Milling & Baking News - May 13, 2014 - 31

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Great Plains wheat producers
face climate change challenges
WASHINGTON - Climate change
projected across the Great Plains in
the next few decades will test the resilience and ingenuity of wheat producers and the agriculture community in general, according to the Third
National Climate Assessment issued
May 6. The assessment, which considered all other regions of the United
States as well, was conducted under
the auspices of the U.S. Global Change
Research Program as required by the
Global Change Research Act of 1990.
At a time when drought across the
Southwest commanded the attention
of wheat markets, the report suggested the southern Plains may see more
extensive dry spells, less precipitation
and higher temperatures in the years
ahead. Climate change offered a more
mixed bag for the northern Plains.
The report indicated projected
changes in precipitation and temperature have both positive and negative
consequences to agricultural productivity across the northern Plains. Projected increases in winter and spring
precipitation in the northern Plains
will benefit agricultural productivity by increasing water availability
through soil moisture reserves during
the early growing season, but this may
be offset by fields too wet to plant.
Rising temperatures will lengthen
the growing season, possibly allowing
a second annual crop in some places
and some years, the report said.
At the same time, warmer winters
may allow pests and invasive weeds to
survive the winters and become more
pervasive. Also, winter crops such as
hard red winter wheat grown in South
Dakota, Montana and increasingly in
North Dakota may leave dormancy earlier and be susceptible to spring freezes.

The report noted rainfall events
already have become more intense
across the northern Plains in recent
years, increasing erosion and nutrient runoff. Climate change projections
indicate the frequency and severity
of these heavy rainfall events will increase. Still, the northern Plains will
remain vulnerable to periodic drought
because much of the projected increase

crop yields by about a factor of two.
"Under
these
climate-induced
changes, adaptation of agricultural
practices will be needed, however,
there may be constraints on socialecological adaptive capacity to make
these adjustments," the report stated.
The projected increase in high temperature extremes and heat waves
will negatively affect livestock and
concentrated animal feeding operations across the southern Plains, the
report continued. Shortened dormancy periods for winter wheat will

in precipitation is expected to occur in
the cooler months while increasing
temperatures will result in additional
evapotranspiration.
The report indicated in the central
and southern Plains, projected declines
in precipitation in the south and greater
evaporation everywhere due to higher
temperatures will increase irrigation
demand and exacerbate current stresses on agricultural productivity.
Increased
water
withdrawals
from the Ogallala Aquifer and High
Plains Aquifer were expected to accelerate the ongoing depletion in the
southern parts of the aquifers and
limit the ability to irrigate. The report
cautioned that holding other aspects
of production constant, the climate
impacts of shifting from irrigated to
dryland agriculture would reduce

diminish an important source of feed
for the livestock industry. Climate
change may thus result in a northward shift of crop and livestock production in the region. In areas projected to be hotter and drier in the future,
maintaining agriculture on marginal
lands may become too costly, the report indicated.
The report noted during the
droughts of 2011 and 2012, southern
Plains ranchers liquidated large herds
due to lack of food and water. Many
cattle were sold to slaughterhouses
while others were relocated to other
pastures through sale or lease.
"As herds are being rebuilt, there
is an opportunity to improve genetic
stock, as those least adapted to the
drought conditions were the first to be
sold or relocated," the report said. MBN

Pepperidge, Safeway executives to A.B.A. board
WASHINGTON - Chris Foley of
Pepperidge Farm, Inc. and Chad Coester of Safeway, Inc. were among five
industry executives elected as new
members of the American Bakers Association board of directors.
The A.B.A. announced the new
board members for 2014-16. They were
elected during the 2014 annual meeting of the A.B.A. at the Phoenician hotel and resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Mr. Foley is senior vice-president
and general manager of fresh and
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

Washington

frozen bakery at Pepperidge. Mr.
Coester is vice-president, U.S. grocery manufacturing for the Safeway
manufacturing division.
A number of prominent members of
the baking industry also were named
to the A.B.A. board, including Bradley K. Alexander, president of Flowers
Bakeries; Miles E. Jones, co-chairman,
Dawn Food Products, Inc.; and Cordia
Harrington, Tennessee Bun Co.
The new board members succeed
several stepping down, including

J. Bowman Williams Jr. of B.C. Williams Bakery Service, David Murphy
of Mother Murphy's Flavors and John
Hink of Quality Bakery/Rite-Way.
The A.B.A. slate of officers announced in February also was elected
during the annual meeting: Rich Scalise, chairman and c.e.o. of Hearthside
Food Solutions, chairman; Fred Penny,
president of Bimbo Bakeries USA, first
vice-chairman; Allen L. Shiver, president and c.e.o. of Flowers Foods, Inc.,
second vice-chairman; and Erin Sharp,
group vice-president, manufacturing,
The Kroger Co., treasurer. MBN
Milling & Baking News May 13, 2014 / 31

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Milling & Baking News - May 13, 2014

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