There is no panic, there is recognition things are changing.
In my AO the the rain patterns have changed rather drastically over the past 20 years or so. Right now the total amount of rain is roughly the same, but how we get it has changed. Instead of of rain 10 to 12 days out of the month with only a few days in-between we get rain maybe 3 days a month, all in a row and massive amounts of rain when we get it.
What is the big deal you might ask, and the question is that crops do not do well going 3 to 4 weeks with no rain. They also do not do well getting a months worth of rain in a day or two. So farmers in the area, some who have been on the same land for 5 or more generations are having to add irrigation and tiling to their land, something that has not ever been needed. This is expensive and also has its own environmental concerns.
But in your world these farmers are just panicking should not have done anything.
When I see one of them this week I will let them know some MAGA cult member from the UK says they should stop panicking