Severe weather systems and increasing climate change across the country have led to the loss of more than $3.5 billion annually in the agriculture industry, according to a study by TraceOne. Butler County is expected to lose $213,000 per year due to natural disasters, with an average per-farm loss of $240.
Butler County houses over 800 farms. A majority of these farms produce a variety of crops, and others produce livestock and poultry products.
Common extreme weather events for Butler County include droughts, heavy precipitation, high winds, tornadoes and riverine flooding. Riverine flooding poses the greatest risk for agriculture in Butler County.
Riverine flooding occurs when streams and rivers exceed the capacity of natural channels, resulting in overflowing water from banks into low-lying, dry land. Flooding in Butler County can lead to delayed planting and harvesting schedules, ruined crops and overflooded fields.
Weather patterns in Butler County are determined by varying fronts. Patterns based on the movement of air masses produce systems such as tornadoes, thunderstorms and snow storms.
David Prytherch, a professor of geography at Miami University, specializes in urban planning and sustainability – including contributing to both Miami and the City of Oxford’s climate action plans. He said Southwestern Ohio will face the most trouble from climate change in the form of increased storm events.
“In our region, we do not need to worry about sea level rise, but the primary climate hazards we have are storms like extreme precipitation events, wind events and tornadoes,” Prytherch said.
Changing patterns in this region’s climate affect agriculture through temperature and precipitation levels. Growing atmospheric temperatures increase the amount of moisture air can hold, creating more extreme weather within typical events, such as thunderstorms.
Bryan Butterfield, a farmer for over 50 years at Butterfield Farms, said variables in weather patterns such as amount of rainfall can have significant impacts on harvests. For example, this year, his farm had to replant their cornfield maze several times due to heavy rains toward the beginning of the season.
“I would say this year was an extremely hard year for us with certain things,” said Butterfield. “At the beginning of the season, we got a lot of rain. It was way too wet.”
Most farmers in Butler County use rain-fed agriculture techniques. This means the amount of rainfall through the year could make or break a farm’s productivity.
“Most farmers here do not irrigate, so they are vulnerable to rainfall,” Prytherch said. “If they get too much rainfall or not enough, then they have trouble.”
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With precipitation, temperature measurements are very important to the agriculture industry. Certain crops have specific temperatures that must be met for survival, so farmers have to be aware of the region’s climate.
Changes in precipitation and temperature have large-scale impacts on agriculture in the United States. Plant hardiness zones are a prime example of these impacts.
These zones help farmers identify the best-fit crops for the region and when to plant them. The shifting of these zones causes issues for farmers, as certain crops won’t be able to survive in the same locations.
Plant hardiness zones shift due to lengthened frost-free periods, according to the Fifth U.S. National Climate Assessment. Zones in the U.S. are predicted to shift northward throughout the next century because of rising temperatures.
Director of the Institute for Environment and Sustainability J.D. Wulfhorst has a background in rural sociology, and he said a suggested solution might be for farmers to shift northward with the hardiness zones – but relocating is not simple. Farmers are unable to move with shifting plant hardiness zones due to factors such as reduced land availability, land ownership through generations and farm insurance.
Butterfield said that although his farm has considered the impacts of climate change, they continue pushing forward and focusing on creating a successful harvest year by year. He believes long term climate control strategies could help the problem, but feels there is little immediate short-term action the farm can take to solve this long-term issue.
“If you worry about everything that there is that could happen to a farm, you’ll go nuts,” said Butterfield.
Farmers are constantly faced with new challenges, whether it be machinery repairs, new pest problems or harsh growing seasons, and Wulfhorst said he admires their ability to adapt and create new solutions.
“To me, they aren’t paid enough or honored enough,” Wulfhorst said. “We should be giving thanks to farmers.”
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