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m4gpi t1_ivhpehf wrote

Reply to comment by Naginiorpython in [OC] First and last frost dates for Concord, NH for 80 years. The growing season is getting longer. Repost because the image got deleted somehow. by reficius1

An extended growing season is certainly a benefit, but it’s likely to be offset by increased disease and pestilence, and shifts in temps/rain/humidity (that translate to loss or relocation of arable land).

And, come to think of it, in terms of “world hunger”, rice, corn and wheat are the big crops, and they are all single-harvest products - what starts growing at the beginning of the season is what you (hopefully) get at the end. A slightly longer season might mean more indeterminate tomatoes, but doesn’t necessarily translate to more or even better wheat, etc. At the local/home-garden level a longer season certainly would be useful (assuming no changes in normal growing conditions).

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fml87 t1_ivhyyaq wrote

The benefits will be globally offset when America’s bread basket is no longer sustainable. If that happens, half the planet is fucked.

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prussian-junker t1_ivie82n wrote

A lot of American farmland is unsustainable regardless of climate trends. Large portions of US farmland exist in water scarce areas. The largest example being the famous Central Valley of California which is really a near desert. The whole valley the way until well north of Sacramento averages less than 20 inches of rainfall.

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fleebleganger t1_ivjxbuw wrote

A longer growing season will produce higher yields than a shorter season, assuming weather, pests, disease, is the same.

Either you get the crops in early and can use longer maturity hybrids so they have more time to grow the crop or you still have time to replant or plant wet areas.

Additionally, longer season allows farmers to plant more acres helping to address the decrease in available farm labor.

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