January13,2016

ClimateChange

IssueSummary:Earth’sclimateischanging.Temperaturesarerising,snowandrainfallpatternsareshifting,andmoreextremeclimateevents-likeheavyrainstormsandrecordhightemperatures-arealreadytakingplace.America’sfamilyfarmersandranchersarealreadyfeelingtheimpactofextremeweathervolatilityandaredealingwithitonadailybasis.TheU.S.mustenhanceeffortstobothmitigateclimatechangeandencourageadaptationforfamilyfarmersandranchersinordertoensuredomesticandglobalfoodsecurity.

ClimateChangeisOccurring

• AccordingtotheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture,“evidenceexiststhattheU.S.isalreadyexperiencinganincreasedincidenceofextremeweatherevents.”

o Averagetemperatureshaverisenacrossthecontiguous48statessince1901,withanincreasedrateofwarmingoverthepast30years.

o Manyextremetemperatureconditionsarebecomingmorecommon.Record-settingdailyhightemperatureshavebecomemorecommonthanrecordlows,andthedecadefrom2000to2009hadtwiceasmanyrecordhighsasrecordlows(USDA).

• Worldwide,netemissionsofgreenhousegasesfromhumanactivitiesincreasedby35percentfrom1990to2010(EPA).

o CO2emissions(75%ofGHGemissions)increasedby42%overthistime(EPA).

Source:NOAANCEI/CICS-NC

January13,2016

ClimateChangeImpactsFamilyAgricultureandGlobalFoodSecurity

• Increasedweathervolatilityassociatedwithclimatechangeresultsinfewerworkabledays,increasedpotentialforsoilerosion,andincreasedcropinsuranceclaims.

• Between2000and2013,20to70percentoftheUnitedStatesexperienceddroughtatanygiventime(EPA).

• Foreach1degreeCelsiustemperatureincrease,grainyieldsdeclinebyabout5percent(UN).

• Maize,wheatandothermajorcropshaveexperiencedsignificantyieldreductionsatthegloballevelof40megatonnesperyearbetween1981and2002duetoawarmerclimate(UN).

o Thesemajorcropsareimportantfoodsourcesformuchoftheworld.• Livestockproductionsystemsarevulnerabletotemperaturestresses.Ananimal’s

inabilitytoadjustitsmetabolicratetocopewithtemperatureextremescanleadtogestationalcomplications,stunteddevelopment,reducedproductivityand,inextremecases,death(USDA).

o Prolongedexposuretoextremetemperatureswillalsofurtherincreaseproductioncostsandproductivitylossesassociatedwithallanimalproducts,e.g.,meat,eggs,andmilk(USDA).

o In2013,afreakwinterstormhitwesternSouthDakotaafterdaysoftemperaturesinthe70sand80s,leavingrancherscompletelyunpreparedtodealwiththefeetofsnow,iceandhighwindguststhatwipedoutthousandsoftheircattle.Someproducerslosttheirentireherd.

• Fluctuationsinavailabilityofsurfacewater,rainfallandgroundwateraffectirrigationpractices(USDA).

Source:NOAANCEI/CICS-NC

January13,2016

• Risingtemperaturesandincreasedextremeweathereventslikedroughtorintenseprecipitationcanaffectpollination,plantgrowthandsize,plantreproduction,andtheamountofwaterrequiredbyplants.Perennialcropsunabletoreachtheirchillingtemperaturerequirementsproducereducedyieldsandcanbeadverselyaffectedbyfluctuatingwintertemperatureswhichcauseearlybuddingorbloomsthataresusceptibletofrostdamage(USDA).

• IncreasedatmosphericCO2stimulatesweedgrowth(USDA).Weedabundancedevastatescrophealth,asweedsleachresourcesandcontributedirectlytoplantdeath.

• Changingclimateconditionsaffect“feed-grainproduction,availabilityandprice;pasturesandforagecropproductionandquality;animalhealth,growthandreproduction;anddiseaseandpestdistributions”(USDA).

