The Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Planning Tool helps both new and experienced producers consider the climate risks they face and identify adaptation and mitigation practices that are appropriate for their operation.
This tool is designed as a template, or “open workbench” for the user to enter information based on their operation and goals. The tool is not a diagnostic tool and does not recommend specific solutions for a given climate related production issue. The tool can be used across any farming system and allows you to choose strategies based on your own ideas and research, reflecting the realities of your farm system, location, microclimate, local markets, or other relevant variables. Please note that some personal farm data entry is required, but no user information is collected.
The main questions this tool helps the user answer are:
What are the climate adaptation and/or mitigation strategies that might be most appropriate for my operation?
How should I make decisions about implementing these strategies?
How will I know if I have achieved success with a given strategy?
The planning tool is available for free in a number of ways. First as a downloadable Excel file; second, in a Google Drive “sheets” format for those who do not have Excel; and third, as a printable PDF. A completed example is also available for reference in a Google Drive “sheets” format. Download the version of the planning tool that best suits your needs below:
Why should I use this planning tool?
Creating a farm-specific climate adaptation and/or mitigation plan can feel overwhelming. The Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Planning Tool takes the experiences of many farmers, agricultural advisors, and researchers, and provides a framework to help guide the planning process. The tool allows a producer (or agricultural advisor working with a producer) to follow a set of steps towards a carefully considered and complete vision of a more climate resilient future for a given farm. The tool provides more in-depth instruction and “worksheet” style steps than other climate planning tools. This is intended to help scaffold the planning process, and make each step in the process, from brainstorming to evaluation, more concrete.
This tool was developed by Jason Lilley, Rachel Schattman, Sara Kelemen, Kate Holcomb, Ben Crockett, and Joshua Faulkner. This tool was inspired by the USDA Midwest, Northeast, and Northern Forest Climate Hub's Adaptation Resources for Agriculture Workbook: Janowiak, M.K., Dostie, D.N., Wilson, M.A., Kucera, M.J., Skinner, R.H., Hatfield, J.L., Holliger, D., Swanston, C.W. (2016). Adaptation Resources for Agriculture: Responding to Climate Variability and Change in the Midwest and Northeast. U.S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1944. Washington, DC. Substantial revisions to the planning process have been developed by Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Fellowship program participants and educators and are reflected in this tool.