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This agricultural screening tool is designed to help you make agricultural planning decisions that account for changes in climate. The tool provides background about climate change and strategies for adapting to a changing climate.

What will change due to global warming?
It is hard to say exactly how things will change, but we know that climate changes. It may not be a radical change: there still will be dry and wet years, cold and warm years, but the general trend appears to be toward a warmer climate in the future. For example, Pennsylvania in 2100 could be as warm as Maryland is today, and perhaps (in some climate scenarios) as warm as North Carolina is today.

What are the consequences for agriculture?
Higher temperatures will affect crops' growing periods, the health of livestock, and perhaps the occurrence of pests. Precipitation is also likely to change, with more moisture likely in the Mid- and Upper-Atlantic region. Thus climate change is not necessarily bad for agriculture – with the right strategies farmers even can take advantage of it. Of course, consequences in the region also depend on what happens in the world market for agricultural goods. It is impossible to predict what will happen:   Most experts do not expect food shortages, but agricultural prices might rise or fall.

What can you do?
Scientific studies show that the impact of climate change on agriculture depends strongly on how farmers respond. If they apply adaptive strategies, food production might increase – but there will be regional differences and winners and losers. Future agriculture will be shaped by many factors, including biotechnology and new crop varieties, environmental laws, world market prices, farming techniques, pests and fertilizers. Climate change is only one of these many factors, but an important one that needs to be considered seriously.

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