The introduction to the agriculture chapter of the Fourth National Climate Assessment states: “Rising temperatures, extreme heat, drought, wildfire on rangelands, and heavy downpours are expected to increasingly disrupt agricultural productivity in the United States. Expected increases in challenges to livestock health, declines in crop yields and quality, and changes in extreme events in the United States and abroad threaten rural livelihoods, sustainable food security, and price stability.”  Vast areas of the U.S., including much of the midwest are expected to face reduced agricultural productivity.  Can farming survive and adapt to such extreme conditions.  Lisa Schulte Moore is a Professor of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University who works with farmers on climate adaptation.

 

 

Photo of Native Prairie Vegetation

US Department of Agriculture, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons