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Climate Change Forces Farming Innovation
"You are seeing good corn yields under conditions that would have probably been a crop disaster 20 years ago," he said.
Others in the industry are using improved soil management methods to reduce greenhouse gases. That includes no-till farming, where farmers plant crops without using machines to plow or turn over the soil. That method cuts down on energy use and traps organic material that breaks down to fertilize the soil. The method also keeps carbon in the ground instead of releasing it to build up in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
  Gary Larsen, a farmer in western Iowa, starts his new Toyota Prius in Exira, Iowa, in this Oct. 18, 2006 file photo. Larsen recently bought a hybrid car to do his part to curb global warming. Many others in the agriculture industry are using new technology and methods of farming to brace for climate changes caused by global warming that could lead to widespread drought and crop-pounding storms. (AP Photo/Kevin Sanders, File) (Kevin Sanders - AP) Special Report
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In addition to aiding the environment, such energy conservation also helps farmers' bottom line.
Farmers also are planting crops that require less fertilizer and herbicide applications, using alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, capturing methane gas released from livestock operations for energy production, and harnessing wind power.
And many are beginning to sort out water supply problems as warm, dry areas expand. That includes examining water rights before shortages happen, and studying dwindling mountain snowpacks that supply many farmers with water from spring melting. Faced with fiercer storms that cause rain to hit the ground and run off rather than be absorbed, researchers are exploring ways to capture the precipitation.
Although the livestock industry may not have to worry as much about a degree or two temperature change, any decrease in crop production could have an impact on the industry, said Paul Sundberg, vice president of science and technology with the National Pork Board.
"Feed costs are 80 percent or better for the cost of production," he said.
Francis Thicke, an organic dairy farmer from Fairfield, Iowa, who has a Ph.D. in soil fertility, said he provides his 130 animals with grassy areas to forage for food. That cuts down on fuel needs because he's not growing as much grain for feed, and it allows carbon to remain in the soil because there's no need for tilling.
Thicke said politicians should end subsidies to farmers who grow crops such as corn and soybeans that rob the soil of nutrients and require lots of energy.
"Our whole farming system really contributes a lot to global warming, and it could be made to be much more sustainable," he said.
Larsen, the western Iowa farmer, hopes that more can be done to protect against the effects of global warming.
"This is about my children and my grandchildren's generation," he said.
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On the Net:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Global Warming Web site: http:/
The National Center for Atmospheric Research: http:/
National Pork Board: http:/
National Corn Growers: http:/
