The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed this week that corn plantings in the Midwest are at 19 percent this year, compared to 28 percent from the same time in 2013.
Corn crops are hurting in the U.S. Midwest due to a cold, wet spring, according to NBC News.
"What we're seeing over the last 15 to 20 years is very little (yield) growth in bad conditions, which tend to be very hot and/or dry, and much, much better growth during good conditions, which usually means a moderate amount of moisture and not too much extreme heat," said Michael Roberts, an associate professor of environmental economics at the University of Hawaii - Manoa, according to NBC News.
Research was published recently in the journal Science.
Analysts estimate crop yields will drop 15 to 30 percent over the next half century.
Study co-author Roderick Rejesus, an associate professor of agricultural and resource economics at North Carolina State University, believes weather conditions will be a big factor in deciding what happens to our crops.
"Yield increases are getting smaller in bad conditions," Rejesus said according to a recent university press release. "Agronomic and genetic crop improvements over the years help a lot when growing conditions are good, but have little effect when growing conditions are poor, like during droughts."
Study lead author David Lobell said that as the climate continues to change, agricultural research will become even more important for maximizing crop yields.
"The data clearly indicate that drought stress for corn and soy comes partly from low rain, but even more so from hot and dry air," said Lobell, associate professor of environment Earth system science, at Stanford University, according to the a recent press release. "Plants have to trade water to get carbon from the air to grow, and the terms of that trade become much less favorable when it's hot.
Rejesus added that crop densities may be one reason for the problem. When plants are placed closer together, it's easier for bad conditions to affect more plants.
Crop simulations conducted in the study supported this belief, according to the release.
"Recent yield progress is overall a good news story. But because farm yields are improving fastest in favorable weather, the stakes for having such weather are rising. In other words, the negative impacts of hot and dry weather are rising at the same time that climate change is expected to bring more such weather."
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