This is one of the biggest challenges for farms across Massachusetts

Farmers across Massachusetts have been struggling with the effects of climate change. 22 News reporter Claire Overton visited Franklin County today to hear firsthand the struggles farmers are facing and how the state is working to help. Our food is actually a little more perilous than we might think. Food is something that hits all of us. Everybody eats. The community involved in sustaining agriculture, or CESA, have declared this week as Climate Change and Farming Week. CESA works to bring the farming community together to share ideas to solve climate problems many are experiencing. Why try something that you're not sure about, if you can go to a farm and see that it worked or didn't work and learn from that before you try it yourself. A group of local and state leaders traveled to two different farms in Franklin County and spoke with the farm's owners, listening to the challenges they are facing in relation to climate change. Farming is a very low margin business. I mean, we're always walking a bit of a financial tightrope, so it doesn't take much to tip us negative. One of the biggest challenges Gideon and Atlas Farms, along with farms across the Northeast, have been experiencing are the extreme temperature changes over the last few years. Many of our farmers last year in the summer of 2023, for example, we had over 1,000 acres of farmland underwater during that event that took place in July, the flooding event. The state's climate change chief, Melissa Hoffer, said they are working to find solutions. We've been thinking very hard about how we're going to help to finance the cost of resilience. One of those solutions is the Regional Food Resilience Plan, which is looking into how we can produce most of our food right here in New England. Unfortunately, there isn't a clear answer, but farmers, researchers, and the state are committed to working together. Working for you, Claire Overton, 22 News.