Anticipated Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture in Washington State

This peer-reviewed WSU Extension publication synthesizes current research on how climate change is expected to affect agricultural systems across Washington State, including cropland, livestock, rangelands, and aquaculture. It evaluates projected changes in temperature, precipitation, snowpack, streamflow timing, and extreme events, and analyzes how these shifts may influence crop yields, water availability, pest pressures, pollinators, soil health, wildfire risk, and farmworker health.

While elevated CO₂ and warming may increase potential yields for some crops—particularly in eastern Washington—the report emphasizes that benefits depend on adequate water, nutrient availability, and effective adaptation. Risks from drought, flooding, heat stress, wildfire smoke, ocean acidification, and shifting pest and disease dynamics are expected to intensify. The publication also addresses regulatory pressures, market dynamics, and disproportionate vulnerabilities faced by small-scale and socially disadvantaged farmers.

The report identifies priority research gaps and outlines adaptation strategies at farm, watershed, and policy scales to strengthen long-term agricultural resilience.

This work was supported by the WSU Agricultural Research Center, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture McIntire Stennis project 1019284, and the Washington State Department of Agriculture with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA). The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at Washington Climate Action.