Page i
Page ii

COMPILED BY:

Gerald D. Tillman, Chief ............................................................................. Survey Administration Branch

Census and Survey Division

Eileen O’Brien, Deputy Director................................................................................Office of the Director

Research and Development Division

Todd Ballard, Deputy Director ...................................................................................Office of the Director

National Operations Division

Yetzenia Correa, Program Analyst .............................................................. Survey Administration Branch

Census and Survey Division

Kim Linonis, Statistician ...............................Summary, Estimation, and Disclosure Methodology Branch

Methodology Division

Rick Mueller, Section Head....................................................................Spatial Analysis Research Section

Research and Development Division

Jean N. Porter, Section Head ...................................................Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section

Statistics Division

Nick Streff, Regional Director.................................................................................Northern Plains Region

Field Operations Division

Alex Wang, IT Specialist............................................................... Program and Risk Management Branch

Strategic Planning and Business Service Division
Page iii

Table of Contents

Subject Page

Section 1: Introduction.................................................................................................................................1

Section 2: NASS Strategic Goals and Objectives........................................................................................3

Section 3: Climate Change Vulnerabilities and Data Gap Analysis Assessment........................................5

Section 4: Agency Climate Adaptation Actions........................................................................................11

Section 5: Enhancement of Workforce Climate Literacy ..........................................................................16

Section 6: Environmental Justice...............................................................................................................18

Section 7: USDA Climate Hubs ................................................................................................................19

Section 8: Conclusion ................................................................................................................................20

Section 9: References and Resources ........................................................................................................21
Page 1

Section 1: Introduction

Climate change poses real and present risks to communities across the country. Its impacts are already 

being felt. The USDA’s adaptation plan released in October 2021 describes USDA’s climate 

vulnerabilities and steps the Department will take to bolster adaptation and increase resilience to the 

impacts of climate change. The USDA’s Departmental Regulation 1070-001 directs USDA agencies to 

prepare detailed climate adaptation implementation plans that speak to how agencies will address risks to 

their mission and operations in the face of a changing climate.

MISSION

To provide timely, accurate and useful statistics in service to United States agriculture.

The National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) supports the USDA’s adaptation and resilience path 

forward according to these guiding principles:

• Protecting NASS’s assets (i.e., employees, facilities, IT infrastructure, secured data, etc.) from 

climate change impacts by assessing vulnerabilities, taking action to adapt to the changing 

environment, and making resilience a cornerstone of operations to ensure NASS has climate-ready 

sites to maintain programs, perform data collection efforts, and produce products and services for 

the U.S. agriculture sector and industry.

• Building upon all USDA agencies’ scientific expertise and the world class research and 

development capabilities of USDA National Laboratories to ensure promising adaptation 

technologies are included within our Climate Change Adaptation Resilience Strategy.

• Partnering with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), local 

agriculture commodity groups, and industry leaders to share and corroborate the benefits and ideas 

of the NASS climate adaptation, resilience, and environmental initiatives; and

• Leveraging NASS’s options through collaboration with other federal agencies to spur innovation, 

identify and reduce climate-related financial risk, and enhance resilience to better enhance data 

collection efforts, programs, products, and services.
Page 2

NASS will continue to leverage its unique climate science expertise, modeling, data infrastructure, and 

capabilities in partnership with other agencies and institutions to continuously improve its adaptation and 

resilience strategies. 
Page 3

Section 2: NASS Strategic Goals and Objectives

NASS’s FY 2020 – FY 2025 Strategic Plan speaks to the agility and capacity required for tackling the 

climate crisis. The strategic goals and initiatives align well with the development of the NASS Climate 

Adaptation and Resilience Plan by demonstrating an ongoing commitment to strategic and operational 

planning processes anchored around these three goals:

▪ Strategic Goal #1: Workforce Transformation – Foster a diverse workforce to meet current and 

emerging needs 

▪ Strategic Goal #2: Exceptional Customer Service – Proactively strengthen relationships with data 

users, providers, and partners 

▪ Strategic Goal #3: Organizational Excellence – Operate as a strategic, integrated, efficient 

organization built on sound management practices and methodological principals 

To achieve a data program that is more agile, efficient, and responsive to the needs of data providers, data 

users, stakeholders, and policymakers, NASS created three strategic initiatives tightly integrated within 

our five-year strategic plan:

• Strategic Initiative #1: Data Collection Dashboard and Respondent Portal

• Strategic Initiative #2: NASS Operating Model Reimagined 

• Strategic Initiative #3: Customer Experience: Improving the Ag Data User Experience

Under President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, USDA first provided U.S. agricultural information to the 

U.S. government and the public. The first official report regarding crop conditions was published in 

July 1863. NASS continues to fulfill its original mission through its release of USDA forecasts and 

estimates publications. NASS’s responsibilities are authorized under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 

1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621-1627), the Census of Agriculture Act of 1997, and Public Law 105-113 

(7 U.S.C. 2204g). Public Law 105-113 transferred responsibility for the Census of Agriculture and other 

special studies from the Department of Commerce to USDA in November 1997; entrusting NASS to 

perform them going forward. Conducted every five years, the Census of Agriculture provides 

comprehensive information about the nation’s agriculture at the national, state, and county levels. NASS

maintains a current list of farms and ranches in the U.S., one of its unique federal roles. The Agency 

performs important reimbursable agricultural survey work for other federal agencies, state governments, 

and producer organizations. NASS also provides technical assistance for agricultural statistics programs 

in developing countries.

