The U.S Department of Agriculture is setting up seven new research hubs across the country to help farmers adapt to climate change. And as KUNC’s Luke Runyon reports, one will be in northern Colorado.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says in the past few years farmers across the Midwest have grappled with epic drought, mega-blizzards and crippling heat.
“The combination of all those factors," he said, "convinces me that the climate is changing and it will have its impact.”
A Fort Collins research station will house the new initiative. Vilsack says the research hubs are tasked with charting the risks to farming, ranching and forestry - and then devising strategies to adapt to a frenetic climate.
“If we are not proactive, as the president has directed, we will find ourselves 5, 10, 15, 20 years down the road wishing we had done what we’re doing today.”
The White House has grouped the move in with other climate-related initiatives taken in the absence of Congressional action.
