Listen to a discussion on how climate change is expected to affect agriculture in the Midwest.  The show was produced by Harvest partner Iowa Public Radio.

 

Watch how Danny Kluthe is taking steps to make his farm an environmental game changer.

 

A wet outlook

The increase in very heavy precipitation between 1958 and 2007.

 

Credit: Tim Lloyd / Harvest Public Media

 

Source: Iowa Climate Change Impacts Committee

 

Click HERE to download the whole Iowa Climate Change Impacts Committee report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weathering uncertainty

For the Midwest farmer, every year is unique. Early spring. Long, cold winter. Sizzling heat wave. Mother Nature throws up constant curve balls.

So, honestly, what’s the big deal about climate change?

Well, that’s what we’re exploring here at Harvest Public Media in our ongoing series “Climate Pains: America’s Breadbasket braces for change in the weather.” 

 

Stories from this series

Floods, droughts, pests, oh my!

 

Climate uncertainty could cost taxpayers more

 

Stripped down: How ecosystems could help farmland weather climate change

 

 

 

 

 

Whether you buy into the science/theory of global warming or not, the farmer has to pay attention to the ever-changing projections related to long-term weather trends. His or her livelihood is at stake – and the implications for feeding the world are profound.

Sure, the concept has been politicized.  For some people, “climate change” is a dirty term; the preference is “climate variance.”  But the science is there — and Harvest Public Media is working to clarify the implications.

Rising temperatures could change what crops are grown where… and when. But there’s much more to it.

To begin: Harvest reporter Kathleen Masterson finds that Midwest farmers already are seeing warmer springs and more humid summers.  And so far, on balance, that's been good for agriculture. However, one of the likely consequences of climate change in the Midwest is more frequent, intense rainstorms, particularly in the spring — a time that's already ripe for soil erosion.

And Tim Lloyd has been following the potential impact of changing weather patterns on crop insurance. High uncertainty means high risk, which leads to higher insurance premiums and more tax dollars.

But this is a story that is constantly changing, of course. Just the other day, the Drovers’ Cattle Network wrote about how a recent and unexpected decline in sunspot activity has scientists and the media speculating about potential effects on the earth’s climate, including a possible cooling trend if the sunspot drought proves long-lived.

Curve balls from the sun? Just add more uncertainty to the ag equation.