As the principal statistical agency for USDA, NASS maintains relationships with many partners, 

customers, and stakeholders whom the agency serves with data products and services, and who use and 

advocate for the data NASS produces. Among them are:

• State departments of agriculture and land grant universities. Through cooperative agreements and 

memoranda of understanding dating back to 1917, NASS field offices serve jointly as the federal 

field office and the state government agricultural statistical office. In this role, NASS provides data 

collection and statistical services to other agencies and provides statistics to the public through 

agreements with private producer organizations.

• The National Institute of Statistical Sciences, which brings together the best academic and NASS 

researchers to provide recommendations for emerging challenges and opportunities in the 

agricultural statistics program.
Page 4

• More than 40 community-based organizations (CBOs), as well as countless local associations, 

facilitate USDA outreach to limited-resource and historically under-represented producers. These 

groups work with NASS staff to ensure their constituents are represented and that the census 

includes all farms and ranches, regardless of size, location, or type of operation. NASS also 

partners with these groups to provide hands-on assistance and support to local producers—

including non-English speakers—to complete their census forms. NASS targets media outreach to

small, minority, and non-English-speaking producers.

With a rich, growing portfolio of integrated surveys, the census, remote sensing, and other products and 

services, NASS is strategically positioned to support the data needs of the Department to better monitor 

and measure climate-related concerns of the U.S. agriculture sector.
Page 5

Section 3: Climate Change Vulnerabilities and Data Gap Analysis Assessment

The August 2021 USDA Action Plan for Climate Adaptation and Agriculture recognizes climate change 

presents many challenges to USDA and its stakeholders and identifies five key climate vulnerabilities: 

• Decreased agricultural productivity

• Threats to water quantity and quality

• Disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities 

• Shocks due to extreme climate events, and 

• Stress on public lands and infrastructure

Vulnerability assessments are an important tool to guide USDA’s understanding of risk, priorities, and 

options to form adaptation strategies. NASS will partner with the USDA Climate Hubs in assessing 

vulnerabilities to climate change across the wide array of agriculture subdomains and underserved

producer groups. 

KEY CLIMATE VULNERABILITIES TO THE NASS MISSION, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES

NASS strategic initiatives are inherently responsive to adaptation and resilience capabilities necessary to 

carrying out its mission in light of climate change impacts.

Vulnerability 1: Climate change impacts NASS’s ability to gather survey information 

NASS Strategic Goal #1, transforming the NASS workforce, is essential to adapting to climate change. 

NASS relies on a decentralized data collection structure with mail, web, telephone, and in-person data 

collection capabilities. More than 2,700 telephone and field enumerators make up the NASS data 

collection workforce employed in partnership with the National Association of State Departments of 

Agriculture (NASDA). Extreme weather and other climate events will disrupt standard respondent 

contact processes and protocols, especially face-to-face enumeration.

Response to Vulnerability 1: Further modernization of NASS data collection methods, strategies, and tools

As seen with the COVID pandemic, NASS actions, in response to climate-related disruptions to its 

workforce, would include further decentralization of its data collection team and dynamic support 

strategies to ensure their success. In addition, increased reliance on machine editing, transition from 

print documents to digital imagery, and fuller use of new web portal tools will further reduce more 

labor-intensive clerical processes as previously conducted in a typical office setting.

Vulnerability 2: Climate change impacts the effectiveness of NASS stakeholder engagement and its data 

portfolio 

Objectives under NASS Strategic Goal #2 seek to increase the effectiveness of stakeholder 

engagement, raising awareness and use of NASS products and services; incorporate new data sources 

and data collection techniques to reduce respondent burden; and increase sample representation while 

maintaining confidentiality and privacy. As seen with COVID, disruptions to normal levels and modes 

of interaction with stakeholders increases the importance of relationships with its data users and 

customers. 
Page 6

Response to Vulnerability 2: Characterizing on-farm adaptation strategies and practices

NASS, as a routine business practice, evaluates the size, scope, and burden of its survey portfolio and 

how well that addresses data needs on agriculture. Climate change impacts will vary widely across the 

many types of farms and ranches in the United States. Vulnerability assessments, in which NASS data 

may play a key role, will help identify the why, where, when, and which agricultural resources are 

most at risk. Analyses informed by NASS data will help the agricultural sector understand climate 

exposure and sensitivity to change. 

