Scientists at Stanford University in California and Purdue University in Indiana say global warming is going to hit hard in Corn Belt states where it most matters — the corn market, reports J. T. rushing at the Chillicothe Gazette. The US Department of Energy financed study says that the corn market will be walloped in coming years by climate change, and market policies or oil prices have comparatively little effect on corn prices compared to global warming. In fact, heat waves sparked by rising global temperatures are expected to become more common, withering crops in the Midwest, scientists say. Policies do make a difference, though, such as federal biofuel mandates, which are contributing to the oversupply of corn, and could make it difficult in future years for farmers to adjust to volatile yields. Farmers would be forced to increase their crops’ heat tolerance or move northward to farm near the Canadian border to avoid the heat waves. “Severe heat is the big hammer,” study author and Stanford scientist Noah Diffenbaugh said recently. “These are substantial changes in price volatility that come from relatively moderate global warming.”
Source
Heat to hit hard in Iowa, other Corn Belt states – study. The corn market will be walloped in the coming years by climate change, according to a new study by scientists at Stanford University in California and Purdue University in Indiana. Global warming, they predict, is going to hit hard in Corn Belt states where it most matters: the corn market. Chillicothe Gazette
