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Farmers learning to adapt as we continue to see extreme weather events in Central Texas

High tunnels and caterpillar tunnels are now being used to protect crops from the cold and frost.

AUSTIN, Texas — In 2021, Winter Storm Uri cost millions of dollars in agricultural loss across Texas. Since then, a common theme every year has been extreme winter weather conditions – and farmers are catching on.

Farmshare Austin, a local nonprofit that grows and sells food at an affordable price, has installed high tunnels and caterpillar tunnels to save its crops when temperatures drop below freezing. 

"We're able to keep [the crops] insulated from the weather. It's not heated. There is no propane," said Michelle Akindiya, Farmshare Austin's education director.

Akindiya said in December 2022, when temperatures dropped to the teens, all the plants that weren't covered by the tunnels didn't make it. 

"When we just go from being like 70 degrees to being 25 degrees and then being 15 degrees, the plants … it's like a shock," she added. "And so we actually we lost a lot in that period right around Christmas."

For those that were under the high tunnels, the chard and kale looked better than ever. 

As extreme weather events become more common in Central Texas, Akindiya said they hope to get even more of the tunnels installed. 

"It's really about climate adaptation," Akindiya said. "It's about getting ready for what we know is coming."

Having fresh produce year-round will help those who need it most.

"Some people are just not growing in the winter," Akindiya added. "So that's, you know, we see a hole in our local food system because some farmers just decide it's not worth the risk, and they don't plant through the winter."

The nonprofit hopes to continue to be a resource the community can rely on, even during damaging winter storms.

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