Farmers can tell the climate is changing

Climate change brings to mind pictures of raging California wildfires and increasingly erratic hurricanes in the Gulf. But as climate change becomes an increasingly important issue in our nation and world, how might Ohio be uniquely impacted – both its landscape and its communities?

PhD Candidate Fiona Doherty was interviewed for a series entitled “Colors of Climate Change.” The article explores the current situation in Ohio from perspectives that shed light on how climate impacts us all and how we are impacting climate in return. Researchers share how they investigate how negative effects of climate change affect some of us more than others.

Everyone will feel the impact of climate change on agriculture, whether it’s through higher produce prices or an “out of stock” sign for their favorite seasonal fruit or vegetable at Kroger.

But when it comes to those who feel the impact most from how climate change and agriculture are interacting in Ohio, it’s farmers, said Doherty.

“The nature of farmers’ work just makes them so disproportionately vulnerable to all of these different impacts,” she said.

The toll is both physical and emotional.

“Climate change compounds all other stress and all other social injustices,” Doherty said. “If you are already working with very little resources, and extreme weather hits, it’s going to be way more devastating to you than somebody who has more resources, more land, maybe more generational wealth or knowledge…I think at the end of the day, all inequities are exacerbated.”

Read more about where your food comes from