Agriculture is one of the most important industries in the world, and it’s heavily dependent on the weather. Everything from sunshine to rain to extreme weather events plays a role in the agriculture industry. The relationship between weather forecasting and agriculture has implications for everyone, not just farmers.
Essential Weather Elements for Agriculture
All weather can positively or negatively impact crops and livestock. The main elements that affect agriculture are temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind. Visual Crossing’s agriculture weather data provides real-time data on each of these indicators so farmers and other stakeholders can access the most up-to-date information for their business needs.
Temperature
Different types of crops and livestock have different optimal temperatures for growth and survival. Generally speaking, crops can be divided into cold-season and warm-season crops.
Cold-season crops, such as broccoli, grow best at temperatures between 60°F and 70°F (15°C-21°C). Warm-season crops, like tomatoes, prefer to grow in temperatures ranging from 70°F to 85°F (21°C-29°C).
When crops are forced to grow in temperatures outside their optimal range, this can affect quality and yield. Heat stress on plants can cause dehydration, causing them to age faster than they should. Extremely cold temperatures and frost can even kill some crops, especially fruits like strawberries, citrus fruits, and squashes.
Temperature also affects the length of the growing season. The term “growing season” refers to the period between the last spring frost and the first fall frost. The growing season changes every year based on climate change, rising temperatures, and normal seasonal fluctuations.
A longer growing season allows those in the agriculture industry to grow a wider variety of crops, allowing for multiple harvests and larger crop yields.
Precipitation
Since precipitation is the primary source of water for plants, understanding weather and rainfall predictions is beneficial for farmers.
Each plant needs a specific amount of water to thrive and produce crops, and rainfall helps ensure those needs are met. For example, vegetables and most grains need between 0.2 and 0.25 inches of water daily. Irrigation is necessary for agricultural production due to droughts and periods of low rainfall, which affect most areas throughout the year.
Short droughts can allow crops to recover, but long-term droughts can lead to lower crop yields, increased risk of pests and diseases, and poor pasture conditions for dairy cows and other livestock, which can lead to poor milk production.
While crops need rainfall to thrive, excessive rainfall and floods can be just as detrimental as droughts. Excessive rain and flooding can cause waterlogged soil, suffocating plant roots, or even washing out seeds and crops. Flooding can also cause soil erosion, removing nutrient-rich topsoil.
Sunlight
All plants require food, and they get their food from the sun through photosynthesis. Therefore, having access to sufficient sunlight is necessary for crop production. The amount of sunlight crops need varies, but excessive cloud cover can negatively impact agriculture.
During the flowering and fruiting growth stages, sunlight is vital, helping crops develop and ripen properly. Too little sunlight can lead to slower plant growth, smaller yields, and lower-quality crops. Farmers in regions with long periods of overcast skies may invest in artificial lighting to supplement sunlight, particularly through greenhouse farming.
Wind
While it may seem less obvious than other factors, wind also plays a role in agricultural production. Mild winds can benefit seed dispersal and pollination for many crops, like corn. Strong winds can damage or even destroy crops by breaking stems, uprooting, or even damaging agricultural structures and equipment. As with excessive rainfall, wind can also cause soil erosion by stripping away topsoil, leading to a loss of soil fertility.
Impacts of Extreme Weather Events on Agriculture and Food Supply
Outside of traditional weather events, many agricultural lands face extreme weather events, which can negatively impact farms, leading to crop failure and food insecurity.
Droughts
Droughts are prolonged periods of insufficient rainfall. When agricultural areas experience a drought, the soil begins to dry out, making it harder or impossible for crops to grow.
But lack of rainfall doesn’t just affect crops — it can also create dangerous conditions for livestock, such as food and water insecurity. Droughts can also increase the risk of wildfires, which can kill crops and damage anything in their path.
Because droughts are natural occurrences, it’s impossible to prevent them, but with more reliable weather forecasting, farmers can more effectively prepare for them.
Some mitigation strategies include:
- Drip irrigation
- Mulching to help with soil moisture retention
- Implementing water management practices
- Using drought-resistant crop varieties
- Utilizing storage facilities to increase water availability
Floods
Flash floods occur due to excessive rainfall, causing rivers and other bodies of water to rise and flood surrounding areas. River floods happen due to excess rainfall and snow melt, causing rivers to overflow. Not all floods are catastrophic events, but they can still pose significant risks to agriculture. Flash floods are the most dangerous because they tend to come on suddenly and move quickly.
