(English follows)
国際通信社ロイター(Reuters)が配信した、気候変動と日本の農業をテーマにした特集記事「Japan’s farmers go nocturnal as deadly heat intensifies」に、ポケットマルシェに登録の生産者・薄羽養鶏場（栃木県益子町、薄羽哲也さん）が取材されました。
薄羽さんについては、雨風太陽公式noteの連載「カナリアの声」vol.3（2023年10月5日公開）でも、気候変動による猛暑と養鶏経営への影響、夏場の深夜給餌などの対策について、ご自身の言葉で語る手記が掲載されています。
ロイターの記事は2026年8月18日に配信されたもので、深刻化する猛暑の中で工夫を重ねる日本の農家の姿を伝えています。
記事では、6年前の猛暑で500羽以上の鶏を熱中症で失った経験や、現在は鶏舎の照明を午前2時30分に自動点灯させ、暑さで食欲が落ちる前に4400羽の鶏へ給餌を済ませる取り組みなど、薄羽さんの対策が紹介されています。薄羽さんは「夏は、鳥インフルエンザの流行と同じくらい、私たち生産者にとって新たな脅威になっている」と語っています。
気候変動が生産現場に与える影響と、それに向き合う生産者の姿を伝える記事です。
ぜひご一読ください。
—
Usuba Poultry Farm (Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture; owner Tetsuya Usuba), a producer registered with Pocket Marche, was recently featured in a Reuters special report on climate change and Japanese agriculture, “Japan’s farmers go nocturnal as deadly heat intensifies.”
Tetsuya Usuba of Usuba Poultry Farm was also featured earlier in Vol. 3 of “The Canary’s Voice,” a series on Ame Kaze Taiyo’s official note, published on October 5, 2023, where he spoke in his own words about how intensifying summer heat is affecting his poultry business and the measures he has taken, such as feeding his hens in the middle of the night.
・”To Everyone, From Our Producers – Facing Changes in the Natural Environment #TheCanarysVoice Vol.3: From Poultry Farmer Tetsuya Usuba” | Ame Kaze Taiyo Official
https://note.com/pocket_marche/n/n3005890fcf2f
The Reuters article, published on August 18, 2026, portrays how Japanese farmers are adapting to increasingly severe summer heat.
It introduces Usuba’s countermeasures, including how he lost more than 500 hens to heatstroke during a heatwave six years ago, and how the barn lights now switch on automatically at 2:30 a.m. so the 4,400 hens can be fed before the heat suppresses their appetite. Usuba is quoted as saying, “Summer has become a new threat to producers like us, as frightening as an outbreak of avian influenza.”
It’s a powerful look at how climate change is affecting production sites and the producers working to adapt. We hope you’ll take a moment to read it.
■Reuters(ロイター)
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/climate-change-japan-farmers/
■Japan timeshttps://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2026/08/19/climate-change/japan-farmers-avoid-daytime-heat/
■the Asahi Simbumhttps://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16818054
■the straitstimeshttps://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japans-farmers-go-nocturnal-as-deadly-heat-intensifies?ref=search-results
■YouTube（日本語音声）https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbK8puo4rnA
