The Community Agricultural Resilience through Extension project (CARE) aims to help farmers and their communities deal with floods, droughts, saltwater intrusion, and other weather-related challenges. The project is a collaboration across universities, non-profits, and local government partners in Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Our goal is to help Extension professionals become more effective partners in building resilience in coastal farming communities.

Goals

  • Create a collaborative of Land Grant, local government, community, and nonprofit partners to create a strategic plan for building Extension’s capacity to address resilience in agricultural communities

  • Determine current capacities and programs within Extension related to resilience and identify challenges and opportunities

  • Develop a more complete understanding of community concerns and goals regarding resilience efforts

  • Create an enduring capacity among Extension professionals and rural localities to more effectively engage in resilience building activities

Activities

  • Extension Needs Assessment:  How do Extension professionals currently address extreme weather in their work? What kinds of support could help them become partners in building agricultural community resilience? We are conducting surveys and interviews to find out.
  • Community Listening Sessions: What kinds of difficult or extreme weather are farming communities facing? What resources, values, and practices can help them deal with extreme weather? Community members can share their thoughts at the 18 listening sessions we’ll be hosting from 2025 to 2026.
  • Capacity Building: What practical steps can farmers, landowners, and community members take to reduce weather risks? We’ll develop factsheets, a website, trainings, and other educational resources that outline realistic solutions for Extension and communities.

Outcomes

  • Identify key weather-related challenges that are important to coastal farming communities

  • Greater awareness of resilience-building solutions for farms and rural communities

  • More coordination and collaboration between Extension, non-profit, local government, and community members on resilience building efforts

  • Increased knowledge and confidence about resilience among Extension professionals and agricultural community members

Connect

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Partners

The CARE Project is funded by the NOAA Climate Resilience Regional Challenge and is led by Virginia Tech, University of Delaware, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Our steering partners are Delaware State University, University of Maryland,
Virginia State University, Maryland Sea Grant, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, Delaware Wild Lands, Mid- Atlantic Black Farmers Caucus, Resilient Virginia, and the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission.

This project is made possible through funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Resilience Regional Challenge (CRRC). Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local governments, and is an equal opportunity employer. For the full non-discrimination statement, please visit ext.vt.edu/accessibility.