Farmers Union launches website for to follow climate conditions
Montana Farmers Union today announced a new online information portal with resources on global climate change and its expected impacts to Montana agriculture. The webpage went live today and can be accessed through a link on MFU’s homepage (www.montanafarmersunion.com), and follow the Climate Change graphic link.
“As Montana Farmers Union celebrates 100 years advocating for family farms, we thought it made good sense to take a look at a serious challenge that faces Montana’s agricultural producers,” said MFU President Alan Merrill. “Climate change can be a difficult topic, but it’s a conversation we must have if we want Montana family farms and ranches to thrive for another 100 years.”
Montana’s 28,000 farms and ranches cover more than 61 million acres, employ 31,000 people and generate more than $4 billion a year. Our farmers and ranchers provide safe, healthy and abundant foodto families right here in Montana and around the world.
Since 1900, the average temperature in Montana has risen 2.4oF. And research, some of which is done right here in Montana, shows that producers will have to prepare for a number of challenges as the impacts of climate change are felt, including reduced water availability in mid-late summer, increased pressure from weeds and pests, a reduction in the yield and quality of grains, and more occurrences of severe weather and drought.
Dr. Fabian Menalled, a professor in MSU’s Dept. of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, is studying how climate change could impact Montana’s grain producers, including how increased temperatures and higher carbon dioxide concentrations affect the growth of cheatgrass. “Many pests and weeds do better in warmer, dryer conditions,” he said. “And that puts increased pressure on crops like wheat and barley. We’re not done researching how climate change impacts food production, we’re really just beginning to understand the breadth of the issue.”
Along with the website, Montana Farmers Union will also host periodic educational events and discussions, the first of which will be in Great Falls on Friday, June 19th. Earlier this month, MFU also joined other organizations and businesses in the Montanan’s for Good Jobs & Clean Air coalition (www.goodjobscleanair), which supports the efforts of Governor Bullock to find a “Montana Solution” to reducing carbon pollution. “This is just the start of the conversation,” said Merrill. “We’ll keep looking at this and talking about it, and as new information becomes available we’ll update the website and work to get the information into the hands of farmers and ranchers so they can decide what’s best for their operation.”