Corn, the most common U.S. grain has historically seen production in the midwest from the Oho river valley to Nebraska. That is changing in a big way and quickly.
The corn belt is now being pushed north into Canada as the growing season in the Canadian prairie has lengthened due to global warming. Farmers sowed a record 450,000 acres of corn in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta last year, double two years earlier and eight times 20 years ago.
Large companies including Monsanto have boosted their staff and invested more than $100 million in the region.
In addition, Canada is getting more rain than the west. Combine that with a longer season bodes well for a new breadbasket and as global warming continues, the prospects get only better for Canadian farmers and the Canadian economy generally.
In 2012 the worst drought in the U.S. corn belt since the 1950’s hit southern farmers. Scientists say that the global warming will increase the frequency of drought. In addition, the governments of Saskatchewan this year added corn as an insurable crop for farmers, increasing growth.
Jeffrey Newman represents whistleblowers
