- Source: CNN " data-fave-thumbnails="{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/171205140340-nd-farm-drought.jpg?q=x_2,y_0,h_1078,w_1915,c_crop/h_540,w_960" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/171205140340-nd-farm-drought.jpg?q=x_2,y_0,h_1078,w_1915,c_crop/h_540,w_960" } }" data-vr-video="false" data-show-html="" data-byline-html="
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Published 5:33 PM EST, Fri December 8, 2017
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On the Stevens Family Farm in Glenburn, ND, a combine harvests wheat during a significant drought in the region.
Farmers brave mother nature amid uncertainty
04:33 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

North Dakota family farms are facing the challenge of a warming climate. After the state’s worst drought in 10 years, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center, extreme changes in weather are making farming increasingly unpredictable. Farmers may need to find new agricultural practices to adjust to changing conditions. But this means they must also accept that the region’s climate is changing in fundamental ways.

CNN traveled to one of the country’s most important wheat regions to learn how family farms were adjusting to this year’s harvest and whether climate change was a concern.

That’s where we met the Stevens brothers about an hour north of Minot. Their father, March, 65, was a skilled farmer who he spent decades on the combine. He was a master at removing gophers from his mom’s flower beds and a techie who built websites for local businesses. On the farm, he kept the rows straight and the weeds few. But in 2016, he died after a three-year battle with cancer.?

Now the Stevens brothers must figure out how to manage the family farm during these uncertain times without the man who led the way for decades.