from climate realism
Author: H. Sterling Burnett
The Associated Press (AP) published a report claiming that worsening storms caused by climate change are threatening corn production and leading farmers to consider planting new dwarf corn varieties. This story is wrong in almost every way. If farmers are considering a newly developed corn variety, it is because of clever marketing by the company that developed the crop, not changing climate conditions. Wind speeds and storms have not increased and are not expected to increase at any time in the foreseeable future, and corn yields and yields continue to set records for existing corn types.
The Associated Press report titled “'Short corn' could replace towering cornfields crushed by climate change” reads:
Driving in the Midwest's late-summer countryside means venturing into the cornbelt, winding through 12-foot-tall, leafy walls that seem to block out nearly everything but the sun and the occasional water tower.
. . .
But soon, those towering corns may be a microcosm of their former selves, replaced by stalks half as tall as the green giants that have long dominated the fields.
Short-grain corn developed by Bayer CropScience is being tested on about 30,000 acres (12,141 hectares) in the Midwest and is expected to provide farmers with a Protect against severe storms that will become more frequent due to climate change. (emphasis mine)
However, the facts tell a different story. Growing corn is by no means “steam rolled”. Corn yields and yields continue to set new records with some regularity, and there is no evidence that storms are becoming more frequent or that wind speeds are increasing.
Let me talk about the last point first. Mainstream media such as the Associated Press generally regard the reports and statements of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as authoritative on climate change issues. The latest IPCC report is clear about the impact of climate change on wind speeds and damaging storms: no changes have been detected so far; and, even under the most extreme climate scenarios, no changes are expected in the foreseeable future (at least until 2100). (see picture below)
So much for the Associated Press' assertion that worsening winds pose a threat to corn production.
Data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) also show that climate change has no impact on corn yields or production in the United States or globally.
A recently updated USDA report said corn production in 2024 is expected to set a new record, up 0.5 bushels per acre from the previous estimate and a full 6 bushels per acre above the previous record set in 2023. the following)
Data from the FAO corroborates USDA findings on U.S. corn production and determines that corn yields and yields also regularly set records around the world. From 1990 to 2022 (the last full year of FAO records), spanning three decades, climate alarmists generally assert that it was the warmest year on record:
- U.S. corn production increased by nearly 60%”
- Global corn production increased by more than 54%.
Between 1990 and 2022, crop yields also repeatedly set new yield records.
Even if, contrary to the AP's suggestion, corn production is not harmed by worsening weather conditions, Bayer's dwarf corn varieties could be a boon to farmers. According to the Associated Press, “[t]Smaller plants also allow farmers to plant at greater densities so they can grow more corn on the same area of land, increasing profits. Shorter corn may also use less water. In theory, both conditions should make corn production more profitable regardless of climate change, so there's some good news in the AP's story about unreasonable omens of climate change.
H. Sterling Burnett
Dr. H. Sterling Burnett is director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center for Climate and Environmental Policy and editor-in-chief of Environment and Climate News. In addition to directing the Heartland Institute's Arthur B. Robinson Center for Climate and Environmental Policy, Burnett brings together environment and climate news and is editor of the Heartland Climate Change Weekly email, as well as Environment and Climate Host of a news podcast.
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