Climate Change is Adding to Farmers’ Anxiety Surrounding Crops

(AmericanProsperity.com) – Waiting on the weather is something that farmers have done for centuries, but the recent changes in climate change have caused an increase in spring rain, which has been a problem for farmers. The usual anxiety that’s felt by these farmers is intensified as they have to wait for the fields to dry out before they’re able to plant their crops, which slows the process.

Ross Woodruff and Mark Woodruff are farmers who have been experiencing this with soybeans. They waited anxiously for the fields to dry out, finally able to plant after two weeks of heavy rain and land too muddy to plant in. Said Ross Woodruff, “This year, with the way the weather’s been, it’s slowed progress.” He continued, “I wouldn’t say we’re behind but a few more rains and we’re going to be.”

This could cause a significant issue if it puts them behind since it will greatly affect their yield.

Dennis Todey is the director of the Department of Agriculture’s Midwest Climate Hub and has emphasized the need for new tactics. Todey said, “The expectation going ahead is that this will continue to be a worsening issue. We need to help agriculture understand that and develop new management mechanisms to deal with that by changing how we plant, changing when we plant, changing what we plant.”

One issue that experts are touching on is the increase in spring rains as the Earth gets warmer, it pushes water into the air which can cause much more rainfall. This is increasing heavily as there are more and more rainy days.

Melissa Widhalm, the regional climatologist at the Midwestern Regional Climate Center, said, “The number of days with extremes is increasing. It’s an upward trend. Farmers are going to need the ability to manage a broader range of conditions.”