{"id":373794,"date":"2025-04-05T19:39:56","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T17:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=373794"},"modified":"2025-04-05T19:39:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T17:39:58","slug":"wrong-associated-press-farmers-are-thriving-without-a-government-climate-shield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=373794","title":{"rendered":"Wrong, Associated Press, Farmers Are Thriving Without a Government \u2018Climate Shield\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Man Standing by Bale of Hay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From ClimateRealism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Anthony Watts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A recent Associated Press (AP) article, titled \u201cScientists shielding farming from climate change need more public funding, but they\u2019re getting less<\/strong><\/a>, has been published by numerous media outlets in the past few days. The AP\u2019s claim is false, being flatly contradicted by actual agricultural performance data. Evidence clearly shows farmers aren\u2019t being overwhelmed by climate change, rather, the vast majority of crops are benefitting from longer growing seasons, higher CO\u2082 levels, inducing record-setting crop yields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AP\u2019s article suggests that climate change is outpacing farmers\u2019 ability to adapt, and that the only solution is more federal funding for speculative research. That assumption is refuted by real world data. As outlined by Climate At A Glance<\/a> and supported by USDA data, U.S. farmers have repeatedly broken production records in recent years. Corn, soybean, and wheat yields have all shown long-term upward trends\u2014despite the supposed ravages of climate disruption. This isn\u2019t a matter of opinion; it\u2019s directly measurable, as seen in the figure below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, as indicated by the graph, while record cereal grain production and yields grew, land-use for cereal grains was declining, proving that agricultural innovation has markedly improved yields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the face of the history of science and technological development Erin McGuire of the University of California-Davis is quoted by the AP as saying, \u201cI don\u2019t think that private industry can replicate how federal funding typically supports early stage, speculative science\u2026 because the economics don\u2019t really work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pardon the interruption, but what planet is this thinking from? The private sector has long been the driver of game-changing innovation\u2014from SpaceX\u2019s reusable rockets<\/a> to mRNA vaccines<\/a>, to genetically modified crops<\/a>, to AI-driven ag-tech<\/a>. None of these breakthroughs came from speculative government alone\u2014they were led by entrepreneurs who saw opportunity, not doomsday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea that agriculture is a helpless victim waiting to be rescued by government grants is out of step with the realities of modern farming. American farmers are using precision planting, advanced weather modeling, drought-tolerant seed hybrids, GPS-guided equipment, and AI-based pest management\u2014almost all of it developed or commercialized by the private sector<\/em>. While the AP article bemoans a drop in federal funding, it completely ignores the vast gains in agricultural productivity made through private innovation and market-driven adaptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the supposed threats to agriculture from climate change, like drought<\/a> or extreme weather<\/a> aren\u2019t borne out in the data and certainly aren\u2019t translating into declining output.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 200 Climate Realism<\/a> posts demonstrate that crop yields and production have increased considerably during the period of, and partly due to, the recent slight warming. This is true across continents and countries and for almost every crop one examines. One Climate Realism<\/em><\/a> post, for example, presents data demonstrating that farmland is becoming more productive, not less. In fact, mild warming and increased atmospheric CO\u2082 are improving crop resilience and accelerating growth\u2014a phenomenon well understood in agronomy, if conveniently ignored in climate alarmist circles. CO\u2082 is not some evil pollutant to plants; it\u2019s literally what they breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps most frustrating is how the article treats \u201cclimate-smart agriculture\u201d as a justification for endlessly growing federal budgets, while providing no proof that such fantasy programs in general, or any specifically identified effort, have produced results farmers actually need. It\u2019s a classic case of bureaucratic inertia: fund it first, prove it later. The article admits the USDA\u2019s climate-smart initiative is a multi-billion-dollar effort\u2014but where\u2019s the cost-benefit analysis? Where\u2019s the evidence that yields are better because of<\/em> these programs and not despite them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we\u2019re seeing here is yet another example of narrative-driven reporting masquerading as analysis. The AP piece cites claims by researchers and bureaucrats, and relies heavily on anecdote, avoiding hard data. The story frames reduced public funding as a crisis without providing any evidence, much less definitive proof, that any of this climate funding was necessary to begin with, much less effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In closing, it is disappointing\u2014but not surprising\u2014that the Associated Press would publish such a shallow, grant-chasing justification for more government spending, all the while ignoring clear, verifiable trends in agricultural success. America\u2019s farmers are doing just fine without speculative climate programs. It\u2019s time the AP\u2019s reporting reflected that reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A recent Associated Press (AP) article, titled \u201cScientists shielding farming from climate change need more public funding, but they\u2019re getting less, has been published by numerous media outlets in the past few days. The AP\u2019s claim is false, being flatly contradicted by actual agricultural performance data. Evidence clearly shows farmers aren\u2019t being overwhelmed by climate change, rather, the vast majority of crops are benefitting from longer growing seasons, higher CO\u2082 levels, inducing record-setting crop yields.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":373800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691824727,691834284,691829997,691834281,691818056,691834283,691834282],"class_list":{"0":"post-373794","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-associated-press-ap","9":"tag-atmospheric-co","10":"tag-carbon-dioxide-co","11":"tag-climate-at-a-glance","12":"tag-climate-change","13":"tag-u-s-farmers","14":"tag-usda-data","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0US-farmer.jpeg?fit=2158%2C1619&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1zeW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":214027,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=214027","url_meta":{"origin":373794,"position":0},"title":"Yahoo and AP are Wrong About Northeastern Drought","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"17\/08\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"An Associated Press (AP) story picked up by Yahoo News that claims that climate change is causing a trend towards hotter, drier summers and drought in the Northeastern United States. 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