Bea Van Horne, Director US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station

1. Northwest Regional
Climate Hub
Bea Van Horne, Director
US Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Mike Strobel
Director, National Water and Climate Center
Natural Resource Conservation Service
Stuart Hardegree
Plant Physiologist
Agricultural Research Service

2. What are the Climate Hubs?
Regional network that assists managers of working lands
with managing for risks in a changing climate (drought,
floods, changing growing seasons, wild fires, etc.)

3. 3
USDA Regional Climate Hubs will provide:
• Technical & Program Support
• Assessments and Forecasts
• Outreach and Education

4. “Tool Makers”
Package & Develop
• Agriculture Experiment Stations
• Agricultural Research Service
• Forest Service R&D
• NOAA RISAs
• NIFA-funded Coordinated Agricultural Projects
• NRCS
• Climate Corporation
• Others
The Weak Link

5. Dairy
Cattle/Calf
Grains Oilseeds
Legumes
Veges potatoes
melons
Fruits
Nuts
Berries
NW Major Agricultural Products

6. Milk Production
Climate Risk Effect Adaptation Tools
+ heat stress
- fertility
Genetic selection for more heat tolerant
breeds of livestock
Breed information
+ infections
Provide heat abatement strategies for
animals (e.g. shade structures)
Cost/benefit information, given
climate projections
- growth
Change timing of livestock rotation to reduce
erosion and exposure to solar radiant
energy.
Seasonal temperature
projections
- milk
production
Conduct selective breeding of plants Seed availability information
- snowpack
- summer
rainfall
- soil moisture Reduce soil erosion using accepted practices. NRCS information
+ erosion
Work with municipalities to maintain
consistent supplies of energy and water
water availability and demand
projections
+ coverage of
woody conifers
Irrigate pastures; reduce animals/acre
Seasonal heat and rainfall
projections
+ temperatures
- forage
productivity
Change timing of livestock rotation
Seasonal forage condition
projections
-nutritional
value of forage
Change forage management Forage nutritional information

7. Climate Risk Effect Adaptation Tools
- summer rainfall
+ temperatures
- nutritional value of
forage
+ invasive weeds
+ coverage of woody
conifers
• Changes in timing and
spatial distribution of
grazing
• Changes in livestock
breeds
• Shifts in grazing areas
• Seasonal rainfall
projections
• Information about
breeds
Cattle and calf production

8. Climate Risk Effect Adaptation Tools
changes in timing and amount of
precipitation
Advanced growing degree days
• Changes in timing of
farm operations
• Changes in varieties and
crop systems
Cost/benefit
analysis of
alternatives,
given climate
projections
- water availability for irrigated
farming operations
+ CO2 concentrations - water demands
heat stress
- grain filling
+ water demands
Grains, oilseed, dried beans, dried peas

9. Climate Risk Effects Adaptation Tools
+ heat and drought stress
advanced bud break
+ water demands
+ pests
change vine and tree varieties
+ irrigation
Cost/benefit
analysis of
cropping
systems, given
climate
projections
and varieties
available
+ winter rainfall + fungal pathogens + spraying especially grape, cherry and apple
-cold temperature and
chilling
- fruit production
delayed bud break
change vine and tree varieties- water availability for
irrigation
-fruit production
+ CO2 concentrations + yields
Fruits, tree nuts and berries

10. Climate Risk Effects Adaptation Tools
- snowpack
- availability of irrigation
water
change cropping systems
Cost/benefit analysis of
cropping systems, given
climate projections and
varieties available
earlier rainfall + water demand + irrigation
Seasonal rainfall
projections
+ temperature
+ water demand + irrigation
Seasonal temperature
projections
- potato yield develop and use later-maturing
varieties (delayed leaf senescence)
Information on potato
varieties+ CO2 + potato yield
Vegetables, melons, potatoes and sweet potatoes

11. AgBizLogic
Farm data
• Acres
• Yield
• Crop
systems
• Expenses
Options
• Alternative
cropping
systems
• Marketing
• Irrigation
Site-specific
climate
projections
Evaluation
of Options
Yields

12. 5/21/2015
Needs include
• Better forecasting of seasonal climate
• Better forecasting of local conditions
• Better alert systems

13. A Loose Confederation of Climate
Projects in the Northwest
AgWeatherNet
Big Wood
Long Term Agricultural
Research Sites
DataBasin
Northwest Knowledge
Network
Willalmette Water 2100
REACCH
WWETAC
Climate Friendly
Farming
Decisions support
Tools for Fruit
AgBizLogic
Animal Agriculture
Klamath Basin
Decision Support

14. Hub
Alchemy
Farmers, ranchers, and
private forest owners are
more successful at
adaptation and mitigation
Research
scientists
Extension
specialists
Strategy

15. What is the Hub doing now?
• Convening research and extension for
proposal development in range, forestry,
and cropping systems.
• Stakeholder engagement team is
assessing existing educational programs
and tools to develop “tool kits” for
extension.
• Supporting expansion of historical and
forecasted climate information.

16. What is the Hub doing now?
• Funding development of a climate module for
AgBizLogic decision software for farmers.
• Developing a collaboration around incised
streams problem for ranchers that includes
 NW Climate Science Center
 Great Basin Landscape Conservation
Cooperative Desert Research Institute
 Pacific Northwest Research Station (USFS)
 USGS Pacific Science Center