Call for Interviews with Vineyard Farmers

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Written by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, August 4, 2020

What strategies do you implement in order to respond to climate change impacts? What regulations or programs have you found encourage or discourage you responding to the changes you face? My family’s involvement in agriculture through the dairy industry has long shown me that our farmers and farmland are essential to the livelihood of California and its people. A driving force of my research is to understand how climate change impacts agriculture, how the farmers involved in these businesses respond to those impacts through their actions, and why farmers make the decisions they do regarding climate change.

Climate change has wide ranging impacts for agriculture, and farmers growing organic can mitigate the impacts of climate change. Farmers have varied responses to changes in their surrounding environment which can impact why and how they adapt. Organic practices involving soil management, carbon sequestration, energy conservation, and emission reduction can all have important implications for successfully responding to changes in the natural environment. Participation in program and policy initiatives such as healthy soil programs, water conservation programs, and climate innovation initiatives can be important steps in developing a climate change response strategy. 

I am conducting research on how climate change impacts vineyards and wineries and how and why the people involved make decisions regarding the strategies and practices that they adopt. This research is especially focused on how local government initiatives, policies, or existing government institutions might support or hinder a farmer’s ability to respond to changes in climate. If you have any experience with these topics, I would like to speak with you about your experiences. Your perspective is important to understanding how decisions are made by farms, and your insight is essential for guiding important research into these topics.

Please email Kerrigan Unter at kmmu95@gwu.edu if you are interested in sharing your experiences. Any insights are greatly appreciated. 

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This post was written by Kerrigan Unter.

Kerrigan Unter is a Ph.D. candidate at George Washington University. She is completing her doctoral degree in strategic management and public policy. Her research focuses on climate change adaptation and how institutions affect responses to changes in the natural environment. Born and raised in Sacramento, her interests especially lie in finding ways to help businesses in agriculture respond to climate change.