Climate Matters: Missouri agriculture changes with the climate

Missouri agriculture is varied like our weather patterns, and it will also change with the warming climate. Shifting precipitation and temperatures will have sweeping effects on the environment and the food we can grow locally. Over recent decades Missouri has seen less extreme winter cold and hotter summers that change what plants can thrive in the area.

When speaking in terms of cold, plants are measured by their resistance or "hardiness" to freezing conditions. This plant hardiness can be mapped across the area and we've observed changes as the climate shifts. Missouri is now in zones 5b to 8a with minimum temperatures ranging from -15 to positive 15 degrees from north to south. This means plants in the northern tiers of the state need to be much more hardy against freezes.

Newer iterations of these plant hardiness zones have majorly shifted northward across Missouri as our environment is beginning to look more like our neighbors to the south. Agriculture will also need to adjust to more viable crops that can be grown in a new climate.

The local scenery is already changing as many Missourians are used to seeing corn fields that have been one of the largest parts of the state's agriculture for centuries. But corn is suffering from several factors including climate change allowing for other crops to take hold. You may have particularly heard more mention of soybeans over the years as they become more prevalent.

While soybeans are more susceptible to the cold than corn, this is becoming less of a problem in a warming climate. Additionally, climate change is bringing more flooding incidents to the area, which soybeans can handle better than corn. This has all allowed soy to slowly gain an edge as the premier crop in Missouri. Flooded conditions may also allow for more cotton growing especially along the Mississippi River. While things will look different for farmers with the shifting environment soybeans and other crops promise to keep Missouri agriculture bountiful and enduring.