A better understanding of the link between heat and drought shows that Kansas corn and soy bean farmers will be hurt by climate change in the coming decades. The Kansas News Service reports a new paper from Columbia University shows heat and drought will decrease Kansas corn and soybeans yields by as much as 30% by the end of the century.
The paper looked beyond rising temperatures, which have been widely researched. It found a link between heat and increased drought. Add the two factors together and the risk of yield losses nearly double in Kansas from what was previously expected. Kansas corn growers say technology should help them overcome some of those changes in climate. The development of more drought tolerant corn varieties has already helped increase yields and driven up the number of acres of non-irrigated corn planted in the state over the past 15 years.
