Climate change will be an interesting topic over the next several years, Jerry Hatfield says — not because the government says it is, but because it will impact farming like never before. Weather variability is the biggest problem, the plant physiologist from the National Soil Tilth Research Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, says.

“We are already seeing extreme weather variability in the eastern United States and it’s beginning to move west,” Hatfield says. “We are seeing a change in the frequency and the intensity of precipitation, but little change in the overall amount.

“We saw this last year in central Iowa with an inch of rain in June and July before we got 18 inches in August, which came in three storms of 6 inches each.

“The rainfall distribution we see today in the growing season is not what we’re used to farming with. That offers new challenges of how we manage our ag system tomorrow.”

In addition, Hatfield says we are currently in a warming cycle that will place more stress on farming systems.

“If we don’t have the water available to that plant, these warming cycles will cause even more stress on plants, he says. “And if it occurs during the reproductive stage, it will cause a real impact on yield.”

Finally, Hatfield points out that carbon dioxide levels are increasing in the atmosphere, which is not bad for plant growth. However, he points out that you need very little water stress for plants to use carbon dioxide.

Water