Global warming could cost American corn growers $1.4 billion a year, according to a new report by Environment America that is contrary to conventional wisdom that global warming will be good for U.S. agriculture.
Three states, Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska topped the list for potential damages.
Environment America anticipates the costs will rise unless Congress and the president take decisive action to repower America with clean energy and reduce global warming pollution.
“Corn likes it cool, but global warming is raising temperatures across the nation,” said Environment America Global Warming Advocate Timothy Telleen-Lawton.
“Hotter fields will mean lower yields for corn, and eventually, the rest of agriculture.”
It is possible temperature increases,, due to global warming,
will hurt corn production. In fact, research from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Carnegie Institution shows that temperature changes consistent with global warming are already harming corn production worldwide relative to a world without global warming.
Environment America supports the position that
transitioning to a clean energy economy will help rebuild our
economy and stop the worst effects of global warming.
There are clean energy sources, already in use such as wind turbines and distributed generation , for example, on-site solar panels, that can provide farmers an independent source of electricity or income while reducing global warming pollution.
There are
also possible financial incentives as wind developers offer $4,000 to $8,000 a year per turbine to farmers that allow them to be installed on their land.
“With clean energy such as wind and solar, agriculture has a huge opportunity to be part of the solution to global warming,” said American Corn Growers Association President Keith Bolin.
The expected future impacts of global warming on America’s corn growers were analyzed. The report,
[i]Hotter Fields, Lower Yields[/i], draws on a 2008 study by the United States Climate Change Science Program, a joint project of the United States Department of Agriculture and 12 other federal agencies.
The report pairs the government estimates of the relative loss in corn productivity in major U.S. corn-producing areas due to global warming with USDA data on the size of the corn industry to estimate the financial impact from global warming. The analysis considers the combined effect of increasing temperatures and increasing levels of carbon dioxide but assumes that crops get sufficient water and does not include other negative effects of global warming, such as more frequent extreme storms, higher levels of ozone, and the spreading of diseases, pests and weeds.
The highest annual cost to corn growers from global warming are projected for the following 10 states:
1. Iowa - $259 million
2. Illinois - $243 million
3. Nebraska - $163 million
4. Minnesota - $135 million
5. Indiana - $98 million
6. South Dakota - $63 million
7. Kansas - $62 million
8. Ohio - $50 million
9. Missouri - $46 million
10. Wisconsin - $41 million
Telleen-Lawton said, “Big Oil, Dirty Coal, and other polluters are fighting to maintain the status quo, but now is the time for change. We need to unleash the power of clean energy to rebuild our economy and solve global warming. Environment America urges Congress to vote for a strong bill that maintains science-based pollution reduction targets and speeds the transition to a clean energy economy.”
