Denise Chang-Yen (yes, Chris’ mom) asks whether climate change will end up being a net benefit for farms in our area.

Listen first, then scroll past the spoilers bar for more information.

Our first step was to interview Karen Haugen-Kozyra, President of Viresco Solutions and a colleague of Denise’s.

Karen has worked in research, government, and non-for-profit roles helping the agricultural sector in Canada mitigate and adapt to climate change.

She walked us through some of the ways farmers are already planning for climate change in our region, including cloud-seeding and experimenting with new livestock feed and crop varieties. Karen pointed us to the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative‘s research on Climate Scenarios for Alberta.

Then we drove south of Edmonton to visit Takota Coen at Coen Farm, near Ferintosh. They raise cows, pigs, and chickens, and they grow an increasing range of fruits and nuts on the farm.

Takota showed us some of the ways they’ve increased water retention and storage on their property to prepare for both droughts and heavier floods.

We also got to see the huge variety of plants they’re growing, from bur oak and black walnut trees to seabuckthorns and black currants.

Most importantly, we fell in love with Takota’s dog, Kazlow.

Further Reading:

• On Doug Visser: “‘The land has been good to us’: Edmonton man fights to protect his farm” – CBC News, April 4, 2017
• Climate Atlas of Canada

This episode is made possible by support from Taproot Edmonton and the Edmonton Historical Board.

We also gave shout-outs in the episode to the Edmonton Public Library summer reading club and The Well- Endowed Podcast.