Abstract

The Northern Plains region (Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) has a high diversity of land, including the largest remaining tracts of native rangeland in North America, substantial areas of both dryland and irrigated cropland and pasture, mosaics of cropland and grassland, and forested lands. Livestock production includes beef (cow-calf and yearling operations, feedlots), sheep, hogs, and dairy. Crop production is dominated by corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, alfalfa, and hay, but it also includes an array of other crops such as potatoes, sugar beets, dry beans, sunflowers, millet, canola, and barley. Agroforestry includes windbreaks, silvopasture, riparian forest buffers, alley cropping, and forest farms. This report assesses the vulnerability of this region and recommends adaptation and mitigation strategies.