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Deepening patterns of water scarcity and excess pose a growing threat to agriculture across much of the United States according to a new report from the Environmental Defense Fund.

This EDF report provides an overview of the dual water stressors of too little and too much water, the current and potential future impacts these might have on agriculture, and highlights emerging adaptation strategies to enhance resilience. This report focuses on impacts to agriculture in the western and midwestern U.S.

Water has finally reached the highest levels of global climate negotiations. The path to a sustainable freshwater future, however, lies with ground-level users. At COP 28, EDF is elevating their voices, their needs and the approaches they find most useful. _______ While greenhouse gases drive climate change, many of its impacts are inherently liquid. Whether …

As discussions at COP28 wrestle with climate impacts on global food and water security, we hear from a Hopi farmer on his thriving practice of dry farming and his hopes for shared learning in Dubai. ______ The arid climate of the Hopi reservation in northeastern Arizona receives a mere 8.5 inches of annual rainfall. For …

Extreme weather, driven by climate change, was already hitting these farmers and fishers hard. Then El Niño happened. For the world's food producers, the need for resilience suddenly got 

In early December, the EDF climate-smart agriculture team will join hundreds of farmers, food and agriculture companies, university experts and other conservation organizations at the 2023 Sustainable Agriculture Summit, “Scaling Collective Impact: Collaborating to Accelerate Agricultural Sustainability.” This conference is one of the largest annual gatherings of people working to improve sustainability in U.S. agriculture,

Here at Environmental Defense Fund, a key part of our strategy includes working with businesses to create game-changing solutions for business and the planet. Now, we’re working with the dairy sector to drastically reduce supply chain emissions, with a particular focus on methane, an especially potent greenhouse gas.

Companies in the meat and dairy sector are uniquely positioned to tackle methane emissions. By setting an ambitious methane reduction target, companies can slash their greenhouse gas emissions and build more resilient and equitable supply chains, while meeting shareholder and customer demands for climate action.

Paper co-authored by EDF scientists examines the relationship between soil organic matter and yield heterogeneity, studying its distribution between particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral associated organic matter (MAOM) at the sub-field scale within 9 farms located in the central United States.

Voluntary carbon markets are a source of much-needed finance to help the agriculture sector realize its potential for climate mitigation. Still, carbon credit buyers face challenges in differentiating carbon credits that represent real and verifiable climate impact, based on the latest science and best practices in a crowded marketplace. It takes due diligence to get …

A new EDF report finds that adding sorghum, rye, oats and millet acreage in Kansas would use 12% less water than today, while boosting nutritional yield per acre.

Food production and the livelihoods of rural communities across the globe are vulnerable to changing climate conditions.

Dairy companies and farmers have a big opportunity to cut emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, while continuing to help feed the world.

After a whirlwind and inspiring New York Climate Week, I’m looking ahead to COP28 and reflecting on the key themes that I want to carry forward. This year more than ever, food and agriculture sector issues were front of mind in the conversation, given companies even more opportunities and resources to take action. I came …

Analysis co-authored by EDF reveals the potential to use empirical approaches to accurately quantify, at project scales, soil organic carbon stock responses to practice change.

When a continent with 65% of the world’s arable land struggles to feed its 1.4 billion people, we know something is wrong. The African and global food systems need a rethink. The urgent and pressing need to address a more productive, transparent, equitable food system, poverty and the far-reaching effects of climate change requires us to forge alliances among diverse stakeholders and sectors.

The world’s favorite alcoholic beverage is in danger from climate change. 

Report from EDF and La Isla Network details what is needed to protect farm labor from dangerous heat.

Farmworkers are on the frontlines of heat waves. A federal heat standard will protect them and make food production more climate resilient. The post The growing threat of heat for farmworkers first appeared on Growing Returns.

Report from EDF and La Isla Network details what is needed to protect farm labor from dangerous heat

Data on the financial impacts of climate-smart practices, like cover crops, can help inform farmers’ financial decisions when considering these practices. While cover crops can help improve soil health and make farms more resilient to extreme weather, farmers continue to have questions about the types of financial impacts cover crops will have on their operations.

In 2021, EDF, the University of Minnesota and other partners began a collaborative effort to gather farm-level financial data on cover crops. The project is gathering detailed financial data on cover crops between 2022-2024 from corn, soybean, and other row crop farms across Minnesota. The data and insights from this project may also provide value to federal and local cost-share programs, agricultural lending solutions, and other climate-smart initiatives.

Between 2022-2024, EDF and its' partners will collect financial data on cover crops from corn, soybean, wheat and corn silage farms across Minnesota.

Amanda Leland, Executive Director at Environmental Defense Fund, on why supporting farmers, fishers and food producers is critical to ensuring abundant food for a growing population in a warming world.

EDF and FBN report found that 83% of farmers who completed program requirements successfully met climate and water quality goals, while maintaining yields.