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U.S. a winner in climate change crop study

Results of a new study on climate change indicate North America is better-positioned for crop production than many food-producing regions of the world.

Lead author Deepak Ray with the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment says they analyzed how climate change influences yield in the world’s ten most common crops.

“To our surprise, in North America, Latin America and in China we find overall increases, or benefits of the change in weather patterns to crop yields.”

He tells Brownfield there are variations among crops and between regions, and that research documents how climate change is already happening as opposed to future impacts.

“Corn and soybeans have benefited from the climate change, but wheat and barley have seen a reduction in crop yields.”

Ray says the primary characteristics of climate change are warmer temperatures and increasingly variable rainfall.

The study points to Europe, Southern Africa and Australia being the most negatively affected.