{"id":30525,"date":"2018-07-19T14:32:36","date_gmt":"2018-07-19T19:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=30525"},"modified":"2018-07-19T14:45:19","modified_gmt":"2018-07-19T19:45:19","slug":"the-arid-american-west-marches-east-changing-climate-and-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2018\/07\/19\/the-arid-american-west-marches-east-changing-climate-and-agriculture\/","title":{"rendered":"The arid American West marches east, changing climate and agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_30532\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 6000px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-30532 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle072_HR.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle072_HR.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle072_HR-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle072_HR-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle072_HR-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle072_HR-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle072_HR-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle072_HR-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle072_HR-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Benji and Lori White in a pasture at their ranch near Putnam, Okla.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Benji White pulls into a field and honks his horn. Before the shifter hits park and the doors close behind him and his wife Lori, the silver Ford pickup is surrounded by dozens of Red Angus eager for a handout of cattle cake, a protein-dense pellet.<\/p><p>\u201cYou definitely don\u2019t want to get in the habit of feeding bulls cake out of your hand because that kind of can create some aggression when you don&#8217;t feed them,\u201d Lori said.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/473972259&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><!--more--><\/p><p>Red Angus grow rapidly and make well-marbled meat, but Lori said one of the breed\u2019s best qualities is its disposition. \u201cThe docility of them is great \u2014 the temperament,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>The Whites run 550 head on about 5,000 acres at B&L Red Angus, the family\u2019s seedstock and commercial ranching outfit near the town of Putnam in western Oklahoma. The Whites used to grow wheat and other grains, but they\u2019ve stopped farming to expand the ranching business.<\/p><p>\u201cFarming is kind of a one-shot deal,\u201d said Benji White. \u201c If you don&#8217;t get rain, where we\u2019re completely dry-land, you lose everything. Crop insurance doesn&#8217;t really pay for all the expenses.\u201d<\/p><p>Scientists say this shift \u2014 from grains to cattle and turning cropland into rangeland \u2014 could happen a lot more often.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p><p>The American West \u2014 appears to be moving east.<\/p><p>\u201cIt&#8217;s just a steady progression over the last thirty-something years,\u201d said Richard Seager, a climate scientist and professor at Columbia University who lead new research on the 100th Meridian.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30534\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2452px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-30534 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-MAH-10696.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2452\" height=\"2980\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-MAH-10696.jpg 2452w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-MAH-10696-1580x1920.jpg 1580w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-MAH-10696-411x500.jpg 411w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-MAH-10696-768x933.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-MAH-10696-123x150.jpg 123w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-MAH-10696-247x300.jpg 247w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-MAH-10696-620x754.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-MAH-10696-889x1080.jpg 889w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2452px) 100vw, 2452px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Smithsonian Institution Archives<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Major John Wesley Powell, a geologist and western explorer, photographed in 1879.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.ametsoc.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1175\/EI-D-17-0011.1\">findings<\/a>, which published this Spring in the journal <em>Earth Interactions<\/em>, confirm an idea introduced by John Wesley Powell in the 19th century. Powell suggested the imaginary map line \u2014 which runs north from Mexico through Oklahoma and the Great Plains to the Canadian province of Manitoba on its way to the North Pole \u2014 illustrates a climate boundary that has influenced how and where people live and work.<\/p><p>Powell, a soldier, scientist and explorer mythologized in American history for leading fearless explorations down the Colorado and Green Rivers, was the first to describe an arid-humid continental split created as the Rocky Mountains block moisture from the Pacific Ocean in the west, and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and winter storms in the Atlantic soaks the east.<\/p><p>These environmental conditions have had a quantifiable effect on human development, a phenomenon known as psychogeography, which Seager\u2019s team confirmed by compiling data on farms, crops and climate. The research found the 100th meridian long marked a divide that predicted smaller farms in wetter eastern states that often depended on thirsty crops like corn, and wheat and rangeland-focused agricultural operations that had to grow larger to maintain profitability in arid western states.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30533\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignright\" style=\"max-width: 2521px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-30533 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-2002-10682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2521\" height=\"1998\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-2002-10682.jpg 2521w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-2002-10682-1920x1522.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-2002-10682-500x396.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-2002-10682-768x609.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-2002-10682-150x119.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-2002-10682-300x238.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-2002-10682-620x491.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/SI-JWP-2002-10682-1363x1080.jpg 1363w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2521px) 100vw, 2521px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Smithsonian Institution Archives<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Major John Wesley Powell photographed between 1871-1875 on horseback as he talks to a member of the Paiute tribe about the way to a water pocket at the Kaibab Plateau near the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Additional <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.ametsoc.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1175\/EI-D-17-0012.1\">research<\/a> by Seager\u2019s team also suggests the arid-humid boundary is moving east.<\/p><p>\u201cThat&#8217;s partly because of rising temperature, which increases the amount of moisture the atmosphere can take out of the surface, but it&#8217;s also part because of projections of declining winter precipitation in the southwest,\u201d he said.<\/p><p>The movement of this west-to-east boundary, which Seager says is likely closer to the 98th meridian, could predict profound changes in farming, ranching and the agricultural economy, including more wheat and less corn, and expensive irrigation in eastern states. \u201cIt might require farms to get bigger as aridity increases and land productivity declines,\u201d he said.<\/p><p>Seager warns government could be slow to address the climate shift, which could lead to more fights over water in eastern states, shortages of crops used for biofuels \u2014 and economic problems stemming from subsidizing crops that are less viable.<\/p><p>\u201cIn 2030, 2035 it&#8217;s not going to be the same climate, and what can be grown might require some adjustment,\u201d he said. \u201cSome of that can be anticipated because we have reasonable confidence in these projections of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p><p>Many farmers, however, might not be able to afford to adapt.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30531\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 5282px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-30531 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle038_HR.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5282\" height=\"3521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle038_HR.jpg 5282w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle038_HR-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle038_HR-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle038_HR-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle038_HR-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle038_HR-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle038_HR-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/07\/20180705-bl-cattle038_HR-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 5282px) 100vw, 5282px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A small herd waits for a handout of cattle cake \u2014 a high-protein food pellet \u2014 at B&L Red Angus near Putnam, Okla.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Benji and Lori White, the ranching family which live near the 99th meridian, know a lot of farmers who left the industry after the drought that started withering Oklahoma in 2011 and left more than <a href=\"http:\/\/factsheets.okstate.edu\/documents\/bae-1533-drought-and-its-impact-on-agricultural-water-resources-in-oklahoma\/\">$2 billion<\/a> in agricultural losses.<\/p><p>\u201cCost of equipment, fertilizer, lack of rain \u2014 it&#8217;s just hard to make it pencil out when you&#8217;re trying to do it to make make a profit,\u201d Benji White said.<\/p><p>The White family is all-in on cattle and Red Angus. The animals are hardy and sweet, and their red hide means they\u2019ll stay cool and stand a much better chance of growing big when the next drought comes.<\/p><p>\u201cWith the cow-calf operation you have more options,\u201d he said. \u201cI&#8217;m not that much of a farmer. I don&#8217;t want to get that much bigger, and I think cattle is a little less tied to those commodity prices.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 100th Meridian passes through Oklahoma and splits the continent in two. An explorer and geologist in the late-1800s suggested this map line marked the start of the arid American West. Scientists now say he was right \u2014 and that climate change is moving it, which could have profound effects on farmers and ranchers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":30529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[491],"tags":[313,549],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30525"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30525"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30547,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30525\/revisions\/30547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}