We are seeing more studies linking climate change to potential or actual changes in agricultural production, and not in a good way.
Midwest Agriculture and Economic Risks of Climate Change
A study in Iowa suggests that increased high temperatures will have a negative effect on crops. From the Des Moines Register:
The report’s grim assessment for the state, designed to look at the business risks from climate change, is similarly gloomy for other Midwest states and their largest cities, including Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Minneapolis.
Agriculture will be particularly hurt by climate change, it said, with corn, soybeans and wheat yields slashed as much as 85 percent by the next century in the leading farm states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. Livestock also is expected to experience reduced productivity and other challenges.