Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 6/13/19

Agricultural scientists and educators on Wednesday told a House Agriculture subcommittee that there should be more investment in research and extension efforts that will help farmers and ranchers adapt to and mitigate climate change.

"Climate change impacts are turning out to be more complex and in some cases more severe than we imagined 30 years ago," said David Wolfe, a professor of plant and soil ecology at Cornell University.

Climate surprises: One surprise effect of a warming climate in the Northeast, Wolfe said, is increased risk of cold damage for woody perennials like apples and grapes. The phenomenon triggers earlier blooms which are then at greater frost risk, an out-of-whack dynamic that's caused millions of dollars in damage in his region, he said.

Tree fruit woes: Sam Godwin, of Box Canyon Fruit, which grows organic apples, pears and cherries in Tonasket, Wash., told the committee there are numerous challenges facing fruit growers as weather patterns are changing. New pests have taken hold in parts of the Pacific Northwest in places that used to be too cold for certain harmful insects, he said.

Fire blight, a bacterium that damages tree fruit when spring weather becomes warmer or wetter than normal, has become a huge problem. Godwin and other growers are also now increasingly erecting acres of nets for shade to protect fruit from heat.

"Federal investment in research is key to ensuring that we can continue to provide top-quality American-grown apples, pears and cherries to consumers," he said.

Call for ARS scientists: Godwin also urged the subcommittee to push the Agricultural Research Service to get moving as hundreds of science research positions remain vacant, including those important to specialty crop producers. He noted, for example, that last year Congress provided funding for a pear geneticist/genomics position at ARS that would be based in Wenatchee, Wash., to help launch a breeding program. The position has still not been filled, nor has it been advertised, he said.