When floods strike, they can submerge crops, leading to rot. The prolonged lack of oxygen can hinder crop development or wipe out crops completely. Floods can also have a major impact on soil conditions, impacting future growing seasons.
Floods also cause soil erosion, spread diseases and pests to plants, and make the growing season more difficult.
Agricultural mitigation strategies for flooding include:
- Innovative drainage systems
- Planting cover crops
- Building levees
Heatwaves
Heat waves are long periods of unusually high temperatures. Excessive heat can stress crops and livestock and potentially damage plants.
As temperatures rise and stay higher than normal, the water demand for crops increases. This puts a strain on irrigation requirements and can lead to water shortages if not managed correctly. Crops will lose their quality, and livestock can suffer from heatstroke or other heat-related illnesses. Hot weather also reduces the oxygen available in water systems, which can cause mass die-offs of fish and shellfish in marine farms.
Heat waves tend to strike in the middle of the growing season, so mitigation strategies must be in place to help preserve crop quality and livestock.
Some of these strategies include:
- Planting heat-tolerant crop varieties
- Providing shade and cooling systems for livestock
- Increasing irrigation efficiency
Cold Spells and Frosts
As temperatures drop, sensitive crops can suffer. When frost creeps into a plant’s structure, it can damage the plant’s tissues, reduce yields, and even lead to crop loss.
Some of the most common ways farmers mitigate frost damage include:
- Using wind machines to circulate air
- Covering plants with frost blankets
- Planting frost-resistant crop varieties
- Planting after frost risk has passed
- Harvesting fall crops before frosts strike
Severe Storms (Hail, High Winds, Tornadoes)
Severe storms, from thunderstorms to tornadoes, can cause major damage to farmlands, infrastructure, and the food supply.
Hail can cause physical damage to crops by bruising them and tearing leaves, reducing their quality and sale value. When high winds or tornadoes strike, they can rip crop roots from the ground, destroy farming structures and equipment, and make conditions dangerous for farm workers.
The good news is that forecasters can predict the most severe weather as well as the conditions known to produce these severe weather events.
Farmers can help reduce the impacts of severe weather by:
- Using protective structures like hail nets and greenhouses
- Adding windbreaks to slow the wind speed
- Securing farming equipment and buildings
- Developing an emergency response plan
A Long-Term Overview Of Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Crop Production
Climate-induced changes affect food security and human health, particularly those of agricultural workers. The Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, notes that the effects of climate change can be seen throughout the United States.
The Fifth National Climate Assessment, published in 2023, shows that disruptions to food availability and prices will only grow due to high temperatures and diminishing water supplies. This, in turn, will impact the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the Economic Research Service states that food services and related industries account for 5.5% of America’s GDP.
Warmer Temperatures and Shifting Growing Zones
As warmer temperatures start to appear for longer periods, growing zones are beginning to shift, but climate change means more than just warmer temperatures. It means different precipitation patterns, too. This means farmers will have to adapt their crop selection and farming practices by diversifying crops and using agroecological practices to boost sustainability.
Increased temperatures can also influence pest control. With a warming earth, insects may have larger habitat ranges, giving them access to crops grown in other regions that may not have developed resistance to their attacks. Farmers will need to use more pest control, which can negatively impact common pollinators.
This creates a vicious cycle where there are fewer pollinators to help spread seeds and more pests eating the crops, leading to more pesticide usage.
Increased Frequency and Intensity of Extreme Weather
Climate change also increases the strength and frequency of extreme weather. Farmers need to be prepared for increased droughts, floods, heat waves, and storms.
Some ways to handle extreme weather as climate change intensifies storms include:
- Investing in strong infrastructure
- Practicing sustainable land practices
- Enhancing soil health
Rising Sea Levels and Coastal Agriculture
Another way climate change is impacting agriculture is by raising sea levels. As hot temperatures cause glaciers and ice caps to melt, ocean waters rise, which negatively impacts arable land.
Saltwater can intrude onto land, contaminating the freshwater that farmers use for their crops and livestock. When saltwater seeps into farming soil, it can dehydrate crops and make it harder for them to grow.
Farmers are combating the changing climate and rising sea levels by developing salt-resistant plant varieties, building barriers to prevent saltwater intrusion, and developing desalination techniques that don’t harm plants.
Increased Carbon Dioxide and Its Effects on Crop Yields
Atmospheric carbon dioxide has a significant impact on overall food production. Dr. Lisa Ainsworth, a scientist with the US Department of Agriculture, notes that higher CO2 levels produce higher crop yields.