ThereareMeansforAdaptationandMitigationofClimateChange

Theclimatechangesbeingexperiencedtodayaremainlytheconsequenceofpastemissions,andtoday’semissionswillcontinuetoexacerbateclimatechangeinthefuture.Evenifatmosphericconcentrationsofgreenhousegasesarestabilized(whichwouldrequirelargedecreasesfromcurrentemissionslevels),landsurfacetemperatureswillcontinuetorisefordecades,whileoceantemperaturesandsealevelwillcontinuetoriseforcenturies(USDA).However,goodpublicpolicycanoffergreatopportunitiesforclimatechangemitigationandadaptationtohelpfarmersensuredomesticandglobalfoodsecurity.

• USDA’sbuildingblocksstrategyaimsto“reducenetemissionsandenhancecarbonsequestrationbyover120millionmetrictonsofCO2equivalent(MMTCO2e)peryear–about2%ofeconomy-widenetgreenhouseemissions–by2025.That’stheequivalentoftaking25millioncarsofftheroad,oroffsettingtheemissionsproducedbypoweringnearly11millionhomeslastyear.”

• USDAbuildingblocksinclude:soilhealth,nitrogenstewardship,livestockpartnerships,conservationofsensitivelands,grazingandpasturelands,privateforestgrowthandretention,stewardshipoffederalforests,promotionofwoodproducts,urbanforests,andenergygenerationandefficiency.Thebuildingblocksstrategyincludesthefollowingprograms:

o FieldtoMarket-aimstoreducegreenhousegasemissionsfromUScroplandso FertilizerInstitute-optimizesfertilizerapplicationo TrustforPublicLandandtheForestClimateWorkingGroup-executesstate-level

carbonreductions

SequesteringcarboninsoilcanhelpremoveCO2fromtheatmosphere

andimprovesoilhealth

January13,2016

• TheRenewableFuelStandard(RFS)

TheRFSisaprogramrequiringthedisplacementofpetroleum-basedfuelsintheU.S.transportationsectorbyrenewablefuelsthatcurbGHGemissions.TheRFSisintendedtobreakthepetroleummonopolyonthetransportationfuelsmarketandallowconsumerstochooselower-carbonrenewablebiofuels.

o IfRFSstatutoryvolumeobligationsarefollowed,theRFSwillreducegreenhousegasemissionsby138millionmetrictonsby2022;equivalenttotakingabout27millionvehiclesofftheroad(C2es).

o Conventionalbiofuelssuchascornethanolarerequiredtoproduceatleast20percentfewergreenhousegasesthanregulargasoline,andareconsideredtoachieve32percentinGHGreductions(FOE).

o "Advanced"biofuels(biofuelsnotproducedfromcornstarch)arerequiredtoreducegreenhousegasemissionsbyatleast50percent(FOE).

o Cellulosicbiofuelsarerequiredtoreducegreenhousegasemissionsbyatleast60percent(FOE).

January13,2016

Sources

(EPA)U.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency.2014.ClimatechangeindicatorsintheUnitedStates,2014.Thirdedition.EPA430-R-14-004.www.epa.gov/climatechange/indicators.

(USDA)U.S.DepartmentofAgriculture.2013.ClimateChangeEffects,2012.http://www.usda.gov/oce/climate_change/effects_2012/CC%20and%20Agriculture%20Report%20(02-04-2013)b.pdf

(UN)UnitedNations.2016.SustainableDevelopmentGoals–ClimateChange.http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change-2/.

(C2es)CenterforClimateandEnergySolutions.2015.RenewableFuelStandard.http://www.c2es.org/federal/executive/renewable-fuel-standard.

(FOE)FriendsoftheEarth.2015.RenewableFuelStandard.http://www.foe.org/projects/climate-and-energy/biofuels/renewable-fuel-standard.