MARYLAND – For farmers in Maryland, the problems posed by a changing climate are not just something to worry about in the future: They’ve been feeling the impacts for years.
Rising Chesapeake Bay water levels are causing saltwater intrusion, which has harmed production on thousands of acres of farmland and threatens thousands more.
Poultry growers have to spend more on energy to manage higher humidity and temperatures in chicken houses, while longer dry spells and more frequent heavy rain are hurting crops and livestock. Rising temperatures are increasing threats from pests and pathogens.
Those problems will become more profound in the future, according to new report that lays out a “climate smart” plan to help Maryland farmers adapt to changing conditions while increasing production and minimizing environmental impacts.
The report, “Maryland Climate Smart Agriculture: Roadmap to Resilience,” was prepared by the nonprofit Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology and the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. It drew on input from researchers, farmers, state agencies conservation groups and a variety of stakeholders.
“Producers told us that what they’re seeing, what they’re experiencing, is not normal,” said Ernie Shea, a co-chair of the team that produced the report. “We’re having increasing episodes of droughts followed by extreme variations in precipitation, from drought to floods.”
Shea, president of the nonprofit Solutions from the Land, which focuses on agriculture and forestry conservation, said climate change is “a threat multiplier” for future Maryland agriculture.
“We need to be stepping up our efforts,” he said, “to adapt, improve resiliency and make sure we are protecting the state’s number one commercial industry.”
Climate impact on farms is important to Bay cleanup activities as well. Rising water causes saltier water to inundate farmlands, where it is lethal to crops and increases nutrient runoff, which spurs algal blooms.
More intense rain, meanwhile, can wash more water-fouling nutrients off the land, and many common conservation practices used to reduce that runoff, such as cover crops or streamside buffers, may become less effective.
“What worked 10 years ago, when we had a certain set of conditions, whether it’s rainfall or temperatures, may not work today, when we have more intense rain [and] higher nighttime temperatures that disrupt productivity,” Shea told a state legislative hearing. “These best management practices … need to be keeping up with the changing conditions.”
The report was commissioned by the state General Assembly in 2022 to provide a better picture of how climate would impact the state’s $8.5 billion annual agricultural industry, which covers a third of the state’s land, and what measures are needed to help it adapt.
Acknowledging that farms in the state already need to become more efficient and productive to meet future food demands and remain profitable, the report said climate change will make that even more of an uphill battle.
Springs are getting wetter, summers are hotter, new pests are migrating from warmer regions and “false springs” have caused early blooms in orchards, hampering fruit production.
The report predicts that all counties will suffer decreased corn production by 2050, particularly on the Eastern Shore, driven by more frequent “corn killing” high temperatures.
A key need to help adapt, the report said, is more research. Maryland needs crop varieties that are more tolerant of higher temperatures and drought conditions and more resistant to pests and pathogens. Salt-tolerant species are needed as well. And more diversification is needed beyond today’s common corn-soybean crop rotation. Just as important, the report noted, is to have a market for any new crop.
“Crop diversification needs to be based on a good understanding of ag markets and the practical consideration of economics,” said Puneet Srivastava, associate dean for research with the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, who was co-chair of the report team.
“If you come up with a crop that might survive in climate change scenarios but there is no market, then probably that crop diversification would not succeed,” he said.
More localized information about climate impacts is needed, too. While regional and global impacts are understood, there is often little local data at the scale needed to help farmers manage their lands or help agencies manage water reserves.
For instance, drier conditions will likely increase the need for irrigation, drawing on aquifers already stressed by demand from both farms and increased development.
But the report said there are critical gaps in basic data about rainfall, groundwater and soil conditions. That information is critical for making better local decisions about irrigation management. It also said investments are likely needed in water storage capacity and equipment to more precisely irrigate crops.
The report said new irrigation approaches should be considered, such as the reuse of treated water from wastewater treatment plants for nonfood crops.
It emphasized that agricultural issues need to be integrated with other statewide climate actions. For example, efforts to promote solar energy could lead to farmland losses, affecting the ability to meet agricultural goals for food production and climate mitigation.
The state is counting on farmland to capture and store carbon dioxide to help achieve its net-zero greenhouse gas emission goals by 2045.
Among other recommendations, the report called for an “early warning” system to alert farmers to conditions that may affect production, along with a “one-stop shop” that could provide information on adapting to changing conditions and related financial assistance.
The report focuses on actions, research and adaptations needed in the next 25 years, but the problem won’t be resolved at that point. “The reality is that these are generational challenges,” Shea said. “This is not going to be solved in three, five or 10 years. These are going to be with us for decades to come.”
It will be a long haul, he said, “but we can succeed by working together, and I think that’s our takeaway message. This challenge is an opportunity for all of us to come together.”