10/08/08 Climate change; crop impact

Planet Earth is warming. Why that's happening is a matter of continuing debate but a US Department of Agriculture report says climate change could have a tremendous impact on agriculture. The report says with faster plant growth and more carbon dioxide, with severe droughts and storms and the possibility of more pests and diseases living through the winter the US will tend to see reduced crop yields over the next 30 years. USDA researcher Dr Jerry Hatfield is one of the authors of a government report. HATFIELD "If we look at corn production we're talking about a seven percent decrease. Cotton production we're talking about a five percent, Probably one of the biggest dramatic ones is about a ten to twelve percent reduction is rice yields because where they're growing right now in the southern tier of the United States is going to become warmer." Weeds are a problem for farmers today and that could get worse says Hatfield. HATFIELD "We know in a lot of cases that increasing carbon dioxide increases resistance of a lot of our plants to herbicides. We've noticed this in terms of Roundup. It takes more Roundup to control certain plants with higher CO2 levels." But American's crops aren't the only global warming victims; livestock is impacted too. That story tomorrow. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott