Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture Workshop

Postponed

 

(new date will be announced later)

 

 

 

Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture:
Southwest Perspective Workshop

May 17-18, 2016

Jornada Experimental Range on the NMSU Campus, Las Cruces, NM

 

 

 

Audience: USDA personnel (Rural Development, NRCS, US Forest Service, Agricultural Research Service, Risk Management Agency), state and private forestry, cooperative extension, state agricultural agencies, other federal partners.

 

Approach: The ten building blocks for climate smart agriculture and forestry are central to the USDA Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Strategy. The building blocks plan is intended to help land managers and rural communities develop practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase carbon storage, and generate clean renewable energy. For this plan to be successful in the Southwest, it is essential that we clarify (i) which building blocks are best suited for application in the Southwest region and where they might be applied and (ii) the economic and environmental benefits for farmers, ranchers, and forest land managers. At the national level, the various USDA agencies are tied to specific goals that must be reached under the building blocks plan. By identifying the best potential practices and locations for the Southwest, regional agency offices will be in a better position to identify realistic goals. This will be a 1 1/2 day workshop that focuses on 5 of the 10 building blocks. In addition to the six building blocks, the workshop will include presentations on climate communication and climate prediction. On the second day of the workshop, two breakout sessions will focus on agriculture and livestock partnerships. The workshop and specifically the breakout sessions will provide a platform for discussing the USDA building blocks and strategies for increasing the resilience of working lands in the face of climate change and greater climate variability.

 

Tentative agenda

 
11:00 AM   Registration
1:00-1:15 PM   Welcome Address
1:15-1:30   Introduction and Workshop Objectives
1:30-2:00   Overview of Department's Mitigation Strategy
2:00-2:30   Increasing Mitigation through Adaptive Management and Measurements
2:30-2:45   Break
2:45-3:15   Conservation of Sensitive Lands
3:15-3:45   Climate Communication
3:45-4:15   Climate Prediction
4:15   Adjourn
 
7:30-8:30 AM   Continental Breakfast
8:30-9:00   Recap of Day One and Day Two Objectives
9:00-12:00   Agriculture and Livestock Partnership Breakouts
12:00-1:15 PM   Lunch
1:15-1:45   Integrated Livestock/Agriculture Systems
1:45-2:15   Implementation via existing programs
2:15-3:00   Breakout groups recap and close out
3:00   Adjourn
     Agriculture Breakout
9:00 AM   Grazing lands
9:30   Soil Health and COMET
10:00   Break
10:30   Nitrogen Stewardship (Including USDA Programs and Tools)
11:00   Listening Session (open discussion, feedback)
     Livestock Partnership Breakout
9:00 AM   Livestock partnerships
9:30   Farm scale AD
10:00   Break
10:30   Partnership opportunities
11:00   Listening Session (open discussion, feedback)

 

Expected Outcomes:

  • Communicating the building blocks to regional USDA personnel and cooperative extension
  • Report / white paper back to USDA Climate Change Program Office – Assessment of Building Blocks for the Southwest
  • Online webinar