Farmers propose climate-resilient solutions

Lynn Grooms
Jan 7, 2021
Jan 7, 2021

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Managed grazing can help sequester carbon, improve soil health, provide wildlife and pollinator habitat, and increase the water-holding capacity of soil. Prioritizing managed grazing is one of four main recommendations by the Governor's Task Force on Climate Change.

Lynn Grooms/Agri-View

A strategy for making managed grazing a priority is allocating funding for a statewide grazing program at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Dedicated regional coordinators would provide technical assistance and business planning.

Lynn Grooms/Agri-View

Flood damages state highway near Ashland, Wisconsin.

A large portion of Wisconsin State Highway 13 is washed out just south of Highbridge in Ashland County. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more costly as a result of climate change.

Contributed

West Lake Road in the town of Caledonia near Portage, Wisconsin, is closed to traffic as the Wisconsin River's levels rise and spill floodwaters across several areas. Extreme rainfall events have been increasing in the past few years in Wisconsin, thought to be a result of climate change.

Brad Allen/Daily Register

Lynn Grooms

Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part article featuring recommendations from the Wisconsin Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change; the first part was published in the Dec. 31, 2020, issue of Agri-View. The task force recently published recommendations for mitigating the effects of climate change in Wisconsin. Its land-use subcommittee focused on how current and future efforts by Wisconsin’s farmers can help in the effort. Recommendations for avoiding conversion of natural working lands and prioritizing managed-grazing systems are featured in this article.

Lynn Grooms writes about the diversity of agriculture, including the industry’s newest ideas, research and technologies as a staff reporter for Agri-View based in Wisconsin.