Fruits and vegetables are at the top of the list of U.S. commodities vulnerable to the effects of climate change, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture study.
The USDA released a report Dec. 14 called “Effects of Climate Change on U.S. Ecosystems,” developed by the agency in cooperation with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released the report in Copenhagen, Denmark, while attending the United Nations climate conference.
The report examined more than a 1,000 publications in considering the effects of climate change on agriculture over the next 25 to 50 years, according to USDA report.
Marketable yields of horticultural crops, the authors said, are more vulnerable to climate change than grains and oilseeds because of the high economic correlation to quality and appearance factors.
In addition, the report said tree fruit may experience fewer chilling hours in the winter, which could limit yields over the long term.
The report does not try to estimate the economic effect of climate change, though it does predict troubling scenarios for major U.S. commodities.
“Grain and oilseed crops will mature more rapidly, but increasing temperatures will heighten the risk of crop failures, particularly where precipitation decreases or becomes more variable,” the report said.
Disease, pest and weed pressures will escalate, the agency said. Irrigation capacity could also suffer with reduced snowfall in western mountains, the report said.
In the report’s conclusion, the authors said the effect of climate change on U.S. ecosystems is proving to be both rapid and large.
The authors call for development of better understanding of the stresses that climate change has on U.S. ecosystems so policymakers can adopt strategies to mitigate those effects.
Vilsack talked about the study during a Dec. 15 news conference announcing plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions tied to dairy production. AgriTalk, a daily radio talk show from Doane Agricultural Services, offered Vilsack's conference via a podcast Dec. 15.
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