How Sunflower Fields Farm is adapting to a changing environment through water conservation, crop selection, and climate-resilient agriculture.
This growing season challenged nearly everything I thought I knew about farming.
We experienced approximately 115 consecutive days of temperatures reaching 100°F, accompanied by prolonged drought conditions. For a small farm operating on the high plains of Colorado, this combination was more than uncomfortable. It was a test of survival.
Within days of the extreme heat setting in, approximately 50% of our plants had died. The remaining crops responded in dramatically different ways. Some stopped growing altogether, others bolted before reaching maturity, and a few seemed almost entirely indifferent to the conditions.
My first instinct could have been to increase irrigation, but I resisted the temptation to simply throw more water at the problem. Instead, I paid attention.
I watched how each crop responded, how quickly the soil dried, which plants struggled, and which ones continued to produce. What I learned would ultimately change the direction of our farm.
The First Lesson: Water Is a Resource, Not a Solution to Everything
At Sunflower Fields Farm, we use a drip irrigation system that delivers water directly to the root zones of our plants. This minimizes evaporation and reduces the amount of water lost to runoff or unnecessary irrigation.
Despite the extreme temperatures and drought, I made a deliberate decision not to increase our overall water usage.
Instead, I observed what the crops actually needed.
Our sweet potatoes were slow to establish and grow, but I didn't panic. They were surviving, even if they weren't progressing at the rate I had expected.
Our potatoes, on the other hand, seemed to thrive. They handled the heat remarkably well and showed little indication of the water stress affecting so many of our other crops.
And then there was the okra.
Our okra seemed to laugh at the weather. The hotter and drier it became, the more determined those plants seemed to be. While other crops struggled, the okra continued producing.
Carrots, beets, and radishes told a very different story. Their growth stalled, and many plants bolted before reaching a harvestable size.
The difference was striking.
I began to realize that the question wasn't how much more water I could provide. It was whether I was growing the right crops for the environment in which I was farming.
That distinction matters.
Colorado has already experienced significant climate changes. According to the 2024 Climate Change in Colorado assessment published by Colorado State University, statewide average temperatures increased approximately 2.3°F between 1980 and 2022. The assessment also projects additional warming in the decades ahead, with increasingly frequent and intense heat waves.
We cannot build a sustainable agricultural operation around the assumption that historical weather patterns will reliably return.
We have to plan for the conditions we are actually experiencing.
Building a Farm That Holds on to Its Water
One of the first changes I implemented was a comprehensive mulching program.
Mulch serves several purposes, particularly in an environment like ours.
By covering exposed soil, we reduce direct sunlight reaching the ground, helping moderate soil temperatures and slow moisture loss. The protective layer also suppresses weeds that would otherwise compete with our crops for water and nutrients.
As organic mulch gradually decomposes, it contributes organic matter to the soil, supporting soil structure and biological activity.
Essentially, we are working to make every drop of water do more work.
This approach is supported by agricultural research. The USDA's Climate Hubs identify increasing soil cover through mulch and cover crops as an important strategy for conserving soil moisture and reducing soil temperatures. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service also emphasizes that protecting soil from exposure helps improve water infiltration and reduce erosion.
These aren't complicated ideas. They are practical decisions that can make a tremendous difference over time.
Currently, our farm uses approximately 83% less water than the comparison benchmark for farms growing similar crops on a similar scale.
That is a number I am incredibly proud of.
We operate in an environment that borders on desert conditions, and water conservation isn't an optional sustainability feature for us. It is a fundamental operating principle.
We believe that producing food responsibly means understanding the resources required to grow it and finding ways to use fewer of them without compromising the quality of what we produce.
We don't need to use more water simply because the weather demands more from us. We need to become better at managing the water we have.
The Second Lesson: Not Every Crop Belongs in Every Climate
Water conservation was only part of the equation. The crops themselves were next on the chopping block.
Our changing climate has dramatically reduced the number of crops I can reliably grow under our particular conditions. Extreme heat, drought, high winds, hail, and increasingly unpredictable precipitation patterns have made traditional planting decisions much more complicated.
Then came the flash flood.
For the first time since 1965, our property experienced a flooding event of this magnitude. Water moved across the farm, destroying crops and demonstrating just how vulnerable an agricultural operation can be to extreme weather.
It was a difficult lesson, but it also provided some very valuable information.
What survived?
Potatoes. Sweet potatoes. Okra.
These three crops continued to demonstrate their ability to produce under conditions that devastated much of our other production.
That observation became the foundation for an entirely different business strategy.
Rather than continuing to spread our resources across a wide variety of crops that may no longer be dependable in our environment, I began developing a production model centered on the crops that had demonstrated the greatest resilience.
Our focus is shifting toward potatoes, sweet potatoes, and okra, with additional crops selected for their ability to perform in our growing conditions.
This isn't about abandoning agricultural diversity. It's about understanding which crops are appropriate for our particular ecosystem and building a business around what the land can sustainably support.
A successful farm doesn't necessarily need to grow everything. It needs to grow the right things.
Adaptation Is a Form of Sustainability
There is an important distinction between trying to control our environment and learning to work within it.
I cannot personally change the trajectory of global climate change. I cannot dictate international environmental policy, reverse decades of warming, or prevent every extreme weather event from occurring.
But I can change how I farm.
I can conserve water. I can protect my soil. I can select crops with greater heat and drought tolerance. I can improve our production systems and develop infrastructure that reduces our vulnerability to unpredictable weather.
And perhaps most importantly, I can learn from every growing season.
At Sunflower Fields Farm, sustainability isn't simply about choosing organic inputs or reducing our environmental footprint. It is about creating an agricultural operation that can continue producing food while using fewer resources and adapting to the conditions around us.
It means recognizing that the environment is not static.
It means understanding that what worked twenty years ago may not work twenty years from now.
And it means having the willingness to change.
The Future of Farming Is Resilience
Climate change is already reshaping agriculture. Farmers are experiencing changing growing seasons, increasing heat stress, drought, shifting precipitation patterns, and more challenging production conditions.
Colorado's climate assessments make it clear that these challenges are not simply temporary inconveniences. Warming is expected to continue, and the risks associated with extreme heat and drought are projected to increase.
I don't believe the answer is to abandon agriculture or accept that food production must become increasingly resource-intensive.
I believe the answer is adaptation.
We need farms that are designed around their environments rather than farms that constantly fight against them. We need better water management, healthier soils, thoughtful crop selection, and agricultural systems that can withstand a wider range of environmental conditions.
At Sunflower Fields Farm, we are working toward exactly that.
Our goal isn't to recreate the farm that might have been successful under the climate conditions of the past. Our goal is to build a farm that can remain productive in the climate of the future.
There will undoubtedly be difficult seasons ahead. There will be unexpected challenges, failed experiments, and moments when nature reminds us just how little control we actually have.
But there will also be opportunities to learn, improve, and build something better.
Human beings are remarkably adaptable. Agriculture has evolved alongside us for thousands of years, and it will have to continue evolving.
The farms that thrive in the coming decades may not look like the farms we remember. They will be shaped by new knowledge, new practices, and a willingness to embrace change.
We cannot control the climate, but we can control how we prepare for it.
At Sunflower Fields Farm, we aren't farming for the climate we remember.
We're farming for the climate we have and building something resilient enough for the one still to come.
