Yet another threat to global food supplies is unfolding in parts of Canada’s breadbasket (primarily Manitoba. Alberta is suffering from drought) as heavy rains and frost have made planting corn and soybeans impossible. Some farmers hope to switch crops to wheat which has a longer growing season.
Jen Skerritt writes in Insurance Journal:
Virtually no seeding has been done in Manitoba as more than 90% of the crop land is suffering from excess moisture, said Trevor Hadwen, agroclimate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Only 4% of the province’s crops have been sown as of May 17, lagging the five-year average of 50%. Farmers are scrambling to look for dry areas to plant as they swap acres of corn and soybeans for wheat and canola, which are crops that have shorter seasons, according to Manitoba’s agriculture ministry.
Another storm system is poised to dump more rain on the region this week.
“Conditions are deteriorating,” Hadwen said by phone. “It’s certainly not improving, which is a great concern.”
Meanwhile, drought is expanding in parts of Alberta, a major growing area for spring wheat, barley and durum, Hadwen said. In Saskatchewan, some areas are too wet for seeding while others are too dry for proper germination, according to the province’s agriculture ministry.
Large amounts of macronutrients such as fats, protein, and carbohydrates are necessary to sustain the human body.
An increasing number of countries are now banning food exports. You can see the full list here, and which foodstuffs here.
Where is the media?
Climate change has already affected livestock production, both directly through heat stress affecting animal mortality and productivity, and indirectly through effects on grassland, species distribution and diseases. The research quoted in the WGII report projects that by end century, extreme heat stress risk will increase for all livestock species in many regions of the world. These impacts will grow as global temperatures continue to increase. Cattle numbers in Nepal have already declined, attributed to increases in the number of hot days, whilst milk production in West Africa and China has also stagnated, and may be attributable to increased periods of high daily temperatures.
The IPCC warns that as temperatures rise, on average animals eat 3 to 5 percent less per additional degree of warming, harming their productivity and fertility. These excessive hot days will be especially harmful to larger livestock – like cattle – in the tropics and subtropics. As an example, even warming of 1.5°C to 2°C will impede the ability of livestock to thermoregulate in the Caribbean, and will cause animals to persistently experience heat stress. Livestock is projected to face additional heat stress throughout the world, growing more severe as the world gets warmer. In fact, the USA, UK and West Africa are projected to lose up to 17 percent of milk production by the end of the century. The report also highlights that at just 2°C of warming, livestock numbers will decrease by 7 to 10 percent by 2050 resulting in 10 to 13 Billion USD in economic losses.
Finally, livestock could be vulnerable to more diseases. The IPCC notes that zoonotic diseases – illnesses that can jump between humans and animals – are more sensitive to climate change than human or animal-only pathogens. The ranges of disease-carrying insects and other arthropods will expand as the climate warms, whilst more extreme weather events resulting from climate change will also increase the spread of disease.
Research has shown that at the higher end of temperature increase projections, up to 34 percent of existing areas for crops and livestock production will be unsuitable by the end of the century. The areas which are most at-risk are regions where the world’s top livestock-producing countries are located such as Brazil, China and India.
Wildlife and native plants are also under severe threat from our warming world.