Higher CO2 concentrations reduce water loss for plants, meaning they may require less watering. However, more CO2 also increases temperatures, making crops vulnerable to heat stress.
Another problem with increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is that it may make crops less nutritious. This can lead to micronutrient deficiency, or “hidden hunger,” in consumers. Nutritional deficiency can pose challenges for everyone, but it is especially dangerous in children, who may suffer lifelong complications from early malnutrition.
Changes in Precipitation Patterns
While many believe that high temperatures mean decreased precipitation overall, this is not necessarily true. Shifting climate patterns exaggerate current climate patterns. Wet areas will get wetter, and drier areas will get drier.
This poses a number of risks for agriculture and the food supply. Increased flooding can reduce yields in areas like the eastern United States and cause erosion that makes it harder to grow crops. In southern climates, higher summer temperatures and lower rainfall induce heat stress in crops.
Climate impacts food availability everywhere, meaning that agricultural scientists and farmers must work together to safeguard food systems and stay one step ahead of climate change. One of the most important ways to do this is to plant more resilient crops that are ready for the shifting climate.
Technological Advancements and Weather Forecasting
Agricultural producers are looking to technological advancements in weather forecasting to help them increase crop yields and decrease food shortages. When meteorologists provide more accurate and reliable forecasts, farmers can better plan their mitigation strategies for inclement weather and adapt their agricultural practices to optimize yields.
Ensuring Food Supply Resilience in a Changing Climate
The Environmental Protection Agency discusses how shifting climate patterns can have significant impacts on agriculture and food supply, including reduced productivity and higher health risks for agricultural workers. Because temperature changes harm crops, continued climate change will raise food prices and can lead to scarcity.
In the United States, a scientific assessment by the Global Change Research Program found that mitigating climate impacts can reduce economic losses, stabilize food prices, and improve human health. This will require both policy changes and international cooperation, as climate change is a global problem that needs global solutions.
One of the most important ways to mitigate the impact of climate change on agriculture is to increase the types of crops grown in different areas and ensure that they are suited to the local environment. When farmers grow crops together, the various plants often support one another by releasing different nutrients. This also leads to healthier soil and ensures that even if one crop fails, the farmer will still have options.
The Environmental Protection Agency notes that this practice is already well-recognized in the United States and offers hope for better food security.
Improper food distribution can also significantly impact agriculture. The Department of Agriculture estimates that up to 40% of the total food supply is wasted. Donating healthy food to food banks instead of throwing it away or composting food waste can reduce the environmental and economic losses from food waste.
Precision Agriculture and Weather Data
Forecasters use various sensors and technology to analyze weather data, allowing them to provide better forecasts. Precision agriculture leverages this data from weather stations and sensors to improve and optimize farming practices.
When farmers have real-time weather information, they can adjust their irrigation schedules when necessary, such as when dealing with extreme heat. They can also apply fertilizers more strategically and manage pests that might threaten crops.
Taking advantage of precision agriculture allows farmers to use water conservation practices by basing irrigation on rainfall predictions and temperature estimates. They can also use remote sensing, satellite imagery, and drones to assess crop and soil conditions better.
Weather Forecasting Tools and Models
Everyone in the agricultural industry relies on accurate and timely forecasts. They’re vital for planning irrigation and planting schedules, crop rotations, and more. When farmers have a reliable forecast, they can make better decisions about their crops, soil, and livestock to ensure high yields.
With climate change and global warming increasing the frequency of severe weather events, large—and small-scale farmers alike rely on early warning systems. These help them better prepare for floods, droughts, tornadoes, and other weather events and reduce potential losses.
Climate Modeling and Scenario Planning
Climate modeling and scenario planning are vital for future growing seasons. With climate change causing rising temperatures, agricultural producers need to be aware of the potential issues crops and livestock face as soon as possible.
When policymakers and farmers better understand long-term weather trends, they can develop strategies to reduce crop failures, improve pest control, and more. Climate models allow farmers to assess the risks of climate change to achieve greater sustainability and resilience.
Adapting Agriculture for a Sustainable Future
Weather is one of the largest factors influencing agriculture. It has a huge impact on everything from crop growth to livestock health and farm productivity. That’s why understanding the relationship between farming, climate change, and weather patterns is so important. Farmers and agricultural policymakers can use tools like Visual Crossing’s weather API to access agricultural weather data and assess short-term and long-term weather patterns, improving the health and vitality of the agricultural industry and food supply.