MCP Agriculture Resources

(Updated 03/19/2023)

FAQs

General

Oregon Climate Assessments. Includes links to the most recent assessments as well as previous years. Assessments are made by the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute (OCCRI), Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.

USGS: National Climate Change Viewer (NCCV)

Climate Victory Gardens (Green America)

Information Related to Key Questions

Key Question 1: How will climate change, including reduction of water availability as well as temperature increases, influence agriculture, personal gardens, and landscaping?

How Climate Change Will Impact Coffee, Avocados and Cashews (Olivia Rosane, Ecowatch. Coffee, avocados and cashews are crops beloved by consumers and essential to the livelihoods of tropical farmers. But how will the climate crisis impact their future growth?

Climate Change Could Lead to Major Crop Failures in World’s Biggest Corn Regions

Effects of climate change taking root in the wine industry (60-Minutes, Lesley Stahl, December 26, 2021). What are the signs of global warming? Glaciers are melting at an increasingly rapid pace. Persistent droughts are spreading. Well, we have another to tell you about – wine, as in what you probably cracked open for Christmas dinner. Farmers who grow the grapes have seen the effects of climate change in the soil, in the roots of the vines, and the yields of their crops.

Key Question 2: What impact will the increases in the level of CO2 have on agriculture?

Hot & Hungry: How climate change affects the nutrient content of our food (Mother Earth Living, Sept/Oct 2018

Climate change will make hundreds of millions more people nutrient deficient. Nicola Davis, August 27, 2018 in The Guardian.

Oregon Scientist Tracks Climate Change Effects On Wine (Jefferson Exchange 7-23-18)

High CO2 Levels Make Rice Less Nutritious, Study Finds

The Great Nutrient Collapse  Helena Bottemiller Evich, Politico, September 13, 2017

How Rising CO2 Levels May Contribute to Die-Off of Bees   

Key Question 3: What is Regenerative Agriculture or Healthy Soil Management and how can it make a difference?

Nitrogen Fertilizers Are Major Greenhouse Gas Emitters, but Their Impact Can Be Cut With Available Solutions (Feb 10, 2023) Chris McDermott, EcoWatch

Agroforestry 101: Everything You Need to Know (December 4, 2022) Libby Leonard, EcoWatch

Granges Can Become Part of Regenerative Agriculture Movement (October 4, 2020) Ray Seidler, Cultivate Oregon

Eating sustainably is one of the easiest ways to combat climate change, experts say (September 24, 2021) Julia Jacobo, ABC News

Saving money, time, and soil: The economics of no-till farming. (August 3, 2021) Elizabeth Creech, Natural Resources Conservation Service

In Defense of  Soil Carbon Sequestration (01-13-2022) Ray Seidler. There are reports that disparage the use of biological carbon sequestration practices. Soil carbon sequestration has multiple functional roles in food production, soil and planetary health, sustainability of food and fiber (trees) and, in reducing concentrations of the greenhouse gas, atmospheric carbon dioxide. These benefits are widely accepted throughout the world and the mitigation potential is significant.

Seaweed feed additive cuts livestock methane but poses questions (June 17, 2019) Penn State, Science Daily

What Are Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria? (April 5, 2017) Kaitlyn Ersek, Holganix blog

What is Regenerative Agriculture? (September 12, 2020) Ray Seidler, Cultivate Oregon

Soil Scientist Wins $250K Prize for Helping Farmers and Fighting the Climate Crisis  Jordan Davidson, EcoWatch,

Invest in Food, Reverse Climate Change (Summer 2020) Eleanor Greene, Green America.org As scientists look at regenerative agriculture as a solution to the climate crisis, investors see opportunities to help the sector grow.

Green America. Food and Climate.

Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District. Maintaining your soil’s health: supporting soil as a living thing

6 States Tapping Into the Benefits of Carbon Farming (July 12, 2017) Diana Donlon

Farmers Put Down the Plow for More Productive Soil New York Times. [This link is good, however, The New York Times limits monthly access if you don’t have an account.]

Summit urged to clean up farming (Nov 22, 2011) Nature

Rodale Institute – Farming Institute Trials

Soil Carbon Restoration: Can Biology do the Job?  (August 14, 2015) Jack Kittredge,  NOFA/Mass

Soil holds potential to slow global warming, Stanford researchers find

How to make more dirt down on the farm and get paid for it – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Regenerative Agriculture Groups

Soil4Climate

Regenerative Organic Certified Regenerative Organic Certified™ is a revolutionary new certification for food, textiles, and personal care ingredients. ROC™ farms and products meet the highest standards in the world for soil health, animal welfare, and farmworker fairness.

Beef & holistic management and planned grazing theories of Allan Savory
Allan Savory’s Holistic Management Theory Falls Short on Science by Christopher Ketcham (Feb 23, 2017 in Sierra Magazine)
The Savory Method Can Not Green Deserts or Reverse Climate Change A response to the Allan Savory TED video. By David D. Briske, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Joel R. Brown, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, and H. Wayne Polley (Rangelands, a publication of The Society for Range Management, 2013)

Key Question 4: How can we apply these concepts in our daily lives?

Sources of Native Plants

Plant Oregon, Wagner Creek, Talent (also a sponsor of MCP)

Shooting Star Nursery, Central Point

Regenerative Agriculture practices in your garden

July 2020 SOCAN Monthly Meeting: Digging In: Master Gardener Meets Master Climate Protector (Rhianna Simes, Cultivate Oregon) YouTube Video.

Goodbye, Organic; Hello, ‘Regen-Certified’—Ready for the Newest Label on Store Shelves? (March 9, 2021) by Karn Manhas, Worth. For many of us, the organic certification label has become a touchstone we look for to help us choose what’s good for us. But is it good enough?

Gardening in a Warming World: A Climate Smart Gardening course Book  (2018) Cornell University Cooperative Extension.

Pollinator Project Rogue Valley – Plant for Pollinators, Phoenix, Oregon

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Link to SOCAN Agriculture Resources