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5 steps for regenerative agriculture with respect to climate (targeting Hudson Valley NY)

These 5 steps were designed for small/medium farms (fruit, vegetable, grazing) in the Hudson Valley NY to build climate resilient farming.

Each step has a worksheet to help you think about it on your farm.

For more details, go here: https://regenerativefarmresilienceguide.org/

Step 1

Gather and summarize information about your operation including your assets under management and your farm goals using two simple tools to create a snapshot of your farm’s current business condition and revisit your farm and family goals.

Step 2

Learn more about the current and expected climate change effects in your region to identify the climate-related threats and opportunities specific to your farm operation.

Step 3

Select a complementary set of climate risk management strategies that draw on a diversity of farm resources to cultivate the specific and general climate resilience of your farm.

Step 4

Evaluate selected climate risk management strategies and associated practices to identify those that are a “best fit” for your farm operation.

Step 5

Make a climate resilience plan to implement a group of complementary “best fit” climate resilience practices, including a timeline, specific steps to implementation, and monitoring the performance of your new practices to climate risks.

 

 

Helping Small and Mid-sized farms that are underserved by Crop Insurance

On the Use of Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) by Specialty Crop Producers in NYS

The US Risk Management Agency (RMA), created Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) to meet the needs of small and mid-sized diverse farms who are underserved by crop insurance.

WFRP has several benefits for diversified specialty crop producers who engage in direct marketing as the insurance covers actual farm historic revenue rather than reimbursements based on wholesale prices of crops, subsidized premiums for diversified crops, and allows producers to cover most of a farm’s commodities (crops and livestock) in a single policy.

Despite these benefits, few fruit and vegetable farms in the Northeast have enrolled in the WFRP.

We discuss the role of the program, its current use nationally and in New York State, and compare premiums and payments between WFRP and a representative farm’s likely alternatives: a Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) Actual Production History policy available for certain commodities in certain counties or a Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) policy available where FCIP is not. Finally, we discuss some ongoing challenges in the adoption of WFRP by specialty crop producers in New York State. 

To read the full report, check out this linked pdf kindly shared by: Elizabeth Higgins

Report written by Gregory Astill, Elizabeth Higgins, Sharon Raszap Skorbiansky, and Bradley Rickard