Global Warming Worries Iowa Farmers
    By Amy Lorentzen
    The Associated Press

    Wednesday 25 October 2006

    Gary Larsen, who grows corn and soybeans in western Iowa, is among a growing number of farmers who are concerned about the potential effects of global warming.

    Like Larsen, many in the agriculture industry are developing or adopting new technologies and farming methods to brace for the possibility of widespread drought and crop-pounding storms.

    The industry has been especially aggressive in breeding and developing crops that more efficiently use soil moisture and nutrients and developing pest-resistant and drought-tolerant crops.

    "We don't know how the world could actually turn out, but doing absolutely nothing and sticking your head in the sand is not an option," said Larsen, a 63-year-old grandfather who lives near Elk Horn.

    In the past century, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit and could climb another 5 to 10 degrees over the next century, according to government officials. The Environmental Protection Agency has blamed human activities for most of the warming over the last 50 years, including the buildup of greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere.

    "It's dire in the sense that this problem is already with us, and it's hard to see how it can go away," said Kevin E. Trenberth, head of climate analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

    Crops that more efficiently use soil moisture and nutrients can ward off disease and pests that stress plants trying to cope with increased temperatures, experts say.

    William Niebur, vice president of DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development, said the evidence of climate change includes the migration of successful corn production north 100 miles over the past three decades.

    Niebur's company is developing pest-resistant and drought-tolerant crops. "It's really a holistic approach, understanding that the ecosystem is changing," he said.

    Emerging technology has already been aiding crop production, said Jon Doggett, vice president of public policy for the National Corn Growers Association. "You are seeing good corn yields under conditions that would have probably been a crop disaster 20 years ago," he said.

    Improved soil management methods are reducing greenhouse gases. No-till farming, for example, where farmers plant crops without using machines to plow or turn over the soil, cuts down on energy use and keeps carbon in the ground instead of releasing it into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

    Farmers also are planting crops that require less fertilizer and herbicides; using alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel; capturing methane gas from livestock for energy production; and harnessing wind power.

    Many are beginning to sort out water supply problems as warm, dry areas expand. This includes examining water rights before shortages happen and studying dwindling mountain snowpacks that supply farmers with water during spring melting. Faced with fiercer storms that cause rain to hit the ground and run off rather than be absorbed, researchers are exploring ways to capture the precipitation.

    Francis Thicke, an organic dairy farmer and soil fertility expert from Fairfield in southeast Iowa, said he provides his 130 animals with grassy areas to forage for food. He said that cuts down on fuel needs because he's not growing as much grain for feed and allows carbon to remain in the soil because there's no need for tilling.

    Thicke said he believes politicians should end subsidies to farmers who grow crops such as corn and soybeans in a way that robs the soil of nutrients and requires lots of energy.

    "Our whole farming system really contributes a lot to global warming and it could be made to be much more sustainable," he said.