From Here to There is a podcast pilot that shares the stories of professionals across Canada and explores the value of adaptation thinking.
This latest episode of From Here to There leaves the city behind and explores adaptation in the agricultural sector. We spoke with two farmers in Saskatchewan about their journey to make their farm resilient against a changing climate.
We also spoke to representatives from the Canadian Centre for Climate Services and ClimateWest to get a broader view of the state of climate change and adaptation in the Prairies.
Take a look at some of the highlights of our conversation below and find more resources for farmers about regenerative agriculture and other adaptation supports.
This episode is hosted by Martin Payette from Ouranos, a collaborative innovation hub enabling Quebec society to better adapt to an evolving climate. It was produced by Rachel Malena-Chan and Ryan Smith from the Canadian Centre for Climate Services.
This episode zooms in on one example of farming in a changing climate. Alanna Carlson and Keaton Sinclair are Saskatchewan farmers with a deep history tied to the land. They come from farming families, and five years ago, they started farming their own land near Fiske, Saskatchewan. It wasn’t an easy start.
“The first year we started, I grew green peas across the whole field, and we had this one random cloud that came through, a very dark cloud that came and hailed on the whole field. All of the peas were knocked out of the pod and onto the ground. So that was a very tough year to start out.
And then the next three years after that, we didn’t get any rain, and it was very tough harvesting the next few years. It was so dry the third year that we were farming that I didn’t even combine the field. There was essentially just a bunch of sticks out there. That’s when I realized it was time to make some changes.”
As Alanna explains, farmers are constantly monitoring weather conditions and tracking patterns in extremes. But that vigilance doesn’t always extend decades into the future, when climate change will have an even greater impact on agriculture operations.
“People are very alive to the changing climate and that there’s more drought and there’s more extreme weather events. Because a lot of people aren’t informed by what the projections are, it’s sort of business as usual.”
In this episode, Keaton and Alanna walk us through their pathway to regenerative farming, a practice that aims to maintain soil health and restore ecosystem function. Their innovative experiments are inspiring, in no small part due to the need to adapt to changing weather conditions and constrained budgets. From intercropping to home-made fertilizer, they offer a range of examples of what has worked for them.
Keaton draws on his background in structural engineering to inform his lens on the future, but he notes that this isn’t common practice in the agriculture industry.
“As a structural engineer, we’re more often now designing for infrastructure that’s going to be more resilient to the extreme weather events, adapting to the climate or extreme weather events. For farmers, I think it’s not talked about enough.“
Alanna tell us that “t’s very meaningful for us to try to engage with this repair of the land.” These efforts are not always easy, but Keaton and Alanna have found a passion for it that aligns with their values. A major influence in their journey was speaking to Keaton’s aunt.
“My aunt is a professor at the University of Alberta, and she’s very tied with Indigenous relations, and she’s very connected with Métis settlements and history. And she’s been a really good role model for getting back to our roots.”
Alongside Keaton and Alanna, this episode features knowledgeable climate adaptation experts from Canada’s leading climate hubs.
Elaine Barrow from the Canadian Centre for Climate Services offers an overview of climate change on the Prairies, and what the projections say about heat and precipitation across the region.
Asha Nelson from ClimateWest talks us through the supports available for people in the agricultural sector on the Prairies and explains the basics of regenerative agriculture as part of the solution to the challenges of climate change.
Hayley Dosser, also from the Canadian Centre for Climate Services, tells us about a new tool available through ClimateData.ca: Seasonal to Decadal forecasts. Whereas climate projections look at changing conditions over several decades, seasonal to decadal forecasts provide information about what to expect in the coming months and years.
As Hayley describes, “seasonal to decadal forecasts are actually a wonderful fit for agriculture, because you’re often needing to make decisions a few months ahead of time for your upcoming growing season. So those decisions can involve everything from what seeds you’re going to be purchasing, what varieties of crops you’re going to be planting, when you’re going to start your field prep, what sort of irrigation you need to plan for over the summer, what your harvest timetable might look like. Seasonal forecasts specifically can help with all of those decisions.”
We hope you enjoy this episode. Reach out to us to let us know your thoughts or pitch us your idea for an upcoming episode.
For a downloadable summary of the episode highlights and bios of each of our guests, click here: English or French
To access more information about this episode, alongside the full episode transcript, click here: https://climatedata.ca/resource/climate-change-and-regenerative-agriculture/
Martin Payette is a Research and Knowledge Mobilization Specialist at Ouranos with a background in biology and journalism. He works to make climate change adaptation research accessible and useful to diverse audiences and practitioners.
Keaton Sinclair is a fourth generation farmer and lives with his wife, Alanna Carlson on the family farm near Rosetown, Saskatchewan. They quit their office jobs as an engineer and lawyer to answer the call of the land. They grow grain and pulse crops using regenerative agriculture practices that prioritize plant and soil health, with the aim to restore the land for generations to come, acre by AKre. Check them out on the AKRegeneration Instagram and YouTube pages.
Elaine Barrow is a climate scientist with a bachelor’s and PhD in Environmental Sciences and a MSc in Atmospheric Sciences. Elaine is approaching 40 years of experience in climate research and joined the Data and Products Team at the Canadian Centre for Climate Services in 2019. She now focuses on providing climate information in a way that is useful and usable for adaptation decision-making and works closely with the ClimateData.ca team.
Asha Nelson is a project coordinator at ClimateWest where she manages diverse climate adaptation initiatives. She has a decade of experience designing and delivering community-led research projects and programs, with a particular focus on food sovereignty. She holds an advanced degree in Global Political Economy and serves on the Winnipeg Food Council.
Hayley Dosser is a climate scientist with an MSc in physics and a PhD in oceanography, whose experience ranges from fluid dynamics to climate change. Hayley is currently part of the Seasonal to Decadal team within the Data and Products Team at the Canadian Centre for Climate Services.
For access to the full transcript for this episode or to hear other podcast episodes in this series, visit the Learning Zone.
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