Survey Shows American Farmers Taking Steps to Deal with Wild Weather

Nearly one-quarter of American producers say they have taken concrete steps on their farm to deal with increasingly erratic weather conditions. 

Released Tuesday, the latest update of the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer – which is based on a monthly survey of 400 farmers across the country – revealed that 24% of respondents had implemented changes in their farm operation to better deal with shifting weather patterns. 

Of that number, 25% reported increased use of no-till practices, while 23% said they had changed their cropping mix. One out of five survey respondents who made changes said they planted more drought resistant varieties. Finally, a smaller subset of farmers indicated they had made capital investments to better prepare for increasingly challenging weather, including installing tile drainage or irrigation infrastructure. 

The survey question about the steps farmers have taken to deal with the weather was sparked by dry Midwest conditions this past spring and summer, which “stimulated discussion among producers about shifts in long-term weather patterns.” 

In addition to dryness, producers are also dealing with increasingly warm temperatures. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, September 2023 was the fourth month in a row of record-warm global temperatures. And not only was it the warmest September on record, but it was also far and away the most atypically warm month of any in NOAA’s 174 years of climate keeping.  In other words, September 2023 was warmer than the average July from 2001-2010. 

Meanwhile, from January through the end of September 2023, the US was struck by 24 separate weather and climate disasters, each with losses exceeding US$1 billion. Most of the disasters were attributed to storms but also included a pair of floods and a drought and heatwave event. 

Overall, the ag economy barometer showed a modest improvement in farmer sentiment in October compared to a month earlier as producers reported a small improvement in current conditions on their farms along with better expectations for the future. In particular, producers reported better financial conditions on their farms in October than in September.