Climate Change Agenda From a Ranchers Point of View

Climate change has been a hot topic for several years now. There is still controversy around what is causing it as some parties are not willing to believe that humans play a huge role in global warning. There has been a larger shift toward individuals believing that climate change is occurring, regardless of how it is happening. This creates a strange area where people are unwilling to make changes needed to prevent climate change more than it already has.

This summer I returned back to my home. It’s a small farming community and I have been able to talk with many of producers in the community about the things that I learned apart of the MCCAFS program. I’ve been told that most academics don’t understand what we do or that many of the ideas brought forward about climate change are good theory but are not worth it on the in actual practice. I noticed that at many of the conferences we were invited to attend as graduate students they would give lip service to the idea of involving indigenous peoples and producers. There have been very few instances that I am aware of that producers have been involved in climate change research. If they have been involved they have filled out surveys. This is not practical or sustainable to be able to try and meet climate goals. At this point humanity is going to have difficulty reaching those climate goals. We do not want to alienate those that can make a difference. As agriculture contributes to 24% of green house emissions, we need to partner with them to create change.

For as long as I can remember there has been an us verses them mentality between producers and the climate change community. Producers feel blamed for emissions even though they make up only a quarter of these emission. There is a feeling that agriculture is being targeted because they don’t have as much money as the oil company to fight it. Agriculturists have also been told that they dumb and do not have the knowledge or the intelligence to contribute the conversation.

What can be done? These problems seem like a huge roadblock in moving forward. The most important step is to invite these people to the table. They know what they are talking about and they know their operation and environment better than anyone else. They can contribute much of their expertise anas well as show flaws in problems. This can easily be done by inviting producers to participate in research groups as a member of the team and as a primary researcher. This shows that they are heard and valued while working on a problem that directly effects them. Another step is to acknowledge and do something about the bias that is found on both sides. As a producer that stepped in to the climate change space I did not feel like there was a space and that often felt attacked. This was not the intention but it was not something that was acknowledged. Once again producers opinions and values were not discussed. It can feel like academics are coming into a space that they know nothing. Producers need to do the same. They need to acknowledge the problem as well as understand that there must be change as difficult as that is.

Another option that could help is to support local and family farms. These are individuals in all regions of the world that struggle to stay afloat when their competition is big corporations. Family farms are more animal and environmentally friendly. It is important to these farms and ranches that the ecosystem is healthy and renewed every year as it directly effects their livelihood. They are also more open to understanding the climate crisis as they are working with the animals and environment every day and want to see both thrive.

In conclusion, much can be done if both sides are willing to compromise and listen.