Farmers on the Frontlines in Our Fight Against Climate Change
It’s become increasingly and painfully obvious to farmers in California that climate change means more than just rising temperatures. Evermore erratic weather patterns fuel longer droughts, bigger floods and even more frequent wildfires. As we slowly come to terms with the consequences to our rural communities, food supply, local economy and the environment, forward-thinking farmers are learning to both adapt as well as fight back.
Hear from the frontlines of an emergent climate-smart farming movement: soil scientists, family farmers and policy advocates all working to promote practices that prove more resilient in the face of these climatic changes. While global monopolies try to sell newfangled, patented quick fixes to the problem of feeding a growing population in the age of climate change, these grassroots efforts are proving effective with a more natural, holistic and egalitarian approach: building up the organic matter in soils, cover cropping, mindfully integrating crops and livestock, planting hedgerows, using compost, and applying rotational grazing. Not only does this dynamic suite of practices retain water better, endure temperature fluctuations and offer more resilient environments when disaster does strike, but together they can also sequester carbon back into the ground, reversing the trend that led us to the problem in the first place.
While there are no easy solutions, these climate resilience champions—often overshadowed by other, more visible players in the fight against climate change—are working hard to reshape our agricultural system for long-term sustainability and regeneration. From ecology and policy to practical on-farm techniques, come learn how the land that feeds us—with a little help from education and policy reform, city slickers, and country folk alike—can help save our planet too.
MLF ORGANIZER NAME
Cathy Curtis
NOTES
MLF: Food Matters; Business & Leadership
In partnership with the Community Alliance for Family Farmers (CAFF)
Layla Aguilar
Farm Manager, Bi-Rite; Graduate, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS)
Renata Brillinger
Co-Founder and Executive Director, California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN); Steering Committee Member, Center for Sustainability at Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo; Advisory Board Member, UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute
Rich Collins
Founder and President Emeritus, California Endive Farms
Sara Tiffany
Climate Smart Farming Program Specialist, Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Evan Wiig
Community Organizer; Founder, Farmers Guild; Director of Membership and Communications, Community Alliance with Family Farmers
