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Here in Vermont, from 2007 to 2012 the number of sheep farms increased 27%, and the number of sheep increased by 35%.Ìý However, for a variety of reasons, many sheep farmers have struggled to turn a profit. At the same time, growing interest in natural non-toxic materials for multiple purposes, including insulation, upholstery and other home and garden uses, could provide a market for raw wool that is as much a part of sheep farming as are meat and milk.Ìý A number of these items are already produced in Europe and in the western United States.

Not only does drainage or improved water management improve crop and forage production, it allows for field operations and grazing to occur when they are needed, without damaging or compacting soils.Ìý Improved water management will be a key agricultural adaptation measure for dealing with climate change.ÌýÌýÌý

An extremely wet month may very well be followed by an extremely dry month. Predictability is at an all-time low. Furthermore, even though climate change will bring us more rain year-to-year, the pattern will likely be of intense storms, separated by very dry periods.

Effects are largely dependent upon the dominant production methods and systems within a given area, as well as the localized shifts in climatic factors. Similarly, future effects will be governed by the degree of climate change that occurs, as well as the extent of adaptations and resilience measures adopted by producers. Past observations and future projections of climatic trends can help inform producers and service providers and aid in planning and developing effective management strategies. Towards those ends, we offer:

Resilient systems will be critical to maintaining economic and environmental sustainability in the face of increased precipitation, more extreme storms and warming temperatures. Successful agricultural adaptations will involve both straight-forward and more creative solutions, including:

• managing soil and water differently,
• diversification of enterprises,
• infrastructure investment,
• new crop types and varieties
• adoption of new and different enterprises.

Because elderberry is relatively easy to cultivate, and can tolerate short-term flooding and the variable precipitation predicted with climate change, it may represent a good crop for farmers and landowners for diversifying income. However, as a perennial crop that takes at least three years to get established, interested growers need good information to evaluate the prospective return on investment for their enterprise.Ìý That is where this project came in.

This project seeks to understand how cattle, one of humankind's most important livestock species, are impacted by the switch from conventional confinement dairy production to a pasture-based management system.

The project goal is to develop and evaluate alternative management systems (including aeration, cover crops, no-till, and manure injection) for dominant agricultural land uses (dairy farms, in particular) in the Northeast that enhance ecosystem services and improve climate change resilience.