Drought gives corn farmers that sinking feeling
by Bill Chameides | September 14th, 2012posted by Erica Rowell (Editor)
Permalink | 1 comment
The year 2012 was supposed to be a record year for corn production in the United States.
Instead we got a record-breaking drought, the worst in decades.
U.S. corn yields (bushels per acre). Red bars: Historic yields 2000-2011. Green bars outlined with red dashed line: Projected yield for 2012 as a function of the month in which the projection was made showing the drop in projected yield as the drought has taken hold. Blue line: Area (in millions of acres) planted for 2000-2012. (Sources: All numbers from U.S.D.A. Quick Stats except June and July estimates, which are from the Des Moines Register.)
And here’s another projection. According to the National Weather Service, and despite the deluge courtesy of Hurricane Isaac, the drought is predicted to continue through November.
filed under: agriculture, drought, faculty, food, Statistically Speakingand: corn
1 Comment
All comments are moderated and limited to 275 words. Your e-mail address is never displayed. Read our Comment Guidelines for more details.
Connect With Us
about TheGreenGrok
In The Green Grok, Dean Bill Chameides elucidates causes and potential remedies for environmental change and identifies pathways towards a more sustainable future.
Featured Videos
EVs from Chevy and Tesla
Sustainable Food Shopping
Relevant: A plug for an old college friend who’s spent the last 40 years working on developing what could become a commercially viable tree crop suitable for replacing corn and soybeans.
He’s about at that point, making the transition from a research farm to a business farming and supplying plants to other farmers.
Fascinating:
http://badgersettresearch.blogspot.com/2012/08/biodiversity-in-woody-agriculture-crops.html