Practices

Farming for Climate Resilience Fits All Farms

This is not about a single practice or a rigid methodology. Farming for climate resilience requires a holistic approach that includes a diverse set of management practices. Each farm and ranch, with its own unique geography, conditions, and management needs can find solutions that work for their farm. 

 

One holistic approach to farming for climate resilience is to focus on the four principles of soil health:

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1. Keep the soil covered

2. Minimize soil disturbance and inputs

3. Maximize biodiversity

4. Maintain Living Roots

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Practices that address these principles include:

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• no till and reduced tillage

• cover cropping

• compost application (or other organic amendments like biochar)

• mulching

• rotational grazing

• crop rotation

• integrated pest and nutrient management

• agroforestry practices, such as: silvopasture, riparian plantings, alley cropping and hedgerows        

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These practices not only build healthier soils, they improve water retention and filtration on farms, sequester carbon and better adapt to a fast-changing climate.

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Additional resilience approaches include: localized (on-site) renewables, irrigation modernization, alternative manure management, and other innovative practices.

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The Future is Built On History

We recognize these practices and principles are not new. We want to acknowledge the significant historic and current contributions to this work by Indigenous, Black, Latino and other People of Color farmers. A future of farming for climate resilience depends on increasing access to land to these farmers and creating a more just, equitable food system as a whole.