Minnesota Stories in a Changing Climate: Where Food Meets Farming

Climate change is affecting our state’s varied regions and residents in different ways, but all Minnesotans have a story to tell. The TPT production “Minnesota Stories in a Changing Climate,” part of Climate Generation’s Climate Minnesota: Local Stories, Community Solutions project, showcases six of these stories, along with narration from some of the state’s leading climate experts. The full production and the individual story clips are intended to serve as an educational and inspirational resource to build Minnesotans’ awareness of climate impacts and encourage the sharing of climate stories across the state. According to Kowalski’s Produce Director Jeremy Lee and Jerry Untiedt, a Minnesota farmer who sells his produce to Kowalski’s, the food we eat is becoming harder to grow, and the grocery store as we know it may soon be forced to adapt. Untiedt is one of the many partners that Kowalski’s works with to deliver high-quality local produce to consumers, and he says the increasing frequency of severe weather events is complicating farmers’ crop reliability; further along the food system, this has worrisome implications for Kowalski’s typically diverse, year-round supply of produce. In response to shifting weather patterns, Untiedt has introduced “high tunnels” – covered plastic greenhouses – on his farm, which not only protect his crops but also extend his growing season. As climate change impacts accumulate, he believes high tunnels will soon become the standard in Minnesota specialty crop production. Download the free accompanying Minnesota Stories in a Changing Climate Discussion Guide here.

Minnesota Stories in a Changing Climate: Where Food Meets Farming

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