Author(s):
Lisa K. Tabor* - Kansas State University
John A. Harrington, Jr. - Kansas State University
Iris E. Wilson - Kansas State University
Abstract:
Earth-system variations have combined with transformations induced by an expanding global society to shape a dynamic planet where change has happened and changes will happen in the future. Agricultural stakeholders in Kansas have reacted to a transforming business environment by adopting new strategies to maximize production while experiencing the climatic vagaries of floods and major periods of drought. This paper combines information from 42 stakeholder interviews with ideas from the scholarly literature on past adaptation in the central Great Plains to address the question: are Kansas farmers going to be able to adapt to climate change? There is clear evidence that autonomous adaptation has happened over that last century as new land management practices and technological innovations have been put into play. Interviews in north-central Kansas in 2010 with farmers and ranchers suggest that they are observing a changing environment and that they desire credible information on how future climate change might impact their production practices.