NASS is well positioned to begin serving climate-related data, analyses, and adaptation needs that are 

specific, spatially, and temporally situated. Agencies with new data requirements would need additional 

resources to collaborate through NASS. New methods and tools may be necessary to support integration 

of enhanced surveys, non-survey data, and perform more powerful analytical tasks.

DATA NEEDS IDENTIFIED IN PLANNING PROCESS

This next section describes new data needs where updating NASS goals and programs and filling data 

gaps would better inform climate adaptation strategies and actions across the sector. This role is central to 

NASS’s mission to provide timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. As part of 

its own climate adaptation planning, NASS invited other USDA agencies to identify their climate data 

needs as a first step in understanding the climate data gaps. A description of those gaps follows below.

USDA Climate Hubs

• New Data Need – Renewable Energy On-Farm Capacity information on rates of adoption of 

practices and other innovations designed to advance sustainability in agriculture

o Climate Hubs would like to know more about adoption rates for grass-fed/finished beef, 

and precision ranching technologies. The capacity to develop trustworthy models will 

depend in part on reliable data about rates of adoption.

Economic Research Service (ERS)

• New Data Need – Renewable Energy On-Farm Capacity for manure management practices in 

place, if no-farm crop application of manure exits, and if off-farm exporting of manure exists

o The amount of manure produced, use of digester technology, amount of on-farm crop 

application of manure, amount of off-farm exporting of manure

o Importing of manure for crop nutrient management

o Further breakouts of the “other cattle” inventory to capture inventories such as veal cattle, 

beef and dairy calves, heifers, stockers, and beef breeding herds

Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine

• Census of Agriculture – crop production data to support risk analysis

o Specialty crop summaries, e.g., Citrus Fruits Summary

o Agricultural economic data

o New Data Need – Anticipated changes in crop production locations due to climate change 

could be useful

• Usual planting and harvesting dates

o Specialty agriculture data, e.g., floriculture and honeybees

o New Data Need – the ability to map NASS county level data by matching NASS Quick Stat 

American National Standards Institute codes with Economic Research Service (ERS)
Page 7

county data tables would be nice. APHIS have manually created the 5-digit code using the 

State and County ANSI fields in the NASS quick Stat outputs to do this.

Vulnerability 3: Climate change will impact the pace of modernization necessary for NASS to meet its 

organizational excellence goals

Objectives under NASS Strategic Goal #3, Organizational Excellence, speak to the agency’s need to 

modernize business processes to produce quality data and products at a faster rate, enforce 

enterprise-level strategic processes and tools to guide data-driven decision-making, and to manage 

risk using proven internal controls for processes and systems. Legacy systems and tools are more likely 

to fail under the increased organizational demands under climate change. 

Response to Vulnerability 3: Further modernization of NASS data collection methods, strategies, and tools

NASS operational resilience during the COVID epidemic was achieved through innovation and 

leveraging internal expertise to devise effective, adaptive solutions. Further, ongoing decentralization 

of the workforce places new emphasis on all the attributes of organizational excellence under differing 

climate change scenarios. 

NASS CONSIDERATIONS OF DEPARTMENT-LEVEL VULNERABILITIES FROM CLIMATE CHANGE

In addition to assessing threats to its own mission, goals, and objectives, NASS also considered its role in 

responding to several Department-level vulnerabilities identified in the USDA Action Plan for Climate 

Adaptation and Resilience (2021).

DECREASED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY

NASS reports on agricultural productivity, released on a scheduled basis, are derived from hundreds of 

ongoing surveys and censuses. Timelier, more granular, and spatially based measures of agricultural 

productivity, while limiting burden on agricultural producers, is an ongoing part of the NASS mission.

Among NASS data products are several spatially based, remote sensing assessments of crop condition, 

soil moisture, and land use on a variety of geospatial and temporal bases (on-demand, daily, weekly, or 

periodic). The strategies below align with NASS strategic goals.

• Develop new data products that leverage existing survey as well as non-survey sources of data.

• Expand remote sensing products that relate to the cropland data layer (CDL), especially those that 

characterize land use and productivity over time.1

1 NASS is collaborating with the Economic Research to release a new cropland data layer (CDL) derivative in summer 2022 

that characterizes land use patterns over time.
Page 8

THREATS TO WATER QUANTITY AND QUALITY

Through collaborative agreements and partnerships with other agencies in the Department, NASS 

provides ongoing support in the form of annual, periodic, and topical datasets which are used in complex 

program and policy analyses on the environment and farm economy. These strategies, below, support 

NASS’s ongoing ability to partner on products that cover water quantity and quality, while minimizing

burden to producers.

• Prioritize data needs and new product opportunities from using multiple sources of data tied to 

NASS frames, census and survey data, administrative records, and economic, environmental, and 

remotely sensed data.

• Strengthen and expand collaborations on new sources of non-survey data with other USDA 

agencies, federal agencies, and through public-private partnerships.

