USDA announces creation of regional hubs

The hubs will advise growers on a range of issues including climate change and invasive pests.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the creation of Regional Hubs and Mitigation to Climate Change.

The hubs will provide outreach and information to producers on ways to mitigate risks; public education about the risks climate change poses to agriculture, ranchlands and forests; regional climate risk and vulnerability assessments;battling invasive pests; and centers of climate forecast data and information. 

There will be seven hubs located throughout the country. The following locations have been selected to serve as their region's center of climate change information and outreach to mitigate risks to the agricultural sector:

  • Midwest: National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Agricultural Research Service, Ames, Iowa
    • Sub-Hub in Houghton, Mich.
  • Northeast: Northern Research Station, Forest Service, Durham, N.H.
  • Southeast: Southern Research Station, Forest Service, Raleigh, N.C.
    • Sub-Hub in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico
  • Northern Plains: National Resources Center, Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins, Colo.
  • Southern Plains: Grazinglands Research Lab, Agricultural Research Service, El Reno, Okla.
  • Pacific Northwest: Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forest Service, Corvallis, Ore.
  • Southwest: Rangeland Management Unit/Jornada Experimental Range, Agricultural Research Service, Las Cruces, N.M.
    • Sub-hub in Davis, Calif.