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Climate Change Increases Corn & Soybean Yields in Upper Midwest

Higher temperatures and heavier precipitation have increased yields in much of Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas

2 Lisa Selfie December 2020 Headshot
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Soybean harvest3

According to a recent article in the Star Tribune, the uneven impact of climate change may be helping corn and soybean farmers in the Upper Midwest.

Higher temperatures and heavier precipitation have increased yields for corn and soybeans in much of Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas, according to a statistical analysis conducted at the University of Minnesota. The study highlights the disparate effects of climate change, even within a region.

Soybean yields have improved in the Western Hemisphere and North Africa thanks to the changing climate, but have suffered in Eastern Europe. Even as corn harvests have benefited in Minnesota, they have suffered in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

The study’s authors, who controlled for improved farm technology and management, built a data set of yields for 10 major crops and weather over decades across the globe to figure out what effect the changing climate has had. ■

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