• Identify new analyses, products, and reports from multiple sources of data, when taken together 

with the NASS data portfolio, would provide fresh insights on water quality and quality.

DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTS ON VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES 

The Census of Agriculture (COA) is designed to query every farm across the diversity of U.S. agriculture 

twice a decade. Data collection for the 2022 COA begins later this year and continues into 2023. Many 

agricultural operations represented on NASS’s list frame master participate in farm programs. In addition, 

remote sensing data provides new opportunities to study land use’s relationship to productivity and the 

farm economy over time. Engaging stakeholders through the methods below will help identify new reports 

that help characterize vulnerable communities more fully. 

• Use existing stakeholder outreach mechanisms to identify potential new reports and analyses.

• Identify existing data collections and other sources that could meet those analysis needs.

SHOCKS DUE TO EXTREME CLIMATE EVENTS; STRESS ON PUBLIC LANDS AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

In the USDA-level vulnerability assessment, NASS identified areas that would benefit from increased use 

of satellite data for disaster assessments. NASS’s research program utilizes satellite, NASS census and 

surveys, and other data to characterize the impact of extreme weather events and related disasters. This is 

a small program that provides ad hoc analysis, and after review, posts that analysis for public use. New 

satellite data and computing capacities are enabling fuller assessments of disaster impacts over wider 

areas. As well, broader measures of climate impacts on yields, shifting growing seasons, and crop failure 

and damage are now possible by combining a wider variety of data types and sources. 

One impetus for using more non-survey data is to manage the burden on respondents from a survey-only 

approach for climate change data needs. New non-survey data sources being used in NASS programs 

include administrative records, and remote sensing, environmental, and economic data. Climate impacts 

can be studied on smaller areas, more broadly across regions, and over longer periods of time. When data 

are combined on a spatial-temporal basis, choices in land use can be measured against changes in soil 

quality, soil moisture, and other environmental attributes that interact with productivity. A modern data 

program, however, requires new staff skills, different tools, and modern IT and other infrastructure to 

transition from promising demonstrations, pilots, and research to a production scale that is secure, 

sustainable, and stable. 
Page 9

These two steps below improve NASS’s ability to respond with authoritative data in a timely, specific 

manner to an increasing number and variety of extreme climate events.

• Assess and fill staff and resource needs to address the rising number and variety of climate events.

• Develop a climate data portfolio, vet with stakeholders, and raise its visibility.

NASS MISSION VULNERABILITIES

Finally, the NASS team charged with developing this Adaptation Plan, representing all divisions in the 

organization and the full range of responsibilities, considered how the agency’s vulnerabilities related to 

the Department’s. The team identified five vulnerabilities that could impact the NASS mission, or its 

programs, operations, and stakeholders. These steps would mitigate these vulnerabilities.

1. Achieving a higher level of agility in deploying an effective mix of modes/methods of data 

collection within budgeted costs

2. Ensuring high reliability IT infrastructure, tools, and processes

3. Minimizing dependence on external services and supply chains

4. Adopting modern management strategies to continue to meet rigid production schedules for 

products and services

5. Reducing reliance on brick & mortar facilities to secure confidential and/or market sensitive data

Identifying methods and measures to address these vulnerabilities will increase mission resilience and 

abilities to serve Department and external partner data needs. When incorporated into NASS’s continuity 

of operations planning at the Regional Office and Headquarters levels, these actions would help maintain

the NASS mission of providing uninterrupted timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S.

agriculture.

IMPROVING ACCESS TO DATA AND TOOLS FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS

NASS Strategic Initiative 1

Efforts to improve the NASS survey respondent/customer experience are well underway. This includes 

the February 3, 2022, launch of the Respondent Portal, which modernizes respondent access to survey 

requests and their ability to interact with and use their own data, NASS data products, and services [Home 

| NASS (usda.gov)]. Operation-specific data previously reported to NASS and other USDA agencies are

accessible in one portal via eAuth.
Page 10

Figure: NASS Respondent Portal (Web-based)

Interact with 

data near you

Get help with a 

survey

Look up NASS 

reports

Complete a 

survey
Page 11

Section 4: Agency Climate Adaptation Actions

NASS ADAPTION TO CLIMATE VULNERABILITIES

Adaptation to changes is both a strength and challenge for NASS due to the uniqueness of our efforts and 

responsibilities in service for and to U.S. Agriculture. Our responsiveness to the public and industry’s data 

needs are routinely implemented when possible. Additionally, NASS frequently modifies programs in 

response to updated Congressional regulations, priorities, and Departmental guidance. The culture that 

NASS embodies and the authorities and regulations under which we adhere to in collecting and 

safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of respondent and producer data are fundamental to the 

principals and practices of a federal statistical agency. 

Our priorities are to publish essential reports of unbiased and official statistics on U.S. agriculture in a 

timely fashion, despite any challenges that may arise, which may include natural disasters, wildfires, lapse 

in funding, or any other difficulties that could affect the data collection, analysis, publication, and\or 

accuracy of data on a schedule established a year in advance.

