Transcript:
As the climate warms, many areas are experiencing more rain and flooding.
And Jennifer Glenister, owner of New Morning Farm in central Pennsylvania, is feeling the consequences of extreme and unpredictable weather firsthand.
At her farm, she grows organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs to sell at farmers markets.
Glenister: “Everything from arugula to zucchini.”
Glenister says in the past, low-lying areas on her farm flooded regularly in winter, when vegetables were not growing.
So she could prevent erosion by planting cover crops that hold soil in place with their roots.
But now, she says floods sometimes hit during the early growing season and destroy young vegetable plants.
Glenister: “That’s hard.”
But she says losing soil to erosion is worse.
Glenister: “I can plant another crop. I can’t replace the soil.”
So to adapt to the changing climate, Glenister is now growing fewer crops in her low-lying fields. Instead, she’s asking neighbors on higher ground to grow crops she can buy and resell at farmers markets.
She’s determined to persevere.
Glenister: “It won’t be the way it was. It won’t be the way it is now. But I think within our community of farms, we can continue to grow food and serve our customers.”
Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media / Thanks to Pasa Sustainable Agriculture for logistical support.
