No abstract

24Agricultural producers may be particularly vulnerable to climate impacts such as 25 drought. To better understand how ranchers respond to ongoing drought, and the 26 relationship between climate change beliefs and drought adaptation, in-depth interviews 27 with working ranchers were conducted. Ranchers described drought conditions as 28 unprecedented and detailed the interacting impacts of drought and other non-climatic 29 stressors. They viewed adaptation as critical and employed a wide range of responses to 30 drought, but lack of financial resources, risks associated with change, local social norms, 31 and optimism about future moisture created barriers to change. Most ranchers attributed 32 drought to natural cycles and were skeptical about anthropogenic climate change. Many 33 ranchers likened current drought conditions to past droughts, concluding that conditions 34 would return to "normal." A belief in natural cycles provided a sense hope for some 35 ranchers, but felt immutable to others, reducing their sense of agency and efficacy. Taken 36 together, climate skepticism, optimism about future conditions, lack of financial 37 resources, and a limited sense of agency might be reducing investments in long-term 38 adaptation. However, the relationship between climate change beliefs and adaptation 39 action was not entirely clear, since the handful of ranchers adapting in anticipation of 40 long-term drought were skeptical or uncertain about anthropogenic climate change. 41

No abstract