In the production of official statistics, NASS also monitors local and/or national news sources, producer 

comments, and information from “boots on the ground” enumerators to ensure we obtain the most 

accurate, current, and up-to-date information to augment the accuracy of official estimates, reports, 

products, and publications. We take particular care to update both the crop and livestock estimates based 

on in-season environmental impacts. Many times, revisions due to these impacts are published in the next 

scheduled publication to ensure that the most current agricultural estimates are readily and consistently 

available. An example of NASS’s responsiveness to natural disasters can be reflected in updates to 

estimates based on a mid-month fire that destroyed a statistically significant area of a cropland. In support 

of revisions, NASS studies impacted acres through ground reports and disaster assessments based on 

remote sensing and reviews administrative data. Revisions are published showing updated acreage and 

production values in the next monthly report. 

In 2012, NASS underwent a reorganization that centralized several data collection processes and 

procedures, resulting in increased operational efficiency and a cost savings to the Agency. Operating in 

this manner enables NASS to quickly adapt to changes and continue operations should a natural disaster 

occur. The diversity in geography and experiences of our staff and NASDA enumerators is a strong asset 

to the Agency in navigating these special circumstances. NASS prioritizes maintaining the safety of staff 

while remaining operational in the face of floods, tornados, hurricanes, blizzards, fires, and other extreme 

weather events.

Remaining operationally resilient ensures that NASS can continue to collect, process, analyze, and publish 

official estimates for principal economic indicators on the agricultural economy as prescribed by law. This 

requires that our computer equipment (i.e., servers, iPads, computer) and systems are operating at an 

optimal level at all times. Additional investments and resources are necessary to prioritize operational 

resilience in the face of climate change and the growing number, variety, and cadence of data needs.

ACTIONS TO ENSURE CLIMATE-READY SITES AND FACILITIES 

Climate resiliency is integral to ensuring the operational continuity of NASS programs. In preparation for 

severe weather impacts on buildings, infrastructure, operations, and mission-critical activities, NASS has 

established an emergency response team at each of its facilities that follows a Continuation of Operations 

Plan (COOP). The team plans and tests readiness on a yearly basis. COOP exercises include a climate 
Page 12

event scenario that disrupts critical NASS activities. NASS’s physical infrastructure includes regional 

offices and a national operations center in leased spaces managed by the U.S. General Services 

Administration (GSA). NASS follows GSA’s recommendations for our facilities on climate resilience. 

GSA follows the Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service, PBS-P100, which describes design 

standards and criteria for climate-ready sites and facilities. Studies during the project formulation phase 

include identifying and developing adaptations to climate risk factors. NASS will work with GSA to 

improve processes that protect vulnerable, mission-critical sites, develop portfolio-wide data to better 

understand climate sensitivity and exposure to flooding risks, and continue piloting occupancy sensors to 

improve safety from climate-driven hazards. NASS will work with GSA to accomplish the following:

• Strategically relocate mechanical equipment, IT infrastructure, and other mission-critical

equipment that could be disrupted by heavy wind, rain, floods, or fires.

• Review site drainage and landscaping to prevent flooding issues from intense storms.

• Commission new buildings and review existing buildings envelope systems for compliance with

updated codes on water and wind resistance.

• Develop resiliency strategies for water reuse and reduction in drought-prone areas.

• Consider creating “clear zones” around facilities in areas with wildfire risks.

• Assess and address employee thermal comfort during extreme temperature shifts through design,

while also addressing additional burdens on energy and water use during peak utility-use periods.

• Harness the power of procurement to ensure that the mechanical and operational equipment for 

its facilities, as well as materials, furnishings, and fixtures, are resilient to and adapt against the

impacts of climate change (e.g., windows, roofing, and cladding materials used in coastal areas

will be both energy efficient and able to withstand high-level hurricane winds and floods).

USDA plans to develop a Departmental Manual to guide staff to align sustainable and resilient facility 

operations with the USDA Departmental Regulations on Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable 

Operations. NASS will follow the guidelines set forth in that manual.

ENSURING CLIMATE-READY SUPPLY OF PRODUCTS & SERVICES 

In addition to ensuring NASS’s ability to carry out its mission should a climate-driven event impact its 

facilities, NASS has also been tested many times in delivering its products and services after major climate 

events that impact the data. For example, NASS has conducted re-interviews of the damaged population 

from the quarterly Acreage, Production, and Stocks Survey to validate previous published reports. A 

special section of the following month’s Crops Production report summarizes the findings of the ReInterview survey. NASS will continue to adapt to climate events by accounting for damages to agricultural 

production of many commodities. 

Not only is NASS striving to provide up-to-date data that has been impacted by climate-related events, 

but it also conducts several surveys that serve climate data needs. The following table lists ten surveys 

and programs with a climate-nexus that can be used to identify agricultural trends and emerging actions 

that the farming community is undertaking to support U.S. agricultural production. 

• Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS)

• Agroforestry Survey (2022)

• Census of Agriculture 

• National Resource Inventory - Conservation Effects Assessment Project (NRI - CEAP)
Page 13

• Conservation Practices Adoption and Motivation Survey (2022 CPAMS)

• Crop-CASMA (online remote sensing data product)

• Cropland Data Layer

• Survey of Irrigation Organizations

• Irrigation and Water Management Survey

• Impacts of Agricultural Disasters
Page 14

Table 1: NASS adaptation actions to address climate change effects and vulnerabilities

Climate 

Vulnerability Action Title/Description Type of Activity Lead Office Timeframe Coordination Progress Metrics Accomplishments to Date

ARMS aligns with 

Identified Climate 

Vulnerabilities

Agricultural Resource 

Management Survey (ARMS) 

is the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture’s primary source 

of information on the 

production practices, chemical 

use, fertilizer use, pesticide 

use, other resource use, and 

economic well-being of 

America’s farms and ranches. 

Data Collection, Data 

Analysis, Data Summary and 

Data Lab work 

NASS June - April ERS NASS Survey 

Dashboard

The results of this survey are the only 

source of information available for 

objective evaluation of many critical 

issues related to agriculture and the 

rural economy.

The Agroforestry 

Survey aligns with 

Identified Climate 

Vulnerabilities

United States Department of 

Agriculture’s National 

Agroforestry Center (USDANAC) is “to advance the 

health, diversity, and 

productivity of working lands, 

waters, and communities 

through agroforestry.

Data Collection, Data 

Analysis, Data Summary and 

Data Lab work

NASS Every 5-years Forest Service 

Agroforestry 

Center

NASS Survey 

Dashboard and 

Forest Service 

will publish 

summary 

statistics 

available at the 

national and 

state level

Data Collection completed April 2022 

and Forest Service Data Lab works 

begins soon

The Census of 

Agriculture aligns 

with Identified 

Climate 

Vulnerabilities

The Census of Agriculture is a 

complete count of U.S. farms 

and ranches and the people 

who operate them. Even small 

plots of land - whether rural or 

urban - growing fruit, 

vegetables or some food 

animals count if $1,000 or 

more of such products were 

raised and sold, or normally 

would have been sold, during 

the Census year.

The Census of Agriculture, 

taken only once every five 

years, looks at land use and 

ownership, producer 

characteristics, production 

practices, income, and 

expenditures. For America’s 

farmers and ranchers, the 

Census of Agriculture is their 

voice, their future, and their 

opportunity.

NASS Every 5 years All USDA 

Agencies and 

the US Public

NASS Survey 

Dashboard

Currently identifying and building the 

Census Mail List preparing for the 

December 2022 mail out

The Conservation 

Practices Adoptions 

Motivation Survey 

aligns with Identified 

Climate 

Vulnerabilities

The 2022 Conservation 

Practice Adoption Motivations 

Survey (CPAMS) collects data 

on conservation practices in 

the United States. The 

resulting State/Regional-level 

data will be used by the 

National Resource 

Conservation Service (NRCS) 

to educate producers in NRCS 

programs about conservation 

practices and to promote 

adoption of those practices.

The goal is to ascertain 

farmers’ and ranchers’

behaviors, as well as reasons 

for those behaviors, associated 

with adoption of conservation 

practices on cropland, grazing

land, forest land and 

concentrated livestock feeding 

operations. In addition, the 

NRCS will use the data for a 

variety of policy analyses.

NASS Annual, 2022 

CPAMS for 

Cropland and 

Livestock, 2024 

CPAMS for 

Grazing Land and 

Forestry

NRCS NASS Survey 

Dashboard

Two Versions of CPAMS (Crop and 

Livestock) will be mailed out May 

2022
Page 15

Table 1: NASS adaptation actions to address climate change effects and vulnerabilities (Continued)

Climate 

Vulnerability Action Title/Description Type of Activity Lead Office Timeframe Coordination Progress Metrics Accomplishments to Date

Survey of Irrigation 

Organizations aligns 

with Identified 

Climate 

Vulnerabilities

The survey provides a national 

representative assessment of 

irrigation water-delivery 

entities and groundwater 

management of districts 

serving the U.S. irrigated 

sector.

The dataset includes 

information on organization 

structure, irrigation 

infrastructure, system 

management practices, and 

water use by source. The 

special emphasis is on 

institutional measures and 

conservation initiatives that 

enhance drought resilience and 

long-term water supply 

management practices.

NASS Not Defined NRCS

Summary 

statistics 

available at 

national and 

state levels.

USDA - National Agricultural 

Statistics Service - Surveys - Irrigation 

Organizations

Irrigation and Water 

Management Survey 

aligns with Identified 

Climate 

Vulnerabilities

The NASS Irrigation and 

Survey (IWMS), last 

conducted in 2018, was sent to 

producers who indicated in the 

2017 Census of Agriculture 

that they had irrigated 

sometime during the past five 

years. It is the successor to the 

Farm and Ranch Irrigation 

Survey Water Management.

