As meteorologists warn that this year’s El Niño event could become the strongest on record, concerns are escalating over the potential impacts on global agriculture and food security. While the United States is expected to experience less severe effects compared to regions such as Central and South America, the Caribbean, and southern Africa, parts of the country may still face significant crop losses due to extreme weather conditions.

Researchers studying agricultural responses to climate stress highlight the increasing frequency of devastating events, including flooded fields, delayed planting schedules, and drought-stricken crops that are no longer viable for harvest. However, some farms have demonstrated greater resilience under these conditions by maintaining productive vegetation during the winter months when many other fields lie fallow.

This resilience is largely attributed to soil management practices that enhance the carbon-rich organic matter content of farmland, enabling soils to absorb and retain moisture more effectively. Key techniques include planting cover crops during offseason periods or integrating perennial plants—species that live multiple years—to ensure roots remain in the soil year-round.

Studies by researchers Andrea Basche and Marcia DeLonge reveal that these strategies increase soil pore space by approximately 8%, facilitating improved water movement and availability. This enhancement can translate into roughly 16% more water accessible to plants during droughts. Additionally, when heavy rains occur, cover crops have been shown to increase rainfall infiltration by 35%, while perennials can boost infiltration by as much as 59%, substantially mitigating runoff risks.

The environmental benefits extend beyond individual farms. For example, if one-third of Iowa’s croplands were converted to include perennials or cover crops, runoff and flood frequency in particularly wet years could be reduced by 20%, according to Basche and DeLonge. Farmers around the U.S. are adopting diverse approaches to integrate these practices, such as cultivating fruit and nut tree rows alongside annual crops, planting berry bushes as hedgerows, experimenting with perennial grains, grazing livestock on perennial pastures, and establishing native prairie strips that can reduce soil sediment loss by up to 95%.

Despite these advantages, widespread adoption remains limited. The current U.S. crop insurance framework heavily incentivizes planting established commodity crops like corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton, which receive substantial federal subsidies that protect growers against total crop failure. In contrast, crops such as elderberries and hazelnuts lack comparable insurance coverage. Instead, they fall under the Whole Farm Revenue Protection program, which many industry experts consider insufficient. Furthermore, perennial crops require several years to mature and generate income, creating short-term financial risks for farmers transitioning to regenerative practices.

As the federal government negotiates the 2023 farm bill—a significant legislative vehicle for agricultural policy—debates continue over funding allocations for conservation programs that support cover crops and perennials, including the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Senate Republicans have pushed to decrease funding for these initiatives and have not proposed substantial reforms to the crop insurance system, contributing to a delay in the bill’s progress.

With the intensifying threat posed by this Super El Niño, some advocates see an urgent opportunity to prioritize investments in farm resilience and sustainable soil management practices. Experts suggest that enhancing these support systems could help safeguard food production amid escalating climate variability.