsin and the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute want to connect with producers this fall to see what works best for them.

Dan Smith, southwest regional specialist for the Nutrient and Pest Management Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said it's great that farmers are spreading the word about the practice, but added that reliable data needs to go along with that messaging.

"Cover crops are not free to plant," he said, "so we have to have a return, and in order to have a return, we have to be producing above-ground and below-ground biomass."

The more biomass produced through cover crops means a farmer has healthier soil to work with. This is the second year these partners have gathered data from farmland. Last year's initial run saw 15 participants, and Smith said they're on pace to more than double that number in 2021. The sign-up deadline is Oct. 1.

Smith said the overall goal is to ensure farmers who want to adopt this profitable and environmentally friendly practice have the best cover-crop recommendations for Wisconsin's climate. While a lot of methods have worked, he said their initial research has shown flexibility is sometimes needed.

"If we have really wet fall conditions when we're harvesting," he said, "it's really tough to plant a cover crop. So, can we look to other tools, such as interseeding a cover crop in June?"

He said it's about developing "workable science" for which types of cover crops to use, and when it's best to apply them. The state Department of Agriculture said through its Producer-Led Program, more than 83,000 farm acres in Wisconsin had cover crops in use last year, a 19% increase from the previous year.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- As the contributor of 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture has had a profound impact on climate change.

Legislation in Congress would help Ohio farmers and producers become part of the solution.

Drausin Wulsin, manager of Grassroots Farm and Foods in Hillsboro, raises organic, grass-fed livestock using climate-friendly practices. He said they converted about 300 acres of bottom land into pasture for grazing, which doubled the organic matter in the soil in about six years.

He added combating the impacts of climate change on his operation are a constant battle.

"A month ago, we had three and a half inches of rain in an hour, and we woke up in the morning and the cattle were knee-deep in water," Wulsin recounted. "And then three years ago it rained all winter long. So we're rethinking our operation because these flooding episodes are becoming more and more frequent."

The $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package being drafted by Congress this week includes proposed funding to mitigate climate change.

Sustainable agriculture advocates are calling for $30 billion to support conservation and climate-friendly agriculture programs that reduce greenhouse emissions, as well as $5 billion for climate-resilience research and programs.

Wulsin also manages a wetland mitigation bank in Pike County, where trees and wetlands are planted on retired farmland.

He pointed out between the wetland project work and grazing management, they are offsetting the pollution of about one car per acre.

"So we have about 600 acres, so it's about 600 cars per year," Wulsin explained. "If you take that bit of arithmetic, and you apply it across the corn belt, that would have a profound impact on our whole issue of carbon sequestration."

Wulsin noted sustainable farming is a difficult business, and those who care need tools and resources to provide technical assistance, which will help them reach their carbon-reduction goals and maintain viable farming operations.

"It's a capital intensive business, but with support it can have tremendous impact," Wulsin contended. "And we need a broader range of people coming into this business with energy and strength of mind and strength of back."