Data Collection, Data 

Analysis, and Data Summary 

that provides statistical 

estimates on many aspects of 

irrigation of agricultural land 

and operations who irrigate.

NASS Every 5 years

Summary 

statistics 

available at 

national and 

state levels

NA NA

Impacts to agricultural 

productivity, drought, 

extreme weather 

events, etc.

Crop-CASMA (Crop 

Condition Soil Moisture 

Analytics) provides soil 

moisture measurements from 

NASA Soil Moisture Active 

Passive mission and 

vegetation condition 

measurements from the NASA 

MODIS (Moderate Resolution 

Images Spectroradiometer) 

sensor on a weekly cadence 

Monday - Sunday. CropCASMA provides both top 

and sub-soil volumetric, 

categorical and anomaly 

measurements that inform on 

water surplus or shortage 

issues.

Impacts of Agricultural 

Disasters NASS

After each disaster 

(This program 

began in 2017 for 

agricultural flood 

monitoring from 

Hurricane Harvey 

and proved to be 

accurate, affordable, 

and efficient for 

operational use. 

This provides 

decision makers 

with an accurate 

and timely 

assessment of 

disasters on 

agricultural lands)

NASA NA https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Page 16

Section 5: Enhancement of Workforce Climate Literacy

Climate science is a rapidly changing and challenging topic as new studies are released and more people 

become familiar with the science. 

Action: NASS will build staff climate literacy through formal and informal training opportunities. 

As climate literacy improves in the agency, staff can incorporate climate science into the decision-making 

process of daily operations and climate adaptation activities. NASS will research, develop, and implement

a learning agenda for all staff with the goal of developing broad general knowledge of climate science. 

Current training assets such as AgLearn do not have climate science courses, but NASS will leverage 

available external resources to develop the initial curriculum for staff. Webinars, videos, and presentations 

from many experts are readily available. The USDA Office of the Chief Economist is building a webinar 

series that can be used as a foundation to build climate literacy for NASS staff.

Action: NASS will competently demonstrate how its data programs inform and support adaptation.

NASS will conduct more outreach to external groups to not only improve its understanding of climate 

science but to share with these same groups how NASS data can support climate adaptation initiatives. 

From this outreach, NASS can gather feedback to improve its current operational response and climate 

data programs, as well as to support other adaptation efforts. As resources permit, the NASS training plan 

will include internal training and external partnerships to achieve climate literacy goals.

Internal Curriculum, NASS

1. Course: Climate Science, Adaptation, and NASS

a. Format: instructor-led or self-paced online course 

b. Learning objectives: knowledge and skills needed to develop mission resilience to 

climate impacts, responsive stature to data needs for adaptation assessments and 

actions, and responsible reporting strategies to the public on climate and agriculture.

c. Suggested content: introduction to adaptation, scenario planning, and facilities 

management.

2. Informal Training and Information Exchange: identify channels that provide continued 

learning and discussion opportunities on climate adaptation, e.g., seminars, AgLearn courses 

(currently not available); newsletters, and webinars. Below are readily available resources for 

NASS staff to begin to build climate literacy.

a. USDA Office of the Chief Economist Climate Change Office

i. Climate Change | USDA

ii. Climate Change Science Seminar Series | USDA

b. USDA Economic Research Service Climate Change Resources

i. USDA ERS - Climate Change

c. USDA Agricultural Research Service Climate Chance Impacts Report

i. Optimizing Agricultural Management to Mitigate Climate Change Impacts: 

USDA ARS

External Partnerships:

1. NASS will conduct outreach with external groups.

d. Targeted groups: USDA partner agencies, non-USDA federal agencies; universities;

and non-profit organizations.

e. Objectives: to further develop, expand, and share training to achieve mission resilience.
Page 17

2. NASS will assess perceptions about the following:

a. Likelihood and severity of climate events that impact NASS mission, programs, 

operations, and stakeholders.

b. Areas of vulnerability and priorities for adaptation actions; and

c. Stakeholder expectations and data needs given increasing, disruptive weather events.
Page 18

Section 6: Environmental Justice

The Justice40 Initiative was established by Executive Order 14008, which states that “40 percent of all 

overall benefits” of federal investments from covered programs should flow to underserved communities. 

To respond to this directive, each agency should establish a methodology for calculating the benefits that:

a) Flow from each applicable covered program, and

b) Accrue in underserved communities from each covered program.

