As farmers face a changing climate, a USDA program designed to help is at risk

Even as Krupicka looks forward to spring, she says it’s brought new challenges in recent years with heavier downpours and big temperature swings. Waterlogged soil can increase the risk of root rot and other diseases, while erratic temperatures can stress plants and disrupt typical growing seasons.

“We might have a time or stretch of temperatures where it’s just very hot,” Krupicka said. “That really impacts certain crops, especially the lettuce … if they get just too warm, they just get bitter, so you have an unmarketable crop.”

Krupicka says they’re experimenting with different varieties, shifting planting dates and scaling back certain crops in response to changes they’ve experienced on the farm since they purchased it in 2012.

“With the climate change, we need to be more nimble,” Krupicka said. “And there’s going to be a certain point where we’re just not even going to grow [some crops].”

While farmers have always had to contend with unexpected weather, a growing number say it’s becoming harder to predict and more extreme. Nearly 80% of farmers surveyed in a 2023 Iowa State University poll said climate change is happening, up from 68% in 2011.

To better understand the risks and help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners adapt, the U.S. Department of Agriculture created a network of regional “Climate Hubs” in 2014. Scientists and producers say the hubs provide valuable information and support collaboration across state lines.

But now the climate hubs’ future is uncertain.

As part of President Trump’s 2026 USDA budget request to Congress, the administration proposed terminating over $145 million in discretionary funding to the 11 hubs and climate science research.

And the massive spending package that Congress passed in November cuts funding for the hubs, according to bill summaries published by the Senate and House appropriations committees.