"A comprehensive USDA study concludes rising temperatures could cost farmers millions as they battle new pests, faster weed growth and get smaller yields as climate change continues."
"Climate change could have a drastic and harmful effect on U.S. agriculture, forcing farmers and ranchers to alter where they grow crops and costing them millions of dollars in additional costs to tackle weeds, pests and diseases that threaten their operations, a sweeping government report said Tuesday.
An analysis released by the Agriculture Department said that although U.S. crops and livestock have been able to adapt to changes in their surroundings for close to 150 years, the accelerating pace and intensity of global warming during the next few decades may soon be too much for the once-resilient sector to overcome.
'We're going to end up in a situation where we have a multitude of things happening that are going to negatively impact crop production,' said Jerry Hatfield, a laboratory director and plant physiologist with USDA's Agricultural Research Service and lead author of the study. 'In fact, we saw this in 2012 with the drought.'"
Christopher Doering reports for the Gannett Washington Bureau February 5, 2013.
SEE ALSO:
"USDA Report Predicts All Manner of End-Times for Crops and Forests" (Grist)
"Report: Warming Bringing Big Changes To Forests" (AP)
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