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August 10, 2012
July was the hottest month on record in the United States, and the extent of extreme to exceptional drought conditions more than doubled to cover 22 percent of the nation’s agricultural heartland. Climate scientists warn that this may become the new normal for much of the central United States. New crops and new ways of farming will be needed to adapt to a changing climate. Perennial warm season grasses and forbs – for forage, bioenergy, and habitat - can play an important role. Will the pending Farm Bill help?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) this week released its State of the Climate National Overview: July 2012 . Among the highlights:
Also released this past week is a new peer-reviewed study by a team of climate scientists , published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , which finds that recent summer heat waves and extreme weather events can likely be attributed to climate change. In an accompanying Op Ed published in the Washington Post , August 3 , one of the scientists, James Hansen, of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies stated: "Our analysis shows that it is no longer enough to say that global warming will increase the likelihood of extreme weather and to repeat the caveat that no individual weather event can be directly linked to climate change. To the contrary, our analysis shows that, for the extreme hot weather of the recent past, there is virtually no explanation other than climate change."
If more extreme weather events are to become the new normal, how will agricultural production and policies need to change and adapt? Current practices and policies are driving a rapid expansion of conventional row crop production and a dramatic reduction of land set aside to conserve soil, water, and wildlife habitat. A report released this week by the Environmental Working Group details the more than 23 million acres of shrublands, grasslands, and wetlands that have recently been plowed under to meet growing global demand for corn, soy, wheat, and other crops.
Yet, if the U.S. agricultural system is to adapt sustainably to future extreme weather events and climate change trends, agricultural practices and policies need to be turned in the opposite direction. More drought-resistant grazing land is needed, not less. Conservation practices need to be expanded and improved. Native grasslands and wetlands need to be restored. And, new types of heat- and drought-resistant perennial crops need to be developed that produce food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy feedstocks while also conserving water, soils, and wildlife habitats.
In related news, an August 9 Op-Ed in the Huffington Post by the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Bob Deans illustrates the ways that conservation practices can help farmers survive periods of extreme heat and drought. On August 8, Science Daily reported on new research on the drought resistance of grasslands , which finds that "grasses do not appear to be losing the turf war against climate when it comes to surviving with little precipitation." The study examined the drought tolerance of 426 species of grass from around the world to better understand how grasslands may respond to the changes in frequency and severity of drought in the future. July 17, Biomass Magazine reported that the U.S. Department of Energy awarded a five-year, $12.1 million grant to researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and collaborating institutions to develop a new, more drought-resistant grass for bioenergy. The research could have important implications for the development of more drought-resistant food and feed grains, as well.
Drought-resistant, perennial warm season grasses and forbs can provide forage for livestock, biomass for energy, and/or habitat for wildlife. Once established, they require relatively few inputs and contribute importantly to soil and water conservation. The poly-cultures of grasses and forbs planted by members of the Show Me Energy Cooperative in Missouri , which is supported in part by the USDA’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program , show how these crops can be managed for the benefit of farmers, the environment, and the emerging advanced biofuels industry. Further information can be found at the University of Tennessee’s Center for Native Grassland Management , which has documented many of the economic and nutritional benefits of native, warm-season forage.
On July 31, EESI joined a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture urging the USDA to work with drought-impacted livestock producers to restore damaged pastures with drought-resistant, native, warm-season forages.
The question is whether the 2012 Farm Bill will help redirect the U.S. agricultural system toward more environmentally sustainable practices in the face of a changing climate and the increasing likelihood of more extreme weather events in the future. Overall, neither the House nor the Senate versions of the Farm Bill will do what needs to be done. However, the Senate-passed version takes some important steps in the right direction. It would seek to stop the conversion of native grasslands to row crop production and require farmers who receive public crop insurance subsidies to comply with conservation practices . It would also provide mandatory funding for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program and the Biomass Research and Development Initiative to encourage the development and establishment of perennial biomass crops. The bill drafted by the House Agriculture Committee does not contain these provisions.
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