Climate change curbs crops: warming has already lowered yields of wheat and corn.

By Obey on Fri, 05/06/2011 - 7:39am |

Farmers have produced less food during the past three decades than they would have done were climate change not happening, according to a study published today¹. Global maize (corn) production, for example, is estimated to be about 3.8% lower than it would have been in a non-warmed world — the equivalent of Mexico not contributing to the maize market.

"These things are happening now," emphasizes David Lobell, an Earth system scientist at Stanford University in California and a co-author on the study.

The results come as a surprise to many. "I've been operating under the assumption we wouldn't be able to detect changes until the 20s or 30s of this century," says Gerald Nelson, an agricultural economist with the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington DC, who was not involved with the work.

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http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110505/full/news.2011.268.html

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I read a piece years ago that talked about corn and temperatures. Apparently if it's too hot, the leaves fold over the cob and the would-be kernels to protect it from the heat, the silks shrivel, la la la..., and the kernels never get pollinated, thus don't 'fill out'.

You probably know that each silk runs to one would-be kernel...kinda cool. Anyway, the piece went on about how climate change might force cooperation in food production. But instead what we're seeing already is moves by Monsanto, et.al., to corner the market not only in seeds, buying up (maybe destroying?) even native seed companies, but forcing gen-modified seeds on the world. Ones that require new seed each year, and/or their pesticides.

Can't remember where, but some folks have begun storing older seed varieies in case of a massive failure of the new hybrids and gen-modified strains.

by we are stardust on Fri, 05/06/2011 - 10:50am

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