With heat waves throughout Europe this past summer, farmers were forced to adapt and respond to maximize their yield. With the uncertainty of what these heat waves mean for the coming years, some agricultural producers are nervous. This also calls to question the need for immediate action on the climate crisis which is causing many issues for the future, not only for farmers.
Doug Price is the Managing Director at AgriBale LTD, an agricultural contractor working on 58,000 acres across the UK. Though he and his team are feeling the effects of climate change and are forced to adapt to the changing weather, Mr. Price says they have not instituted any sustainability practices within their company.
This rhetoric is all too common with sustainable practices now, particularly with farmers. In the Netherlands, the Boerenprotest, or ‘Dutch farmers protests’ have been an ongoing fixture since 2019. This series of demonstrations involve the use of machinery, tractors, and in certain cases hay bales to form road blockades and to occupy public spaces. The basis of these protests; the implementation of intense climate restrictions for farmers in order to reduce emissions.
I spoke with Mr. Price about his experience this past summer and his outlook for the future. I reached him in Peterborough, UK, where AgriBale is based.
