New Report Outlines Great Lakes Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture

New Report Outlines Great Lakes Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture
Union of Concerned Scientists

Urbana—Agriculture in Illinois and the entire Great Lakes will be hurt by a changing climate, says a new report from the University of Illinois and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Changing precipitation patterns, more extreme rainfall events, rising ozone concentrations, and an increase in pests and pathogens will disrupt current farming practices throughout the region.

"Farmers in the region are already suffering from wetter spring and fall weather, and the intensity of rainstorms has also increased," says Michelle Wander, University of Illinois Associate Professor of soil fertility and co-author of Impacts on Agriculture: Our Region's Vital Economic Sector. "For farmers, these changes mean crop losses and higher costs."

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The new report shows that by 2030, Illinois summers may resemble those of Oklahoma or Arkansas in terms of average temperature and rainfall. By the end of the century, however, the Illinois summer climate will generally resemble that of current east Texas. Maximum daily temperatures could rise by 5 to 12 degrees in winter and 5 to 20 degrees in summer in the Great Lakes region. Drought frequency will likely increase due to the combination of higher summer temperatures, evaporation, runoff from intense rainfall events and decline in summer precipitation.

Of serious concern, according to the report, are changing precipitation patterns. Crop production in the region is already suffering from problems related to both excess and insufficient moisture, and these problems will only worsen as climate change progresses.