Climate Modeling Shows Potential Loss Of 25% Of Output In US Corn Belt - Climate Central
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"Agriculture is a huge world-wide industry that requires stable weather, 'or else,' and we might just be entering the 'or else' period," Dan Glickman, agriculture secretary under Bill Clinton and a co-chairman of the conference, told The Guardian. "The question is: 'are we doing the right kind of research at our universities, at the department of agriculture, or in the private sector to deal with those changes? We need more and more applied research to help us move those numbers up. That is the real challenge for scientists."
The increasing agricultural yields of the last 50 years have already slowed down or plateaued – even before climate change is taken into account. By mid-century, those declines will make it increasingly difficult for farmers to maintain the increases in crop yields needed to feed a growing population.
According to some computer models included in the report, projected growth in yields in America's Corn Belt could drop by 25 percent by 2050– unless there are breakthroughs in agricultural research – because of higher temperatures, uncertain rainfall, and more aggressive weeds and pests under climate change.
"We have got to figure out how to get plants to continue performance when average temperatures go up, and we don't know how to do that," Nelson said. "We need 60 percent more food generally, and this will make it harder to get there," he said.
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http://www.climatecentral.org/news/antarctic-ice-collapse-food-supply-17481