Silver lining to the dark clouds of climate change

The concept that a good farmer enjoys stable yields is being turned upside down. This is a very different view of the world, but in my opinion a necessary one to face the future with confidence. The farmer who embraces the new view should do well in good years in terms of yield at least, even if crops are still poor in drought years.

What this means of course is that for farmers to survive they will need to develop financial management plans that cope with wild swings in cash flow. Further to that, farmers with good on-farm grain storage and professional advice on hedging will learn to read the market and benefit from better-than-average prices. I'm assuming that world grain production will become more volatile, and grain prices along with it. Centralised grain storage will also work.

This approach to marketing is like the astute producer of perishable goods such as vegetables, who benefits from marketing when supply is thin and prices are high. This takes skill. The farmer who has the right business plan will profit, which is the real shine in the silver lining of climate change.

The challenge for agribusiness and government will be to set in place policies and infrastructure that accommodate much more variable production and new approaches to marketing. The challenge for agribusiness and government will be to set in place policies and infrastructure that accommodate much more variable production and new approaches to marketing.