Alternative Crops Climate Adaptation Science project

Climate change is predicted to impact agriculture, ranching, and food security globally. Our overall project objective is to identify alternative crops that will provide producers with viable options over the next 80 years based on climate change projections. Farmers will benefit from this compilation of alternative options, giving them agency in deciding how to best move forward in their production to maintain economic viability. We used expert opinion to identify an array of alternative crops for our study region. We then identified the climate tolerance of these crops and use downscaled climate projections to identify the suitability for each crop in the expected future climate. Additionally, we sourced economic data from the National Agricultural Statistical Survey to gather information about how much farmers could make growing any given crop, using modern crop budgets sources for university extension offices and yield and price data from 1990-2020. We engaged stakeholders and disseminated our findings through a town hall meeting with local farmers, a website, and through USU extension.

据预测，气候变化将对全球范围内的农业、畜牧业与粮食安全造成负面影响。本项目的总体目标是基于气候变化预测数据，筛选出可供农业生产者在未来80年内选用的可行替代作物，为其提供可靠的生产备选方案。农户可通过本研究编制的替代作物备选清单获益，自主决策如何优化生产模式以维持经济可持续性。

本研究通过专家意见征询，为研究区域筛选出一系列替代作物候选品种。随后，我们测定了这些作物的气候耐受特性，并利用降尺度（downscaled）气候变化预测数据，评估各作物在未来预期气候条件下的种植适宜性。

此外，我们从美国国家农业统计调查（National Agricultural Statistical Survey）获取基础经济数据，结合大学推广办公室的现行作物预算资料，以及1990-2020年的作物产量与价格数据，测算农户种植各类作物的预期收益。我们还邀请利益相关方参与研讨，并通过与当地农户举办的市政厅座谈会、专属网站以及USU推广项目发布了本研究的全部成果。