Across the Southwestern United States, the already pervasive effects of climate change foreshadow a stark future for farmers. While there is substantial quantitative research regarding the impacts of climate change on agriculture, there is minimal qualitative research to ground abstract statistics in the lived experiences of farmers. Julia’s master’s research aims to understand how farmers in southwest Colorado are experiencing and responding to climate change, and the more-than-human interactions involved in these processes. Because farms are complex sites of multispecies interactions—interfacing more-than-human actors with an array of human social, cultural, and economic constructs—it is important to understand how these interactions shape farmers’ responses to climate change. This multispecies ethnography employs post-humanist theory, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and qualitative survey to explore the impacts of climate change on agriculture at the farm, community, and systems levels. Specifically, Julia focuses on the variable tension between water shortages and crop production across three river basins that comprise the southwest region of Colorado: the Gunnison, the San Juan, and the Rio Grande/Dolores.
FELLOWSHIP BRIEF
STUDENT RESEARCHER
Julia Jacobson, Western Resource Fellow | Julia is a Master of Environmental Science student interested in the intersections of multispecies interactions, food, and community. Her research aims to understand how farmers in southwest Colorado are experiencing and responding to climate change, and the more-than-human interactions involved in these processes. Prior to coming to the Yale School of the Environment, Julia worked as an environmental journalist and educator in her hometown of Gunnison, Colorado. She holds a B.S. in ecology and evolutionary biology and a B.A. in English literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder. In her freetime, Julia enjoys skiing, rafting, hiking, gardening, and all things outside. See what Julia has been up to. | Blog