10 pages, Ongoing climate change and associated food security concerns are pressing issues globally, and are of particular concern in the far north where warming is accelerated and markets are remote. The objective of this research was to model current and projected climate conditions pertinent to gardeners and farmers in Alaska. Research commenced with information-sharing between local agriculturalists and climate modelers to determine primary questions, available data, and effective strategies. Four variables were selected: summer season length, growing degree days, temperature of the coldest winter day, and plant hardiness zone. In addition, peonies were selected as a case study. Each variable was modeled using regional projected climate data downscaled using the delta method, followed by extraction of key variables (e.g., mean coldest winter day for a given decade). An online interface was developed to allow diverse users to access, manipulate, view, download, and understand the data. Interpretive text and a summary of the case study explained all of the methods and outcomes. The results showed marked projected increases in summer season length and growing degree days coupled with seasonal shifts and warmer winter temperatures, suggesting that agriculture in Alaska is undergoing and will continue to undergo profound change. This presents opportunities and challenges for farmers and gardeners.
18 pages, This study examined gaps in climate information within public agricultural extension in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It assessed extension officers’ climate change perceptions, knowledge and climate education. Lastly, the study examined the extension approaches for overall suitability of climate information disseminated to rural smallholder farmers. The results indicated that participants were predominately male, with tertiary education. Education levels had an influence on exposure to climate education and extension approaches in disseminating agricultural information to farmers. There is a need to retool extension officers in climate change extension work, integrating indigenous knowledge to increase suitability and acceptability of information by smallholder farmers.
5 pages, Resiliency to weather extremes is already a part of farming in the North Plains, but now climate change is adding new uncertainties. Engaging farmers on this often controversial topic can be challenging given the wide range of beliefs farmers hold about climate change. Scenario planning provides a framework for Extension and agricultural system stakeholders to come together using the latest climate science to discover robust adaptive management options, prioritize Extension programming needs, and provide an open forum for starting the discussion.
6 pages., Evidence overwhelmingly supports the view that we need to drastically reduce our consumption of animal products for reasons related to the environment and public health, while moral concerns about the treatment of animals in agriculture are becoming ever more common. As governments increasingly recognize the need to change our food production and alternative protein products become more appealing to consumers, agriculture finds itself in a unique period of transition. How do farmers respond to the changing atmosphere? We present secondary analyses of qualitative and quantitative data to highlight some of the uncertainty and ambivalence about meat production felt throughout the farming community. Survey data from France and Germany reveals that in both countries, those who work in the meat industry have significantly higher rates of meat avoidance than those who do not work in the industry. While non-meat-industry workers are more likely to cite concerns for animals or the environment, meat industry workers more often cite concerns about the healthiness or safety of the products. Concurrently, interviews with people who raise animals for a living suggest that moral concerns among farmers are growing but largely remain hidden; talking about them openly was felt as a form of betrayal. We discuss these findings in the context of the ongoing agricultural transition, observe how tension has manifested as polarization among Dutch farmers, and offer some thoughts about the role of farmers in a new world of alternative proteins.
25pgs, We combine farm accounting data with high-resolution meteorological data, and climate scenarios to estimate climate change impacts and adaptation potentials at the farm level. To do so, we adapt the seminal model of Moore and Lobell (2014) who applied panel data econometrics to data aggregated from the farm to the regional (subnational) level. We discuss and empirically investigate the advantages and challenges of applying such models to farm-level data, including issues of endogeneity of explanatory variables, heterogeneity of farm responses to weather shocks, measurement errors in meteorological variables, and aggregation bias. Empirical investigations into these issues reveal that endogeneity due to measurement errors in temperature and precipitation variables, as well as heterogeneous responses of farms toward climate change may be problematic. Moreover, depending on how data are aggregated, results differ substantially compared to farm-level analysis. Based on data from Austria and two climate scenarios (Effective Measures and High Emission) for 2040, we estimate that the profits of farms will decline, on average, by 4.4% (Effective Measures) and 10% (High Emission). Adaptation options help to considerably ameliorate the adverse situation under both scenarios. Our results reinforce the need for mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
