Farmers in the Northeast have always managed weather-related risk, but many are finding that weather conditions have become less predictable and more difficult to work around than they once were. While average temperatures continue to increase and growing seasons are gradually lengthening, many of the most significant day-to-day challenges on farms are related to changing precipitation patterns, increased weather variability, and a growing likelihood of both excessive rainfall and drought. 

Many discussions of climate change focus on rainfall totals, temperatures, or annual climate statistics. Farmers, however, experience weather through its effects on management decisions and field conditions. What matters most is often not how much rain fell during a month or season, but whether soils are fit for the field operation that needs to occur today.