By Blake Jackson
Nearly a century after the Dust Bowl, U.S. farmers face new challenges, including farm consolidation, labor shortages, tariffs, and climate change, which threaten productivity and long-term sustainability.
Experts say solutions echo lessons from the past: collaboration between public, private, and nonprofit sectors, research-backed policies, and long-term investment in natural resources.
“Even though the challenges are many, farmers are super smart people and the agricultural sector is resilient,” said Miguel Gómez, faculty director of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and Robert G. Tobin Professor of Applied Economics and Management.
“I am hopeful that we will be able to address and overcome these challenges, as we have overcome others in the past.”
Cornell Atkinson is addressing these issues through research, training, and partnerships that support sustainable agriculture. Its new Resilient Agriculture Finance and Insurance Research Collaborative provides grants to U.S.-based universities and industry partners to develop finance and insurance solutions for farmers.
The collaborative also connects research with practical applications, aiming to scale regenerative practices such as carbon sequestration, improved soil health, and water conservation.
““Across the country, the challenges differ. In the west, you have issues of water scarcity. In California, there are risks associated with wildfire. In the Northeast, we’re concerned about things like reducing nutrient pollution into waterways to prevent algal blooms and negative biodiversity impacts,” said Alan Martinez, lead for climate and nature finance at Cornell Atkinson.
"By bringing together not just researchers at Cornell but from across the country, alongside public and private partners who can make use of that research, we aim to create a critical mass of people focused on these issues and quickly advance new financial strategies to support regenerative agriculture.”
To strengthen leadership in sustainable agriculture, the Resilient Futures Leadership Program launched in January 2026, bringing together 29 professionals from agriculture, finance, and nonprofit sectors.
“A key outcome of this program is developing a holistic, systems-level vision for a sustainable farming sector – one that aligns incentives and creates value for every stakeholder in the supply chain,” Gómez said.
“I don’t have all the answers - I will learn in this program. By bringing together 29 executives who represent diverse segments of the food and fiber supply chain, the program creates a dynamic environment that naturally fosters learning, connection-building and the kind of dialogue needed to tackle complex challenges.”
Photo Credit: gettyimages-nicexray
Categories: New York, Crops, Education