Farmers are currently facing more challenges than ever in production because of climate-change. That from Farm Adaption Innovator Program Coordinator Shauna MacKinnon, who says ten projects are being carried out province-wide to help agricultural producers adapt to climate change. Two of the ten listed projects are being carried out in the Kootenay and Boundary area, and are partnering with the Kootenay and Boundary Farm Advisors.
MacKinnon says one project focuses on vegetable production, and improving resiliency to the impacts of too much or too little water:
“So this could be really challenging from a farmers perspective, so this project is looking at what approaches farmers are already taking to manage their soil that can also help deal with these water impacts….”
The University of British Columbia is the project lead. That four-year project is set to get underway this August.
MacKinnon says for the other project in our area, on-farm trials are being set up on three different sites:
“One of the sites will be focuses on improving yield, one will be looking at more efficient water use…. so that could be tree fruit or vegetable production, and then also a project that will be focused on improving soil health for forage production.”
She adds that the two-year project will set-up trails to be used as case studies to create templates to help other producers conduct their own research.
MacKinnon says a regional planning process is also currently taking place in the Kootenay Boundary region through the Climate Action initiative:
“Some of the big issues that are highlighted are around water management, so increasing drought, less snow-pack being accumulated which can lead to water shortages in the growing season, but on the flip side there’s also a lot of challenges around too much water at the wrong time.”
Projects are thanks to funding through the Canadian Agriculture Partnership. To read more click here.