California Agricultural Resiliency Index

The California Agricultural Resiliency Index (CARI) project is an effort to help farmers, agricultural landowners, and policymakers identify areas at higher risk of impact from potential weather and economic stressors, and then explore strategies to mitigate these risks. Use of the CARI planning tool provides decision-makers with access to benchmarked data and analytics that model effects of specific strategies with the expectation that better-informed decisions will increase long-term food and water security as well as economic resilience for Californians.

The CARI model was designed to create resiliency index scores using publicly available databases and including numerous parameters from the fields of agriculture, soil science, hydrology, and ecology. It currently can provide information down to a 10 acre resolution with a readout of score components with problem areas identified. In the next phase of development it will be able to show the potential impacts of specific remediation measures through either conservation or agricultural practices. For policy makers, the CaRI index will show the most cost-effective areas of California to invest in for carbon sequestration potential to achieve the state’s climate action priorities and build a climate resilient economy. For farmers and ranchers, it will provide detailed information that can be used to get funding for implementing conservation and agricultural practices to improve the health and economic resilience of their farm or ranch system. For regional land managers, the tool can aggregate information on a county level.

Resiliency, within the context of the CARI planning tool, is defined as the ability to sustain a positive economy during climate-related difficulties that can adversely impact farm productivity. Areas of low resiliency are those assessed as being more vulnerable to soil erosion, drought, and climate-induced land degradation. Areas with higher resiliency are expected to be relatively less vulnerable to such impacts. With the CARI planning tool, users are able to select specific climate-smart production practices (such as cover crops, compost, and no-till soil management) to get an updated resiliency estimate. The next major release of the tool will include an assessment of greenhouse gas reduction and soil carbon accrual (permanent carbon sequestration) potential. The tool is also expected to calculate a cost estimate for conservation practice implementation based on the reimbursement rates published on the California Department of Food & Agriculture Healthy Soils Program website. Cost accounting will include a return on investment based on the amount of carbon sequestered/acre/conservation practice dollars invested. A third phase of the project is expected to provide tools for creating soil health management, conservation, grazing management, or carbon farming plans.

Visit the CaRI tool beta(opens in new window). 

Watch the instructional video(opens in new window).