Global warming is now changing the face of weather, and this poses a very big challenge to farmers. It is becoming difficult to farm, and crops are being affected by ugly features such as more extreme weather, shifting seasons, and changes in temperatures. This forces farmers to adapt in order to continue running profitable and sustainable farming enterprises. This article gives farmers advice on practices to be followed in climate-resilience measures according to Benedict TPalen Jr.
Learn How Your
Climate Is Changing
The first step,
therefore, involves getting to know how your regional climate is expected to
evolve in the decades to come. Speak with climate scientists or extension
agents to find out more about changes that are specific to your area. Common
effects involve increasing temperatures, altered precipitation into less or
more frequent and more severe droughts and floods, and earlier March warmth. If
the kinds of changes that are likely to occur are established, further steps
toward adaptation will be easier to plan.
Adjust Planting
Schedules
Since warming
progresses winters and springs ahead, farmers may also have to sow their crops
at different times. Monitor the climatic conditions and choose the time for
sowing seeds depending not on the calendar but on the temperature of the
ground. Be prepared to plant different varieties that may take a shorter time
or necessarily take longer growing seasons. According to Benedict TPalen Jr., that is why it could be useful to get familiar with
the concept of cover crops in order to manage fields during shifts in
off-seasons.
Manage Water
Resources
Implement measures
to correctly harvest water, as well as retain the soil moisture as the
occurrence of droughts increases in many areas. Optimise irrigation services,
provide water storage facilities and employ moisture sensors to detect water
requirements. The use of no-till farming management practices is an effective
way to increase the capacity of soil water retention. Drought resistance also
implies that the crop varieties do not need a lot of water.
Prepare for Extreme
Weather
Funds should be
spent on the construction of various techniques so that risks from excessive
rainfall or flooding, heat waves, etc., are reduced on crops. Install drainage
systems, protective covers, and wide windbreaks where necessary. Yes there
should be a variety of crops to be planted as well as fields should be
different in case some of the plants will not be able to withstand an extreme
event. Buy crop insurance as a way of recovering losses.
Explore New Crops
This might mean more
heat is conducive to exploring new growth types of crops that the farmers could
not grow in their area of the climate. However, any new crops that are to be
grown must respond to the new climatic and soil regimes. Sow crops on small
portions of the field to determine whether there are certain crops you have not
cultivated before and whether they do well and produce good yields.
Conclusion
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