Building drought resilience in agriculture: Partnerships and public outreach

Since 2012, drought has had a significant impact on agricultural production in the United States, primarily on the Great Plains and in the West. However, in recognition of the value of both mitigation and response, USDA and its partners are developing a more proactive approach to dealing with the effects of drought. A recent collaboration is the National Drought Resilience Partnership, which was established in 2013 as part of the President's Climate Action Plan. This federal partnership is designed to leverage existing programs and infrastructure in a coordinated effort to help communities better prepare for drought. By highlighting some of the successes achieved during the recent drought in California, this article will examine some of the current activities underway specifically designed to help the agricultural community. Gaps will be identified as well, as a plan to more efficiently provide information to decision makers and the public is presented. In particular, specific programs and agencies will be identified as potential leads to address where future resources should be focused, including implementation of a National Soil Moisture Monitoring Network.