Our daily media diet is chock-full of alarming expert opinions on climate issues — a dizzying cocktail of facts, distortions, denials and affirmations. Most of this chatter hurts my head and is kind of confusing.

At Duke and Stanford universities, however, I accepted the premise that science is no joke. Truth is, I don’t need every scientist on the planet to tell me that climate issues are part of a problem. I can see that for myself every day at Jubilee Blueberry Orchards.

Farmers are accustomed to challenges. Global markets force us to compete with fruit grown in South America and Central America, where farm crews earn less than $10 a day. Organic growers like Jubilee Orchards must combat heat, insects, weeds and plant diseases without using pesticides or herbicides.

But increasingly, climate issues pose our biggest challenge and the deepest risk to our fruit.

Cases in point:

• The last two growing seasons (the springs of 2018 and 2017) ushered in dramatic swings in temperature during critical periods of our fruit development. February 2018 was so warm you could go swimming in North Florida, and March was bitterly cold with nighttime temperatures well below freezing. This hot/cold dynamic ruins crop yields because it prevents bees from pollinating, causes all kinds of plant diseases to flourish, and damages fruit before it has a chance to ripen.

• The normal rainfall for December in North Florida is a few inches. This year, 25 or more inches flooded our orchards, eroded our crop lanes and tractor roads, washed away mounds of vital pine bark substrate, and greatly increased our labor costs.

• Not only are rains and winds far more dramatic, but hurricanes and thunderstorms are far more powerful and damaging. In the past two years, both Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Michael have impacted our orchards. Irrigation damage, fence damage, plant losses, tree obstructions everywhere are just some of the impacts. The truth is, we are fortunate compared with farmers more in the direct path of the storms. Many lost everything — cotton, peanuts and pine forests, even thousands of pecan trees that took a lifetime to grow!

My goal here is not to solicit sympathy. I learned a long time ago if you want sympathy, get yourself a dog. My goal is that we all open our eyes to what is right in front of us, recognize the problem, and understand each of us has a role to play in the solution.

Climate change is real as the dirt our berries grow in. We are making every effort to grow our fruit in a manner that reduces carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by capturing it through photosynthesis in our soil.

Eco-agriculture and all organic cultivation like we are practicing create healthy and high-yielding, carbon-rich soil and healthy, sweet berries. For every ton of carbon we build into the soil, we reduce three tons of carbon dioxide from the air.

Think about how you and your household can be sustainable in your consumption of food and your handling of your waste. Drive electric, carpool or at least drive high-mileage autos. Get some solar panels, turn the thermostat up or down in winter. Try to conserve water, shun plastic, compost.

Enjoy nature? What kind of people would we be if we continue to harm her?

Lawton "Bud" Chiles owns the 50-acre Jubilee Organic Blueberry Orchards near Tallahassee.