When determining the benefits of a covered program, as specified in section IV(A) of this Executive 

Order, agencies are to consult with stakeholders, including state, local, and Tribal governments, as well 

as Native communities, to ensure public participation and that community stakeholders are meaningfully 

involved in what constitutes the “benefits” of a program. In addition, if the calculation of a benefit to a 

disadvantaged community includes investments outside of that community, the disadvantaged community 

is to be consulted. In engaging with stakeholders, agencies are to consider their obligation under Title VI 

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ensure meaningful access for individuals with Limited English 

Proficiency (LEP), as well as their obligation pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to take 

appropriate steps to ensure effective communication for individuals with disabilities. Where applicable, 

agencies are to also comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act, Federal Advisory Committee Act, or other 

relevant law, regulation, or guidance. Agencies are to review and incorporate, where appropriate, 

recommendations from the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) and the 

IAC when developing metrics. (Examples of Stakeholder Engagement Plans will be available to agencies 

on the MAX Justice40 page.)

Forthcoming guidance will provide additional information on the tool agencies should use to report the 

above information discussed in sections IV and V, and specific instructions for submitting the data into 

that tool. The Administration’s overall progress towards the Justice40 Initiative’s goal will be tracked by 

the categories of covered projects (climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency, clean 

transportation, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, the remediation 

and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water infrastructure). NASS is

prepared to play an important role in the Justice 40 Initiative as USDA receives this guidance. 

To ensure the unique vulnerabilities of these communities are visible in the data, NASS can work with 

partners across government and stakeholders to bring new data to bear on them. Results of the 2022 Census 

of Agriculture (COA) can be combined with non-NASS data to provide a fuller understanding of the 

vulnerabilities, then aggregated in manner that protects privacy and ensures confidentiality of respondents. 

This approach would provide a stronger framework to study the interaction of contributing factors.

NASS will identify strategies to develop informative reports on vulnerabilities in Justice40 communities

through the following steps:

• Use existing stakeholder outreach mechanisms to identify potential new reports and analyses.

• Identify existing data collections and non-survey data that could meet those analysis needs.

• Conduct outreach specific to stakeholders and researchers in this area and identify analyses and 

reports that would be responsive.
Page 19

Section 7: USDA Climate Hubs

USDA’s Climate Hubs are a unique collaboration across the Department’s agencies. They are hosted by 

the Agricultural Research Service and Forest Service at ten regional locations, with contributions from 

many agencies, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Risk Management Agency. The Climate Hubs link USDA 

research and program agencies in their regional delivery of timely and authoritative tools and information 

to agricultural producers and professionals.

The NASS web portal, CropCASMA (Crop – Crop Condition and Soil Moisture Analytics), serves daily 

and weekly soil moisture and vegetative condition information. A recent enhancement to CropCASMA is

the addition of the ten Climate Hub regional boundaries as new areas of interest for analysis. This Climate 

Hub specific enhancement provide users with the ability to quantify assessments for early identification 

of climate induced anomalies or monitor long-term ecological stress events for the ten Climate Hub 

regions. The Climate Hub boundaries can now be used to calculate soil moisture or vegetation condition 

statistics, create maps, and download soil moisture and vegetation condition data for the specific Climate 

Hub regions.
Page 20

Section 8: Conclusion

The Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan provides a pathway for NASS to adapt to current and 

projected impacts of climate change, while also leveraging the co-benefits of partnering with other USDA 

partners. The actions identified in this plan will assist NASS in better understanding current and future 

risks and in assisting the Department with fulfilling the climate change mission and operations. These 

actions will also help to characterize areas of the USDA climate vulnerabilities where NASS can be of 

service, as well as inform the development of the climate science and resilience tools needed to adapt and 

respond to climate hazards. By assessing vulnerabilities, developing adaptation tools, and 

institutionalizing climate requirements and literacy throughout the workforce ensures NASS is adapting 

and becoming resilient to climate change. This plan will provide guidance for NASS to improve the

current COOP mission plans and improve tools to deploy climate resilient technologies and practices

throughout its complex methods of sampling, frame maintenance, data collection, data analysis, and data 

dissemination during future climate change events.
Page 21

Section 9: References and Resources

USDA NASS - Research and Science: Disaster Analysis

Climate Change 101: The Foundational Science

USDA Climate, Agriculture, and Forestry Seminar Series

Home | National Climate Assessment

USDA - National Agricultural Statistics Service - Research and Science - Disaster Analysis

Memorandum - Guidance for Providing and Using Administrative Data for Statistical Purposes

Foden, W. B., Young, H. R. Akcakava, R. A. Garcia, A. A. Hoffman, B. A. Stein, C. D. Thomas, 

C. J. Wheatley, D. Bickford, J. A. Carr, and D. G. Hole. 2019. Climate change vulnerability 

assessment of species, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 10:e551

Vulnerability Assessment | USDA Climate Hubs

Workforce Climate Change Literacy: Needs Assessment and Strategy

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2021). U.S. Department of Agriculture 2021 Climate Adaptation 

Plan. Washington, DC.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2014). USDA Climate Change Adaptation Plan. Washington, 

DC.

U.S. General Services Administration. (2021). P100 Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings 

Service, Washington, DC.
Page 22