Founded in 1985 with the purchase of a 50-acre plot of land, Wickman Farms is now a 500-acre family operated farm\/ranch located in Hunt, Texas. The business has two primary streams of revenue generation. First is the raising and selling of 100% genetically certified red angus cattle. With current operations, the farm can herd up to 180 head of cattle at a time, the majority of which are sold to ranchers for breeding purposes. Second, the farm produces alfalfa as its primary crop, utilizing roughly 200 acres for harvesting. Depending on the annual yield, roughly 60% of the harvest is utilized as feed for the herd with excess hay sold to local ranchers. While turning an annual profit is vital for Wickman Farms growth, sustainability plays a central role in decision making processes as the owners aim to pass the farm from one generation to the next.<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, climate changes present many current and future challenges when considering the sustainability of Wickman Farms. For instance, the last number of decades has seen an increase in the total inches of annual rainfall however paradoxically the soil in eastern Texas has become dryer. It is speculated the dryer soil is secondary to increased average temperature (roughly 1\u00b0 F over the past century).[1] An additional factor is that the volume of water per rainfall has increased while the incidence of wet days has remained fairly constant.[2] This has resulted in increased flooding and runoff water, leaving the soil unable to absorb most of the precipitation.<\/p>\n
Looking forward, studies such as that performed by Risky Business Project suggest that by 2050 the number of days with temperatures above 95\u00b0 F will rise from 43 days\/year to 106 days\/year.[3] An increase in temperature of this magnitude offers challenges from a farming and ranching perspective. As mentioned above, warmer weather results in dryer soil and decreased yield of farmland and grazing land. In addition, there is a direct effect of high temperatures on cattle which results in an increased susceptibility to disease.[4]<\/p>\n
Given these current climate challenges and bleak outlook, Wickman Farms has begun the process of positioning itself towards sustainability. Over the past decade, the number of stock tanks (a.k.a. waterholes) on the property has doubled, while the farm has also significantly increased the depths of existing stock tanks. Wickman Farms has also engineered the land into waterways which direct runoff water towards the stock tanks. This network of waterways enables the farm to capture a larger percentage of the annual rainfall despite the dramatic downpours. This represents one investment that has already paid dividends as a recent drought left area farmers purchasing excess water from Wickman Farms.<\/p>\n
In anticipation of less productive grazing fields, the farm has acquired a number of neighboring farms to increase their grazing acreage. The most significant recent acquisition was that of a neighboring tree farm which provides a natural shelter from the sun for cattle and a field of agroforestry for diversification of grazing land. In addition, the farm has begun to experiment with drought resistant GMO alfalfa seed as well as advanced their planting season from early April to mid-March. Finally, they have taken steps to protect their employees from dangerous temperatures with investment in air-conditioned equipment and a new civilian water system.<\/p>\n
In looking to the future, there are several operational changes Wickman Farms may pursue to increase their sustainability. One strategy is to enter relationships with area farms which allows for usage of excess grazing land given disparate grazing yields. While at face value it may seem local farms should have similar yields, in East Texas moving just 15 miles north can make a dramatic difference. From a harvesting perspective, there are a number of strategies the farm may lean on to ensure future yields. One option is the installation of an irrigation system which utilizes water from stock tanks to help crops through extended droughts. Concurrently, the farm should look to invest more heavily in diversification of crops. Current trends suggest many crops such as lettuce are moving towards indoor production models, however, innovations from companies such as Monsanto and Indigo show promise for drought-tolerant wheat and corn in the future. The learning curve in planting a crop for the first time is steep and thus it will benefit Wickman Farms to experiment during a time of relative stability.<\/p>\n
Climate change puts the future of small farms in Texas at risk, however with forward thinking and quick action Wickman Farms can achieve its goal of remaining in operation for generations to come.<\/p>\n
Word Count (764)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[1] “What Does Climate Change Mean for Texas,” Climate Reality Project (blog), June 23, 2016, www.climaterealityproject.org\/blog\/what-does-climate-change-mean-for-texas, accessed October 29, 2016.<\/p>\n
[2] “What Climate Change Means for Texas,” United States Protection Agency, August 2016, www.epa.gov\/climatechange\/Downloads\/impacts-adaptation\/climate-change-TX, accessed October 29, 2016.<\/p>\n
[3] Kinniburgh, Fiona, “Come Heat and High Water: Climate Risk in the Southeastern U.S. and Texas.” Risky Business: The Bottom Line on Climate Change, July 2015, www.riskybusiness.org\/report\/come-heat-or-high-water-climate-risk-in-the-southwestern-u-s-and-texas, accessed October 29, 2016.<\/p>\n
[4] “What Climate Change Means for Texas,” United States Protection Agency, August 2016, www.epa.gov\/climatechange\/Downloads\/impacts-adaptation\/climate-change-TX, accessed October 29, 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Insights into how Wickman Farm plans to do battle with coming climate change<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1848,"featured_media":9093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[28],"class_list":["post-9082","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/climate-change-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\n