Extreme weather patterns are posing difficulties across the agricultural community, but especially among small farmers, who have limited funds to deal with inconsistent weather that is affecting their cattle or crops.
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His fears of financial stability related to his job are due to extreme weather conditions over the past year that affect his cows’ health and milk production. In the last two weeks alone, heat waves in Kansas brought temperatures in the high 90s and 100s, adding onto the difficulties many Kansas farmers have been facing due to a long lasting drought. The problem extends beyond the U.S., though; this July marked the earth’s hottest month on record.
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The effect of weather extremes
That poses a big problem for dairy farmers, whose cattle heavily rely on proper feed and water to produce high levels of milk. “Cows can't sweat heat off so they have a real hard time with heat,” Darren Turley, the executive director of Texas Association of Dairymen, tells TIME. “A dairy cow runs a lot of water through her body to make milk so she needs to drink a lot of water. When you start getting that really high temperature, that inhibits our ability to put that into production.”
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Looking forward
In periods of economic hardship, farmers can rely on supplemental programs like crop or milk insurance for financial support. But farmers tell TIME that many of these programs support a culture of overproduction instead of agricultural conservation, which builds the health and quality of the soil. These practices are vital in light of climate change. “There's a kind of an emphasis on an income basis and now the attention turns from the actual commodity or the food you produce to the economic viability of the operation,” Giessel says.
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