Projected impacts of changing climates on major staple crops presents one of the most important threats to global food security.

Wheat in drought field in ChinaThis workshop-style conference addressed the challenges facing cereal production systems in semi-arid regions throughout the world as the climates in these regions change. The conference emphasized the integration of diverse aspects of these complex agricultural systems including responses to changing water availability, potential for alternative cropping systems to impart climate resilience, managing soil nutrients, pests, pathogens and weeds, social and economic factors affecting farmer behavior and policy, and genetic resources that can help address climate change. Frameworks for integration included cropping system models, approaches to improving collaborative translational science, and data management and harmonization.

The conference is an outgrowth of a USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture project on climate change affecting cereal systems of the inland Pacific Northwest and seeks to establish a cross disciplinary global network that can support innovative, actionable science to address this important food security issue.

Conference Goals:

• Establish a global network of research teams addressing the implications of climate change for cereal-based systems in semiarid regions.
• Develop a plan for supporting ongoing integrative collaboration to address this issue.
• Articulate and disseminate to scientists and policymakers the importance of integrated approaches and actionable research to support this key component of global food security through the 21st century.